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Play the best video game crossword in the world every month. Read the comic. Hear the biweekly podcast. All free, because it's the internet, where everything is free except the t-shirts. Check out the 8 Bit Jesus t-shirts. From MAtt Dujnic and Daniel Dujnic.
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PODCAST:
12: E3 and Madness
Matthew and Daniel Dujnic
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Bus, plane, plane, train, train, train, home.
I spent most of PAX Sunday on the show floor, collecting on the swag due to me. Bottle openers, chocolate coins, Pac-man Bouncy-balls, Naruto figurines, Magic Cards, and a very tiny surf board.
I never waited in line for anything unless the line was only one person, so I got to SEE a lot of things, but I didn't play a whole lot. My only regret in this department is that I didn't take the time to play Left 4 Dead, which looks incredible. A squad based zombie game sounds like possible perfection.
There were Rock Band and Guitar Hero demos up. Lots of music games everywhere actually. My stance on these games is simple: If I buy these games it will because they have music I want to pretend to play. After I had two guitar hero controllers, I decided to wait out the storm of full-band games, so my time may come soon if I can find the money.
I DID get to play some of the Homestar Runner game and some cool board games. Also Ninja Town was surprisingly fun.
As a result of staying on the floor I missed this beautiful moment of the Omegathon, but hey, can't win 'em all. Same goes for Vs. Excite Bike, had to catch a damn plane. I saw the Rock Band part of the competition though, it was brutal to watch an entire band get eliminated.
Saw the concerts though, four bands in one night proved to be a lot, with the Minibosses playing until 2:30a. It was worth it though, hearing Kraid/Metroid was like hearing a bedtime story for sweet sweet nightmares.
Something I forgot to mention on the first day: Ghostbusters was present on the lanyard, and with the position it's in, I guess that's the best we can expect. I can only hope that secret negotiations are going on somewhere to get it out in Q4 2008. A man can dream can't he?
Stay tuned for the inevitable podcast on PAX 2008. This trip was completely worth it, it's a shame mein Bruder couldn't come, but perhaps next time. I may have to attend PAX 2009 as well, depending on when PAX: East is set for. Pictures to come!
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More notes from the field:
My Giant deck wasn't as good as all that, but I did win that one game against that one guy. That's enough for me.
I just saw Nerdcore Rising, the documentary about MC Frontalot and his rise to glory. It follows him along his first nationwide tour, the purpose of which was to see if he could actually make MC Frontalot a viable living. This actually had to be answered in the Q&A session though (A: Yes). As the movie points out a couple times, he is a huge dork and revels in it. The film itself revels in it to, and draws the viewer into his and our world. I need to buy his music if only for the track 'Hassle: The Dorkening'.
Snagged a wristband for the concerts tonight while coming off the exhibition floor when it closed. You were one of the first 4000 through the door this morning? Sorry, I think I was asleep (this is a lie, I stuffing myself with bacon, eggs, and swiping small boxes of cereal from the hotel buffet). Really excited for the concert, Minibosses are going to kick ass.
Strange and Awesome Thing: In the Console Freeplay area they loan out games and such to play, but there are also a couple rooms where you can just pick up and play. In one of these rooms, on one of these consoles, there is a game of Guitar Hero II that is made up exclusively of video game tracks. You can play them on Expert only. It had the Jungle theme from Contra. I think I've said enough.
Also, there is a man in a bacon suit giving away bacon-flavored salt. Come to think of it, I should have taken a picture of that. Goddammit.
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So I lied, it was way easier than I thought to get into the concerts last night. One Ups, Freezepop and Jonathan Coulton, the last two doing double encores. Got bits and pieces of video footage from each concert, including the zombie takeover during Coulton's 'Re: Your Brains'.
Speaking of Zombies, despite being jet-lagged I went across the street after the concert to the Pike Annex, looking to scare up a M:TG game. Instead, I wandered into the Mystery Space on the map (will provide pics later). Inside this forbidden zone I found a bunch of enforcers playing Fluxx. Zombie Fluxx.
Managed to find a game of M:TG this morning. My Giant deck ain't half bad.
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Reporting from the Cyber Dogs in Seattle, while waiting for my Red Hot Bayou to be served up, I bring you Game Grump's Friday coverage of PAX 2008!
First things first, I've never traveled this far on my own. It shows because when I landed there were three key items missing from my inventory:
1. Map of Seattle
2. Location of Pax
3. My 3-day pass for PAX
Laugh it up. I knew where my hotel was - they said to take a bus downtown. I knew PAX was somewhere close, so I asked directions from people who had the presence of mind to remember their badges. The nice people at the Will-Call booth hooked me up with a new one, and then it was time to wait in line because I was still two hours early. Ha! So there!
There is way too much to do here. I listened to half a conference about breaking into the games industry while tweaking my M:TG deck. After dinner I plan to challenge the Gunslinger for a free booster pack and find some people to teach me D&D version 4. I most likely won't be able to make the concerts tonight. People are lining up right now, but I desperately need to food myself. Nutrigrain bars and Goldfish will only carry you so far.
The real meat of the day was in the Main Theatre, where I saw three events in a row. The first was the Ken Levine keynote where he described his history as a nerd from childhood to present. I think many people will be able to relate to being slightly ashamed of the games and fantasies they love, but Christ, how many people will be able to take nerddome so far as he?
Anyway. Next up was the Penny Arcade Q&A (pt.1) which was way more hilarious than I expected. I never listened to the podcasts or whathaveyou, only read newsposts, so this was the first time I'd seen them banter back and forth for so long. Had no idea they'd be that good. BTW the news on PAX:East right now is that it will be in 2010, it will be in Boston, and it will likely be somewhere sorta opposite PAX:West on the calendar.
Last was the Rooster Teeth Q&A. A lot of the cast was there, a bit drunk, and really funny. At the end they presented a new project they've been working on in the RvB universe: Full on animation. Fucking Awesome.
Travel Footnote: I switched seats with a guy on the the plane. Who could turn down an aisle seat when they had bitch seat? I was asleep when they served up the food, so I ended up getting his plate labeled 'DB'. So while he happily scarfed down his yogurt and pre-packaged breakfast sandwich I just stared at my Diabetic-friendly mystery egg-fold and 'processed with equipment that handles nuts' cookie. Raw jealousy.
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Parry by MAtt Dujnic
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A quick hello from the man back in Brooklyn.
I have to admit that I'm bummed that PAX isn't coming to New York. I selfishly dreamed of taking the subway to midtown and just hoofing it to the Javits Center. But Boston is a good town, too. Probably a better fit for the Penny Arcade personality. In any case, I can't wait!
Though I'm sure the concerts were good (I read that they ran long, and I think many many people were also too tired to make it), I think you chose well in seeing the keynote events. Rock on!
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There is much rejoicing. Many have been e-mailing me, wondering if the crossword section was 'dead.' No, it is not dead, and this week, it's back with a vengance. Not only do we have the latest and greatest fifth puzzle ('Cheating!') but I've also revisited all of the past crosswords and polished the clues. So if you are new to the puzzles, you'll enjoy a smoother solving experience.
In other news, Braid is a terrific game. It may even be important. But it will also hurt your brain. Maybe it should have been called Brain. Fortunately, Geometry Wars 2 is a fine, fine chaser. Co-Founder Dan finally logged scores on all six game modes, and there is some serious savant stuff going on in him. He just challenged me to a race to 100 million in 'Pacifism' mode. 100 million. The boy be smoking crack. I'll be lucky if I ever, um, crack ten million.
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Parry by Daniel Dujnic
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Pah, that score was attained without performance enhancing drugs. Pacifism may be my best score, but I'm still only ranked #5070 at the time of this posting.
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This Month:
Cheating!
© Matthew Dujnic 2008
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Get a printable PDF: [PDF]
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