Lathany

I've spent the last few days playing Knock-Knock, the new game from Ice-Pick Lodge (the makers of Pathologic and The Void). If anyone is interested, there is a demo on Steam here.

As for other Ice-Pick Lodge games, it's not like anything else. It's both cute and creepy. The game mechanics are about wandering a strange house, hiding and turning on lights. Knock-Knock features a protagonist living alone in the woods who is suffering from insomnia and ghost-like things. As the game progresses, you start to learn its back story which is appropriately creepy and weird. The game is addictive, which is as well as it's also fairly frustrating. It takes ages to work out what you're supposed to be doing (aka how to win). Also, once you have got a better understanding of how to play, it's still frustrating because you can have a good run and then be thwarted by a late level and effectively have to start again.

I haven't yet won the game, but hope eventually to manage (probably next month some time). I would recommend it to anyone who liked Pathologic and The Void. Although I appreciate that this is approximately zero of my f-list.

I never did post a review before going home for Christmas.

I remember this as being strong and rather nice. However, was drinking it whilst trying to master the Path of Exile controls (I kept exiting the game rather than closing the inventory), so perhaps not the best time to be trying out a new liqueur.

I think I may have finished my Christmas cards, with one left to post. Also, I think I've finished the present buying, although the wrapping is still in progress.

I have three days left at work. On the one hand I'm wondering how I'll finish everything I'm supposed to be doing and on the other, I'm glad it's only three days. I definitely need a break this year.

I have stopped waiting for The Last Crown and instead purchased a copy of Knock-Knock from Ice-Pick Lodge. This is the company that made Pathologic and The Void, so it's fair to say that Knock-Knock is weird and addictive. However, with insomnia and monsters, it isn't very Christmassy.

Having done the book sheep, I thought I would do a computer games one.

Here we are: ten computer games that have stayed with me in some way. I took a few minutes, and didn't think too hard -- they aren't necessarily the "right" or "great" works, just the ones that have touched me.

1. Final Fantasy VII. I first met it as a copy borrowed from zandev that I played on holiday in the Lake District. I become complete addicted to it, bought my own and played and re-played it. I loved so much about it - the parallels between Aeris and Sephiroth, the various cut scenes, Seto, the dates (except Barrett) and pretty much everything in it.

2. The Last Crown. Another all time favourite. I relished the atmosphere, the ghost hunts and the occasional bits of humour.

3. The Hobbit. I never completed this, but it was the first big game we owned on the ZX Spectrum. These days I might not have the patience, but back in the day it was wonderful.

4. Doom. One of the few FPS games that I've played. One of the fewer that I've become hooked on and finished.

5. Dozer. I never finished Dozer, although I did get a long way through it. It was the first game I played where I knew the games designer. Also, it's one of the few with really good puzzles.

6. Worms. The version on the Amiga - small, pink, different... as the tag line went. Grenades, Bazookas and the endless fun of naming teams.

7. Pathologic. I also loved The Void, but I think Pathologic was my bigger obsession. A game about a vicious plague and I adored it. Morbid, weird and with a suited rat singing down a well.

8. Master of Magic. Also known as the Fort Jackson game. This has different music depending on whether you were first, second, third or fourth at that point in the game (in the computer's estimation). You could play all different types of wizards based on the spellbooks you chose. Although it was difficult not to chose all the life for Incarnation and summon Torin the Chosen. I beat this game once on the hardest difficulty and finally stopped after that.

9. Twisted Metal: World Tour. bateleur and I played endless hours of this. I think I completed every character except Sweettooth. I particularly liked Grasshopper for the idea and the ending (although a mistake to use the special on New York). It was an awesome two-player game.

10. Baldur's Gate 2. Loved the story, played it endlessly over and over. Liked the romances. I enjoyed Dragon Age too, but BG2 was my first and made a greater impression. I still have the map on my wall.

Honourable mention to Valkyria Chronicles for the tank, Lemmings for "Wets go!", Disruptor for the B movie and varied missions, Little Big Planet for excellent team-up play and Stephen Fry, Diablos for Wednesdays, Portal for the puzzles and the black humour and Monkey Island for the staple remover.

I've picked up my first cold of the winter. Last night, I could feel a sore throat starting and today I've been snuffling and generally feeling blocked up. I'm not very happy.

Reeve, on the other hand, is benefiting from this. I'm quiet, I'm sitting next to the radiator and I have a warm lap. The only problem for him is that the twins have been taking the opportunity to stroke him.

As lanfykins has already said it was an eventful session of bateleur's 100 Secrets, although with surprisingly little magic.

We started in the capital of Granmark where Rose was expecting her brother (who wanted to arrange a date with a potential suitor) and Carlos (shadowjon) had an unexpected visitor - a certain member of the Owlsroost family whom we had failed to locate in in the Godipede temple. Carlos' visitor warned him that the next time they met he would be working for the enemy and opposing Carlos (and us). A little research uncovered that the Owlsroost family were based in Owl's Crossing. So we made plans to travel north. This suited Rose (leathellin) and Loy (lanfykins) also - Loy had attended the dinner date as Rose (see other account) and they wanted to leave before any further meetings were arranged.

We headed north through Neddra's father's seat in Urthauld where she attempted to warn him of an enemy taking cities from within. They we passed through yet another seat before arriving at Owl's Crossing. There we discovered that Carlos' visitor was Lord Owlsroost, the ruler of the seat and the mysterious Ein (whom we had met looking for him in the town linked to the Godipede temple) was his sister. Owl's Crossing claimed to be the second settlement of civilisation and its success was credited to its divine animal - an enormous turtle (and not an owl) that resided under the bridge. We spend a lot of time trying to analyse the turtle, but sadly didn't get very far. Meanwhile, visits to the estate showed that Ein was a prisoner, Owlsroost was in preparations for war and that many of his estate's people were guards in the Mirror World. We had identified the invisible army.

Lady Rose took a closer look at the Lord's study and discovered papers relating to his travels before he was caught and manipulated by the enemy. It seemed he had once studied the Mythic Epoch, had been searching for some item or place all over the continent and had been trying to be a hero. There were accounts from someone imprisoned in Sarenland territory and other travellers tales from people sent out by an earlier generation. We wondered what he had been looking for - specifically the pocket realm we had found - or sites in general?

Whilst in that area, we also visited other places. We travelled to the sacred forest where Carlos had his soul taken by a dressed monkey with a net - and Rose bought it back with a necklace. Neddra met The Forest (a nine foot spindley creature) who told her she would pay for visiting (she left a mirror with a ribbon and strands of hair).

We journeyed to the Eye Stone and saw visions of our futures. Rose saw an argument between her mother and General Aleks, Neddra saw a new tunnel in her mine, Loy saw herself with (a person who later turned out to be) Valor Joven's reflection and Carlos saw himself conducting a strange experiment.

Finally we headed back to the capital, racing ahead of Lord Owlsroost, only to discover many other traders on the road with mirror soldiers. We arrived too late to stop the invasion, but soon enough to escape with the Guild library, Villefontaine treasures and our lives. Now at the Villefontaine estate, the question is what next?

[Additional place and person names gratefully received - and any corrections.]

Last night, I wished venta and chrestomancy a Happy Christmas on leaving the house. I'm not going to see them again until 2014 (although possibly on the 2nd January). I feel that Christmas has sneaked up on me this year. At least the twins presents are mostly bought this time around. I like Christmas, I don't want it to arrive too quickly!

Ever since Heroes, I've been something of a Milo Ventimiglia fan. I went back and watched Gilmore Girls (mostly the first three seasons) and then had a look at adding his film work to our LoveFilms list. However, both Pathology and The Divide (the most obvious additions) are horror movies and neither of them particularly appealed. He's made a few other things as well, but not many of them looked like my sort of thing and many had bad reviews (for example, Dirty Deeds and That's My Boy). I have been vaguely tempted by Armoured and it might make it onto the list at some point. Both Grace of Monaco and Heat look pretty certain for the list, but haven't been released yet. However, Static and Kiss of the Damned did make the list and, this week Static appeared.

Static was directed by a new director (Todd Levin), was clearly made on a small budget and has a small cast. One of the credits is for Divide Pictures which is MV's film company (jointly owned with Russ Cundiff). Static is somewhere between a horror film and a mystery. It's gotten two and three star reviews from various websites. It's about a couple who are still grieving over the loss of their only child when a stranger turns up on their doorstep, keen to be let in where it's safe.

I felt it was a nice concept, turned into an OK film. It has some utterly beautiful scenery which you see in the first quarter of an hour or so. I was interested in the three key characters and it has some good moments among the scenes I particularly liked the chandeliers hanging from the trees outside. Plus the film knows when to stop - it's about the right length (80 mins). However, the first third and the last third are better than the middle - which gets a little dull. Also, there's a little too much explanation at the end of what was going on. Overall I would say flawed but worth a look for its concept.

Today, on the way to the station, I counted five black and white cats (it's ten minutes away). Reeve was not one of them but was stretched out on the radiator at home.

My great aunt Joan has died. I found out this evening. She was the last of my relatives in that generation and, despite living a good, long life, it's a bit of a shock. Apparently it was sudden and over quickly, which is a good thing. She was the only one of that generation to meet bateleur, and we once took the twins to see her. She bought Edward Bear for them back when they were just a bump and we thought it was only one beeb. Joan used to send me birthday and Christmas cards every year without fail until about three years ago, a year after she had moved into sheltered accommodation. I still sent cards to her and a couple of times a year I heard about her from my dad who phoned her, but I guess I knew then that it wouldn't be for much longer.