The Epic Skyrim Game Giveaway: the Resultsening

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Thanks to all who left comments about what’s going to be awesome about Skyrim. There was some great perspectives, even from Juice mmm. Nahh, I take that back, his were crap.

For those that are considering following this blog, the game giveaway is going to become a monthly staple. It will be for a $10 game (not two), so make sure you follow my Twitter feed or check me out on Facebook. There’s free games for the takin’! read more

Comment on why Skyrim will rock to win free games

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Okay, I admit I was trying pretty hard to push some buttons when I discussed at length some of the reasons why Skyrim might suck. I was trying to provoke some debate and discussion with the idea that it would help improve the game. By fostering honest critique from Bethesda’s biggest supporters, I was hoping that they would listen and take some of our thoughts to heart.

I know that Bethesda has tons of people – the best in the business – working on Skyrim, making it the best Elder Scrolls game yet. I’m not a complete pessimist. But when I play Oblivion and feel like I have to use mods to truly make it shine like the gem it is, I get concerned that Skyrim might also need some polishing. Hence the article.

Let’s discuss why Skyrim will rock

I want people to know that I wasn’t just flaming Bethesda, and I’m anything but a troll. In order to prove that, I’m offering 2 gifts. A $10 Steam gift of a game of your choice and a $5 Steam gift of a game of your choice. Here’s how it’s going to work.

  1. Comment on this article why you think Skyrim is going to rock. Be concise, but have a valid point. I’m going to use my discretion as to what and what doesn’t count, but anything with more thought than “I think it’s going to rock because the world is huge and there’s a ton to explore.” counts. If you reply with “It wil b awsum!1!” – that’s not gonna cut it.
  2. You can comment as many times as you like. Each one that has a valid point will get counted.
  3. The more LIKES your comment gets, the more votes you will get. For example, if I say how much the exploration is going to rock and 3 people LIKE my comment (not reply to), I will get 3 votes for that. FYI, I’m not counting my own comments in this.
  4. Use your CORRECT email address when commenting. If I can’t contact you when you win, no game for you.
  5. The person with the MOST comments (including LIKEs) will win the free $10 game of their choice. The person with the second most gets the $5 game.
  6. The deadline is 9pm MST on Sunday, July 24th, 2011.
  7. I reserve the right to use your comments in my next article and I will quote you.
Any questions, message me on the contact page or post it in the comments and I’ll reply right away.

By the way, there’s no catch here. I’m going to spend $15 of my own money and gift games to people who comment. I’m a long-standing member of Steam (oliverh72) and you can find me on XBL (gunRunnr). I just want to read your comments.

I’ll get the ball rolling here.

Skyrim is going to rock because…

I love Bethesda’s worlds – they’re massive and there’s simply tons to explore. The fact that this world is hand-crafted means it’s going to rock even more.

Dual-wielding. Fire & Ice. Together at last.

Perrrrrks, baby! I love perks – they give you a whole new reason to love leveling up.

10 things about Skyrim that might suck

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11. 11. 11. 1111111!  Hooh! Haah! I can practically hear millions of gamer geeks chanting at their desks, viewing screenshots, hands on their.. uhh.. mice. 11! Hooh! 11! Haah! 11! Dragonbornnnnnne!

It’s gonna sell a bazongajillion copies, I’m sure. And it’s probably gonna be good. But what if it’s not?

Tell me why you think it’s going to rock to win free games on Steam!!

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Building a small form factor PC – photo gallery

All the components

I’ve mentioned recently that I was going to build a small form factor PC, and yesterday was the day. All the components had arrived, the stars were in alignment, and unfortunately it was 31 degrees in my kitchen. The whole build took me about 2 – 2.5 hours. You pretty much only need a screwdriver with just a Philips bit, though a long, small-bit Philips screwdriver is incredibly useful as well, as you’ll see.

View the specs and photo gallery after the break.

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how to build a better indie game in 9 easy steps

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I realize that most, if not all, of the stuff in here is somewhat obvious – it’s not like I’m the first to have these ideas. However, I believe that a lot of good games could be great ones if some of the following ideas were acted on. Most of these suggestions are either free to implement or require nothing more than an investment of time and energy. This, in itself, is often at a premium, which is why I’ve started the list by discussing community.

Here’s my thoughts…

Foster a community developed for – and by – your fans

The most important word here is foster. Just because you’ve thrown a blog up or a forum and you’ve got a twitter account, doesn’t really mean you’re fostering a community. To build the community and have it last, you’ve got to be involved with it. This means listening to, responding to, and even implementing the community’s suggestions for the game. If you’ve drawn people to your site that are bothering to post, tweet or comment on your game, chances are they’ve got some good ideas. Clearly not all of them are, but every now and then there’s a gem that’ll actually improve the game. Don’t be scared of trying a few of these ideas – the community will appreciate the fact that you’re paying attention.

Big companies generally have the budgets to go beyond these basics – they create art packs and/or music for their community to build their own fansites. This is huge – you’re basically giving your community the opportunity to do your marketing FOR YOU. Let them do it – give them the art, screenshots, wallpapers, mp3s. Whatever it takes to get your game out there – after all, there’s thousands of games coming out a year, yours needs to stand out. So let your community work for you. read more

Giant Bomb clarifies Bill S.978

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If you’d heard about this Bill S.978 and watched a few horrified pleas by Youtubers, you’d have thought all internet videos were about to become illegal.

This is not true.

It breaks down to this: if you are currently doing illegal things with videos online – like streaming stuff you’re not allowed to stream (live TV, sports, movies, etc), that’ll be still illegal. But now also a felony. That’s the gist of it. I’m sure there’s other things in there that’s important, but that’s what I took away from it.

Oh right, the source: Giant Bomb.

In other, completely unrelated news, here’s Nixie Pixel reviewing Red Dead Redemption. It’s a good ‘un.. I love how she complains that she can’t bang prostitutes, stating that it results in her having ‘blue ovaries’. Heh.

I like big guns, I cannot lie

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If you’ve played video games for a while, you’ve probably shot a whole lot of people. In-game, I mean. And each of those weapons you’ve used brings a little something different to the table – be it rate of fire, huge explosions, easy gibbing (hey, that’s a real word), or just shooting out massive bursts of flame. Jets of flame is a great solution to most problems in a game.

I thought I’d write a post commemorating guns. The ones I’ve loved, the ones I didn’t know about until ‘researching’ on Youtube, which I’ve fallen in love with.

What are your favorite guns, and in what game?

I’ll start with Quake 2. Along with the first Unreal Tournament, Quake 2 gave me many fond memories of shooting people in the face. That was back when I was young and had reflexes like a world-weary squirrel. Here’s some Quake 2 for ya, with the obvious BFG 10000, which I’m pretty sure was a mod, but whatevah. It’s still full of awesome.

Check out more videos of weapons you might never have seen before, after the break.

Quake 2 – the BFG 10000

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Two Worlds II Velvet Game of the Year Edition

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I love self-proclaimed ‘Game of the Year’ editions. Everybody’s doing it nowadays. Heck, sometimes they’re awarding this dubious title to two games at once. I, for one, think that this is generally a Good Thing™ as it often means that if you haven’t bought said game, you’re going to get some extra goodies at a cheaper price for having waited for the GOTY. That being said, I would probably wait until some third party decided my title was worth being anointed with such a title. Otherwise, it’s kinda like adding ‘the great’ to the end of your own name, and then you’re just begging for trouble.

Nonetheless, this here edition is a fancy-pants velvet-themed edition, and darned if I ain’t never heard of a velvet edition before. Awfully spiffy, there TopWare. Since I’ve just bought and begun playing the Two worlds that have been sequeled, this caught my eye.

Apparently it will arrive this October 18th, so bellows the hype machine. Click past the break to read the hyperbole and see some close up pics of the packaging. read more

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