Writer and Podcaster
September 1, 2018
Nostalgia Pilots, Podcast, Uncategorized Gundam Wing, hugh, Jurd, Nostalgia Pilots, Podcast, Space Weather Leave a comment
Welcome to Nostalgia Pilots! Tonight, Hugh and Jurd discuss Gundam Wing episode 22, “The Fight for Independence!”
This week, fans get the Septum family drama nobody asked for, Nichol guns for a promotion in the most Oz way possible, and you can dress Zechs up, but you can’t take him anywhere. Plus, Wu Fei runs out of gas, Lady Une finds a zesty chip mixed into her bag of cool ranch, and all the other pilots are on vacation this week!
August 22, 2018
Hugh Likes Fiction, Review, Uncategorized HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, Kelly Robson, Tor Leave a comment
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
Written by Kelly Robson
Published by Tor
The Skinny: Post-apochalyptic time travelers go back to Bablylon to take notes on ecology.
In Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Kelly Robson adds a lot of new twists to a formula that goes back to H. G. Wells. Her time travelers are scientists from a post-collapse future, but they don’t go back to change history, they’re ecologists taking notes and samples to save the future. And that is just the start of her resurrection of a sometimes tired genre.
The main story follows Minh, an aging scientist who restores lost habitats on the surface of a decimated Earth 200 years in the future. Minh seeks control over her work, her life, even her own biological processes, which she tweaks for maximum efficiency. But when she travels back in time with a small team to gather data and samples a Tigris and Euphrates, she’ll have to learn to manage with the help of others. Her story is contrasted with short, myth-like passages from the story of the king of Ur, and the reader quickly discovers that this is one story from two points of view. It’s something difficult to pull off, that Robson handles with style.
The characters are well-developed for a novel of this length, and I especially liked Minh’s micromanagement of her biological processes as a way for her to cope with the huge problems in her environment that she can’t. There is a lot of far future science, with little explanation, that might feel like technobable to a lay person, but if you’re looking for a short novel overflowing with cool science and unexpected perspective, this one’s for you.
August 18, 2018
Nostalgia Pilots, Podcast, Uncategorized Gundam Wing, hugh, Jason, Jurd, Nostalgia Pilots, Podcast Leave a comment
Welcome to Nostalgia Pilots! This week Hugh, Jason, and Jurd discuss Gundam Wing episode 20, “The Lunar Base Infiltration!”
In tonight’s podcast, The Maguinac Corps gets names, Sally Po is a badass, Duo catches a show, and Trowa is the worst at subterfuge. Plus, Doctor J’s lying mouth gets him in trouble, and the Nostalgia Pilots speculate on Doktor S’s prosthetic nose collection. Brought to you in Alfvision!
August 13, 2018
Podcast, Uncategorized The Dog Days of Podcasting, The Legend of Zelda, Writing Leave a comment
Welcome to part 2 of the Gamer’s Guide to Writing, a part of the Dog Days of Podcasting. In this podcast, I talk about The Legend of Zelda, and what it taught me about exploration.
Music in today’s episode is “I do it for the Faeries,” By the 1-ups, from OCRemix.org!
August 6, 2018
Hugh Likes Video Games, Uncategorized HLV, Hugh Likes Video Games, Mass Transit, Mike Bithell, Noire, Sci-Fi, Subsurface Circular, Text Adventure Leave a comment
Subsurface Circular
Developed by Mike Bithell
Published by Anthill Games
Nintendo Switch
The Skinny – A short but satisfying trip.
Subsurface Circular is an old-school concept in some flashy new clothes. Quintessentially at text adventure, players assume the role of a detective that works on a subway train for robots, the eponymous Subsurface Circular. When the character goes off-programming to help a Tek (the game’s term for Asimo-like sentient humanoid robots) You’ll question passengers to get to the bottom of a mystery at the heart of your unnamed future city.
Gameplay consists entirely of text boxes and dialog choices as you try and get to solve the case, as well as a few simple puzzles the game puts in your path. The train car and its riders are lovingly rendered in high def, and the game uses the Switch’s gyroscope to let you look around a bit, but it is all just set dressing for the text, as shiny and gorgeous as it looks.
The plot is certainly engaging, but Bithell released it as a part of a series of ‘shorts,’ and it is quite short. Even taking a leisurely pace, the game can easily be finished in a two-hour sitting. It is quite forgiving with the puzzles, and while you can make choices, they don’t seem to have much impact on the game, or create much in the way of replay value. While the economy of the resources is quite clever, I would have liked to have solved a few more mysteries, but the game is propelled by its plot to a quick end.
There is a quite cool Easter egg for fans of Bithell’s award-winning “Thomas Was Alone,” which I won’t spoil here, and the Teks are all both convincingly human and utterly alien looking. They’re breathtaking to watch. There is also a clever bit of design where the soundtrack to each chapter is provided by Teks wearing earphones, their too-loud music pushing out into the car alongside atmospheric sounds of air brakes and sliding doors.
At around five dollars, “Subsurface Circular” is well worth the price tag for an evening of Robot Noire on the loop line. It is available for Nintendo Switch as well as Steam and IOS devices.
August 6, 2018
Podcast, Uncategorized Dog Days of Podcasting, Gamer's Guide to Writing, Gaming, Nintendo, Super Mario Bros, World 1-1 Leave a comment
Hello and welcome to part one of The Gamer’s Guide to Writing, in which I look at some of my favorite video games and talk about how they impacted my life and what storytelling lessons I learned from them. We’re starting with Super Mario Bros! In addition to being the platonic idea of the classic platformer, this game taught me the importance of a beginning that hooks your audience and teaches them about what is to come without overwhelming them.
For more on the design of World 1-1, watch This Design Club Video!
Music in today’s episode is Dance Hall Raga by remixer MKVaff, presented under a Creative Commons license from OCRemix.org!
August 3, 2018
Hugh Likes Fiction, Review, Uncategorized A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, Alex White, Fantasy, HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, Sci-Fi, Space Heists, Space Opera Leave a comment
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe
Written by Alex White
Published by Orbit
The Skinny: Spaceship is Magic
Alex White’s new novel, A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe is a seamless Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure about the misfit crew of a smuggler ship caught in a galactic conspiracy. White is a remarkable stylistic juggler, matching magic and high-tech space opera in a believable, lived in universe filled with despicable anti-heroes you can’t help rooting for.
When well-to-do racing star Nilah Brio witnesses a bizarre murder on the track, her only hope may rest on the dubious shoulders of fighter pilot turned con-artist Elizabeth “Boots” Ellsworth. But after selling fraudulent treasure maps for years, have they stumbled on the real thing? And more importantly, can they avoid the powerful forces on their trail long enough to get it?
White’s novel is an action-packed thrill ride of an adventure novel. But what really impressed me is the well thought out universe White creates for his characters to bust their way through. The magic system is intricately crafted, and feels like a real part of the world rather than set dressing. The technology of the setting uses magic in a number of surprising and delightful ways. Each character has their own magic, of varying types, and they can use it like a signature, or to interact with technology, or even fire weapons. Everyone except Boots, that is, who is one of the rare people born without magic. It’s a nice bit of the story that builds the world and characters in interesting ways.
With this first novel, White offers us a character-focused look into a compelling fantasy future. Fans of Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet will find a lot to like in this scrappy crew of adventurers, with plenty of space-faring action and interplanetary politics to satisfy the most hard-core old school Space Opera fan. You can find A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe at your local independent bookstore, or from the usual digital suspects. I heartily recommend it.
July 20, 2018
Nostalgia Pilots, Podcast, Uncategorized hugh, Jason, Nostalgia Pilots Leave a comment
Nostalgia Pilots Episode 19: Space Karate
Welcome to Nostalgia Pilots! This week, Hugh and Jason tackle Gundam Wing episode 19, “Assault on Barge!”
In tonight’s episode, Zechs encounters an unfamiliar ceiling, Heero gives up piloting his giant robot in favor of cabbage, and Trowa is too lazy to do anything this episode. Plus, Lady Une has fabulous space hair, and Wu Fei makes one hell of an exit.
Promo: Geek Radio Daily
Thanks for listening!
July 17, 2018
CCR, Podcast, Uncategorized 1960's, Alexander the Great, CCR, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, hugh, Jurd, Opopinax, Rich The T T, William Shatner Leave a comment
Tonight your hosts, Hugh of HughJODonnell.com, Rich the Time Traveler, Opopanax, and Jurd, Shatner double-chop their way through ALEXAAANDER!
Click HERE to download the podcast!
And HERE to watch the film on Youtube!
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and http://hughjodonnell.com, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 
Podcast: CCRC41 – Nightmare at 20,000 Ft.
August 10, 2018
hughjodonnell Podcast, Uncategorized CCRC, Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, Commentary Track, hugh, Jurd, Opopinax, Rich The T T, The Twilight Zone, William Shatner Leave a comment
Tonight your hosts, Hugh of HughJODonnell.com, Rich the Time Traveler, Jurd, and Opop, fly the not-so-friendly skies with Shatner.
Click HERE to listen!
Haven’t seen the episode? This isn’t the version we watched, so no guarantees. You’ll definitely need to skip the title card.
Click HERE to watch on Daily Motion!
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and http://hughjodonnell.com, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.