Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in pegamoose_g's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
5:40 am	Urban Legions Blog, Auto-Notify, etc. Phil and I have created a Live Journal Urban Legions blog. This is for various behind-the-scenes discussions about our game. Some of our thoughts on why we designed things the way they are, etc.. There are only a couple of entries. It's a start. In other news... I changed the auto-notify for the Puzzles of the Month. It's something I've meant to do for a while, but just got around to doing. Before, it would send out notifications on the 1st and 15th regardless if there was a puzzle available those days or not. Now, it pings the DB, queries to see if a new puzzle is available that day, then sends out notice. Less need to send out the "Oops... Just kidding" emails. (what is the emoticon for an embarrassed grimace?) In other, other news... We are gearing up for this year's summer musical. This year, we are doing Pinocchio. Should be a lot of fun. The cast at cast call did an amazing first read through. I can't wait to see the envisioning of our script. (Comment on this)
Friday, April 17th, 2009
5:16 am	Reviews of Urban Legions Every once in a while, I Google myself just to see what's Out There. When I Googled about Urban Legions, I came across a couple of reviews. There are a few negative bits, but overall it's positive. But, hey... Any publicity is good publicity, right? Pissy Little Sausages' Review Impulse Gamer Review And, on one of the forums I've mentioned our game, one commenter said, "I am tired of big companies spending tons of money making great titles bland. Poor zork. I knew of kol, but not of twilight and urban legions. Now I am getting addicted to ul." W00t! Yea us! In other news, we're still looking for artists willing to donate some artwork for Urban Legions. I've been in contact with a few, and need to follow up. (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
5:51 am	Game Comparisons I posted this on Slashdot and Rock-Paper-Shotgun, but I thought it was worth mentioning here, too... First off... I enjoy various kinds of text games from the early Infocom games, to the King's Quests, to the Monkey Islands, and event a Zork or two. Yes, Legends of Zork took elements from the world of Zork, but it lacks challenge. In the text games, I like trying everything under the sun to try to get that one step further in the game, even if that meant starting over a million times. It was part of the challenge, part of the fun. This... I found very frustrating. It's like the game is so incredibly dumbed down that it's like a slightly interactive advertisement for something I don't want to buy into. Games like Kingdom of Loathing and Twilight Heroes, are what lit a fire under me to create my own, Urban Legions. Kingdom of Loathing is incredible. Since the day I stumbled upon it via Wikipedia (looking up "Trifids" of all things), I have been hooked and play it practically every day since. I love the sense of humor. I love collecting all the crazy items. After ascending about 8+ times, the quests are getting a little tedious. But, they add new content, which makes me want to play it even more. I haven't even broken into the Hobopolis or PvP sides of the game, and it's kept me entertained for 2.5+ years. Twilight Heroes... I played for a while. Then, I got stuck on one of the quests. After a while, it got repetitive and I dropped it (mostly). I go back every once in a while. It's not a bad game. It's as easy to pick up as KoL. It's got a good sense of humor, and I've enjoyed playing it. Yet, it lacks something (for me, at least) to want to keep playing it. Maybe they've found that certain something that I lacked, and maybe I should pick it up again. Urban Legions... Why did I create this game? Because I told my friend about KoL, how much fun it was, and we both agreed it was something we should try doing ourselves. During the creation of the game, we broke away from several traditions, but kept various elements we enjoy from playing other games. One of the things we broke away from is character creation. All characters start the same except for their names. You enter a name and an alias, and you're off and running. Stats? We limit it to Brains and Brawn. I mean seriously... How often do you roll for Constitution while playing D&D? We also wanted the game to play differently. The world is very much open ended. There is an over-arching plot that we continuously add to, but there are various side quests along the way. We are light years behind KoL in the amount of content, but of what we already have, we are already building a community of people who play on a regular basis and crave more (By the way... We love you guys and gals!). Like the others, KoL, TH, and LoZ, we provide a few turns per day with the options to subscribe for more turns per day or to buy a big block of turns that you can slowly whittle away. Sure, he and I would love to make enough money from this to one day quit our day jobs and focus solely on this and a few other projects up our sleeves, but the enjoyment we have of creating something that we are most proud of and trying to constantly out-do ourselves is also so incredibly rewarding. So, back to Legends of Zork... As I said, I enjoy playing these kinds of game, if not for seeing "what not to do". One of the first things that irked me is the combat. I can't control what my character does in regards to combat, so why even go through the motions of creating a character? The next thing that bugged me... I went to my inventory to see what I thought I gained, but didn't. To get back into the game, the only way I could figure out was to go back to the map and into the location I was just at. This took another couple of action points to do. Seriously?! It takes an action point if I want to view my character and click ONE LOCATION on the map?! Are you fbleeping serious?! That right there should have been caught during beta. I can see "Exploring the Area" as one action point, and maybe healing at home, but picking which area you want to explore, especially when there is no easy way to go from your inventory back to where you just were?! After that, I decided to call it a day. I think I still have about 22 of my 30 Action Points left. Anybody else want them? Anyone? If ya'll know of who else is out there in the world of browser-based games such as these, drop me a line. I'd love to check out the "competition". And, if ya'll would like to try Urban Legions, I'd also love to hear what you have to say aboot our game, both the good and the scathing. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
9:40 pm	Hooked on Podcasts... Works for me! I have been listening to podcasts to and from work more lately. I rarely listen to the radio anymore. And, when I do, it's usually the same few songs still playing. So, this is what I currently have queued: Adventures in SciFi Publishing (selections from) Escape Pod, Pod Castle, and Pseudo Pod Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 (but, only when it's the News Quiz) Have Games, Will Travel NPR - Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! The Official LOST Podcast Stuff You Should Know If anyone else has any suggestions, please share. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
10:26 pm	Can't Puzzle... Clown'll eat me! Okay. Maybe not clowns. And, maybe not eating. Except for the rabid fans. (Doug... What rabid fans? What are you on about?) I have not created a puzzle for tomorrow's Puzzles of the Month. My attention has been focused heavily on Urban Legions. Except for when I'm at my day job. But, even then, I think about UL often. I have been telling the world about our game, and the world is responding. Since I've actively been sending out press releases and invites to play the game, we get a new member or two daily, a few of which have jumped on the Subscriptions wagon. The feedback we get is still very positive. And, we have a few loyals out there who play daily. The site's hits had one big spike and now a gentle climbing slope. So, not to say the puzzles aren't important, but UL is all sorts of exciting. So, as I work on filling the city of Macropolis with even more content, I will be better about stopping to smell the puzzles... Er... Craft the puzzles. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
2:34 pm	Can you Digg it? I am trying to get a Digg-A-Thon going for anyone willing to help me out. I submitted Urban Legions to Digg in hopes of boosting interest: http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Urban_Legions_Released I submitted to a handful of sites the day after Christmas, and our membership has more than doubled. In two days alone, we gained over 50 new players! Can I get a Double-U, Double-Zero, T? (W00t!) And, if you can't (or won't) Digg it, maybe you could help blog about it. In other news... It sounded like Julie and friends had a good New Year's Eve. I ended the year sick in bed with Cedar Fever! Ugh! So, now that I got that out of the way, I'll be healthy for the rest of the year. Right? A few people have asked what my resolutions for '09 will be. Honestly, I haven't given it too much thought, but... (1) We still need to clean up/out the garage. (2) I'd like to see at least 100 subscribers to Urban Legions. (3) And, I've told one person that I'm threatening to be as eccentric as legally and financially possible! Happy New Year everybody! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 1st, 2008
5:14 am	Show me the puzzles! Sorry for the delay and confusion. Those that have memberships got the automated message that sends out on the 1st and 15th. No puzzles. I was away for the holiday at my uncle's farm where I did not have a network connection. I did have tons of good food! But, that doesn't really count, does it? The person who had the password to the wireless network, must have been the only person with the password, because everyone else who tried it failed miserably. There are a few puzzles, and I will submit them to the site by Friday, Dec. 5. Please stand by! Meanwhile... To sum up my Thanksgiving holiday: * We had more pie leftovers than turkey leftovers. And, I was told there were two turkeys. * More s'mores, Moores? * We never found Santa Claus in Comfort, TX, but we did find a dinosaur and a tie-dyed hat. * Lucy also got lost, and Charlie Brown misses her so. * Until this weekend, I've never met a vegetarian hunter. * Barbara is a Bucket of Chicken. * If Elvis ever goes up in flames, we know who to blames... Jenny! * And, there was much too much exciting underwear roaming about. Knit Knots would definitely not approve. There... That should be cryptic enough to keep you busy until the puzzles are ready. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
5:58 am	Urban Legions - Beta Testing Over the first week of open beta testing, we've had dozens of people sign up and start to play. A few people reported some bugs, which we are working through or have already fixed. For content, I am regularly adding new content daily. In this kind of game, that's sometimes hard to tell, because it is so random. However, I am nearly at the point of completing what I consider the first chapter of events (i.e. the first series of plot-related quests). One of the quests in this series diverges onto two paths, but both end at the same checkpoint. Out of the many people who have played Urban Legions, we have received positive feedback. Other than the few bugs reported, we have heard minimal negative feedback. One person said there are too many words, which, all I can do is shrug, since this is a heavily-worded game. But! this leads me to believe that: (a) if they can't say anything nice, they aren't saying anything at all, (b) our game is so awesome they are speechless, or (c) they are too shy and/or lazy to drop a quick email. Since there are several people who have come back on semi-regular basis to play a bit each session, I have a hard time believing it is "a", so I'm lead to believe "b" or "c". To give people a heads up, we currently have blocks of 999 turns a day available to beta testers. We will be switching this down to a much lower value soon as we get closer to release. And, for those of you who have provided some awesome feedback and bug reporting, we are discussing what we can offer as a regalo de muchos gracias (a.k.a. a "Gift of Many Thanks"). Happy gaming all! And, try not to stuff yourselves more than the turkey, okay? (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
7:01 am	Urban Legions goes Beta! Woo hoo! We've conquered a huge milestone! Last night, the online game I've been working on over the last couple of years has finally taken that leap of faith into the public Beta. Phil and I still have an enormous laundry list of features and content we would like to add. I have all sorts of plans for new events, puzzles, and plot-lines. As the game is in beta, there will be ongoing, periodic updates to content. It won't be until the game is no-longer in beta that there will be regular content release cycles. If you'd like to help beta test Urban Legions and provide us with valuable feedback, you can play the game here: www.urbanlegions.net Seating for the beta may be limited, so join early, play often! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
9:10 am	Wonderful I just sent a snippet of this to my friend, but I thought I'd share it on the blog... I'm sending email and working on my game while staring out the window at the Pacific Ocean. The moon is setting in front of me, while the sun is coming up from the hills in back of me. In the distance, I can hear commuter traffic, and occasionally a wave crash upon the shore. And, last night, we could see the space station blinking in the sky over the water. This is really cool. Meanwhile... I think about my kids who are half a continent away and how they are driving my parents crazy as they send them off to school and daycare for the day. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
11:05 pm	Free Puzzles (are here!) I have the ads in place. If anyone sees anything funky, please report it to me. Also, if anyone has a membership and is troubled by the newly added ads, please share your thoughts with me. This round of puzzles are the first of the freebies. Eventually, I will open up the puzzle archives as well. Other things to come: (1) Improved solution submissions based on time, not just the date. (2) The Pegamoose Parade (i.e. sponsorships). (3) Other stuff I hope you'll enjoy. I decided against the all-in-one puzzle package (for now). One reason is that I receive different submissions at different times. The other is that keeping it as individual puzzles will help better track individual puzzle times (otherwise, you down load the whole pack and the clock starts for all the puzzles at the same time). In other news... The online game is coming along very nicely. I love all the recent changes. Those who have given us feedback, thank you very much. We are nearing the closed-beta session, but if anyone would like to help with our final pre-beta, focus groups, please shoot me an email. More later! Time for zzzzzzzz... (Comment on this)
Friday, September 12th, 2008
5:33 am	Free Puzzles (Coming Soon) After much pondering, I have decided to convert the Pegamoose Games Puzzles of the Month to be a free service, but sell advertising space. I am working on the ad cycling, and hopefully will get this in by October. Also, I will set up what I'm calling the "Pegamoose Parade" which will be a sponsor a Pegamoose page. I think of it as a cross between the Million Boxes website and Cows on Parade. Subscriptions will still be in place for services like the auto-reminder for new puzzles, suppressing the website's ads, and a few bonus possible points for scoring puzzle solutions. And, I have a few fun ideas of what to do with the PegaPoints earned from solving the puzzles which I think the public (especially the puzzle solvers) will enjoy. So, these changes will gradually be in place over the next few months. In other news... The Mega OnLine RPG is coming along very nicely. If anyone knows people who might like to contribute to the game's artwork, please let me know. The closed beta is still a ways away, but will be available soonish. We have received great feedback from some of our focus group participants, and Phil and I are extremely pleased with how everything is turning out. And, for those who are wondering, yes, I do sleep, typically between the hours of 11PM and 4:30AM, with an occasional nap on the weekend. (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
9:04 am	Expanding upon "Looking for Volunteers" (and other stuff) As I've mentioned before, Phil and I are working on our Role Playing Game of Epic Proportions. It's coming along great, and we hope to begin a closed beta session sometime in September. The alpha-phase focus groups are going very well (great feedback for those who participated). But, we need a LOT of people (at least 200-300 people) to bang on it come the Closed Beta to help stress-test it and provide feedback. One of the comments is that it needs more artwork and graphics. I am working on some of the artwork, but due to the size of the game, neither of us have the means to hire someone to generate the artwork we want. And, I'm slow enough as it is generating what I can (on top of the textual content of the game). So, we are seeking artists who are willing to contribute artwork to the game. We are willing to offer what we can. When the game goes live, we can offer special perks for the game. We can also establish an art gallery of sorts to advertise the artists, the works they contributed, and a link to their own page. Or, we are open to suggestions and negotiations. A couple of ideas we had is to contact the art schools/classes to see if any students would like to contribute. Another idea is to have something like SongFight where we give people topics to design, the public votes on them, and the winning pictures get incorporated into the game. Yet another idea is to contact the conventions to have something like a 24-Hour Art Contest to design a plethora of pictures, we scan in all the entries to use what we want, and the Con auctions off the originals to help fund the following year's Con. Again... Open to more suggestions. And finally, subscriptions have been low for the Puzzles of the Month (PotM). So, I am considering migrating towards a free PotM, but support more of an advertising model. I think more people will play our puzzles if they are free. And, as long as the ads are obnoxious, flashy things, I don't think many people mind ads on websites much anymore as long as they are tastefully done. Still mulling things over, but the more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards this. Any opinions? Okay... Time to get myself ready for a fun-filled day with the kiddos. Woo hoo! Daddy Time! Over and oot! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
11:54 am	Looking for volunteers Real quick... Looking for two kinds of volunteers: (1) People willing to help beta test a browser-based RPG (similar to Kingdom of Loathing). (2) Artists looking to expose their talent via this same browser-based RPG. If interested, email me off-line. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 5th, 2008
4:50 pm	66 Days Left - 31 Points to Go! If I included the pictures my sister took from the Telluride Bluegrass festival, I'd be well over 100 points. One-third of the way to the finish line, and I am a mere 31 points from breaking the 100 point mark for the Pegamoose 100. And, how is everyone else doing? I submitted a couple of pictures to the art gallery, and a few more pictures to the photo safari. Thanks to everyone who is participating! Keep up the great work! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
8:09 am	Pegamoose 100 hits the road! I'm up in the mountains of Colorado and I've spotted a few people willing to participate in the Pegamoose 100. Check out the Photo Safari pictures (including the one of me with Firefall). Some people I've shown the picutres to have asked how I go about getting the pictures. It's really pretty simple, and most people I've asked have been very accommodating. It goes like this... Me: "May I ask you something random?" Them: "Uh... okay." Me: "I'm taking part in a Photo Safari for Pegamoose Games, and I'm trying to get 100 pictures of people doing this..." (I make antler hands) "Do you mind if I take your picture? I need at least three people in the picture making antler hands." Them: "Ok." Then, they help round up at least two other people. Me: *Click!* "Thank you." And, then I tell them the picture will be up on the website soon, give them the URL, and we go about our merry ways. It's very simple. A friend of mine said I'd never get people to do it. But, as you can see, may people are very willing. And, I thought it would be easier for people to post about it on their blogs and MySpace pages. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
7:30 am	The Pegamoose 100 - Starts Today! Today, June 1, 2008, marks the first day of the Pegamoose 100! Today the 100th Puzzle of the Month is released. Over the next 100 days, I want to hit other, various "100" goals. 100 pictures for the Photo Safari. 100 different versions of the Pegamoose Games Coloring Page. 100 products sold. 100 new subscribers to the Puzzles of the Month. If you help us meet these other goals, someone could win a lifetime membership to the Puzzles of the Month. For more information, click here. Today also marks the second time this year our A/C unit is kaput. *grumble, grumble* stupid 100-degree weather without A/C *grumble, grumble*. Never fear - ARS is on the way! Current Music: None (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
5:50 am	The Pegamoose 100 About a month ago, I realized the Puzzles of the Month was nearing its 100th puzzle contributed either by myself or by other puzzle authors. I have been working on a way to celebrate. I've dusted off a few ideas, like the Photo Safari and coloring page. I've combined these things together and a few others for what I am calling the "Pegamoose 100". Stay tuned to the Pegamoose Games website for more details (to be announced on June 1 in concurrence with the Puzzles of the Month). In other news, the online game is going very well. We have a working model of the game. Most of the playability of the game is functional, though it's not quite ready for beta. There are over 150 locations on the maps and sub-maps, so there are plenty of places to explore. There is still an awful lot of events, NPCs, items, and skills yet to enter. Should be an interesting and detailed game. Time to get ready for my day job. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
5:36 am	It's All Good (*crickets chirping*) Hello? (*tumble weed drifts by*) Doug? Yes. Hello there. I'm still here. I've been busy with my various projects. First of all, I completed the design of a puzzle hunt for AggieCon 39. This first puzzle is a full page in the program. There are eight more puzzles to find which will be hidden around the convention main areas, like the registration desk and dealer's hall. If you happen to be close to College Station, TX the last weekend of March (27-30), you should swing by and try it out. If not, you can wait until it's over, and I'll post it on the website. Second, Pegamoose Games has been contacted by the Houston Tabletop Gaming Association. Snipe Hunt and Zards will most likely be featured at their upcoming gaming events. Third, the online game is really coming along. We are getting ever-so-close to our alpha testing of the game. I've thought up well over 100 different events and over 100 different creatures/villains to battle. Plus, there is an interesting story arc to fit the game and help build the world which I will weave into the content. Phil and I are very pleased with the direction this game has taken, and it sometimes blows our minds of the power behind the game engine we designed. Our hope is that the rest of the world will think it's as cool as we know it is. Hopefully, we will have a link to some more information about the game and how to sign up Beta testers soon (i.e. within a month or two). And finally, I finished the rewrite on my revamped Time Travel story. I like this version much better than the original version. It still might need some tweaking. If anyone would care to read it, send me an email off-line. Very exciting stuff is afoot the Pegamoose Games. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
10:03 pm	One late puzzle... One of Karen's puzzles got lost in my email. I got it up there now. The solution date is extended a bit, so the score should be adjusted for it. Sorry for the delay. (Comment on this)