Extra Sides from The Morning Toast

There's far more at The Morning Toast, my regular blog of entries and features.

I'm a gamer. Mostly consoles and the classic NES has a special place in my heart and in my entertainment center. I'm also a programmer (and designer) by trade. I always dreamed about making video games since I was a kid. My first forray into making games was with QBasic back in elementary school. I used to make the then-popular text-based RPG games. They sucked and I don't think I ever finished making a single game, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Zombie Road is my long overdue dive back into making games. Thanks for the handy Game Maker software, creating games is now pretty easy. You can drag-n-drop if you like, but as a programmer I could dive into the code behind the drags and drops and the result was Zombie Road.

I consider it a tribute game. A tribute to zombies, shooting, and great games like Smash TV and Robotron. It's a small game and pretty easy to play. It's not without its flaws or bugs, but I saw the whole thing as more of a challenge to make a game than making some sort of end-all ultimate game.

I encourage you to give it a try and share what you think. I'm not sure if I'll make another game. I've found working on game AI to be extremely tough...that and the fact that making a game from scratch takes a lot of time, effort, and people - two of which I have sparingly.

Read more about the making of Zombie Road

Download and play Zombie Road (Win)

I've been collecting Hot Wheels my entire life, but only over the past five years or so have I actually been "collecting" them. It's sort of my vice. I mean, they're the only thing you can buy and get long lasting enjoyment from that's under a dollar!

And I don't "collect" them like many might think. They're not sealed in the pack or inside special cases. I open them, put them on a display shelf and other actually play with them. And the kids love 'em.

Check out The Morning Toast Hot Wheel's Showcase

I've been debating making a Hot Wheels drag strip that is fun for everyone, what do you think? Read more