Portal was one of those games that game out of no where. Released as an add-on to the Orange Box, the Half-Life 2 box edition for consoles, the puzzler shined. Combining wry humor with entertaining game play, Portal gained a place in pop culture.
In one of the more memorable levels, you are given a weighted companion cube. This heart embossed cube replaces the more generic ones used in early, and later, levels. Given a game filled with loneliness, the companion cube helps fill that void.
Portal does such a good job of hamming it up, that it comes as a surprise when you must dispose of the cube to continue on. It’s heartbreaking, even if the cube is an inanimate object. As an iconic part of the game, I was excited to replicate it in LEGO bricks.
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# game20
# lego80
# mecabricks32
# portal1
# render48
Tarantula, August’s program of the month, was part of a pair of games that made me think I was a game developer. At the age of fourteen, I didn’t let problems like the lack of a distribution channel tarnish my dreams. Although I didn’t make it into gaming, it’s still fun to look back on what could have been.
(171 reads) (2 comments)
# 19847
# artwork2
# game20
# monthly43
# retro18
# zx8149
I was actually working on a different model when an idea struck me. Wanting an object to look abandoned and old, I grabbed a spider web and threw a black spider in it for fun. But, the web was too large, so I left it off to the side. Getting back to it yesterday, inspiration took a different direction.
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# blender32
# lego80
# mecabricks32
# render48
Do you have those moments where you discover something and want to dig into it? Today was that day for me. Although what I found wasn’t new, I still want to share what I learned—that way I won’t forget later. In this post, I’ll walk you through what I found, why it’s broken, and what I did to fix it.
(231 reads) (0 comments)
# code4
# perl9
# seo1
Wanting something interesting, I struggled to find a ZX81 program to share. Plus, it was getting close to the end of the month. Digging into my old notebook, I stumbled upon Missile Defense. Although short, I expanded it into a something worth playing. Let’s dig deeper.
(263 reads) (0 comments)
# 19835
# game20
# monthly43
# retro18
# zx8149
I got around to logging into Myspace again today. I never really used it in its original incarnation. Truth be told, I wanted to know what it was before when my daughter signed up for an account. Although I’ve known that it was more of sharing space for music now, I hadn’t spent much time with it. That changed today.
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# music13
# myspace1
# sharing1
I haven’t cranked out pictures as much lately. My intent was to work on my writing this month, but life and work intruded. Uninspired to write last night, I searched for something new to render. This cute little LEGO creature offered me a nice diversion.
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# animal2
# blender32
# lego80
# mecabricks32
# octopus1
# sea2
July 4th is bitter sweet for me. I’ve always enjoyed the holiday with its fireworks and celebration. Food, fair and patriotism mix for a usually fun day. Yet, my wife’s mother died on the 4th, making it a day of remembrance and sadness. Time to find something to take my mind off it.
(249 reads) (0 comments)
# blender32
# lego80
# mecabricks32
# render48
As June winds down, I find myself reminiscing about writing month’s program. 34 years later, I still remember the glow of the TV as it lit the notebook in my lap. Although I have fond memories of Tic-tac-toe, time isn’t as kind to it. Let’s dig in.
(326 reads) (0 comments)
# 19835
# game20
# monthly43
# retro18
# zx8149
Each month I check to see what the latest LEGO mini build is. Since I don’t have a local LEGO Store, I often build and render them using virtual bricks. This month, I only needed to render it as as mathieub already built it. Yet, I decided to give it a little character.
(307 reads) (0 comments)
# blender32
# lego80
# mecabricks32
# render48