The project is built in a flash framework called Flixel, so you can try RAAJOCBDFOTLSOTS online: just click on the image. As somebody (possibly Darius) put it, Game Jams aren’t the place for win states, so just do as the title tells you and enjoy the game!**

*Our development process, while highly democratic, took a decidedly dictatorial turn when Michael came up with this name. I wasn’t about to argue!

**If there aren’t any cars on the screen, use the arrows to run and jump to the right until they respawn.

Update 2/23/09: Emily Daniels has posted a complete list of the projects created at the Dino jam. Everybody had something awesome to show by the end of the weekend, so check out the rest of the games!

Introduced to the band through “Dissolved Girl’s” brief appearance in The Matrix, I backtracked from Mezzanine to Blue Lines, eagerly awaited 100^th Window in 2003, and somewhere along the way acquired their limited edition Singles ‘90/’98 collection. I have gone to see movies purely because this band recorded the score. Nowhere along the way would I have necessarily have claimed they were one of my favorite bands, but I have been a devoted listener for over a decade and I somehow own their complete discography. Suffice it to say that I was pretty excited to hear they had a new album coming out, especially after seven years of silence.

When Heligoland finally arrived, it wasn’t until I hit track four that I really believed I was listening to a Massive Attack album. 100^th Window, though my least favorite album, was still a direct evolution of the sound the band employed on Mezzanine; it was only with the familiarity of long-time collaborator Horace Andy’s voice and the rolling beat on “Girl I Love You” that I could connect Heligoland to the back catalogue. It is a different sort of album, and the style of the band has condensed—the sound is darker, a sort of sonic Pandora’s box that sometimes feels even more threatening than the densest moments of Mezzanine—but the guest vocalists are used to greater effect than they have been since perhaps 1994’s Protection, and there is an uplifting aftertaste to each song. The voices of Horace Andy and Robert Del Naja keep the new sounds grounded, and the rest of the songs each fall into place. It took a couple of listens, but this is definitely a Massive Attack album.

It took years for the spare minimalism of electronica over the past decade to mature into balanced work like Gui Boratto’s album Take My Breath Away. Massive Attack have undergone a similar evolution since 2003, and it is fitting that it was Boratto’s remix of “Paradise Circus” that finally sold me on what they have become. Heligoland is an album created a full decade into the 21st century. Massive Attack have stripped down their sound, rebuilt it, and infused it with a clarity they haven’t had in years. This album is dark so it can be uplifting, resolute so it can surprise you, and it truly sings in remixes. I’m a fan.

The album is available on iTunes.

You can now find this blog at http://goos.es/kaw. It doesn’t actually shorten it much, only about 4 characters, but I needed something to test their (very slick) interface.

http://globalgamejam.com/2010/quest-stick

Edit, February 1: Jeff has released the most up-to-date build as a .msi installer, which automatically pulls in the required dependencies. If you were having trouble running the game, try the alternative download link on our Game Jam homepage.

I got involved with the Game Jam through my participation in the Boston Postmortem IGDA meetings in general, and the Boston Indies independent game development meetup in particular. This past evening I attended a Boston Indies event in which Eitan Glinert of Fire Hose Games discussed the process of submitting their current project, Slam Bolt Scrappers, to the Independent Games Festival competition. Eitan’s presentation had some interesting points that I will be posting in the near future, but for now you should follow @FireHoseGames and check out the Slam Bolt Scrappers site for more information.

Additional shout-outs to Kristina Drzaic, formerly of 2K Australia and now at the once-again-Irrational Games, and Amanda Cosmos, a QA tester at Turbine and generally cool person.

The last year was great, but whether 3D animation, games, wire sculptures, or pastels, I haven’t made nearly enough. It’s even been about four months since I’ve done any significant damage to my sketchbook. This had to change.

Step One was to reboot this blog. Welcome to Version… 3.0, I suppose, measuring from complete homepage re-designs. All my blogs have been consolidated, all the old content is down, and it is time to start fresh. I’ve chosen to adapt Khoi Vinh’s Basic Maths theme, a clean design with lots of room to grow and a license conducive to installing my own modifications down the road.

Step two was to sign up for Somerville Open Studios, a great event in my town where artists all over Somerville throw open their studio doors for a two-day art sale. While at present I have neither a studio nor a standing body of work, I have three months and a lot of inspiration, so see you at the SOS community space at The Armory on May 1^st.

Step Three was to sign up for the Global Game Jam, a topic I will discuss more towards the end of the month.

I think it’s going to be a good year.