The Blue Casket

Rock, Paper, Shotgun have begun an amusing write-up of a game of AI War, a complex real-time strategy game that prides itself on having a robust and ‘proper’ artificial intelligence. Many readers will probably already be aware of this, but if you’re not you should go and have a read, partly because it’s funny, but mostly because it’s as close as we’ll ever get to playing that game. Brr. Micromanagement.

Officially Unintelligent @ RPS

Fidgit is good sauce. There’s so much goodness on over there, and the Sims 3 stuff is part of it. Games like Total War, Section 8 or similar are hard to tell in a lighthearted way. But this? Man. This is the Fidgit folk showing what they can do when put in charge of human beings. A stark warning if there ever was one.

Sims 3 @ Fidgit

Despite appearances, we’re not looking at DeGeen again today, I just couldn’t find a decent illustration. Anyway! Words. The Escapist is an online games magazine that occasionally dedicates an issue to the fine (and not so fine) art of fictitious words. I thought I’d like you to a couple to see what they’re all about, so here’s a short one about MMO avatars seeking therapy, and another about the defence of an RP server from textspeak. They’re not exactly perfectly executed, but it’s certainly a bit different from the norm.

The Escapist

I promise, this is the last EVE: Online link for a week or two, but The Five Year Spree is going up all week on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and it’s a touching look back on Jim Rossignol’s five years running EVE Corporation StateCorp. It’s a Runner-like dedication to a game that Jim loves dearly, but the fact that it reflects on the actions of humans rather than the game itself makes it all the more special. Jim is passionate about EVE, and this makes The Five Year Spree essential reading.

The Five Year Spree

I’m still away today, but I’ve got a read for you nonetheless. Bookending the weekend with another EVE Online link, this is a short series of forum posts detailing an intricate assault on a system in the epic space MMO. It’s different to most EVE diary links, which are usually single people. Here you get more of a sense of how the corporation (EVE’s take on guilds) works together. It’s impressive, and more than a little exciting. Illustration courtesy of our Friday link.

The Invasion Of G-7WUF

There’s something magical about EVE, something frontier-like about it. Anything seems possible, and even though the reality of the game is a lot less romantic and requires a lot more hard work than most trial players would imagine, the game does embody the feeling of adventure and heroics-seeking that I think the best games are all about. Today we link through to Diary of a Pod Pilot, a charming blog of a single EVE character, detailing a whole load of in-game hijinks with some superb screenshots. EVE diaries are extremely readable for non-players; I recommend taking a look!

Diary of a Pod Pilot

Aside – I’m away over the weekend, but I’ve got the usual glut of weekend posts scheduled, including a new Short. Don’t forget to keep sending your links in! bluecasket <at> sekritforum <dot> com.

So, you’ve written a couple of AARs, right. You got good at a game, you thought you’d post some screenshots. You’re doing great. But not as great as Wiz, who’s strung together four separate games to create a continuous history spanning nine centuries. Starting in the 11th Century game Crusader Kings, we follow the world between games (modded, to keep the story consistent) right up until the end of World War 2. It’s astonishing. Even if you hate the games, read the introduction and behold the majesty of it all.

House Hohenzollern Rising

For the many of us that have never touched a game like Hearts of Iron, it’s pretty hard for us understand why this AAR was difficult to write. But to conquer the entire world using a Native American tribe given how weak they are and what huge forces they face is, I’m assured, nigh-on impossible. PrawnStar is a good author here, and the subject matter is unusual enough to keep even non-players interested. Go and witness the majesty of the Iroquois.

The Audacity Of Hope

I’m on a bit of  a navy-and-uniforms binge at the moment, thanks to Empire: Total War, so here’s some more Fidgit goodness where they take to the seas of the East India Company. It’s short, sweet and you don’t need a degree in history.

East India Company Diary at Fidgit

A kind of double-whammy today. I’ve got two XCOM forum threads for you to take a peek at, just to see how suited it is to this kind of thing. The way it works is that one player takes control of the XCOM team, from the superb and now deliciously retro strategy alien combat game, and names the team after their fellow forumites. There’s one on The Blue Casket’s very own Sekrit Forum, and one over on the legendary Quarter To Three forums. Both are excellent, and both will make you want to spend a piffling few quid on getting the game off Steam.

I Like To Keep This Handy For… Close Encounters (Sekrit Forum)

You’re All Disposable (Quarter To Three)