2010 started hard and got worse. But I’m dusting off the debris and trying to find my damn horse so I can get back on the saddle. (Here, horsey, horsey, horsey…)

Life lesson: Never declare you’re going to have the best year of your life in January of said year. That’s just asking for trouble.

Say, it’s only a paper moon sailing over a cardboard sea..

But it wouldn’t be make-believe if you believed in me…

So begins Paper Moon, a side scrolling platform game with a dreamlike, black and white style that evokes Little Nemo, if animated by Tim Burton. The objective is to navigate the little boy through the popup book style environment, collecting apples, cherries, and banans along the way. Certain interactive elements may be “popped” in and out to provide ledges to stand on or knock enemies out of the way. The enemies, which include bats and mysterious robed figures, can’t be killed by jumping on them. Jump over their heads or kill them by running an interactive object into them (careful, the objects can also kill you).

But with unlimited lives, your main enemy will be the timer. The game starts with 5 minutes on the clock. Slight time extensions are possible when you collect the clocks hidden within and at the end of each level.

The game has five minilevels, though only four need to be played to get to the end. Checkpoint flags are triggered within each level to give you a place to restart from after you’ve been killed. The limited time frame often makes it more practical to kill yourself and return to the flag than to try and navigate a complicated barrier.

Requirements: This browser game is hosted by Blurst and requires the free, easy to download Unity Web Player.

Controls: Use the left and right arrow keys to progress backward or forward, respectively, and the up arrow to jump. The spacebar pops shaded items in and out of the scenery.

Alternate Controls: Use the A and D keys to progress backward or forward, respectively, and the W key to jump. The X key pops shaded items in and out of the scenery.

Credits: Developed by Flashbang Studios and Infinite Ammo

Are you the type of gamer who moves your head in the direction your character/creature/car is moving? Did you think that motion sickness was the one thing missing from old school Tetris?

First-Person Tetris caters to both of these underrepresented groups. Whenever you hit the space bar to turn a block, the screen turns in the same direction. It was easier than I expected to adjust to the direction changes. But if you, like me, tend to make quick last minute adjustments of blocks, it may be a dizzying experience.

Tuper Tario Tros. is the stripy love child of Super Mario Bros. and Tetris. Mario can scurry along the first level as normal until he reaches the pictured block blockade. Mario will make his best “wtf?” noise and a screen prompt urges you to hit space, putting you- and poor, helpless Mario- into Tetris mode. Position the blocks quickly to clear the way for Mario to hop on through. Don’t drop blocks on the little guy. It will kill him. Don’t let the scenery move by and leave him behind. That will also kill him.

Pediophobes- and pedophobes- may want to avoid viewing Alma, an animated trip into the doll shop from hell (redundant?).  Gorgeous animation filled with bright colors and peppy music cover the nagging feeling that something isn’t going to end well for the tiny heroine. Sure, the ending is a bit Twilight Zone. But multiple views make certain aspects (boy on bike, hellmouth window) extra creepy.

(Via Drawn!)

It was funny because it was true. But recent comments by Giuliani show his reliance on 9/11 mentions is mighty selective:

“We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we’ve had one under Obama,” Giuliani said on ABC’s Good Morning America.

Assuming that Giuliani hasn’t lost control of his faculties, it’s a glaring omission to ignore the largest domestic attack in American history in order to highlight a recent domestic event that was, thankfully, a non-starter.

My vote already went for Aidan Doyle’s Reading By Numbers (yay, number theory!). The full list of stories up for the vote:

Leningrad by D. Elizabeth Wasden
The Moon, a Roman Token by Darren Speegle
The Gnomes are Coast Guards by Chantel Tattoli
Teaching a Pink Elephant How to Ski by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
The Men Burned All the Boats by Patricia Russo
The Adventures of Petal by Paul Jessup
Chemical Magic by Katherine Sparrow
White Stone by Genevieve Valentine
Birds by Jean-Claude Dunyach
Jane by Nicole Kornher-Stace
The Most Dangerous Profession by Sergey Gerasimov
Shades of White and Road by Camille Alexa
Early Winter, Near Jenli Village by J. Kathleen Cheney
Garkain by Samantha Henderson
Voice like a Cello by Catherine Cheek
Revisionist History by Alison Campbell-Wise
Oh He Is by Karen Heuler
Timepiece by Gay Terry
People of Leaf and Branch by Jay Lake
Superhero Girl by Jessica Lee
Woman in Abaya with Onion by Ruth Nestvold
Lake Tahoe’s Lover by Nadia Bulkin
Trench Foot by Cate Gardner
The Water Tower by John Mantooth
The Integrity of the Chain by Lavie Tidhar
Playing with Spades by Mari Ness
Golden Lilies by Aliette de Bodard
The Vigilant by Dirk Strasser
Offerings by Stephanie Burgis
The Moon Over Tokyo Through Leaves in the Fall by Jerome Stueart
Images of Anna by Nancy Kress
The Girl in the Green Sequined Dress by Berrien Henderson
Tending the Mori Birds by Caroline Yoachim
The Good Window by Lisa Hannett
The White Part of the Apple by Emily Yersoff
Clockatrice by Tanith Lee
La Mer by Simon Logan
Jews in Antarctica by Lavie Tidhar
Undocumented by Rachel Swirksy
Light on the Water by Genevieve Valentine
In Dreams Tangible by Su-Yee Lin
A Song to Greet the Sun by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Cesare by Meghan Arkenberg
The Confessions of Prince Charming by Kelly Barnhill
My Best Friend’s Girl by Ari Goelman
Medusa Complex by Christie Skipper Richotte
Into the Monsoon by A. M. Muffaz
Reading by Numbers by Aidan Doyle
The Chrysanthemum Bride by Angela Slatter
The Raccoon’s Daughter by Nicole Kornher-Stace
The Tongue of Bees by Claire Humphrey
Choke Point by Sarah Totton

Voting closes January 25th.

First chapter of John Scalzi’s The God Engines.

Excerpt from Jasper Fforde’s linguistic acid trip that formally calls itself Shades of Gray.

I read the Fforde excerpt shortly before I fell asleep and dreamt the hues in my house were gathering up to attack me.

There’s finally a version of Left 4 Dead that my poor system can handle without stuttering. Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead has two difficulty levels, co-op mode, and sweetly nostalgic 8-bit zombies. Free to download from Eric Roth Games.

(h/t: Girl Gamers Suck , ironic website name is ironic)

Seumas McNally Grand Prize:

Joe Danger (Hello Games)
Monaco (Pocketwatch Games)
Rocketbirds: Revolution! (Ratloop Asia)
Trauma (Krystian Majewski)
Super Meat Boy! (Team Meat)

Excellence In Visual Art
Shank (Klei Entertainment)
Owlboy (D-Pad Studios)
Trauma (Krystian Majewski)
Limbo (Playdead)
Rocketbirds: Revolution! (Ratloop Asia)

Excellence In Design
Miegakure (Marc Ten Bosch)
Star Guard (Sparky)
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! — A Reckless Disregard For Gravity (Dejobaan Games)
Monaco (Pocketwatch Games)
Cogs (Lazy 8 Studios)

Excellence In Audio
Super Meat Boy! (Team Meat)
Shatter (Sidhe)
Closure (Closure Team)
Rocketbirds: Revolution! (Ratloop Asia)
Trauma (Krystian Majewski)

Technical Excellence
Closure (Closure Team)
Limbo (Playdead)
Heroes Of Newerth (S2 Games)
Joe Danger (Hello Games)
Vessel (Strange Loop Games)

Nuovo Award
Today I Die (Daniel Benmergui)
A Slow Year (Ian Bogost)
Tuning (Cactus)
Closure (Closure Team)
Enviro-Bear 2000 (Justin Smith)

No surprise that Super Meat Boy made a strong showing. SMB and Trauma look amazing but I will reserve my support for after they’re available to play. I do own Cogs, though, and can attest that it is one of the best sliding tile games I’ve played. And that isn’t meant as a backhanded compliment.