What's happening in Poland?

I regularly check the stats for my sites, particularly what links are bringing people to them. Just lately I've been getting a lot of people in Poland coming to the site from online searches for my name. I'm curious what's happening in Poland that's warranted this increased interest in me. If anyone knows, could you please tell me the secret?

How Rude

I received my first piece of hate mail today and actually find it quite funny. The following is the entirety of the message:

"your game sucks, go **** a goat and don't make video-game stories ever again! Bad bad bad bad bad writer!"

Obviously, I edited the line to take out the expletive, but I'm sure that if you so wish you'll work it out.

The subject heading says "So Blonde", so I'm guessing that the writer was referring to this game. I just can't understand why, even if they hated it they would be bothered to find out my e-mail address just to send me a vitriolic missive.

It's nice to know I instill such passion in my fans. :)

Congratulations are in order

Yesterday, my youngest son got married and a wonderful day was had by all, in spite of some dreadful weather. Thankfully we managed everything indoors.

So, congratulations to Jason and Suzanne! Have a great life together!

Notes on Game Dev

Beth Dillon asked me if I'd link to Notes on Game Dev, which is a blog style editorial on art and design topics. I've not read an awful lot of it yet, but what I've seen so far looks very interesting and highly relevant. Much more so than my own blog at the moment. So please check it out.

Wonderful Nutso Review

I like the reviewer's clear style and the way that he appreciated all of the elements of the game I'd hoped players would. I accept that the backtracking was overdone and I won't do it again. :)

Another great review score for So Blonde

The French site, Tom's Games, reviewed So Blonde and gave it 17/20, which is absolutely brilliant.

Nutso Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Merscom Releases Mr. Smoozles Online
Casual Adventure Game Coming to Online Portals


CHAPEL HILL, NC – June 11, 2008 – Merscom announced today it is the online publisher of Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso, the comedic casual adventure game from Juniper Games. Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso is a great, fun, arcade adventure, based upon the online comic strip, Mr. Smoozles; it boasts a cast of 50 characters spread through 60 exciting and varied locations and has an original soundtrack by talented young composer, Josh Winiberg. With an addictive mix of gameplay and humour, this game is a delight for gamers of all ages and tastes. Although recently released, user reviews for the game have been tremendous, including:
“If you like British humor (Sorry, that's "humour"), then you'll love Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso.”
“The best seek and find game I know of”
“I love games with story and this one ha[s] everything.”
“WOW! A breath of fresh air!”

In Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso, the Goragons have invaded the Earth, zapped Mr. Smoozles with their mind ray and are trying to distort the whole fabric of reality. Play as Ed as he strives to avoid the attacking Mr. Smoozles, dodges many other dangers, solves numerous puzzles and interacts with a host of enchanting characters.

Key Features:
Traditional British “humour”
50 characters spread through 60 exciting and varied locations
Original soundtrack by Josh Winiberg

Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso can currently be downloaded at http://www.reflexive.com/Mr.SmoozlesGoesNutso.html

“Our past successes with adventure games show the casual market is really eager for adventure games,” explained Lloyd Melnick, Chief Customer Officer at Merscom, “Mr. Smoozles Goes Nutso is perfect for this market as it is a ton of fun and does not take itself too seriously.”

About Merscom
Merscom is a global publisher of mass market computer and video games that distributes games through multiple channels, multiple platforms and multiple revenue models. Merscom's channels include retail distribution in the US and Europe, online sale through major portals worldwide and games on Microsoft® Xbox Live® Arcade. Merscom publishes games from leading casual game developers, including Sandlot Games, Reflexive Entertainment, Absolutist and Pi-Eye Games. Merscom publishes on multiple platforms including PC, console and handheld. Merscom produces entertaining products for gamers of all ages and guarantees all customers a great experience. For more information visit www.merscom.com.

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PRESS CONTACT:Lloyd Melnick
LSM@merscom.com office +1 919 918 7741 x 237
Evaluation copies available upon request. Screenshots and information available at our Address: https://209.123.8.95/managerUser: SmoozlesPasssword:e3h3v6r3You can either use the web-based client or a standalone ftp program like Filezilla (just enter 209.123.8.95 into the address field) to access these files.

So Blonde Interview

Here is a link to one of the interviews I did while I was in Paris.