PAX Prime checklist

Demoman costume?  Check!  Just a few little touches, but otherwise it's finished!

Media equipment?  Check!  I've got a couple batteries, a ton of memory cards, tripod, monopod, LED light, interview mic, USB mic, laptop, and chargers.

Ability to listen to the OU - Utah State game on Saturday?  Check!  I just downloaded the WWLS Sports Animal app for my Blackberry. 

Karaoke Party Set-up?  Check!  The lovely and talented Lauren AKA OboeCrazy was good enough to get the Banquet Permit for the first Wandering Gamer PAX Kick-off Party at Seattle's Best Karaoke @ 9pm!  If you can read this, you're invited!

Finally, here are a couple of press releases I literally just got!  AM I DOIN THIS RITE?

Hi –

This is Richard with the Microsoft Surface team.

As you prepare for PAX West this weekend, I wanted to give you a heads up on a few different locations where you can experience Surface at the expo!

·         The Settlers of Catan – Located in the Catan booth in the exhibition hall, the Surface gaming sensation first shown at Origins and Gen Con Indy is finally coming to Seattle. At PAX, the Vectorform team is presenting the game with new updates as they continue to collect feedback from users and provide them an opportunity to play the classic board game through the interactive, collaborative experience that is Surface.

·         Penny Arcade Sales – Located near the PAX sales desk, visitors can utilize Surface as an important purchase tool as they bypass the typical salesman for a retail experience designed specifically for PAX.

·         The Complete Package – In the hall near the console freeplay area, Surface Senior Digital Manager Eric Havir will be bringing a personalized unit featuring some Surface favorites, including several gaming and conference-focused applications. This is the perfect opportunity to check out Surface in person and get a taste of some scenarios Surface has played a role in enhancing.

Let me know if you have any questions and if you’re interested in meeting up with a member of the Surface team on-site. Eric will be around throughout the show and available for more in-depth demos, and Vectorform will also have folks at PAX for further discussion around Catan. I’d be more than happy to connect you with the right spokesperson.

Best,

Richard

Richard Chen Edelman | 206.268.2293 2301 5th Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, WA 98121

***

Unleash Colossal Explosives with D3Publisher’s Fast-Paced Shooter, Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury at PAX West 2010

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury Booth To Host Hands-on Demos and

 Producer Interviews for Attendees

LOS ANGELES – August 31, 2010 – Prepare for sensory overload as D3Publisher unveils Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, the latest in the TREASURE franchise, at the Penny Arcade Expo West (PAX West) taking place at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle, Washington, September 3-5, 2010.  Fans and newcomers are encouraged to visit Booth #799 during the show to get their hands on this explosive new game for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. 

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury is the latest in the Bangai-O franchise, available for the first time on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360, and provides gamers with addictive shooter gameplay and a massive surplus of fireworks onscreen!  The game includes strategic and tactical elements and TREASURE’s original design style that includes fruits for rewards. 

D3Publisher will also be participating in a Puzzle Quest 2 tournament on Nintendo DS™ that will be taking place in the handheld lounge area from 4:30pm - 7:30pm on Saturday, September 3^rd.  Stop by the lounge and compete by playing Puzzle Quest 2, the latest adventure, now available from Infinite Interactive.  Puzzle Quest 2 features a hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy that offers a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for players of all skill levels.

To reserve a booth appointment, please contact Steven Khoo at d3publisher@fortyseven.com to view Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, or please stop by the D3Publisher booth during show hours. 

INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

·         Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury Executive Producer Tim Ramage will be conducting interviews and game demos on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 on all three days of PAX West.

BOOTH INFORMATION

·         Find D3Publisher at Booth #799

·         D3Publisher’s booth will be open on Friday, September 3 (10:00 AM - 7:00 PM), Saturday, September 4 (9:00 AM - 6:00 PM), and Sunday, September 5 (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM).

Previews! Previews! I WANT PREVIEWS!

Katie over at Just Plain Something posted a trailer yesterday for a movie that I'd forgotten that I was anticipating! Black Swan comes out later this year, and looks to build on the simplicity of The Wrestler while adding a psychological horror component. I'm so excited about this movie.

You probably aren't asking yourself what other movies I'm excited about, aside from Tron Legacy. Well, you're a jerk sir or madam! Here are two trailers for movies that I'm pumped for. One graces the screen in a week, while the other waits for 2011!





Two more awesome events also happen next week. OU kicks off our 2010 campaign and PAX happens in Seattle! I'll be at PAX covering the event for Late Nite JengaJam as well as cosplaying for the first time ever and just having a blast. Speaking of Late Nite JengaJam, next Tuesday is our Draft Show for the D&D 4 JOX fantasy football league! Tune in at 9pm Central for our analysis and picks and hijinks!

BRB

Baking.



Fuck you, Carl's Jr / Hardees!

As heard at tonights Dungeons & Dragons session...

We were fighting these two hunters called Wind and Wave.  My goliath barbarian pushed a rock onto Wind, doing some damage.  My character hopped down from the ledge, and declared:

Looks like I've...



broken Wind.



Then, later on my barbarian, Red Rock, killed Wave with his longspear, after which declaring:

I appear to have...



caught the Wave.



I know there was a 3rd one, but after mountaindewgarita (1 oz tequila, 3 oz margarita mix, 3 oz Mountain Dew) #3, I can't remember it, so I'll make one up to replace it. :D

After killing the Huntmaster with his magic spear, Red Rock declared...

Turns out this was...



a bad exSPEARience for you!



I love D&D.

Random Thoughts #10

• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World premiered this weekend, and promptly got STALLOW3D!1 (thanks Davey!)  Why did this happen, when SPvTW was clearly the better pic?  Despite the marketing machine that was churning up to the release, I think that movie-goers as a whole didn't quite know what they might get with Scott Pilgrim.  Both The Expendables and Eat, Pray, Love make it very clear what kind of movie you're in for, mediocre as they may be.  Hopefully, as word-of-mouth spreads, the returns for Scott Pilgrim will improve.  I for one plan to take my friends out to see it next weekend, and hopefully you will too.

• PAX is quickly approaching.  The schedule is out and I'm looking forward to covering the event for Late Nite JengaJam along with my partner in crime, Lauren AKA OboeCrazy.  Along with covering the event as nearly legitimate media, I'll also be cosplaying for the first time at a convention.  To say I'm a little nervous would be an understatement, but I'm fully committed to this and am looking forward to the experience.  I'll be going as the Demoman from Team Fortress 2, and I'll be wielding his ubiquitous scrumpy bottle as well as the newer Eyelander.  I won't be alone as several of my friends are also joining me as an Engineer, Heavy, Medic, and Pyro.  Stay tuned for more updates!

• That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll have something more substantial for Friday. 

Midnight BONUS Review - The Expendables!

DU_Stars_Fan AKA @damnitjason joins me for a special weekend review!

Midnight Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Cave Troll

Dressing up a simple game with awesome bits is a practice that I’m beginning to warm up to.  If you read my review of Big City, you’ll see a good simple game that’s gussied up with amusing pieces can be a lot of fun.

Such is the case with Cave Troll, a game that boils down to an easy to learn area control affair.  The first edition of the game came with cards, a board, and cardboard chits representing a player’s monsters and heroes.  I remember playing this version awhile The new edition comes with plastic figures instead of chits, which goes a long way in making the game more viscerally pleasing.  here’s just something awesome about moving your orc into a room and promptly beheading one of your opponents dudes, but it’s made even more cathartic when you can handle the actual figures and make things dead.

Cave Troll is straight-forward, relatively short, and a lot of fun.  Also, it can be found fairly cheaply, so there’s there lots of incentives to pick up this little gem.  Did I mention that your orc can kill opponent’s figures?  Because that’s pretty cool.

RvBTO: Day 1

For those that don't know, RvBTO is a gathering of Red vs. Blue fans in the beautiful Canadian city of Toronto.  Some might ask, "why go to Canada to celebrate a series that's made in Austin?"  To those people I have the following two reasons:

1) Shut up.
2) Fuck you.

Now then, my trip this year started with flight to Detroit and the meeting of the first members of my party, Vicki (slvrwhispr) and Jon (k1l3rman).  After picking me up from the airport, we went to a coney place to meet with the rest of our group.  Apparently "coney" is Michigander for "diner".  We soon met up with many internet superstars, such as Cory (1984), Zak (zotaku87), Manda, (_Fire_Ball_), Larry (DSchneider) and Travie (TravieYak).  Fun was had, onion rings were eaten, and normal folk were freaked the fuck out.  :D 

After an awesome visit, said our goodbyes to Cory who would sadly not be coming with us, and told Zak and Travie that we'd soon see them in TO.  The rest of us, Larry, Vicki, Jon, and Manda, went to Wal-Mart, to get snacks and a copy of Blazing Saddles for the car's DVD player, and then to the party store for noise makers and last minute costume additions for our Bring Your Own Band performance.  Also, apparently "party store" has another meaning in Michigan, so again we those of us from further south were confused as hell.  It must be the proximity to Canada.  Yup, gotta be.  Speaking of the party (supply) store, I also acquired what later become the infamous Banhammer!  I saw it, and it immediately felt right.  This hammer would find itself in the hands of many of the other mods and admins for the site, as well it should have.

Photo by Amanda Lemmond

We set out for Toronto much later than I'd anticipated, but we were still on schedule to arrive that night with some time for hanging out.  We crossed the border, encountering the HOTTEST CANADIAN BORDER AGENT EVAR along the way, and after a harrumph-filled car ride, soon found ourselves in the magical city of Toronto.  After consulting with the rest of my group, I trekked to downtown one my own, buying the Five Subway Tokens of Destiny at the Kipling station.  The First Subway Token of Destiny was spent getting to Bloor station, where I headed to street level and started walking south. 

Here's the thing about the subway.  They put a lot of time, effort, and money into building it for a reason.  Here I thought I could walk from Bloor to Dundas and the Imperial Pub about as fast as it would take me to wait for and hop onto the southbound train for two stops.  I'd never been more wrong, and the Second Subway Token of Destiny was recklessly but aptly spent to get from the College station to Dundas. 
This was a costly mistake, as I missed Ryan (Abandoned), Britte (Brittewater), and Barbara (Blawndee) at the pub.  I was bummed, but was soon delighted to see people like Jeff (Jeff), John (RocketWhore), Chris (Spamman4587), Chris (deathbyoi), Chris (knives_kill), Amy (Fienne), Charlie (flim_geek), Dan (DangerousDan), Caleb (caleb), Matt (PeteZahut666), Joe (Microbe), and many others.  Merriment was had, and I managed to drunkenly catch the last train home thanks to the Third Subway Token of Destiny.
My night didn't end there.  Upon reaching the Islington station, I realized that I still needed to traverse the 8 km north to my hotel and the rest of my party.  Fortunately I remembered that Vicki had mentioned a 24-hour bus line that runs along Islington.  Just as she said, a bus eventually showed up at the stop not far from the subway station, and I caught it home.  But my night was still not over. 

photo by Matt Bailey

See, I'd forgotten that I'd actually need a key to get into my room.  Not a problem, I thought, I just wake up my roommate Larry and he'll let me in!  I knocked on the door.  No answer.  I knocked some more.  No answer.  I texted, and heard a beep on the other side of the door.  I have the right room at least, I thought to myself, so I'm almost there.  I called, and heard a very loud ringtone on the other side of the door, but no answer.  Well shit, I thought, I guess I'm going to have to sleep right here in the hall.  I settled in, and before I drifted off to sleep a hotel worker spotted me.  She was very nice, and after explaining my predicament and providing enough information, she gave me a key to the room.  I got in, chided Larry for sleeping like the dead, and myself finally went to sleep.

This was only the first day.

Back!

I totally meant to put up some BRB, RvBTO posts this weekend, but our hotel's wireless wouldn't allow me to access the backend of this site, nor allow logmein or VPN access.  So I missed two updates, and will totally make up for them this week.

In the meantime, enjoy a video I edited for Awesome On Its Own.  :D