PAX Summary (a week late)

Mosquito and I went to PAX on Friday and Saturday. It was fun, but CROWDED! Most of our time was spent squeezing through massive amounts of people in the exhibit hall or standing in really long lines for the presentations.

I will probably post more details about some portions of PAX at some point, but I just wanted to talk about some of the highlights.

Friday:

Exhibit hall - we briefly went into the exhibit hall when we first got in the doors. It was a madhouse and I dashed around to take a glance at everything and pick up what swag I could get for just stopping by.

Ken Levine keynote speech was quite entertaining. He talked about his geeky childhood and his love for comics and D&D.

Penny Arcade Q&A. This was interesting. People ask weird questions and Gabe and Tycho attempt to answer them. I took a little bit of video, but it's got some strong language in, so it's not up.

Rooster Teeth Q&A. Again, people ask weird questions. We got to see a sneak preview of their next RvB project.

The Guild Screening - A fantasticly funny web show about a group of people playing in an MMO. It's very well written and acted. We watched all the episodes in the first season back to back, then had a Q&A session with the the writer/star, Felicia Day (who you may recognize from Dr. Horrible) who plays Codex, Sandeep Parikh who plays Zaboo, and a couple of behind the scenes people.

Second Skin Screening -- interesting documentary about people who play MMOs and the stuff that goes on in their real lives. As a recovering WoW addict, I found some of the things a bit too true for confort.

Saturday:

Exhibit hall - I bought T-shirts for myself, Mosquito and Punkin.

Fallout 3 demo -- this game look AMAZING!!

Exhibit hall -- I played Guitar Hero World tour with a friend of mine

Are Casual Games Killing Core panel discussion -- Wil Wheaton was a panelist, so this was a popular event. It was an interesting discussion about the different types of games and the gamers who play them.

Awesome Real Life Portal pics

Images of a portal spotted in Toronto. These were totally stolen from Sam Javanrouh. You can find more pics and specific location info on his photoblog by clicking on the photos below. Each photo takes you to a different page.




This is completely awesome and what I like best is that you can tell the person who did the installation actually used photos of the area that the portal should be looking out on to.

Patapon -- my latest obsession

I've owned my PSP for a little over a year. I spent some time on a couple good titles, but overall, I find my Nintendo SP or, more recently, my DS have gotten way more mileage in my handheld gaming time.

However, the game Patapon that was released in the US on Feb. 26, 2008 had been holding my attention and calling my name when I'm not playing.

The game was developed by Pyramid and produced by Japan Studios, the same geniuses who brought us Loco Roco in 2006. It's a rhythm game in which each of the 4 buttons represents a different drum and you command an army of little eyeball dudes called Patapons to fight depending on the 4 beat pattern you play on the drums. The first two that you learn make the army march forward (Pata Pata Pata Pon) and attack (Pon Pon Pata Pon.) The army will then repeat the pattern while acting out the command. After their turn, you need to give your next order. If you maintain the rhythm sucessfully you will build up combinations and eventually reach Fever Mode which causes your Patapons to have more speed and strength and their attacks are much more effective. The enemies you kill drop weapons, money (ka-ching) and other loot that will allow you to build up your army and to eventually get new drums and skills.

The game is a lot of fun. I enjoy using the items I collect to create new variations on my Patapons and trying out their skills. It's pretty easy to pick up and play, there is a storyline involved in which the Patapons are looking for something called IT at Earthend, but the story doesn't bog you down and you don't even really need to follow the story to enjoy the game.

The only downside I see is that it's difficult to play with music or the television on in the background.

I highly recommend this game for anyone. It's cute and kid friendly, but challenging and interesting for adults as well.

Follow up on yesterday's Mass Effect post

There's a good article on kotaku today about EA calling for for an apology from Fox. 

Here's a quote of the letter Jeff Brown of EA wrote to Teri VanHorn, the producer of the segment.

Teri VanHorn
The Live Desk with Martha MacCallum
Fox News Channel

Ms VanHorn,

I’m writing to request a clarification of serious errors FNC made in a story which aired about the video game Mass Effect. (See attachment) As the parent company of BioWare, the studio which created the game, EA would like you to set the record straight on a number of errors and misstatements which incorrectly characterize the story and character interactions in Mass Effect.

Errors include the following:

• Your headline above the televised story read: “New videogame shows full digital nudity and sex.“
o Fact: Mass Effect does not include explicit or frontal nudity. Love scenes in non-interactive sequences include side and profile shots – a vantage frequently used in many prime-time television shows. It’s also worth noting that the game requires players to develop complex relationships before characters can become intimate and players can chose to avoid the love scenes altogether.

• FNC voice-over reporter says: “You’ll see full digital nudity and the ability for players to engage in graphic sex.”
o Fact: Sex scenes in Mass Effect are not graphic. These scenes are very similar to sex sequences frequently seen on network television in prime time.

• FNC reporter says: “Critics say Mass Effect is being marketed to kids and teenagers.”
o Fact: That is flat out false. Mass Effect and all related marketing has been reviewed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and rated Mature – appropriate for players 17-years and older. ESRB routinely counsels retailers on requesting proof of age in selling M-rated titles and the system has been lauded by members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. In practical terms, the ratings work as well or better than those used for warning viewers about television content.

• Other sources used in the segment made similar incorrect statements about the game. Judging by the inaccuracy of their comments, they have had zero experience with Mass Effect and are largely ignorant about videogames, the people who play them, and the ESRB system that governs their ratings and sales.

The resulting coverage was insulting to the men and women who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards. As video games continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment. But this represents a new level of recklessness.

Do you watch the Fox Network? Do you watch Family Guy? Have you ever seen The OC? Do you think the sexual situations in Mass Effect are any more graphic than scenes routinely aired on those shows? Do you honestly believe that young people have more exposure to Mass Effect than to those prime time shows?

This isn’t a legal threat; it’s an appeal to your sense of fairness. We’re asking FNC to correct the record on Mass Effect.

Sincerely,

Jeff Brown
Vice President of Communications
Electronic Arts, Inc.

I think I love this man, even if he does work for EA.

Fox News proves yet again they are idiots

(I'm having trouble posting the embedded video, so here's a link just in case.)

I REALLY hate it when people who don't know what they are talking about start yammering on like they are experts just because they have some fancy title. 

I haven't played Mass Effect yet, but I'm sure at some point I will.  Yet, I do believe what Geoff said about there not being full nudity in the game.  If for no other reason than the fact that everyone else admitted they'd never played the game AND they got some of their other "facts" wrong. 

At one point the annoying psychologist woman says, "...look at the statistics, who's playing video games but adolescent males, not their dads." -- The average age of video gamers is somewhere between 26 and 33, depending on who's data you're looking at.  More women over the age of 18 play video games than the number of boys between the ages of 6 to 17 ².

Although, I did agree with one point made (I think Geoff brings it up first) -- parents need to be educated about video games and be smart enough to not let their young children have access to games with content above their maturity level.  If a video game is rated M for Mature, then it's basically the same as an R rating on a movie.  The argument that once they are in the house, the kids will play them also applies to movies as well as adult magazines.  If I own the DVD of Saw or the latest issue of Hustler, I better make damn sure that my young children can't get to them.  Parents need to understand that concept for all forms of media and be aware of what their children have access to.  More importantly, parents need to have a good connection with their children and be interested and aware of their lives in general so that when they do encounter violent and/or sexual images, the parents can have an open conversation with their kids so they have the tools in place to put those images within the correct context. 

Sources:
1. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html
2. http://www.theesa.com/facts/top_10_facts.php