If you're not a fan of AI, you might choose to skip this. ("My AI", competing for Norway's spot in the ESC this year.)

I got boardgame box inserts, something "UV-coated" whatever that is for cardboard. And they stink. I hear I should treat them with UV light (lamps or sunlight), but it's raining/snowing and the sun is up only when I'm at work.

Was going to comment on the Digital Devil Story English translation, but apparently it was already covered on FP. Good and quick job, article author!

I watched the music videos of Finland's ESC-hopefuls. My favourite has to be this one where the title is "F'ing wrecked."

Friends visited; one game of Ricochet Robots (think those push-ice-blocks puzzles, but a competition on who finds the best answer quickest) and one of 90's HeroQuest. I'm not complaining.

Been trying to write a follow-up blog to my backport blog from Feb 2022, but with less stringent requirements for inclusion. Have a SNK vs Capcom longplay on C64 (2022).

RIP James McCaffrey (Max Payne, Control, Alan Wake 2). Eurogamer has a story.

Somehow, the first "real" version of A Christmas Carol I ever saw was a ballet. (Fake ones include at least one Donald Duck comic.) If they repeat the show here next year, I'll be going to see it again.

Time to be much more careful with citing sources in my writings.

Been playing Duke Nukem 1 Remastered, and I've never played it this far before (still Episode 1, though). So I was positively surprised that the later levels introduced more abilities for Duke. Shows me for underestimating old games.

Well, I got my first busted Evercade game card. (It's not a ROM cartridge, more like an SD card or USB stick.) On one hand, I have some tens of game cards already and this was the first case of a problem. On the other, maybe is one too many.

I noticed I've been playing games for months on almost mute. As in, I might hear a sound effect played, but can't even identify which effect it was. Will be continuing like this for the foreseeable future.

I hear there's a lot of new commercial Game Boy software, but not enough proper reviews. Alas, I have found myself incapable of writing true reviews. https://www.gumpyfunction.com/a-letter-to-the-gb-community

Illusion Island... you and your final insult.

Didn't expect a video like this from a relatively big-name channel. Still, I truly cannot understand the negative reaction to the original reveal if it wasn't for the platform it was on.

I've been toiling away with Illusion Island, and I do like that there is no way to attack the enemies in the game. But I do not like how much going backwards there is and how "uncondensed" the game feels. And the AD makes me think of cheap old cartoons.

Speaking as someone who liked the size of the world in Xenoblade X and 2, and didn't mind 1 or 3, I didn't expect to think a platformer (Illusion Island) could have too big and empty maps.

Now playing Illusion Island. I prefer World of Illusion or even Castle of Illusion. I didn't know there was Land of Illusion, though...

That's Superstars done for the "main story". Will post an opinion inside.

Cleared world 9 in Superstars, and I've encountered one or two "d*** design" levels (7-1, 7-2) and two "this boss fight carries on too long" cases (8-2 and 9-1). Also, is world 5 Action Park?

Been also playing Final Exerion. Shmup with inertia close to Sonic's (if I may exaggerate a bit)?

Wonder done. Next up, Superstars.

Got Sonic, got Mario. Time to see if Wonder takes the crown from NSMBU as my favourite 2D Mario.

One of the reasons I was interested in Evercade was that I could finally play Atari Lynx games. Well, those collections (and other Atari collections on Evercade) are going to be out of print soon. Hopefully Atari will rerelease them digitally elsewhere.

The downside of a great harvest of mushrooms is that you won't go foraging them all that many times. I'm already done for the year.