So I’ve been back for just one week, and already there’s about a million things going on.
First off, I’ve been formally invited to participate in a panel discussion this coming April (on the 18th, my birthday!) for an event being held by SIGGRAPH and the IGDA. I’ll pass along more info as it materializes, of course.
Also, shortly before my Washington trip, at the Large Animal Christmas party, I was asked to help become a coordinator for the new online component of the NY IGDA, so I’ve finally joined up and am already working on some possible ideas to help stir up activity.
Meanwhile on the Jersey side of things, I’ve been invited to the next NJ IGDA meeting, which takes place this weekend. I’ll be going with a Nelson, who’s also been invited to show some cell phone related piece of gaming that he’s developed (you might also recall Nelson being the same guy that I’m doing my next game with).
Next week is another game night at the gameLab offices. In addition to beer, pizza, and board games, there’s a new game from the folks at gameLab that everyone is going to get the chance to playtest. Neat!
Also next week, EA is in New York City to show off a bunch of new titles for the PSP. This will be my first chance to handle the unit, so I’m pretty psyched (but not as much as my editor at Nick Mag, who seems about a hundred times more excited!).
I may as well mention that LucasArts was in town on Tuesday with some new Star Wars titles, which was no big surprise. But the real surprise was how totally awesome the new Star Wars Lego game is. I kid you not, it was easily one of the most fun to play Star Wars games that I’ve every played. One obviously needs to remember that the game is intended for little kids, but regardless, the action was fast and fun, the puzzle related elements were very well implemented, and the multiplayer features are hella fun.
Also, it’s just so darn cute! When I was playing as a protocol droid (that’s the same kind of robot that C-3PO is, for you non Star Wars geeks reading) the other player, playing as Liam Neeson, struck me with a lightsaber, taking out an arm and a leg and causing me to hop around. My Nick Mag companions and I also screamed with excitement at once.
As for non-game related activities, I’ve been busy putting the final touches on that book proposal, and thank God it’s almost finally finished. It’s taken much longer than expected, though my overly hectic schedule is the main culprit.
Plus the deadline for my submission for the next True Porn is now exactly one month away! Believe it or not, I’m still going to try and do something, regardless if I make the due date. In that case, I’ll simply have something to sell if I end up going to APE with MK this upcoming April, though I’m still on the fence with attending since it conflicts with this year’s I-CON, which I’m still slated to talk at.
And back to video games, I believe there’s another Gamers Nite Groove going on tonight, but I haven’t received confirmation from Job yet. I might attend, or I might just opt for staying home, since all the games I bought while in Washington has finally arrived (yes!). Then there’s the task of getting caught up in all the game related news I’ve missed out on (which at this point seems so daunting, I’m almost dreading it, as crazy as that sounds). But thus far, I know that…
… Bungie has released the entire Marathon series (which are the precursor to Halo) as freeware…
… Someone has already created a PSP media management tool for OS X (and yes, despite not having a PSP, I’ve already downloaded it)…
… This fake Hiroshi Yamauchi interview that was being passed around like it was real…
… There was another rumor floating around that Halo would appear on the Gizmondo (come on now)…
… G4TechTV has formally announced the end of TechTV (what the forces behind G4 did was so pathetic)…
… Plus they have a new show called “Girls Gone Wired” which I already know is going to just make me very, very angry…
… There’s a Dance Dance Revolution game starring Mario coming out soon.
