LittleBigPlanet

I picked up a copy of LittleBigPlanet on Friday after seeing it in my local game store. I read most of the previews and review of the game and had been anticipating its release for some time but at the same time I wasn’t that excited about buying it. That was until I got home and started playing it, the game is amazing and more importantly, extremely entertaining.

I started playing through the story mode and reached the 4th scenario when I decided to give the level creation a go. I was met by a host of pleasant tutorials which guided me through the basics of creating content. Once I had finished, I decided to build my first level and all I can say is I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. This is where the game really shines and I know I will be messing around with this mode for a long time to come.

The game is so refreshing and unique and is a true joy to play. I had a chance to play online with others as well and that too was a lot of fun, the only thing that let me down was the poor quality of my Internet connection.

I had a choice between this, Resistance 2 or FarCry 2 when I went into the store on Friday but I’m glad I chose this, besides I’ve played countless first person shooters so waiting for a while longer for 2 more won’t hurt.

The first step

I decided to get going with my plans to get back into game programming but was met by an obstacle at the first step. I attempted to install Visual Studio on the laptop I’m using at home at the moment but the optical drive isn’t working!

I found this odd because I re-installed Windows about 2 weeks ago and it worked fine. I just didn’t have the energy to start diagnosing the problem but I suspect it has to do with the laptop seeing the end of its days. Over the last 2 weeks I’ve noticed that it has been overheating regularly even when the CPU is idle. I bought a laptop cooler which sits under it and has 2 80mm fans blowing on it and that seems to keep at a decent temperature.

I guess I have to go out and build a new system, nothing fancy but something that won’t give me as much of a headache as this laptop has. It reminded me of why I despise them so much. I don’t mind so much anyways because I wanted to build a nice system in preparation for Starcraft2 and because I have started playing WoW again.

To program or not to program

I’ve been battling with this for the last couple of weeks but I have finally made a decision. I want to get back into game programming again. My issue has been time really, I don’t have enough to get to all of the things I would like.

I got a little distracted with being so busy at work but now that I have my own vehicle, I have a little more flexibility getting to and from work. First things first I plan to finish updating my portfolio with some of my student projects then I plan to move on to a game I have been designing for a while.

I’m going to try to give at least a couple hours a week dedicated to spending some time with my code as I don’t want to get completely out of practice.

WoW please

I decided to start playing WoW again (I knew I would). The WoW bug came around to bite me again and there was nothing I could do but give in.

I was toying around with what class I should play. I wanted to try a class I had never attempted before so I started with an Orc shaman. I eventually decided on an Orc hunter seeing as I won’t have much time to play so I needed a class which would be good for quick solo questing.

So far it’s been fun and it’s always nice to come back to the game after some of the major changes. It just makes a good game that much better. Blizzard have been excellent in doing so which is probably why they are my favourite developer.

Anyways less talk and more questing!