We all know the world can't get enough Puzzle Quest... well, at least I can't get enough of it. And the thought of being able to play the very touch-perfect puzzle RPG on my iPhone gives me goosebumps. So after my little hint didn't result in any immediate announcement of an iPhone Puzzle Quest or Galaxtrix, I took matters into my own hands and emailed Infinite Interactive to see what was up.

Janeen Fawkner, producer on the game was quick to respond:

Hi Brian, We would love to do a game on the iPhone, but we'll have to see what our publisher D3P has in mind... We'll suggest it to them :)

Sounds good, but I'm impatient, so I went to D3 next, asking when we could hope to see a Puzzle Quest on the iPhone and pointing out that Inifinite was gung-ho. Their spokesperson's response?

They're looking into details now and will get back to me soon.

Now, now, I want it now! I even made this handy-dandy screenshot for them. You can imagine what a pain I was to my parents when I was a kid.

Update: D3 just got back to me with this: "D3Publisher of America is exploring opportunities to bring Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords to a variety of mobile carriers."

That doesn't sound like a "Yes we're making it and you'll have it next week" to me at all. Not at all.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year [Something Awful]

PS. If I stole this link from someone, send me an email. I can't find where I got the link.

Take the guess work out of trying to figure out what a Pickachu or a Charmander would look like if they were on the Discovery Channel instead of Fox Kids. With the help of some photoshop skills (by some, I mean some more than others), the winners of the "Real Life Pokemon" contest have revealed 62 of the finest pokemon characters over at
Worth 1000. Kim Phu

Pokemon [Worth 1000 via Wii See]

Nothing helps me wind down at the end of a long work day quite like flipping through Worth1000's Photoshop contests. As a graphics designer on the side, I can truly appreciate how much better most of these bastards are than I am, while still catching the occasional really bad one that boosts my self esteem.

The sixth iteration of their Beta Busts contest just concluded, featuring concept art for games that never got made. You can see my personal favorite to the right there, the wonderfully understated "Chess with Blood". Big focus on sports games this time around due to the relative ease of slapping anything over an EA 200X cover. Enjoy! Michael Fahey

Beta Busts 6 - Video games that never got made [Worth1000.com - thanks Jordan!]

Thanks for the mail, Jojje! Michael McWhertor

I'll admit that the box of Life cereal featuring Gordon Freeman made me LOL. Michael McWhertor

Video Game Snack Time [Something Awful]

I love me some Goon photoshops, and this here's a good one. Video game characters recast in movies roles is nothing new to ubernerd SA, but this set is particularly high-class.

Forums Goon Bewilderbeest thought it would be a unique idea to combine two of everybody's favorite pasttimes in video games and movies, and he asked the forums to indulge him in photographically pondering what it would be like if certain video game characters tried their respective hand at acting. The result? Well, you'll find out soon enough. Much like Alex Trebek knows the questions to all the answers he reads off, I am instantly familiar with every video game and motion picture ever created. However, I'm gonna let you guys do the math on these ones and refrain from offering my usual, blisteringly witty comments, as I feel I would therefore be compromising the subtlety of the humor in most of them. For any given picture, you've probably either seen the movie or played the game referenced anyway, if not both. For every one that completely throws you for a loop, you can pat yourself on the back for being less of a geek than you thought you were!

My favorites, aside from the obvious choice on the right, was Frank West in 35mm; Mario, Toad and Luigi in O Princess, Where Art Thou?; and Um-Jammer Lammy in Silence of the Lammy (anything to shut her up). Eliza Gauger

Video game characters turn to acting [Something Awful]

Yeah, it's a fake. But Kotakuite Harjit M. went beyond the call of duty proving exactly why it's a fake. Why it's a fake just beyond Rockstar saying it is, we mean. Here you go, guys! A three-step process in creating your very own Grand Theft Auto 4 fake! Florian Eckhardt

Learn how to create stunning, professional-quality game textures from an award-winning industry expert. This book is your one-stop-shop to learn everything you'll need to know about texturing game worlds, from the research that goes into creating a world to tips, tricks and tools of the trade. Learn how to create everything from bullet holes and flames to windows and walls in tutorials that walk you through the process of developing textures (game art) for the most common game settings—from modern urban to fantasy—based on professional concept art.

The article is long and I didn't go through all of it, but just based on the first few pages I'd say this is worth a look by anyone who wants to be a game artist, or just look like one! (Bawls bottle collection and booth at GenCon not included). Eliza gauger

Ye Compleat Texte [Gamasutra]

When I was a boy scout, I never did quite manage to get any merit badges. The rainbow badge I'd sewn onto my lapel was met only with concerned mutterings and the occasional wink from troop leaders. As for other badges, I came fairly close to getting myself a woodworking badge, until I had the bad luck to chop the tip of my thumb off with a hatchet on the final exam. Although I didn't get a woodworking badge that day, the loss of a pudgy digit did, at least, allow the rest of my troop to finally secure their emergency first aid badge. Thumbless, I quit the boy scouts.

But this Tetris Badge on display at Worth1000's weekly Photoshop contest... now this is a badge I could have won! . The theme this week is 'Modern Boy Scout Badges for Modern Pastimes.' It would have been perfect for me — not only is it rainbow colored, but the falling red L block looks something like my spurting disattached thumb. The Boy Scouts of America should institute this badge post-haste, before any more brilliant young minds are forced to become reluctant sinistral onanists such as I. Florian Eckhardt

Tetris Real Life Merit Badge [Worth 1000]

Video Games According to Grandma

Pretentious Games [Something Awful]

If only... Sigh.

If Hackers Ruled the World 5 [Worth 1000]