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Preparing Builds, Part 1: Terraforming

Throughout this integral guide, I'm going to aid you along the path to bigger and better builds. Often times, people just jump in and build, but we mustn't hurry things if we want our builds to be all the more satisfying when they are finished. Building the actual builings should be the easy (and the most simple step in any great build), but we have to start with what's underneath your pixelated feet.

News: 20 Amazing Minecraft Costumes at MineCon 2011

MineCon 2011 (held at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas) was in a word, awesome. The crowd was overwhelmingly young, the vibe was fun and nerdy, and best of all, the costumes were inspired. Below are my favorites, which unfortunately aren't of the best quality (lighting was low and super yellow, which wasn't helped much by my standard point-and-shoot). If you happened to attend Minecon as well, post about your experience to the community corkboard... if you're pictured below, please comment!

How To: How Much Advertising Can a Free Game Site Have and Still Be Considered Indie?

Mediocre free Flash game websites are all too common. Many of them thrive off peddling the same few popular games to fans who have slim cause to pick one over the other. They thrive off the indifference of casual gamers and an environment that does not have to stand out to survive, only appeal to the lowest common gaming denominator with tower defense clones and brightly colored Peggle knockoffs. In that context, what Nitrome is doing seems downright commendable.

News: Man Immortalizes Dead Fiancée in Virtual World

Death is tough for the living, and those who mourn do all sorts of odd things to cope with it. Some keep mementos, some build towering statues, others create memorial paintings or write sad songs, all of which are healthy in moderation. Honoring the dead has been around for so long, it's part of what makes us human. Recently, the practice of memorializing the dead has spread from the arts, religion, and ceremonial burial to video games.

Outland: A Polarizing Experience

Sticking with our theme of XBLA games with uninspiring names, we have Outland. This game shares its name with an unrelated sci-fi cult film from 1981, unrelated comic strip from the '90s, and unrelated region in World of Warcraft. Didn't exactly try hard to build name recognition. Other than that, Finnish developer Housemarque has created the best 2D platformer I've seen in years.

News: Stories This Week in My Balloon Animals World

First off, let's explain the story that inspired the phot I'm using for the post. Friday night, restaurant gig at Vallartas Mexican Restaurant in Lutz/Land O' Lakes, and I was making balloons for all the children throughout the evening. As I'm about halfway through my shift, I approach a table with two little girls (and their parents). One girl was about 6 with straight blond hair and the second girl, like pictured, had the most adorable little blond ringlets bouncing around her face as she g...

News: 5 Ways You Can Help Japan's Tsunami Victims Right Now, From Your Couch

A devastating tragedy occurred in Japan on Friday when a monstrous 8.9-magnitude quake hit, causing a 10 meter (33 foot) tsunami to engulf the northeastern coast of the country. There are reports of over 1,000 people who have lost their lives, tens of thousands evacuated, and massive damage. Whether you have a lot or a little to give, here are five ways you can aid in the relief effort this very moment, without even leaving your couch.

News: It's Not an Interview, It's a Sales Pitch

One of the common mistakes I see a lot of candidates make when they go to an interview is that they think it is a question and answer session. They approach the interview with a mindset that their role is to be prepared to answer a bevy of questions thrown at them. This puts you in a passive role, playing defense. A much more effective approach is to go into the interview with the mindset that you are a salesperson, and the product you are selling is you. You want to convince the employer tha...

HowTo: Top 10 Avatar Halloween Costumes

Below, 10 step-by-step instructional videos for transforming yourself into a Na'vi being this Halloween. Step 1: Choose your favorite Avatar look from the list below. Step 2: Apply your chosen look. Step 3: For the dedicated fans with (more than a little) time on their hands, learn the Na'vi language and your transformation is complete!

News: The Wonderful World of the CALF

What is the best way to level up? My answer to you is all about the calves! They're all over the feed, free to collect, and usually easy to get as there are 10 per post available. I've been collecting calves for a a long time now, because they have the best coin collect rate per day, but tonight I did some more math that proves their awesomeness!

News: Kizeme

Kizeme This Japanese word, kizeme, means "spirit of attack." It is said of Miyamoto Musashi, the famed Japanese swordsman, that as he grew older he relied more on kizeme to defeat adversaries and, as a result, emerged victorious from challenges without taking the life of his opponent.

News: Let's Get To Cookin' !

So you love the idea of delicious dinners from farmers market finds, but that idea isn't going to cook itself! Maybe your mama was one hot Italian lady but she only knew how to push the power button on the microwave. No matter the challenge or limitation have no fear, local cooking classes are here to help. Here is a list of some great classes that come highly recommended from friends across the country. So put down that take out menu and pick up your phone and get to cookin! Happy Eating!

News: May feels like November

A November release week in May It used to be that games marked to be blockbusters (expected to sell more than a million in their first month) would always be released during the holiday September to December season. November was always the month companies chose to release their best game. This release model worked fine until the last few years, when too many games were being released in November and companies started to see diminishing returns on their titles because of the release rush.

News: A Small Look at Aquaria

A look at Aquaria Last week I made a post about the Humble Indie Bundle (http://www.wolfire.com/humble). It's a small online charaty drive where you could buy five indie games for any price you wanted.

L4D2: The Port Finale

L4D2: The Port Finale The Third Chapter in The Passing is the Port Finale. It's similar to the Dead Center finale, where you have to gather gas cans spread throughout the map and fuel the generator to lower the bridge.

News: Levon Helm Bustin' Out the Nitty-Gritty Mud Beats

Levon Helm... The longtime drummer for The Band , Levon Helm wore many musical hats throughout his long career, including multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, impressario, studio owner, studio engineer and producer. He grew up working on a farm in Arkansas; his first instrument was guitar, which he began playing at ag eight, but after seeing the F.S. Walcott Rabbits Foot Minstrels, he decided to ...

IPsec Tools of the Trade: Don't Bring a Knife to a Gunfight

Pull up outside any construction site and you'll see tools scattered about—hammers, jigsaws, nail guns, hydraulic pipe benders—these are the tools of the trade. You would be hard-pressed to build a home or office building with just your hands! On that same page, security professionals also have their own go-to tools that they use on the job site, only their job site is your server.

News: Welcome to Edit on a Dime

Video Introduction to Edit on a Dime. Hey there, Interwebs and welcome to Edit on a Dime, your community for reviews, tutorials and news in the world of free and low cost creative tools. The purpose of this World is to make your video, audio and images look professional without costing you professional money.

News: Kaplan University's Visionary Voices–A Collection of Ideas on Continuing Educa

Kaplan University presents Visionary Voices, a series of interviews that chronicle our goals in regards to adult education and continuing education throughout your life. Kaplan University offers online degree programs designed to expand the way you think and help you develop both personally and professionally. Students turn to us to develop their critical thinking skills, to challenge and prepare them for successful careers.*

News: Indie Games Hit the Red Carpet at the IndieCade Awards

Last Thursday, on October 7th, indie game developers from around the world walked down a red carpet in Santa Monica, California in the hopes of winning an IndieCade award. We previously discussed the IndieCade festival and conference, but the award show is a smaller, more inclusive event that provides finalists the opportunity to see their project on stage with rewards by sponsors such as LG, who presented this year’s ceremony.

News: Friday Indie Game Review Roundup: Pennies, Alliances, and Choices

Like a great acting performance, making a really good game is all about choices. While creating or playing a game, those involved have to constantly make small choices that will affect the outcome, either positively or negatively. And the only thing worse than choosing wrongly is not choosing at all. Too many games, especially today, stick to what they're supposed to do from the get-go and avoid making difficult, small, meaningful choices to differentiate themselves and make their performance...

News: Child Molesters and Sexy Fighters: A Study of Video Game Commercials

The Kinect for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move might be fun to play with, but people do not look very cool while they're doing it. Air guitar is not particularly flattering (even if done on stage), and neither is air-anything else, as pleasurable as it might be. This is why I find it strange that a group of admen somewhere in the world think these kinds of commercials would appeal to anyone.

News: Friday Indie Game Review Roundup: Turn-Based Storytelling for 2 Players

What's more fun? Winning against your friends or winning against others with them? It's an age old question, and in video games, the former one-on-one multiplayer has been the norm. But cooperative multiplayer has made a comeback, with Halo and Diablo II starting the trend, the first mainstream shooters and RPGs with great co-op modes. And now good local and multilplayer co-op games are available in almost every genre.

News: Birds as the Ultimate DIY Architects

The widely used expression "free as a bird" intimates an enviable existence: delicate, yet mighty wings transporting to destinations no human could so breezily venture. But despite their fanciful, superhero ability, in truth, the avian race leads one of the most difficult existences in the animal kingdom. Yes, birds have existed for eons—they likely evolved from small dinosaurs of the Jurassic period—but for these creatures, life can be ruthless.

Metro 2033: Life

What separates Metro 2033 from other FPS games? Life. There are underground towns, markets, children, music, and so much background chatter than sometimes you can't single out a particular conversation.

News: Seido and The Shadow

Not long ago in Rome during a Master’s Tennis Tournament something remarkable happened. In a tightly contested game, American Andy Roddick challenged a linesman’s call on a ball hit by his opponent. The remarkable thing about this incident was that Roddick argued against his own interest. He insisted that the opponent’s ball had landed inside the line and that he, Roddick, should NOT be awarded the point. Spectators applauded as if they’d witnessed a miracle. Imagine! Sportsmanship in a profe...