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I tried to actually not work this weekend. (Aside from staying at work until 9AM Saturday morning after starting at 10AM Friday) and checking out some code and doing a merge and a little tinkering on a pet project.
But I do know one sure way to make myself not-work. Turn my obsessive nature onto a temporary distraction, IE a video game. I picked up a used copy of Sly Cooper at the local corporate scum-hole. Seem to recall people saying they liked it and the game reviews online said they thought it was great except a bit easy and a little short. For me, short=good as the stupid thing will doubtlessly be devouring way too much of my life and the less, the better.
Anyhow... It is easy. I'm quite happy with easy jumping-game things. It's nice to leap and be able to catch something without falling to your death. OTOH, there's a lack of any real puzzles in it which is a bit of a bummer. The path is very very linear. It's almost impossible to go the wrong way. Also, it doesn't really play up the sneaky thief aspect very well, and parts that might be fun are done in a very styleless manner. Opening the safes to get the pages of the manual for instance is accomplished by collecting bottles and then your friend tells you the code. The bottles are out of place. Why not have clues hidden here and there and figure out the code on your own? That'd be much more interesting. Likewise, the keys to get to the next zone are very unimaginative and don't vary and in a lot of areas, don't really make sense. (Also, why does the damn turtle talk so much and Sly so little? Did Sly's voice actor cost more or something?)
The animation is reasonably decent, and the character design is kind of _ALMOST_ working for me. They're almost really good except they're somehow really unattractive to me. Same with the 2D animation cut scenes. I'd almost really like it except that it's color palette clashes badly with itself to me and I can't get past the horrible Flash feeling of it. But at the same time, it's _ALMOST_ working for me and being really enjoyable. It's a weird sensation. Generally I like, dislike, or am indifferent to animation. This stuff I feel both attracted to and repulsed by.
The set design on the other hand is excellent. The stylization, palette, and the sense of atmosphere they create is really top-notch. The music is also really really well done and blends into the environment really well and changes very smoothly with action and such, so the sense of place is really great. Most of the mini-games are also REALLY fun, and so far, the best thing has been the boss-battle with the swamp priestess. That has to be one of the most enjoyable boss-battles I've ever played. It's really really awesome and I generally HATE precise-timing games.
Anyhow. About halfway through now and while it's not quite as fun to play as the 3D Pitfall platformer I played last year, it's definitely quite fun.
But I do know one sure way to make myself not-work. Turn my obsessive nature onto a temporary distraction, IE a video game. I picked up a used copy of Sly Cooper at the local corporate scum-hole. Seem to recall people saying they liked it and the game reviews online said they thought it was great except a bit easy and a little short. For me, short=good as the stupid thing will doubtlessly be devouring way too much of my life and the less, the better.
Anyhow... It is easy. I'm quite happy with easy jumping-game things. It's nice to leap and be able to catch something without falling to your death. OTOH, there's a lack of any real puzzles in it which is a bit of a bummer. The path is very very linear. It's almost impossible to go the wrong way. Also, it doesn't really play up the sneaky thief aspect very well, and parts that might be fun are done in a very styleless manner. Opening the safes to get the pages of the manual for instance is accomplished by collecting bottles and then your friend tells you the code. The bottles are out of place. Why not have clues hidden here and there and figure out the code on your own? That'd be much more interesting. Likewise, the keys to get to the next zone are very unimaginative and don't vary and in a lot of areas, don't really make sense. (Also, why does the damn turtle talk so much and Sly so little? Did Sly's voice actor cost more or something?)
The animation is reasonably decent, and the character design is kind of _ALMOST_ working for me. They're almost really good except they're somehow really unattractive to me. Same with the 2D animation cut scenes. I'd almost really like it except that it's color palette clashes badly with itself to me and I can't get past the horrible Flash feeling of it. But at the same time, it's _ALMOST_ working for me and being really enjoyable. It's a weird sensation. Generally I like, dislike, or am indifferent to animation. This stuff I feel both attracted to and repulsed by.
The set design on the other hand is excellent. The stylization, palette, and the sense of atmosphere they create is really top-notch. The music is also really really well done and blends into the environment really well and changes very smoothly with action and such, so the sense of place is really great. Most of the mini-games are also REALLY fun, and so far, the best thing has been the boss-battle with the swamp priestess. That has to be one of the most enjoyable boss-battles I've ever played. It's really really awesome and I generally HATE precise-timing games.
Anyhow. About halfway through now and while it's not quite as fun to play as the 3D Pitfall platformer I played last year, it's definitely quite fun.
