LOOK AT THAT BADASS

Writer and gamer compatriot Kiala Kazebee recently wrote a post for the Nerdist blog, in which she lists the reasons why Portal 2 is superior to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. With more than 70 hours of Skyrimming (that’s a thing, right?) under my belt, I present to you, dear reader, my rebuttal. FIGHT!

1. Yeah, I loved Portal 2. The first time I played it. When it was called PORTAL.

2. Oh, you like your little puzzles, do you? I like slaying dragons using massive fireballs and wielding blades imbued with ice and FEAR. Also, you think running around variations on the same room over and over is exciting, Kiala?? I think your brain was in stasis too long.

I am about to stab you in the head

3. If you’re bored walking through the (scenic and gloriously rendered) mountains, let me introduce you to a friend of mine: Skyrim Murder Bear. He’s been looking forward to meeting you.

4. Not funny? Have you seen the bucket head trick? There is tons of funny dialog and moments in the game, if you take the time to look for them. They’re much more rewarding than having Stephen Merchant lob one-liners into your face every 15 seconds.*

5. I have a husband. His name is Farkas, and he makes me hearty and delicious Homecooked Meals™ whenever I ask. Can your potato do that? Also, he’s manly and wears a hot suit of armor and we live together in the awesome house I purchased by being a total badass.

My wedding with Farkas. He's so sweet.

6. Sure, my Dark Elf may not be the prettiest princess on the block, but she has CHARACTER. I’ve seen Chell, ooooh… maybe twice? Plus, I can change my lady elf’s clothes and weapons at will. Just because I’m a gamer doesn’t mean I don’t like to play dress up once in a while. Enjoy your jumpsuit.

7. Skyrim has shouts. I can move at incredible speed, ground flying dragons, freeze or burn opponents, slow time itself, and more. FUS RO DAH!

8. Sure, the singing turrets in Portal 2 are adorable. But I’d much rather have a choir of hundreds of vikings singing an epic song in the language of the dragons.

9. Oh, I’m also a werewolf archmage assassin (and bard in training). So I’m either about to rip your throat out or sing you a sonnet about Mara, Goddess of Love and Stuff. But you won’t know until it’s too late!

10. The “I took an arrow to the knee” line is the meme of the year.

So these are just some of my reasons why Skyrim is a better game than Portal 2**, and why Kiala is wrong about everything (I’m guessing). Feel free to argue with me or lavish praise upon my argument in the comments.

*I will grant you that Space Sphere is the funniest character in a video game in the past 5 years, but even yelling SPAAAAAACE! can get old after a while.

**I actually loved Portal 2, but writing this post was too fun to pass up.

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This is the (very rough) beta episode, and we’re working hard to get all the kinks worked out in time for our January 15th official launch! In the mean time, here’s all the relevant contact info:

twitgameon.reddit.com
@twitgameon
+twitgameon
game[at]twit.tv

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BlizzCon 2011: Interview with John LaGrave for World of Warcraft

BlizzCon 2011: Interview with Tony Hsu for Starcraft 2

BlizzCon 2011: Interview with Jason Bender for Diablo III

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Remember I mentioned that I was recording voice over for an upcoming game? I’m excited to say that I’ll be voicing not one… not two… but three characters (not all human) in the upcoming DLC for Fallout: New Vegas Old World Blues! There will be many more details coming in the next episode of Qore, hopefully out next week, including the names and descriptions of all the characters I’m voicing (none of them are named Felicia… sorry everyone!).

Anyhow, I really excited about it! The whole experience of recording voices for actual characters (and not just being myself) was totally new to me, and I loved it. Thanks especially to Jason Bergman from Bethesda, who helped to set the whole thing up! It’s safe to say that this truly is a dream come true for me.

And no, I don’t have any secret insider info on when the PSN situation will be resolved, but hopefully it’s soon!

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I really think Angry Veronicas could be a huge hit. Also, congrats to the winner of our ScreenBurn Poll, NeverDie and Rocktopia! For more videos, head over to Cruzearati.com, and follow the Twitter account here.

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1. 3D Laser Backpack at UC Berkeley
2. Playing The Go Game
3. Your new Tech Cruze-arati!

ScreenBurn
SXSW ScreenBurn is the video game element of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival that merges the new media, music, film and video game industries all in one place. ScreenBurn connects independent developers, publishers, consumers, digital media professionals, and internet trend-setters and taste-makers from all around the world who attend SXSW.

SXSW Accelerator
A live audience, as well as a panel of expert judges will discover advancements in music related technologies. The best part? Product demonstrations by the most ambitious talents in the world with the most creative new ideas to change it. A glimpse of the industry’s future awaits, with a guided tour by emcees Brad King and David Hyman. We are grateful to them, as well as to our sponsors: Microsoft BizSpark, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, IBM, .CO, and Turner Broadcasting System.

Plutopia
To be held in Austin on Monday, March 14th, 2011, the event will be thoughtfully positioned as a well-crafted link between SXSW Interactive, Film and Music. Furthering our mission and intent to create unique “sense events,” this year’s extravaganza will include interactive installations, performances by world-renowned musicians / artists, talks, art exhibits, compelling projections, DJs, demonstrations, performance art, robots, projections, gaming fun, locally produced, artisanal food and beverages, and much more.

And finally, of course, I’ll be at the gdgt Live in Austin party on Monday night as well. Come say hi, get some great swag, and get hands-on time with tons of technology vendors.

I’ll be tweeting and posting video clips of everything, so stay tuned to my Twitter page and Cruze-arati.com!

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Actually, I should let them speak for themselves:

Both of their books are currently available on Amazon, and they’re well worth the read.

The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal

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I’ve seen a lot of good machinima (yes, I just admitted that) but this one really takes the cake. From Gamesradar:

Clocking in at 88-minutes, The Trashmaster took the french filmmaker over two years to create. It pairs GTA IV’s engine and assets with Weschler’s talented eye for cinematography to tell the dark tale of a trash collector who moonlights as a self-appointed ‘cleaner-upper’ of the ‘human trash’ of New York. When a particularly trashy serial killer starts targeting girls from his favorite strip club… well… you can watch the movie for yourself to find out how it all plays out.

Some of the lines are a little wonky, but that could have been dialog somewhat lost in translation from French. It’s just pretty mind-boggling to see what’s possible with a lot of patience and (obviously) talent. It made me want to pick up GTA IV again; it’s been a while since I’ve spent some quality time with Niko.

Hat tip: Ryan

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I’ve seen a lot of reviews complaining about bugs, and I’ve experienced a few here and there; though nothing that’s stopped me from playing the game or enjoying it (according to many sources, patches are coming soon). If you have any questions about my opinions so far, let me know in the comments! While you think that over, here are my images of the Collector’s Edition for the PS3.

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These guys have worked on some of my favorite games of all time, including LittleBigPlanet and Fable II, so they know a thing or two about creating some very addictive content. The “game” looks great, and has a quirky vibe that’ll definitely set it apart from other task managers.

Since you decide how many points you assign to each task, you can level up pretty quickly. Although I was hoping that there’d be some social aspects (competing against roommates for chore completion, etc) I can see how someone could easily cheat by creating easy tasks with high point values.

There’s one thing keeping me from using this app everyday: desktop integration. I currently use Things as my main to-do list manager, and it syncs with the Things iPhone app as well. I don’t really need two task managing applications on my phone at one time, and there’s very little incentive for a desktop client to use another company’s app for mobile use instead of developing their own.

The answer? EpicWin should create a full-featured RPG for the desktop that plays like a game! Yes, perhaps a little “pie in the sky,” but it would certainly hook more gamers.

EpicWin is $2.99 on the App Store.

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Whew, that was a big trip! I went with the Qore team to Japan for two weeks for shoots, and we travelled from Osaka to Kyoto to Tokyo on a whirlwind tour of the country. This was my fourth time in Japan, but it definitely the most comprehensive (and exhausting!) trip I’ve probably ever taken!

I can’t tell you too much about the developer interviews that we did, but I’ve posted TONS of photos from the culture piece that we shot. From snow monkeys to toilets, we covered some really random and awesome stuff.

I can’t believe how much news I missed around here, too. I didn’t even know HP bought Palm until yesterday. /facepalm.

Anyhow, happy to be home! Keep your eyes open for Japan content on Qore in upcoming months, and in the meantime check out the trailer for the new episode, out today!

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1. Introducing Qore!

The Zerg Overmind must be smiling down on me, because a few days after I received my StarCraft II beta invite another key popped into my inbox! The first must have been for press, while the second came from attending BlizzCon a couple of years ago. To any extent, I have one to give away!

What do you need to do to get it? Not much! Just become a Facebook fan. The winner will be picked randomly on Friday night!

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My friend Rob sent me this video, which I had somehow missed when it came out this summer. I agree with the points that Daniel Floyd and Leigh Alexander make, especially how browser-based and casual titles can lead to regular console gaming (I’ve long called The Sims a “gateway drug game”). What I really liked was how some game companies, like Ubisoft, are creating games that “appeal to a younger generation of girls,” in effect planting the seeds for them to grow up with a love for games.

Working for Qore, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great women working in the gaming industry, such as Amy Hennig (who couldn’t be more brilliant), Tracy Espeleta, and Kellee Santiago. Coincidentially, I read today on Chris Pirillo’s Twitter feed that Sony Online Entertainment is actually offering a scholarship and internship to a girl looking to work in game design and production:

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 G.I.R.L. Scholarship to help educate and recruit more women into the field of video game production and design. Sponsored by Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) a global leader in online gaming, and administered by Scholarship America®, a leading non-profit educational support program, applications are available at https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/gamersinreallife and more details, including official rules for entry are also available online at http://www.station.sony.com/girl/.

If you know a girl who may be interested, please pass thing along! It seems like a really great opportunity to encourage more women to become involved in this industry.

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Like most things, they didn’t really care. But I’m going to place him on top of the bookshelf just to be on the safe side!

And here he is at the park, doing what he does best: being adorable.

I do need a name for him, though, so if you’ve got any good suggestions let me know in the comments!

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My friend Obsidian from Extralife Radio and Commissioned Comic created this amazing portrait of my main WoW toon, Winema. He’s doing his semi-regular COMMISSIONATHLON, which he explains on his site:

Simply put, the ‘Thlon is an event I created where I try to produce at least 1 piece of fantasy art a day for several weeks. The whole production process is recorded by use of a webcam and each resulting video is posted on the internet, along with the resulting art piece. All the images made are art commissions.

He also shows how he sketches and paints everything live on Ustream, so you can see how the whole thing is created!

Anyhow, I think she looks wonderful. For the Horde!

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According to their webpage:

Inside, the gamer finds him/herself comfortable seated in front of the computer screen with easy-to-reach water, pre-packaged food, and a toilet conveniently placed underneath his/her custom-built throne.

When hungry, the gamer selects a food item (‘Crunchy Spider Surprise’, ‘Beer Basted Ribs’, etc.) and a seasoning pack. By scanning in the food items, the video game physically adjusts a hot plate to cook the item for the correct amount of time. The virtual character then jubilantly announces the status of the meal to both the gamer and the other individuals playing online: “Vorcon’s meal is about to be done!” “Better eat the ribs while they’re hot!” etc.

But…. would you use it? Would I use it? I think it could be an interesting experiment to try for a few days, but I’m pretty sure Ryan wouldn’t let me have one at home (I’m at the computer enough as it is).

The WoW Pod, created at MIT, will be on display until September 2009. Hopefully I’ll get out to the Boston area to see it!

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I was listening to the gdgt roundtable this morning, and they started talking about the iPhone / iPod Touch as a gaming device. Josh Topolsky insisted that Apple was trying to drink Sony and Nintendo’s milkshakes, while Ryan said that Apple is just going for the “value add” of having games.

This got me thinking about my iPhone and the experiences I’ve had using it as a handheld gaming device, especially compared with the Nintendo DS and the PSP. Granted, gaming on my phone has not been my number one priority, but I’ve download a few decent ones: Spore Origins, Tris (which I believe is now unavailable) and Tap Tap Revenge. But at the end of the day, was it more fun for me to play games on my iPhone than if I’d brought along the DS or PSP? Well, no, not especially. Was it more convenient to not have to carry a second device? Of course. Yet the overall experience quality is still going to be better on a standalone gaming platform. I just wonder if people really care all that much about having the absolute best experience… maybe they just don’t need it.

This brings me to another point on the podcast: do mainstream users really care about the nit-pickings of technologists when it comes to their buying decisions? Yes, there can definitely be a trickle effect of opinion that can sway people (“Oh, I’ve heard this phone is very buggy, I’m going to wait for the next version”). But what about mainstream gamers? Are games on the iPod/iPhone ever going to effect the number of handheld devices being purchased, and the amount they’re used? Is it just a nice added benefit to the phone, or a major selling point?

Developers are cranking out some beautiful looking games for the App Store, and I’m sure they’re enjoying the direct-to-buyer system (that is, if their app makes it through the approval process), but I wonder what other frequent gamers are thinking.

Do you think people will eventually buy the iPod or iPhone with the primary function of being their gaming device?

Image courtesy of Apple.com

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1. Culture of the Apps
2. A little iPhone organization would be nice
3. The iPhone app organizer I would love to see

Let’s compare (and btw, neither of these videos are particularly safe for work):

Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation:

So, is Soulja Boy the new liaison for gamers to the mainstream world*? Discuss.

*Wouldn’t that be hilarious?

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How does it work? Each person creates a creature of their very own, and then the adorable (or hideous, depending on your tastes) creatures will be voted on by the Internet. The most-beloved monstrosity wins $15,000 for a charity of the creator’s choice!

I’m really excited to be a part of the competition, and I look forward to destroying Kevin Rose and Scott Beale when the voting opens! There will be some other exciting competitors too (actual famous people!!) so I’ll update you all when EA has everything set up. My charity is going to be the James Kim Technology Foundation.

The Creature Creator itself is extremely intuitive. Within five minutes I had a creature up and running (see Bugnose below, who didn’t make the cut as my final entrant into the contest).

Here’s Coodoodle, who you’ll be hopefully voting for! She shoots poison from her rear end, so be careful.

I’ll be uploading photos here as I play with it more!

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Honestly? It’s one of the coolest looking things I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m not just saying that because we’ve been working our asses off on it! Unfortunately, I don’t get to be in the first episode as much as we’d like, since I came into the project towards the end of the shooting cycle. But the stuff we’ve done already for episodes two and three is very fun.

Everyone is already fixating on the free demos, themes and betas, but it will take them until Thursday (when it goes live) to see how the video segments and behind the scenes clips are really what I think this whole thing is about. I’m just psyched that I get to be a part of it, and talk to the developers and artists behind some truly cool upcoming games.

There’s way more info on the Playstation Blog, but if you have any questions for me drop them in the comments and maybe I’ll whip up a FAQ for the next post!

Related posts:

1. Back from Japan!
2. Questions and Qomments (see what I did there?)