Angled Whiteboards

So this was a superfun surprise: over the weekend, AW-regular phorteetoo/evilcagey announced that he’d started up a dedicated [unofficial] GameTap forum at GameTappers.net.

It was just in time, too. I was all set to dirty up this here blog with a post dedicated to my need for help on level 23 of Pyramid Magic. Now, I can just dip in the appropriate thread (thanks for starting that one up, dinah) and get to begging…

In just a couple of days, a number of fun threads have cropped up: digging up GameTap’s hidden gems, a quick-start guide to Interstate ‘76, even a wishlist of games folks would like to see.

(Every week or so, we round up what others are saying about GameTap and present a sampling of the chatter. Let us know if you see other GameTap-related posts out in the wild!)

• Kehra figures us out and gives us a hug.
• Morningmist83 sounds like an emo kid with a new addiction.
• GammingGirl answers the call of Culexor’s rant with video proof.
• sumiyoshi writes about getting on the Super Breakout leaderboard (as hi_tsukasa) — and in the process gets added to my buddy list. Looks like I (along with AW regular batzradio!) need to keep working at this:

• Purple Dragoness is having fun with Myst Online’s co-op puzzles and her “beloved GameTap account.” Oh, and she works for TiVo (I’ve been a fan since my first box back in ‘99)! So she definitely knows the value of a good interface.
• Ashke is an MC Chris fan who shouldn’t feel required to bow.
• Joe seems to have uncovered a decent source for keeping up with GameTap’s latest releases.
• Freelancers Marketplace has an interesting project up for bid. Good to know there are always other chances for Dinah and I to design “3D navagation” if this whole GameTap thing falls through.

(Every week or so, we round up what others are saying about GameTap and present a sampling of the chatter. Let us know if you see other GameTap-related posts out in the wild!)

• Dan wisely keeps his platform-agnostic hands full with GameTap, a Wii, a 360, and a PS3. DEDICATED.
• Rona is a stay-at-home mom who recognizes GameTap’s value — and would be well-served by memorizing something like this.
• Broy is operating in severe stream-of-consciousness mode (SSOC).
• Jay won that sweet Sam & Max Joystiq raffle.
• The Normal One tugs at the heartstrings.
• Bonnie is keeping her site alive and intends to talk a lot about her experiences in Myst Online.
• bravetiger27 deservedly shows off their Sonic 2 high score — top of the all-time leaderboards!
• Storygamer has a really nice write-up of The Last Express and kindly requests that someone develop more real-time adventure games.
• Duncan runs the numbers on episodic gaming and concludes that Sam & Max is as valuable as good episodic television. (This coincides nicely with our own Rick Sanchez’s recent Gamsutra piece.)

(Every week or so, we round up what others are saying about GameTap and present a sampling of the chatter. Let us know if you see other GameTap-related posts out in the wild!)

• Stewart and Amber both had GameTap on their Christmas lists. Stewart wanted you to give it to him; Amber wanted you to give it to others. If only you knew them both…
• Andy’s got a different kind of wishlist. (What, is Super Football not 3D enough?)
• FatsoCastro provides a fun play-by-play of his first night with GameTap.
• Deg (an Angled Whiteboards commenter!) is journaling his experiences deep in Myst Online. So deep, in fact, that I have no idea what he’s talking about (Bahro screams? Hinged versus sliding doors?). But it sure sounds all kinds of intriguing.
• John found one of the Commodore 64’s must-have games: The Movie Monster Game. Sounds perfect for those folks who want a little strategy mixed in with their Rampage-ing.
• Nick’s got GameTap in his year-end best of pop culture list.
• sol.id.if.i plays Sam & Max while severely intoxicated.
• Greg at 4 color rebellion gives that same game a sol.id (and seemingly sob.er) review.
• Wingless Angel needs a controller and some New Year’s plans. Are people still camping overnight for consoles? Kill two birds with one stone!
• RadarRider puts GameTap/Sam & Max in the same company as The Snohomish County Public Utility District, powerful antibiotics, and his lovely wife. The rare trifecta (plus seven others)!

(Every week or so, we round up what others are saying about GameTap and present a sampling of the chatter. Let us know if you see other GameTap-related posts out in the wild!)

• Slack3r78 is doing his part to keep the Evil Avatar community up to date with our version changes. Thanks!
• Amber has a theory about GameTap and our plans for the world.
• SenorWeird reminds me that I too need to play The Incredible Machines.
• Malsie Monster keeps it short and sweet. (While listening to Crispin Glover of all people…)
• akimbo_beretta found a gem in The Last Express. His MSPaint crack makes me laugh.
• John is coming around thanks to the mix of GameTap Originals and classics (one of which is the Atari 2600 version of Crystal Castles — I still find myself playing the arcade version and singing cereal commercials (featuring a 13 year old Jack Black?!)).

One of the fun parts of our job is keeping up with all the Internet GameTap chatter. We’ve stumbled across a number of reviews (or rants!) that inspire us, give us new enhancement ideas, or even point us in the direction of fun games in our catalog (with over 700 games and growing, there are bound to be a few gems we haven’t played). So in the vein of that last review dinah linked up, we’re starting a regular series pointing out some of the things the community is saying about GameTap, our games, etc.

From the last week:

• batzradio kicks off a helpful GameTap megathread on the Something Awful forums.
• roushimsx follows up and lists three games that immediately jumped to the top of my to-play pile. Dude knows how to sell a game.
• Eleri talks about the importance of Myst Online: Uru Live.
• dystopia productions knows how to prioritize his life and budget.
• Orlando’s digging Second Sight and has over 200 favorites!
• David Ginn is eagerly anticipating Myst Online: Uru Live’s international launch.
• Christian sussed out one of our untranslated Japanese Mega Drive Games (and successfully talked me into giving it a shot).
• Hoosier Hunter is giving Andi and fam the gift of a year’s subscription. Very nice!

And a couple of slightly older reviews:

• bapenguin gives us a nice thumbs up. This last release should address his desire to see recent games across multiple sessions.
• Julian “rabbit” Murdoch tells the story of the perfect GameTap experience. This write-up lit the halls over here — it completely nails what we’re aiming for.

(See a conversation about GameTap happening out there in the wild? Have we missed anything in the last week? Let us know!)