The Scouring of PAX Prime 2012

In case you haven’t heard already, all badges, three-day, single-day, and otherwise, have sold out for PAX 2012. If that wasn’t surreal enough, Gabe wrote this heartfelt apology to the fans who couldn’t go. While it’s nice, I’m not sure that he needed to do that. Same-day sell outs have existed at big-name concerts for years, and for an event like this you need to manage your expectations. As big as PAX is, North America is in dire need of space like Tokyo Big Sight, where the 500,000 strong Comiket is held twice a year. You know those numbers are coming. But then I think, hold on! I’ve been going to conventions since they were nothing more than glorified band camps. How did we go from that to having enough numbers to literally storm Normandy Beach? What exactly happened here? Was it all the superhero movies? The invention of good video game graphics? Failures in institutions like school, religion, and major league sports franchises? All of those things I just mentioned had points in their history when they were only practiced by few and eccentric, just like video games, comics, and their ilk. Perhaps we’re on the verge of another such great expansion, but now we have the privilege of seeing it first hand.

Source: Penny Arcade

Rick Riordan Q & A

Last Thursday, Vancouver retailer Kidsbooks hosted a 45 minute Q & A with Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson Series at the Hellenic Community center in Kitsilano.

Riordan gave a retrospective of the influences (and the hairstyles) that led up to the creation of the hit young adult series, including Lord of the Rings, Norse Myths & Legends, and of course, Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths.

This is a picture of Riordan’s first manuscript for Big Red Tequila, the first novel of his murder mystery series for adults, published long before the Percy Jackson Series. Percy Jackson came about through a couple of factors. Riordan wrote all his books while he was a middle school social studies teacher, and he wanted to write something for his students without quite so many swears. The second factor was that his son, a reluctant reader, was so enamoured with the Greek myths that they had run out of myths to read together. So, Riordan wrote some new ones in the form of Percy Jackson.

 

He also showed off some of the international covers. This is the German cover of The Lightning Thief,  which is the only depiction of the minotaur I’ve seen with actual tighty-whities.

 

The fans were then treated to a sneak preview of The Mark of Athena, the next book in the Heroes of Olympus Series. For the price of admission, everyone also got a signed copy of  The Serpent’s Shadow, the third and final book of the Kane Chronicles series. Even though it was mostly an audience of kids and parents, I highly recommend seeing Rick Riordan speak for anybody who’s interested in writing fiction. He is an incredible speaker, and his journey is an inspiration for anyone who wants to put pen to paper. Seattle and Vancouver were settings in one of Riordan’s books, so it’s likely he will grace us with his presence again.

Relic to Release Company of Heroes 2 In 2013

An article from UK PC gamer has revealed that Vancouver RTS darling Relic Entertainment is hard at work on Company of Heroes 2, which is to be released in 2013. The sequel to the 2006 WWII tactical squad game will focus on the Eastern Front, and will feature vehicles like the T-34S Tank. Let’s all hope THQ can keep their head above water in time for this gem to be released to the public.

Source: G4tv.com.

May the (groan) 4th be with you!

http://youtu.be/LLsXs6x8RyQ

In celebration of Star Wars Day, I thought I would MC Chris demonstrate what twitter turns into every year on this day with a performance of the “Imperial Senate” sketch. May the 4th be with you too!

Microsoft to sell Xbox Bundle for $99 with Xbox Live Service Agreement

Microsoft wil soon be releasing a price drop for its Xbox 360 console, but not in a way you’d expect. Yes, you will be able to get the console and Kinect with 2 games for $99, but that’s only if you agree to sign a two year Xbox live gold membership at $15 a month. The total package will cost $459 over the course of ownership. This kind of financing will be critical as console sales took a dive over the 1st quarter of 2012. Are we headed toward the future depicted in Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, where hapless mall employees dressed in Master Chief armor give consoles away for free in vain hopes of software sales only to have them over-written with a brand of Linux by fresh faced teen freedom fighters? The comments await your response.

Source: Ars Technica

Official Halo Live Action Web Series To Air This Fall

Although the Halo movie may be forever interred in development hell, but a new live action web series is going to be released as part of the lead up to Halo 4 on November 6. The production will feature many of the names attached to the Halo movie project like Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9. Series will consists of 5 fifteen minute episodes released on a weekly basis, and maybe, just maybe it will lead to more live action productions in the Halo Universe.

Source:Reviews on the Run

ReBoot Reunion at Fan Expo Vancouver

Reviews on the Run has posted an interview with the creators and voice actors of the first computer generated tv show, Reboot. The creators talk about the elements that made the TV show so appealing as well as the IT nightmare of getting a show to air using 1990’s technology. The full interview can be seen here.

Source:Reviews on the Run

Barcraft Vancouver to Raise Money for Child’s Play

Barcraft Vancouver will be hosting a fundraising event on June 10th at the G sports Bar and Grill on Granville St. They will be showing a live broadcast of the Major League Gaming finals in Anaheim, which will feature professional tournaments of Starcraft II, League of Legends, King of Fighters, and more. This will be an all ages event, but space is limited! You can buy your tickets at the Eventbrite Site, and you also need to fill out this form to attend. $15 gets you admission, a drink, 2 burger sliders, and fries. You can’t lose! All proceeds go to the Child’s play charity.

Source:Village Gamer.

Battlestar Galactica Online Hits 10M players for its 1 year anniversary

 

Bigpoint Games has prepared a host of freebies for players to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Battlestar Galactica free-to-play MMO game. Players can log in from April 30th to May 6th to collect their items. There will be discounts and coupons for in-game items as well. Battlestar Galactica has garnered over 10 million users since its launch and has been constantly expanding, giving players the ability to play meta-games and pilot capital ships like Basestars and Battlestars.

Source: Massively

Seattle Superheroes Confront May Day Protesters While Rex Velvet Makes the Scene

 

May Day festivities in Seattle yesterday were marred by a group of about 50 protesters who began to smash windows of downtown shops and offices. The protesters were about to make their way to the former courthouse on 5th street, but they were confronted by a team of Seattle’s costumed crusaders, Phoenix Jones, Midnight Jack, and the Caballero. Initially there were some reports that Phoenix Jones had used his pepper spray on the protesters, but after further investigation, these claims proved incorrect by the footage from Jones’ personal camera. This footage was later given to police in hopes of identifying some of the May day vandals.

Success such as this may not be enough to convince some citizens that Phoenix Jones and his ilk are good for Seattle. Local supervillain Rex Velvet has posted a video message on youtube about his mission to put a stop to any costumed shenanigans in his city. Whether he is simply a concerned citizen, or if this is simply a set up for a dastardly form of performance art, only time will tell.

Source:Gawker.com and io9