Gee, I have so much to say today.
I guess I'll just dump it all in one as it's almost 2:30am...
There is a branch of
Electronic Arts in a nearby city and they hold playtesting sessions almost every week.
I first learned about this, well, maybe a year ago, and started applying for positions of interest.
(problem is that the nearest location doesn't create games in the genres I'm interested in)
Anyway, I was finally accepted for one this week (it was today, actually. Or more like yesterday. Okay, let's just say it was on Wednesday and leave it at that) and had a lot of fun.
As I signed an NDA, I can't say much about what happened, and mentioning even the type of game would pinpoint which location I was at, so I'll remain mum on that.
(the NDA lasts for a year, so I've got to wait until September 16, 2011 just to be on the safe side)
Anyway, in payment for having us playtest their game, we were each given one free game from the EA store.
We were told to give them a list of three possible games that we wanted and they'd pick what they had in stock.
Unfortunately, they had none of my choices in stock (LEGO Batman, Battlefield 2142 Deluxe, Battlefield 2: Complete Collection), so I had to choose something else from the store.
Apparently even my recently-built PC is still lagging far behind what is current in the games industry, as the latest Battlefield game (Bad Company 2) would not run much or at all even on that!
(the minimum requirements list a dual-core processor, and a quad-core is recommended!)
So I opted for something that could be similar: Mass Effect 2: Collector's Edition.
(hey, since it was free, I may as well go for the best version)
I haven't installed it yet, as I've got a number of much more important things to do.
Actually, this makes me wonder if I really
have any free time to play games...
As my Wednesdays and Fridays are (in general) available, I've taken on a second paper route.
It's a bit less than a hundred papers and I'm not getting paid the ten-cent flat rate for them (six cents base and half a cent for every flyer over six, with bonuses for any extra deliveries that may be given), so I won't be getting double what I'm getting now.
But, it's in a new area, so I'll be able to meet new people and visit a new neighbourhood.
Though it makes me wonder if there's a reason I seem to be learning this much about my neighbourhood.
I wonder if I'll eventually need this information for something...
And now for something completely fascinating:
Marble Machine 3, by
xeniaguy2, a grandfather, if I'm not mistaken.
It's an intriguing set up, where the initial marble is inserted into the machine at the bottom, and is brought to the top by means of carefully designed and counterbalanced levers.
(it's important to note that it's only initially brought to the top in that fashion, after that, it's brought to the top again via a 21lb counterweight, as the initial mechanism isn't easy to reset)
Once you've watched that one, there are quite a lot of other marble machines out there, including this one that's about the size of a business card:
Card-sized SPACEWARP, by
denha.
You really get inspired by this sort of thing.
It really makes me wish I could get into the game...
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