My Favorite Things About PAX

Good morning, and welcome to PAX Prime 2012 everyone! By the time you read this, I’ll be knee deep in Enforcer hullabaloo in the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington, surrounded by tens of thousands of gamers and having the time of my life.  It'll be as much fun as when Tycho groomed Felicia Day. Source. I feared that this write-up would come off far too brag-y, so here’s my solution to fix things: today’s article...

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'Man-Eater' brings gamification to riding in cars.

Everyone has played the license plate game and the punch bug game, but now gamer hungry car-folk can play a new type of car game: 'Man-Eater'! It was created by an artist named Daniel Disselkoen, whose inspiration was drawn from his daily commute of four years while going to school. Now I wish I had a road trip to embark upon so I can try to eat some people's heads! I don't know if I'd ever end up playing this on a public bus though, all of the ducking and weaving with one eye closed might draw unwanted looks from other passengers. Of course, with one eye closed and the other trained on the window I suppose I wouldn't even notice! -MJ found...

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Collect ALL the Coins! New Super Mario Bros. 2 Review.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS. For the past two weeks news has been floating around that New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS is more of the same old Mario, but that it’s not a bad thing. A lot of people are wondering if the series needs a break, but Nintendo has announced that they’re planning one new Mario game per platform. Personally I believe that the Mario series is one that can be revisited with great frequency because...

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PAX Prime 2012 Planning Tips, Part Three - Staying Energized

PAX tip number three is finally upon us, and with it only a week left until the doors of the Washington State Convention Center open to receive the great geek flood of 2012. Have you been studying the schedule yet? Working on your geeky opening lines? I hope so! But let's get a move on and dive into the third, and possibly most important, tip. Watch Your Conference Fuel Gauge: food, naps, and hygiene. The Guidebook (for almost all smartphone...

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PAX Prime 2012 Planning Tips, Part Two - Being Social

Hello future PAX attendees! Today brings PAX tip number two to help you get the most enjoyment out of Prime 2012. Have you seen yesterday's tips for scheduling yet? Be sure to check it out, then let's get going! Be Social: bring a handheld system, wander the tabletop areas, and ask questions in the exhibition hall. Any one of these folk can be your friend, you just have to say hello! Photo by Kiko Villasenor. The second, and probably...

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PAX Prime 2012 Planning Tips, Part One - Scheduling

Coming up in just over a week is PAX Prime 2012. I am beyond excited, and now that the official schedule has been released it’s time to start planning the weekend. This week I'm bringing you my three very comprehensive tips to make sure you have a happy and healthy PAX. A PAX survival guide, if you will. Today is tip number one, with two and three following this Thursday and Friday. Make a Schedule: this applies to panels, exhibition, tabletop,...

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Get Your Intergalactic RTS on with Planetary Annihilation.

One of the newest and more promising games pumping through the Kickstarter veins is Planetary Annihilation from Uber Entertainment. It's an RTS that promises unique and exciting experiences never before offered in a real time strategy through planet domination and maps that are never exactly alike. The company is also boasting a client-server model which benefits the player so that the game runs on the company servers, effectively freeing...

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Anticipated 3DS Titles Are Finally Given Release Dates!

After over two years of scant news and high anticipation on my end, Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS finally has a set release date! Does anyone mind if I put a happy David Tennant here? November 11th, 2012 is sure to be the most glorious of Sundays to come (for me, anyway). Now to wait and see if Nintendo will be doing eShop distribution of Paper Mario like they're doing with New Super Mario Bros. 2! In addition, Nintendo has also...

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Acceptance of Games and Geeks in Art and Culture

Many nerds and geeks find themselves at the heart of misunderstanding and rejection from the general public. Not everyone gets the obsession that can come along with being a geek, and I’m sure many of you can relate to an outsider insisting that you drop your interest, back off of the hobby, and move on with your life. How many out there have ever been told that cartoons, comic books, and video games were something you’d grow out of?In college,...

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'Doctor Who' References in Other Shows. There Are Tons!

Happy Monday everyone! Yesterday a friend showed me this: Doctor Who reference in other shows: Rugrats. [nerdist] And I about lost my freaking mind. Rugrats was one of my favorite shows as a child, and if it is on you can bet I will be watching it. Seeing some friggin' Daleks in the toy store, I mean come on. It's pretty awesome to see this reference considering my past love of Rugrats and my current love of Doctor Who. It got me wondering though,...

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How Do You Take Your Mario: Tangible or Digital?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 releases for the 3DS on Sunday the 19th. Will you be picking it up from stores, or grabbing it digitally? Nintendo is offering simultaneous in-store or download purchase of New Super Mario Bros. 2 It's a first for the company and the 3DS system. I've been asking myself this question ever since the digital distribution was announced. I like tangible, hard copies. Something I can see, touch, smell and taste, if I really...

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Harmontown 8/6/12 : Confessions, Hardwick, and Cockroaches

Monday night was my second time attending Harmontown, and if you live within reasonable driving distance of Los Angeles then I recommend that you head down to Meltdown Comics some Monday night and try to catch a show! Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles. Harmontown is a two hour stand-up show with Dan Harmon, creator and recently-fired showrunner of the NCB hit show Community. Tickets are only ten dollars per person, and now that he's doing them...

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Revealing Photography: Minecraft Creeper Edition.

While in Ireland last year I made a small papercraft Creeper from Minecraft, then I took it out into the wilderness for a photo shoot. Some of you may have spied the photos on my now not-posted-to photo blog, but that's irrelevant. These are the photos that mobs don't want you to see! They're... the lighter side of Creepers! Little known fact: Creepers love tiny daisies.  Their preferred sleeping location? Inside of hybrid tulips. You...

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PA Kickstarter creeps close to 450k goal

The Penny Arcade Kickstarter has been going for almost a month now, and while at the time of this writing they've made $410k, almost twice their $250k goal, they're still a far cry from their ultimate and still-secret goals at the one million dollar mark.Penny Arcade’s undertaking is straightforward and still fascinating: raise enough money to make the site ad free for an entire year. Be sure to read their Kickstarter for full information, but here's...

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All your wildest Landlord dreams come true in 'Tiny Tower'

I've never been much for mobile gaming. I mean, mobile phone gaming. The battery life is too valuable. I could be tweeting and instagraming instead! Now that I own an iPad though, I've been seeking ways to expand its usage outside of Netflix and tumblr.  But then I found 'Tiny Tower,’ an adorable micro game by NimbleBit, creators of 'Pocket Frogs' (one of the only games I have on my Android phone). The premise is pretty simple: players build...

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