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Links
www.guildhall.smu.edu
The Guildhall, where I'm studying level design for video games. More learning and less sleep than I'd have thought possible.
www.gamasutra.com
The best game-design site out there. Daily news, great articles relating to game design, and lots of invaluable links.
www.explodingdog.com
This website has been my home page for the last four years. Artist Sam Brown takes "titles" that people send in and creates digital paintings based on them. You can see the one he made using a title that I sent in, "you are right. I am leaving".
www.huntersgames.com
I've worked with Hunter Woodlee, another level designer at the Guildhall, on a number of projects including Technomancy, Red Wake, and, currently, Fallen Realm. After a few drinks he'll tell some of the funniest stories you've ever heard.
www.jjbrowne.com
Yet another level designer from the Guildhall, Jeff Browne has some great screenshots on his site, and "Dark Territory," the UT2K4 mod that he worked on is definitely worth checking out. He's also a real dreamboat - my wife and most of the wives and girlfriends of other Guildhall students have huge crushes on Jeff.
www.herland.com
A friend from photography classes at UT and a horrible job at the IRS, the designer of this website, and an all-around class act; check out Amy Janota's website.
www.insomniacgames.com
Insomniac Games, maker of Ratchet and Clank, the most fun game ever made.
www.ensemble-studios.com
Ensemble Studios, makers of Age of Mythology. They've released screenshots of the new Age of Empires game and they're unbelievable.
www.blizzard.com
Blizzard, creators of World of Warcraft, the harbinger of doom for my productive and romantic life.
www.boardgamegeek.com
Board Game Geek is THE place to get information and reviews of board game, and also has variant rules, rule updates, strategies, and English translations of foreign games.
www.riograndegames.com
Rio Grande games makes lots of awesome games, including Carcassone, which is my favorite board game. One of those "easy to learn, hard to master" games.
www.eblong.com
Werewolf (and its variations, such as "Mafia") is my favorite party game. Everyone plays it differently and there are some commercial versions, but this site has a simple and fun version of the rules for free.
www.sleater-kinney.com
I aspire to be as hip, intelligent, and rock-and-roll as the ladies in Sleater-Kinney. My first thought on seeing my now-wife was, "she looks a lot like Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney."
www.interpolny.com
I frequently listen to "Leif Erikson" on repeat for three or four hours at a time while working in middle of the night.
www.amostoys.com
Amos Toys, which produces James Jarvis's wonderful line of "In-Crowd" toys - I've got the "Forever Sensible Motorcycle Club" and "Ages of Metal" series.
www.strangeco.com
A nice clearinghouse for vinyl toys and related info. Their links page is the best I've seen for toys.
www.bigfootone.com
I love Bigfoot's work - the vinyl figures are too cool and his prints and paintings are amazing as well.
www.rocketworld.org
The home of the I.nsurgents W.ilderness G.ruppo, a group of animals who are tired of being killed and exploited by humans and are fighting back. With these weapon-laden animals on the move, humans have become the endangered species! I've got Titus and Affonso so far.
www.scarygirl.com
I don't own any of the Scarygirl figures yet, but I love the style. Ownage is inevitable.
www.scottmccloud.com
Best known as the author of "Understanding Comics," before he became one of the most-loved and most-loathed comic industry personalities, Scott McCloud wrote and drew "Zot," the greatest comic book ever. "Zot!" was like a comic book version of "My So Called Life" mixed with Golden-Age super-hero comics and had a tragically short run of 36 issues (plus one online comic). Scott's site also has a really nice links section to online comics.