GamerPrint has produced these absolutely lovely prints from designer Dean Walton as part of what they're calling the Hyrulean Travel series. There are five designs in total, based on the classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and as prints, they'll run you nearly $19 in US currency each. However, they are also available in multiple sizes and if you're really feeling rich, you can spend even more to get them on high-quality canvas stretched over a ready-to-hang frame! You can also save up to 25% if you buy all five together.
I'm a little disappointed that there's no love for Lon Lon Ranch, but that's okay. What they have produced is just beautiful. And they sell a Lon Lon Milk T-shirt! I love when games and art intersect like this!
Last year's BlizzCon was rather "interesting," seeing the video game frolic somewhat tarnished with a vulgar tirade by Nathan Explosion George "Corpsegrinder" Fischer, of "Cannibal Corpse" fame. While an apology was issued by Blizzard President Mike Morhaime, the incident definitely raised eyebrows - and as Wootini recently noted, there are issues that still need to be addressed with respect to the company's relationship with the GLBT community.
This year, rather than the usual array of gaming, cosplaying, and other such merriment, Blizzard has decided to take a different route. From Battle.net:
Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world. Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year's StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory.
We're excited to be showcasing Blizzard eSports on a truly global stage this year. We're also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players' hands as soon as possible. In light of our jam-packed schedule, we've decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.
So there you go: While not wished into the cornfield for all eternity by some omnipotent child/executive, BlizzCon is off for 2012. Hopefully the company's vow of game development will dispel my long-held view that Diablo III is the digital equivalent of Sasquatch - many have seen "images," and heard tall tales of its existence - exponentially increasing the number of excited giggles across the country, but drastically reducing our collective free time.
I've never been terribly hot on "pro gaming," and while every now and again I had been known to get ripped on a bottle of cheap gin and enjoy the color commentary of "Major League Gamers" while hurling juvenile insults at my television (in the Midwest we call that "Tuesday afternoon"), but for the most part, it's simply not my thing. Still, for those who enjoy their frag-fests with a healthy dose of competition, be sure to check the BlizzCon site for future details!
After I finished reading "A Gay History of Gaming" from IGN UK writer Keza MacDonald, I thought to myself, gosh, that's the sort of thing we should be writing here at GayGamer.net. But then I realized that actually, no, because this kind of article on our site would just be preaching to the choir. An article like this has more impact when posted on a mainstream site like IGN or Kotaku. But I'm linking to it so you guys can check it out, too!
Basically, she runs down a brief history of homosexuality in gaming, starting with Nintendo censoring Birdo's true identity and ending with gay marriage in The Sims 3, Fable and Skyrim. We've come a long way, baby!
It is nice that as games have evolved, so too has the representation of equality. Now that we have the technology to allow us to roleplay a videogame character to the point of finessing their facial features, I appreciate being allowed the freedom to also pick the love interest I would like to pursue. If I'm going to be indulging in the fantasy of saving the universe, I'd also like to go after the out-of-my-league hunky squadmate! (Unfortunately, since I played a Fem Shep in the first two Mass Effects, I'm going to need to finish the trilogy with her, so I won't be able to take advantage of the new man-on-man action BioWare added to the third!)
Oh, and while the comments on the WOW article I linked to yesterday might not have been too bad they're downright polite compared to the few I skimmed on this one! (We've still got a long way to go, baby!)
GOG.com announced today that they've added Square Enix to their roster of publishers with the additions of the Eidos classics Deus Ex and Hitman!
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition not only contains the absolutely amazing and influential first-person shooter/RPG hybrid, but also the game soundtrack, an avatar, manual and controls reference and two wallpapers. It'll run you $9.99
Hitman: Codename 47 was the first entry in the series featuring the stealthy assassin. (I liked this one less than Deus Ex because stealth games frequently frustrate me) For $5.99 you'll get the game, four avatars, manual and control reference card and wallpaper.
There's more Square Enix games in the pipeline, but Deus Ex should keep you occupied until then. If you haven't already played it, shame on you. It's brilliant! And I love GOG.com for continuing to bring DRM-free PC gaming to those of us looking for a nostalgia fix (and those who weren't around to enjoy it the first time)!
Over at the WOW Insider, Fox Van Allen has written an interesting article examining Blizzard's LGBT policies in World of Warcraft. Specifically because over on the WOW forums, it was discussed that "transexual" and "homosexual" are censored by Blizzard's mature language filter. The forum thread was locked down, but not before someone from Blizzard chimed in that there are words that aren't profanity that will be removed from the filter in a future patch.
That's all well and good, but the article then goes on to explore Blizzard's sketchy relationship with the LGBT community in general. Being that LGBT guilds are commonplace in MMOs, it kind of boggles my mind that apparently Blizzard tried to restrict them in WOW way back when. How did I not know this? Well, probably because I don't play MMOs or WOW, but still... You'd think that kind of slight would've at least popped onto my radar at some point.
Of course, what's also sad is that while Blizzard apparently had "homosexual" included in their mature language filter, they do not consider "faggot" or "fag" mature language at all. I know those are popular terms with lots of online players (reason #1 why I don't really play competitively online with people I don't already know), but that's no reason to encourage their use in the WOW online community.
If you're not already irritated enough, you can go ahead and click this link to read the full article. (Oh, and it should go without saying that you'll probably want to avoid the comments!) Hopefully if Blizzard gets enough bad press over this, they'll change their policies and make good. And if posting this helps in any small way, I'll feel better for having done my part.
There's a new SingStar update this week, and they are continuing to add more Steps tracks, so I dearly hope that my dream of belting "5, 6, 7, 8" like a pillock is in my very near future! Also, the fact that they've released the songs from the Hi-NRG song pack separately gives me hope that one day they will release the Adele tunes on their own so I don't have to buy those two I don't want! Oh, and apparently, since December, you've been able to buy everything in the SingStore catalog through the PSN Store if you'd rather grab some quick tuneage while you're there without waiting for the game to boot up!
Anyway, on to the important stuff, which is what's new this time:
"Spanish Eyes" by Al Martino
"Sonrisa" by Ana Torroja
"Right Thurr" by Chingy
"Photograph" by Def Leppard
"You Think You're A Man" by Divine
"Heaven" by Emeli Sandé
"High Energy" by Evelyn Thomas
"Who's Leaving Who" by Hazell Dean
"Easy Please Me" by Katy B
"La Lluvia" by María Villalón
"Un año más" and "La fuerza del destino" by Mecano
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" by Samantha Fox
"Toy Boy" by Sinitta
"It's The Way You Make Me Feel" by Steps
Despite being of the atheistic bent, my love of all thing post-apocalyptic is constantly challenged by my love of things - well, apocalyptic. None of this "global warming bringing widespread famine" stuff mind you; I mean the full-bore "Four horseman galloping across a flame-scorched earth, emerging from plumes of sulfur belched from great chasms, while many-headed dragons circle overhead," biblical apocalypse. Thus, we have Darksiders 2.
I haven't had a chance to play the original Darksiders - the most common description I've found is that it is a sort of God of War-influenced hack & slash game, with some bits reminiscent of the Zelda series thrown in - and while it's not quite the "swarms of locusts devouring the Earth" End Times I would hope for (at least judging from the videos I've seen), the subject matter and aesthetic looked potentially interesting.
This time around, you assume the role of Death - specifically, its beefy incarnation. As one might expect, Death prefers his conventional method of conflict resolution over the less popular "hug attack," in the pursuit of his mission. The trailer gives brief overview of the character, his impact on humanity, and his many forms. While I'm a bit wary of story elements in action-heavy games - though it is worth noting that the developers have previously indicated that Darksiders 2 will have more RPG elements than its predecessor - the subject matter is interesting enough that, given the inclination and talent, the folks over at THQ could come up with something to satisfy those of us that crave all things Armageddon.
Have you played the original Darksiders? Do you have any thoughts or predictions about its sequel? Sound off in the comments section below!
video via Joystiq
Classic rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival is adding three more tracks to the Rock Band Music Store this week with the release of "Lodi," "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and "Susie Q." The tracks will be two bucks each, or you can get them bundled in the Creedence Clearwater Revival Pack 02 for $5.49. Only "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" has keyboards, and also the optional Pro Bass and Pro Guitar expansions for $.99.
I'm definitely getting "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and may also spring for "Susie Q," but I'm actually more excited about Harmonix's DLC for their other popular music game, Dance Central 2! Today they released the classic '90s dance track "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C+C Music Factory!
When we last checked in with Gorg, he was planning his brazen onslaught against the people of Earth.
The cities of man would be laid to waste, entire civilizations would be blown into red mist, and the monuments that once came to symbolize humanity's greatest achievements, would forever more serve as so many headstones - a somber memorial to a once-proud race. Gaia: Mother, provider, and if Gorg were to have anything to say about it, our tomb.
Now that the dust has settled, and Gorg's myriad misdeeds have been captured in video game form, the question remains: Is this a lovely romp through the digitized cosmos, or is Unstoppable Gorg the shame of Futuremark Studios's Finnish motherland?
The answer, as well as some fresh screenshots, awaits after the jump!
Hey, guess what! I played something other than Skyrim this week! You'll have to watch to find out what, though. And I muse about which kind of DLC I prefer and why, as well as offer you a recommendation of a book to check out and a movie to avoid! What more could you ask for?
Okay, yes, the games included in the upcoming Capcom Digital Collection are technically dated. But that doesn't mean they're not tons of fun anyway! What I meant by "dated" in the headline is actually that Capcom has announced a release date for the Capcom Digital Collection, and it's March 27, 2012.
The Xbox 360 exclusive will contain eight games that were previously available via Xbox LIVE Arcade, and they are: 1942: Joint Strike, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Final Fight Double Impact, Flock!, Rocketmen: Axis of Evil including Rocketmen: It Came From Uranus expansion, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.
Each game preserves all the features, online functionality and Achievements from the download versions. And if there's more than a few in there you're interested in, it might be worth just splurging on the set because it's only retailing for $39.99, and the games themselves are going to run you about $10 a pop!
Well, after the quiet of last week, I shouldn't have complained, because while this week wasn't what you'd call "action-packed," there was still some major goings-on!
• Dalton on IGN Examines A Gay History Of Gaming: Everyone always forgets about how ".Hack//G.U. Vol. 3" Has a gay marriage ending with Endrance :P Its an amazing game...
• web design Wilmington de on New Trailer For Street Fighter X Tekken: Wow! This can be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Actually...
• Shin Gallon on Visit Beautiful Hyrule: These are really awesome. I know some people that these would have made awesome Christmas gifts for. Maybe this year......
GGP Mailing List
Are you gay and working in the games industry? If you are interested in networking with other folks like you within the industry, try joining the Gay Game-Industry Professionals mailing list.
Click here for all the details!
