Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the GameX Media Expo at the Greater Philadelphia Convention Center in Oaks PA.  For those of you that read my previous coverage of Game Core Con – imagine GameX as Game Core Con’s big brother with all the really cool friends.  Don’t get me wrong Game Core Con was a really great retro gaming con, while GameX is more about the up and coming with a strong industry focus. I had been looking forward to this con since August, because of the attendance of one my favorite game reviewers/journalist Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw who was being flown in from Australia to attend this convention. I was lucky enough to grab an interview with him I will be posting a little later.

I decided to attend the con Friday, because Friday’s are notoriously slower making it easier to get interviews, and pictures. Plus you also get first crack at anything the dealers have to offer, which is a huge plus. When you first enter the con, the first thing you run into is the Dante’s Inferno booth, I had heard about the game and to finally see it and play it finally sold me on the hype. They had a few levels playable and I was mesmerized by the gritty look and feel of this game. It’s definitely going on my wish list. The other big console game with a both was Bayonetta from Sega, since I being a male video-game player who likes anime, I was definitely this game’s target audience and was happy to be there. I was looking forward to this game before I got to play it, but after a brief hands-on and seeing the gorgeous graphics up-close, I was sold on this title as well. More after the jump!

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If you dress like this and run screaming around Old City, you’ll automatically win

Ah, Indyhalloween. It’s just around the corner, and by around the corner, I mean Thursday night. The Facebook invite has over 60 folks on the RSVP list. You should sign up, say yes, and come party down with us.

The celebration hits Sugar Mom’s in Old City in two days, on October 29th. There will be a costume contest, judged harshly by myself and the Geekadelphia crew. The theme? Classic arcades and consoles. Dress up as your favorite character from the era of classic gaming. Prizes will be awarded to the winners!

Categories Include: Best Old School Character, Best Modern Classic, Most Obscure Video Game Character, Best Team (for you Mario & Luigi’s out there), and More!

Specials for the night include $3 Burgers (including Veggie!), $1.50 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon until 11PM, and $2 mixed well-drinks from 10PM til Midnight.

Our boys at Brave New Worlds are pitching in as well, with giveaways and prizes.

See you there!

Indyhalloween: With Geekadelphia & Brave New Worlds
October 29th, 2009 @ 9PM
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173926946920

Having grown up in the New Jersey suburbs, I always found myself feeling bad for Center City kids. I mean, where do they go Trick or Treating on Halloween? I’m sure there are places to go, but for geeks with family who don’t want to drive out to Manayunk, Brave New Worlds and the Philadelphia Autumn Society have got the answer.

This Friday and Saturday, October 30th and 31st, BNW and the Autumn Society are hosting an exclusive, two-day only Halloween art show. It’ll feature some “spooky artwork, candy, and more” from both parties. Judging BNW and the Autumn Society on their past events, this is sure to be a blast. You can see some previews of the art on the Autumn Society’s official website.

Thanks for the tip, Chogrin!

Halloween Art Show @ Brave New Worlds
October 30th & 31st, 2009

Photography by Mykl Roventine

A few contributors to the video games blogosphere have been in a buzz for the past week over a few issues pertaining to MMOs, which has garnered the attention of Massively as well as Creative Director for 38 Studios (you know, MLB pitcher Curt Schilling’s super secret studio), Steven Danuser. While several topics are currently being discussed, the umbrella issue at hand seems to be that something is missing from today’s MMOs: the possibility of failure.

Which got me thinking, this could be seen as an issue in not only MMOs, but games of all genres. It also got me thinking that I cannot think of a single game currently on the market nor in the past that explores this possibility. Granted, there have been games in the past and currently which punish you for failure, but it never has affected the game’s narrative nor its gameplay directly. Since you all know how I feel about Heavy Rain and how Quantic Dream is approaching death I won’t even mention – dammit!

So, take a gander at what these poignant bloggers are discussing and come on back here and lets us know what you think in a broader context. What if death meant more in video games? If death actually changed the landscape or narrative of a game, how would it change gameplay and not only that, design? Know of a game that out there that addresses this idea? Let us know about it or simply speak your mind in the comments section. Who knows, maybe some developers are reading what you have to say right now (creepy, huh?).

It’s not very often I get to use the word eviscerated on Geekadelphia, but when I saw this cake I was reminded of that scene from Dawn of the Dead where the zombies… oh, you get the idea.  But needless to say when I saw this cake popping up on the blogs: while the idea sounded really cool like that sleeping bag, the delivery seemed somewhat horrific just look at that sad little look in the Tauntaun’s eyes.  I can just imagine what the mother-in-law probably thought of this.

Via the Official Star Wars Blog

No matter how big of a Star Wars fan you are, there is just something– dare I say– universally unappealing about the Star Wars Holiday Special. Maybe it’s the 15min long family Wookiee conversations punctuated by live performances of soft rock with trippy animations (no, not as cool as it sounds), but it’s just sort of… hard to get into. On a level of one to ten of general discomfort, I’m going to say, “These go to eleven.”

When my friend brought today’s hilariously accurate XKCD comic to my attention, how could I not post?!

I’m sure half of our readers probably have access to this cinematic holiday space abomination on VHS, but just in case you want to make your day more awkward, or need to remind yourself to never bring this subject around any woman you are romantically inclined toward, here is a link to watch– complete with commercials from 1978. Unfortunately, this does not include our boy Lando endorsing Colt 45.

Note: While the link is technically safe for work, I’m going to say you can take on the string soundtrack and wookiee sound effects at your own risk. And yes, I know it’s so bad it’s good sometimes… but remember, it’s mostly just bad.

Cliffjumper & Bumblebee from the 1980′s Transformer Series, Print (C) Joseph Game

Ah, good ol’ Chogrin. Joseph Game is one of my favorite illustrators here in Philadelphia, and has a knack from drawing great works inspired by video games, comics, old school toys, classic cartoons, and more. And now, you can purchase some of these illustrations for your home or office thanks to his new Etsy shop. The featured image above is his tribute to Cliffjumper and Bumblebee, an 8.5×11″ print, that’ll only cost you $15.

All of his prints are signed individually on the back, and his store currently has a handful of great pieces, like this Joker print, and this Gears of “Gore” image.

You can check out more of Chogrin’s work on his personal blog.

Chogrin’s Etsy Shop
www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5354387

I am not going to lie, I am a huge comic book fan and have downloaded countless comics and apps for reading them on my iPhone. After all, we all want that magic device to carry all of our media around with us wherever we go and the iPhone is fast becoming that device.  I also should say most of the comics on the app store quite honestly really aren’t that great. They usually fall into 2 categories either the art is super slick and the navigation is incomprehensible, or the you get the complete opposite – where the art is pretty bad and the user interface is pretty well thought out. But you never seem to get that happy medium with independent comics on the iPhone.

Well last week the guys over at StopWatch Media were nice enough to give me a copy of their complete original graphic novel for the iPhone platform, The Carrier to see what I thought of it. StopWatchMedia are local to the Philadelphia area and this is their second iPhone app to date. The Carrier is much different than your standard graphic novel you would download for the iPhone or iPod touch where it is more of an experience than simply reading a comic like most comic apps 0r e-readers simply are.

The Carrier story is told in real-time and this starts as soon as you download the app. Not all the chapters are available to you as soon as you download it, but you must let the story unfold daily as new chapters are added. The story is further told through emails and text messages you receive as well in real-time with the story. The app even uses your location to trigger content as well. It’s a very interactive and well thought out experience.

The story in The Carrier follows Peter Lawson, who wakes up in Thailand with no memory and a titanium briefcase locked to his arm. We don’t know what exactly is in the briefcase or why Peter has no memory, but we do know a lot of people want the briefcase and Peter.  Because of this we are introduced to several scenarios as to what the motivation and explanation behind not only what is in the briefcase but what Peter’s true intentions were at the beginning of the story is as well. Was he just a hapless scientist caught in something much bigger than himself much like the man with one red shoe? Or, is Peter part of a terrorist cell, and is this all going according to his master plan to unleash a devastating virus on the planet?(insert evil diabolical laugh here)

More and how to win after the jump!

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I figured that, since I just saw this, maybe there was someone else who’s cockles could use some warming.

An industrious and smitten geek was looking for a unique angle at popping the question.  Using a software program called “Lunar Magic” that enables editing and customization of SNES Mario levels, he coded his request for her hand in marriage in coins, then somehow convinced his (presumably) unsuspecting girlfriend to play a level or two.

As ingenious as this is, I have to say that the highlight for me was the puppy freaking at the end.  Also, am I the only one who would probably be so consumed by the classic coin-collecting compulsion to completely miss any messages?  It makes me wonder what other subliminal messages I’ve been exposed to over the years…

enjoy!!

(and if you’re interested in Lunar Magic – http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lm/index.html  is the dev page)

Promo illustration from The LaMorte Sisters by J. Zito, T. Tro, and C. Larsen

Oh Tony Trov and Johnny Zito. You two are always up to trouble. Between working on the Black Cherry Bombshells and taking wild road trips across America, I have no idea where they found the time to work on The LaMorte Sisters, their second title debuting on DC Comics’ digital imprint Zuda Comics, but yeah. They found the time, and just in time for Halloween.

The LaMorte Sisters, their latest strip, “follows Maddie, a new student at LaMorte Home for Lost Girls. The orphanage is run by a strict order of Catholic Nuns, [who] offer sanctuary and salvation to young women afflicted with vampirism.” According to an interview with Trov and Zito, this comic is “a much more personal story for [them]. It’s about South Philly, frienemies and growing up fast.”

Christine Larsen, a fantastic illustrator and graduate of the University of the Arts, is on the art side of things. Check out her official blog here. Her work is impressive.

The comic debuted last Friday, October 16th. Go read and catch up. You’ll enjoy it, I’m sure.

Congrats to Tony, Johnny, and Christine!

The LaMorte Sisters by Tony Trov & Johnny Zito
www.lamortesisters.com

If there’s one thing I can say about Quirk Books, it’s that they know how to cater to the geek crowd. From books on how to be like Batman to collections of video game art, they seem to hit all our bases. Especially the bases that love zombies and monsters. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters? Two perfect examples. And now, Quirk takes aim at something else geeks love. Special Editions.

It’s true, we adore our limited, special, collectors, and exclusive editions of the things we love. Action figures, vinyl toys, video games in obscenely large packaging, etc. Quirk knows this, and plans to release a deluxe edition of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies this November. They folks at Quirk were kind enough to send me a copy, entitled The Heirloom Edition. This new printing of P&P&Z comes with 13 new full-color oil painting illustrations (the originals were black and white ink drawings), a new preface from the author, and… more zombies. Seth Grahame-Smith has written more zombies into the text, 30% more according to Quirk’s press release.

Best of all, the book comes in a fancy faux-leather hardcover binding, that looks pretty fantastic. Which is an important thing with us geeks.

The new deluxe edition of the book debuts November 1st, 2009, but you can pre-order it off Quirk’s website. I recommend doing so, since their books tend to sell out pretty quickly on their online store. As of writing this post, Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters is still out of stock. So get on that kids. This new edition will look great on your bookshelf. Here’s hoping for a special edition of Sea Monsters as well!

Quirk Books’ Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Deluxe Heirloom Edition
In Stores: November 1st, 2009
www.irreference.com/pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies-the-deluxe-heirloom-edition

If you not planning on attending GameX this weekend, why not spend Saturday night with the “Ghost with the most!”?  The Ritz at the Bourse will be presenting a screening of Beetlejuice in 35mm this Saturday, as part of their Midnight Madness series.  Relive a time when Tim Burton was actually making interesting and edgy films(Have you seen the trailer for Alice in Wonderland?), and witness Michael Keaton’s best role since Johnny Dangerously. You can get tickets for the event here.

It’s hard to believe that a film like this inspired a Saturday morning cartoon if you ask me, or that this hasn’t been remade yet. So look out for those sandworms and see ya there!