Shoy Schot! nui Press Release

          Virtual Gaia Games is proud to introduce Shoy Schot! nui, an electronic card game. The game will release Sunday, December 29^th, 2013 to all PC user for free!

          Shoy Schot! is an additive, console-based, strategic card game created in C#. Starting out as a simple minigame about flipping cards and gaining ownership over the game board it soon blossomed into a full fledged card game with a mega ton of customization options and gameplay modes. And now, with Shoy Schot! nui, it has finally reached its ultimate form!

          Shoy Schot! nui retains all the features of the previous release (Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Version 2.0.1.9) which included (but not limited to): 5 main Rule Sets to play in their own Free Play modes; an Arcade-like mode called Unlimited Deck Mode; a Best Of… Mode to play consecutive matches; a robust Tournament Mode for serious play; 22 Accomplishments to earn; Stats pages that kept over 80 stats; a Personal Rank Card to share and compare with other Shoy Schot! players; 8 profiles for same computer, different persons use; and Virtual Gaia Games Matching!, a completely separate matching minigame.

          New features to Shoy Schot! nui include (but not limited to): a Custom Rule Set Maker, where players can build their own custom Rule Sets; Endless Tower, which is a survival mode; a Score Attack Mode; Arcade Challenges where players can try to conquer all 40 challenges; a single player tournament mode called Arcade Battle Campaign, a Tutorial Mode, where players can learn the basics of the game in a new, more interactive way; a new mini-game called Clementine; 26 more Accomplishments to earn; more Stats; and slew of secrets and tweaks.

          Shoy Schot! nui also marks Virtual Gaia Games’ final game made in this text-based style. Shoy Schot! nui is our swan song to this type of design. While being made in this engine, Shoy Schot! has never been a graphical powerhouse, but we think anyone who has played it in the past has had a lot of fun and we believe Shoy Schot! nui will continue this feat threefold!!

          Again, Shoy Schot! nui is a PC game from Virtual Gaia Games and will be releasing on Sunday, December 29^th, 2013. It will be downloadable from: http://virtualgaiagames.blogspot.com/2013/12/shoy-schot-nui-update-log.html for free when available. We hope you all download and enjoy our game!

Quick Information About Shoy Schot! nui

Game: Shoy Schot! nui
Genre: Electronic Card Game
Platform: Windows PC
Developer: Virtual Gaia Games
Release Date: December 29^th 2013
Price: Economical Priced [Read: FREE!]
Download Site: http://virtualgaiagames.blogspot.com/2013/12/shoy-schot-nui-update-log.html
Website: http://virtualgaiagames.blogspot.com/
Game Page: http://virtualgaiaprojects.blogspot.com/p/shoy-schot-nui.html
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShoySchot/
IndieDB Page: http://www.indiedb.com/games/shoy-schot-nui

Download a PDF of the Full Press Release: Here

          Check out Shoy Schot! nui Complete Features List after the jump.

Best Quote of the Week ~ [3/10/13]

BUY THIS (It's just the third time I've suggested it)

          "If you can't control yourself, something else will."

~Knowledge (from Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun Chapter 1: Shelter, page 18)

Heads Up! Autumn Steam Sale

          Steam is also having a major sale right now until November 26. Head over and check it out before it's over! I emptied some of item on my wishlist.

Heads UP! GOG Game Sale!

          GOG is having an amazing sale right till the 27th of November: Pick 5 & Pay $10. Pick any 5 of the 20 select titles and get them all for only $10. There are even bundle on the list too! Here is a complete list of the titles you can choose from:

• Resonance
• Botanicula
• To The Moon
• Gemini Rue
• Alan Wake's American Nightmare
• The Blackwell Bundle (Backwell Episodes 1-4)
• Torchlight
• Uplink: Hacker Elite
• Geneforce 1-5
• Machinarium: Collector's Edition
• Spacehem
• Defcon
• Trine
• Symphony
• Darwinia
• Mutant Mudds
• Anomly Warzone Earth
• Multiwinia
• Unmechanical
• The Ball

Highlighted (Blue) = What I got

Highlighted (Yellow) = My personal recommendation

Link: GOG - Pick 5 & Pay $10

Serial Experiments Lain DVD/Blu-ray Coming Soon

          I preordered this a month ago and said I was going to do a post about and forgot, so I doing one now. Serial Experiments Lain is getting an amazing DVD/Blu-ray combo boxset that is releasing at the end of this month. Not only will the set include a restored Blu-ray edition alongside the DVD, but it will also feature a restoration booklet, a 300+ art book, and beautiful render covers. Also, for those who preoredered, they will receive a decal of lain as a bonus gift. This is a great collection to get for fans of Lain, Yoshitoshi Abe, or anime in general. See the trailer and some pictures after the jump.

The Story:

Lain Iwakura appears to be an ordinary girl with almost no experience with computers. Yet the sudden suicide of a schoolmate and a number of strange occurrences conspire to pull Lain into the world of the Wired, where she gradually learns that nothing is what it seems to be... not even Lain herself.

Serial Experiments Lain Boxset Information:

• Age Rating - 14+
• Date Available - Nov 27 2012
• Genre - Drama
• 325 Minutes
• Format - Hybrid
• Media - Blu-ray Disc
• Publisher - Funimation

Buy From:

RightStuf.com - $53.99

DeepDiscount.com - $60.70

Amazon.com - $69.99

Mars Volta On Hiatus, Bosnian Rainbows Shine

          Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has decided to put his baby, The Mars Volta, on an indefinite hiatus and it has been so since September. However, the as working Omar has created a new band, Bosnian Rainbows, along with fellow Mars Volta alumni Deantoni Parks on drum, Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes as lead vocalist, and Nicci Kasper on the keyboard. Bosnian Rainbows is touring right and performing all new material! After listening to a few of their songs I can honestly I love this new band and wait to hear more. Omar remarks that this band is actually a band and that he is not "dictator" here but a team player--there a collaborative effort here. It's a bit sad to see Mars Volta on hiatus, but everyone is working on projects and Bosnian Rainbows one hell of a start. Check out videos and pictures of the band after the jump! Go now; they're awesome!

Also, check out a full interview with Omar from CityArtsOnline.com in the source.

UPDATE 1 (2/19/13):
Mars Volta has officially disbanded. Cedric Bixler-Zavala gave a statement few weeks ago. Truly sad, but this is how things are sometimes. We do have the awesome Bosnian Rainbows to look forward too, as well as something from Cedric in the near future.


SOURCE: CityArtsOnline

I've Been Published...

          Sort of. Castella In Theory: The Worst Of Derek Russell (We Always But We Never) has been turn into a printed book thanks to the brilliant guys and gals over at Blurb.com! Blurb allows people to publish myriad types of books from photo books to novel and more with various options on paper, covers, sizes, and the like. A really great site for up-in-coming writers or oldhands. Blurb.com allow content creators to keep full rights to their works as well! Found here and here. And you can also sell your book in their bookstore and earn profit off it! It's free to join and add stuff so give it a try!

          That said you purchase a physical copy of Castella In Theory: The Worst Of Derek Russell (We Always But We Never) here for only $8.45 (softcover). The Worst of Derek Russell is a character drama about high school delinquent Derek Russell trying to manage through the all the boredom and problems of his life through music, drugs, and sarcasms. The story is divided into to two parts, with the first half opting for a dialog/monologue-only style and the second half in a more traditional style.

Buy: Castella In Theory: The Worst Of Derek Russell

• 52 page
• 6x9 inches (15x23 cm)
• Softcover Price: $8.45
• Hardcover, Dust Jacket Price: $22.45
• Hardcover, ImageWrap Price: $23.45
• Warning: Crude/Explicit Language and Drug Use

P.S.: You can still download a the pdf version of the story from my blog here or find the other Castella In Theory stories archived here.

UPDATE 1 (11/23/12): My book came today! In retrospect, I should've moved the title to the center of cover or used the above picture. Just a horrible use of space right there, well, next time. I've added pics below.

Four Days Of Short Stories I

Picture by Morfex

          Four Days Of Short Stories is writing exercise/event I'm doing this weekend (Friday, Nov. 2 - Monday, Nov. 5) where I write an original short story everyday for four days. I'm going to post them here, in this post, and also here. I do not promise that the stories will good, just that they will be written in a day. The idea is to quickly come up with an original concept and run with, to experiment, and try out new styles. It's a learning and experimenting exercise.

          Also, anyone is welcome to write stories along with me and post them here as well; even if they cannot write all four days. If you plan on doing so please follow the few guidelines.

• An original unused concept (ideas you'll had but haven't written are fine)
• No sequels/prequels/continuations to any of your old/current stories
• Experiment
• Try to make it a full stand-alone story
• Must be posted by 11:59 PM of that day
• Have fun!

          Also, the stories should be between 1-4 pages (to be manageable) be can be longer. There isn't any set theme or motif, but if you're having trouble coming up with a story idea try this: The theme of boredom or try making the boring or ordinary event you can think of unique or strange.

          Lastly, note that it says Four Days Of Short Stories 'I,' I may do this again if this first one goes well. I'm doing this to improve my own writing ability and to get myself run with concepts less stressfully and to writing quicker (looking at you Elevator Music).


UPDATE 1 (11/2/12): Day 1 Story added below. Read it in all its unedited glory!

UPDATE 2 (11/3/12): Day 2 Story added below.

UPDATE 3 (11/4/12): Day 3 Story added below.

UPDATE 4 (11/5/12): Day 4 Story, the final story, added below.

UPDATE 5 (11/6/12): Day 0 Test Story added.

• Day 1 Story: [We're Closed So, Come Right In]
• Day 2 Story: [Ride]
• Day 3 Story: [Lowell O’well, the Flying Mechanical Whale]
• Day 4 Story: [Anderson Wicked]
• Day 0 Test Story: [Letter]

Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Version 2 Press Release

          Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition (SAE), the addictive card game, is back! And very much improved with Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition v2! Version 2.

          Shoy Schot! is an console-based strategic card game I created in C#. The objective of a match is to own the most panels by the end of the match. The game was originally a minigame on another game I created before I started to add a ton of features to it. It grew to become bigger than the game it was attached to, so I decided to make a stand-alone version of it back in September.

          Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition is divided up into four main sections: The Unlimited Deck Mode, which allows a player to play against another player or CPU in customizable matches that use the Unlimited Deck (more like arcade play). The World Tour Mode, which is a more serious mode but have a ton of customization options. Best Of... Mode, where a player can play consecutive matches against another player or CPU. Lastly, Tournament Mode, which players can enter a series of matches against 2, 3, or 4 of their friends to see who is the best.

          Most modes allows players to customized some of the settings before entering a match. They include: Change the game grid to a 3x3 board (allowing for quicker matches), 4x4 board (allowing for more competitive and fair matches), or 5x5 board (allowing for longer matches). Changing who will go first. The hand rules in play, meaning do players what to use a full deck or only low valued card, etc. And a few other settings. There are Over 500 Different Ways to Play—find your favorite!

          Some of the new features to Version 2 include improvements and tweaks to the different AI player to provide a higher and fairer challenge. The Version 2 Game Deck which adds 4 more card type to the game increasing the total to 15 different card type from the original 11 (and increasing total cards from 110 to 150). Players can choose to switch between the Version 1 (Classica) and Version 2 Game Deck in the Options Menu. The ability to have up to four different profiles for multiple people using the same game. The different profiles will keep track that profiles stats independent from another profiles stats. Also, Version records 80 different stats so players keep track important stuff from number of wins and losses to less important stat such as the number of times played on the 4x4 board. There is even a way not to keep track of stats now (with a indicator to let players know). 8 more accomplishments (Shoy Schot’s trophy/achievement system) have been added to the game bring the total number of accomplishments to 22! Lastly, a ton of minor fixes, tweaks, and additions have been made to the game to make the whole experience more fun, user friendly, and streamlined.

          I hope you all enjoy the game. Please feel free to give feedback or make comments. Check out the full feature list below:

• Version 2 Game Deck
• Adds 4 New Card Types
• Switch between Version 1 and 2 Game Decks
• Create up to 4 Profiles
• Keep Stats of up to 4 different Players
• Use Guest Mode to not track Stats
• Keep track of 80 different stats
• Including Playtime
• Match Time
• Improved AI
• 8 New Accomplishments
• Cleaner Interface
• More Streamlined Experience
• Overall Game Balancing
• Tweaked Rank Calculation
• More Extras
• Fixed Chain Reaction Error
• Fixed CPU vs. CPU glitch
• Fixed Rank Title Error
• A Ton of Minor Fixes and Additions

Download: Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Version 2.0.0.0 Here


          There were going to be several 50 second trailers to coincide with the Version 2, but computer issues prevented that. In lieu of trailer I give you screenshots, concepts for the new icon, and some would be trailer screens after the jump.

Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Press Release

          The Ultimate Edition of Shoy Schot! is now live! Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition (SAE) is the complete game from Still Here After Wednesday Night plus some extras. Now only that but anyone with system data from  Still Here After Wednesday Night can back up their system data from that game and retrieve it in Shoy Schot! SAE. It will only take data pertaining to Shoy Schot! Below is the features list:

• Clean Interface
• 3 Different CPU Players
• 3 Game Boards
• 2 Types of Decks
• Many Customizable Free Play Modes
• Best Of... Mode
• 2 Types of CPU vs. CPU Modes
• (Robust) Tournament Mode
• Accomplishments
• Stats
• Check For Updates
• Back-up System Data
• Nice Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Icon
• Extras

          With the release of the Shoy Schot! SAE the version of the game inside Still Here After Wednesday Night will no longer be supported. Only Shoy Schot! SAE will be updated and supported.


Download: Shoy Schot! Stand-Alone Edition Version 1.0.0.0 Here

A Girl And A Tiny Portal Need Our Help

Meet Fern. She needs our help.

          A Tiny Portal is a wonderful short film project that needs our help to get fund. The story is about a shy girl named Fern who has a lot of trouble connecting with people. She tries and tries, but her efforts never go right. However, she receives a mysterious gift from her elderly neighbors that allow her to travel through secret portals. Will this gift be Fern's way to reach out to the world around her? Maybe? But there's a problem. Fern's story will never be completed without our help. 

          Stephanie Gumpel is the director and writer of this short film. She has brought together amazing talent to help ensure this will be highly successful and enjoyable. The crew crew includes composer Perrin Cloutier of the band Beirut, Ann Benson from NBC's hit Betty White's Off Their Rockers, Richard Riehle who has been in over 200 film including the The Fugitive, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and classic Office Space, as well as others.

          This project is currently listed on Kickstarter trying to reach it's goal of $12,500. $7,044 of that has already been pledged. It has 5 more days to reach its goal. Be apart of this great film project and get cool rewards for your pledge. Please help this film and Fern connect with the world! For more information on the film visit their Kickstarter Page.

          For those of you who have never used Kickstarter before this is how it works. You pledge a certain dollar amount to a project and if that project makes its goal by the set time frame it gets funded by us. Also, you'll get rewards from the project creators based on your pledge amount. If the project doesn't reach its goal then all the pledges are returned to the backers, the project fall through for now, and the backer don't receive any rewards. For more details visit Kickstarter.com. 

          In case your wondering. I pledged $75 to this project have been backer of over 25 different Kickstarter projects since 2009.

Go to A Tiny Portal's Kickstarter Page: Here

Visit  A Tiny Portal's Facebook Page: Here

Visit A Tiny Portal's Tumblr Page: Here

Check this Behind-the-scene video of A Tiny Portal

Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5.2.0.0) Now Live

          Version 5.2.0.0 greatly updated Shoy Schot! adds general fixes and additions to the overall package. The short list of additions include:

• Greatly Updates Shoy Schot!
• Adds New Hard AI: CPU PLAYER: ELSA
• Overall AI Improvements
• Artificial Errors
• Better Handling of Discard
• Chance of Inspiration
• Cleaner Interface
• 5x5 Game Board
• More Game Modes
• Unlimited Deck CPU vs.CPU
• World Tour CPU vs. CPU
• Best Of... Mode
• (Robust) Tournament Mode
• Stats
• Accomplishments
• Stand-alone Basework
• Extra Secrets
• More Grammar Fixes
• A Ton of Minor Fixes and Additions

          I also want to add as a special treat: How to quickly skip to the Epilogue of Still Here After Wednesday Night and quick access to Shoy Schot! Cheat. In Still Here, at the very beginning of a new game or new game + cheatcodes may be entered. To do this simply start a new game or new game + and don't move from that spot! Instead type in CHEAT and you should hear a beep. Voila. To skip to the Epilogue type in NE after CHEAT. You should hear another beep if successful. To quickly unlock Shoy Schot! type in SS after CHEAT. You should hear another beep if successful.
Ex. >Cheat (beep)

      >SS (beep)

          Have fun with the new update. Read the Special Message in the game (go to the About section within the Main Menu).

Download from Log: Here
Go to Still Here After Wednesday Night Page: Here

Let’s Party! SGC 2013 Kickstarter

          Do you like games? What about parties? Then how about a gaming convention that feels less status quo and more like a 3 day party with thousands of your best friends!? That’s SGC! ScrewAttack hosted this amazing convention back in 2009 and 2010 and now they want to bring it back for 2013!! But they need our help to do it. ScrewAttack is doing a Kickstarter for SGC 2013. To help (and get more details) all you need to do is follow this link to their Kickstarter page and pledge and or get the word out. Every dollar and every person makes a difference. Let’s make this happen! SGC! Wooooo!!

Visit ScrewAttack.com 

SGC 2013 Kickstarter Page

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/screwattack/let-throw-the-best-gaming-party-in-the-world-again

Still Here After Wednesday Night Update 5.1.0.0 Now Live

          Version 5.1.0.0 is a huge update for Still Here After Wednesday Night. It adds two major features and well as a slew of additions and fixes.

          The first of the major features and most visible is The Little Sheep Arcade. The Little Sheep Arcade house the fully featured Virtual Gaia Games Matching! minigame and maybe even more(?). The additional of the Little Sheep Arcade now only bring with it an entirely new and different gaming experience from the main game but also increases the overall playable content of the game by over 65%! And that's taking into account the Main Game + the unlockable Epilogue (which you should play)!

          The second major feature to the update is the Ability to Back-up and Retrieve System Data. This feature can be found under the options menu. What this means is that when a future a future update rolls around you no longer have to sacrifice your hard earned Accomplishments or reset you configurations over again. Now when a new update comes, all you have to do is go to this option, back-up your system somewhere, install the new update, and retrieve your old system data from the new version of the game. This feature can also be used to set this game up on different computer. No need to unlock things you've already unlocked.

          Finally, and like always, there been fixes to small issues, such as grammar/spelling errors, a minor fix to the cheatcode input, and a fix to the quicksave (Sav##)  error at the end of the Epilogue (seriously, play it--it's not that hard to unlock).

          Have fun with this new update (which become about 1000 times bigger than it was suppose to be). Still Here After Wednesday Night Version 5.1.0.0 can be found here. Or below:

• Download Link Rar (Contains Both Install File and Exe File)
• Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5.1.0.0) [7-12-2012].rar (320.04KB)
• Download Link Zip (Contains Both Install File and Exe File)
• Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5.1.0.0) [7-12-2012].zip (402.70KB)
• Download Link 7z (Contains Both Install File and Exe File)
• Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5.1.0.0) [7-12-2012].7z (288.67KB)

UPDATE 1 (7/13/12): Reuploaded the files. I had to make a quick fix.

UPDATE 2 (7/13/12): Production Log for Update 5.1.0.0: Here

First Wreck-It Ralph Trailer

What all Video Game characters can you spot?

Isaac's Live Lip-Dub Proposal (Must See)

Here's to Beautiful Future

        Isaac gave his future wife one of the most creative marriage proposal I've ever seen. Well done. Congrats to the both of you, I hope you two have many, many great years together. Hit the jump to see this amazing proposal.

Artist Find! Loish

Find Loish's work at Loish.net

          Yesterday night I found this really amazing Dutch artist, Loish (a.k.a. Lois Van Baarle). Her artwork is really beautiful and she uses color to great effect, often using a variety of different colors in the same piece to create a vivid and unique look. The color never clash, creating a wildly creative world that you want to be in. If you would like to see more of her work visit her site, Loish.net, or her tumblr page: here. I'll provided a good number of her awesome artwork after the jump. Check it out and visit her site!

Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5—Final Version) Is Done!

          I’m finally done making my Text-Based Adventure: Still Here After Wednesday Night (Version 5). I want to give a very special thanks to my Quality Assurance Team. Thank you very much fo helping me out. To keep this short here is the features list:

• New Game +
• 33 Accomplishments!
• Redesign Main Menu
• Filing System! Keep Notes and Letters With You!
• Game Options
• Ability to Manually Change Save Location
• Unlockable Epilogue With Multiple Endings
• Secret Events And Hidden Features!
• A Ton of Secrets
• Check for Data has Evolved! Now Shows Save Information!
• Has a Real Icon Now!
• Improved Error Checking
• Improved Balancing
• Special Messages from Creator
• New Actions Added
• More Think Monologues
• Time Errors and Other Related Problems Fixed
• Switched Room Error Fixed
• Hole Error Fixed
• A Ton of Minor Fixes and Additions

UPDATE 1 (5/15/12): Production notes are up: Here.

           Have fun with it. If there ae any lingering problems: DO NOT TELL ME UNTIL JULY 28, 2012—I’m serious. I need a break from this. Anyway, I hope you all like it. Here is where you can download it:

DOWNLOAD LINK: Still Here After Wednesday Night

          Last few notes. To the QA Team… Remember that idea you had about the Creepy Doll. I added a special hidden scene. Also, to everyone. I might upload all my notes to this page to show all that went in to this little thing. Production notes are up: Here.

          Production Time Frame: October 21, 2011-April 23, 2012. Main Game ~ 3 to 7 weeks; Epilogue ~ 3 to 4 months

Google Maps 8-bit For NES

          This is not an April Fool's joke. Google has actually done this to Google Maps! Check out 'Trial Version' here.

"Blow on the cartridge to fix bugs."

          In other news. Use this phrase: 'HITUMBLR' to get $2 to use for downloading music off Amazon.com. Details here.

Noctourniquet Now Available

Pick it up today

          Noctourniquet by The Mars Volta is now available and if you preordered it, you get an awesome t-shirt of the album's cover. That's it. The album sounds great! Click me for track listing and singles.