30 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Sunday, 30 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 026d - Recon in Force

0:00 - golem
3:40 - druid's grove
5:40 - druids
8:40 - Yaevinn

29 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Saturday, 29 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 026c - Recon In Force

0:00 - swamp
1:20 - cave
5:00 - swamp
5:50 - Vodyanoi
6:50 - dock
8:00 - golem

28 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Friday, 28 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 026b - Recon in Force

0:00 - Vizima
2:00 - swamp
2:40 - Vaska
4:40 - swamp

26 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Wednesday, 26 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 026a - Recon In Force

0:00 - sewers
1:10 - crypt
9:00 - sewers

24 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Monday, 24 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 025b - Detective Work

0:00 - Temple Quarter
1:20 - Vincent
4:40 - Thaler
7:00 - Kalkstein



Witcher 025c - Detective Work

0:00 - Temple Quarter
0:20 - books
1:30 - Gravedigger
2:20 - Temple Quarter (Siegfried)
4:00 - Blacksmith
4:20 - shop
5:10 - Temple Quarter

23 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Sunday, 23 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 025a - Detective Work

0:00 - ~Harbor Whore~
1:20 - Resolute Boy
1:40 - Raymond
3:00 - Shani
4:20 - Gravedigger
8:20 - Hildegard Zollstock

21 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Friday, 21 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 024d - Vizimian Nights

0:00 - Siegfried
1:50 - Thaler
2:40 - Kalkstein
3:20 - talents
4:10 - Leuvaarden

19 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Wednesday, 19 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 024b - Vizimian Nights

0:00 - Jailer Jethro
2:00 - Raymond
5:10 - Siegfried



Witcher 024c - Vizimian Nights

0:00 - messenger
4:10 - Vincent

18 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Tuesday, 18 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 024a - Vizimian Nights

0:00 - Kalkstein
3:30 - Blacksmith
5:50 - Zoltan
7:30 - Vincent

16 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Saturday, 15 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 023 - The Accident

0:00 - Gramps
0:30 - swamp forest
4:00 - the accident
4:20 - bizarro frightener

13 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Thursday, 13 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 022 - Teletubbies And Kabobs

0:00 - brickmaker village
2:20 - small islands
4:30 - golem island
5:30 - island hut
6:40 - Gramps

11 May, 2010

Holy Crap! Words!

written by Blain Newport on Tuesday, 11 May, 2010

I've been focusing on the Witcher Let's Play a lot. It's a huge game, and I want to move through it expeditiously. Honestly, it was probably a fool's errand to begin with, but I'm a fool, so wattaya gonna do?

I could stop. One subscriber has already complained and will likely unsubscribe. But I'm a bit too invested at this point.

The Witcher Let's Play is already my longest, and longer than Heart of Evil and Gunman Chronicles combined. Plus the best part is how the ending takes the decisions you've made and brings them back on you.

I'm trying to spend more time with each installment, making more observations and being more ruthless with my edits. The thing that kept me interested in the game was the sense of exploration, so I should probably keep looking for opportunities to let the viewers guess at what's going on and what might be coming next.

But that's more work for me to do in private. I suspect the last thing any text starved readers of this blog want to hear about is me brainstorming ideas to improve the quality of the thing that's depriving them of content. :P



What needs to get written is Big Baby's War Journal, a record of my month in Champions Online. I've got some pictures and video and a few short anecdotes to share. I should write them before I forget them, but The Witcher generally feels more pressing.

There's also been a lot of Borderlands (co-op and solo) going on. Borderlands is comfortable, but rarely exciting. I think I actually prefer the combat in Titan Quest, once you get enough abilities to make it interesting. We may try TQ later.

And when I got tired of Borderlands I blew through Stranglehold three or four times. It's popcorn for the mind.

Oh, and I also took a trip through the original Devil May Cry again. It's still good. It's still challenging, even on normal. And as much as I rail on trial and error, the fact that many of the boss fights in DMC are trial and error didn't phase me because I learned something almost every time. I should probably be more specific in the future when I criticize "trial and error" design failures in games.



None of these comfort foods really comfort anymore, though. I don't feel like I'm getting anything vital from games right now. Outside of The Witcher and Co-op Tuesdays, it's probably time to give it a rest (at least until Super Mario Galaxy 2 comes out).

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Tuesday, 11 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 021d - Into The Swamp

0:00 - Vaska
1:30 - WTF?
2:30 - clay pits
5:20 - Vaska

10 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Monday, 10 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 021c - Into The Swamp

0:00 - swamp forest
1:10 - Gramps
2:30 - swamp forest
5:50 - brickmaker village
6:30 - Vaska

09 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Sunday, 9 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 021a - Into The Swamp

0:00 - talents
0:50 - alchemy
2:00 - fistfighting
4:30 - order merchants
5:20 - dike
6:10 - Leuvaarden
7:20 - dike



Witcher 021b - Into The Swamp

0:00 - swamp forest
0:50 - Jean-Pierre
2:50 - Gramps
4:00 - swamp forest

07 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Friday, 7 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 020h - Talking Heads

0:00 - dike
2:00 - quest review
2:50 - Raymond
5:30 - temple quarter



Witcher 020i - Talking Heads

0:00 - Shani's grandma
0:40 - Shani
3:00 - quest review
3:30 - Shani
4:30 - wrap up

04 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Tuesday, 04 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 020f - Talking Heads

0:00 - hospital
2:30 - protecting business girls
7:10 - Carmen



Witcher 020g - Talking Heads

0:00 - dice with Carmen
3:40 - Ramsmeat
5:30 - Conrad
6:40 - abandoned house
9:30 - Siegfried

03 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Monday, 3 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

Witcher 020c - Talking Heads

0:00 - antiquary
1:20 - shop
2:10 - quest review
4:10 - Jailer Jethro
7:30 - Zoltan



Witcher 020d - talking heads

0:00 - Vivaldi
3:50 - books
7:20 - Shani
10:20 - Altar of Melitele (Sephirah)



Witcher 020e - Talking Heads

0:00 - hospital
2:00 - old woman
4:40 - Kalkstein
7:10 - Kalkstein's Notes

02 May, 2010

Game Journal: The Witcher

written by Blain Newport on Sunday, 02 May, 2010

GAME JOURNALS CONTAIN SPOILERS. DEAL WITH IT PINK BOY.

There will be more installments, but I recorded an hour and a half, and almost nobody wants to watch all that at once.

Witcher 020a - Talking Heads

0:00 - alchemy review
2:00 - Drunk
4:20 - talents
6:10 - Waitress
7:20 - Munro
8:30 - Gambler



Witcher 020b - Talking Heads

0:00 - Carmen
1:40 - travel
2:30 - Order armorer and merchant
3:30 - shop
4:30 - Gardener
7:10 - travel
8:50 - Herbalist
9:50 - Peddler