Andrew Plotkin @zarfeblong@mastodon.gamedev.place

I replayed Prince of Persia (2008). It got me thinking whether that game's ending, which so many people talked about, has been followed up in the past ten years of game design. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2019/01/prince-of-persia-2008-legacy.html

Thoughts on my favorite IGF finalists for narrative: Obra Dinn, Seers Isle, Wandersong. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2019/01/2019-igf-nominees-my-favorites.html

Thoughts on IGF finalists that I had mixed reactions to: Unavowed, Genital Jousting, Hypnospace Outlaw. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2019/01/2019-igf-nominees-mixed-reactions.html

Comments on a few of the IGF finalists: A Case of Distrust, The Hex, Watch Me Jump, levedad. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2019/01/2019-igf-nominees-something-notable.html

I re-read _The Dark Is Rising_ and thought about game design. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/12/and-tomorrow-will-be-beyond-imagining.html

Let me tell you the good word about Cragne Manor: http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/12/cragne-manor-is-available-to-play.html

Yeah, I had to write a quick blog post about this one: _System Syzygy_ by mdsteele. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/11/system-syzygy.html

IFComp results! https://ifcomp.org/comp/2018

Musings on what kind of game _Extrasolar_ was. (Still is, but it's shutting down at the end of the month.) http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/11/four-years-ago-in-planetary-exploration.html

SFWA has announced a new Game Writing category for the Nebula Awards. http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/11/a-nebula-award-category-for-game-writing.html

Just to have the words out there (US politics): http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/11/vote-usa-2018-edition.html

Restless released in EctoComp: http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/11/restless-released-in-ectocomp.html -- an Emily Short game built on SpiritAI's Character Engine. I built a bunch of the underlying engine logic for this style of menu-based game.

Inventing a new IF engine, like one does.

Folk music recommendation: Cindy Kallet.

Recommendations? Basically I am a junkie for Carbon Based Lifeforms. Is that cool or does it make me a massive poser? I grew up on folk music, I have no idea.

There, I bought some stuff on bandcamp to support their "voting is important actually" fundraiser.

Assorted news bits around the 25th anniversary of Myst: http://blog.zarfhome.com/2018/09/myst-25-years-old.html

I have crossed the Rubinomicon and started replacing my script's instances of "###boss" and "###client" with actual names that I just made up.

Best wishes to everybody now plummeting out of Telltale. And man... it's too soon to be sunny-side about this... but I hope this results in a dozen Oxenfrees and Firewatches sprouting over the next couple of years.

Sux about Telltale Games. I did not get into their new-model Walking Dead genre games (Sam&Max forever!) But they never wavered from their commitment to big narrative-centered games, and I appreciated that the industry had that.