Blog
The words and works JP Esteban.
July 2016
Converted a membrane numpad to use mechanical switches
FOR SCIENCE
Originally posted on Reddit. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Click for original size. Membrane keypresses work when a conductive membrane bridges two contacts on the PCB. To make it work with mechanical switches, all you need to do in theory is replace the conductive membrane with the switch pins. In practice, it’s quite tricky to hand-solder switch pins to a PCB surface contact that wasn’t specifically designed for soldering mechanical switches onto - or anything, for that matter.
2 minutes
Also, can we make “shartisans” a thing now?
Originally posted on Reddit. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Click for original size. The logical follow-up to the monstrosity r/mk loved to hate. Made for r/mtgawesome, this 100% Primo! Sculpey, hand-sculpted piece of shartisan was the result of taking a dare much too far. When working with Sculpey modelling clay, you quickly realize that this thing attracts more fingerprints than an iPad after a buffalo wing dinner.
2 minutes
If you ordered an Anne Pro, check the battery
Could’ve ended badly.
Originally posted on Reddit. With help from /u/duynguyenle, I found out why my Anne Pro won’t work wirelessly: the battery had been punctured by the switch solder joints underneath the PCB. Aside from his and my units, I haven’t seen this problem reported anywhere else. Still, it might be worth checking; this is a huge fire hazard and should be dealt with immediately Edit: I replaced the battery with one from my KC71 and now it works wirelessly.
1 minute
February 2016
Takeaways from the GG Network meeting
Start of a beautiful partnership.
Originally posted on Reddit. Just realized it might be easier for everyone if I posted an update to this in its own thread, instead of chasing each person down individually. My takeaways from the meeting are these: the guys behind GG Network in the New Media department of TV5 are either super serious, or fucking crazy, or both; and, they have honestly, earnestly, and painstakingly done their homework. I was naive to assume that they were feeling around in the dark, not really knowing the community or our wants and goals.
3 minutes
October 2015
June 2015
Bit of an ARKoholic looking for other survivors
Never found any.
Originally posted on Reddit. Day 1: Washed ashore on some strange island. Can’t remember how I got here. Can’t remember who I am. There are creatures here that I have only seen in books and movies. Too many questions. I must survive to find the answers. Day 3: Some of the animals show signs of intelligence. I’ve domesticated a small yet terrifying creature, reminiscent of those long-extinct birds from the old world.
3 minutes
The ARK is just a game, but the pain is very real
Life finds a way… until server maintenance happens.
Originally posted on Reddit. Last night, I suffered a great loss. After server maintenance, I logged back in and went for a routine fly around the western area to pick up supply drops. Unfortunately, mid-flight I was caught by a sudden server outage. I frantically tried logging in again, and 2 minutes later the server was back up. My character awoke to Petra the pteranodon being slaughtered by a flock of raptors, and I shortly thereafter suffered the same fate.
3 minutes
August 2014
I’ve never played a rogue(quite)like this.
Also, this was my first Reddit post ever.
Originally posted on Reddit. I’m at the SSS branch in SM Aura and they’re playing Chrono Trigger music over the PA system. Needless to say, it caught me by surprise! I remember a few years ago during the televized UAAP games they’d play Final Fantasy battle music between commercials. Does anyone else have anecdotes about hearing game music out of the blue? I was at my Uncle’s farm and he asked me to deliver some chickens to trade for some fish, a couple of houses down by the farm.
2 minutes
April 2014
What to expect if you’re visiting the Philippines
I guess this is my review of the Philippines?
Originally posted on Reddit. I’m posting this here because I received questions about this very topic from people who seem to think I’m a credible source of information. If anyone has anything to add or correct, please feel free to do so because this is for them, not me. Let me preface this with the disclaimer that I moved here way back in 2000, and I was 12 at the time.
5 minutes
February 2014
I’m jumping in on the bandwagon.
US-born Filipino now living in Manila, AMabsolutelyA. Thanks to /u/j_- for getting the ball rolling. I’ve seen a couple others follow in his wake, and it does seem to be stirring up some good discussion in this subreddit. Hoping to promote more of the same here. Not a throwaway, so here’s verification for anyone who cares about that shit. I’m here for most of the day (work blocks FB, G+, Twitter, and most social networks except Reddit, hope it stays that way) so just ask away.
13 minutes
December 2013
10 Videogames That Changed My Life
Reflections on my gaming history.
There’s this list meme that’s going on in Facebook lately, and someone asked me for my own. I’ve had a hard time putting this together because frankly I’ve played a lot of games in my life, and 10 seems to be too few to list. It took a while to distill, but here’s what I’ve come up with. Super Mario World If I recall correctly this was the first videogame I played.
5 minutes
Gaming on-the-go is still gaming.
The currently ongoing Steam sale is making me realize something I’ve been too reluctant to admit. As my PC game backlog grows into an increasingly unmanageable length, I have to come to terms with the fact that my old gaming preferences and habits no longer fit the lifestyle I’ve adopted. I’m no longer primarily a PC gamer; instead, I tend to reach into my pocket, pull out my phone, and switch on an app whenever I feel the urge to play.
7 minutes
November 2013
Depictions of violence against children in videogames.
There’s been some heated discussion lately about the practice of using children as characters in violent videogames. While I don’t particularly care, I do find some of the arguments coming from both sides quite interesting. A little bit of background on the topic: a game called No More Room in Hell was recently released on Steam Greenlight, and it contains zombie children. Players can attack these characters, just like they can attack the zombie adults, and they’re encouraged to - because both the big and little zombies will kill the players if they’re allowed to roam.
3 minutes
Top 5 Weirdest Videogame Afterlives
Death is only the beginning.
Maybe it’s the Halloween festivities, the All Souls Day solemnity, or the fact that recently the Legend of Korra has been dealing with tussling spirits and weird dimensions. Whatever the reason, I feel like bringing up an old article I wrote for Game! Magazine back in 2010, about the way some videogames have portrayed their versions of life after death. Granted, this list is almost three years old by now and many many new games have come out since then - some dealing with the topic in their own special way.
6 minutes
October 2013
Creative Sound Blaster EVO (sans audio cable)
A headphone review.
So what happens when you’re given something to review but it’s incomplete? Like, say a set of headphones but without the audio cable? Well, I learned that the show must go on. Review away! Creative has a long history of providing decent and affordable sound systems (remember these?), but I personally wasn’t aware they also made gaming headsets. The Sound Blaster EVO is their most basic entry in the “EVO” line of headsets, but is there more to it than the flashy red exterior?
Article Gadgets Review Thoughts
5 minutes
September 2013
Playing games is the norm.
Here’s a picture of someone you may or may not know. On many levels, she’s just a girl who enjoys the occasional game of Super Mario, Pokemon, and Fable. In the photo, taken by the guys at roboticrice.com (awesome site, btw), she’s playing DOTA 2. Just so you know, she’s not a “hardcore games or bust” elitist either; she totes around an iPad ready to play Dumb Ways to Die at a moment’s notice.
4 minutes
The best possible Star Wars dice roll ever
Never tell me the odds.
I forgot what the roll was for, but it doesn’t matter. We won. Just to put into perspective how difficult it would be to achieve this kind of roll: The purple dice are bad. They’re 8-sided dice, and only one side is blank (the best possible result on these dice, because that essentially means “nothing bad happens”). The yellow dice are good. They’re 12-sided dice, and the icon you see there is “Triumph.
2 minutes
Have you stopped playing a game because of an SO?
Breaking up with games.
Originally posted on Reddit. I used to play loads of games with her. Diablo II, Terraria, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead, lots and lots of point-and-click adventure games (sometimes she’d take the controls while I watched, other times I’d handle it while she criticized), and probably a bunch more that I’m forgetting at the moment. Ever since the breakup, I’ve never even started those games up again. Initially it was because of the feels associated with her, but after picking myself up and moving on, I’m not sure why I don’t play those games anymore.
1 minute
August 2013
Dark and twisty humor required.
I completely missed out on Cards Against Humanity and have thus been denied the guilty pleasure of laughing like an idiot over forming nonsensical subject-predicate pairs, hilariously unexpected direct and indirect objects, and generally making fun of impossibly silly situations. So apparently this little indie card game is a viral hit. I completely missed out on it, and have thus been denied the guilty pleasure of laughing like an idiot over forming nonsensical subject-predicate pairs, hilariously unexpected direct and indirect objects, and generally making fun of impossibly silly situations.
2 minutes
July 2013
On quitting due to cancel culture.
Let’s take a small step outside of gaming for a bit. Don’t worry, it’ll just be two paragraphs worth of text, and it’ll only be to set the stage. Last June, former Boston Fire Chief Steve Abraira resigned from his post following public criticism about his response to the horrible Boston Marathon bombings, summarized in a letter signed by every other fire chief in the city department. The baseless attacks by the Deputy Chiefs, especially their actions of making this a matter of public debate by leaking their letter of April 26 to the press, has made it impossible for me to continue to do my job.
5 minutes
Gamers are the worst (and best) people
On gatekeeping and harassment.
I was very hesitant about posting this article. An anti-gamer rant on a blog that praises games? Blasphemy. Still, I ended up hitting the “Publish” button because being able to love something completely means to look at its ugliness along with the good side; and to accept the reality of its imperfection, while at the same time helping it achieve that impossible state in whatever way one can. It’s true. The vocal majority of people on the Internet don’t think very highly of those who self-identify as “gamers.
7 minutes
Repackaging Done Right: Tomb Raider 2013
Introducing Girls Got Game.
If you haven’t noticed, Girls Got Game just launched their website recently. Not to be mistaken as merely a feminist take on games and the videogame industry, Girls Got Game aims to provide a voice for the traditionally underrepresented half (and yes, it’s about fair to say half) of the gamer demographic; a voice that, unlike many others, is worth hearing. One of their first articles explores the character of Lara Croft - her whole being and what makes her tick, not as a heroine or even as a female, but simply as a (virtual) human.
2 minutes
System Shock as one of the golden standards of storytelling in videogames
Jed from OMGeek.net talks about System Shock as one of the golden standards of storytelling in videogames, and rightfully so: the game heavily inspired the Bioshock franchise (indeed, it’s considered to be the spiritual successor to System Shock) and also influenced the direction of Deus Ex - yet another PC game classic. More than any other game before it, System Shock let me experience a well-written story at my own pace, and let me put things together and fill in the gaps with my own reasoning and imagination.
1 minute
Sarcia, Cube World, Owlboy, Starbound, Project Zomboid
I have a soft spot for indies, be it in the fields of film, music, or—of course—videogames. And luckily for us, in the past few years there’s been a dramatic rise in the number and quality of independently developed games. There’s hundreds of thousands to choose from across practically any platform you can think of gaming on, but in this article I’m going to shine the spotlight on just five upcoming indie PC games that I feel are worth keeping an eye out for.
3 minutes
This is how we get excited for games
A dialog between two friends.
So Marc and I were having a completely rational conversation about games, particularly of the space sim genre. It started out logically enough, as most of our dialogs do, but then it got weird. So yeah, that’s how we hype up games for ourselves. In other news, Star Citizen is an awesome space sim that aims to bring back all the classic elements of the genre and more. It’s amassed $12 million since it started its crowdfunding campaign, and rightfully so; the team making it is headed by Chris Roberts, best known for creating the excellent Wing Commander series.
1 minute
Horse armor’s a given.
You’ve definitely heard about them, and maybe even bought some. I wouldn’t blame you. But somehow, somewhere, a line must be drawn when it comes to downloadable content, to prevent abominations such as the six DLCs enumerated by Nathe of SeraphimGarden.co. Here’s an excerpt from his article: Possibly the newest contender on the list comes from the already infamous SimCity by Maxis and Electronic Arts. The facelifted franchise recently put up a new piece of DLC that features balloons.
2 minutes
No, this is not Minecraft in Space.
Miner Wars: 2081
Miner Wars: 2081 is a six degrees of freedom (6DOF) space simulator with free-roaming sandbox elements. You operate an advanced mining ship in a fully destructible and open-world environment, which remains persistent as you complete missions or play online with others. It’s been a while since I recorded this footage, but it remains one of my favorite Let’s Plays that I’ve done so far. Unfortunately I never got to continue playing the game, but hopefully I’ll get the chance to come back to it soon.
1 minute
June 2013
Recollecting my earliest gaming memories.
The earliest gaming experience I can remember is of me sitting in front of a TV, connected to which was a Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES is definitely not the first videogame console to hit the consumer market, nor was it the first console I played. But for whatever reason, it’s the one that sticks most fondly to the most basic recollections of my gaming nostalgia. Yoshi leaping for coins.
3 minutes
December 2012
I’ve never played a rogue(quite)like this.
Also, this was my first Reddit post ever.
Originally posted on Reddit. This game. This. Game. I bring it everywhere; to work, to dinner, to the bathroom, walking on the street, riding in the car - only when at a full stop! - on the bed, on the phone, on and on and on… It’s crazy how hooked I am, and I don’t even know how to play! I mean, how to really play. I’m no Nethack veteran - my roguelike of choice was ADOM way back when - so I don’t know all the little things that can be done in it yet (like, can you pour potions into other potions?
2 minutes
August 2011
In my biased opinion.
We’ve all played games that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Call them hits, killer apps, classics or whatever else you want. The fact of the matter is the impacts these games make on their audiences go deeper than any honorific some arbitrary organization can decorate them with. Here are some of the games that, in my mind, surpass GotY and secure their place in history for the years to come.
7 minutes
July 2011
Do the extraordinary.
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are delivering the latest Tomb Raider title, which aims to show players a new side of Lara Croft; one tinged with the green shade of inexperience, inability, and fear. A young Lara, shipwrecked and stranded on a mysterious island off the coast of Japan, must learn to adapt and survive. It’s a completely new adventure for this Lara, who had previously only just graduated from academy.
2 minutes
June 2011
Free Frags For All.
Team Fortress 2, the critically- and popularly-acclaimed team-based multiplayer FPS by Valve, is now free-to-play, with no strings attached. Valve recently announced this at the end of its Uber Update, a week-long chain of patches which added to the already monumental amount of content in the game. Players who have already purchased the game received a decorative proof-of-purchase hat, as well as a ‘premium account’ status. This grants players who bought the game - be it through retail or Steam stores, or who were gifted the game before it went free-to-play - increased backpack (item storage) space, access to all item blueprints (full crafting options), and the ability to give items to other players.
3 minutes
Sorry, editor, for the headaches!
City of Heroes goes Free-to-play Free liberty and justice for all City of Heroes, the first superhero MMORPG to hit the market, is forgoing its former monthly subscription fee in favor of the free-to-play model so popular with every MMO that isn’t World of Warcraft. It’s getting a name change, too. “City of Heroes: Freedom” will still offer a subscription to players who want access to all the features of the game.
5 minutes
PlayStation Vita is the Life of the Party
PS Vita announcement.
Sony PSV. Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily as NGP did, and neither sounds as good as their predecessor, the PSP. Vita is what we’re calling Sony’s new handheld, and considering all that we know about it, the finalized name might just fit, as silly as it sounds. Its technical features are nothing to scoff at. Sony has already confirmed two analog sticks (not nubs), a 5-inch OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, a rear touchpad, Bluetooth 2.
2 minutes
Hide your kids and hide your waifu…
Lulsec is climbing your Windows and snatching your data up. Following the much-publicized Sony PlayStation Network debacle in April, hackers attacked Codemasters last week and Epic Games was breach yesterday. In a non-gaming-related incident, Citibank announced last week that the credit card information of 210,000 customers has been compromised since early May. Bethesda is the latest victim of cyber security intrusions, and from the looks of it, they won’t be the last.
2 minutes
Still won’t stop screen-peeking.
So you’re playing your favorite FPS with a friend. It’s a versus deathmatch mode, and you’ve managed to stalk in from behind. Just before you pull the trigger or stab the knife, though, he controls his character to immediately turn around and manages to score a lucky headshot. Admit it, every one of us who’s ever tried splitscreen gaming has at one point during a match looked at our opponents’ part of the screen.
2 minutes
There’s a new Wii in the house.
There’s finally a face to put on Nintendo’s mysterious new console, first revealed in late April this year. Originally known as Project Cafe, speculation about its final name went wild, including suggestions such as the Wii 2, Wiiii, Wii HD, and The Mario Wonder Machine of Link and Kirby Happiness. Nintendo has settled on the simple yet ambiguous Wii U. Deeper and wider. Nintendo made a huge breakthrough with the Wii, introducing videogames to a demographic that had previously been untapped.
2 minutes
Sequel seeks to improve combat; keep gritty post-apoc style.
Fans of the Ukrainian cult hit can look forward to another waltz down Moscow’s post-apocalyptic metro system as studio 4A Games has confirmed a direct sequel, entitled Metro: Last Light. THQ’s Huw Beynon called the original game, Metro 2033, a “flawed masterpiece,” referring not to the studio’s ability to craft a compelling, engrossing survival-horror atmosphere in a post-apocalyptic setting, but to the lackluster, bug-ridden combat system. In a move contrary to what is expected of big-name FPS games, 4A managed to perfect the storytelling and plot (the “first person” part), but botch the core mechanics such as combat, stealth, and AI (the “shooters” part).
2 minutes
May 2011
Point Blank is coming to the Philippines
Bringing back the good old days
Introduction While gamers all over the Philippines get their FPS fix from the latest Call of Duty and Halo titles, one developer in particular has its sights set on honoring what was arguably the most influential PC game when the local LAN café business was still in its infancy. Though now going on 12 years, Counter-Strike and its prettier cousin Counter-Strike: Source are still the two most-played games on Steam, with daily concurrent users averaging the 50,000 mark.
8 minutes
January 2011
Game! Website Articles - January 31, 2011
New Kirby, Nintendo mum on new console, Pandora’s Tower.
Kirby Sucks and Blows on the Wii Kirby’s coming the Wii again in another epic title, but this time he returns in his former fleshy glory. Be prepared to absorb abilities and switch skins again, because he’s bringing back the classic power we all know and love. So far, the project hasn’t been officially named yet. Judging from the trailer, though, it looks to be the Kirby that we missed out on in the last game.
2 minutes
Game! Website Articles - January 24, 2011
US 3DS price, Wii teaches math, vintage camera app.
Nintendo announces US price of 3DS and games March 27 is the due date for the glasses-free 3D handheld, so if you’re looking to buy one at launch – in the US, at least – you can expect to shell out a hefty $249 for the unit alone, and between $39.99 and $49.99 for every game thereafter. For a handheld, the price is high but not unheard of; the PSP retailed for the same price when it was first out in stores in 2005.
3 minutes
Game! Website Articles - January 17, 2011
Wii loses Rock Band, Wii Fit diagnoses Parkinson’s, Gameloft accused of plagiarizing.
Harmonix cuts Rock Band Network support for Wii Newly-independent developer Harmonix Music Systems has announced on its forums that they will be dropping the Wii out of the Rock Band Network effective January 18, 2011. “Next Tuesday, 1/18/2010, will also be the last scheduled batch of Rock Band Network songs brought over to the Wii,” Harmonix developer hmxhenry posts on the forum. “With the smaller online install base, limited demand for releases so far and the significant amount of work it takes for our producers and audio team to convert and process these additional tracks we’re no longer able to continue submitting RBN content to the Wii.
4 minutes
December 2010
Game! Website Articles - December 27, 2010
Super Meat Boy can’t fit on Wii, Mario Sports Mix, and Lara Croft on iOS.
Super Meat Boy’s too chunky for WiiWare Those of you waiting for a WiiWare version of the hit indie platformer Super Meat Boy (that means you two in the corner there), save yourselves the heartache; because of the service’s 40 megabyte file size limit, the game won’t be released on Nintendo’s virtual store. The news came on Dec. 24 from Team Meat – the developers of Super Meat Boy – via their Twitter account.
4 minutes
Spec Ops: Gears of Duty? Call of War?
Spec Ops: The Line is the ninth game of a series that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2002. It’s a third-person action shooter, similar to Gears of War, but with a greater focus on squad-based tactics ala Rainbow Six: Vegas. The squad members each have specialized skills at the player’s disposal, though the extent of these skills has yet to surface. Players assume the role of Martin Walker, captain of an elite Delta Force team, on a mission to save one Colonel John Konrad.
2 minutes
Big games from small companies.
The past year has witnessed some of the biggest, most expensive videogames ever created, including Gran Turismo 5’s massive $80M budget and Starcraft II’s even more enormous $100M cost. 2011 looks to offer more of the same overwhelmingly high-budget titles. Here’s a chance to get a glimpse of the much less expensive, oft overlooked world of indie gaming. It’s been picking up a lot of speed lately, largely thanks to efforts by major digital distributors in offering venues for indie developers to showcase their games.
5 minutes
Game! Website Articles - December 20, 2010
Wii lineup, Wii modding, & an iPad game for cats.
Wii 2011 Lineup Next year looks like a slow one for the Wii, especially compared to the first-party-filled 2010. Titles to expect include de Blob 2, Conduit 2, Lost in Shadow, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, LEGO Pirates of the Carribean, MLB 2K11, Mario Sports Mix, and possibly the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - though Nintendo has yet to state an official release date. Note that this is not an exhaustive list.
4 minutes
Unfortunately, “It’s on like Donkey Kong” was trademarked.
Platforms: PC Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Retro Studios / Nintendo ESRB: E Official Website: http://donkeykong.nintendo.com/ If there’s one thing Nintendo does well, it’s taking care of their long-time fans. Get ready for a big serving of nostalgia cream pie, because the Ninty guys have continued in the same vein as the New Super Mario Bros. and the recent Metroid games in reviving their classics. As usual, there’s plenty of new flavor to complement the old spice that made the series so revolutionary in the first place.
2 minutes
AKA: The Legend of the Magic Smartphone
Platforms: PC Publisher: Activision Developer: Bizarre Creations ESRB: Teen Official Website: http://bloodstonegame.com/ Ever since Goldeneye, few Bond games were developed beyond mediocrity. Lately, however, the quality of games starring MI6’s superspy has been steadily rising. One may wonder if the new Bond face has anything to do with that, and rightfully so; Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the formerly debonair secret agent arguably translates into videogames with more fluidity and comes apropos to the genre.
2 minutes
Not your daddy’s Tron.
Platforms: PC Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios Developer: GameStar ESRB: Teen Official Website: http://disney.go.com/tron/ Any gamer worth their salt is wary of videogame-movie tie-ins. These games may have decent graphics and sometimes even enlist the voice talents of the actors and actresses starring in the film release, but more often than not the gameplay is lackluster. Notable exceptions include Goldeneye and the Chronicles of Riddick games, both of which are sometimes considered even better than the movies they were based on.
2 minutes
Sexy beasts.
15.5” Sony Vaio E Series (VPCEB37FG) If you’re looking for a stylish, sturdy, and straightforward laptop that features full HD and packs a Blu-ray Disc drive, then look no further. The 15.5” Vaio E comes equipped with all this and more, at a reasonable price per pound. With the latest Intel Core i5-460M 2.53GHz processor paired with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 graphics accelerator, it’s definitely got the power needed to not only run those beautiful BDs, but the latest games as well.
2 minutes