What Are You Playing This Weekend?

A stupid vendor sent me the wrong part, so my broken television is still broken. Thankfully, Insomniac’s Outernauts is here to save my weekend! This Facebook game is like a sci-fi Pokemon. Insomniac + Pokemon gameplay = Bliss. My Google Nexus 7 is still getting lots of play. The excellent Jazz: Trump’s Journey is on sale for 99 cents (sale ends today!) and the Nexus 7’s Tegra 3 processor handles it with aplomb. If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s a platformer loosely based on the life of Louis Armstrong — you know, that part of his life spent running, jumping, collecting things, and stopping time with his trumpet. Between Outernauts and Jazz, I’ll be a happy gamer this weekend.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Support GaymerCon 2013 Through Kickstarter

Set to take place from August 3-4, 2013 in San Francisco is GaymerCon. The show is open to gamers of all genders, races, and sexual identities, but will obviously focus on the LGBT videogame community. To help make the event the best it can be, the organizers have put together a Kickstarter pitch. Check out an excerpt from the pitch and the (funny) video below.

We are creating a convention where all types of geeks can come together, meet others like them, and have a blast without having to worry about what their peers think of them or being discriminated against.. We will have exhibitor space, cosplay, guest speakers, live music, panel discussions on topics that are directly relevant to our interests, gaming industry professionals who support including queer content in their products, social events, and of course…GAMING!

We want to be clear this isn’t just for gay white dudes either. We want all genders, races, and sexual identities including our straight friends and allies to come together and have a gay, geeky good time. We believe very strongly that creating a space like this is not only important for building a strong community, but also showing new generations of gaymers that there are others like them out there, they are not alone, and there is a welcoming place for them, not just at GaymerCon, but as part of the larger gaming community.

GaymerCon 2013 will take place whether the organizers make their Kickstarter goal or not. I love that this show is happening and will make a pledge in the near future. I hope some of you do too. If you’ve ever played games online then you know that there are many homophobic and bigoted gamers out there. It’s awesome that gay gamers will have an expo that aims to be a “more tolerant and safer space in gaming”.

Baron Davis Starts Mobile Game Studio

NBA player Baron Davis has started a company called 5 Balloons Interactive. The company’s first game, Getting Buckets, is available for iOS. It’s a Temple Run-style game that has you literally collecting buckets. The twist is that it stars basketball players Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, and Candace Parker.

As for 5 Balloons Interactive, the company site says that it, “was created in 2012 to offer celebrity talent meaningful opportunities to extend their brands into the digital space through engaging and entertaining gaming applications.” The initial focus will be on mobile games.

Athletes forming videogame companies isn’t a new thing. Baseball player Curt Schilling started 38 Studios, which was off to a promising start before it hit numerous financial problems. Perhaps jumping into the big-money and ultra-competitive world of console games wasn’t the best idea for 38 Studios. Perhaps Davis is taking the smarter approach by going with mobile games; it’s the hottest segment of gaming at the moment and the costs aren’t as high.

Do you think Baron Davis will be successful with 5 Balloons Interactive? Any of you interested in Getting Buckets?

The Oculus Rift VR Headset Makes a Splash on Kickstarter

The latest Kickstarter gaming project getting buzz is the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. I’m sure that some of you are having flashbacks to ‘Nam the horrendous Virtual Boy right about now, but the Rift is getting support from industry heavy-hitters like id’s John Carmack, Valve’s Gabe Newell, and Epic’s Clifford Bleszinski. Oculus claims that the Rift offers “an incredibly wide field of view, high resolution display, and ultra-low latency head tracking”. Check out the video below for more information on this hot Kickstarter project.

Bleszinski mentioned that Epic is working on Unreal Engine support for the Oculus Rift. Unity CEO David Helgason is also featured in the video, showing support for the project. That’s tremendous. A ton of developers — ranging from small indie teams to dev teams with hundreds of people — create games with Unreal Engine and Unity. Being able to make games with two major engines bodes well for the future of the Rift.

I know that many of you are down on 3D gaming on consoles and PC. How about VR gaming with a headset? Is the Oculus Rift something you’d by and/or support on Kickstarter?

Bethesda and Symbiote Team Up For Toys

Bethesda has announced that Symbiote will be making a line of toys based on The Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Doom, Quake, and Fallout franchises. Skyrim fans will want to pick up the Dragonborn figurine, which will be available later this month. QuakeCon 2012 attendees that ordered the Swag Pack will get the sweet QuakeCon Symbiote figure pictured below.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn figure retails for $9.99 and is available for pre-order on Symbiote’s web site.

I’d love to hear your ideas for Bethesda Symbiote toys. Which Bethesda heroes or baddies would you like to see as a toy? Personally, I’d love to see real-life Bethesda and id people as toys. I would buy John Carmack, Todd Hollenshead, and Todd Howard Symbiote action figures in a heartbeat!

WWE My Favorite Match By Jon Robinson

My pal Jon Robinson has a new book called My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches. Guess what it’s about? If you said, “I bet it’s about WWE Superstars talking about their most memorable wrestling matches,” then you win today! Seriously though, J-Rob is a great guy and a fantastic writer (you’ve probably read his videogame stories on ESPN.com). Please show him so love and pick up his book, which is available in paperback and on Kindle.

World of Warcraft Mega Bloks Available Now

Blizzard has announced that World of Warcraft Mega Bloks toys are available now. I wrote about these sweet toys back in April and have been psyched for their release. For those of you not familiar with Mega Bloks, they’re toys that you assemble, similar to LEGO. Now you can reconstruct and deconstruct the Lich King whenever you feel like it!

A number of WoW Mega Bloks sets are available, including:

  • Deathwing’s Stormwind Assault
  • Colton
  • Ironoak
  • Ragerock
  • Valoren
  • Flying Machine
  • Goblin Trike
  • Swift Wyvern
  • Swift Griffon
  • Barrens Chase
  • Sindragosa and the Lich King
  • Demolisher Attack
  • Goblin Zeppelin Ambush

Any of you planning to pick up some Wow Mega Bloks?

The Dark Knight Returns Trailer

Here’s the trailer for The Dark Knight Returns, an upcoming two-part animated movie based on Frank Miller’s critically acclaimed Batman mini-series. The first part hits on September 25, 2012 (my birthday!) and the second will be released in early 2013. Voice talent include Peter Weller as Batman, Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelley/Robin, and David Selby as Jim Gordon.

Considering that the Batman franchise is riding high off of the release of The Dark Knight Rises, DC’s animated features are generally great, and the movie is based off of one of the most revered Batman tales of all time, this should be a “can’t miss” movie for DC, right? Then again, Miller’s art style is so distinct that some people are bound to dislike an animated interpretation of it. Additionally, a ton is riding on the voice actors delivering top-notch performances of words and scenes that have been playing in comic-book fanboys’ heads since The Dark Knight Returns was released in 1986. Perhaps it’s not a sure thing that this animated film will deliver.

Kindly check out the trailer and let me know what you think. Will The Dark Knight Returns be the next great DC animated movie?

Coffee Talk #506: Have FFIII and OnLive Changed Your Opinion on Ouya?

Kickstarted-funded console-company Ouya recently announced two major partners: OnLive and Square Enix. The former announced that its streaming games service will be available for the upcoming console, while Ouya revealed that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy III will be a system launch title.  Those are two great partners to have. My question for you today is this: Have these collaborations changed your opinion of Ouya?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Microsoft’s shockingly good Outlook.com email service, Michael Phelps’ resemblance to Gheorge Muresan, or season-changing MLB trades made this week, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Kickstarted-funded console-company Ouya recently announced two major partners: OnLive and Square Enix. The former announced that its streaming games service will be available for the upcoming console, while Ouya revealed that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy III will be a system launch title.  Those are two great partners to have. My question for you today is this: Have these collaborations changed your opinion of Ouya?

On the plus side, OnLive brings a large number of games and several top publishers to the mix. Detractors will point to this partnership looking like a desperate and weak reaction to Sony’s recent purchase of Gaikai. Cynics will say that this is a case of a sinking company (OnLive) teaming up with one that will never make it out of the gates (Ouya).

Seeing the glass half-full, Square Enix is a marvelous partner to have. It’s possible that the relationship will lead to several classic games from Square Enix’s extensive library being available on Ouya. Seeing the glass half-empty, Final Fantasy III has been out for iOS since March 2011 and available for Android since June 2012. While the Final Fantasy name is nice to have, it’s not all that impressive that FFIII will be a launch title for an Android-based console arriving in 2013.

What do you make of Ouya’s partnerships with OnLive and Square Enix? Does having an established streaming games service and Final Fantasy III as a launch title change your opinion of Ouya?

Andrew Lloyd Webber Wii Game Coming in September

Coming in September is…an Andrew Lloyd Webber videogame?!? It’s true! Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing & Dance arrives for the Nintendo Wii on September 14, packed with songs from more than a dozen of the composer’s musicals. According to the press release, the game will feature timeless hits such as:

  • “All I Ask of You”
  • “Any Dream Will Do”
  • “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
  • “Memory”
  • “The Phantom of the Opera”
  • “Superstar”

Featured musicals include:

  • Cats
  • Evita
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
  • The Phantom of the Opera
  • Starlight Express
  • Sunset Boulevard

The game will feature separate song and dance modes, as well as a career mode that combines both.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing & Dance is set to be published by Tubby Games and, quite sadly, is only confirmed for a UK release. I’m so jealous of British gamers right now. I love musicals.