(no subject)

[entelein]

So, this past week has been sort of busy, in actual terms of busyness, and the inside of my head. My friend Andy and I launched his program recently, Labyrinth. It's a very nifty utility that can organize any number of projects, including the Alternate Reality Games it's generally geared toward, as well as for the creation/tracking of RPGs, or even short stories/novels. I'm really proud of Andy and the work he's put into it so far - he's developing a newer version which incorporates new elements, and hopefully items requested by the people who've downloaded it thus far. We wrote a tutorial, too, taking the launch puzzle as an example of how to use the program itself. Ooooh, twisty.

By the way, it is not an exclusively-Windows tool. Just, FYI.

The puzzle-making for the launch whetted my appetite a bit for the whole ARG thing in general, which is a good sign, since I got awfully burnt out after Project MU ended late last year. It's only a matter of serendipity, then, that a bunch of ARG activity has flourished in the past week: http://www.ilovebees.com, a somewhat innocuous rabbit hole for a new game, has suddenly exploded into what looks to be a promotional web game for Halo 2, the Xbox game being released this coming fall. I am hoping to get my skimming skills back, as the Unforums are bursting with frantic speculation and puzzling and newbies all trying to make sense of the Queen/Widow mythos, and the strange corruption of the ilovebees website. I start rehearsals for a new show on Monday, and I need to start budgeting my time very efficiently, right away. (As I was writing this post, I got pm'd by another player who asked me to be a mod at the Unforums for the ilovebees game. Heh! There goes my time-management energy, right there. Of course I said yes.)

I've also been playing the comedic web RPG Kingdom of Loathing, although I do admit that my keen interest is dulled by the knowledge that the beta will re-set sometime soon, and so amassing great quantities of gin and vodka and meat and bloody clown pants is a near-futile exercise. At least I'll get to keep my Mr. Accessory.

Lastly, my co worker has been spiraling into ... something ... who knows what it is, that has caused her to ramp up the amount of time she's been late and/or out since she's gotten hired. It's been extremely frustrating and stupid, and I just don't get how someone would jeopardize their job like this, when we fired the last person who had her job for committing the same damned offenses. Honestly, it's been an asshair of a situation.

Comments

[ozy-y2k.livejournal.com]

bloody clown pants?!?!?!?

I really need to be playing that game already.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

It's hysterical. A bunch of us UFers are in a clan called Bearded Clan. Get to lvl 3 (you can do that within the first 80 adventures you get, easily), and then apply to join. Let us know your character name, and whammo! We'll help ya with stuff. There may not be nachos, but there ARE spicy burritos.

[iko.livejournal.com]

Woah, I need to join a clan! I've just applied to "Bearded Clan" (as ikochan). Hehe.

I like the game a lot. It's a good 15 minute distraction-when-needed website.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I got you accepted, btw. :) Enjoy!

[ozy-y2k.livejournal.com]

I just can't afford the timesuck right now. Too bad, because Ilovebees looks to be fun, too, as do Urban Hunt and all the other ARGy stuff that's hopping these days. But I'm gonna hafta sit on the sidelines, at least for this round. Mostly due to mental exhaustion and a side order of inertness.

I am still checking in regularly at Unforums, though, and even though I don't have much to say, it all looks somewhat interesting.

[greydruid.livejournal.com]

Labyrinth. Looks. Awesome.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

Excellent. There's a new version coming out soonish with calendar and a few other things. There's also a coupla plug-ins, and you can write your own, as well. Please, if you use it and have suggestions, e-mail Andy. Compliments are also very, very, very welcome.

[gupfee.livejournal.com]

Labyrinth rocks. The only thing I wish for is the ability to format elements with long names so they are more square-ish and not so long skinny rectagular-ly.

[entelein.livejournal.com]

I'll make sure Andy sees this! And, yay!

[entelein.livejournal.com]

As has been with a lot of the requests so far, Andy was already working on this. Hee. I think he's fixed it, so stay tuned for a new version sometime in the near future.

[brfitzgerald.livejournal.com]

You're a budding software tycoon! Yay!