The Still of the Night Causes a Storm in the Mind

I was lucky enough to get this fantastic contraption for Christmas and I’ve learned 2 things. First of all I need to get back to my exercise routine. Those who know me might remember that in 2005 I took about a 3 month hiatus from computers and picked up surfing, running, and lifting. I lost 40 pounds and got my six-pack back. Over the past 3 years I fought a good hard battle and was still in decent shape this summer. Unfortunately, after just a few months of dedicated game development minus my 3 mile run I’m almost back up to my gold standard

The other thing I learned was that not all cheap looking accessories are bad. The Pelican Wii Fit Starter Kit is one of those accessories. As I did my holiday shopping I kept an eye out for Wii Fit and never saw it. The one thing I kept seeing time and time again was this yoga mat balance board condom combo. To me this looked like an opportunistic extra that was completely unnecessary. Often, people complain about the moms and dads who don’t know anything about gaming picking up these extras completely oblivious to the suck-factor of the tag-along product. Well, my mother (a personal trainer in fact) found Wii Fit and gave it to my wife and I for Christmas. Of course, included with the bundle of gifts was a Pelican Wii Fit Starter Kit. Oh the horror!

The first night I hooked Wii Fit up I refused to open the starter kit. However, after working up a sweat and tracking dirt from my hardwood floors onto the balance board I realized that in a month or so the pristine white industrial finish was going to become sweaty off white gym sock finish real quick. The next day before getting my Wii workout I went ahead and opened the starter kit. The yoga mat was surprisingly high quality and had a lot more cushion than others I’d used in the past and the balance board sleeve was also of high quality fitting the board very well with all the details of the shape molded correctly. Furthermore the sleeve was nearly frictionless. Whereas the day before I was sticking to the balance board today I was comfortably gliding on and off. I’m sure the sleeve will need to be cleaned and eventually will wear down but Pelican produced something that I think improves the experience enough that I’d willingly pay $30 for another starter kit when the time comes.

Until next time, I stand corrected and sore …

It feels pretty good to release a game after having it kick around in your head for 11 years, kick around on your hard drive in prototype form for 2 years, and in general just gnaw at your conscience around the clock. Additionally, it feels even better to release it on a new innovative platform that really suits the gameplay mechanics.

Say hello to Debris for the iPhone!

Controlled demolition in the palm of your hand!