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Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. editor@thestranger.com (The Stranger Editor) webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 25 May 2013 15:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/microsoft-resets-xbox-to-one http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/microsoft-resets-xbox-to-one Paul Constant <p>If you'd like to read about the press event Microsoft held today to unveil their new Xbox, the Xbox One, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4352404/microsoft-xbox-one-everything-you-need-to-know">you should visit The Verge</a>. There are all kinds of tech improvements over the last console, including audio commands, a Blu-ray player, a Kinect sensor, vibrating controllers, Skype, a <em>Halo</em> TV series, live TV, and exclusive games.</p> <p>If you'd like to read a good piece about what the Xbox One (and the disappointing Wii U and whatever Playstation is working on) might mean, news intern <strong>Ansel Herz </strong>directed my attention to <a href="http://kotaku.com/these-new-console-launches-are-bumming-me-out-508991275">Luke Plunkett's explanation</a> of why these new video game consoles are "bumming" him "out."</p> <blockquote><p>...I've got an overbearing sense of melancholy. Maybe even ennui. Not at the machines themselves; the PS4 seems supremely capable, and I've no doubt the next Xbox will be similar. No, I'm sad about the fact that this <strong>feels like the last gasp</strong>. A final hurrah.</p> <p>The <strong>end of console gaming </strong>as we know it.</p> <p>Maybe I can't see gaming's forest for the trees. Maybe I'm just bleak. But I can't see another round of console launches after this. OK, perhaps Nintendo can squeeze one more in, if only out of necessity, but the prospect of Sony and/or Microsoft having the will - or the money - to make a PS5 or Xbox 1080 in 5-8 years seems remote.</p></blockquote> <p>I am not a gamer&#8212;I can be a gamer or I can be books editor at <em>The Stranger</em>; I cannot do both&#8212;but this feels true to me. The idea of a single device to serve a single function feels like something out of the last century, and as much as these devices may try to make themselves into multi-purpose entertainment center devices, I think the idea of a gaming console is not long for this world.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/microsoft-resets-xbox-to-one#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16834142&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/microsoft-resets-xbox-to-one?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16834142&id=comments 18 Tue, 21 May 2013 13:33:38 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/15/aaahh-break-out http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/15/aaahh-break-out The Stranger Testing Department <p>Did you know today is the <del>25th</del>35th anniversary of Atari's classic <em>Breakout</em>? <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=atari+breakout&tbm=isch">Google does</a>!</p> <p>Follow the link or type "Atari Breakout" into Google Image Search to play.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/b18a/1368647129-breakout.png" alt="This is you?" title="This is you?" width="500" height="273" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is you?</li></ul></div></p> <p><small>Thanks to Slog tipper Greg!</small></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/15/aaahh-break-out#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16772339&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/15/aaahh-break-out?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16772339&id=comments 14 Aaahh Break Out! This is you? Wed, 15 May 2013 12:46:58 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/candy-land-the-rpg http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/candy-land-the-rpg The Stranger Testing Department <p>There are too many retro games to count, but only a few of them are fun on their own terms. This may result from the rapid evolution of gaming&#8212;any particular slice of nostalgia is only going to light up a few brains which were wrapped up in games during the month or year in question. ASCII games may have lasted longer than other tech, but they only touched a few of us who were <strong>so needy for dopamine</strong> that we chose to identify with @ symbols as they barreled through typographic mazes, questing for Amulets of Yondor and such. <em><a href="http://candies.aniwey.net">Candy Box</a></em> takes ASCII graphics and, er, <em>story</em>, wraps it in some interesting mechanics and extremely silly candy themes, and offers something way more fun than it ought to be.</p> <p>Part of the joy of the game is learning how to play&#8212;the dev should be making top dollar consulting with other devs on camouflaging tutorials&#8212;so we won't say much more than that your playful messing around will be rewarded. The game is more food-obsessed than <em>Pac-Man</em>, <em>Burger Time</em>, and <em>Cooking Mama</em> put together, and it is weird and challenging enough to keep us coming back.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/d148/1367876372-candy_box.png" alt="This is you. On the left. The dragon is not you." title="This is you. On the left. The dragon is not you." width="500" height="312" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is you. On the left. The dragon is not you.</li></ul></div></p> <p>Oh! Wait! <strong>This is important!</strong> Saving is messed-up, weird, and easy to forget. You've got to click a tiny button marked "Save" at the top of the main tab, and then either bookmark the link it gives you or note the five-character tag so you can retrieve your save later. You could also just leave your browser running indefinitely, of course. We failed to save several times early on, and the riddles of the swamp frog were only entertaining the first time through.</p> <p><small>Please note: <em>Candy Box</em> is, as far as we can tell, in no way associated with <em>Candy Land</em>.</small></p> <p><small>Thanks to Slog zoom-tipper Christine!</small></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/candy-land-the-rpg#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16687985&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/candy-land-the-rpg?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16687985&id=comments 5 <em>Candy Land</em>: The RPG This is you. On the left. The dragon is not you. Tue, 07 May 2013 09:27:35 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/26/slog-nerd-happy-tonight http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/26/slog-nerd-happy-tonight The Stranger Testing Department <p>The <a href="http://www.gammaraygamestore.com/tag/raygun-lounge/">Raygun Lounge</a> opens at 5pm, and Slog Nerd Happy commences shortly thereafter. Come on down to 501 E Pine and play <em>Legend of the Cipher</em>, <em>Thirteenth Age</em>, or whatever your heart desires (some desires may not be available at this time, offer not valid in Delaware). Have a beer! <strong>Try an extra-tasty samosa!</strong> Mingle with your fellow nerd stars! It is impossible to regret any decisions made at Slog Nerd Happy. Just ask this fellow:</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/18-xvIjH8T4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/26/slog-nerd-happy-tonight#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16598926&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/26/slog-nerd-happy-tonight?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16598926&id=comments 13 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:47:09 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/25/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tomorrow http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/25/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tomorrow The Stranger Testing Department <p>The last Friday of the month is upon us again! It's time for our board-and-card-game Nerdy Slog Happy Hour, from after work until 9 or 10 <a href="http://www.gammaraygamestore.com/events/">at Gamma Ray</a>. Thankfully, the cripplingly bright daylight should abate by then, so you won't have to feel bad about gaming indoors (or, for some of you, risk any penalties to Dex and to-hit).</p> <p>If you've never had the opportunity to sling battle raps&#8212;or if you just want to witness <strong>the spectacle that is "Table-top Hip Hop"</strong>&#8212;we've got special guest <a href="http://www.meetup.com/SundayCypher/members/78795132/">Gerald King</a>, one of the developers behind <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LegendOfTheCipher">Legend of the Cipher</a>. What's that look like? We're as curious as you&#8212;but you can find some clues here as Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins throws down a shanty rhyme at the Enforcer after-party at PAX East, about halfway through <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbviDVBx1os">this video</a>: </p> <p><iframe width="500" height="282" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LbviDVBx1os" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p>We'll also bring along the as-yet-unreleased ruleset for D&D variant <i>13th Age</i>, which just got <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/965236/i-think-im-in-love">much love</a> on BoardGameGeek. Check it out between games, or if you're as nerdy as us and just like to roll up characters, we'll be there for you.</p> <p>What else do you guys want to play? If you want to bring a game, or want somebody else to bring something and teach, speak up in the comments.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/25/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tomorrow#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16584609&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/25/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tomorrow?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16584609&id=comments 17 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:07:57 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/19/in-the-game-of-patriarchy-women-are-not-the-opposing-team-they-are-the-ball http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/19/in-the-game-of-patriarchy-women-are-not-the-opposing-team-they-are-the-ball Cienna Madrid <p>Remember Anita Sarkeesian, the woman behind the pop culture blog <a href="http://www.feministfrequency.com/">Feminist Frequency</a> who launched a successful $160,000 Kickstarter campaign last year to research and report on misogyny in video game culture, much to the <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/07/09/man-disagrees-with-womans-kickstarter-campaign-creates-game-about-punching-her-in-the-face">howling rage of an internet's worth of misogynist gamers</a>?</p> <p>Sarkeesian's first part of the series was released last month and even if you're not a gamer, the way she tackles her topic&#8212;Damsels in Distress&#8212;is both approachable and fascinating. Sarkeesian methodically hits upon everything from etymology to Greek mythology to mustachio'd villains and railroad-strapped damsels, to Popeye and King Kong, eventually illustrating how women became popular objects to be stolen and rescued and stolen again in generations of modern video games with demeaning tags like, <em>Willst thou get the girl... or play like one?</em></p> <p>"The damsel in distress is not just a <strong>synonym for weak</strong>," she explains. "Instead, it works by ripping away the power from female characters... distilled down to its essence, the plot device works by <strong>trading the disempowerment of female character for the power of male characters</strong>."</p> <p>If you've already seen this video, congrats! You won the internet! If you haven't, it's well worth your time.<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X6p5AZp7r_Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/19/in-the-game-of-patriarchy-women-are-not-the-opposing-team-they-are-the-ball#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535882&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> The Ladies Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/19/in-the-game-of-patriarchy-women-are-not-the-opposing-team-they-are-the-ball?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16535882&id=comments 64 Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:32:59 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/05/nimble-quest-and-auralux-so-good http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/05/nimble-quest-and-auralux-so-good The Stranger Testing Department <p>Sadly, we've only got one review copy of <i>BioShock Infinite</i>&#8212;so that means one of us has had to slum it in mobile while waiting for the chance to revel in (and/or grump over) one of the apparently <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/all/pc?view=condensed&sort=desc">best games evar</a>. (And where has the time gone? We're already in the midst of the <i>BI</i> <a href="http://gameological.com/2013/03/review-bioshock-infinite/">back</a><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/04/bioshock_infinite_review_ken_levine_s_game_raises_fascinating_philosophical.html">lash</a>!)</p> <p>Fortunately, in the meantime, we've had a couple of crazy good mobile games to suck on like a pair of aluminum-foil pipes:</p> <p><ul><li><strong>Nimble Quest</strong>, on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nimble-quest/id583638819?mt=8">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nimblebit.nimblequest">Android</a>. People are still making snake games? Maybe the last time you saw one was on your Nokia in 1998, but yes: yes, they are, and you'll be forgiven for underestimating this little fantasy game, right up until its dopamine-fueled tentacles have finished <strong>scraping out your entire subcortex like a relentlessly cute kraken</strong>. Your "snake" is a party of adventurers, which you unlock and add to one by one&#8212;a paladin here, a wizard there, each with its own upgradeable abilities&#8212;as you wind through short and increasingly difficult levels filled with spiders, skeletons, knights, and what-have-you. No doubt inspired by the recent vogue of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roguelike">roguelikes</a>, each game of Nimble Quest kills you for good, starting you back at the beginning&#8212;but, importantly, with all of your expanded abilities, upgrades, and party size intact (which makes the getting through the early levels more of an enjoyable sprint than a trial). Like all respectable humans, we will never spend money on a freemium game (or at least never admit to it), but Nimble Quest perfectly surfs that whorl of multiple currencies, grinding, and self-respect, with a tight, satisfying design that reveals itself in pieces. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/18b2/1365197529-nimble.jpg" alt="You know this will be LARPed at PAX." title="You know this will be LARPed at PAX." width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">You know this will be LARPed at PAX.</li></ul></div></p> <p><li><strong>Auralux</strong>, on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/auralux/id604580669?mt=8">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wardrumstudios.auralux">Android</a>. Wow, this is the sweet spot of casual design and hard-core gameplay. Despite being enjoyable even for a real-time strategy noob, Auralux is probably the most "pure" RTS game you'll ever play: You have a base. It makes units. Those units can take over other bases to make more units. There is only one kind of unit, and the only thing you can do is tell that unit to move. Which is the game designer's way of telling you, <strong>"If you lose, it's your fault."</strong> And all of this happens against a trancey, slo-mo backdrop, with semi-deranged space-calliope sounds that track to the action. Like Nimble Quest, Auralux also gets its pricing right: the game is free, and you pay (not much) to unlock new maps when you want more challenges. We may be getting to the point where if you have <strong>a million monkeys working on a million app provisioning platforms</strong>, you eventually get some smart, non-obnoxious, sustainable pricing schemes. </ul></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/d84f/1365198038-auralux.jpg" alt="This is a lot more exciting than it looks." title="This is a lot more exciting than it looks." width="500" height="333" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is a lot more exciting than it looks.</li></ul></div></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/05/nimble-quest-and-auralux-so-good#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16429760&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/05/nimble-quest-and-auralux-so-good?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16429760&id=comments 7 Nimble Quest and Auralux = So Good You know this will be LARPed at PAX. Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:40:22 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/29/tonight-its-slog-nerd-happy-time-again http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/29/tonight-its-slog-nerd-happy-time-again Mary Traverse <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/7656/1364586008-img_5556.jpg" alt="IMG_5556.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">mr. herriman </li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div>Join us tonight from 5-10 pm at <a href="http://www.gammaraygamestore.com/events/">Raygun Lounge</a> for our monthly evening of board games and beers! </p> <p>It is also <a href="http://tabletopday.com/">Tabletop Eve</a>, the night before 3/30/13, which celebrity nerds Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day have announced will be International Tabletop Day*. Saturday is full of board game events, so check in with your favorite local game store to see what they've got on offer.</p> <p><em>* Check out <a href="http://tabletop.geekandsundry.com/">Tabletop</a>, the web series hosted by Wil Wheaton. I cannot recommend it enough, it's turned me on to several games and it's fun to watch!</em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/29/tonight-its-slog-nerd-happy-time-again#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16373465&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/29/tonight-its-slog-nerd-happy-time-again?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16373465&id=comments 6 TONIGHT! It's Slog Nerd Happy Time Again! mr. herriman Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:44:47 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/26/slog-nerd-happy-this-friday-at-raygun-lounge http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/26/slog-nerd-happy-this-friday-at-raygun-lounge The Stranger Testing Department <p>Another month has passed and we are that much closer to death, or summer, or whichever temporal milestone you like best. Celebrate nerd-style with booze and analog games this Friday from 5-10pm at <a href="http://www.gammaraygamestore.com/events/">Raygun Lounge</a> for the next Slog Nerd Happy. We're sharing space-time with a Yelp Geek event, so you can expect <strong>2d8 wandering nerds</strong> in attendance. Some of them, no doubt, will drop fat loot, but let's try to parley before taking our surprise round. Some of us have Chaotic Good reputations to maintain.</p> <p>It is also <a href="http://tabletopday.com/">Tabletop Eve</a>, the night before 3/30/13, which celebrity nerds Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day have announced will be International Tabletop Day*. Saturday is full of board game events, so check in with your favorite local game store to see what they've got on offer. Or get down to <a href="http://www.norwescon.org/">Norwescon</a> and party old-school. Whatever you do, roll some dice.</p> <p><small>* <a href="http://tabletop.geekandsundry.com/">Check out their nifty web series!</a></small></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/26/slog-nerd-happy-this-friday-at-raygun-lounge#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16344967&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/26/slog-nerd-happy-this-friday-at-raygun-lounge?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16344967&id=comments 3 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:12:09 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/12/father-of-the-year-puts-plumber-in-peril http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/12/father-of-the-year-puts-plumber-in-peril Paul Constant <p>In case you missed this story over the weekend like I did, here's <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/10/4086458/father-hacks-donkey-kong-for-daughter-swaps-mario-pauline">your morning dose of awesome parenting</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>When Mike Mika saw the disappointment on his daughter's face when she realized Pauline wasn't a playable character in Donkey Kong, he felt a call to action. Thankfully Mika happens to be a competent developer, and after a few late-night hours spent hacking the NES version of Nintendo's classic, he accomplished the role reversal his daughter had wished for. Mario was now under Donkey Kong's control, and<strong> Pauline was tasked with rescuing the plumber in distress</strong>.</p></blockquote> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="500" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JeXDNg7scyU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><small>(<strong>WARNING</strong>: As is usually the case, if you want to continue feeling good about humanity, you shouldn't read the comments on The Verge post, as it has been hijacked by <strong>dipshit "men's rights" morons </strong>making dumbass false equivalency comments about replacing Lara Croft with Larry Croft for the sake of fairness and so on.)</small></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/12/father-of-the-year-puts-plumber-in-peril#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16223044&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> The Ladies Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/12/father-of-the-year-puts-plumber-in-peril?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16223044&id=comments 34 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:41:03 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/06/humble-bundle-5-is-out http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/06/humble-bundle-5-is-out The Stranger Testing Department <p>We're big fans of the pay-what-you-want <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/">Humble Bundle</a> game packages, and the latest release is a winner. The four games included are <em>Beat Hazard Ultra</em>, a sweet space shooter that uses your music tracks to generate enemies; <em>Dynamite Jack</em>, an adventure romp that mixes stealth with a-splosions; <em>NightSky HD</em>, a neat platformer by the folks behind the legendary <em>Cave Story</em>; and <em>Solar 2</em>, a space trip that's reminiscent of <em>Osmos</em>. They're available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, and even good old Android.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/a59f/1362605181-2013-03-06_13.25.03.png" alt="This could be you." title="This could be you." width="500" height="313" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This could be you.</li></ul></div></p> <p>You determine both what you pay and who gets the money, splitting it between the developers, the <a href="https://www.eff.org/">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a> and <a href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org/">Child's Play</a> charities, and the Humble folks themselves. If you give more than the average buyer (currently $6.64), you get two bonus games: the subterranean tower defense game <em>Dungeon Defenders</em> (<em>DD: Second Wave</em> for Android) and the maddening twitch-fest <em>Super Hexagon</em>. Soundtracks and Steam codes are part of the package, too.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/06/humble-bundle-5-is-out#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16179776&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/06/humble-bundle-5-is-out?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16179776&id=comments 2 Humble Bundle 5 Is Out! This could be you. Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:43:15 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/the-con-within-a-con-gaming-at-eccc http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/the-con-within-a-con-gaming-at-eccc The Stranger Testing Department <p>Take note, gentle gamers: once again, Emerald City Comicon has a <a href="http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/gaming-overview/">whole nested world of gaming</a> within it&#8212;with the return of personalities like <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/15/110815fa_fact_bissell">Jennifer Hale</a> (the storied voice of FemShep) and Felicia Day (i.e., Felicia Day) and gaming-flavored events like "How to Become as Fit as Your Avatar" and "The Critical Hit Show: A Live Dungeons and Dragons Comedy Experience."</p> <p>Scheduled programming aside, there's a veritable mini-PAX of casual and organized play, too&#8212;just across Pike and down in the basement, open until midnight both Friday and Saturday. You can play not one, not two, but three kinds of D&D (<a href="http://www.pelgranepress.com/?cat=248">13th Age</a>, <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dndnext.aspx">D&D Next</a>, and <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinder">Pathfinder</a>), all available in not-too-long, novice-friendly demo form. <a href="http://www.storygamesseattle.com">Story Games Seattle</a> is also running and teaching games, like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXJxQ0NbFtk">Fiasco</a> and <a href="http://www.lamemage.com">Microscope</a> (whose creator was even there today), and <a href="http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/">Munchkin</a> has a couple tables going, too. </p> <p>If you're just ducking out of the show floor for a bit, the Game Library is back, where you can borrow a game to play with friends&#8212;everything from Bananagrams to RoboRally, Cosmic Encounter, and the crazy Order of the Stick game (which we've never found a way to play in under 13 hours, so okay maybe that's not a good option this weekend). Serious players no doubt already know that there's a whole slew of HeroClix and Magic <a href="http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/tournaments/">tournaments</a> going on, too.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/the-con-within-a-con-gaming-at-eccc#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16143522&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/the-con-within-a-con-gaming-at-eccc?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16143522&id=comments 6 Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:38:39 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/nerd-party-at-raygun-tonight http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/nerd-party-at-raygun-tonight Mary Traverse <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:212px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/01e9/1362162693-543886_567309903279311_1065886118_n.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/01e9/1362162693-543886_567309903279311_1065886118_n.jpg" alt="543886_567309903279311_1065886118_n.jpg" title="" width="200" height="74" /></a></div>If you're looking for something to do after Comicon tonight you might want to head to <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a>: <strong>NW Gay Geeks</strong> and <strong>GeekGirlCon</strong> present <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/430881723655506/permalink/439416866135325/">Excelsior</a>! at 8 pm:</p> <blockquote><p>Expect some epic Geekiness<br />-Game Demos<br />-Beer/Booze<br />-Free mead<br />-Tunes by DJ PBear<br />-Raffling some great prizes as a fundraiser benefiting Lambert House for homeless gay youth<br />-More details coming soon</p> <p>We will also have some special guests including:<br />Tony Akins (Wonder Woman DC 52 artist) <br />Chris Lange (capitol hillbillies)<br />More TBA</p></blockquote> <p>Sounds like a blast!</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/nerd-party-at-raygun-tonight#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16139520&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> The Ladies Games Nerd LGBTQITSLFA http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/01/nerd-party-at-raygun-tonight?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16139520&id=comments 1 Nerd Party at Raygun TONIGHT Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:33:57 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/slog-nerd-happy-hour-tonight http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/slog-nerd-happy-hour-tonight The Stranger Testing Department <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:252px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/d5cf/1361555937-1355256141-img_3715.jpg" alt="1355256141-img_3715.jpg" title="" width="240" height="320" /><ul><li class="imageCredit">MR. HERRIMAN</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div>Like <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/19/slog-nerd-happy-hour-the-third">Mary said</a>, the last Friday of the month is here again&#8212;and that means beer-and-board/card-game goodness with y'all Slog nerds at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a>, starting at 5pm and on into the night. (Originally, we had said 5 to 9, but we have yet to end that early because <strong>GAMES</strong>.)</p> <p>We have also somehow snagged yet another special guest this time around: Devin Low (former head developer for Magic) will be teaching his Marvel deck-building game <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMQDdodQFKs">Legendary</a>. We've played the heck out of this game, and it's faithful to the IP while also being really fun (much better than the DC deck-builder, in our experience)&#8212;whether you're trying to tune your deck into a <strong>fast-playing Spider-Man card-flipper</strong> or a <strong>wound-chomping Hulk rage machine</strong>.</p> <p>And as if all that weren't enough, Mary will even have some FaerieCon tickets to give away&#8212;presumably through some sort of contest involving displays of elven grace.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/slog-nerd-happy-hour-tonight#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16074832&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/slog-nerd-happy-hour-tonight?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16074832&id=comments 4 Slog Nerd Happy Hour TONIGHT Mr. Herriman Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:34:55 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/19/slog-nerd-happy-hour-the-third http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/19/slog-nerd-happy-hour-the-third Mary Traverse <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:212px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/e30e/1361313107-img_4715.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/e30e/1361313107-img_4715.jpg" alt="IMG_4715.jpg" title="" width="200" height="150" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">Mr. Herriman</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div>Once again it's time for Slog's monthly game night, <strong>this Friday at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a>, beginning at 5 pm</strong>.</p> <p>For those who are unfamiliar: on the last Friday of every month the nerds of Slog take over Raygun Lounge.<strong> Games are played, beer is drunk, fun times are had. </strong>Sometimes we have special guests! </p> <p>Bring a game to share, or borrow from Raygun's collection! See you Friday!</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/19/slog-nerd-happy-hour-the-third#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16045028&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/19/slog-nerd-happy-hour-the-third?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16045028&id=comments 12 Slog Nerd Happy Hour the Third! top & bottom: mr. herriman/middle: mpt Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:33:21 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-destiny-preview http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-destiny-preview Paul Constant <p>I don't play console video games or MMORPGs&#8212;I simply don't have the time, what with all the books and movies&#8212;but the look of Bungie's new project, <em>Destiny</em>, <strong>has me drooling</strong>. Take a look at this promotional trailer:</p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EwOUi4JDC4o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/17/3993058/destiny-bungie-first-look-preview">The Polygon says</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Players will explore our solar system in Bungie's new first-person shooter, crafting personal stories as they travel <em>Destiny</em>'s surreal, fantastic places.</p> <p>As Guardians, players will battle alien species with exotic names like Sandeaters, War Rhinos and Spider Pirates. They'll wage war with <strong>time-traveling robots and evil space zombies</strong>. They'll have shared, social experiences that complement a crafted, mythic science-fiction universe.</p></blockquote> <p>The production art looks gorgeous, and I love the fact that this is a completely new science-fiction universe that seems to embrace any number of sci-fi concepts and feeds them into one huge storyline. If the actual game is anywhere near the pre-release hype, this looks like the kind of game that could <strong>completely ruin my life</strong>. But what do you think?</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-destiny-preview#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16036970&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-destiny-preview?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16036970&id=comments 25 Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:05:04 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/15/slog-poll-who-gets-the-free-passes-to-the-art-of-video-games-tonight http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/15/slog-poll-who-gets-the-free-passes-to-the-art-of-video-games-tonight The Stranger Testing Department <p><strong>Sakes alive. </strong>So we <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night">posted yesterday</a> about the great new traveling Smithsonian exhibit at EMP, "The Art of Video Games," and we offered up two free tickets to tonight's <a href="http://www.empmuseum.org/calendar/events/game-nite.aspx">Game Nite</a> opening party for "the best story about having an emotional response to a video game."</p> <p>You guys really brought it, and now we can't decide. <strong>Time for a legally binding Slog poll!</strong> Go <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night">read the finalists' stories</a> and cast your vote by 4pm.... </p> <p>And whether you win or not, the <a href="http://www.empmuseum.org/calendar/events/game-nite.aspx">Game Nite</a> party at EMP should be much fun tonight, from 7 to 11, with live gaming on the Skychurch mega-screen and some cool talks, including a keynote from Jeff Strain, one of the godfathers of WoW.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/15/slog-poll-who-gets-the-free-passes-to-the-art-of-video-games-tonight#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16017086&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/15/slog-poll-who-gets-the-free-passes-to-the-art-of-video-games-tonight?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16017086&id=comments 15 Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:01:44 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night The Stranger Testing Department <p>The Smithsonian's <em><a href="http://www.empmuseum.org/at-the-museum/upcoming-exhibits/the-art-of-video-games.aspx">The Art of Video Games</a></em> opens this Friday at EMP, and it's a visually striking first stab at figuring out where video games fit into the spectrum of creative work. There's a lot packed into a smallish space, including five playable games (<em>The Secret of Monkey Island</em>!), stills and clips from the 80 games on display, and a mesmerizing look at the faces of people immersed in games we call "What the Video Game Saw."</p> <p>It's not possible to discuss this exhibit without taking a deep breath and mentioning the epic yes-it-is/no-it-isn't trolling that has passed itself off as argument on the subject over the past few years. <strong>To accept the legitimacy of this empty debate is an admission of defeat</strong>, and we won't dignify it with more than an acknowledgement of its existence.*</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/5c8d/1360808343-taovg_17.jpg" alt="This is you. You are art!" title="This is you. You are art!" width="500" height="375" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is you. You are art!</li></ul></div></p> <p>The selection criteria were eccentric, and involved&#8212;not kidding&#8212;online voting, but it's hard to argue with the inclusion of any individual title or series in the exhibit. It's sweet to see some of the old gear on display; the ColecoVision controllers instantly Prousted us back to our childhoods. The notable absence of games for smartphones and other mobile devices speaks more to the development cycle of museum exhibits than anything else, most likely. The top-level taxonomy of game types (action, adventure, target, and tactics) posed by curator Chris Melissinos is a good starting point and could launch a few dozen masters' theses.</p> <p>The EMP is hosting Game Nite this Friday from 7-11pm to celebrate <em>The Art of Video Games</em>, and it sounds like good fun. They'll have live tournament-style gaming broadcast on the Sky Church's alarmingly massive screen, a suite of indie game projects from DigiPen designers, speakers from Valve, Microsoft, and UW, and plenty more. Tickets are $15 for adults or $5 for kids aged 5-12. (Members get in free.) We've got two free passes to give away to the commenter who tells the best story about having an emotional response to a video game. To win, you MUST post your comment by midnight tonight and email std@thestranger.com with your Slog commenter name, so we know how to contact you.</p> <p><small>* Though we would like to point out one commonality between video games and art: <strong>They both attract staggering numbers of hustlers and grifters.</strong></small></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16005971&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/14/the-art-of-video-games-at-emp-free-tickets-to-opening-night?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16005971&id=comments 10 <em>The Art of Video Games</em> at EMP: Free Tickets to Opening Night! This is you. You are art! Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:04:17 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/ftl-and-the-psychology-of-pricing http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/ftl-and-the-psychology-of-pricing The Stranger Testing Department <p><em><a href="http://www.ftlgame.com/">FTL</a></em> is a sweet little indie game that rode industry buzz to blow past its Kickstarter goal about a year ago, then launched last fall. It's sort of a dungeon crawl in space, with bright, clean graphics and a <em>Choose Your Own Adventure</em>-style interface that draws players in quickly. Ship-to-ship combat is a good chunk of the game, but that involves shuttling crew members to repair damage or focus efforts on shields or whatnot, rather than aiming, firing, evading, and other twitchy business. It's fun, it's easy to learn, it's hard to win, and it's compelling enough to play through many, many times.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/6a2d/1360569434-2013-02-10_00001.jpg" alt="This is you." title="This is you." width="500" height="281" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is you.</li></ul></div></p> <p>It's also ten bucks. That stakes out some interesting psychological territory in the space of game prices in between classic one-or-two-buck apps like <em>Angry Birds</em> and $60 box game events like <em>Halo 4</em>, and it provokes a weird discomfort in the mind of the game consumer. It's certainly not the only game in its price range&#8212;there are plenty of $10-20 games on Steam, Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network&#8212;but it still seems to transcend the spectrum of established game pricing.</p> <p>That's a good thing! It ties the price of <em>FTL</em> more directly to its value than to simply what everyone else charges. We may not often think "Do I want to exchange ten dollars in exchange for several hours of challenging fun?" very often, but it's a worthwhile effort now and then. When we see the same old price for apps, box games, and DLC (not to mention books, movies, porn, and music), we tend to pull the trigger without thinking. More diverse pricing may lead to more discerning purchases, and maybe to a Utopia filled with unique little experiences like <em>FTL</em>.</p> <p><br /><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/ftl-and-the-psychology-of-pricing#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15980027&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/11/ftl-and-the-psychology-of-pricing?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15980027&id=comments 10 <em>FTL</em> and the Psychology of Pricing This is you. Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:00:29 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/the-drunken-left-hand-of-medical-science http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/the-drunken-left-hand-of-medical-science Paul Constant <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1nbNe51UUyM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>I'm a couple days late to <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/BossaStudios/surgeon-simulator-2013">Surgeon Simulator 2013</a>, but I think maybe this is the video game that <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/are-you-excited-about-duncan-joness-warcraft-movie">Duncan Jones should adapt</a> into a movie, not <em>Warcraft</em>. This is the <strong>most fun I've had playing a video game</strong> in forever.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/the-drunken-left-hand-of-medical-science#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15895054&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/the-drunken-left-hand-of-medical-science?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15895054&id=comments 6 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:30:47 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/are-you-excited-about-duncan-joness-warcraft-movie http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/are-you-excited-about-duncan-joness-warcraft-movie Paul Constant <p>There has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_video_games">never been a good movie based on a video game</a>. Think about that for a second. For twenty years, Hollywood has been trying to adapt video games to film; Wikipedia lists 29 adaptations made in that time. They've <strong>never successfully made a good one</strong>. And so I am highly nervous about the news that<a href="http://badassdigest.com/2013/01/30/duncan-jones-to-direct-warcraft-the-movie/"> Duncan Jones is going to make a <em>World of Warcraft</em> movie</a>. Jones's first movie, <em>Moon</em>, was a home run. His second movie, <em>Source Code</em>, was not very good at all, although it was at least ambitious and demonstrated his craftsmanship. But this is going to require a lot of work. I mean, look at Badass Digest's description of Warcraft:</p> <blockquote><p>World of Warcraft is just the latest iteration of the Warcraft universe, which sees a Tolkien-esque fantasy land known as Azeroth divided in a massive, ongoing war between the Alliance and the Horde. The Alliance is a group of all the boring fantasy races - humans, gnomes, dwarves, lame elves - while the Horde is made up of totally awesome races like Orcs, Trolls, Undead, Blood Elves and minotaur-like Tauren*. Over the years the ever-expanding universe has grown to include <strong>multiple planes of existence, outer space, time travel, werewolves, a race of kung-fu pandas and more</strong>. Warcraft offers an embarrassment of fantasy riches; it's like every fantasy concept thrown into a blender. </p></blockquote> <p>Now, I expect that Jones will manage to keep the story fairly simple, since this is the first <em>Warcraft </em>movie. And you can't doubt Jones's dedication to Warcraft&#8212;Badass Digest discovered a previous interview of Jones <a href="http://badassdigest.com/2010/12/24/moons-duncan-jones-thinks-warcraft-could-be-the-great-video-game-movie/">raving about the idea of a Warcraft movie back in 2010</a>. So there's a possibility that this might work out. But Jones is battling against twenty years of tradition, here, and there's a distinct possibility that his third movie could be his first truly bad movie.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/are-you-excited-about-duncan-joness-warcraft-movie#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15893059&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Film Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/are-you-excited-about-duncan-joness-warcraft-movie?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15893059&id=comments 34 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:32:33 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/25/tonight-the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/25/tonight-the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour Mary Traverse <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:212px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/dfa2/1359141549-1355255404-img_3721.jpeg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/dfa2/1359141549-1355255404-img_3721.jpeg" alt="1355255404-img_3721.jpeg" title="" width="200" height="150" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">Mr. Herriman</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div>Don't forget! <strong>Slog's super-fun happy hour and board game extravaganza</strong> returns TONIGHT to <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a>! Festivities are from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. and include <strong>games, special guests, and a give-away</strong>! </p> <p>This month's special guest is Fire Opal Media game producer Jay Schneider, whose work you may know from the original <a href="https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/DuelsOfThePlaneswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/digital/d13/whatis">Duels of the Planeswalkers</a>. Jay is producing the new deck-building game <a href="http://www.shadowruntabletop.com/2013/01/crossfire-bringing-deck-building-to-the-shadowrun-universe/">Shadowrun: Crossfire</a>, and he's going to bring out an early version for a sneak preview and some playtesting.</p> <p>And here's a bonus: Wizards of the Coast provided us with some complimentary copies of last month's featured game, <a href="http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/05/02/wizards-of-the-coast-original-dungeon-game/">Dungeon!</a>, so the first three winners of Shadowrun: Crossfire <strong>will each receive a copy of their very own</strong>! </p> <p><strong>Slog Game Night will return the last Friday of every month, so mark your calendars, nerds. </strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/25/tonight-the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15842899&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/25/tonight-the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15842899&id=comments 16 TONIGHT! The Return of Slog Nerd Happy Hour!! Mr. Herriman Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:20:53 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/23/take-this-game-and-shove-it http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/23/take-this-game-and-shove-it The Stranger Testing Department <p>Like everyone else, I* woke up with a hangover on January 1st. Shortly thereafter, though, a migraine struck from the shadows and crushed my hangover's windpipe, leaving me writhing in the clich&#233;s of agony. It would have been a great time for self-reflection, were I not so devoted to the experience of pure suffering, but in the depths of it all, some part of me that was still capable of reason decided to stop playing <i>Marvel: Avengers Alliance</i>.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/85ab/1358981058-maa.png" alt="This is you (well, me)." title="This is you (well, me)." width="500" height="432" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">This is you (well, me).</li></ul></div></p> <p>It's a Facebook game that launched last March&#172;&#8212;and as far as Facebook games goes, it's pretty good. It won <a href = http://www.g4tv.com/videos/61698/best-of-2012-best-soundtrack-mobile-and-social-games/#video-61702>X-Play's Social Game of the Year</a>, and it's splashy and sometimes well written and fun enough to keep playing for at least a few days or weeks. <strong>But!</strong> After joyously making Hulk smash and Spider-Man sling webs and dashing Magneto's plans for a while, it became a different kind of experience entirely: It turned into a job.</p> <p>Once I learned the ropes and played through the first few missions, recruited my favorite heroes, and figured out the basic economy of the game, fun gave way to need. I needed to keep running through missions to gain experience, I needed to keep heroes engaged to earn in-game currency, I needed to find ways to score the various kinds of points used to buy upgrades, and I needed to keep checking back every few minutes or hours to ensure that I didn't miss out on any opportunity to play or score points. The first time I grudgingly fired it up when I wanted to do something else (because I needed to get Nightcrawler back in action after leveling him up so he could earn experience so I could level him up again), I should have seen what was really going on.</p> <p>The job comes with a carefully crafted compensation package. Employees get a steady stream of dopamine squirts at a pace commensurate with their engagement&#8212;those (like me) who put in long hours get more squirts as they level up, unlock new stuff, and finish new stories more quickly. It's easy to earn bonus squirts, too, though only by busting out a credit card and purchasing in-game currency. At that point the job metaphor turns into a hall of mirrors, so it's probably best to thank it for trying and move on.</p> <p>It's easy to see <em>M:AA</em>&#8212;and most other successful social or mobile games&#8212;as little more than hacks designed to exploit coding errors in our nervous systems, like optical illusions and high-fructose corn syrup. It's just as easy to indulge in reflexively counter-intuitive bravado and assert that these games teach skills like resource management and are thus harmless at worst. It's much harder to admit that we really don&#8217;t know what we're doing or what's being done to us, and that maybe we ought to both play these games attentively, quit while we're ahead, and <strong>calm the fuck down</strong>.</p> <p><small>* "I" means "Rob." Paul has other problems.</small></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/23/take-this-game-and-shove-it#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15817551&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/23/take-this-game-and-shove-it?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15817551&id=comments 8 Take This Game and Shove It This is you (well, me). Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:45:56 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/22/snuh-and-chastity-talk-feminism-in-world-of-warcraft http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/22/snuh-and-chastity-talk-feminism-in-world-of-warcraft Jen Graves <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4541/1358873791-chastity_copy.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4541/1358873791-chastity_copy.jpg" alt="A screen grab." title="A screen grab." width="500" height="246" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">A screen grab.</li></ul></div></p> <p>Hyperallergic has <a href="http://hyperallergic.com/63902/finding-feminism-in-world-of-warcraft/">a story from yesterday</a> about <strong>a researcher smuggling discussions of feminism into WoW</strong>. Videos are at <a href="http://worldofwarcraftexplainsfeminism.com/">World of Warcraft Explains Feminism</a>.</p> <p>Has Slog already discussed gender and Minecraft? <strong>Is there even gender in Minecraft?</strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/22/snuh-and-chastity-talk-feminism-in-world-of-warcraft#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15805672&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Visual Art The Ladies Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/22/snuh-and-chastity-talk-feminism-in-world-of-warcraft?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15805672&id=comments 14 Snuh and Chastity Talk Feminism in World of Warcraft A screen grab. Tue, 22 Jan 2013 08:56:53 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/21/the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour-this-friday http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/21/the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour-this-friday The Stranger Testing Department <p>As has been <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/slog-nerd-happy-hour-photos">well documented</a>, Slog Nerd Happy Hour was much fun last time around&#8212;with people playing everything from Settlers and Dixit to <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/07/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tonight-at-the-raygun-lounge-5p-to-9p">Dungeon!</a> and a <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/46255/campaign-manager-2008">crunchy-looking game that simulated the McCain-Obama campaign</a>.</p> <p>By popular demand, we've hammered out plans to make it A Thing&#8212;the last Friday of every month, starting THIS FRIDAY from 5 to 9, at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a>, through 2026 or however long we can maintain a Slog nerd quorum for playing board and card games. </p> <p>We're also going to keep trying to bring in game design-y guests each month, and we've got a great one for this Friday: Fire Opal Media game producer Jay Schneider, whose work you may know from the original <a href="https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/DuelsOfThePlaneswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/digital/d13/whatis">Duels of the Planeswalkers</a>. Jay is producing the new deck-building game <a href="http://www.shadowruntabletop.com/2013/01/crossfire-bringing-deck-building-to-the-shadowrun-universe/">Shadowrun: Crossfire</a>, and he's going to bring out an early version for a sneak preview and some playtesting. Cyber-elves plus deck-building plus an <a href="http://www.shadowruntabletop.com/2013/01/crossfire-bringing-deck-building-to-the-shadowrun-universe/">absurdly good design team</a>? Yes, please.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/f668/1358744654-shadowrun-5-crossfire-logo.png" alt="SHadowrun is traditionally set in Seattle. You know, FWIW." title="SHadowrun is traditionally set in Seattle. You know, FWIW." width="500" height="153" /><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">Shadowrun is traditionally set in Seattle. You know, FWIW.</li></ul></div></p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/21/the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour-this-friday#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15793239&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/21/the-return-of-slog-nerd-happy-hour-this-friday?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15793239&id=comments 8 The Return of Slog Nerd Happy Hour, This Friday SHadowrun is traditionally set in Seattle. You know, FWIW. Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:23:10 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/17/masterpiece-the-art-auction-game-by-parker-brothers http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/17/masterpiece-the-art-auction-game-by-parker-brothers Jen Graves <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ba4f/1358459782-masterpiece.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ba4f/1358459782-masterpiece.jpg" alt="GOLD IN MY MAILBOX Harlequin sweater! Schoolmarm! Bewigged Goldie Hawn! Ascot! Blurry lumpen proletariat! (The man on the left is wearing a monocle and inspecting a Renoir.)" title="GOLD IN MY MAILBOX Harlequin sweater! Schoolmarm! Bewigged Goldie Hawn! Ascot! Blurry lumpen proletariat! (The man on the left is wearing a monocle and inspecting a Renoir.)" width="500" height="667" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit"></li><li class="imageCaption">GOLD IN MY MAILBOX Harlequin sweater! Schoolmarm! Bewigged Goldie Hawn! Ascot! Blurry lumpen proletariat! (The man on the left is wearing a monocle and inspecting a Renoir.)</li></ul></div></p> <p>This just arrived in my <em>Stranger</em> mailbox, sent to me <strong>out of the blue</strong> by an old colleague and friend from <em>The News Tribune</em> (<em>bless</em> you, Sean R.). I'm recruiting people in the office to play it with me today when Mudede strolls right up and announces he used to play it all the time as a child. He also used to play Monopoly. </p> <p>"<strong>I just played to win</strong>," he announced.</p> <p>Who will win when we play it here? I shall report back. As for me, I've never seen the game before. The description on the box says:</p> <blockquote><p><strong>Your favorite Rembrandt is on the block</strong> and you are bidding for it against a dazzling array of eccentric art speculators. Should you go even higher? What if it's a worthless forgery? You'll find out when you play Masterpiece, an exciting, suspenseful trip into the elite world of the international art auction.</p></blockquote> <p>What other <em>Stranger</em> writers should be in this lineup of <strong>eccentric art speculators</strong>? The game is for 3 to 6 players. So far, it's Mudede, Paul, and me.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/17/masterpiece-the-art-auction-game-by-parker-brothers#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15770601&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Visual Art Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/17/masterpiece-the-art-auction-game-by-parker-brothers?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15770601&id=comments 42 Masterpiece: The Art Auction Game by Parker Brothers GOLD IN MY MAILBOX Harlequin sweater! Schoolmarm! Bewigged Goldie Hawn! Ascot! Blurry lumpen proletariat! (The man on the right is wearing a monocle and inspecting a Renoir.) Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:07:00 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/13/fuck-the-golden-globes http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/13/fuck-the-golden-globes Chicago Fan <p>If you want more celebrity bullshit posts, post 'em. And please note that the two Seahawks posts were by regular actual employees of <em>The Stranger</em>, and one of them was so disdainful as to actually constitute a Golden Globes post.</p> <p>And the Seahawks game was more important: There's a Golden Globes every year. The<a href="http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sea/playoffs.htm"> Seahawks do not make the post-season every year.</a></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/13/fuck-the-golden-globes#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15739253&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Dudes Crime Robots Etiquette CHARITY! Events Guns Cats Animals Comedy 2012 Booze Education Arts Music Homo News ??!! Life History Sports TV Conflict of Interest Nepotism Celeb Hetero Drugs Religion Nightlife Books Film Theater The Ladies Character Study Money Teh Internets Breaking News Games Nerd Fashion Genius Insomnia LGBTQITSLFA Drunk The Weather Dance http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/13/fuck-the-golden-globes?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15739253&id=comments 23 Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:03:16 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/slog-nerd-happy-hour-photos http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/slog-nerd-happy-hour-photos Mary Traverse <p>Game night at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-raygun-lounge/Location?oid=14737041">Raygun Lounge</a> was tons of fun! </p> <p>While we haven't nailed down details, <strong>this event is sure to happen again </strong>(and again) so if you missed out you'll have another chance to come and play. Thanks to <strong>Raygun Lounge</strong> for the space, thanks to <strong>Chris Dupuis</strong> and <strong>Rodney Thompson</strong> from Wizards of the Coast for coming to demo <em>Dungeon!</em> for us, thanks to <strong>everyone who came out</strong> and made the night a success, and thanks to <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Profile?oid=1501762">Mr. Herriman</a> for these photos!</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/fc3b/1355255305-img_3726.jpg" alt="IMG_3726.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/75ad/1355255404-img_3721.jpg" alt="IMG_3721.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:492px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/d446/1355255433-img_3712.jpg" alt="IMG_3712.jpg" title="" width="480" height="640" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:492px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256141-img_3715.jpg" alt="IMG_3715.jpg" title="" width="480" height="640" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256161-img_3724.jpg" alt="IMG_3724.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256183-img_3727.jpg" alt="IMG_3727.jpg" title="" width="500" height="371" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256203-img_3729.jpg" alt="IMG_3729.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256226-img_3730.jpg" alt="IMG_3730.jpg" title="" width="500" height="377" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256246-img_3735.jpg" alt="IMG_3735.jpg" title="" width="500" height="375" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256266-img_3743.jpg" alt="IMG_3743.jpg" title="" width="500" height="361" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:435px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256285-img_3749.jpg" alt="IMG_3749.jpg" title="" width="423" height="640" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:442px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256306-img_3758.jpg" alt="IMG_3758.jpg" title="" width="430" height="640" /></div></p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:492px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2012/12/11/1355256324-img_3760.jpg" alt="IMG_3760.jpg" title="" width="480" height="640" /></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/slog-nerd-happy-hour-photos#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15502456&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Housekeeping Games Nerd http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/slog-nerd-happy-hour-photos?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15502456&id=comments 18 Slog Nerd Happy Hour Photos Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:05:52 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/07/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tonight-at-the-raygun-lounge-5p-to-9p http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/07/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tonight-at-the-raygun-lounge-5p-to-9p The Stranger Testing Department <p>Slog nerds, saddle up: come on out tonight to the <a href="http://www.gammaraygamestore.com/tag/raygun-lounge/">Raygun Lounge</a> for some beer/wine/mead and gaming (board games, card games, minis gaming...? who knows!) with Slog nerds Paul Constant, Mary Traverse, and the two of us&#8212;although Rob is feeling under the weather and doesn't want to accidentally LARP <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic">Pandemic</a>. <strong>(If you get that, your attendance is expected.)</strong></p> <p>Feel free to bring any game you want to play or teach. E.g., Paul Constant has <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/28/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th ">never played</a> either <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world">Small World</a> or that new game everybody is talking about, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/the-settlers-of-catan">Settlers of Catan</a>. So that ignorance of canon needs to be remedied <strong>quickly and discreetly</strong>.</p> <p>And a bonus for tonight: Wizards of the Coast is loaning us Tabletop Games Developer Chris Dupuis, to demo the rerelease of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1339/dungeon">"Dungeon!"</a>&#8212;a quick-playing game for 1 to 8 players that's the <a href="http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/05/02/wizards-of-the-coast-original-dungeon-game/">much-improved evolutionary offspring</a> of a 1975 classic. </p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/79c8/1354910143-dungeon__2.jpg" alt="Dungeon! comes with rules for playing by yourself. As if it were insinuating something." title="" width="500" height="250" /></div></p> <p>Also, FYI, we're sharing the space tonight with the nice folks at QueerGeek! and their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/504528549568326/">Ladies Gaming Night</a> (think of it as QueerGeek!SlogCon!), so anyone looking for a measure of dudelessness should also find some tables to their liking.</p> <p><em><small>The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.</small></em></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/07/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tonight-at-the-raygun-lounge-5p-to-9p#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15475707&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Two-Block Radius Housekeeping Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/07/nerdy-slog-happy-hour-tonight-at-the-raygun-lounge-5p-to-9p?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15475707&id=comments 16 Nerdy Slog Happy Hour TONIGHT, at the Raygun Lounge, 5p to 9p Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:22:49 -0800 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/04/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/04/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th Mary Traverse <p>As Paul <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/11/28/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th">mentioned last week</a>, the Stranger nerds are gathering at <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/chow-bio/Content?oid=15337333">Raygun Lounge</a> this Friday, December 7th, from 5 pm to 9 pm. Paul Constant, Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes of the Stranger Testing Department, and I will be in attendance to play board games and card games with anyone who shows up. </p> <p>Additionally, Wizards of the Coast Tabletop Games Developer <strong>Chris Dupuis</strong> will be there to demo the rerelease of "<a href="http://geek-news.mtv.com/2012/05/02/wizards-of-the-coast-original-dungeon-game/">Dungeon!</a>"</p> <p>And, of course, there will be booze. If you show up right at 5, you can probably squeeze two longish games in, but if you can't show up until later, we'll announce when new games are starting so you can hop right in. No game experience necessary, and hardcore gamers are welcome to come and share their knowledge.</p> <p>We will be sharing the space with another event, Queer Geek's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/504528549568326/">Ladies Gaming Night</a>, so please be respectful of our fellow gamers.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/04/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15445027&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Housekeeping Games http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/04/join-us-for-a-nerdy-slog-happy-hour-at-the-raygun-lounge-on-friday-december-7th?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=15445027&id=comments 7 Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:18:21 -0800 The Stranger