Category Archives: diatribe

When Social Media Fails

This week I found out that someone I know is in a very bad situation.  Actually, the situation is dire, really horrible, and honestly, unimaginable.    I went to school with this person, and for a couple of years we … Continue reading

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336 Days Left : The Next Sign Of The Apocalypse : Microsoft Adds Achievements For Coding Into Visual Studio

The current Mayan Countdown has us at 336 days left until the end of the world, so we here at 8bitrocket.com have decided to spend some time looking for stories that we think show that something weird is going on this year. … Continue reading

Posted in Management Sucks, Signs Of Doomsday, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Where is the Point Blank Remake?

Point Blank and Point Blank 2 were 2 of the best party style games for the original Playstation. You needed a “gun controller” that oddly hooked up to the video “in” on your TV and to the controller port to make it … Continue reading

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The People You Will Meet At Your Garage Sale

Garage Sale People (originally written in 2004) What better way to meet the neighbors than to have a garage sale. Actually we called it a “yard sale”, and by neighbors I mean the cheapest freaks I’ve ever had the displeasure … Continue reading

Posted in 8bitrocket History, diatribe | 6 Comments

Goodbye Dad, Hello “Code Writer’s Block”

My dad died just about 5 months ago.  In that time, I have done lots of things.  I have written a ton of blog entries (some good, some okay, and many bad ones), I have changed jobs, read at least … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Game Coding and Development Diary | 8 Comments

Our Favorite Viral Videos About The Games And Web Business

Code Monkey Jonathan Coulton’s classic song about the life of a software developer.  One of the all-time best songs ever written.   Angry Video Game Nerd : Atari 5200 So this is not just a video, but a whole series. … Continue reading

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And the Man on the Hill said HTML5, build it and they will come…

This really is just a “state of the union” for 8bitrocket (8bitsteve and 8bitjeff) to go over some of the events that have transpired over the first 9 months of the year.     We like to keep these brief … Continue reading

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Waiting For One Good IPO : A Short One Act Play

Waiting For One Good IPO: A Short One Act Play Setting: Snack room in an anonymous pre-IPO start-up software  firm.  Boxes of candy bars and chips line a large, round table in the middle of the room.  An industrial sized … Continue reading

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A Tribute to the Child-Oriented Consumer Goods Company “New Media” Department Golden Era (2001 – 2006)

Note: This is a true story that depicts real events from the perspective of the author.  Most real names of the people and the places involved have been changed or left out on purpose. Everyone involved will recognize the company and … Continue reading

Posted in 8bitrocket History, diatribe | 2 Comments

Why Information Technology Director Is The Most Hated Job In America (An Anecdotal Account)

CNBC ran a story on Friday about the 10 Most Hated Jobs In America.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that job I left in corporate America after 15 years was represented generously on the list.  In fact, technical jobs … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Management Sucks | 6 Comments

We Use Xtra Normal To Make A Sub-Par Video About Flash Games And Intellectual Property

Here is our first attempt at using xtranormal to make a video.  This was obviously inspired by this video we posted a couple weeks ago.

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Do You Plan On Having Friends?

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8bitrocket Diatribe: Fathers’ Day 2011: The Adventure Freak and his Little Atari Freaks

It has been a little over two weeks since our dad passed away. I have found it difficult to focus on any one thing for an extended amount of time since, and while  the fog is certainly lifting a little, … Continue reading

Posted in 8bitrocket History, diatribe | 3 Comments

How My Dad’s Love Of Games Helped Foster My Game Development Career

Please excuse me, just one more time, so I can write some final thoughts about my dad, and how he helped me in my career.   Last weekend we had had his memorial at my house, and so I’m trying … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Game Design And Theory | 4 Comments

Wii U? More Like P.U.

0saves

0savesSave Through some great contacts we were able to jump the line and look at the Wii U up close and personal today at E3. Wow.  What A dud! Honestly, I love (or at least once “loved”) the Wii.   … Continue reading

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R.I.P. Dad : My Last Conversation With My Father

I visited my dad last Sunday. He’s 85 years old, and he has onset dementia, so he can’t express himself clearly, nor can he come-up with many nouns, so he can’t describe anything that he wants or needs without a ton of trouble. It is very difficult to have a conversation with him, but every Sunday I still go into his room, pry his eyes away from the TV, and try anyway.

That day I decided to point to the photos around the room and ask him if he knew who was in them. The first photo was from about 1983. It’s of my dad, sitting on a soccer ball, describing something to my sister, as my brother and I play in a game in the background. I asked him who the guy talking was, and he could not tell me.

“It’s you dad”, I told him.

“Yeah, yeah, him,” he replied.

“Do you know who those guys are in the background?” I asked him

“Oh yeah, the were over here and now they are over there,” he replied.

I interpreted this to mean that he knew it was my brother and I and that we had moved out and made our own way in the world.

Encouraged, next I pointed to a photo of his mom taken in the 1950′s.

“Who’s that?” I asked

“Oh, yeah, you know that one was in the other place, and I was not in that one”, he told me.

I interpreted this to mean that he knew it was his mom, and he still remembered that she had sent him to co-op boarding school for his entire childhood when he was 4 years old in 1929.

Finally, I pointed to a photo of his father, that was right next to his mother. The photo was from the 1930′s, and his father looked very serious.

Without missing a beat my dad, stood-up from his bed, and an scowl crossed his face.

“He was the one who went blam…”

He made a fist and swung it slightly.
Continue reading

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Need A Death Panel? HMOs Already Got You Covered

So my dad is very sick, lying in hospital bed at his house, unable to walk, speak,  eat or use the bathroom without help.  Over the past 18 months he has developed severe dementia.  We thought he was just slowly … Continue reading

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8bitrocket InterWeb Mash-Up For Friday April 29th, 2011

A Note From 8bitrocket Hi everyone, I hope you are enjoying our new focus and format as much as we are are enjoying it.  We found it very hard to write lots of in-depth articles because the industry is changing … Continue reading

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Management Sucks 001: No, It’s Not “Just Business”

While working as a developer and then later as a manager for  ”The Monolith” for 15 years, I learned a lot about how old-style corporations feel about their regular employees.    This new series, Management sucks, explores some of the … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Management Sucks | 12 Comments

The current state of 8bitrocket Towers

It has been a long, eventful two months to begin 2011.  I have not found the time to write much on the blog, but that will change as soon as Steve and I begin our new adventure in game development. … Continue reading

Posted in 8bitrocket History, diatribe | 5 Comments

An Inspirational Story For Dreamers Everywhere

We apologize for being very quiet lately.  Yes, we have a couple things to announce that will forever  change the content and direction of this site, however for now we have to stay focused and mum. However, I’d like to … Continue reading

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How Now? The Good News And The Bad News

The good news: The game you are working on is brilliant, amazing, and from a theoretical game design perspective, is worth every ounce of blood, ingenuity, ignored interpersonal relationships and effort you have poured into it. The bad news: Some kid … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Game Design And Theory | 11 Comments

What Now? Random Answers.

Yes, we do want to hear from you, contact us. No, we don’t want to display your gambling ads. Yes, Flash is still a viable platform. No, we do not need your masterful SEO skills sent via email offer. Yes, … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Game Design And Theory | 25 Comments

Now What? Random Thoughts…

Hmm. What’s next? We seem to be at a crossroads. The end of something, and the beginning of something else. But what? Is is Apps? Is it the mobile web? Is there value still hiding in viral Flash games? 3DTV? … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe, Game Design And Theory | 9 Comments

“Yes On 21″ Video Contest Entry

This is little off-topic diatribe for a Sunday Morning.  My wife and I created a video entry for a “Yes On 21 Video contest“.  Proposition 21 is a California State initiative to help save the nearly 300 state parks in … Continue reading

Posted in diatribe | 3 Comments