My first map. Thank you all in the MapLAB for helping me get jump started. Roughly 40 hours has been put into this project. Cheesy Dialogue in the Background, but hey, this map will provide a lot of well-thought out strategy. Recommended settings: 5-10% 4 5 6 24 seconds.
Thinnest borders... [read more...]

Maryland was created by War_Lord. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

Conquer the Southern tip of Africa

South Africa War was created by Robin Tronson. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

By the time the FSSF arrived in Italy, the Allies had tried many times to remove the German army from its entrenched positions along what was known as the Camino massif. The positions held by the Axis forces blocked the only clear path to Rome sizeable enough to move an army. The Allies' plan was t... [read more...]

Devil's Brigade was created by Devil's Brigade TV. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

The American Pirates have began a small war in Connecticut. See if you can turn back the invasion.

Pirate ships compliments of Mark Bauer's web site.

Connecticut under Siege was created by Shane Hunter. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

The Mormons, having finally escaped persecution, settled in the dry and arid regions of the American Southwest. As their numbers grew, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints pushed for the formation of their very own State, Deseret. This brought them back into conflict with the US government... [read more...]

Utah Wars was created by Mark Bauer. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

Luxtopia

Normally a peaceful land, Luxtopia has thrived under Lord Quasar. But unrest is brewing in the countryside.

Find your home in Luxtopia - whether it be one of the churches, a local landmark or even in Noob Village and DEFEND YOUR TURF.

Be careful, game... [read more...]

Luxtopia was created by RandomGuy. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

Notice there are no traffic lights in this massive intersection. Some discussion of it can be seen in the comments on the video's homepage.

My company currently makes games for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.

The first 2 have a good business case. Lots of people run Mac OS X and Windows, and buy games to play. (Thank you to all the customers who keep us small developers alive.)

Linux doesn't have as good a business case for us. Not very many people buy the Linux versions of our games. But, I foresee Linux continuing to grow in leaps and bounds on the desktop. And our codebase is in Java, so it isn't that much extra work to make Linux versions.

Going Mobile
The mobile OS wars are warming up fast. In the past we've gotten some scattered requests for PocketPC or Palm versions, but it hasn't seemed worthwhile. Apparently there was good money to be made selling Palm apps in the past, but greedy distributors (hearsay says Handango) and a decaying platform have destroyed it.

J2ME and BREW cellphone apps are making money, but only for a few big companies (at least in North America). The carriers have been very greedy distributors, and locked down their platform tightly.

Apple's iPhone is fresh mobile platform coming on strong. They've publicized their app distribution rate as taking a 30% cut. That's a lot better then most desktop games distributors (Yahoo Games typically takes 70%). Apple has been tremendously successful at iterating the iPod from version1 to perfection. They're following the same process with the iPhone, building a mobile platform from the ground up. I think the iPhone will be one of the long term mobile platform winners.

Google Android is the other mobile platform I'm keeping an eye on. Open-source and available for carriers to build on. Apps are written in the Java language, but using G's own VM and libraries. (A nice end-run around SUN, straight to Java developers.) It hasn't launched on any real phones yet, but I think it has huge potential. The first Android phones are supposed to be available "soon."

You already have a computer in your pocket (your cellphone). The big question for software developers is: what platform is your next one going to run?

A Castle Lux optimized for quicker multi-player games.

Rules:
- Beware of the troll on the bridge, he'll devour 2 of your soldiers for crossing!
- Any area touching a castle wall can attack that wall.

Story:
After the IV Luxdom War of 1224 the countryside was gripped by a devastating ice age. Luxtopians were forced to retreat into the extensive caves under the North Shore Mountains as bitter cold laid waste to all of Luxdom... [read more...]

Castle Lux MP was created by Sillysoft Games. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

• Overview of New Features in Firefox 3 - 4 minute video.
  

• A GM?s First Impressions of D&D 4th Edition: Looks Like Fun.
  

• How the Web Was Won.
  Interviews with the people who made it happen. Long and nerdly awesome.

• Exercise Your Brain.
  

• AOL Postmaster Contact Info.
  

• entheos - summer solstice conference and festival.
  June 20-22 in Robert's Creek, BC.

Welcome to New York. We wish your stay be a joyful one. Take your time to visit our wonderful national monuments such as the Statue of Liberty as well as all our sightseeing places such as NYC, Niagara Falls and many more. During your stay please remember to buy souvenirs for yourselves and all your loved ones... [read more...]

Empire State was created by Enokrad. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

• How to Survive A Disaster.
  

• GiveMeaning - Free Online Fundraising Tools for Charities.
  

• Kiva - Loans that change lives.
  Awesome micro-credit lending organization.

• Global Agents for Change.
  Biking from Vancouver to Mexico to raise money for micro-credit loans.

Since the end of the Indian War with France both New York and New Hampshire laid claim to the region west of the Connecticut River. New York, a very powerful province, was given rights to the area by King George III. However, New Hampshire did not listen and issued a series of land grants to native... [read more...]

Vermont - Independence was created by Mark Bauer. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

THE DARK AGES

32 Continents, 58 Cities, 119 Countries

"My fate is to live among varied and confusing storms. But for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will follow a better age. When the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come again... [read more...]

The Dark Ages was created by SunTzu. It's the Lux Map of the Week.

• Consciously Creating New Habits Fosters Creativity.
  "You cannot have innovation unless you are willing and able to move through the unknown and go from curiosity to wonder."

• Golden Ears Provincial Park.
  Awesome campgrounds not far from Vancouver.

• Spencer Herbert - Vancouver West End.
  Candidate for the BC NDP nomination in the new West End riding.

• Surreal paintings of Jacek Yerka [awesome].
  

• My experiment with smart drugs.
  

• Join the online Translink advisory panel.
  

• Magnetic North Theatre Festival - June 4-14 in Vancouver.
  

• Chart comparing food consumption in different countries [image].
  

• The best advice I ever got - "assume positive intent."
  The best advice from 25 different successful people. I'm linking to the stand-out one I liked. There are some other gems in there too.

• New Music West Festival - Vancouver, May 14-18.
  

• Treadmill Kittens [funny cat video].
  

• PlayStation Network and Downloadable Games.
  

• Dance, Monkeys, Dance - Slam Poetry with Flash Animation.
  

• Vancouver Farmers Markets.
  

• Things that are younger than John McCain.