I’ve always resented April Fool’s Day — probably because I’m the one whose always getting pranked! I like to think that it is because I’m a trusting person and quick to believe what my family or friends tell me in an earnest voice. What do they tell me on April Fool’s Day? That I’m just too gullible! *L*

Anyways, I figured that for April Fool’s Day, I would share some things in my life that you might not know about (old and new). There’s no “joke” or “prank”; I just consider it wacky/amusing enough to post.

Did you know that there is a secret room in my house? They were all the rage in the 70′s when my Dad rebuilt this wall and added concealing wood paneling to the doorway. It was intended to be a panic room, but has been turned into everything from a law library to a doll room over the years as it suited my parent’s needs.

When I was young and still attending private Catholic schools, it was always my house that got picked for slumber parties, because my girlfriends would love to play pranks on the girls who had never been here before. One girl would distract the “victim” with idle conversation as her back was to the wall, while the “accomplice” secretly waited on the other side for an opportunity. When the timing was right, our prankster would open the door (which silently swung inward) and grab the poor girl from behind — kicking and screaming into the room! Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but there was definitely screaming once we turned on the lights and she saw dolls EVERYWHERE (Puppetmaster was popular at the time). XD

My local library was having a book sale recently and my Mom was really excited to go. When I saw the books, I understood why, because some of them predated my Grandma! They say that the best way to judge a generation is by its literature, and the politics of the times were definitely reflected in some of these titles.

The McCarthyist presentation of this one caught my eye. The primary motivation behind these reports were the Berkeley riots and socialist movement that swept through California in the 1960′s. This final report however wasn’t submitted until 1970; so it seems out of touch even by the standards of its own time! I find it humorous because it was the product of a state as notoriously liberal as California.

I pre-ordered Red Dead Redemption weeks ago when Rockstar announced the Best Buy War Horse. I literally made a deposit and got my receipt the day of that announcement. It was a bit of a hassle, because the clerk had to explain to me why they only accept deposits for pre-orders and not payments in full.

Then I received an e-mail from my Mom yesterday, saying that Best Buy had called several times asking for me to pick up my “Red Dead Redemption pre-order.” I was confused, since I hadn’t read anything on Kotaku about the game being released early. What could they possibly want me to pick up? As it turned out, this absolutely pointless, empty cardboard box that says “PRE ORDER ONLY – GAME NOT INCLUDED.” I seriously thought it was some kind of early April Fool’s joke, because it was really inconveniencing to go and pick up.

The clerk also refused once again to accept my payment in full for the pre-order. When I do go to pick up the actual game, I’ll have to wait in line to pay for it along with the same people who are buying it at launch. Doesn’t that totally defeat the purpose of pre-ordering? No wonder BBY keeps dropping…

I’m not ashamed to admit that for an Indie title categorized under the “Family” genre on Steam, Secret of the Magic Crystals is a very enjoyable game. The premise of raising fantasy horses is whimsical enough to appeal to my inner-child, while the strategy elements involved in their breeding and outfitting adds an element of complexity that I find engaging enough to keep me interested as an adult. I’ve clocked twenty hours into the game since receiving it as a gift from Ayakashi a few weeks ago — it is highy addictive!

I was surprised that for such a simple and multilingual title, virtually no information existed online for SotMC. GameFAQs only contains the official game description paragraph, which article stubs on game news websites merely regurgitate ad-naseum. Even the developer’s official website, which I only found by Googling their company name, doesn’t do much to promote the game. Running a basic WordPress install, it offers a minimalist game booklet for download. I found it useful as a game introduction, but still lacking as a tutorial in explaining even the more basic gameplay functions (most of which I had to discover on my own). It is a shame considering the obvious amount of thought and effort that they invested into developing the game.

I love my new horsey socks!!! >3< Aren't they adorable?! His sign says: “Will Work For Carrots!” *L*

Valve introduced a Steam UI beta recently and the prospect of eventually being forced to use it during my games is absolutely horrifying. It is like going from OPEN LOOK to Motif while breaking every GUI/window standard since 1994 (obviously, it wasn’t designed by a Californian). *L* Everything is so graphics-choked and cluttered (not to mention resource-intensive due to the Steam cloud) that the overlay now takes twice as long to open or close during a game. The more graphics-intensive the game, the more likely the overlay is to crash.

The purpose of the Steam overlay (to me) has always been communication; having a means of organizing things with your friends when you are already in a game. The browser was a welcome addition in that it provided a quick and forgettable distraction from L4D2 lobbies when you were waiting for people to join. Valve however seems to have re-evaluated the overlay’s purpose and concluded that it needs to be more browser (and distraction) oriented. They’ve provided “helpful” links to game groups and the forums in the upper-right of the overlay, since apparently we all can’t live without reading/making “+1 rep” posts during a game. If you’re the type of person to have more than one chat window open at a time, you’re likely to accidentally click one of these links while moving/closing the windows — which is as distracting as it is resource-hogging.

This all might be acceptable to me if some of the additions to the overlay were necessary improvements or beneficial to me in some way as a user, but they’re not. They do nothing to improve the appearance or functionality of the overlay and only serve to make it more unstable. Why would I need to see my most recent Achievement for a game in the overlay, when I could review that information in my Control Panel, or on my Steam Profile? Why do I need to read a three-month-old news feed for the game when I already belong to the Official Group and receive news in the form of Announcements? Why do I need to see a horizontal display of four random friends (who aren’t even playing the same game) when my vertical Friends List does a better job?

I really hope that we’ll have the option of continuing to use the old overlay once the new one is released.

I hate worrying about getting my riding boots dirty outside of the arena (leather and mud don’t mix), so I bought these wellies to wear when I’m lunging, brushing, picking, and otherwise seeing to the care of horses. I have no intention of wearing rubber boots with no grip in an English saddle; so without needing to worry about soles, I gave myself an excuse to browse Hunter’s RHS collection. I picked out this monochrome floral pattern to match my riding habit, which usually consists of dark grey or black jodhpurs in the winter. However, I forgot to pick a size larger than I normally wear (so that I could slip them off easily when muddy); so they’re tight around the calf. I already purchased a different pair to wear in the meantime, but I still haven’t decided what I want to do with these yet. It isn’t economical to return them and they’re too pretty to sell at loss. =(

Oh! I was reading about Battlefield: BC2 on Kotaku yesterday when something familiar caught my eye. XD

As stereotypical as it may sound (being an American-Italian born and raised in California), I’m something of a Spaghetti Western fan. I own every western directed by the three Sergios (Leone, Corbucci, Sollima) and have seen practically everything Italo of the genre (from serious to self-parody) that was filmed in the 1960′s. I suppose you could say that I’m as much a fan of the American western as I am of Japanese jidaigeki. =)

Whenever I watch a new trailer for Red Dead Redemption, it is like I’m seeing the greatest western ever made… into a videogame. The realistic details are what get me; like the locations I could almost swear I’ve been to in California, or the realistic lever-action on an 1894 Winchester. Most guys would probably pick up on the countless Fistful of Dollars references, or the soundtrack that sounds as if it could have been composed by Morricone himself. As for a girl like me? I’m drooling over the animation detail on the horses. Seeing them change gaits during chases will be a beautiful sight to behold and experience in videogame form!

My only concern is for the game’s timeline, which the narration sets in the “early days of the 20th century.” The “Wild West” as we envision it ended with the Mexican Revolution in 1910; which unfortunately appears to be the central focus of the game’s main storyline. This really disappoints me, as I would have liked to experience the west during its “golden age” in the 19th century, in America, with American history! I just don’t consider the Mexican Revolution to be as exciting a backdrop for a western as the American Civil War. Surely the Gold Rush would have provided an equal amount of tension (with the westward expansion of technology and law enforcement), as well as opportunity for riches and adventure? IMO, involvement in skirmishes between Confederate and Union forces should be an integral gameplay element of any game set in the Old West! But I’m no game designer, and I don’t expect Rockstar to ever disappoint. =PpP

Jalaman went to the trouble of taking some Tali screenshots for me from his PC version of Mass Effect 2. I can’t think of a sweeter way to have celebrated Valentine’s Day than with Tali + Shepard pairing! Above are four of my favorite images from the collection, but there are many more in the set that you can download HERE. I swear, I’m going to boycott Mass Effect 3 if Tali isn’t in it! My Shepard can’t explore the galaxy without her!!

“When I was a Whelp I killed four-dozen men
Ev’ry morning to help me get strong!
And now that I’m grown I kill five-dozen men
And I don’t see anything wrong!”

Because a post about RDR and ME2 isn’t random enough…

Have you ever played a videogame from your childhood and noticed, with the sobering objectivity of adulthood, that some things just don’t make any sense (not even within the game’s fictional universe)? For example, I can accept that the Reptites of 65,000,000 B.C. are sophisticated enough to construct sleep-inducing Smoke Bombs. They are a fictional race and the game sufficiently presents them to be more technologically advanced than prehistoric man. But why would a robot from 2300 A.D. be the party member most susceptible to the Sleep effect of their bombs? Does Robo have air-intake valves, or a respiratory system? Do the robots of 2300 A.D. even sleep? I am only capable of suspending so much disbelief! ww

My Dad showed up at my Mom’s yesterday with an unexpected package addressed to me from Conlan Press. Upon opening it, I practically began to hyperventilate! It was a limited edition art print of the Lady Amalthea that I had placed an order for back in 2006 or 2007. The prints sold out immediately due to unexpected fan response (only 500 of each piece existed) and unfortunately my order was placed too late. I declined a refund at the time, hoping that someone might cancel their order and I would be next in line to receive it. Eventually I forgot about the print (and refund) altogether; but it would appear that Conlan Press didn’t forget about me! Somewhere, somehow, someone’s returned or canceled print turned up, and I’m now the proud new owner.

The artwork in the print is from one of my favorite animated films: The Last Unicorn. Without going into too much detail, both the film and the novel it was based on are very special to me. I was obsessed with the film when I was younger (I watched our VHS copy to death) and fell in love with the novel once I read it as part of my assigned reading in junior high. I even devoted a website to the film when I was in high school. It is a bit embarrassing for me to look at my site now though, seeing its 800X600 design and my poor writing. =P

I have a new dollie! Her name is Moni and she is a 2003 Kinder by my favorite doll artist, Annette Himstedt. Gosh, she’s just the most darling little ginger girl I’ve ever seen with her cute freckles! X3 The hat she’s wearing is not original to her outfit (crocheted it from alpaca yarn), but I think it compliments the colors.

I don’t know if I’ve ever discussed my doll hobby on here, but I basically get it from my Mom. She’s a pretty crazy doll collector and when she still lived with my Dad, we had two bedrooms (one being a masters) where she displayed all her dolls. My Mom moved into a smaller house when they divorced, so she has much less room for her dolls now even though she continues to collect them. So, whenever she needs to make room, I offer to adopt some of them. I began taking the Himstedts originally because something about their mohair and precious faces appealed to me. Then I got into knitting because of them, wanting to make little hats and outfits, and it just took off from there! The ironic thing is that I probably play with dolls more now than I ever did when I was younger. I never owned a single Barbie because I was more interested in Transformers. =P Maybe that is why I find dolls so appealing now? Or maybe knitting for them is just easier. *L*