Years before we wed, Steff was my girlfriend and the focus of my Girlfriend Gaming series of posts. Throughout that series, I tried to document her journey through games and our experiences gaming as a couple. It was actually one of the most popular series of posts I did for a while until it stopped in 2013. Let’s take a minute to reflect back on the series that was Girlfriend Gaming, where we’re at now, and what I’d fix if I were to do it all over again.
Playing DropMix over the last few weeks has gotten me to think about music in a new way. This card game with digital elements allows players to mix bits and pieces of songs together by simply placing instrument cards on the board. Want Ed Sheeran to sing over the bass line of LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It”, the synth strings from Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”, and the drums from Rick James’ “Super Freak” while all mixing together in perfect harmony? Simply play the four cards and watch DropMix work its magic.
Having said that, not all DropMix cards or DropMix songs are created equally. In one of the expansion packs we bought, there’s a Beethoven card that’s seemingly impossible to work with. Certain other cards, such as the drums from “Radioactive”, seemingly work with everything. This got me thinking: going beyond personal preferences such as artist and genre, what elements make for a great song in DropMix?
2018 was a year of growth for In Third Person. From expanding to Twitch, to ramping up my social media presence, to connecting with friends old and new, to raising money for children in need as part of Extra Life, the In Third Person experience ballooned dramatically. Coming from a place where I created and maintained the blog for the nine previous years with no ambitions of reaching an audience beyond myself, it was definitely a shock to the system.
In fact, it’s a shock that I’m still reeling from well into 2019. Despite the many successes of last year, I can’t shake this sense of unease that has taken over me when thinking about what this passion project has become. After lots of introspection and a private conversation or two with others about this dilemma, I finally think I know the root issue.
Always at the forefront of music and rhythm games, Harmonix teams up with Hasbro for DropMix. This innovative card game aims to give you unprecedented control over music, allowing you to mix-and-match bits of different songs in order to create intricate mashups and mixes without any prerequisite skill in music. Beyond its free-form mixing mode, DropMix comes equipped with multiple game modes that provide structure to the experience.
Does its music-mixing tech work as advertised? Do its modes of play add value to the experience? And should you take the plunge for DropMix and its expansions?
Lost in the midst of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hype, Asmodee released the first of their digital board games to the Nintendo eShop. While I have not played Carcassonne on the Nintendo Switch, the physical board game is one of my faves, and the iOS port is stellar. I’m confident that the core gameplay is intact.
However, there’s one feature that is missing from this game that makes its purchase unjustifiable for me: online play. It also looks like the rest of the games in this series so far are also lacking online play. Without it, I’m probably not going to buy any of them, even if these are great renditions of great board games. Especially at the price they’re currently being sold for.
This is especially head-scratching, as you could play Carcassonne online on the Xbox 360 a decade ago. Its exclusion here is simply baffling. Until we get online play in here, I don’t see any reason to buy these versions over the physical board games or the much-cheaper-and-probably-just-as-good mobile ports.
Buy Carcassonne: New Edition Now From Amazon.com
Mark your calendars!
On November 3rd, at 8:00 am EST, we’re broadcasting a 24-hour gaming marathon from my house in support of Extra Life! You can watch the whole broadcast at twitch.tv/inthirdperson!
I won’t be alone, as it’ll be one big gaming party with friends and family in the house and beyond. My brother Randy will be there! Jenna from the Overwatch streams will be there! Mat and Jon of Boss Rush fame will be there! Jason and Laura of downstab.com will be making a remote appearance! Kris and Rachel from Double Jump will be making a remote appearance! My mom doesn’t know what streaming is, but she’ll probably be on to play with us! And of course, everyone’s favourite Halo-loving corgi Dusty Bottoms will be there!
We’re doing this help raise awareness and donations towards the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals. They provide 32 million treatments to children in 170 different hospitals in the US and Canada. 100% of the proceeds goes to the cause, so please hit the banner below and donate!
Hope to see you on November 3rd!
How do you take what is arguably the greatest video game of all-time and translate it to a tabletop gaming experience? Tetris Link may certainly look the part, but this isn’t a game where you wipe blocks out of the well by creating lines. Instead, the basic premise of Tetris has been transformed into something new. Does Tetris Link do enough to stand on its own without alienating those looking for a more Tetris-like experience?
Excited to be hopping in the car this morning and driving over to The Hammer for my first ever Hamilton Comic Con! I’ll be there primarily in support of my wife and sister-in-law, as they’re set to compete in their first ever cosplay masquerade. Wishing them both the best of luck! However, when they’re not in the heat of competition, I’ll definitely enjoy everything the show has to offer, from the shopping, to the panels, and more! In particular, I’m still debating whether I want to get a picture taken with one of my all-time favourite wrestlers, Rob Van Damn.
I’ll try my best to post images and video from the show on my Instagram so you can follow along. Maybe I’ll see you there even? I’m gonna guess no, but who knows!
Once upon a time, our ancestors built great cities across the world. In the present, two-to-four “Delvers” are tasked with claiming these ruins and building new landmarks to restore these areas to their former glory. It’s a rather elaborate setup for Unearth, which is essentially a press-your-luck dice game. Are you ready to get some dirt in your nails in order to renew a city lost in the annals of time?
Oh you didn’t know In Third Person has a Twitter account? I don’t blame you.
When I first started the blog in 2009, I set up a Twitter account to take advantage of being able to post from the blog to Twitter automatically. From then on, it was nothing more than a content-posting robot. For that handful of people that have subscribed to my Twitter feed over the years in spite of this, thank you. Also, why would you subject yourself to that?!
It’s emblematic of how I’ve handled external platforms until fairly recently. External platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch were afterthoughts. Nothing more than platforms with functions that could help enhance the experience on my site. To a certain extent, I still don’t know how engaged I want to be on those, as external outreach isn’t necessarily a priority for me. However, being a spam machine isn’t a good look regardless.
In Third Person 