Tag: PC Gaming

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, your thoughts on the Grammy nominations, what Carl Froch’s wife was looking for, or Jayson Werth possibly signing with the Red Sox, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Back in Coffee Talk #250, RPadholic SlickyFats asked me, “Do you get invited to events or do you have to actively seek them out and invite yourself?” I wanted to answer that question in a Coffee Talk column to pull back the curtain on the videogame business and for self therapy. When I worked at Happy Puppy, GameSpy, Yahoo!, and G4tv, event invites were pretty much automatic. When I freelanced for high-profile outlets like FHM, GigaOm, Amazon, GamePro, etc., invites were pretty frequent. These days…not so much.

No matter what you’ve done in your career, PR people will forget about you once you stop serving a large audience. Their job is to promote their games to as many people as possible. Once you’re no longer useful to them, they stop calling, they stop returning your phone calls, they stop sending you games, and they stop sending you press releases. That’s just how it works.

Obviously this is a source of frustration for me. I’m trying to build and grow a web site. I need support from PR people. They control the information and coverage opportunities. On one hand, I completely understand where they’re coming from — I’m not as useful to them as I once was. On the other hand, I naively hope that people I’ve known for more than 10 years will help me grow my site. At the very least, I’d like to be invited to events that are miles away from my apartment. To be fair, I suck at self promotion and I hate groveling for stuff; I need to get over this in 2011 for the good of the site.

The good news is that I have several relationships with developers that many of you like. I will try to pull in favors for video interviews and stuff. Recently I was chatting with a pretty famous developer and he asked me what I thought about a recent press release. I told him, “I don’t know. Your flacks took me off the mailing lists. I don’t get your games or press releases anymore.” He was surprised and a little pissed off. He asked me if I wanted him to “fix” that situation. I declined. I’ll try to “fix” that myself next year.

So yeah, I get a fraction of the coverage opportunities I used to get and it kind of sucks. I’m going to try to change that in 2011. Also, I’m making a list and checking it thrice — I will never forget the PR people that still send me games, email me press releases, and invite me to events…nor will I forget the PR people that completely dropped me.

Thanks SlickyFats! This was therapeutic.

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, Verve Roaster’s Guatemala La Maravilla, Taylor Swift dating the Prince of Persia, or Anne Hathaway acting topless, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Although my dad played The Beatles’ Rubber Soul for me hundreds of times, it didn’t “click” with me until I got older. I’ve always loved music, but Rubber Soul changed my perception of what music could be. Is there a game you’ve played that did the same thing for you? Is there a game that changed your perception of what videogames could be?

As for me, there are two that come to mind…and they happen to be in the same series. Similar to music, I’ve always loved games. Final Fantasy VI (FFIII in America) changed my perception of what games could be. Until then, I didn’t realize that games could offer an interactive experience that combined an epic story, outstanding music, and deep gameplay — an experience that rivaled or surpassed what movies and television offered.

As much as I loved FFVI, I didn’t think RPGs could be as popular as action games or sports games. Final Fantasy VII changed all that. The videogame genre I loved the most hit the mainstream! Although I have my problems with FFVII, I appreciate and love what it did for the genre.

Now it’s your turn! What games transformed the way you perceived the medium?

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, SAP being fined $1.3-billion for stealing Oracle software, trying out Coava coffee, or the magic of cranberries, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is a double bonus edition…which means you have to treat it like a double rainbow. I expect you to cry with glee and ask, “What does it mean?” Seriously though, today I want to hear about your Black Friday wishes. Are you looking for games, computer stuff, new televisions, an iPad, or other goodies?!? Will you brave the crazy crowds or surf the Internet for specials (like this lovely Amazon list!)?

After you’ve grabbed your Black Friday loot, kindly post your purchases here. As for me, my Black Friday plans have been killed by a lack of income. Ha! I’d love to grab an iPad when Apple slashes prices on Friday, but I’m way too poor. Instead, I’ll draw on a piece of cardboard and pretend it’s an iPad. Ha!

Now get with your Black Friday wish list (please)!

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, Verve’s Panama Elida Estate Natural, Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations, or Sergio Martinez vicious knockout of Paul Williams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of videogames have a famous name attached to them. Some have athletes (Frank Thomas: Big Hurt Baseball). Others have game designers (American McGee’s Alice). And some have musical groups (The Beatles: Rock Band). Today I want to hear about your favorite “name” games.

As for me…well, it’s a little embarrassing. I should say that it’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, but I’ll admit that it’s Britney’s Dance Beat. It has the same gameplay as the excellent Bust-a-Groove and was released before Britney lost her mind.

Now it’s your turn! Lay your favorite “name” game on me and enjoy these Britney Spears photos.

 

 

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, the RPad.tv merchandise sale, Bud Selig expanding the MLB playoffs, or San Antonio Spurs players hiding their wives from Tony Parker, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I was playing a game of WordFeud for Android against a random player. He/she had two of the three 10-letter tiles and busted out two seven-letter words. I was getting slaughtered…but I kept with it. Through a combination of clever letter placement, dumb luck, and poor choices by my opponent, I ended up winning the game. It was a glorious and I almost sent my opponent a message that said, “Don’t call it a comeback!”

Do you have any stories like that? Have you had any ridiculous gaming comebacks where the odds were completely stacked against you but you managed to pull out a victory? I’d love to hear your stories. Share and be proud!

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, the RPad.tv merchandise sale, the SSD hard drive of your dreams, or getting sick before a launch event (grrrrrr), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Drinking and driving is irresponsible. It’s stupid and dangerous. It can lead to senseless tragedies. With that in mind, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I enjoy drinking and videogame driving. I’ve had some epic Mario Kart sessions with friends and the experience was enhanced by alcohol consumption. Part of it was the social lubrication alcohol often brings, but part of it was the sensation of trying to control something while I wasn’t in control of myself.

Tonight I’ll be attending a launch party for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. The game will be there. I’m sure there will be plenty of alcohol there too. I’m actually looking forward to playing the game with my industry friends…while drunk.

Do any of you guys and gals play driving games while drunk? Or am I alone in this idiocy?