In Which I Cheer On A Cool Idea

Plusoneme's time has come; life is a game
And all of us do play it. When we score
Folks should acknowledge it, if not by name
At least by handle. Whether it's a chore
Appreciated, a performance that
One's much admir'd or one wants to thank
In public fashion one who went to bat
For someone's fav'rite cause, bump up his rank
By one in any category. I
Have boosted some already. Thanks to Jane
McGonigal for sharing this; I spy
A lot of ways to use it, in the main.
Did someone show some awesome lately? Go
And take a moment now, to let him know!

BarPG: Hobgobthropology

Repurposing a corpse is what we learn
As soon as we can walk or speak HobGob.
How best to render corpse-oil for to burn
In ribcage-lanterns -- or to do a job
Of lubricating hinges. How to chuck
A severed head to kill or just distract
A concentrating foe takes more than luck;
Indeed, no Hob should fail because he lacked
A tool that could be made from dead folks' bones
Or teeth or hair or dangly bits. A bit
Of sharp corpse-jerky, thrown with skill, alone
Can kill a fresh supply of parts, then it
Is just a matter of some time and thought
(But not so much the raw materials rot).

In Which I Muse On IFComp 2010

It's voting time in this year's contest, and
There still are games I haven't played, but that
Won't stop me rating what I did. Some bland,
Some very near unplayable (Oh, drat!),
And some that started strong but finished poor -
These I shall not call out here, but of those
I've played and liked, I'd say there's three or four
Which stand out. Some have had scenarios
Beyond inventive; others made me laugh;
Still others challenged, in the best of ways,
My faculties. While there's a bit more chaff
Than I'd expected (I'm new to this craze),
That makes the good ones shine.
Now one more game with Paul, then vote by nine!

In Which My Aotearoa Vacation Lives Up To Expectations

New Zealand, were it full of dinosaurs,

Unspoilt, exotic - some of that is true,

And while this year has thrown a lot of bores

At judges, I played this game right on through.

Aotearoa, chock full of charm

And creatures one must placate and befriend,

And clear allies and enemies. My warm

And most sincere regard to Wigdahl! When

He made this game he clearly took all pains:

There's atmosphere, a story, goals, and -- yes! --

A lack of bugs. It starts slow, but it gains

In intrigue once the boat is left. I'd guess

That this will be the winner. If it's not

I wonder what there's left that's near as hot!

Sonnet Review: Gigantomania

I like ambitious games, and this one brought
More than a little literary flair.
Gigantomania soon had me caught
Within the gears of Stalinism. There,
I played first as a farmer, then a brute
Stuck making steel, a Politboro type,
And Stalin at the last -- as his acute
And incoherent madness came to light
Amidst a chess game, I soon grew annoyed
(Not just because I couldn't interact
In meaningful ways). Till then, I'd enjoyed
The bleakness and dilemmas, and, in fact
I praise it for these, though I'm sure my friends
Went into it for somewhat diff'rent ends.

The Warbler's Nest

A peasant woman, searching through the reeds

Begins this interactive fairy tale.

One isn't sure at first just what she needs

Except for eggshells. This one's modest scale --

Just four "rooms" -- seems a limit, but within

This tight parameters, a story's told

Of faeries, changelings, temptation to sin

And possible redemption. I'm left cold,

Though by some game mechanics: "search" and "look"

(Or, if you like, "examine") often are

Just interchangeable, but this game's hook

Depends on using both. You won't' get far

Just using one. The Warbler's Nest, for me,

Gets decent marks; so far in my top three.

Sonneteer's note: If you find yourself playing a lot of these games I'm reviewing during the 2010 Interactive Fiction Competition, check out the competition as a whole and vote. There are more games than I'm getting around to sonnetizing.

The People's Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure Game

I like a laugh when I fire up a game,
And I'm a serious Marx Brothers fan,
So, though it's got a most unwieldy name
For sonnetizing, I will say the span
Of time spent playing passes pleasantly
As one goes forth to stir up discontent
Amongst the masses (Played in company
Such as I had, it's even better), meant
To choose Red over other hues, one finds
A to-do list of challenges, each one
To win the people's hearts and sometimes minds.
The toys you get to use are lots of fun,
And though it's communism you must spread,
You're forcing Groucho quoting in its stead.

12:54 To Asgard

A funny way to die begins this game,

And there are funny quips along the way

About a leak, one's pique -- more I'll not name,

Forgoing spoilers, but I have to say,

This game wants leaps of logic I can't make.

Each turnstile leads me to a realm where I

Must do something I can't intuit, take

An object I would never keep, or try

To pair ideas that don't match up that well.

I'm frustrated and bored, and many things

I'm told I see are suddenly not there

When I try to investigate. This brings

Me to my point: I cannot recommend

This IFComp game to a foe or friend.

In Which We Happily Reprogram One Another

The list just grows; we're all compelled to share

What we love with our chosen family

Of course we want the source code, well aware

That we can do it, too. This week must be

The one most overwhelming info-dump:

Read this, watch that, you'll love it, add it to

Your list. When we're apart, you'll feel a lump

Rise in your throat, but really, working through

This subculture we've just created here

Will ease it. What has formed me now shall cross

The barriers between us, never fear!

We're always just a thought away. Though loss

Is how we came together we all gain.

It's wonderful to share a heart and brain.

Tweet

In Which I Get My Lamp!

You're in a cave, it's dark, what will you do?
GET LAMP, that's what! This film both made me smile
And stirred old wistfulness; the timeline through
Which we are taken largely took place while
Computers were unheard of where I dwelt
(Excepting those typesetting beasts employed
By newspapers). You'd best believe I felt
Deprived as I read how others enjoyed
Computer gaming in those early days,
How stories weren't just read but lived by those
Who solved their puzzles in ingenious ways,
How smart people were having fun! "But," crows
My fav'rite pusher "It is not too late!
(I paraphrase)" And thus he's sealed my fate.

Atomic Robo: In Which I Make A Plea For A Wish To Come True

Last week, while I enjoyed a casual chat
With Brian Clevinger (such is the pow'r
Of Twitter), he did casually mention that
Atomic Robo soon would have its hour
In gaming! Old school pen-and-paper play!
And Savage Worlds was in the running as
The system! This hath prompted me to say
"Hell yes! You must!" for all that each one has
Could but enhance the other. Both contain
Potential for high pulp, ever fulfilled.
The game frankly encourages the main
Conceit the comic offers: you can build
A weapon, but instead, why not a man
Of metal, full of humor and a plan?

In Which I Decline (Respectfully) To Let The Lost Finale Dictate My Evening Plans

I busted hump to catch up on the show,
Watched Seasons Five and Six in just two weeks.
I guess that makes a fan of me, although
That I got so behind, perhaps, well, speaks
To finding LOST good fun but not a must
(Though this year it has pulped it up quite well:
Old temples, deathless Romans, a robust
Trade in new characters, a rising swell
Of screechy violins, and, can't forget,
Schroedinger's dudes and time travl'ers galore!).
Unlike you all, whose ev'ning plans were set
When the finale date was, I'll ignore
Its being on tonight; I'm tempted by
Much rarer fare than TV can supply.

In Which I Lose My Mind But Gain More Time Sinks

I'm told I have a tendency to spin

Scenarios with little data, so

I should not be surprised that I am in,

Hip-deep, a new obsession. We all know

I'm prone to those as well, so, no surprise

When someone turned me on to these new games,

These interactive fictions, a few tries

Had me quite hooked. Rejoicing in such names

As "Jigsaw", "Edifice" and "Fragile Shells"

And puzzling me at ev'ry turn, these things

Have eaten up my brain for longer spells

Than any have in months. It's running rings

'Round bad TV and neuroscience class

In my obsession race. I hope to pass!

In Which The IsoCore Shall Have A Western Brother

This looks more like a spaceship flown by Borg

Than a computer, I'm first to admit.

Ere my laptop is shipped off to the morgue,

Though, I must poise to replace it.

I want one to play games on and to keep

Ungodly files of media, and that suits

My strange aesthetic, so I shall go deep

Into the hardware catalog: the roots

Of PC architecture I know well,

Though it's been fourteen years since last I built

A new computer, I say what the hell,

And lo shall I go at the plan full-tilt.

I've chosen a processor and a case

As you may see above. So starts the chase!

In Which I Squee For Star Trek Online

A tiny box of squee arrived today,

Star Trek Online, a time sink nonpareil

I'm sure, or will be when I get to play

(Th'initial patch is taking quite a while;

Release day and the fanboys and fangirls

Are signing on in droves to make their start).

Oh, my delight when the first screen unfurls,

You'll surely hear from far away. My heart

Is full. An MMORPG's not

A thing I've ever played; this is the first

I've wanted to. It's Star Trek, though! That's hot!

And even if as games go it's the worst

E'en so shall I play till I hurt my wrist

Unto the point I cannot make a fist.

In Which Distance Becomes Even More Meaningless

Most of my friends don't live here in Cheyenne,
But I still may pass entire days with them.
The internet is chiefly why I can,
That and a cell phone (what I have's a gem!).
In Saratoga Erin, graciously
Engaged in conversation, geeking out
And, of course, playing games with silly me
On Facebook. We are even on our bout
As these scant lines emerge, but we're mid-game
On number three, is all. How wonderful
That she has this free time, and she will spend
So much with me, in telepresence. Pull
Me from my dreary day? Well, I'll say yes!
And give all thanks that I've found Facebook chess!

In Which Al Bruno III Ripens Some

I knew him first just as one Ab3,
An author of a Binder, lo, of Shame.
Such lore of gaming horror could not be
Quite real, I told myself, as I became
A devotee of misadventures like
The Achy Breaky Mythos. "Funny" does
Not e'en come close; today these tales still strike
Right home; my eyes tear up! But all that was
Long years ago. These days he's pioneered
Five-second fiction, sick and wrong and great,
The Third Al Bruno has, and I have cheered
Each new bit of his novel. Lo, that fate
Should bring his lurker, me, to be his friend!
Oh, happy birthday, Al! Days without end!

BONUS SONNET: In Which I Try To Win A Poster For Duncan Jones' MOON Movie

I do declare: the geekiest of things
On my agenda's writing sonnets on
Assorted geekeries. The joy this brings
Is glorious. I haven't yet withdrawn
From any challenge: write on Battlestar
Galactica with Peanuts characters?
On watching telescope repair afar?
On building Magic decks and how this stirs
Imagination more than playing does?
On taking Mom and Dad to see Star Trek
And what a great experience it was?
To these and more I have said what the heck,
Poured out my love in merely fourteen lines.
And in this task all that I love combines.

Yes, I've Deformed My Schedule for Midnight Magic Madness

I've lived this day just slightly inside-out,
This day I call my second Saturday
(In pref'rence to first Sunday). I'm without
The means with which to mend my disarray
As twighlight gleams its last out in the west.
That's not to say I simply stayed in bed,
As my supportive parents did suggest
(Supposing that I'd ache today in head
And body from the prior night's debauch).
I rose and did some things I had to do,
At noon I spent, according to my watch
At least an hour on signing papers, too.
But then I napped, and soon will nap again.
At midnight I must play a game or ten.

This Sonnet Will Make No Sense if You Don't Play Magic

It is the day before a tournament
Which will require I bring a standard deck.
I've several; but none that represent
A winning chance for me, but what the heck?
My favorite is all in blue and green,
But for a blue it lacks somewhat in tricks,
And has a lot of creatures; none too mean.
I have a day or so to try to fix
What I have got. I like it for the fun
Of Slippery Bogle and his wacky ilk.
But as I look through now I have begun
To see this deck's as menacing as milk.
It's out of date, too, mostly Eventide.
But do I play for fun, or play for pride?