Geek and Fandom Events in BC and Washington State
Blizzard has issued a statement that they have come to an agreement with Valve regarding the trademark of DOTA (Defense of the Ancients). Under the new terms, Blizzard may use the name for its non-commercial modifications, and Valve will continue to develop DOTA 2. It’s a relief to see two great companies come together like this. I have a feeling that if this was the movie industry, they would have to fight to the bitter end.
Source: GamePolitics
The press release says that Gamestop “thrilled to be partnering with Valve on this new initiative,” but we all know what’s going on here. Gamestop has made an agreement with Valve to start selling gift vouchers for the Steam PC download service in their stores across North America. The last video store in my town is just about to shutter, and its pretty clear that Gamestop will soon follow suit. They say that they are going to make a transition from software sales to refurbished hardware, but if you ask me, the future of retail is the face-to-face community surrounding their stores. Considering Gamestop’s relationship with the gaming community, it’s clear that the future is not for them.
Source:Forbes
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin will be coming to Town Hall Seattle on July 3rd for an exclusive reading of the next installment of the Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter.
Chuck Palahniuk will also be making his way to Town hall on July 24th. The author of Fight Club and Choke will be promoting Invisible Monsters Remix, a re-release of his Invisible Monsters novel with additional chapters and behind the scenes memoirs mixed in.
Tickets for both George R.R. Martin and Chuck Palahniuk are available through Brown Paper tickets.
Source:Culture Fiend.
Rex Velvet, Seattle’s premier super villain, has released a new video to taunt Phoenix Jones and the rest of the Rain City superheroes. Mr. Velvet appears to be emboldened by the response to his first video, and now has the ability to to take to the streets in many forms of motorized transport. Unencumbered by public transit, where will Rex Velvet strike next?
Source: Topless Robot.
Vancouver is going to see more superheroes and fantastic creatures stalking its streets now that both The Arrow and Beauty and the Beast have been greenlit for series by the CW. Among the casualties of last season are the magical teen drama The Secret Circle and JJ Abrams’ Alcatraz, which dropped in ratings after its premier. Abrams still has plenty of work ahead of him with the second Star Trek movie and a post-apocalyptic series for NBC called Revolution.
Picture this: Your interstellar civilization has been wiped out, you’re 10,000 light years from home, and your being hunted down by a race of passive-agressive cyborg supermodels. You better believe you’ll need some good chocolate to get through this one. These Battlestar Galactica-themed cupcake toppers were made by justJENN using chocolate dipped oreos and edible paper. The cupcakes were later consumed in an epic themed birthday party. All this has happened before, and all of it will happen again. So say we all.
Source: Cupcakes Take The Cake
Vancouver’s Video Game industry has driven many people to drink, but now it can have a watering hole of its very own. Industry Alumni Brian Vidovic, Azlan Mustapha and Julianna Kolakis have poured $250,000 worth of their life savings to forge a solid ingot of a great night out for gamers called the EXP bar. You can play free console games as you drink and eat food that has been optimized to keep your hands grease-free for gaming!
Vancouver needs a place like this. This seems a lot like the Arcade night club I helped set up for CanSec West, and let me tell you, it was the greatest. The networking was easy, everyone was so relaxed, and they had little pulled pork sandwiches on a stick. One the largest complaints I hear about making video games in Vancouver is the lack of camaraderie among professionals. Great things are going to come from the EXP bar. You won’t just get good drinks and appetizers, you might see the next great gaming company march out of their doors.
If you look at their rewards list, even the $10 level gets you a free appetizer. You have NO REASON not to donate to this crowdfund. Buy yourself some dinner and create the future of gaming today!
Source:Indiegogo.
If you head down to the corner of Boundary and Kent road in Vancouver, you should be able to see the looming visage of a medieval castle on Kent Hangar Field for the shooting of The Seventh Son. It’s a fantasy adventure starring Jeff Bridges as the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son who must find someone else with the same unique lineage so they can continue his work fighting evil spirits. Not many details about the film exist beyond the IMDB page, but I hope they don’t play this movie completely straight. I’d love to see The Dude battling evil in medieval times.
Source: YVRshoots
Vancouver Developer PepperDev Studios has 9 days left on its Kickstarter fund to develop Hungry Fins: The Game. It’s a 2-D Survival scrolling game starring a fish named Fins as he navigates randomly generated terrain in search of food, friends, and refuge from evil broccoli. A $5 donation gets you a full copy of the game, but there are also prizes like T-shirts, Soundtracks, and private beta tests for higher level donors. Check out Hungry Fins: The Game today!
Source:Kickstarter
Hey Folks! Do you like Minecraft? Do you like Jelly? Do you Like drinking? Then today is your lucky day! My friend Tarra has started an awesome blog about geeky jelly shots to spice up your next convention room party. This scintillating memorial to all of the dirt blocks we had to destroy to build our 50-story dong castles is a mixture of coffee, kahlua, irish cream liqueur, and pistachio pudding. Try out this recipe and enjoy!
Source: Jigglygeek Jelly Shots.
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