227 - 1:12 Scale UFO Catcher / Crane Game design

I'm pleased with my 1:12 scale arcade cabinet design, which I've dubbed the Shenco Cabinet design (inspired by Namco). Now it's time to work on another amusement machine. This time it's time work on something a bit more complicated: a UFO catcher.

I love crane games. Every few months I get a huge itch that only a UFO catcher can scratch.

This one will employ the use of laser cut MDF as well as acrylic. I also have to create a small chute for the toy to fall through. We'll see how that goes!

Now that I have the measurements, I need to plot them out and send them to Ponoko. Fortunately I have a $50 coupon to use by September, so this is as good a time as any to start.

226 - Sadie Cat and the Sky Factory - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After a while Sadie Cat climbed back to the top of where she had entered. It was getting dark outside. The mountain of sand that was created when she fell into the save was tall, but not tall enough to get out. She could see the sky above her through the hole in the cave’s ceiling, but it was too far too reach.

“There has to be another way out of here,” Sadie Cat thought to herself. She looked around and all she could see was the glowing water around the mountain of sand. In the distance she noticed a different glow. It was a red glow, but it was small, under the water, and very far away. Something fell on her head and she brushed it off. She tried to get a better view of the red glowing thing under the water. Something fell on her head again and she brushed it off again. Why was there sand falling on her head? Sadie Cat looked up and there was a shadow standing at the entrance of the hole.

“Are you okay down there?” the voice yelled.

“Yes! Can you help?” Sadie Cat called back.

There was a pause. Then the end of a rope came flying over the edge and landed next to her. “Tie the rope around you!” the voice said. Sadie Cat quickly did as she was told and then tugged on the rope twice, letting whoever was up there know she was ready.

Slowly, but surely, Sadie Cat was lifted out of the cave.

222 - Sadie Cat and the Sky Factory - Chapters 2 and 3

Chapter 2

Sadie Cat was down to her last bit of water. She knew she was in trouble. If she didn’t find water soon, she would probably faint and would need to send out an emergency signal for someone to rescue her. She didn’t like using the emergency signal because she only had a few in her bag. Sadie Cat took another step and fell to the ground, sand flying up all around her. Her body felt like it was sinking. Her eyes closed. She was so tired and so thirsty.

“I wonder if this is what it feels like right before you faint,” she thought. She continued to have that sinking feeling.

Then she opened her eyes. This wasn’t a sinking feeling. She was actually sinking! A few moments later the sand opened up beneath her and she fell into a deep dark cave.

“JONATHAAAAAAAN!” she yelled as she fell deeper and deeper into the cave.

Chapter 3

Sadie Cat landed onto a tall mountain of sand. She rolled over the edge and continued to roll like a log down a hill. She rolled and then she rolled and then she rolled some more. Eventually, she hit the ground with a splash. Sadie Cat looked around. Even though the cave was supposed to be dark, it actually glowed a deep teal color. The water she was in was glowing!

Sadie Cat dug around in her bag and pulled out a small plant that looked like a corkscrew. It was old looking, brown, and dry. This was a Bassus Root and she stuck it into the water. The skin of the Bassus Root turned green and then the corkscrew straighten itself out. Sadie Cat now knew this water would be okay to drink. She stuck her face in the water and took a big drink of this glowing teal water. Then she made a pained face. It may have been safe to drink, but it certainly did not taste good. It was sour and made her skin shiver.

Sadie Cat took the Bassus Root out of the water and in a few seconds it turned back into a corkscrew, dry, and brown. She put it in the bag and pulled out the two empty bottles that used to be filled with water. Filling each bottle with this glowing water should help her stay hydrated. Now all she needed was a way out of this cave.

221 - Sadie Cat and the Sky Factory - First Draft

I've actually been working on this story for quite some time. I'm only 4,000 or so words into it, but I'm over half way through it. This falls into that short story range. Anyway, here it goes!

Introduction

Once upon a time there was a dog with a cat’s tail. Her name was Samantha Adelaide Catrell, but her friends called her Sadie Cat. She was a very adventurous explorer and loved going to places she had never been. Seeing new things and experiencing new places was her favorite thing to do. The world was filled with all kinds of magical things. Sometimes she would get in sticky situations, both figuratively and literally. It was also important for her to write down her adventures so she could share her knowledge with others. Here is one of her stories.

Chapter 1

The desert was hot. It’s not weird for a desert to be hot, but it felt extraordinarily hot. It’s probably because the last few months there had been little to no rain and the area was in a drought. Why would Sadie Cat be walking through the desert in the middle of the day? Sadie Cat had just come from a city she had on her map called Stonesburg. It was famous for making some of the world’s most beautiful rainbow stones. She had asked the guard Stonesburg where the next town was. He said there should be another town a few hours to the east. Her map was blank in that direction, which means she had never been that direction before from Stonesburg. She used this as a great excuse to go on a journey.

“Thanks!” Sadie Cat said. “What’s your name?”

The guard tipped his helmet and told her, “My name is Jonathan.”

Sadie Cat waved goodbye to Jonathan the Guard and started walking east. A few hours later she realized the guard had no idea what he was talking about.

220 - Prototypical Games per Genre

Mobile games come out frequently. What used to be a Thursday showcase of new games and apps has now been replaced with a somewhat constant stream of new software to titillate the senses. Sensual.

And because there's so much variety and so many options out there, it's always good to have one app to be the prototypical "go to" game for that genre. That being said I think it would be nice to share my current "go to" games. These are also games I will likely not delete.

RPG Match-3: WWE Champions

Longest Match-3: Best Fiends or Disney Tsum Tsum

Blitz Match-3: Disney Emoji Blitz

City Builder: Futurama Worlds of Tomorrow

Solitaire: Fairway Solitaire or Age of Solitaire

Casino: Double Down Casino

Strategy RPG: Fire Emblem Heroes

Current Hotness: Flippy Knife, Professor Layton