Game Review: Anonymous Connection (2021, moniker ersatz)

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

The time is the near future. Earth has been invaded by the Hive. The sky is full of monsters. The surface is uninhabitable. You spend your days in an underground bunker, communicating with other survivors via the screen of your computer. Your user name is Blaze. Your friend, who you have never met in person, goes by the name of Topaz. One day, Topaz asks you if you remember what it was like to kiss. The two of you fantasize about the world that once was while trying to maintain a human connection in an inhumane world. What you don’t know is that the Hive is listening in as well, analyzing the conversation and trying to understand what makes humans tick.

There’s a lot more to this game than just sexting at the end of the world. (And the conversation between you and Topaz never gets that explicit so, if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re out of luck.) Instead, the game tells a story about how, even at the worst of times, people need to connect in order to survive. The conversation that you have with Topaz is about more than just getting off. It’s about surviving the bad times by remembering the good. Even though things are bad outside of your bunker, you and Topaz are capable of connecting. The Hive are not. All three of the characters come to life in this well-written, IF game. It’s a simple story that will leave you with a lot to think about.

Play Anonymous Connection.

Music Video of the Day: Calling All Girls by Hilly Michaels (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 83rd video to premiere on MTV was this animated video for Calling All Girls, off of Hilly Michaels’s solo debut album of the same name. This was one of the more innovative videos to show up on MTV during its first day so, of course, it was only played once. They had to make room for Rod Stewart and Reo Speedwagon.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Dinosaur Island (1994, directed by Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski)

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

What do you get when a producer like Roger Corman notices that Jurassic Park was the most financially successful film of 1993?

Dinosaur Island!

Directed by not just Fred Olen Ray but also Jim Wynorski (and if that combination isn’t enough to spark your interest, I don’t know what is), Dinosaur Island is about what happens when a cargo plane transporting three AWOL soldiers back to the United States crashes near an uncharted island. Led by no-nonsense Capt. Briggs (Ross Hagen), the soldiers make it to the island.

They discover that the island is full of beautiful cavewomen who spend much of their time topless. For the film’s intended audience of teenage boys, that’s good.

They discover that the women are ruled by a queen (Toni Naples) who hates men. That’s bad.

When the women notice that one of the men has a smiley face tattoo, they decide that he is the chosen one who has been prophesized about in the ancient scrolls. That’s good, I guess.

Chosen or not, the men still have to battle the Tyrannosaurs Rex that rules the island. That’s bad. Or is it good? I don’t know anymore.

To save money, Roger and the gang reused the dinosaur who appeared in Corman’s previous Jurassic hit, Carnosaur. They also reused a lot of stock footage from that film. The Carnosaur footage often doesn’t match with the footage that was shot for Dinosaur Island but I don’t know that anyone would expect anything less from Corman-produced rip-off of Jurassic Park. There are some films where the cheapness of it all become a selling point and this is one of them. The special effects are less important than marveling at how the movie got a dinosaur without spending any money.

Dinosaur Island is a bad movie with less than convincing special effects and a lot of overacting but it seems to be aware of its limitations so it’s hard not to like it. It’s obvious that Ray and Wynorski both understood that there was no way that they were gong to be able to make a serious film with the resources that they had available so instead, they shot a flat-out comedy that made fun of its own cheapness. It was the right approach to take, even though the film’s jokes are as often groan-worthy as they are funny. Among the cast, Ross Hagen seemed to have the best understanding of what was needed because he deadpans his way through the entire film, delivering his weird lines with a straight face and giving a performance that wouldn’t be out of place in Airplane! or one of the other ZAZ films.

Not surprisingly, this was a popular film on late night cable back on the day. It’s combination of boobs, jokes, and dinosaurs made it a Cinemax mainstay. Rewatching it, I knew how stupid it was but I couldn’t help but laugh at a few parts. I enjoyed viewing it again. Nostalgia is more powerful than any dinosaur.

Game Review: RetroCON 2021 (2021, Sir Slice)

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

RetroCon 2021 is an entrant in 2021 Interactive Fiction competition. Browse and experience all of the games by clicking here.

Welcome to RetroCon 2021! You’ve just arrived in Las Vegas and now that you’ve unpacked, it’s time to decide what to do. You can go down to the hotel’s casino to gamble and try to add to the amount of money that you already have. Or you can head to the convention hall and check out Retrocon, where you can play three other unique games.

That’s pretty much the entire game. It’s simple but it’s also very addictive. Will you play poker? Will you bet on a horse race? Or will you save your money and play an old football game or maybe the zombie killing card game? There are several games to choose from and, what makes it even better, is that you can switch from one game to another. If you’re not winning any money, head on down to the convention hall and blow off some steam by playing Last Will and Testament. And when you’ve played enough for the day, head back to your hotel room and get ready to to play against then next day.

Retrocon 2021 is six games in one and they’re all enjoyable. It’s almost as good as going to Vegas yourself!

Play Retrocon 2021.

Music Video of the Day: Cruel You by Shoes (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 82nd video to premiere on MTV was this concert clip from Shoes. Viewers during MTV’s first day saw a lot of Shoes.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Daddy’s Girl (1996, directed by Martin Kitrosser)

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

Daddy’s Girl is a forgotten film today but I swear that there was a two-month period in 1997 when it showed up every weekend on late night Cinemax and Showtime. Like many former late night cable mainstays, Daddy’s Girl never developed enough of a cult following to justify getting a DVD release so, if you want to see it, you either have to have a working VCR or the ability to search YouTube.

I’m surprised this film doesn’t have a following because it features two thing that were every popular on cable in the 90s, William Katt and an evil child. This time, William Katt plays Don, a toy designer who can’t get anyone to buy his creations. Because he’s struggling, his wife (Michele Greene) is having to support the family. Despite the fact that they’re not in great financial shape, they still decided to adopt 11 year-old Jodi (Gabrielle Boni). Jodi loves Don and he spoils her every chance that he gets. Jodi hates everyone else and tries to kill all of them.

What sets Daddy’s Girl apart from other crazy kid movies is just how far Jodi will go to kill anyone who might get between her and her adopted father. Don’t even think about recommending that Jodi go to a special school because Jodi will knock you off a ladder and then push over a bookcase so that it lands on top you! Don’t try to investigate her past because Jodi knows how to use a meat tenderizer as a deadly weapon! Even if you’re at the hospital as a result of Jodi’s actions, she’ll just go down there and pull the plug herself! And Jodie won’t just kill you. She’ll make a joke about it after she does it! Jodi is full of one liners. Is this kid a comedian or a killer? You’ll die laughing!

It’s hard to believe that no one would catch on to what Jodi is doing and I think the movie overestimates the physical strength of a typical 11 year-old girl but Daddy’s Girl isn’t bad. William Katt was one of the better actors to regularly appear in direct-to-video thrillers like this one and Gabrielle Boni is a trip as the clingy and crazy Jodi. Direct-to-video mainstays Mimi Craven and Whip Hubley also make welcome appearances. Daddy’s Girl is an enjoyable take on The Bad Seed.

Game Review: an Aside about Everything (2021, Sasha)

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

An Aside About Everything is an entrant in 2021 Interactive Fiction competition. Browse and experience all of the games by clicking here.

There are some games out there that are so surreal and borderline obscure that you’re either going to love them or you’re going to hate them but at least you won’t be bored. That was my reaction to An Aside About Everything, a surreal game that will either leave you feeling very frustrated or very intrigued. You are Him. You exist in a void that appears to be your office. You are searching for a girl whose flyer you have hanging in your office. At first, you only know that her name begins with a K. When you leave the Void, you walk around a strange city and you talk to the strange people within. Some of them seem to know you. Some of them seem to know the girl.

It’s not always an easy game to figure out and it’s easy to get trapped in a loop so I would suggest saving the game every chance that you get. Playing the game, I got the feeling that it wasn’t meant to be totally understood by the person experiencing it. The author, though, seems to know what she was trying to say, even if it wasn’t always clear to the player. As a result, this game is surreal but it’s not random. It’s leading somewhere but where is a question that you may have to answer for yourself. The game was well-written, with brief but memorable descriptions of each location and character and, for a Twine game, you had a lot of options for what you wanted to say or do. It’s not an easy game to figure out and definitely not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

Play An Aside About Everything.

Music Video of the Day: Prime Time by The Tubes (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.

The 81st video to be played on MTV was the video for Prime Time by The Tubes. This song was produced by Todd Rundgren and was a part of a concept album about a man who was addicted to watching television.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

Open House (1987, directed by Jag Mundhra)

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

A disturbed man named Harry starts calling Dr. David Kelly (Joseph Bottoms), a radio psychiatrist who is already being sued as a result of one of his patients killing herself on the air. Harry eats dog food and hates real estate agents because they keep trying to sell the houses in which he’s illegally squatting. The police even suspect that Harry may in fact be responsible for several recent realtor murders. When David mentions that his girlfriend, Lisa (Adrienne Barbeau), just happens to be a real estate agent, it looks like she might be Harry might have a new target!

Open House is from the same group of producers who gave the world Terror on Tour. Like Terror on Tour, it’s a pretty lousy film but at least Terror on Tour had a killer clown and a loud soundtrack. Open House has a bland synth soundtrack and a killer who could just as easily been a generic criminal of the week on an 80s cop show. Rick Hunter would have just blown this psycho away and said, “Works for me.” Because David needs to be redeemed for that patient who killed herself as a result of his bad advice, he gets a chance to encourage Harry to talk about his feelings. It leads to a very long monologue.

The main appeal of the film is that it features the beautiful Adrienne Barbeau but she doesn’t get to do much other than get menaced by Harry. Barbeau supposedly only accepted the roll so that she could use her paycheck to pay for her son’s tuition fees so at least something good came out of this film.

Open House is one of those films that I can remember being displayed prominently at the local video store that we used to visit when I was a kid. It was a popular rental, because it had a cool cover and the back of the box promised much more blood and gore than the film delivered. I can’t remember how old I was when I rented it but I do remember worrying about my mother figuring out what type of movie I had selected. I need not have worried because Open House was about as tame as they come.

Open House has never gotten anything more than a VHS release but it’s there on YouTube for anyone who wants to track it down. I rewatched it knowing that it was a boring film but I had forgotten just how boring. When it comes to this Open House, lock the door and throw away the key.

Game Review: The Last Doctor (2021, Quirky Bones)

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Jedadiah Leland

The Last Doctor is an entrant in 2021 Interactive Fiction competition. Browse and experience all of the games by clicking here.

You are a doctor, working in a dystopian hellscape. You and your clinic are the last stop for many desperate people. Supplies are running low. You are frequently tired and discouraged. But the needy keep coming. One night, a very important patient shows up unannounced at your clinic. He needs your help but does he deserve it? That’s your decision to make.

This is a pretty simple Twine game. It took me less than ten minutes to play it and I get the feeling that it’s actually a part of a bigger story. That’s not really a problem, though. The IF Comp is a good place for writers to show off their work and test whether there’s an audience for a full or more detailed version of their game. The Last Doctor is short and I would have liked more options but it was also well-written. From the opening lines, I could visualize the game’s world and, as I played, I felt like I was in the middle of that clinic, making life and death decisions. It’s easy to see how the game could be expanded and hopefully, it will be. If The Last Doctor were expanded into a bigger game, I would definitely play it.

Play The Last Doctor.