Bates Motel w/Jo Pincushion from Reel 9 Productions on Vimeo.

Halloween is my favorite time of year! The weather changes, the leaves turn, and a good horror movie is the only way to spend a Friday night. What I especially love about this season is the haunted houses. Pennsylvania is home to some of the industry’s top haunts. So, I decided to show Geekadelphia where they need to go to get a good scare!

My first stop is The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Gradyville PA. The Bates Motel has been running since 1991, and has been ranked the best Hayride in the United States numerous times. This Hayride has pyrotechnics, animatronics, and actors that actually jump into your wagon. This isn’t you’re mother’s hayride—this fully charged experience has been bringing thousands of people from the Philadelphia area for years.

Not only does this haunt have a killer hayride, but it also showcases a terrifying Corn Maze and Haunted House. The Corn Maze has a few new features this year—like a Circus Themed clown covered cavern, and a undead Saloon. The detail in these two elements of the Corn Maze are truly amazing, not to mention utterly petrifying! The Haunted House has some sweet features as well! If you want to really scream your head off –I suggest going through the Haunted House in the front of your group.

Some more helpful tips for enjoying your time at The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride

1. Don’t wait in line! Grab a VIP pass for only $60 on the weekdays, $75 on the weekends!
2. Wear comfortable footgear! This haunt is located on a farm, so don’t think you can show up to this thing in high heels and walk around like it’s nothing.
3. Wear layers! The later in October, the colder it gets. You want to shake from fear—not lack of circulation.

Have you ever been to The Bates Motel? Comment below with your favorite attraction and how is scared the ba-Jesus out of you. You could win a T-Shirt!

Go to the Bates Motel’s official website for more information and operation hours. Special thanks to Reel 9 Productions and LaSalle University for helping me put together this segment. Photography provided by Beth Salazar.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Spoiler Alert: None of these are on the list

Over the last ten years, we all have become vastly dependant upon technologies that are still considerably in their infancy. For some of you, staying “plugged in” to new technology is necessary to operate your businesses, communicate with friends and family or make your daily routine more convenient.

Could you fathom not being able to browse the web from the palm of your hand? What about relying on cassette tapes or CD walkmans for your portable music needs? Would you still use a VCR to record your favorite television programs?

Take a moment and imagine your life without things like MP3 players, DVR’s and smart phones. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there once was a time without these gadgets. Now that we are more than half way into 2010, I’m taking the time to take a look back at some of the gadgets that defined my decade.

Apple iPod (2001)

Released back in October 2001, Apple’s iPod revolutionized how the world would listen to music for the next decade. With it’s posh white casing, scrolling wheel and simple interface, it was a must have during the 2001 holiday season. Sure there were MP3 players on the market before the iPod but none were as easy to use or hip enough to carry around.

The iPod grabbed everyone’s attention and the age of the MP3 was upon us. Apple capitalized on this success monetizing it in the form of the iTunes Music Store. With extensive mobile functionality, prominent product placement and advertising, Apple had successfully redefined portable music for this generation and for years to come.

TiVo (2002)

It seemed like overnight that a little box known as TiVo made all of our VCR’s and television video recording devices obsolete.

TiVo’s first digital video recording (DVR) device was released in 1999 but really started gaining steam in 2002 with the release of the Series2 unit. It provided a way to allow a viewer to record television programming for viewing on demand. These programs were stored on a hard drive located inside the device and featured a user-friendly interface with reasonable pricing that appealed to the masses.

TiVo also pioneered a way to suggest television programming based on the viewing habits of its viewer. Satellite and cable providers have now jumped onto the DVR bandwagon and offer similar features with their monthly subscription based packages. However, we tend to forget that it all started with a little, charming device named TiVo.

More Below!

Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005)

With over 34 million units sold to this day, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has become the standard in console and online gaming.

Pouring out its luscious graphics in full 1080p HD resolution, the Xbox 360 redefined gaming at home. Beating the PS3 and Nintendo Wii to the market really helped establish the Xbox 360 as the pinnacle in next-generation gaming. 2008 and 2009 saw Microsoft’s game catalog balloon with titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Gears of War and Halo 3.

With continued support for Xbox Live’s online gaming, Netflix streaming, DVD functionality and more exclusive game titles on the horizon, I don’t see Microsoft’s juggernaut slowing down any time soon.

Apple iPhone (2007)

Every time Apple releases a new gadget, the world seems to stop for a few moments and take notice.

In January 2007, the first iPhone was officially unveiled and transformed mobile phones, as we knew it. In lines across the country at local retail Apple stores, people waited patiently in line to get their hands on this must-have gadget. The iPhone became not just a revolutionary phone but also a status symbol. It made your friend’s mobile phone look passé and uninteresting.

Apple’s beautiful device sported a vibrant 3.5-inch touch-friendly LCD screen, digital camera and a sleek design. With over 30 million sold, the iPhone has virtually changed the way we look at mobile phones going into the new decade.

Have picks of your own? Sound off in the replies!

In today’s comic roundup, we take a look at Red Robin #18 (Fabian Nicieza and Marcus To), New Avengers #7 (Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen), and lastly the Octopus Pie collection, Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars In Brooklyn (Meredith Gran).

Enjoy!

Red Robin #18
By Fabian Nicieza and Marcus To

Red Robin was a series I initially didn’t care for. I bought the first three issues, was massively unimpressed and promptly dropped the book. But with a new creative team and all the attention the Batman family of books is getting with the launch of Batman Inc., I decided to give Tim Drake another shot, especially since the writer is Fabian Nicieza, one of my favorites.

See, Nicieza writes comics the way they should be written; as a single, long story. Sure, he breaks everything into neat, trade paperback ready bits, but there is an overall narrative there. If you read a Nicieza book, like Thunderbolts for example, from his first issue to his last, you get one complete story. Grant Morrison has a similar style, and it is one that has been sadly lost in recent years. But you can see that this is what Nicieza is doing with Red Robin. Tim is off to Russia, setting up another branch of his youth group The Neon Knights and has run in with not only Red Star but a new hero/villain named Promise. Within all of that we see small subplots begin to develop with his assistant Tam and his new super hacker ally MoneySpider. All in all, great stuff.

More below!

But great stuff would only be good stuff if the art was so-so. With Marcus To doing pencils, that is not the case here. To’s art uses clean lines and clear storytelling that make reading Red Robin a pleasure. Plus, he can actually meet a deadline. Remarkable in this day and age of late books and fill-in pencils (see Bird’s of Prey). Ray McCarthy and Guy Major complement the pencils perfectly and make for a visual treat.

Red Robin is a Batman book that might have fallen under the radar recently. Like me, you may want to give the book a second look.

Final Grade: B+

—

New Avengers #7
By Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen

After all the fun and drama of the first New Avengers arc, issue #7 is a nice change of pace. The New Avengers sit down, have a meal and hire a nanny (no kidding!)

Seriously, nothing much happens in the issue. It acts as an epilogue to the first arc and begins to set up who The New Avengers are and their supporting cast. As such, it has some of the funniest dialogue I have read in a comic book. The two page spread of interviewees for the nanny job literally had me rolling on the ground in hysterics. For me, these are the type of issues where Bendis shines. The man has a knack for smart, funny dialogue that doesn’t always fit in a book like Secret Invasion or Siege, but here it is perfect. The art by Immonen and Von Grawbadger is solid, if nothing fancy. It is the colors by Laura Martin are what really makes the art shine.

The only problem I have with the book is the cast. It is just too big. You have 7 Avengers, 4 major supporting cast members and numerous others. The book is starting to feel a bit like The Legion of Super-Heroes rather than The Avengers. But Bendis has shown he can handle a large cast, so I’ll give him some slack, for now.

Overall New Avengers #7 is a fun, enjoyable issue. Worth $3.99? Not by a long shot, but that is the price we pay to read comics nowadays.

Final Grade: B

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Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars In Brooklyn
By Meredith Gran

Octopus Pie has long been one of my favorite webcomics. It has a quirky style that stands out among webcomics and the stories that Gran weaves with her cast are comical and touching. I was about ready to order one of the self-published volumes when she announced that a new collection would be coming from Random House. There Are No Stars In Brooklyn would collect the first two years of the strip in one volume and be available in bookstores. “Finally” I thought, “webcomics are getting some respect from the mainstream press!” I placed my order and waited for my book to arrive.

The book itself is a very well done tome. It collects all the early storylines (including Skate or Don’t, my personal favorite) in addition to a new exclusive story in a 252 page package. The paper stock is very nice and the book has a cover that really should be a print. The only thing I didn’t care for was that all the strips are printed in this off green color, instead of the original greytones. Personally, I would have preferred the originals, but maybe I’m in the minority.

Unfortunately, I must not be. Gran recently announced on her site that Random House has decided to pass on doing a second collection of Octopus Pie. Apparently sales were not what they thought they would be. This is a shame, because the book belongs on any comic book fans shelf, right along side Penny Arcade and PvP.

That being said, there is good news. Gran has announced that her next, self-published book would be out in February and copies of There Are No Stars In Brooklyn are still available form her store. Of course, the comic itself still updates online three times a week. But if you are like me and still like the feeling of dead trees in your hands, I could not recommend this book more.

Final Grade: A

Welcome to Dialog Tree, where we discuss the finer topics concerning video games, technology and other issues your less geeky friends care not to talk about. So, let’s have a dialog, shall we? Have questions or something you’d like to see discussed? Let us know in the comments!

The joint CEOs of Bioware admitted this week that their claim to RPG fame, Baldur’s Gate, was dangerously close to being one of the first true MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games). Pitched to publishers as Battleground: Infinity, the game revolved around gods of all mythologies and was extremely ambitious, according to joint-CEO Ray Muzyka’s comment during a panel at GDC Europe.

It wasn’t until Muzyka and joint-CEO Greg Zeschuck brought the grandiose idea to Interplay that they were suggested to bring the game’s engine into the Dungeons and Dragons universe and forget that MMO nonsense. However, what if Bioware decided to keep the MMO elements within Baldur’s Gate? 

Baldur's Gate: one of the greatest could-have-been-an-MMOs of all time.

This isn’t the time to wax philosophic about what a Baldur’s Gate MMO would have been like, but to ask an even more important question. How would audiences respond to such an adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons? We sort of know the answer today with success stories like Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, but many forget that DDO: Stormreach — its original release complete with subscription fee — wasn’t exactly brimming with life before Turbine turned it into a free-to-play title.

While there are several possible factors that could have played into DDO: Stormreach’s then-imminent exodus, MMO failures generally are an issue of worth versus cost. In other words, does said game warrant said amount of dollars per month? If DDO: Stormreach in its original form was providing a valuable return on investment, Turbine probably wouldn’t have turned to the free-to-play model (something that before then was unheard of outside of Nexon’s localizations of its Asian F2P games).

Regardless of whether you agree with Turbine’s motivations to enter the F2P arena, there is an important lesson to be learned here. Video game adaptations of beloved franchises are a risky business already, but what about MMOs?

It sure looks like Star Wars, but does it feel like Star Wars?

It seems flawless, doesn’t it? There can’t possibly be too much to mess up when you’re merely allowing fans of ‘X’ franchise live in its world. According to recent history, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. With titles like Matrix Online recently suffering a shutdown and others like Star Wars Galaxies addled by constant, gut-wrenching changes, adapting heavily canonized franchises is highly ambitious and dangerous territory.

Every time an MMO based off an existing franchise is announced, various forums and comment pages are set aflame by both excitement and lament. It seems as if some of us are jaded by previous MMO adaptations regardless of their turnout. I can’t imagine what the hot flames of nerd rage were like when Star Trek Online or Lord of the Rings Online (LoTRO) were announced, both of which have seen moderate to runaway success.

In short, can an MMO adaptation of a popular franchise ruin audience perception of said property? Of course, but if successful adaptations are to say anything to this issue, the problem goes beyond fanboy and girl culture. It speaks volumes to game design.

The number one reason MMOs of existing franchises fail isn’t because the worlds they create aren’t accurate canonically. While it may seem shallow, it’s all about aesthetics. If the world that’s created doesn’t feel like the one it’s trying to emulate, then its chances of success are slim to none.

The reason why titles like LoTRO, WoW and Final Fantasy XI are so successful is because taking part in the world truly feels like you’re a part of that universe. Everything that surrounds you in Azeroth or Middle Earth from the environments to the characters and dialog feels like the games and novels that came before them.

There is a lot to say to the inexplicable feeling of life that these worlds create and even more to say to what goes into creating such feeling.  Considering Bioware created one of the most successful adaptations of Dungeons and Dragons’ Forgotten Realms universe, I wouldn’t have Baldur’s Gate any other way.

Welcome to Dialog Tree, where we still discuss the finer topics concerning video games, technology and other issues you’re less geeky friends care not to talk about — we just decided upon a better fitting title. So, let’s have a dialog, shall we? Have questions or something you’d like to see discussed? Let us know in the comments!

Aggregame, a social platform for video games, released the results of a year-long study of gamer’s tweets in the form of a neat looking infograph. Clearly inspired by tag clouds that visualize the popularity of tags used in blog posts (the larger the word, the more frequent the tag), Aggregame’s infographic states some of the obvious while revealing some provocative information about what motivates us to play video games aside from the fact that they’re just plain fun.

Some say that Twitter is a collective storm of mindless dribble, but look closely and you’ll find some trends that are telling about our culture’s attitude toward games, but more importantly the human psyche. For example, while it’s clear that the console wars have invaded the Twitter stream, frugality has not (Note: Aggregame’s study does not provide the context in which each tweet was twitted, these are purely inferences).

The words “sale” and “deal” appear, but are miniscule compared to buzz words like “trailer,” “beta” and “E3.” This serves to prove Twitter’s position as one of the ultimate hype tools for the industry, but don’t count out your fellow gamers as mere cogs, leaping behind the hottest new title (“Halo” is nearly as large as “Xbox” here) just yet.

“Live,” “dead” and “life” have been some of the most popular topics on Twitter for the last year when it comes to games, larger than nearly every buzz word and mention of a specific title aside from the unstoppable Halo. It seems as if Twitter is acting as an outlet for the collective unconscious — Carl Jung’s theory that  global society could be collectively thinking about the same things, though these thoughts are suppressed in the individual subconscious. But how does this apply to gamers?

Demon's Souls' gameplay revolves around the concept of death.

Death in video games  is something that frustrates and upsets us, yet in most cases it’s a necessary evil (this word showed up on Aggregame’s graphic as well). Games that try to suppress the pressure of death get backlash for it such as Ubisoft’s attempt to re-imagine the Prince of Persia franchise. Yet, death is one of the most stressful aspects of a video game.

The difficulty level of video games has been a point of contention for some time, which at times is directly connected to how easy or difficult it is to die in said games. Why is Demon’s Souls both acclaimed and bashed for it’s punishing approach to death?

Perhaps games, in their short existence compared to other media, have become an ideal tool for expressing and exploring what nags the back of society’s collective mind constantly: death. It’s the unknown that generally frightens us and what do we know less about than death, other than the fact that it happens?

Religions formed in the earliest civilizations and still exist to attempt to explain it, the school of philosophy has tried logical means of explaining death.  Media such as music and literature attempted to explore it abstractly and still do. Along came the video game, a medium that we could interact with and have it respond. Perhaps what motivates us to play them is the collective unconscious screaming out at games, demanding answers.

Death is rarely talked about outside of jokes, deep conversation and condolences. Perhaps after dealing with it for so long in the virtual space, gamers are coming closer to discussing death openly and inviting others to explore one of the most pressing topics our minds struggle with daily (beneath the surface, of course). Or, maybe it just pisses us off and we want to let off some steam.

Welcome to Dialog Tree (formerly known as Coffee Talk), where we still discuss the finer topics concerning video games, technology and other issues you’re less geeky friends care not to talk about — we just decided upon a better fitting title. So, let’s have a dialog, shall we? Have questions or something you’d like to see discussed? Let us know in the comments!

Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma admitted to the existence of an official timeline for the Legend of Zelda series, but it’s a secret. Only Aonuma, Shigeru Miyamoto (we would hope he was involved) and the director of the title, Hidemaro Fujibayashi have seen the classified document. Surely this confirmation has sent  Zelda fans raving, not to mention that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will take place before Ocarina of Time. Considering the critically acclaimed title has been the chronological anchor to which every other Zelda release has been attached to, this is hug– wait, since when is all of this nonsense relevant?

This image is heavily cropped. Just let that sink in.

While all of this speculation might be in good fun, this equivalent to Einstein’s theory of relativity is downright ridiculous. Unlike complex plots within shows like Lost or movies such as the new hype machine Inception, whether Game A happened before Game B has little to no relevance to the enjoyment of the Zelda franchise.

It’s not as if players are being rewarded for all of their speculation, theory craft and research in the same vein as scrutinizing the plot in Lost (I’d go so far as to say we weren’t rewarded handsomely for that either). The experience of a Zelda game, quite frankly, is too beautifully simple for that.

Regardless of the sequence of events or whether the Link in question is hereditary tied to the original Link, Skyward Sword will most likely be structured in the same way Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past and nearly every Zelda title was before it. The only situation in which the sequence of events would matter is if each title followed the same characters in an iterative plot  (Nintendo was nearly on the right track with Majora’s Mask being a somewhat direct sequel).

That’s enough of the Zelda nerdery (sort of). Here’s a scenario: if on the outset Miyamoto made an announcement stating that, similar to the Final Fantasy franchise, each Zelda game is a reiteration of Hyrule and has little to no relevance to the title before it, would it affect how you perceive Link, Zelda and Ganondorf so strongly that you might lose interest? Would it change the way you approach exploring the land and its usual 11 dungeons and final castle (whether that design is stale is for another discussion entirely)?

After 25 years of guessing, speculating and creating an obscenely massive JPG, nothing Miyamoto nor Aonuma will reveal about this timeline will either satisfy those who are interested or change anything about how Zelda games are enjoyed — at least how that enjoyment pertains to each individual release. Link’s adventures will still be enthralling and sprawling, Hyrule will still be as vast as it is lively and Ganondorf will still be one of the greatest video game villains of all time.

Next time you enter Hyrule as our favorite elf in pajamas, try to ignore any mentions of “The Hero of Time” (this is all your fault, Nintendo). Pretend that this Link is the only Link and you’re adventure in Hyrule is the first of its kind. See how it affects your enjoyment of the game. Unless, of course, you wash up on the shore of an unfamiliar island. Then, you’re probably just dreaming anyway.

Welcome to Geekadelphia’s weekly discussion column, Coffee Talk, where we talk about the finer topics concerning video games, technology and all the other things you can’t talk about with your slightly-less-geeky friends. Have questions or suggestions? Send an email to geekadelphia@gmail.com or tweet with us. Follow me on Twitter if you’d like to keep this week’s discussion alive.

The most promising future of video games isn’t on consoles anymore, says Bioware co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk to Eurogamer. This is somewhat odd considering the developer has created some of the greatest console and PC RPGs to date.

What Zeschuk seems to mean by this statement isn’t that consoles are doomed to irrelevance, but that new services like Facebook’s gaming platform and mobile gaming are where the expansion will take place. And I kind of agree.

This is Pocket Legends' UI on the iPhone. A little cramped, but impressive.

Whether we like it, mobile gaming is taking off (as if it wasn’t there the whole time). Bioware, according to Zeschuk, sees a future in fully featured MMOs on the mobile platforms. To  be honest, with games like Phantasy Star Zero and Pocket Legends, we’re really damn close.

If developers like Square Enix can squeeze lengthy titles with quality visuals into the iPhone platform right now, imagine what developers could do within the next five years (not to mention we’ll at least be holding six generation iPhones by then). However, there is one barrier to entry for Zeschuk’s vision of rich MMO experiences on mobile devices: controls.

If you’ve ever played an MMO you know exactly what I’m referring to. These types of games have some of the most complex UIs of any genre (well, maybe not). Unfortunately, this is essentially a necessary evil. The breadth and depth of the features and tools within these online time sinks wouldn’t be possible if not backed by UIs that equal them.

And to house a fully featured MMO, the platform requires a certain amount of screen real estate that mobile platforms simply cannot match. Jeez, it’s hard enough playing Doom on the iPhone with two virtual buttons on the screen.

However, the only reason that a full-scale MMO hasn’t appeared on the mobile gaming or social platforms is because no one has tried it yet to my knowledge. It only takes one of these teams of genius programmers and designers to make it happen (hint: multi-touch and gesture controls) and since only one of us at Geekadelphia is any position to create said game, I think I can wait.

… And we’re back (sorry folks, was busy with graduating)! Welcome to Geekadelphia’s weekly discussion column, Coffee Talk, where we talk about the finer topics concerning video games, technology and all the other things you can’t talk about with your slightly-less-geeky friends. Have questions or suggestions? Send an email to geekadelphia@gmail.com or tweet with us. Follow me on Twitter if you’d like to keep this week’s discussion alive.

A recent study by UK media research firm Ipsos MORI claims that gamers still like their shinies. The study, which surveyed 1000 folks, shows that 64 percent of them prefer physical media over digital download when it comes to how they purchase games.

According to IGN, senior director of Ipsos MORI Ian Bramley attributes the majority vote to the used games industry. While I couldn’t agree more, aren’t we ignoring one major contributing factor? Join us behind the cut.

A visual breakdown of Ipsos MORI’s results

Sure, I like buying games on the cheap as much as the next gamer (as long as I get to see the disc first), but that really isn’t what keeps me from buying online. While we’ve visited this topic here before, let’s give it another go, shall we?

DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is a hot topic for debate for several reasons. Namely are the restrictions that many publishers place on their titles if purchased online. Everything from limited amounts of installs to requiring an internet connection to enjoy even single-player experiences.

Is this too taboo of a subject for even a top level member of a media research firm to address? Basically what’s going on here is the publishers and developers’ fears of losing hard-earned cash is affecting their policies on distribution. But there is something to say to the fact that these obstacles might just turn users to piracy anyway.

Then the question comes, “Do we really own the things we download?”

The answer is an emphatic no and let’s not get into it much further than that. The bottom line is that if you don’t hold in your hands, chances are you don’t and you merely have the rights to use it.

So, the question ultimately is how do we get around this? The games industry, unlike other entertainment media industries, relies solely on its products. Changing the profit model would be pretty tough (hell, it’s been rough for those music folks, though the focus on live performances and bundled sales is helping) at this point.

It amazes me that more publishers haven’t either joined the Steam network or at least tried to emulate their model of distribution. Honestly, the best we’re going to get outside of direct downloads via your browser is the type of social service that Steam provides (and the deals!). If you’re going to require your users to be online to play your games regardless of said games’ features, at least give them a reason to want to be there.

Maybe then we can finally abandon these hunks of plastic and glass and move on. The biggest issue aside from this we need to overcome is game saves and data back-up (I think I can speak for everyone when I say I don’t like losing the things they paid for). Those clouds are looking like a safe place to go right about now.

GOOD MORNING, GEEKADELPHIANS! How I’ve missed you, and I’m sure you’ve missed your science updates. Since we’re all fond of a good experiment around here, let’s try Geek Weekly on a Monday and see if anything explodes!

• Interesting read from New Scientist: Once upon a time, asteroids caused Antarctica to freeze.

• What the what?! I came across a scientific abstract discussing how cows are … magnetic?

• A personal favorite, and I swear it’s not because the seal is adorable: Sea animals sweep for mines when robots go rogue.

• How awesome is this? “Modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored Solar Decathlon, the European Solar Decathlon is a competition for seventeen teams from different academic institutions to create the most efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solar-powered house.”

• Dun, dun, dun: 6th great extinction announced.

• Italian scientists possibly being charged with manslaughter for not predicting earthquake? Exsqueeze me? Baking Powder?

• A little depressing, but sure– why not! Relationship failure algorithms. Not to Liz Lemon on your Monday, but somewhere along the line I’ve developed my own set of variables, and I’m certain these folks meant ‘he takes me for granted’ instead of  ‘sentimental equilibrium’…

• Concept car that acts like a plant. Why haven’t we thought if this sooner?

• My bets are still on Titan, but apparently not all water has life.

• Cool read on ”DNA being the backbone for new logic motherboards” (Thanks to reader @flyingjaco for the tip!)

She Blinded Me With Science is a weekly column for Geekadelphia.com, brought to you by The Letter B. To submit a science tip, email bianca@geekadelphia.com

First of all, yes, that is a Zombie Scuba Diver. I mean, they must take vacations from the eternal pursuit of brains sometime, no?

This whole game development process has been an absolute blast and I know people say it all the time, but I really do learn something new everyday. This is in large part due to the fact that I’m a total amateur. My inexperience has kept me open-minded and continually amazed at the different ways in which people leverage new technologies to fuel the creative process. In the past two weeks I have completely overhauled my workflow for creating artwork for our game.

The first major change came when Jake O’Brien introduced me to Zwoptex. I use their flash based web app to generate sprite sheets which is, oh, I don’t know, five trillion times faster than lining every image up in an illustrator document and manually entering all the coordinates into a spreadsheet. For any developers or game artists out there I highly recommend Zwoptex, unless of course you use something better, in which case I insit you to make a counter recommendation.

The next big change was our decision to use cocos2d to randomize certain animations, such as when a Zombie gets decapitated. I had originally created a set animation for this and the idea was to eventually create three or four, randomly choosing one when a Zombie got killed. This approach quickly became visually boring. What we are doing now is separating the Zombie so when you decapitate him his head will roll and blood will spray out in an endless number of ways. It’s just as delicious as it sounds, I promise.

We’re also toying with the idea of a boss for the first release. We know we want some eventually. Since it’s a path drawing game we want there to be multiple targets to attack. This means a boss would have little minions you’d have to take down, or projectiles to throw at you. If you have an idea for you a perfect boss mob you’d like to see in the game, by all means let me know. I should note, humor is a good thing.

The biggest balancing issue in this whole process is trying to decide between how awesome it would be to put something in the game, versus how much it delays the release. Jake and I aren’t making a dollar off this game until it’s in the App Store and even at that point, we don’t what what to expect. If any of you are in the development process right now, or have been through it before, you’ve no doubt faced this decision a thousand times. All I can say is we’re very excited to get it in people’s hands sooner rather than later and start getting some real reactions. Stay tuned for a giveaway.

My next production diary will no doubt be focused on sound effects and music. At the moment the game is completely silent and as a gamer I know that sound can make or break the experience. We have done this all ourselves and the sound will be no different. Look for some hilarious sound effects and some hopefully less hilarious music produced on my girlfriend’s old Casio. Cheers.