Tales of a Girl Gamer

I'm a Frag Doll!!!

2011-08-22T19:07:00.000-04:00

I'm a Frag Doll!

www.FragDolls.com
Frag Doll Sabre

ULTRAMARINES

2011-03-21T01:34:00.000-04:00

For all you Games Workshop & Warhammer 40K lovers out there...check it out!

**WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AND POOR VIDEO QUALITY**
http://fragdolls.com/index.php/blogs/category/cadettes

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:18:00.002-05:00

Watch this now!

Video Blog #5 - BioShock New Year's Eve Party

2011-01-03T16:30:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

This year, my boyfriend Jason and I decided to host a BioShock themed New Year's Eve party at my house. We loved the idea of re-creating Rapture, the underwater metropolis of BioShock, but MAN we had NO IDEA what we were getting ourselves into.

Here is the Video Blog I created for the Frag Doll site:

And now, for the details:

1. Creating the under-water city

Rapture is an iconic city featuring New York-esque buildings and art decco-styles. I fell in love with the city as soon as I read my first BioShock article in a Game Informer magazine years ago, and it has been so much fun re-creating the city in my house.

Designing the City
The first step in creating Rapture was designing the multiple skyscrapers in the city skyline. Using the picture above, I drew different buildings (styles and sizes) on black cardboard. To make the perspectives stand out, I painted the lines of the buildings with silver paint - just light enough to see, but not too bright so as to take away from the silhouettes.

Lighting the City

After designing the buildings, Jason took strands of white LED lights (super cheap after Christmas!) and re-soldered all the connections to match up with the windows and signs. As you can see from the picture, the new light strands were long and involved. Each building section (above) took roughly 1~2 hours to light, and with 10 building sections the time really added up!

Submerging the City
Once the buildings were lit, we attached them to my basement walls with tape and thumbtacks. We then cut blue cellophane into 92" strips (the height of my basement walls) and attached them on top of the buildings. The blue cellophane provided a great under-water impression, and made the lighting especially dramatic.

Between each "panel" of blue cellophane (meant to be windows looking out on the city skyline of Rapture) we put one strip of white paper to symbolize columns.

The Finished Product

Look at that under-water skyline! :D

2. Adding details
Propaganda
In BioShock, Rapture is littered with propaganda for Fontaine and Ryan, as well as tons of advertisements for locations in Rapture and of course - Plasmids! We decided to print out some posters for our re-created Rapture, including some of the most well-known signs:

Glowing Sign
Jason found a great company online that deals with El Wire. If you're not sure what El Wire is (I can't dive into specifics because even I don't quite get it) check out this company (elwirepros.com) for the full details.

We ended up buying yards of this wire to create a "neon-glowing" sign for the party. Here's a picture of the desired sign in the game:

Happy New Year 1959

And here is our sign - created out of plywood (black base), El Wire, and hot glue!

Plasmid Drinks
In BioShock, Plasmids are essential for destroying your enemies. - Because this game mechanic is so heavily used in the game, it stands to reason that a BioShock party would entail the use of Plasmids too! Here is the drink list I created for the party:

Electro-Bolt
1.5 oz Amaretto almond liqueur
1-2 splashes Sweet & Sour mix
Green food coloring

Incinerate
1 oz Goldschlage Cinnamon Schnapps
2 oz Lemonade
Red food coloring

Sonic Boom
1 oz Vodka
2 oz Orange Juice
No food coloring required

Telekinesis
2 oz Vodka
1 oz Coffee Liqueur
Light Cream
Purple food coloring

Winter Blast
2 oz Vodka
1 oz Blueberry Schnapps
1 oz Pineapple Juice
Blue food coloring

Splicer Masks
Although Big Daddies are the iconic enemies of the game, the most common fight you'll get into in BioShock is with a splicer, left over from the fall of Rapture. To commemorate this, I picked up some plain white masks, paint, hot glue, and white feathers so that guests could create their own splicer masks.

Splicers with their masks!

3. The Vita-Chamber
We decided that no party in Rapture would be complete without a Vita-Chamber, and making it actually turned out to be fairly straight-forward.

Jason created a wood frame to match the frame of a door in my basement. By cutting semi-circles out of the wood, we were able to create a rounded top from which to hang the "doors." We used a clear shower liner for the "doors" and attached a light colored fabric to the front for the door design. Jason was able to hook up two lights to the top of the Chamber; one with a blue light below the top, and a regular light on the top. Out of the same black posterboard used for the buildings, I used stencils to create the Vita-Chamber sign. We added some blue pipe cleaners for electricity to complete the look:

Overall, it was a pretty amazing party. I ended up leaving a lot of good ideas out at the last minute - but the guests had a great time (whether they had played BioShock or not) and we had a fun time hosting :-)

Happy New Year!

VBlog #4 - Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T14:53:00.000-05:00

As promised, I have created a Video Blog for my Protoss Nexus Gingerbread House (affectionately renamed the "GingerNexus").

I'll post up pictures later, but for now - enjoy!

Happy Holidays, and keep on gaming!

And the beat goes on...

2010-11-20T11:09:00.002-05:00

Current exciting news:

1. Still pluggin' along with research: I'm meeting with Dr. C on a regular basis now, which is great and will hopefully keep me on a schedule. I've realized that I'm extremely goal-oriented, and I need to set goals and deadlines for myself the way classes and school used to do. Now that I'm working full-time, it's harder than ever to come home after 8/9+ hours days and attempt to read numerous scientific articles. I think I'll try the divide and conquer approach; I'll break my model into sections, then attack each one separately within a tentative timeframe. And no matter how difficult or daunting this task seems, I'm determined to see it through!

2. Playin' some games: I have a number of games on my "to-play" list, and I'm very excited to get at them. However, Black Ops has been released and my division of the PMS Clan (Modern Warfare 2) will be switching official to a Black Ops division in January...in preparation for this, I've been trying to ramp up my play time on the new game. I both like and don't like Black Ops - it feels a lot like Modern Warfare 2, as I suppose it should, but I miss the Special Ops missions and the maps. Oh, I *really* miss the maps...Black Ops has some great detail in it...but when does it become too much? I wonder if anyone else feels the same...

3. Holidays! Gearing up for the festive season by scoping out the game selections and figuring out what games to buy friends and family. I've also been invited to my boyfriend's family's annual Gingerbread House Party, and I'm trying to figure out a way to create a Starcraft II scene out of gingerbread...we're thinking either a Protoss Nexus (a pyramid out of gingerbread is easy, right?) or a Terran Command Center. Either way, I plan on incorporating my favorite race into the scene - candy-coated zerglings and creep! We'll see how this turns out... :D

That's all, ta-ta for now!

(BTW, hope everyone out there is doing well)

Video Blog #3 - Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear!

2010-10-31T20:02:00.000-04:00

I know this isn't video game/industry specific....but I couldn't help but post this. Enjoy!

Fallout: New Vegas

2010-10-21T23:15:00.001-04:00

Here are my initial thoughts on the game:

1. I LOVE the intro; Brings the player up-to-speed on the main character, the social/political climate of the West Coast, and the status of the "war." Not to mention it's downright beautiful! I mean...if you can get past all the nuclear waste and grime. I'm kind of all about that though; anything post-apocalyptic or utopia = super awesome in my book.

2. Some things never change - like the character creation! I find it amusing that they can create beautiful scenery and detailed characters, but the character creation functionality is poo. Sure, it gives you plenty of options to change, but on the super-tiny screen that shows your character's face, you can't really see any of the changes! And why does my character look like she always has a 5 o'clock shadow, no matter what settings I change? This is a carry-over problem from Oblivion as well...couldn't make a decent looking character no matter how hard you tried. Fallout is certainly better...but damn.

3. The story is fairly interesting, so far. I was drawn to Fallout 3, not only because I was born in and raised close to Washington D.C., but also because I'm a daddy's girl :-) The New Vegas storyline doesn't pull at my heartstrings, but I like some of the characters enough to continue on. Plus, I'm eager to see what this "New Vegas" is like, and see how it differs (if at all) from the actual Las Vegas.

4. I'm roughly 4 hours into the game, and I feel like I've barely done anything. I like this, however, as I expect RPG's to take hours upon hours to complete. I'm just now leaving the starting 'town,' and as eager as I am to get to New Vegas, I'm forcing myself to stop and look around the wasteland a bit.

So far, I'm diggin' this game! Stay tuned...

Video Blog #2 - New York Comic Con 2010

2010-10-18T07:16:00.000-04:00

1. Still getting used to doing Video Blogs, hence they don't have any real 'purpose' yet.

2. Please pardon the poor camera quality and instability - walking and talking are obviously not my strong points.

3. Look at all the pretty, nerdy things!

A message from the ESA

2010-10-04T21:38:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a great friend of mine, I was forwarded the following message from the ESA...

October 4, 2010

Dear Friends,

In the past few weeks, we witnessed a unique series of events that reflected
the significance of the entertainment software industry. These include: an
outpouring of support from the political, scientific, business and legal
communities in defense of the constitutional rights of video games; a White
House ceremony at which President Barack Obama launched a national
competition to create a video game promoting math and science learning; and
a cover story in the Sunday New York Times Magazine about the importance
of games in education. All of these occurrences represented more visible
proof of the positive impact our remarkable industry is having on society.

On November 2, our legal team will be before the United States Supreme Court,
defending the First Amendment rights of our industry's innovators, creative
artists, and storytellers. I am extremely proud of the respondents' brief we filed
with the high court, which clearly detailed why the California statute is unnecessary, unwarranted and unconstitutional. No less important, on September 17, a
bipartisan group of state attorneys general were among more than 180 First
Amendment scholars, social scientists and organizations representing entertainment
media, business and journalism that filed amicus briefs in support of our position.
Groups as diverse as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Cato Institute and
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined entertainment media companies and
others in opposing the California law as an unconstitutional infringement on our
right of free speech. The video game community also continues to show its
support through the Video Game Voters Network which now has more than
250,000 activists who believe in the First Amendment and are fighting with us
to protect it. To read the amicus briefs and other materials related to the
upcoming case, please visit our Supreme Court microsite.

By ensuring that computer and video games receive the free speech
protection they are entitled to, our industry can focus on creating innovative
products that are a source of entertainment and learning. This powerful
combination was highlighted on September 16 when President Obama
launched the National STEM Video Game Challenge at a White House
event as part of his national "Educate to Innovate" campaign. The Challenge,
which ESA co-sponsored, aims to motivate interest in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) learning by tapping into students' natural
passion for playing and making video games.

Research has demonstrated that playing and making games fosters the
development of the critical thinking, design and problem-solving skills needed
to succeed in STEM subjects and motivate students to pursue careers in
these fields. The competition -- supported by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center
at Sesame Workshop, Microsoft Corporation, American Library Association,
The International Game Developers Association and other organizations --
will feature prizes for middle school students who design an original video
game, as well as prizes for emerging and experienced developers who design
mobile games that teach STEM concepts to young children.

The growing use of entertainment software as an educational tool was also
highlighted in the September 19 edition of the Sunday New York Times
Magazine article Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom. The
piece profiled Quest to Learn, a New York City public school that has
incorporated computer and video games into virtually every aspect of their
curriculum in an effort to "support the digital lives of young people and their
capacity for learning." The fact that the influence of games in education
will continue to grow was underscored by neuroscientist Paul Howard-Jones
who told the Times that 30 years from now "we will marvel that we ever tried
to deliver a curriculum without gaming."

To respond to the expanding role that computer and video games are playing
in education and other aspects of daily life, an increasing number of institutes
of higher education are offering degrees in video game design, development,
programming and art. Our own research has shown a record 300 American
colleges, universities, art and trade schools will offer these types of programs
during the 2010-11 academic year, an almost 20 percent increase over
2009-10.

I know in the weeks, months and years to come we will see even more
recognition of the many positive ways computer and video games are
impacting the American economy and society. As our Supreme Court case
demonstrates, we face challenges today. As our industry's history proves,
there is no limit to what our creativity can achieve tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Gallagher
President and CEO
Entertainment Software Association

More information on this case can be found here. Go crazy!

Halo: Quite the Reach..a mid-game review

2010-10-03T22:31:00.000-04:00

Alright everyone...I tried.

I really
really
really tried.

Sadly, Halo Reach is just not a game I can really get into.
Oh, I can't wait to get the hate mail for this one. Let's see if I can't justify my feelings...

I played all of Halo 1, and I can happily say that it was different, intriguing, and fun. I skipped Halo 2 after I tried the first level (couldn't get past the weird controls/game feel...no thank you), and I played bits and pieces of Halo 3 (mostly multi-player). So, I was really excited to dedicate myself fully to Halo Reach, since I hadn't done so in the past. I really wanted to get caught up in the hype and love for the story and game play. I really wanted to complete the campaign and try my hand at different multi-player styles. And yet, here are the big cons so far:

Futuristic Soldiers can't Run n' Gun

I suppose I'm partial to fast-paced shooters. I grew up playing FPS's like Quake and Unreal, so when I encounter game mechanics like the ones found in Halo Reach, I get very frustrated - fast. Having power-ups is neat, but I would never suggest to have 'sprint' as one of these, as 'sprinting' should be something that every soldier has the ability to do all the time, Spartan or not. It also kills me that many of the guns have no scope (at least having add-ons to guns would be nice). Overall the controls seem slow (at least slower than what I'm used to) and unresponsive. I'd love to hit the left analog stick once to crouch, instead of 3 or 4 times. However, this could also be a PEBCAC problem.

2. Lets do the same thing, over and over and over again!

After three levels of the campaign and a few rounds of multi-player, I keep having to force myself to put the disc in and keep playing. I have little to no interest in finishing the campaign; this may be because I didn't play all of Halo 2 & 3, but also because as of now all the levels are looking the same (both look and objective-wise). Now, I'm still fully committed to completing this game, but for some reason I'm not having nearly as much fun as I would have liked.

But have no fear, there is a silver lining:

One small step for FPS's, one giant leap for Online Match-Making

I really like what Halo Reach is doing with the match-making process in multi-player games. Before I joined a clan and became accustomed to the way people interact in online multi-player games, I would avoid playing multi-player games unless I knew everyone playing. I knew I'd only interact with uber-competitive guys who would relish the idea of making fun of a girl playing video games. But in Halo Reach, I'm able to describe my gaming style and preferences, and the game will automatically match me with similar-style gamers. I love it! Too bad I don't love the game.

Now, don't totally hate on me just yet. I'm still determined to see this whole thing through. I'll make my final decision about the game later, after I've beaten the campaign and played many more online multi-player games. But for now...blah.

Video Blog #1 - PAX Prime 2010

2010-10-01T12:00:00.005-04:00

Finally! An update!

Yes folks, and a long one at that. Below you can watch my very first video blog, which is all about PAX Prime. Now, I warn you, it's a long video blog....over 10 minutes of pictures and stories from Seattle, Washington. I'm going to make it a point to be more concise in my future video blogs, so hopefully this will be the only 6+ minute vblog. We'll see!

So, what are you waiting for? Take a look! :D

Wait for it...

2010-09-22T22:05:00.000-04:00

So, I work at least 8.5 + hours a day at work, then another 2-3 hours at night because I'm slammed with deadlines for my job. Thus, I've not been able to write or film a post...and goodness knows all I want to do is talk about PAX and how great it was. I promise, as soon as this wave of work is finished....I'll write/film a nice blog post :-)

Also, I'm seriously looking for a film crew (or person) to help me figure out this music video (game-related) I'd like to do. I just don't have the technical know-how to film this, and I'd like to talk with someone else to figure out some more creative ways to get my message across. I know, vague, but I really hope I can get this little project off the ground before winter.

That's all for now! Back to the grind....

Update soon!

2010-09-09T22:04:00.000-04:00

An update about PAX Prime 2010 and how amazing it was is coming soon! Sadly, I have work responsibilities that take precedence over fun :-(

Much love to the Frag Dolls and Cadettes - these ladies are truly incredible.

T-minus...

2010-08-30T22:07:00.000-04:00

2 DAYS UNTIL PAX!!!

Well, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. As soon as I found out I was a Frag Doll Cadette, my stress level has increased exponentially! At my full-time job I have more client meetings, requirements and design reviews, and training sessions than I have space on my calendar, and my after-work life isn't much better. Sadly, there's only so much time for gaming after work...but I wouldn't trade this for anything! There is still so much to be done before I leave...I just hope I don't forget anything!

I'm so excited for this event. I'm thrilled to finally meet the Frag Dolls, some of the most famous women in the gaming industry, as well as the other fabulous Fall Cadettes (and even some past Cadettes)! I'm not sure how much I can disclose as of now, but we Cadettes certainly have our work cut out for us! SO EXCITED!!!

RIP Franz Vonlichten/E.S. Posthumus

2010-08-25T20:35:00.002-04:00

Although not directly gaming related, I had to post something about this. I have been a fan of E.S. Posthumus for years after I instantly fell in love with their first CD "Unearthed." My love for their compositions and musical expression deepened with "Cartographer," and I even claimed one track as my 'theme.' Even in gaming, I have chosen to go by the gamertag "Selisona" in honor of my favorite E.S. Posthumus song "Selisona Pi." If you enjoy music that stimulates the imagination and soul, then please listen.

Wow, just listening to it again brings tears to my eyes. This song was my anthem as I battled my way through college, tested my fortitude by joining a sorority and a fraternity, found myself through hip-hop dance and fought for my very own fencing club. I'm deeply saddened to know that one half of this unforgettable team is now gone, and I fear that I may never hear music quite like this again.

::Sigh:: I may just be emotional right now...but my deepest condolences go out to Helmut Vonlichten and the Vonlichten family. Rest In Peace Franz, and in turn, Rest In Peace E.S. Posthumus.

I'M A FRAG DOLL CADETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-07T08:36:00.001-04:00

That's right ladies and gentlemen...I received the email on Wednesday evening, and it's been torture keeping it a secret! I wanted to scream it from the mountain tops when I found out, but I had to wait until the Frag Dolls officially announced it on Friday! AAHHHHHHHH :D :D :D :D :D

Before I go into details, I want to thank a few people for putting up with my crazy antics/nervous tendencies/procrastinating ways:

1.Jason – My boyfriend, and the creative genius behind our film projects. Without him, my video applications wouldn't be nearly as well lit, filmed, edited, and directed (or fun :D ).
2.My parents – Thanks for all the support, even if mom doesn't quite understand it all.
3.Jess – My bestest, who always puts up with my larger-than-life ideas. Thanks for gaming with me when no other girls would.
4.All my friends and family – You all have provided so much love and support. I only hope to continually return the favor.

Now, back to the FDCs (Frag Doll Cadettes):

Our first event is PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington on Sept. 3-6th. Jason and I had already made plans to go to this event, so it will be interesting to see how this works out logistically. In any event, it should be a blast and I'm super excited to meet and hang with the Frag Dolls and the other lucky Frag Doll Cadettes for Fall 2010! Seriously, I can't believe I made it.

And in honor of the current Spring and future Fall 2010 Cadettes, Frag Doll Siren (one of the newest Frag Dolls) made a fantastic video - check it out!

SOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dream come true, anyone? :D

For the love of all things RIDICULOUS

2010-07-18T12:21:00.003-04:00

First off, my Frag Doll Application is finished! This time around, instead of me sitting in front of a camera and answering questions, my boyfriend suggested that I should read a story. I loved the idea, and spent the next few days creating my storybook; laying out all the pictures, deciding what videos should be displayed as I spoke and when, and creating the storybook text. Jason (my boyfriend) and I spent the next week setting up lights, filming scenes, and trying to find time to sleep somewhere in between it all.

I submitted the written portion of my application on Friday afternoon, and my fantastic boyfriend spent the entire day editing my video interview. Now, you might be thinking "But Kim, the video interview is only a 3 minute movie....what could possibly take him so long to edit it?" WELL - aside from horrible traffic, sleep deprivation, and crashing computers, we also had to deal with creating a "living storybook," complete with videos and green screen captures. Here are pictures, just to show you how massive this "video interview" undertaking was...

(Lights filling up my Living Room)

(Massive Green Screen)

(My mom on the green screen)

(My boyfriend, the talented director)

(Me, being a princess)

(Me, being a Space Marine Princess)

(Test Run!)

(The Set - look at all those controllers!)

(Opening page of my storybook)

(Reading beneath the camera)

(So many controllers)

(Last day of filming)

As you can see, we put a ton of effort into this film. Little did we know that tragedy would strike just before the deadline. When we tried to render the final product - Jason's computer crashed! We didn't realize it at the time, but one of our green screen film captures was causing the problem, so every time we tried to run the 30+ minute render, it would crash. Running out of time, Jason thought quickly and rendered a copy of just one film take - that of me in front of the camera reading the storybook (sadly, all his hard work editing would not be submitted). After that was rendered, we only had a little bit of time to send the video through yousendit.com - and just sending the video took many hours. At this point, I wasn't even sure if my application would be accepted, since the video interview would probably be received after the deadline.

We were pretty bummed, but this whole experience has inspired me to do better and plan ahead for these applications. I've already started thinking about what I'll do next time...

And just so you all can see the difference in the movie we did send to the Cadettes and the one we should have sent in, here they are:

Film (no green screen captures or editing):

Film (edited, final version that should have been sent in):

Grrrrrr

2010-07-12T00:29:00.000-04:00

I'm super frustrated with my Frag Doll Cadette application this round. I have every block imaginable - writers block, creative/artsy block, GAMING BLOCK....It suddenly feels like everything I think or do isn't correct in the slightest. Ugh.

Sorry, I had to let some frustration out here. I'm hoping to have it all done by Thursday night (due date is midnight Friday). I think the worst part is knowing that no matter what I do for the application, the final decision still comes down to a random drawing.

Curse you chance, curse you.

Favorite Openings

2010-07-08T23:23:00.000-04:00

As you can tell, I haven't been in the mood to write anything deep or meaningful recently...so I will continue my random blog posts with my favorite video game openings!

Chrono Cross
I distinctly remember hearing this song before I even knew what this game was. I had a demo cd for this game with only five songs on it - this song being the first track. I would listen to it on repeat for the longest time, and I didn't care what the game was about - I knew I had to have it. I still have my copy of the game, and I'm tempted to go back and replay it....and for the record, the OST for this game is amazing.

Final Fantasy VIII
"Liberi Fatali" is certainly one of my favorite songs by Nobuo Uetmatsu (although, I tend to love all his songs), but the video for this fits so well! Of course after I saw this opening I knew I had to get the game...I believe my cousin had it, and after a while he was kind enough to give me his copy :-)

The Legend of Dragoon
Not the greatest intro movie, but it certainly had me hooked! Well that, plus the cover of the game box. This one just brings back good memories...

Dynasty Warriors 6
"Ok, first I'm going to throw my cape and distract you. Then, I'm going to run on water, do some flips and stuff, nearly sink the ship when I land on it too. Next I'm gonna fight a little bit, but as soon as Lu Bu shows up I'm going to get super-human strength in just my hand and rocket-launch my weapon at him...finally, I'll fight Lu Bu one-on-one, while in fire, in the middle of the sky. Sounds like a plan!" - as told by Zhao Yun. I love the extreme ridiculousness.

Thats all for now! I'll probably have another post at some point in the future with more fantastic Video Game Openings!

Love [CG Style]

2010-07-07T22:45:00.001-04:00

I usually don't write about this kind of stuff - but I read a blog post recently (written by an amazing woman and dear friend) about love and, specifically, favorite famous couples. I've decided to write a similar blog post about my favorite Video Game Couples (sappy, I know). So, here we go! (In no particular order...except for this first one)

Tidus and Yuna from Final Fantasy X

Nothing says True Love like Tragedy. Tragic romances are certainly my favorite, and the love story of Yuna and Tidus is no exception. I certainly don't want to give away the story here, but it is well worth playing the 80+ hours of Final Fantasy X just to find out what happens to these two reluctant love birds. Not to mention that they have one of the most beautiful love themes - I consider both Suteki Da Ne and To Zanarkand their themes, To Zanarkand being my favorite (Listen here!)

Zelda & Link from The Legend of Zelda

I don't know a single gamer who doesn't love, or at least know of the love story between the elf-boy Link and the Princess Zelda. Classic and timeless; a young boy gifted with strength, determination, and a sweet set of weapons is chosen to save the land of Hyrule and its Princess, Zelda, from the evil Gannondorf. "Zelda: A Link to the Past" was one of the first games I ever beat, and being the impressionable young girl that I was, I couldn't help but love the game and the couple the story centered around. Ah, young love :-)

Nate Drake and Elena Fisher from Uncharted

What's not to love about this couple? He's the sexy 'tomb raider', she's the cute but gutsy reporter, and both kick some serious booty. Nothing spells romantic like a nice night searching for hidden treasure while dodging traps, encountering big bad baddies and engaging in mass shootouts....::sigh:: Some girls have all the fun...

Dart and Shana from The Legend of Dragoon

Such a sweet story! A love that grows between childhood friends... after Dart returns from a war to find that Shana has been taken away for mysterious reasons. Did I mention that they get to turn into neat Dragoons with sweet armor and wings? Oh, and don't listen to those haters talking about how this is a carbon copy of FFVII, they just don't get it ;-)

Wakka and Lulu from Final Fantasy X

I like this relationship, if only because it makes little sense. He is the happy-go-lucky Blitzball jock and she's the gothic magic caster....so how'd they get together? I dunno, but I like this representation of opposite-attraction.

Serge and Kid from Chrono Cross

In one world he was meant to die...but in another, he was meant to fight, search for a long-lost past, switch bodies with the big baddie, and of course - fall in love! A story about what should have been and what is...Twilight could learn a thing or two from this couple (just kidding ladies, just kidding...)

Amy and Raphael from Soul Calibur

What is one thing that I love more than fencing? It's a slightly creepy, slightly disturbed, possibly undead fencing couple! Raphael, the gentleman fencer turned vampire, has decided to take a young woman, Amy, under his wing....to which he trains her to fight and at one point, even promises to change the world for her so that she might fit in...creepy, but I love it!

Lu Bu and Diao Chan from Dynasty Warriors (and history)

Now this is a power couple. An invincible general of warn-torn China who falls in love with a servant girl and ends up killing the man he considered his "father" for her (among other reasons)....ahhh, such a love as to be known throughout history as the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Largo and Jann from Valkyria Chronicles

Largo

Jann

As much as I would love for these two to be an item...they're not. But, anyone who has played Valkyria Chronicles should get the reference. "Oh Largo, you're the only man for me!"

Well, that's all for my favorite video game couples. But which ones did I miss? Let me know :-)

Frag Doll Cadette Academy - Fall 2010

2010-06-23T22:46:00.001-04:00

Is it that time already? It seems like just yesterday that I sent off my Spring 2010 application...I'm eager and pleased to announce that they have made a few changes to this Fall application, which is due at the latest on July 16th! Only three weeks to complete the following:

Cover Letter
Resume
Gaming History (2 pages)
Video Interview (3 minutes max)
Photos (2)

For this Fall semster, and all other Cadette semesters, the Frag Dolls will be evaluating applicants based on their "Casting Call" criteria, and not the minimum requirements stated above. They estimate that they will select 20-25% of the top applicants (those who they see could one day become Frag Dolls) and place those girls in a random drawing for the final 12 chosen to be Cadettes. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited about this round, and I can't wait to submit my application :-)

I've also made some progress on my Video Blog...and by progress, I mean I've thought more about it, and figured out what (or more specifically "who's") camera I will use. I'm really trying to come up with some creative concepts for this Vblog - my only concern is the execution. I can day-dream all day long about how things can look and what should happen, but making this a reality will be much more difficult than I anticipate, I fear.

In light of this, I'll be pulling ideas and techniques learned through all my recent escapades dealing in film. I'm so thankful to know and work with such talented people in the area. Most recently I was commissioned to be a spokesperson for a nearby electronics company, and working with this production group, in particular, has provided me invaluable experience with technical film, special effects, and on-screen practice. Not to mention that I also completed two small independent films with their help (check out my earlier blog post about the 48 Hour Film Project, and click the link for the actual film!).

I'm also getting back into some other creative past times, most recent being a new Hip Hop dance class I signed up for (attended the first practice this evening!). I can't explain how thrilled I am to have found this class, and I'm already eager for next week's lesson...but, this is completely off-topic :-)

As always I'm open to ideas on what to do for video blog segments, both creative and technical gaming aspects. Give me an idea, and I'm sure I'll be able to work it into a video blog at some point.

Oh, and uh...I heard some big game convention happened recently...I think it's called E3, or something? Has anyone heard anything about this? ;-)

Mixed Emotions

2010-06-14T17:59:00.000-04:00

At long last, I have returned! Sorry for the delay – I’ve been quite busy, as we all have, but fear not! Gaming is still a top priority of mine, and due to recent events I’m more determined than ever to continue this blog, share my (womanly) thoughts on gaming, and continue to train with the PMS clan.

I’d like to cover a number of items in this post, including my thoughts on recent Frag Doll announcements, my plans for PAX PRIME, and my ideas and concerns over starting a Video Blog. Commence Operation: Mixed Emotions!

Frag Doll Announcements

As some of you know, I’ve wanted to be a Frag Doll for the longest time…and now more recently, a Frag Doll Cadette. I’ve applied once to the Frag Doll Cadette program, but I wasn’t chosen to be one of the lucky 12 for the Spring 2010. I’ll be applying again in the Fall (if they decide to continue recruiting girls for 6month internships) and I’ve already thought of a few ideas to make this application video better than the last.

Recently, the Frag Dolls announced the addition of two new Frag Dolls (and I mean FRAG DOLLS, not Cadettes). I read this announcement with mixed emotions – on one hand, I’m happy to see that the Frag Dolls are letting new women join. On the other hand, I continue to see others achieve one of my greatest goals. Luckily, I’ve turned these “mixed emotions” into fuel for both my career and creative endeavors. I now have a whole list of things to strive for, and my resolve for getting better in competitive gaming is at an all-time high.

Side note: Congratulations Siren and Glitch! Please know that we’re all very happy for you…if not just a little jealous ;-)

PAX Prime

I'm buying my tickets soon! I'm very excited, as this will be my first video game convention ever! I hope to compete in some of the tournaments there, meet some very interesting industry experts (and fans), test out some new games, and explore Seattle, Washington. Now...I just need to figure out the plane ride and hotel space... :-) If anyone else is going - please let me know! I'd love to meet up and say HI!

Video Blog

I'm playing with the idea of starting a Video Blog. My only real concerns with starting this is 1. having the time to create, film, and edit "posts" and 2. having these "posts" be interesting and entertaining enough for people to watch. I do feel, however, that having a Video Blog would 1. force me to come up with regular updates and 2. would get me to be much more relaxed on camera. I've had a little more experience being on film within the past year, but I'm nowhere near where I want to be.

So...perhaps I will try this Video Blog idea that I have. I probably won't be able to put up any Video posts until a while from now, as I still need to obtain video editing software and a camera... Oh, and words of encouragement are very welcome :-D

TTFN!

48 Hour Film Project

2010-05-09T08:44:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I joined a group of extremely talented individuals in making a short film for the Washington D.C. 48 Hour Film Project. Still not game-related...but I'm telling you, there is nothing like making a movie. It's not the prep work, or the editing, or even the filming that makes it entertaining - it's the people you work with that make it worth it (although watching the final product for the first time as a group comes in as a close second).

The 48 Hour Film Project is a competition where teams create entire short films (4-7 min in length) in 2 days...which is *way* harder than it sounds. My group ended up making a 70's/80's stop-action monster flick called "Kill the Monsters", which is probably one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. Our film, along with many others, will be premiered throughout the week at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. Tomorrow night at 9:30pm is my group's film premiere, and I couldn't be more excited! If the crowd doesn't laugh at our over-the-top grind-house 70's dark comedy....then something is wrong with the world.

I'll be posting pictures from the set, but only after tomorrow night's premiere.
[Update...]
Here are a few pictures taken on set:

("Kill the Monsters" title screen)

(Chase scene - Stop Motion Animation to be added later)

(The film crew)

(Resting between scenes)

(Home-made flame-thrower...kids, don't try this at home)

And now, here is the actual film....

Next Post: Actual gaming content, including Boy Scout merit badges, Gamasutra, and college gaming degrees!

Gaming news, articles, degrees, and a concert

2010-05-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Finally, back to the main point of this blog....gaming! I have a whole list of things to discuss in this post, and so I will begin (in no particular order):

1. Gamasutra

By recommendation of a close friend, I signed up for an account on Gamasutra.com. I love this site and appreciate the multiple video game company and job listings...although I'm unsure of how helpful this will be for me. There is even a section for a blog, but I am currently unable to link it to this blog (and I just don't feel like posting on two different sites). If anyone knows of a remedy for this, please let me know. I'll have to dive into the site further for more information...

2. Boy Scouts Video Game Merit Badge

I was a Girl Scout for 13 years and it was already bad enough that we had merit badges for 'cooking' and 'sewing' (which, to be honest, are important skills to learn)...but this is just downright cruel. Perhaps cruel is not the word I'm looking for. It's more unfair...as to my knowledge, there is no equivalent of this merit badge in the Girl Scout world.

In looking at the details of the merit badge, the earning requirements seem to fall directly in line with every other merit badge: Learn the pros and cons of video games, create a schedule for school, chores, and video games, teach someone else how to play a video game, etc...so earning the badge will be a piece of cake. I only wish that the Girl Scouts would create their own similar, if not exact, merit badge. This just shows how the public still views video games as an all-male activity/hobby :-/

I found one article discussing the Boy Scout merit badge, which lead me to another site which seems to be the closest thing to a Girl Scout merit badge/interactive site (found here). I don't know, I know girls like ponies and sprinkles and stuff....but I think it would go a long way to offer a video game merit badge for Girl Scouts. Anyone else agree or disagree?

3. Gaming Degree at George Mason University, Fairfax VA

Figures that a year after I graduate my university decides to offer a bachelor's degree in video game design. In all honesty, I think this is a great. A close family friend is currently working on his second bachelor's at GMU, this time in the Computer Science department for a B.S. in Video Game Design. So far, my friend is really enjoying the classes and what he's learning :-) I believe GMU is offering a bachelors in Art (music, graphic art, writing) and Science (programming) for the degree, but I wonder how students who would like to get into the business-side of gaming would work with this?

In the end...this just makes me want to go back to school :-/

4. Distant Worlds Concert and Distant Worlds II
I'm finally getting things set up for the Distant Worlds concert at Wolf Trap on July 30th (Friday) at 8:30pm. I have a few interested takers, and I think it'll be a fun night relaxing on the lawn, eating food and listening to some fantastic music :-) Also, the Distant Worlds II soundtrack is available for download here. Honestly, I think I prefer DW 1 over DW 2, but certain songs (like the Prelude, Main Theme of FFVII, Zanarkand, and Terra's Theme) really get to me. I highly recommend both soundtracks, and if you get the chance to see the concert live..all the better :-)

That's all for now!

I have returned!

2010-05-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

I'm finally back from my vacation to Hawaii (and then some) and I have a whole list of things to discuss. I think I'll make it easier for my readers and break each section into different posts...starting with the one about HAWAII!

I know, it's not game-related...but I can't help but share how amazing Hawaii was. My boyfriend and I traveled to Kauai, one of the more remote islands of Hawaii, and we had a blast. I would love to post all my pictures here, but I don't think the Blogger site would be happy with 1,000+ uploaded pictures. So, here are just a few :D

(Japanese Garden at the Honolulu Airport)

(First waterfall of the trip - after an hour horseback ride)

(Horseback Ride!)

(Na Pali Coast from our Sunset Cruise)

("Secret Falls" after a 2.5 mile kayak trip and a 1 mile hike)

(Sunset view from dinner)

(View from our Villa at the Nihi Kai - in my new PMS shirt!)

Overall - had a great time, got to take some great pictures, and one girl even commented on my PMS Clan shirt. I think it was a definite win!

Next post: The Washington D.C. 48 Hour Film Project!

No updates for the next week.

2010-04-19T17:00:00.005-04:00

Fair warning - I will be gone for the next 7 days to the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii! The only downside to this (if there were actual downsides to this) is that I will not be able to game for that week. But honestly, I can take a week-break from gaming for this ;-)

More gaming updates to come next week!

It's Official!!!

2010-04-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

I'm one of the newest members of the PMS clan - North American division of Modern Warfare 2 for the Xbox 360!!!

My official name in the clan registry and on the forums is now PMS Selisona, and I'll be changing my gamertag on Xbox Live shortly to match :D I've also been given a big sister (Yay PMS Enigma!) who has even invited me to join her small team (Omega Squad)! I'm probably going to take her up on the offer, since it would be a great introduction to small teams...but I do eventually want to join an official all-girl PMS small team. Omega Squad is a co-ed team, which both PMS and H2O division leaders agreed to, but it is not recognized as an official PMS/H2O team...the upside? It doesn't require 4 additional practice hours per week! Perfect for right now, when my schedule is going crazy <.<

That's all I have for right now - I'll be writing another post about the ex-Infinity Ward heads and their new company....oh drama, drama everywhere.

[Update...]
I'm such a nerd. I just received my PMS clan t-shirt and keychain in the mail today. Here are pictures!

(A little wrinkled, but there it is! "PMS Clan - Play like a girl" with the keychain laying on top)

(Back of shirt - "Selisona" my gamertag on the back! Official name is PMS Selisona)

::sigh:: I love it! It's nice to work hard at something and have it pay off :-) Now, I just need to find a video game convention/tournament to go to so I can represent my clan....

Also - I read an article today on the newly created enterprise called "Respawn Entertainment" - formed by the two ex-Infinity Ward employees Jason West and Vincent Zampella. Not only that, but they've partnered with EA, which I think is a great decision on both parts. EA seems to be having trouble competing with the various game franchises and developers nowadays, and so I believe that this may help to revitalize the company - and with a semi-powerhouse company like EA, Respawn may become a huge contender in the future as well. Activision's original claims that West and Zampella also seem to be true - that both the creative leads where secretly discussing a partnership is EA for a while now. Although I wholly disapprove of Activision's method of letting the two employees go, I find it interesting that these two men have bounced back so well - and so fast - and I only wonder if this situation will escalate into something more.

Off to do some shopping...in my new PMS Clan shirt!

WCG Ultimate Gamer

2010-04-07T16:30:00.012-04:00

I watched the first episode of WCG Ultimate Gamer - Season 1 on Hulu.com last night...and boy, where do I begin....

First off - I had no idea how awesome Amy Brady is - not only is she one of the founders of the PMS clan (her gamertag "Athena" gave that away) but she's also a FRAG DOLL?! I knew her as Valkyrie (Frag Doll) instantly, but I had never seen a picture of "Athena" - co-founder of PMS - so I was pretty shocked and excited to see her on there. Obviously, she'd be a great contestant on the show :-)

Now, I'm all for a good competition - that's kind of an essential part of video gaming - but like any reality TV show, the developers/producers of WCG Ultimate Gamer couldn't help but add a little "drama" to the mix. For example, instead of giving the gamers their space, they decide to place all 12 in one loft for the duration of the show. I understand this concept (every other reality TV show does this), and I understand that good drama equals good TV, that ratings are all that matter in most cases, and that it's probably best to keep all the contestants under a proverbial 'lock & key'. But I think I would have been just as happy with a good old TV show about these gamers and their challenges, minus the "living together" part. Granted that's not a big part (yet), but I'm only 1 episode in.

Also, a friend of mine mentioned how it seemed unfair that some very good gamers lost the competition because of games like "Rock Band" or "DDR" - but I have to say that if you're going to be the "ULTIMATE" gamer, then you have to be good at all the different types of games...yet another reason why I won't apply for this; racing games will be the end of me (snowmobiles not an exception). Those, as well as sports games and "music" games like Rock Band and DDR....all of which I'm horrible at :-/

In light of all this, I still find the show somewhat interesting. I'm planning to watch the other 7 episodes (eventually, as things are busy again), and I'm eager to see more of how the show (and contestants) characterize gamers and the gaming community.

Also, I find it hilarious that one of the male contestants noted that all the girl gamers on the show were "relatively attractive" and that he couldn't think of them as "serious" gamers. - I'll need to think about that statement a little more, as I'm sure there is a good theory I could pull out of this...

And finally - this is my fourth and final week of PMS Recruitment. I've already submitted my PMS name to my recruitment manager, and even that has been approved (yay!). Now, if only I could find a Big Sister....

Sharing the Awesome...

2010-03-30T16:30:00.003-04:00

Even if you're not really into gaming, here is a link that I think everyone will enjoy. It's for the Nintendo 3DS, a 3D-version of the DS. Now, I'm not a huge fan of the DS or DSi or DSi lite - I don't own any of these, but I have played a few games on the DSi and I appreciate all the different things you can do with them, ranging from picture taking to wireless multiplayer gaming...but this new 3DS is just neat! I'd get one just to look at it all day long :-) Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think!

Today is the highly-anticipated release date for the new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Map Pack. I've already added Microsoft Points to my Xbox Live account (stupid, since I really didn't want to give Microsoft any of my money...or seem like I'm giving money to them) so as soon as I'm able to I'll be downloading the 5 new maps. Apparently only 3 of the maps are new, as two of them are well-known maps from Call of Duty 4 (Crash & Overgrown). The new ones sound interesting though (taken from Wikipedia: "..three new maps: Bailout, a multi-level apartment complex; Storm, an industrial park littered with heavy machinery; and Salvage, an abandoned car junkyard in the middle of the snow.") Exciting!

Oh, and if I didn't have a for-real job (that I love), I would definitely look into doing this: WCG Ultimate Gamer - Season 2. Now, I'm not big into reality TV (except for that one show "Who wants to be a Superhero?") - but this intrigues me. I haven't looked into it much, and I'm not going to apply or anything...but if anyone else knows information about this (stories from the first season, how the show conveys gamers and gaming to the public, etc...) let me know :-)

Playing Around

2010-03-29T16:30:00.001-04:00

Like the new look? Blogger has just released a new Design Template that provides a bunch of new images, layouts, and fonts for further blog-customization. I'm going to try to make this a more "game-themed" blog (look-wise), so it'll be changing again shortly. Until then..hope you don't mind the bright colors :-)

PAX East was this weekend, and from the pictures I've seen so far, it looks like it was a TON of fun! I wish I could have gone - but now I'm trying to look for other video game conventions happening in 2010. Does anyone know of any?

Here are the big ones that I'm aware of:

E3 - June 2010 - Los Angeles, California (trade-only)
PAX Prime - September 2010 - Seattle, Washington
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) - January 2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada

In other news, I spent a very relaxing weekend playing Modern Warfare 2. It was very nice to share the experience with my boyfriend and parents (all of whom are cheering me on with my PMS training). At one point my father even played for a bit! My only qualm with the game is that they don't allow the players to bring in "guests" like in Halo or Left 4 Dead - some of my friends don't have an xbox or xbox live, but we would LOVE to play together online in team deathmatches or free-for-alls. Le sigh.

Week 3 of recruitment for PMS starts today! I'm excited to test out some of my newly unlocked items...it's funny how I figure out one thing, fall in love with it, and then never divert from it...like the Assault class (First Recon). I was playing that for the last 25 levels (leveling in the online multiplayer world, mind you) but only now have I created my own class with my chosen Assault Rifle, secondary weapon, and special equipment. I'm enjoying this much, much more :-)

End for now!

Distant Worlds

2010-03-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

Oh...I'm so there.

Clicky!

Training

2010-03-25T16:00:00.001-04:00

Prepare thyself - this will be a long one....

I'm halfway through my second week of training for the PMS clan...and I'm loving it! I can tell I'm getting better; I don't just run into the firefight all willy-nilly as I usually do, I tend to hide more and strategize, and I take the time to breathe and aim...and thanks to this, I've come out on top in many of my gaming sessions :-) The girls I'm training with are amazing, not only at playing Modern Warfare 2, but as women who do incredible things with their lives. I've met mothers, tattoo artists, business women, make-up artists, animal refugee founders...the list goes on. As an added bonus, the H20 guys are also a lot of fun to play MW2 with - they're very nice and respectful, and always defend the PMS girls if some of the other guys in the game start bad-mouthing them (which happens a lot, sadly).

In training, we don't just go into public games and play - we'll do private matches with just the PMS girls (members and recruits) to do specialized training, such as Duck Hunt for sniper training (4 girls snipe while the rest just run around and try to dodge the bullets) or one-on-one knife fights (knifing only) or Micheal Myers (one person can knife only, all others must hide/run but cannot shoot or knife back). Many of these sound like fun practices, but they actually hone in on different skills (Duck Hunt for sniping fast-moving targets, Micheal Myers for learning to use cover and really discovering all those "hidden" places in the maps). We've even done a free-for-all practice where we could only use sniper rifles, but we weren't allowed to camp (meaning we HAD to run around and practice something call "quick zoom"...which is really hard!). Just with these few practice games, my sniping and knifing skills have gotten so much better. I can't wait to practice more tonight!

One hot topic that is going around all the forums (and was even mentioned on the radio station 99.5) is this new website called GameCrush.com. I read this article, and I have a few thoughts of my own...

To all the girl gamers out there: Is any self-respecting girl gamer really going to sign up as a "PlayDate" for this? Or even like the idea? I suppose the keyword here is "self-respecting"...
The article likens the elite PlayDates (known as "JaneCrush") to the FragDolls...please don't. The Frag Dolls have been here for years, have proven their worth and skill time and time again in legitimate tournaments, and work closely with Ubisoft (a formidable player in the gaming industry). Perhaps GameCrush would like these girls of "JaneCrush" to become as famous as the Frag Dolls...but they are not, and will not, be the same.
Guys - if you want to play games with girls, it's a lot easier than you think. Just go to Google and run a search for "Girl Gaming Clans" - there are many out there, all full of women who love to play games and are always willing to play with guys who treat them with respect. Plus, you don't have to pay.
Is this a good business idea? Yeah, sure. But there are some flaws in the business logic (one that stands out the most in my mind is the xbox live portion - so a guy gets a girl's gamertag...and now he has that, forever. He could message her all the time, what's stopping him? I suppose the girl could block a user, but then she's cutting out a potential "client"....just silly, as xbox live is already poorly designed).
"...from what we can tell, most of the girls on the service genuinely like to play games and are simply interested in getting paid for it. " ........I beg to differ. These girls aren't getting paid to play games. They're getting played to be "flirty" and "dirty." Would they still get their 60% cut of the sale if they just video-chatted the entire time and didn't play the game? My guess is yes. Will they earn money if they just play games on the site and don't get guys to pay money to play with them? No. So technically they're not getting paid to play games - it all depends on how appealing they can be to the guys searching the site.
Your thoughts? Comments are always welcome :D

Now, onto something much cooler: I was visiting one of my favorite sites the other day (The Awesomer) when I came across this! In the same vein as the Blind Gamer who beat Zelda, this is a game specifically made for the vision impaired - meaning the entire game is played through sound cues and no visuals. Pretty neat, if you ask me!

I'll be writing more in a few days - too much to do in too little time!

BioShock 2 - Complete

2010-03-12T12:00:00.001-05:00

I was going to write a lot about my end thoughts on BioShock 2, after finishing the Single Player campaign mode last night with my bestest, but D-pads Are Us has done a great job of covering most of what I was going to say. Here are my few additions to his post -

*Caution: May Contain Spoilers*

Ummm..what happened to all the people? Grace? Poole? THE DAD?!?! Did we just leave them down there...for BioShock 3?
The dad who was leaving voice recordings (Matt M-something?) touched my heart, and I would have liked a side-quest where we meet him and help him find his daughter, Cindy....and as a side-note: Don't set up good/interesting characters and then never show them. Grrrr.
I agree with what the link above says: Essentially the first 8-10 hours of the game are almost *exactly* like BioShock 1. It isn't until the last leg of the journey that you begin to do some different stuff, which I did think was VERY cool (if only because it shows how intricate each character type is, and how much effort the game creators put into the back stories of each). But the overall storyline of this game was nowhere near as epic/crazy as the first one - still pretty good though :-)
As more of an inside joke: The most important thing this game lacked = the clown's voice and laugh for the Circus of Value. A close second = the crazy singing splicers.
Big Sisters = pretty freakin' sweet. And scary. Super scary. Stop screaming.
It would have been nice to re-visit some of the original maps from the first game - most notably Andrew Ryan's office, maybe the core of Rapture too...

Overall - a good sequel. I mean...it could have been A LOT worse. But I enjoyed it, for what it was. Perhaps in a few months I'll pick it up again and try it on a harder difficulty...but for now, onto Mass Effect 2/Modern Warfare 2!

Favorite quote from the game (would have been "It's the circus of value! HAHAHAH"):

Love is just a chemical. We chose to give it meaning.

-Eleanor Lamb, Rapture

Rapture

2010-03-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

I wrote a very long blog post last night all about BioShock 2, and the pros and cons of the game...only to click the "Publish Post" button and have the system send me an error message saying something about a "failure to post." I lost the entire thing, and I was too tired/frustrated to re-write it. So, here's a short recap of what I was going to say:

*Caution: May contain spoilers*

I love the BioShock series.

Pros of the game:

Level of detail in not only characters and backstory (the voice acting is very, very good), but also the creation and development of Rapture
Being a Big Daddy
Exploring the new levels
Listening to the audio diaries (I love them!)

Cons of the game:

Very similar story to the first one (New tyrant, splicers work for new tyrant, new tyrant is an enemy of Andrew Ryan..)
Surprising how easily the splicers are able to take down my Big Daddy, even with the suit and big guns (seems like you start with a very small health bar in the game)
Insufficient Funds - I'm roughly halfway through the game, and I'm just now getting enough $$$ to buy ammo and health kits

Creepiest parts of the game:

Walking around in near darkness with a flashlight (the bloody bodies everywhere doesn't help...)
So much water! For those of you who know me, I'm a terrible swimmer, so I'm already a little nervous around water in the real world. However, Duke Nukem totally ruined water in video games for me, so I'm even more paranoid...
Big Sisters, and their god-awful screams

Overall:

The story is not as good as BioShock 1 (although, it's still pretty compelling)
Security Bots are the end-all, be-all (I sometimes set alarms off purely to summon security bots so I can hack them and have my army of 2 :D)
Can't wait for the BioShock Movie! If they actually make it, that is...

In other news, I've only played a tiny bit of Modern Warfare 2 recently, as I've been dedicating my time to fixing my car, spending time with my bestest while playing BioShock 2 (yeah, it's a team effort), and gearing up for joining PMS. Sadly, I missed the Pre-Recruitment meeting last Sunday due to being out of town with my boyfriend and best friend (yay for seeing plays in Philly!), so hopefully I can start the 8+ training hours per week next week. Don't get me wrong - I'm dedicated - but I feel like it's going to take me a little while to get used to this new addition..not to mention re-arranging my schedule....but I'm excited!

The wait is over!

2010-03-05T18:50:00.000-05:00

...and I didn't make it. But that's ok - I know 3 of the ladies who made it pretty well (considering I really only started talking to them on Sunday evening), and I'm SO happy for them! Congrats ladies! Please take TONS of pictures, tell me ALL the stories, and...put in a good word for me? ;-) Also, here's the link so you can see the lucky ladies.

Now that that's over...what will I do? I know! Join the PMS Clan! I've already submitted an application for the North American division of Modern Warfare 2...I'm not sure when I'll hear back or when I'll need to start scheduling in practices (8 hours a week!), but I'm pretty excited to get started. I think I want to try and hit some tournaments/events too, when I get the chance. I'm not even sure where to begin looking for those, but I think I'll get a good idea of what's going on through the PMS/H2O website.

If only PAX East weren't so soon..and so far away. I would like to go, but I hear that all the Saturday passes are sold out...not to mention I have a b-day photoshoot to attend that Sunday (yay J. Vankim photography!). I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for any other neat events happening on the East Coast - and if anyone knows of any, drop me a line!

Off to play some Modern Warfare 2 before my guests arrive for my ever-famous GAME NIGHT! TTFN!

MW2 FTW

2010-03-04T20:19:00.001-05:00

Mmmmm, I like it. It took me a little while to get used to when I started playing, but by the end of the evening I was holding my own on the battlefield in Modern Warfare 2. I like the interface and the way the game looks, although my only pet peeve is the button layout: Click in the right analog stick to melee?? And click and hold the left analog stick to sprint?? I was never a fan of having to click down the analog sticks for anything, but maybe I'll get used to it. Other than that, I'm quite enjoying the game :-)

I downloaded a new app to my android phone (a widget, actually) that periodically updates me on the latest news and events in the video game world. At some point in the morning, it alerted me to this article, which is probably one of the best things I've heard about in a long, long time. I love stories where people come together for a common goal or to help one another. This really brightened my day, in the midst of all the chaos and stress :-D

Frag Doll Cadette update - the Frag Dolls sent out a message through twitter last night stating the following: "To gamers who applied to our Cadette Program: we won't be able to announce new Cadettes until Friday at the earliest. Hang tight!" Well...there you have it.

Another short one for tonight - too much to do!

Starcraft 2 Beta

2010-03-03T13:36:00.001-05:00

Sadly, I don't have the Beta for Starcraft 2, but I've heard some great things about the game from those that have been playing. In fact, a friend of mine sent me this article that lists some of the "broken" aspects, characters, and strategies of the game...most of which probably won't make it into the actual game. I haven't had a chance to watch the videos yet, but they all seem pretty interesting :-)

I'm dying for my copy of Modern Warfare 2 to arrive in the mail. This game was sent out on Feb. 18...and it's still not here. I contacted the seller, and the next day the package tracking system listed my game at a sorting facility in Virginia. So, it's close by, but it's still not here. Maybe today it'll arrive...maybe. I just want to test my skills in this FPS so I can see what my chances are in joining a PMS clan. There are even mandatory practice hours...which is both daunting and exciting. Even if I don't make it into the Frag Doll Cadettes this round, I know that I want to persue a path into competitve gaming.

Ah, it feels good to have goals :-)

[Update...]

I received Modern Warfare 2 today - FINALLY! Although, I also received a "bonus" gift in the same package...

WHAAAA??? Weird freebie, but at least I got my game!

The Waiting Game

2010-03-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

I'm really not trying to get my hopes up for this...but it's nearly all I think about. I'm literally refreshing my email every 5 minutes. I keep going back to the Frag Doll forums and re-reading what people post. Two Frag Dolls were even kind enough to post their "encouragement" of the forums as well, although their posts have made us all more nervous and excited. It would be nice to just know, and have it over and done with - whatever the outcome.

Random side note - I've been craving a good book to read. I'm thinking of re-starting the "Song of Fire and Ice" series, as I stopped halfway through the second book. I'm also getting excited about the HBO show based on the series...looks pretty intense! Although I'll most likely start that book series again, please feel free to leave comments and let me know of some other good books/authors I should look into :D

I guess that's all for now...I'll post an update if anything interesting happens on the Frag Doll front.

Anger Resurgence

2010-03-01T18:03:00.001-05:00

Really, how user-UNfriendly can one system be?

I just received my new Xbox Live Gold membership in the mail today, and am getting ready to delete my current account so I can use the same Gamertag...when I'm on the Xbox Live website and I can't find a "delete account" section anywhere on the site. So, I check the forums. Turns out...there is NO way to delete an account. Um, excuse me? So...you're saying that in order for me to use the same gamertag on a different account, I have to:

Pay MONEY to my current account (the one that I want to delete)
Use that money to change my Gamertag to something else (like...Kimmington123)
Then sign up the REAL Kimmington account (the one that is currently offline but has all my gamer stats) so that I can get the "Kimmington" gamertag
And I can't even delete Kimmington123? EVER???

That's stupid. What a stupid system. Way to be totally awesome, Microsoft. Forget that.

Here's my solution: I'm going to have a private funeral for the Gamertag: Kimmington, which I will never be able to use on Xbox Live because I refuse to pay more money to fix this. IF POSSIBLE, please delete Kimmington from your friends list on Xbox Live. I will send you all a new friend request from whatever new Gamertag I create when I sign up the real "Kimmington" offline account to Xbox Live tonight.

Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Oh, and /hate. Again, delete "Kimmington" from your friends list - that's no longer my Gamertag.

STUPID.

[Update...]\

Oh...it gets worse.

So, I'm setting up my new account (NEW GAMERTAG: Selisona) when I hit an error during the account creation. I attempt to re-create my account about 5 times before I resign myself to the forums. Looks like it's not just me experiencing stupidness from Xbox Live, again. Turns out I have to create a whole new Windows Live email address and account before I can create a new Xbox Live account. Did I mention this is stupid?

So, it's up and running. I'll be friending you all (I saved all your Gamertags/PSN IDs in a word document) with this new gamertag, so please please please delete Kimmington...it'll only clutter up your friends list (unless you want that +1 to popularity).

::sigh:: I hope this is the last of it...

This is the week....

2010-03-01T12:00:00.007-05:00

....when we find out who the lucky 12 new Frag Doll Cadettes are! I've already been checking my phone/email like crazy - but I need to seriously not get my hopes up. It doesn't help that I had a great time chatting with some of the other Frag Doll Cadette applicants last night over a Skype-conference call - These ladies are incredible, sweet, and gamer-ific! It was so nice to be able to chat about all things girl and gaming related :-)

I'm seriously considering trying out for one of the PMS clans. Of the few girls that I've met so far, this seems like the perfect place for me to cultivate my skill in FPS's and make some great friends. I'm a little worried that I won't be "good enough" to join, but there's no hurt in trying huh? Plus, I keep surprising myself in the games I'm playing, so perhaps I'm better than I think ;-)

A friend of mine sent me this link about the PlayStation Network being down - I have totally missed this, considering my recent obsession/fight with Xbox Live. But sad times - I hope they're able to fix it soon so we all can get back to the important thing in life: gaming. And if you can, please avoid logging into the PlayStation Network - looks like just logging in will mess with your console and shut it down :-(

My boo just sent me this link, which I found hilarious. Not video game related, but still fun (for all you table-top RPGers out there). Oh, and alternative text FTW. Also, Duck Pin Bowling = super weird.

And finally, here is a link to the latest Frag Doll commercial - now playing on G4TV. Maybe someday, I'll at least get to meet these fantastic women :-D That's all for now!

Anger toward Xbox Live

2010-02-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

I just received an email from Xbox Live Support regarding my problem with attempting to merge or switch an Xbox Live subscription from one profile to another. This is the exact email I received:

"Hello Kimberly,

This is Kody, with Microsoft XBOX Support services.

As I understand, you are very concerned to know if it is possible to merge two Xbox Live and or an offline and online accounts and transfer or credit points and achievements to the other.

Unfortunately, we cannot merge two Xbox Live and or an offline and online accounts or profiles and transfer or credit points to one gamertag to the other.

Thank you so much for your time and inquiry.

If you need to reply to this e-mail, please reply 'with history' (include any previous e-mail) or reference to Service Request Number 1125944892 so we can expedite our service to you.

Thank you for visiting Xbox.com. We hope that we were able to assist you, and that your experience with our customer service was positive - something we constantly strive to improve. If you should have future questions on Xbox products or services, please be sure to revisit our Web site as we are continually adding information to enhance our service.

Best Regards,

Kody

Microsoft XBOX Support Services

http://support.microsoft.com"

Ummm...excuse me? You can't do anything to help me? You can't even give me an alternative? I'm another $40 in the hole because your system has a stupid account-setup process? Great...

So I went ahead and purchased another subscription to Gold...I apologize if you guys get another friend request from me on Live, as I'll be deleting the current "Kimmington" account when I get my new subscription code.

On a happier note - I played on Live last night, and it was great. I'm not nearly as bad as I thought (although I'm certainly no where near as good as I want to be), and I really enjoy the multiplayer aspect of BioShock 2. My copy of Modern Warfare 2 is stuck in Philly somewhere...I fear it may never get to me. In any event, I hope to play more tonight, and even have a guest join me! We'll see how this works out...

I've emerged victorious, but not without some battle wounds...

2010-02-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

I'm chronicling this as it happens, because it's just too ridiculous...

1. I received two packages in the mail today: one containing my new (although used from Amazon) Xbox 360 A/B/G & N Network Wireless Adapter, and the other containing the two xbox headsets I purchased from Overstock.com - Yay! But it turns out that the two headsets arrived in pristine packaging - COMPLETELY DESTROYED! Way to go Overstock, not only did you misroute my package to CA (earlier this week), but now I need to return two broken headsets. Good thing the wireless adapter looked complete...

2. I went over to my Xbox and read the instruction manual that was sent with my wireless adapter. It said, in a few words as possible, to insert the CD, then plug in the adapter and go! "Sweet," I think, "this'll be easy..." My xbox doesn't read the disc at all, and I spend the next 30 minutes looking over the support forums on xbox.com to help me. Little known fact that the instruction manual doesn't say - put the disc in, shut off the machine, then turn it back on and THEN the automatic instructions will start....thanks, instructional manual writers.

3. I set up my wireless adapter without a hitch after that (thankfully), and since it's working so well all of a sudden, I decide to try and have my xbox communicate with my laptop (brand new Asus gaming laptop running Windows 7 and Windows Media Center...why wouldn't this work?). After another half hour of trying to get them to communicate, I give up - my xbox claims it continues to have a connection failure, and my laptop just keeps trying to search for the xbox extender. Whatever.

4. Now, here's the kicker. So I set up the wireless adapter and have it connected properly, and I'm all set to redeem my pre-paid 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscription - peachy, right? For some reason, the xbox has two ways to sign into Xbox Live: the first (and more obvious) way is to select the BIG ICON/BOX that says "Join Xbox Live" - this is what I did. The second (and infinitely better) option is to select your gamer profile on your xbox and select "Sign THIS profile up for Xbox Live" - essentially, I accidentally redeemed my Xbox Live Gold code on an EMPTY profile. So now when I'm signed in, no one can see the 4852 gamer points I've collected over the years, or see the many achievements I've earned, or what games I've played. My profile on Xbox Live literally says "0" and "None" for everything. And I must ask...why does Xbox Live let you do this?! Why wouldn't it only prompt you to sign up on Xbox Live under a specific profile that you've already created? WHY?!

Well, I thought that perhaps if I called xbox live customer support they could help me solve this dilemma. Surely they can revoke my registration for that code and let me re-sign up for the correct profile? Or maybe just transfer all my stats over to the new, empty profile on Xbox Live? Nope - they practically told me I was S.O.L.

I'm pretty upset about the whole thing, but perhaps I shouldn't be. Technically it was my fault for redeeming the code and then creating a profile (I thought it was weird that they were asking me to create an Avatar when I already had one..) instead of selecting the profile I wanted to sign up for Xbox Live. But, like how someone very near and dear to me always says - "Console setups and interfaces, especially xbox, suck."

Gamertags!

2010-02-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

My wireless adapter for the xbox should be arriving either today or tomorrow, which means that I need YOUR gamertags! Please leave comments (or contact me personally) with your tags here, and I'll be sure to add you via the xbox live website before the adapter gets here. I only have 2 friends as of now - and I'd like more! Also, I'd appreciate any Playstation Network IDs as well....and can you add friends to the Wii? I rarely play that system, but I'll add you on there as well!

In addition to this, please leave me comments with any recommendations of games I should get for xbox live playing/training. I have all the Halo games, Modern Warfare 2 should be arriving in the mail today, and I'm already scoping out prices for Left 4 Dead 2...any other big ones I'm missing for sweet, sweet multiplayer action?

Side note - I finished Dragon Age Origins last night...and I'm a little disappointed in the ending I got. Sure, BioWare is known for throwing "curve-balls," but good grief. Also, the very end was pretty predictable. I guess what I'm getting at is if I'm playing a good character and I'm making sure I choose all the "good" options when decision making....I should at least have a chance at a good ending. Oh well, maybe I'll pick it up again within the year and see if I get a different ending. But as of tonight I'll be attempting to finish Uncharted 2, start Mass Effect 2...or perhaps play with some of you guys on Xbox Live! :-)

Video Interview

2010-02-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I was reluctant to post this video, especially after seeing a couple other Cadette application videos...but I figure it won't hurt anything (except perhaps my reputation as being a lean, mean, fighting machine) :-) So, here it is! Seriously, I look super nervous throughout the entire video. But again, thanks to my fantastic editor, the video looks much better than anything I could have put together on my own.

Women posting on the Frag Doll forums are speculating as to how many applications were submitted for this class of Cadettes...I honestly believe that anything below 100 is far too liberal. And, in order to not get my hopes up too high, I'd like to believe that there were perhaps 300 applications sent in....so my chances of getting one of the 12 spots out of 300 + applicants is very small. Oh random selection...I honestly don't know if this is better or worse than being chosen based on the application itself. Also, we're planning to do a Skype-conference type thing with some of the applicants - which I'm really excited for! It'd be great to talk to these girls "face-to-face" in a sense, instead of just talking through the forums.

Ok, aside from all the Frag Doll Cadette craziness - I ordered the final piece to my Xbox Live puzzle: the wireless adapter. I even ended up buying the A/B/G & N network one, which is apparently better and cooler and nicer and all that jazz. I'm very excited to set it all up and start playing online!

As for weekend game playing, I completed a few levels of Halo 3 in the campaign and played a bunch of games of Command & Conquer. I suppose I'll have to start playing against real people soon, and not just hard computers...but, I'll let you know how that goes when I get to that point ;-)

Just a few more weeks...

2010-02-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

Late last night I received my confirmation email from Phoenix of the Frag Dolls, saying they received all the parts of my application, they are complete, and that my name has been entered into the random drawing - YAY! I know I shouldn't get my hopes up....but WOW do I want to be accepted into this program. Dream come true - hell yes.

Fun side note - Barbie's new career is Computer Engineer! I definitely voted for this, and I'm glad it turned out! I like that she looks like she's straight out of the 80's in this link too.

Another fun fact - I'm officially getting Xbox Live! I've decided to suck it up and pay for Live, as well as a Wireless Adapter for my 360. I'm still looking for a cheap one, but I did go ahead and buy two headsets, a year subscription to Xbox Live Gold, and three new games: BioShock 2, Modern Warfare 2, and Mass Effect 2. I'm super excited...now if only I could not break the bank with this wireless adapter... :-) I'll post my Xbox Live name on here as soon as I'm set up and ready to game!

Frag Doll Cadette Application...DONE!

2010-02-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

As of 11:46 pm on February 16, 2010 - my Frag Doll Cadette application is complete and submitted! YAY! Now if only I could actually make it into the program... :-)

Overall, I'm pleased with my application. I wasn't too thrilled about my video interview at first, since I don't particularly like watching myself talk on tape, but my editor did an amazing job in putting it all together - THANK YOU! And more than anything, I'm happy that the application is in, if only a few days before the deadline. I'll be posting the video after the deadline - probably sometime this weekend (and you can totally tell how nervous I am in it!).

On a side note - a good friend of mine sent me this link, which I found extremely interesting. I really like this woman, and I think she's doing great work. Not only is she attempting to help bridge video games from being just a fun "pastime" into something that can help people in the real world, but she also seems to have a real keen grasp of how video games affect people psychologically - a topic that is near and dear to my heart. And so, if you have the time, please watch the short clip about her - she's fascinating!

That's all for now - I'm tired and work will start only too soon for me. Good night!

[Edit update: in reference to the link and Jane McGonigal...]

So...I re-watched the short clip of Jane McGonigal speaking on the cnn.com page - when a few of her phrases stuck out to me:

"Video Games are teaching people how to stick with problems longer." & "People who are more accustomed to failing in the game world are less 'put-off' by failures in the real world...they are more likely to stick with tough problems until they find a satisfactory solution." - Now, I'm not sure if she made this up from personal experience or in speaking with industry associates and friends...but this makes perfect sense in my mind. If there is no research backing a statement like this...then I'd like to put my name in the drawing to conduct it! How fascinating would that be? If true, how great would that be?? I really like this idea, and I plan on looking into this statement further.
Interaction through online gaming leads to an increase in social stamina, and therefore gamers are more likely to talk to someone face to face. - Now, I don't necessarily agree with this statement...I can believe that yes, gamers will easily talk with anyone online, since there is little to no accountability in some cases, thus making it easier to talk and speak your mind. However...face to face? If anyone has any insight to share on this fact, please feel free to comment.
Classifying difficult situations in life to "sub-boss" and "boss" battles. - Guilty. I've easily done this more than a dozen times. I agree that it makes things seem more interesting and has helped me get through some trying times. I also like to think that I "gain experience" when I engage in different activities, like working out, studying, completing work assignments...anyone else?

Katsucon 16

2010-02-16T17:00:00.003-05:00

I've been staffing Katsucon for the entire weekend, and I've finally found enough time (and free wi-fi) to post an update. Let me just say...it has been ridiculous. We've had a drug bust, some very drunk Navy personnel (from the Navy formal going on in the same building), some very drunk adults who were claiming someone tried to sell them pills, a lot of "pick-up" lines and "hit-on's", a sh*t-ton of coats, a few GP patrons....and most importantly, a very special visit from my very special Valentine :-D

I'll update this post later with pictures from the con...but I've had a tough time getting pictures since I've been working almost 24/7. But, the attendees seem to be having a good time, and I suppose that's important. But man....there are some crazy, crazy people here.

[Update: Pictures from Katsucon...]

(The Gaylord Resort & Convention Center - where Katsucon was held) - Photo taken by K. Wick

(Looking at the Lobby of the Gaylord - beautiful!) - Photo taken by K. Wick

(Ninja Power Ranger...chillin) - Photo taken by K. Wick

(Con-attendees waiting in line for the Formal Dance)

(More attendees waiting for the Formal to begin)

(Gir?)

(Fallout 3, anyone?)

(I don't know anime well enough to know where these two are from...)

(Same with this one - neat outfits, no idea where they're from)

(Storm Troopers!)

(Valentine's Day attendees)

(More attendees)

(From the left: Ken, Me, Christine, Matt - all behind the Volunteers booth) - Photo taken by K. Wick

I apologize for some of the photos - the ones in the middle were taken by me as I was behind the Volunteers booth. Also - check out K. Wick's blog HERE! He's a very good friend of mine, and very into video games :D

My only thought coming away from this Con is - "I just wanna dance. Forget anime tonight guys, I just wanna dance."

New York, New York

2010-02-16T17:00:00.002-05:00

Hello all!

So...how about this snow on the East Cost, huh? Thankfully, I spent the last four days in New York where not a single snowflake touched the city. Although this post doesn't particularly talk about games or gaming, I would like to recap my experiences in the Big Apple, as some of it is nerdy, and dorky, and downright awesome.

Left work early on Friday and spent the entire afternoon driving to NYC, where we stashed my car in a parking lot, checked into the Hotel (DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel on 51st and Lexington), and spent the rest of the evening looking around Grand Central Station and Times Square. [Nerd alert #1] - Spent ALL Saturday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Why, you ask? They have an entire wing dedicated to "Arms and Armor" - filled with weapons (swords, guns, glaives, halberds, you name it!) and armor. I had been there once before a few years back, and it was just as amazing as I had remembered it.

[Update: Pictures from the Met...]

(Knights!)

(Rapiers!)

(Katana!)

(Armor!)

Now...if you're not from NYC, or you're not used to the travel pattern there, let me inform you - there is a TON of walking. Or subway-ing, if you prefer. So, by the time Sunday came around, I was dead tired. Forget watching the SuperBowl (congrats Saints) - we went out to eat lunch/breakfast (FYI - it is nearly impossible to find breakfast served after 11 am in the city) and then came back for a loooong nap....only in preparation for [Nerd alert #2] - NINJA NEW YORK! This place is amazing - from ninja magic to surprise attacks to great food, the place really had everything a (nerd)girl could ask for :D

[Update: Pictures from NINJA New York...]

(One of the walls in our "Ninja Room")

(The drink and dinner menus...and my drink :D)

(My first course - Ceaser Salad in Ninja bowl)

(My second course - Shrimp Tempura, Ninja style)

(My third course - Chicken Terriyaki - delicious!)

Monday was a packed day of walking around to all sorts of places in NYC - first with lunch in Grand Central Station, then onto Crumbs, a bakery that sells giant, delicious cupcakes (yummmmm). Afterwards, we traveled to the [Nerd alert #3] - Nintendo store in Rockefeller Center. What a neat place with all sorts of Nintendo games, gamers, and Nintendo history - they even had a Game Boy that was damaged in the Gulf War...that still works! Impressive :D After a quick stop for some lunch, we headed back Uptown to visit the famed "Serendipity 3" restaurant - home of the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate AND the $1,000.00 Golden Opulence Sundae...

[Update: Pictures from the Nintendo Store and Serendipity...]

(The Nintendo World storefront)

(More of the storefront)

(Chandelier in Serendipity)

(Menu cover with the story of the founding of Serendipity)

(Frozen Hot Chocolate)

(The two of us :D)

After checking this place out, we headed to our final destination...[Nerd alert #4] - the Utada Hikaru "In The Flesh" concert!!!!!!! Aside from waiting for two hours in line in the freezing cold of New York, and then finally getting into the venue and through coat check only to be forced to the back of a huge crowd of people (where someone tiny like me can't see a thing), the concert was fantastic. I didn't get to see Utada Hikaru as much as I would have liked, but her music was great and the crowd was totally digging it. I've waited for years to see her in person - Yay Utada!!!

[Update: Pictures from the Utada Hikaru concert...]

(The Fillmore)

(Me, waiting in line excitedly)

Now I am back at home, finishing up some work, and will then proceed to play Dragon Age in the hopes of finishing it tonight. In the back of my mind I realize that BioShock 2 was released today, and it's taking all my ninja-mental-training not to run out and get it now.

As soon as I get my SD card back for my camera, I'll post pictures of my trip on Facebook and perhaps here. If you're interested in seeing NINJA-AWESOMENESS, check back here for picture updates ;-) [PICTURES UPLOADED!!!]

Words cannot express my love for this game {series}

2010-02-03T17:00:00.015-05:00

Hotness!!! - That link sealed the deal - not that I wasn't going to get the game anyway, but now I may have to pick up my copy the day it comes out.

I love BioShock - I followed the game for a year before it came out. It intrigued me so much, I read every article I could in all the gaming magazines and online sites, and it looks like I may have to catch up on reading about this sequel :-) But wow, that launch trailer totally had me hooked. I like the concept of the Little Sisters and the moral choice you have to make with them...I love the Big Daddy's, and how totally creepy it is to hear their footsteps when you play...and now the Big Sisters (I think that's what they're calling that last baddie in the trailer) - how totally neat. I'm super excited to go back to Rapture, and I hope you all are too!

So many games, so little time...

2010-02-02T21:54:00.001-05:00

At this point, I'm rushing through Dragon Age - I have so little time to get personal things done after work, and my list of games grows a little longer each day... and so I must hurry. I dislike this, since I really enjoy playing the game. I love to explore everything, visit every place, see what every item does, and talk to every person available. But I suppose this is mostly in RPG's, as I act like a speed-demon in FPS's. Perhaps I'm also feeling confined because I've never had such a rigid work schedule before. Sure, college classes were set in stone and I kept myself busy while there, and my past occupation at GP was (and still is...kinda) a 24/7 job, but nothing has been quite as taxing as this. I love it, but oh, what I wouldn't give for a "winter" or "summer" break.

Fidget, one of the Frag Dolls, posted on the Frag Doll site today about her views on the trash-talking she's encountered during her online gaming sessions. This meshes almost perfectly with my honors theory, and has had me thinking about re-starting my research all day. I'm hesitant to go into more detail about it yet, since I really want to have the survey complete and online before I try to explain it. On the surface, however, my theory deals with a potential reason as to why there aren't more women playing games online* - this reason being the negative behaviors that women experience from men during online game play...one of which being trash-talking. It's nice (and sad) to know that other women have experienced these things as well.

What types of behaviors do you all experience in multiplayer games?

* Yes, I know there are lots of women that play video games now. But there is still a number gap, and this is just a theory.

Fight! For your Right! To wear whatever armor you want...

2010-01-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've been playing Dragon Age A TON recently - partly because I love it, and partly because I have an ever-growing list of games that I need to play as soon as this one is finished. I appreciate the fact that BioWare put so much effort into this game, especially since Mass Effect 2 just came out (so soon after Dragon Age was released) and we all know how everybody looooooves that game :-) Not like they'd put out a less-than-awesome title anyway. However, there are certain things about the xbox 360 version that really bug me...

The first issue can be summed up in one word: menus. Menus, menus, menus. And not very user-friendly menus at that. There are consistency problems with the buttons - mainly what the right and left bumper/triggers do for what menu screen. Plus, the radial menu is a killer if you don't know what something is labeled under...not to mention the fact that you have to hold down the left trigger to keep the menu up. Don't game developers understand that holding down a button means exerting continual effort? Sheesh ;-)

My main issue, however, has nothing to do with the game mechanics or with Dragon Age at all. Just like every other fantasy game, Dragon Age follows the "rule" that dissuades magic-using characters from wearing heavy armor. My big question is: why? Why can't my cleric wear plate mail? Why can't my heavy damage dealing mage wear studded leather? I can understand the concept: claiming that it's too easy to let any character wear or use whatever items they'd like, or trying to add new dynamics to the game by making the player think before equipping. I can understand the imagery behind it - the battle-weary mage casting a spell as his robes sway and billow in the wind...trust me, I'm a sucker for that just like everyone else. However, my practical side screams "this is wrong!" I mean, if I were the leader of an adventuring group, I'd do my best to make sure that everyone went out and returned with minimal damage - and that means wearing serious armor.

This "rule" has been around for...a long, long time. It's probably not about to change soon either. Which is fine, except that when I decide to change it for my adventuring party or my game - let me. I'm not about to let my healer, the one person who can make or break my team, run out into battle wearing a snuggie (although that image does crack me up). And the argument of how "cloth armor has better stats for mages" can't hold true either - they're called enchantments :-D

Any who agree or disagree?

Frag Doll Cadette applications are out!

2010-01-20T23:49:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

I apologize for the delay - it's been quite an exciting time for me! I've started a new job, welcomed a new puppy into my family, and have spent some very-much-needed time with those who are dear to me. And for even more exciting news - The Frag Dolls are accepting Cadette applications!!! I'm not excited at all :-D

According to the Frag Doll website [here], submissions need to include the following:

A resume - complete with work and school experience
A 2 page history of your background in gaming, what consoles you play on, and favorite games
A 3 minute video interview answering these questions: Favorite thing about playing video games, What would make you a great Cadette, and Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Honestly, this was not the application I had envisioned for this program. I was expecting a much lengthier application in which you were required to submit headshots, essays about gaming and women in the gaming world, and your gaming statistics. The actual application seems much more general - not that I'm complaining, but it's certainly not what I had expected.

In any event, even if I create a ridiculously awesome application, the chances of me actually getting into the Cadettes is slim to none. After taking a near-extensive read of the forums, it looks like there are many, many, many young women who send in submissions...and only 12 are chosen. AT RANDOM, no less. But it can't hurt to keep a positive attitude, right? ::sigh::

If I were lucky enough to be chosen for the Spring 2010 Class of Frag Doll Cadettes, then I'd have a very interesting choice to make. I can only guess at what is involved in being a Cadette, and I'm not even sure if it's a paid "internship." I'm guessing that I would need to relocate for the full 6 month duration of being a Cadette as well. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem - however, I now work full-time at a fantastic company in the area. Essentially, I've already started my career path - so, would I give it all up for a chance to get in to the gaming community?

Side note - I played Starcraft and Unreal Tournament at a LAN party this past Saturday. Although I did alright in Starcraft, I did much better in UT - which made me feel awesome. I take pride in my gaming ability, and to put my skills to the test after such a long time was quite nice :-) After all is said and done, the experience has left me craving more headshots and multikills than I would have thought. I truly enjoy that game, and I can't wait to find some time to play/practice/train more.

Well, I'll sign off for now - it's late and I've got work in the morning. But expect to see more posts from me here - I feel motivated and invigorated! Sweet gaming dreams to you all!

Training Day 8

2009-10-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

It's been roughly a week since I've started my training for the Fragdolls, and I can say confidently that it is going well. I just purchased a headset for the PS3 today, mainly as motivation for me to get online and play with real people. I'm super nervous about doing that since I have my honors theory (which I may describe in a later post - or if you know me in person I may have explained it to you) but I also know that I'm nowhere near as good a player as those who play online. Still, it's really the only way to get better...I can only destroy bots for so long. ;-D

I played a little R6V2, UT3, and Halo 3 today. I'm definitely getting better at R6V2 - or at least I'm consciously using my AI team mates (very tactical of me). To be honest, I'm quite impressed with the game. The storyline is weak, but it's fun to hide behind cover and take my time completing levels. I continue to surprise myself in UT3, too. It makes me happy to know that I've retained some of the instinctive skills I learned as a kid. I know that UT3 is often looked upon as a "cheap" game, where one can get "lucky" with one-shot kills, or at least just shooting in the general area of your opponent...but it's certainly not meant to be a realistic game. Fun, fast, and gory - which is fine with me, since sometimes R6V2 is a little too realistic for me.

Oh, Halo...what a love/hate relationship I have with thee. You would think that if you're decent at one FPS, you'd be decent at all the others... NOT the case. It seems that I'm stuck in Halo - no matter how much I shoot at my opponent, he doesn't die! And unlike in most FPSs that I play, I actually aim at the head. It is a much slower game too...I mean, the deaths/respawns are fast and the game is smoother (in comparison with UT3), but you can only run so fast with all that armor on. Well...I'm sure Halo will grow on my as I play more.

Overall, it was a good training day. :-D

Training Day 5

2009-10-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

My "training" for the Fragdolls officially began on Monday, October 19, when I purchased used copies of Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (R6V2) for the PS3. I hear that R6V2 is currently in popular demand, which will make it much easier to find players online (or at least find an assortment of skill levels). I had to get Unreal Tournament, if only because I was such a fan of it growing up. That, and Quake 2...but that's for a later post.

Initially I gravatated toward UT3 first, since I'm more familiar with that style of first person shooter. It felt good to get back into the "jump around and shoot people as fast as you can" scenarios. You can imagine the shock I had when I switched over to play R6V2. My player style (at this point in time) is what I like to call "run-n-gun." As my best friend can attest, I'm always the player to run into a fight guns blazing, die, respawn, rinse and repeat (I blame all the Doom/Duke Nukem/Quake playing in elementary/middle school). R6V2 is very difficult for me, as I imagine any tactical shooter would be. I have to hide behind cover? I have team mates? I have to help them when they get shot? Yet my initial response to this game has worn off, and now I find myself playing R6V2 far more than UT3.

Slowly but surely, I'm getting more comfortable with R6V2. I'm playing through the story mode (currently at the convention center - Act 4 Scene 1 I believe), and the little girl in me gets excited every time I "unlock" something. I wonder if girls like this aspect more than boys in video games? In any event, I feel that this game is a short play...perhaps the true catch is the multiplayer function. After I complete the story mode, I may work up the courage to try an online game....maybe.

Games: Unreal Tournament 3, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2
System: PlayStation 3
Tag: Kimmington

Test Introduction

2009-10-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

Hello world,

Welcome to my blog! Here I will keep you updated on all things gamer-girl related. I will be using this not only as a tool to communicate my thoughts, ideas, and experiences, but also as a way to keep myself motivated in the gaming world. There are so many things I'd like to do...

My overall goal is to somehow get into the video game industry - either through research on women and video games, becoming a spokesperson for a development company, or writing game reviews. Currently, my most recent goal is to become a fragdoll. If you don't know who the Fragdolls are, check out this link here. For the next few weeks, my posts will include the games I'm playing (complete with gamertags), how I'm doing, what tips and tricks I've learned, and how I'll be applying to become a Fragdoll.

Please feel free to leave comments, and I will do my best to make this a fun and enlightening experience for both you (the reader) and me.