Rock Blog Wednesday 10/17/07

[hmxsean]

And I would like to present the newest (ok... only) addition to the community team - John V. AKA HMXJohnlok. He'll be helping me out in these parts as well as answering lots of emails from the public. He will also feed me grapes as needed and tend to the horses. Once we get some horses. Regardless there will be cake and we have invited all his favorite weighted companion cubes...

Welcome him to his new hell - working with me!

So I have been playing a lot of Orange Box. Which is a statement that would matter if it weren't for the fact everyone is playing Orange Box. I had the good fortune to finish Portal and honestly it is one of the best written, best designed, most enjoyable games I have ever had the good luck to play. It also has a song at the end by Jonathan Coulton who visited our offices last week (and is rad - and more on this later). I was wicked impressed by how funny the game was with this slight air of poignancy near the end. Brilliant.

Oh... and I have been playing the crap out of Team Fortress 2 with a cabal of other Harmonix folks. This is one of the best multiplayer games I have ever played. I like to play the medic and form a super tank with a Heavy or Pyro. If you don't know what I am talking about please go get the game. I... it's... these aren't tears... there's just a pipe that broke probably in the ceiling and is dripping onto my cheeks. Shut up. I'm not crying.

Both of these games come on one disc for, like, $60 or something. If I could legally marry a privately owned Pacific Northwestern corporation I would. To Mexico!

That is about all for today. What have you all been playing?

BLOGS!

Heather sees Jonathan Coulton hanging around the offices and sees his show. I was in Seattle. Jealous. (http://community.rockband.com/index.php?do=/public/blog/view/id_546/)

Canfield is like your guidance counselor... for rock. (http://community.rockband.com/index.php?do=/public/blog/view/id_547/)

[Apples]

I will assume by the name Johnlok that his name is John and he is endowed with Warlok-like powers? I can't wait to see him call down arcane magicks on the next poor sap who offends the sensibilities of the forum community. :D


As for games, I'm still playing TF2. I've been on a soldier kick lately because he blows up spies and engineer gobbly-gook with great efficiency. The orange box is a deal at twice the price and lives up to the hype.

[ThePaska]

Solid blogs today, I enjoyed reading them. They were quite enjoyable.

Everyone is raving about Orange box, I think I'm really going to have to get it eventually, maybe for the 360 since my PC is in storage and my laptop could in no way handle it. I'm interested in playing Portal and TF2 specifically, I've heard nothing but good things about them.

I have not been playing anything lately, maybe a little Halo 3. I'm home on a week off from school though with nothing but my PS2 and GH I and II which I've been playing a bit, but mostly I have been watching TV and listening to tons of music.

I just got into watching Weeds and Californication (David Duchovny Rocks!), both of which I highly recommend, also Heroes just began again as well as House, both are awesome, Heroes is incredible, and I always enjoy a good House episode.


EDIT:
OH I almost forgot welcome HMXJohnLok! I hope you enjoy your stay here, hopefully we'll see you posting around the forums!

[TheTogfather]

Sadly I have not been playing orange box. I know...I should just leave.

But I have so very little gaming time, and I'm still trying to get through Eternal Sonata and Bioshock...probably about halfway through both I think. Again, I know, this does NOT make me look good. It's all your fault anyway, if it weren't for Rock Band I probably wouldn't even have a 360 and be here posting, all feeling bad in the first place. See, thanks alot Sean...don't you feel sorry for yourself now?

Edit: Whoops, I forgot too...welcome HMXJohnLok! Lost reference? If so, thumbs up! Look forward to foruming w/ you...

[HMXJohnlok]

Whoa!! Like, hello?

A couple points of business before the questions pour in:

1. Johnlok is not from "Lost," nor is it a reference to any long-deceased philosophers. Apples got it right! But I was probably 5 or something, so my spelling wasn't the greatest. It is an original name with sentimental value. Don't mess with me on this! I'm feisty.

Okay so that was really my only point of business, so sue me. On another note, I am incredibly pleased to be here. Aside from the grape-feeding (Sean's messy) and being sequestered in a dark closet pounding away at e-mails, it's a pretty sweet gig. You'll be seeing a lot more of me over the next few weeks as we gear up for RB launch.

A little about me:
I come from the land of Quality Assurance, so if you see any crazy bugs in the game or crashes we missed, you can probably blame me. Or the booze. My favorite game of all time is Baldur's Gate 2. I like lasagna, garbage plates... who am I kidding, I pretty much like all food. Oh, and I play entirely too much WoW and xbox live arcade (Carcassonne anybody?).

Anyway, that's all for now. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better!

Yours in eating way too much lasagna,
John V. - "Johnlok"

P.S. - I need an avatar. Harumph. Who will help me choose!?? Maybe we can make it a contest!

[hmxsean]

See, thanks alot Sean...don't you feel sorry for yourself now?


I regret nothing!

[tf5_bassist]

I want to get Orange Box just for Portal. It looks damn awesome.

[tf5_bassist]

Johnlok, what server do you play on for WoW?

[Eman311]

nice having you here man... have fun with the madness.

yea i'd be a happy man if gamefly would send me the orange box

[HMXJohnlok]

nice having you here man... have fun with the madness

I'm holding my face in my palms right now. There's a really great ASCII image for this somewhere...

[Apples]

Wow, a Baldur's Gate 2 fan to boot. Jon Irenicus is probably my favorite gaming villain of all time... best voice acting in a game hands down.

[ThePaska]

Whoa!! Like, hello?

A couple points of business before the questions pour in:

1. Johnlok is not from "Lost," nor is it a reference to any long-deceased philosophers. Apples got it right! But I was probably 5 or something, so my spelling wasn't the greatest. It is an original name with sentimental value. Don't mess with me on this! I'm feisty.

Okay so that was really my only point of business, so sue me. On another note, I am incredibly pleased to be here. Aside from the grape-feeding (Sean's messy) and being sequestered in a dark closet pounding away at e-mails, it's a pretty sweet gig. You'll be seeing a lot more of me over the next few weeks as we gear up for RB launch.

A little about me:
I come from the land of Quality Assurance, so if you see any crazy bugs in the game or crashes we missed, you can probably blame me. Or the booze. My favorite game of all time is Baldur's Gate 2. I like lasagna, garbage plates... who am I kidding, I pretty much like all food. Oh, and I play entirely too much WoW and xbox live arcade (Carcassonne anybody?).

Anyway, that's all for now. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better!

Yours in eating way too much lasagna,
John V. - "Johnlok"

P.S. - I need an avatar. Harumph. Who will help me choose!?? Maybe we can make it a contest!

Hey JohnLok!

Sounds to me like you're all about fun, I can't wait to see what you bring to the forums!

An Avatar contest would be awesome, you should do that, I'd be up for taking a crack at making one for you.

I used to be way too involved in the "life" that is WoW, I left it before the expansion, good thing too, I gained a lot more free time! Still was ana amazing game though.

[Xzyliac]

John you are about to enter the most awesome community ever. Here's to hoping new variants of the word awesome (awesome 2.0!?) will have to be made with you on board!

Now for that ceremony. Who brought the trout? I got the blindfold!

[Eman311]

I'm holding my face in my palms right now. There's a really great ASCII image for this somewhere...

I must see this image.

[HMXJohnlok]

Wow, a Baldur's Gate 2 fan to boot. Jon Irenicus is probably my favorite gaming villain of all time... best voice acting in a game hands down.

All I can say is... where have you been all my life?

[PsycoCheerio]

Welcome Mr. Johnlok...Best of luck to you around here you seem like you can hold your own...

as for the Orange Box...I haven't had time to play Episode 2 since I've spent WAY to much time on TF2 adn Portal...although I prefer the Spy (nothing like stabbing a fake teammate in the back) I don't think there is a single class in that game that I hate...

[Apples]

All I can say is... where have you been all my life?

Where have I been? Playing Baldur's Gate and other righteous games I guess. :)

That game had so many memorable pieces... like the talking sword that insulted its bearer, all the side quests and characters, etc.

I'll take a pre-emptive stab at your avatar for fun. The original bad ass himself.

http://72.198.210.201:81/jr.jpg

Oh and before I forget... the new community lead initiation involves announcing new songs and/or gameplay information, so you'd better get it over with before you find your desk filled with silly string.

[_Axis_]

>.< I made a login name just so I could say hi to John.....HI JOHN!!! congrats on the gig. no fair getting a job whose at home responsibilites include gaming. you suck. even more so for finding permanant residence in Boston! when shall I ever see you again?! I've been meaning to get portal, looks sick. sadly, my job barely pays for car insurance and gas, so it shall have to wait. K john john, keep in touch.

~Bungo

p.s. rumor has it about IL reunion at thanksgiving? it'd be swell =o)

[HMXJohnlok]

Irenicus it is until further notice (eg. me getting sued or fired or something).

[SmokaCola]

Welcome John, and yeah Sean TF2 is a great multiplayer game. I play a good deal of the mechanic, I'm not one the guys that sits in the case room all day though and does nothing. I set up my sentry and go into the field, then usually I have to run back a bit because a heavy and medic is chasing me while I cry like a little girl.

[Supergeek]

OMG OMG Jonathan Coulton in Rock Band??? PLEASE!!!!!

Re: Your Brains
Code Monkey
First of May
I'm Still Alive

I love Coulton!

[sa_nick]

Hey John!

Sorry I can't write you a longer welcoming message but I've just woken up and found the new info released by IGN, which is kinda prioritized over doing absolutely anything... cept 1 thing... but i don't know you well enough for that....

:/

[Rock_Starman]

This makes me wonder if I'm the only 360 owner to NOT have one of Bioshock,Halo 3 or Orange Box on their card.

[Apples]

This makes me wonder if I'm the only 360 owner to NOT have one of Bioshock,Halo 3 or Orange Box on their card.

It is possible. ;)

[ThePaska]

This makes me wonder if I'm the only 360 owner to NOT have one of Bioshock,Halo 3 or Orange Box on their card.

If you don't have those games, I really can't think of what you could have. You should probably look into getting one or all of those!

[crunchyoverseas]

better rule...I've only been waiting for it since frikken quakeworld.

That intro video ruled (for the day)....I played the **** outta that game. MUST>>>GET>>>>OCTOBER>>>PAYCHECK :D

[Doshin]

Whoa!! Like, hello?

A couple points of business before the questions pour in:

1. Johnlok is not from "Lost," nor is it a reference to any long-deceased philosophers. Apples got it right! But I was probably 5 or something, so my spelling wasn't the greatest. It is an original name with sentimental value. Don't mess with me on this! I'm feisty.

Okay so that was really my only point of business, so sue me. On another note, I am incredibly pleased to be here. Aside from the grape-feeding (Sean's messy) and being sequestered in a dark closet pounding away at e-mails, it's a pretty sweet gig. You'll be seeing a lot more of me over the next few weeks as we gear up for RB launch.

A little about me:
I come from the land of Quality Assurance, so if you see any crazy bugs in the game or crashes we missed, you can probably blame me. Or the booze. My favorite game of all time is Baldur's Gate 2. I like lasagna, garbage plates... who am I kidding, I pretty much like all food. Oh, and I play entirely too much WoW and xbox live arcade (Carcassonne anybody?).

Anyway, that's all for now. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better!

Yours in eating way too much lasagna,
John V. - "Johnlok"

P.S. - I need an avatar. Harumph. Who will help me choose!?? Maybe we can make it a contest!

Xbox live board games FTW, though i lose the intense intimidation in Cattan that i have when playing in real life, i like to subtly hint that if they don't co-operate their 6-source of grain could be visited by a very mean man later.....

[SmokaCola]

This makes me wonder if I'm the only 360 owner to NOT have one of Bioshock,Halo 3 or Orange Box on their card.


Nah, I have Orange Box for the PC and I don't really care for Halo 3. I have Bioshock on the PC as well. So I mean... technically i'm a 360 owner with the games, Just not for the 360.

[Enosity]

I come from the land of Quality Assurance, so if you see any crazy bugs in the game or crashes we missed, you can probably blame me.

John, seeing that I sit right next to you in the dark closet, you'll probably just blame me...

1) Blame party!!!

2) Whoo! first post

3) Three!!

[Huskie]

Welcome HMXJohnlok ... and Enosity?

Enosity,
Did HMX run out of official nametags here? ;)

[HMXJohnlok]

Welcome HMXJohnlok ... and Enosity?

Enosity,
Did HMX run out of official nametags here? ;)

He just thinks he's cool or something... psh!

[Apples]

Welcome HMXJohnlok ... and Enosity?

Enosity,
Did HMX run out of official nametags here? ;)

Must think he's better than everyone else to break the code. Going to have a hard time fitting that big head back into that dark closet with an attitude like that. ;) :D :)

[TheTogfather]

http://www.vickysdeals.com/forums/images/avatars/garfield_head.gif

Get it? Garfield...Lasagna...huh? anyone?

Edit: in case it wasn't clear, this is my 'Johnlok's avatar competition' entry. He looks fairly menacing though...guess it might help keep the locals inline?

[Smidget]

welcome Johnlok! That is all I have for now I think..mm..yep.

[Enosity]

Enosity,
Did HMX run out of official nametags here? ;)

I guess there was some sort of official sign up rule book that I wasn't aware of when I signed up back in May. We're working on getting it fixed as to disband any confusion, blah blah, etc. cheezeburger...

::insert British Invasion accent:: I'm too ROKK for these rules.


He just thinks he's cool or something... psh!

I'm only cool because I'm in a band.....by myself (mumble)

[tf5_bassist]

This makes me wonder if I'm the only 360 owner to NOT have one of Bioshock,Halo 3 or Orange Box on their card.

Sadly, I'm in the same boat. :/

[lithiumkc]

I've been playing lots of TF2 as well.. I like how they kept a lot of the same levels from TFC but i wish there were more... Snipers my favorite so far, just like TFC with the charged shot, awesome. Many heavy headshots and sentry destructions.

We should get a rock band team online sometime.. I'm off work all day and I'll be playing, add my gamertag [LithiumKC] =o

[hmxsean]

I've been playing lots of TF2 as well.. I like how they kept a lot of the same levels from TFC but i wish there were more... Snipers my favorite so far, just like TFC with the charged shot, awesome. Many heavy headshots and sentry destructions.

We should get a rock band team online sometime.. I'm off work all day and I'll be playing, add my gamertag [LithiumKC] =o

I like playing a medic. I'm starting to get really good at leveling up my ubercharge as well as hitting folks with the surgical saw. Repeatedly.

I'm in ur base.

[Eman311]

Still waiting on gamefly unfortunately. Luckily my roommate downloaded it on his pc, so at least got to try it. I was an epic fail at being a spy

[lithiumkc]

I like playing a medic. I'm starting to get really good at leveling up my ubercharge as well as hitting folks with the surgical saw. Repeatedly.

I'm in ur base.

Medics i swear are so hard to snipe. With all this discussion we need to get a game going for sure. Im gonna be on for a few hours now.

[ababypenguin]

What makes Team Fortress so great? I have never played it, but I keep hearing about how awesome it is...

I really just want the Orange Box for Portal, I have been anticipating that game's release since early last year. I have HL2 for PC, but my computer is so crappy I can't play the campaign mode. ( I have 256MB of RAM so the game plays at about 1/2 a frame per minute. :( )

[PsycoCheerio]

Now I feel like I'm missing out on something since i bought it for my PC...Anywho, the only class I don't play often is Engineer because I feel it is never needed, I mean by the time I get to the screen to choose my class there is usually 3-4 engineers on the team already and that seems like overkill...

Spy though...if you get good at it is a blast!