Vegard Skjefstad | www.vegard.net

Yesterday / 0 Comments

Not Tonight

Brexit is a mess. Thankfully, the game about it is not. Here’s my Not Tonight review.

Papers, Please puts you behind the counter at a border crossing in the fictional dystopian Eastern Bloc-like country of Arstotzka. Oh, wait. Wrong game! This is Not Tonight, a paperwork-checking simulator set in a dystopian post-Brexit Britain. It’s the second game released in this genre, with Papers, Please being the genre-defining title¹.

To say that Not Tonight is inspired by Lucas Pope‘s 2013 title is an understatement. At first glance, Not Tonight looks and plays like a game that could have been a Papers, Please sequel. The mechanics are more or less the same, and Not Tonight also resorts to the pixel art style we’ve come to associate with indie games. You play as Person of European Heritage #112, currently residing in Relocation Block B. In order to stay in post-Brexit Britain, you have to prove your worth in your designated role as bouncer. If you don’t contribute, you’ll be booted off the island.

Not Tonight: Because you don’t get enough of work at work.

November 17, 2018 / 0 Comments

2019: The Year of the Concerts?

It’s time to pop in the ear plugs and get back out there.

For someone who listens to as much music as I do, I rarely go to concert. I think the last gig I went to was a good 5 years ago, when Anniken and I saw Biffy Clyro raise the roof back in 2013.

I’ve used Spotify for a decade now, and it’s years and years since I bought a CD. While Spotify is a great service for listeners, lesser known artists doesn’t exactly get rich from the Spotify royalties. So going to their concerts is a great way to support them. Tickets are usually ridiculously expensive, though, so I’ll have to be a wee bit selective.

Here are some of the bands and artists I regularly listen to that will visit a venue near me in 2019:

February 3: Mastodon (with Kvelertak)
February 16: Skambankt
February 22: The Midnight (sold out)
March 12: Florence + The Machine (sold out)
March 20: Dave Matthews Band
May 19: Mumford & Sons
June 8: Ólafur Arnalds

November 4, 2018 / 0 Comments

Building Springwood

While most gamers around the globe sat down to play Red Dead Redemption 2 last weekend, I opted for something else entirely on Saturday night.

Rockstar Games recently released their much anticipated Western-themed action-adventure game Red Dead Redemption 2. The game is only available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, of which I have none. So getting it was never an option for me.

Instead, I took a dive into a very different title; Colossal Order’s Cities: Skylines. It’s a city-building game, much like the beloved SimCity. I am, of course, referring to the original Sim City, and not the disaster that was the 2013 remake.

Cities: Skylines has changed a lot since its release in 2015. Since my review the same year, it has received a massive amount of free updates and paid expansions. As of right now, I count no less than 19 available DLCs. I’ve picked up every single one of them on various sales, including the latest Industries expansions. And with all the DLCs installed there is so much you can do. So. Amazingly. Much.

So, on Saturday night, I poured myself a glass of Grant’s Family Reserve, and sat down to build the greatest city of all time!

November 1, 2018 / 0 Comments

November One-liners

It’s the first of November, which means it’s time for some more funny one-liners. If you like these, the entire collection might be of interest.

There are quite a few Mark Twain quotes this time because I follow the Mark Twain account on Twitter. A lot of what whoever is running the account tweets, turns out to be actual Mark Twain quotes.

Time is the rarest commodity. Manage yours wisely.
A computer is like a mischievous genie. It will give you exactly what you ask for, but not always what you want.
“Just gonna have a quick nap because I heard you can sleep your way to the top.” — Aisling Bea
Don’t have anything nice to say? Try obscene gestures.
“To the guy who stole my antidepressants, I hope you’re happy now.” — Eddy Elfenbein
Time flies when you throw away calendars.
“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” — Mark Twain
“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.” — Mark Twain
“I can live for two months on a good compliment.” — Mark Twain
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” — Mark Twain
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” — Mark Twain
“We have the best government that money can buy.” — Mark Twain
“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir, mighty scarce.” — Mark Twain
“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” — Mark Twain
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain

Artist's rendering of destroyed city skyline.

October 27, 2018 / 0 Comments

I, Doomsday Prepper

Has paranoia finally got the best of me, and turned me into an irrational Doomsday Prepper, or is it a legitimate, reasonable plan?

A couple of weeks ago, the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DBS) launched an emergency preparedness campaign. It advised every Norwegian household to prepare itself to stay self-sustained for three days. While we’re lucky enough to live in one of the most stable and safe countries in the world, major crisis events might still happen.

As a modern society, we’re heavily dependent on power, water supply, and the internet for our society to function. If these things stop working, we’re straight back to the Middle Ages. To prevent people from partying like it’s 1099, every household should prepare an emergency storage containing the items it needs to stay afloat for three days without power, water supply, and an internet connection.