As if you didn't have enough pr0n on your hard drive already--I just read today that Playboy is considering building a new massive online player game based on their famous adult entertainment franchise.

Howard Sherman: Malinche Entertainment's Big KahunaAs many of you are well aware, I've always been a big fan of Infocom and interactive fiction. Although text adventures aren't nearly as ubiquitous as they were back in Infocom's heyday, they are still being developed and published today--and, thanks to the chutzpah of one man, Howard Sherman, they are becoming commercially viable once again. Sherman's company, Malinche Entertainment, is, to quote Sherman, "Infocom 2.0." I think you're going to really enjoy reading the following interview, in which Sherman talks about his ideas and goals to promote and support the interactive fiction community. Howard is a great guy, and I really appreciate what he's doing for an often underrated (and unappreciated!) genre. Big thanks to Howard and Malinche Entertainment for taking time out to answer my questions!

You can slog it! Slog it good!Don't forget it: You heard it hear first, folks. First, there was weblogging. Then there was blogging, vblogging, podcasting, twittering; the list goes on. Now I'm pleased to introduce a new buzzword into the mix: Slogging!

Shane Raistlin Monroe has released the February edition of Retrogaming Radio, which, as always, is loaded with great content for anyone even remotely interested in retrogaming and classic computing. Shane has even been kind enough to review my book Dungeons and Desktops.

It's the month of CDTV/CD32!Do you know what month it is? Do you have any idea what good times await you this month on Armchair Arcade? It's the Month of CDTV/CD32, of course! Brace yourself!

That's right--this month at Armchair Arcade, your friendly editors will be focusing our attention on Commodore's intriguing duo of CD-ROM based platforms. We'll be bringing you historical information, hands-on looks at emulation and gaming, videos, editorials, collector information...Good God, it's practically like owning one of these units yourself! Please share with us all of your stories and thoughts about the CDTV and the CD32. Do not hold anything back. This is The Month of the CDTV/CD32.

Want to make a good single player CRPG?Probably the hardest part of my new book to write was the conclusion, where I tried to think about the future of our favorite genre: the standalone, single-player CRPG. That genre includes all the classic Ultimas, Bard's Tale, Gold Box games, and so on. It's all the genre that has suffered the most attrition from game developers and publishers, though the better ones still attract mainstream attention (Oblivion, Mass Effect). What I want to do here is focus on a few subgenres, if you will, that to my mind have the best chance of thriving in the current market. I will naturally focus on PC games, though where possible these concepts could be applied to any of the new consoles.

I was wondering how current Xbox 360 owners feel about Toshiba's surrender to Blu-Ray in the next-gen DVD standards war. I see that the price of the HD DVD player for the 360 has been slashed, and will not doubt soon be appearing in bargain bins. Do you think this will give the decisive edge to the PS3 in the high-end gamer market?