If you're reading this, you could have helped me yesterday.
You could have helped me make Tuesday a gaming day.
I thought I wasn't going to have enough time to play anything. But then I remembered, when I had a free half hour between work and an evening appointment, that I could, and should, log on to Casual Collective, the brand new website run by the guy who made my 2008 Game of the Year, "Desktop Tower Defense," and his development partner.
What they've concocted is a Facebook-inspired site for their Flash games, the roster of which includes multiplayer 'Desktop Tower Defense." Players compete to finish rounds of the game first, unleashing the next wave of enemies on all the rest of players, ready or not. I tried it with CC founders Paul Preece and David Scott on Monday. It's fantastic.
There are some other alluring games on Casual Collective, like the 2D puzzle-platformer "Buggle Stars," which I predict will become an obsession for my "Dolphin Olympics"-loving pal Justin McElroy.
But last night I needed a challenger in "DTD" multiplayer. I couldn't find anyone. The Casual Collective site is very new and run by guys in a European time zone, so no one was around in the lobby to compete with when I logged on in the evening. Well, one person was, but he/she bailed out after I crushed them in the first round.
Where was Michael Pachter, the financial analyst who talks trash about my "DTD" single-player scores?
Where was N'Gai Croal, fellow recovering "DTD" addict who claims firewall issues keep him from playing these kinds of games at certain times?
I need a challenger. So look for username "stephentotilo" on that site. Name a time for a challenge. And let's go.
Next: Tonight, I'm starting "Web of Shadows."