Who Makes Them Games?

Playing video games is a hobby, a recreational activity, a way to pass the time during a flight and a way to take a short break at work. Video games are sometimes art, sometimes controversial, sometimes addicting. Millions of people currently play video games and the industry takes in more money each year than the movie industry. But who makes these video games?

Enter development studios.

Bioware, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft Montreal, Bungie, Visceral Games and Bethesda are just a few of the many developers that make video games. These companies are often owned by larger corporations called “publishers” who sometimes negatively effect the production of a video game by pushing deadlines on the development studio and making creative decisions based on consumer research and dollar dollar bills yall. The movie industry is apparently the same way. While these tactics aren’t true of all publishers, many a dev will tell you it is often a problem.

My favorite developer for multiplayer video games is a Swedish company called Digital Illusions CE, which is owned by Electronic Arts (EA).

DICE is the developer behind the Battlefield series of games, which I have played for over 10 years now. I am currently playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2, DICE’s latest offering (and the best multiplayer game available IMO).

About 2 weeks ago, DICE had a contest on the Twitters for a Battlefield 2 thermos shaped like a bullet. Take a wild guess at who won that bad boy.

             

                                          Dreams really do come true boys and girls.

A Little Bit at a Time

Day two of armor making.

It Begins

My brother and I have begun our first adventure into EVA foam armor making. I gathered materials today, we took measurements of each other tonight and did a few glue/paint tests on the foam. Everything worked according to plan. This should turn out well I believe.

However, NOWHERE in town sells a hot knife which we need to cut and etch the foam. Had to buy one off Amazon. I mean, I went to Hobby Lobby and Michael’s and neither had one, then called Home Depot and Lowes and neither carry them. I guess it’s an odd product.

Cosplay. Totally Geek, Totally Awesome. Well, sometimes.

Cosplay = Costuming + playing a fictional character.

Each year, thousands of people create or commission costumes to wear to conventions. Many of these costumes are simply amazing. Many are simply grimace inducing.

Creativity and resourcefulness are a must in cosplaying. A fantastic example: a guy known as EvilFX. His blog Bioweapons.Wordpress.com showcases his work, which happens to be N7 armor from my favorite single player video game ever, Mass Effect.

His work:

This armor is made of EVA foam. You know those robust cushion mats that fit together like puzzle pieces. Those. A little measuring, hot glue, dremel tooling and paint and you’ve got yourself some armor. Well, there is a little more to it than that, but if done correctly it will be awesome.

I begin making my Mass Effect armor tomorrow. Cerberus Assault Armor:

Steampunk. Oh, and Dragon*Con.

                       

Dragon*Con 2010 has come to a close. Your leader attended. Your leader experienced copious amounts of fun with 30,000 other geeks and stealth geeks. It was pure funtasy. Sci-fun and funtasy.

There were so many people in costume it was impossible to photograph them all. Here are some photographs taken (on Saturday): http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2107008&id=41802390

This photo album is a mix of the good and the bad, the funny and the serious, the tasteful and the inapproaps. Enjoy my friends.

Whilst looking through the photo album, you may notice your leader in costume as well. A Steampunk costume. Yet, what is this “Steampunk” being spoken of? Well, Steampunk is a sub-genre of sci-fi. Imagine if someone from the year 1850 were to imagine 2010. In their mind the clothing would be from that period and the technology would include nothing digital, but would be steam powered and/or contain clockwork mechanics. It’s a hypothetical “what-if” future.

At Dragon*Con 2010 there were easily over 300 Steampunk cosplayers (costumers).

This crew calls themselves the Apparition Abolishers (Steampunk Ghostbusters).

This was an impromptu shot taken on the street in Hotlanta. Your leader is the young one.

Costume for next year: Cerberus armor from the video game Mass Effect 2.

Conventions: A Stealth Geek Overview

Dragon*Con officially kicks off tomorrow in Atlanta, GA. Your leader will be attending this convention Saturday.

                     

Perhaps you’ve not had the opportunity to visit a (geeky) convention or really even know what they’re all about.

Conventions, as you may already know my dear comrades, are organized gatherings of people centered around a certain common interest(s). Geeks generally attend conventions themed around fantasy, sci-fi, gaming, anime, comics, and gadgetry.

Conventions like Dragon*Con feature artists, famous actors and voice actors, board gaming rooms, video gaming rooms, merchandise rooms, dances, live performances, costume contests, movie viewings, workshops (for various crafts), photography sessions for people in costume, and lots of other odd events.

Geek Conventions can be really fun, but there are several things to be aware of before attending.

1. Cons are the largest gathering of socially awkward/inept people you’ll ever come across. You will hear and see things you can never un-hear or un-see (makes for great stories though).

2. Non-stealth geek ladies will be scantily clad. “What’s wrong with that?!” you might inquire. Does the term “muffin top” mean anything to you? Perhaps you’re familiar with the effects of improper nutrition on skin and hair?

3. There are men dressed up as scantily clad fictional female characters. Your leader is unsure of the reasoning for this.

4. There are usually skits performed by costumed people. Really, really, really painful skits.

Here are a few examples:

It just makes you uncomfortable to watch. We stealth geeks understand that doing such things looks….well….let’s just face it, our social awareness prohibits such nonsense (social suicide). Though our interests be geeky, these skits go somewhere far beyond. Someplace we dare not go. To be honest, your leader hates these skits.

With all the highs and lows of a con, you should attend at least one just to experience it. The people watching is enough reason to go and it won’t cost you anything.

If you attend Dragon*Con this weekend, be sure to look for your dear leader on Saturday. He will be dressed this way:

Photo credit: Jason Wallis, www.jasonwallis.com

This getup your leader is sporting is from a sub-genre of sci-fi called “Steampunk” which will be explained in a later post.

Cheers,

CaptainAhmazing

Mail: Celebrity Stealth Geeks

Oh, my dear compadre. Does your leader know of stealth geek celebrities? But of course. You see, stealth geeks are like vermin. Though we be hidden, there are many of us and we are everywhere. Let’s start with some direct quotes by celebrity stealth geeks.

Direct quotes:

“I have a roomful of comic books and toys in my house. It’s pretty impressive, I will say.” - Seth Rogen

“I played very, very religiously. It was my favorite thing to do growing up,” -Vin Diesel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! regarding playing Dungeons & Dragons

“I’m a gizmo guy. I pick up gizmos all the time. But I read comics all the time, too.” -Samuel L. Jackson

“I would kill to play Harley Quinn. Like I would literally kill. If you were to be like, ‘Kill this person,’ I would be like, ‘Who? Where do they live?’ I am serious.” -Kristen Bell

All these famous people are stealth geeks.

It’s been well known for a while now that Robin Williams is a total hardcore gaming stealth geek too. He participated in the 2007 World Dungeons & Dragons Game Day (alongside Vin Diesel) and he loves video games so much he even named his daughter Zelda!! He also reportedly loves anime and comic books as well. Did I mention he frickin’ named his daughter Zelda!?

Vin Diesel also helped found Tigon Studios, a video game company www.tigonstudios.com/

Nathan Fillion, a true ladies’ man and the star of Firefly, Serenity and the television series Castle is a stealth geek. He’s a gamer, loves gadgets and has performed many a voice over for video games.

Kristen Bell, arguably one of the most beautiful people on the planet, starred on the superheroes show Heroes and played a voice over role in both Assassin’s Creed video games as well as the film Astro Boy.

Yes, the image above is Kristen at Comic*Con wearing a shirt that says “I brake for Wookies.” Stealth geek.

Olivia Munn, also arguably one of the most beautiful people on the planet, is basically queen of the stealth geeks as she is a host on Attack of the Show. Not only that but Olivia had a cameo in Iron Man 2, goes to geeky conventions and has sported such costumes as Chun-Li, Sailor Moon, Wonder Woman, Nariko from the video game Heavenly Sword and the Princess Leia slave costume. She also wrote a book about being a geek.

There are many many more, but these examples should get the point across.

Price Drops and Hikes

Nintendo just put out a press release saying they will drop the prices of their DSi and DSi XL to $149.99 and $169.99 respectively.

Here’s the link to the press release in case you need to read it for whatever reason: http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=25165

This makes you wonder where the Nintendo 3DS will fall in their pricing skew.

Your leader predicts the 3DS will take the former pricing slot of the DSi XL at $189.99. There is a possibility that the 3DS could cost $199.99, which would put it at the same price as Nintendo’s full fledged console, the Wii. Time and another press release will tell.

Also, once time and that press release tell, Gamestop will start allowing pre-orders and Nintendo will once again be able rev up those money printers.

In other news, your Xbox Live Gold membership will be going up to $59.99 a year starting this November. Your leader called Xbox Live today and got his Gold membership renewed (effective Sept. 17th) for the promotional price of $39.99. Your leader suggests you call Xbox Live and get the promotional price before it expires Oct. 31st.

Music, Now in 8-Bit!