PlayFirst Grapevine
The Wait Is Over
2007
by XtL_
NOV
29
Ladies and gentlemen,
I apologize for the delay (I've been eating lots and burning my arm on the oven - which a story for another day), but I am here to announce the chosen recipes from our Chocolatier 2 contest.
In no particular order... Let's have a round of applause for:
Saint_Dragon - For all those wondering why you're selling and creating Amazion Fire Ants, she's the reason.
Tintagel70 - If you're like me, you have trouble making her recipe, or maybe I'm just no bueno. Either or, Tintagel70 and her Sweet and Spicy Truffles are the cause of much of my frustrations haha.
Lattegato - The one and only Latte Cat, came up with the seasonal sweet that is the Gingered Pumpkin Praline. This recipe reminds me of Thanksgiving. I tried to get them to call it the Turkey Chocolate - good thing they didn't listen to me.
Lastly, thanks to everyone that submitted a recipe in our search for awesome chocolate.
If I seem grumpy these next couple weeks, it's because I am not a fan of the Holiday season. Too much... cheer. That and my mom asked that I cut my hair and be presentable when I come home. No worries though, after the first of January, I'll be back to my normally odd self. However, to be more positive (Sorbet doesn't like it when I'm negative), I will get to go back home to Texas for a week, and get away from the cold and fog that is San Francisco. Oh, and BBQ! Anyone else travelling anytime soon?
For those that do enjoy this particular season though, I and the rest of PlayFirst wish you and yours all the best!
Diner Dash 2 on Mobile
2007
by applesun
NOV
28
So the holiday shopping season has officially started. I admit that I've fallen prey to the Black Friday hype and purchased some items on sale. Hey, they were big, big discounts! How could I pass that up? Did any of you get any good deals?
The thing about shopping for gifts during these months is that the lines are massively long. They twist through the store, a maze of people with heaps of merchandise. It can get awfully boring waiting to get to the register. Thank goodness for mobile games! Diner Dash 2 is the latest PlayFirst game to go mobile, perfect for people who like to get their gaming fix while checking off stuff on their shopping list.
Loads of new games have been going up on PlayFirst.com, notably the fun Fashion Fits where you assist shoppers (instead of being one yourself). We've also got a new comic for you at DinerDash.com, along with new items, so don't forget to browse the boutique before you go!
And the winner is...
2007
by sorbet
NOV
27
I want to say it was a close win... that many of our very own PlayFirst employees are worthy of a gig on Dancing with the Stars or So You Think You can Dance and that the winner eked out a victory with a single vote. But that was not the case! Actually, something tells me that our winner's silky golden locks and big brown eyes played a small part in his landslide victory.
The winner of "Best Dancer" in our Wedding Dash video is, drumroll please,
...Cody!
We are excited to present to Cody (via his mom Nemone) a $100 prize, good towards doggy biscuits, tennis balls and more squeaky toys!
Please put your paws together to congratulate our winner!
We also had a handful of dancers vying for the "Worst Dancer" title but in the end, Slurpy had the most votes! He'll be receiving a gift certificate to the dance studio of his choice shortly!
Sorbet
PS. And a big pat on the back to KismetPF and XtL for putting all of this together!
Thoughts on Thankfulness
2007
by Nemone
NOV
22
I am not normally suffused with gratitude. I admit to having a judgmental streak. And an impatient streak. And, okay, even the tiniest bit of a martyr complex, inherited from my mother's side of the family. This I've done my best to suppress, despite years of indoctrination probably going back to my Grandma Helen's daily calls to her best friend, Rose. I'd love to share a heart-warming story about two women in New Brunswick cheering one another with affirmations of abiding friendship, but the truth is that every single morning they'd get on the phone together to compete over who had endured a worse night.
"Oh, but the tossing and turning!...I did, too! The most terrifying nightmares, I tell you I practically woke up screaming! ...Listen, please - with Harold? All that snoring? I didn't get a wink of sleep before four in the morning..."
Yes, that's right. In my family, you scored points for being inconsolable. Fortunately, by the time I left for college, I had taught myself to stop competing in any variation of these misfortune competitions.
"Okay," I'd concede to my Grandma, or later to my mom, teeth grit with the effort not to slip back into family routine. "You win! You were more miserable to begin with..."
I tried to work on contentment.
But the message had been conveyed. There was something special, something almost honorable about being dissatisfied. I knew its power through little things like the extra care I got when I was sick, or the attention paid to someone on a vitriolic rant.
Later, too, I discovered a certain intellectual integrity associated with being ungratified. It is understood among academics that only the ignorant can be content with the world the way it is. Those of us who consider ourselves reasonably skeptical and well-informed are all but obliged to complain about the inequities of society. Though blind faith can be inspiring, critical thinking is imperative. And as charming as sweetness and geniality can be, cynicism and scorn are a lot more fun at parties.
If you're raised to value martyrdom, it takes a lot of conscious effort to turn your appreciation toward fulfillment. I've had days when I was so mired in self-pity that forcing myself to acknowledge my own blessings proved to be a startling act of self-reinvention. Yes, the world is unfair. There are terrible injustices everywhere we look. Our own lives are vulnerable to dire misfortune. All of that is true.
But here's another truth: we live like kings.
Even when life is at its worst, there's so much to be thankful for. Few of us on this message board have ever known true hunger. We sleep in soft beds, banish the dark with electric illumination, turn metal faucet handles to obtain seemingly endless flows of hot water. We are all surrounded by objects and people that please us. We live in a time of miracles, no matter how you define them.
So, in no particular order, a few things for which I am feeling particularly grateful:
Cody, pomegranates, the foam on the tip of the waves of the Pacific Ocean, Egyptian cotton sheets, Orion, zip-front coats, Japanese incense, Venice, green tea, my beloved's embrace, cats, ginger, the grass in the park down the street, grafted Sangiovese vines, glitter, baby toes, Muir Woods, moonlight, my job, insulin pumps, blue topaz, Tivo, sake, paperbacks, the roof over my head, Jasmine, fireplaces, knowing how to swim, Internet shopping, comedians, sea horses, silver, peonies, motorcycle helmets, the friends I've made this year, chocolate-colored cashmere, pirates, soup, computer games, blueberries, dragonflies, the new automated BART cards, space heaters, the exquisite little feline who sleeps on my pillow, the color orange, Bunko Thursdays, every song anyone's ever written, cupcakes, organza ribbons, washing machines, this community we're building in software and pixels, and every opportunity I've ever had to write.
How about you?
Indulge with Chocolatier 2!
2007
by applesun
NOV
21
The delicious sequel, Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients is out! It's a whole lot slicker with cool new stuff like special ingredients, tasting labs and more. Love the game and would like some goodies to fuel your cravings? Find it on the Chocolatier 2 site! As always, we love to hear comments so do drop us a line about what you think.
It's Thanksgiving break for us and I'm looking forward to having lunch with my mom and attempting to cook (note the 'attempting'). Other than playing Chocolatier 2, what are the rest of you up to?
Breaking news!
2007
by XtL_
NOV
13
I feel it's time you all knew the truth about PlayFirst and its inner workings.
I may get into a lot of trouble for doing this. I may get called a whistleblower, a snitch, a tattle, but I feel I owe it to you.
This is what really goes on at PlayFirst.
Check it out, enjoy it, take pleasure in knowing what I know. However, if I'm not here next month you'll know why.
-XtL
P.S. - for those that couldn't tell, I was being facetious. Also, a million points for those that can guess my alter ego (here's a hint, it's not Superman).
New avatars
2007
by applesun
NOV
6
A variety of new games in this week: stay in denial that summer is over and play Big Island Blends, or get wordy with Shangri La 2 Deluxe. Need a little bling? Then it's all about Jewel Craft.
Another new feature I'm sure you guys will love: get a custom face for your avatar! Find out how from XtL_ on DinerDash.com. He's even dressed up for the occassion, so be sure to make fun of-- I mean, send him my greetings...
Why do we play?
2007
by Nemone
NOV
2
I've been playing games my whole life. Most of us have, one way or the other. We all pretty much start in the "let's pretend" realm, anthropomorphizing dolls and action figures and granting fallen tree branches new life as swords, wands, batons, and guns. Some of us later progress to the realm of high-end electronic toys or sports. We're all familiar with an assortment of acquisition games, beat-the-clock games, adult games, dangerous games, head games. And some of us follow the streams of make-believe into deeper and wider pools of imagination, continuing to try on new roles and new rules, pretending our way through fiction, drama, music, dice games, card games, video, console, and computer games. Today I'm Flo, tomorrow I'm Prince Ankhamun. One by one, I honor all the archetypes. One by one, they teach me their secret strengths.
Behavioral science has repeatedly identified child's play as an essential tool in social and cognitive development. Different disciplines within both neural and social sciences have deemed play necessary for everything from emotional trauma and ego mastery to competence building and socialization. There's no question about it-play stimulates and teaches us. It allows us to practice different strategies and test-out new behaviors without the high-risk factor of actual life. Reset, reload, retry. Next life, more lives, bonus life. Or, as a seven-year-old friend of mine likes to say when dealing with game rules, "Let's say you can't see me, though, because now I'm invisible..." I let her invent her own power-ups. Where else in her life can she wield such control?
Frankly, I relate. As an adult, I still like to play games for the rush of control I get. I rake in virtual money, master imaginary skills, optimize my performance of fake jobs, flawlessly direct a hundred fantasy lives. Life is never that neat. Just looking at me, you probably wouldn't guess my prowess with a chocolate factory or a broadsword. But I'm pretty good.
It's role-play gaming with friends, though, that really illuminates the magic of play for me. I'm lucky (and nerdy!) enough to have a gaming group that I've RPed with since high school. The characters they play in our role-playing games have beautifully illuminated their real-world natures for me. There's Dave, for instance, who always plays some kind of magic user. In our games his characters are mischievous, impulsive, ambitious and masters of the elements. In real life, Dave is honorable, vigilant, hard-working, and a master of power tools. My friend Arnold-moral, judicious, and (over-) committed to taking care of the people in his life-loves to play rogue characters and thieves. After gaming, I imagine I can detect in him a secret longing to just once break all the rules, throw caution to the wind, and selfishly pursue pleasure with no strings attached. As for me, I'm a tankaholic. Every time I get the chance, I roll up some strong, fearless, usually honorably-motivated tragic hero. My characters never go anywhere without their armor and regularly laugh in the face of death. In this world, I'm a brittle, insulin-dependent diabetic. I can't be detached from my insulin pump (kind of a bionic pancreas) for more than twenty minutes at a time, and although I do look death in the face every day, I'm very rarely laughing. At times I feel burdened by my illness, fragile and too exhausted to be of use to those around me. But my secret self is a knight in a shining armor, invulnerable and always keen to charge into action in defense of a friend or honorable cause.
I feel fortunate now to be working for a company that respects and promotes this essential corner of the entertainment industry. There are people here with cute t-shirts that read: "PlayFirst. Work later." Of course, they're always hard at work when they wear them. I think the company motto would need minimal adjustment to work as a life principal. Maybe a small change, like: "Play first. Play always."
Recent Posts
Archive
November 2007
PlayFirst is the creator of Diner Dash, Chocolatier, Dream Chronicles and other award-winning casual games.
