PAX 2011 has come and gone, and while those of us who were able to make it had the absolute time of our lives we couldn't leave our less fortunate brethren behind. To make up for their absence I adopted Aurain and Mr Gobbldigook AKA Zombie5 AKA Sam's avatar, both primarily forum-going-folk. The end result is very evident..PARTY.

Gobun got his SWAG on!


Jack Shadow & Hei came to say what's up!


Jesse Cortez AKA Tactix got his sexy on with the two at Pnk!


Ali D was hungry


Hamza gets inappropriate


Changston's in love


Danl & Jess (AKA the forum's hottest couple) showed their love


Juluis (Diverse) and Stella share the fun!


Who dat? CATARACT AKA Nick! With a very special guest...


Maya (BushofGhosts) gives them VIP treatment


Resident Destructoid Omeganaut Glitchy AKA Alissa chillin with the boys


Mr Destructoid says hi!


Overall the boys had a great time and were among friends the entire show! Unfortunately I didn't get any pics on the show floor as I was extremely busy the entire time and always on the move. They were there still, just no pictures.

They had a great time, and everyone was glad to see them.


This is PAX.

Video games as a medium often take their cue from other facets of entertainment. Comic books and movies being the primary source for adaptation, often with less than stellar results.



Games based on movies often suffer from the same pitfalls that movies based on games too, which is a severe case of adaptation distillation. Trying to stretch a two hour experience into at least four times that much, or vice-versa.

While games based on movies suffer from not having enough source material, comic books actually seem to suffer from having too much of it. The new Spider-Man Dimensions game is a good example of this. Reviews have been mostly positive, but go read any comic book forum opinion on it to see fans cry foul that their favorite dimension was left out (the most vocal being the lack of the Zombie Universe)


Although I have to admit...

However a third medium is often overlooked; books. You remember those right? It's like a kindle made out of paper. It's very rare for a game to be based off a book (without said book already having a movie adaptation at least). I find this to be a huge missed opportunity.


Books are so retro

Try to imagine if you will an adventure / role playing game based on Swan Song. With a rotating narrative, you could play the opening scene as the President of the United States, but suddenly are thrust into the shoes of Josh who watches the bombs fly from the gas station!

Imagine digging yourself out of the aftermath, and being switched to the shoes of Roland; seeing the world through the fantasy setting his mind is set in.

Later in the game would see you in Swan's shoes, frantically digging in the dirt trying to just plant some corn.

For those of you who have read the book, try to think about the scene involving the soldier with the shotgun and the crying baby. For those of you who haven't...well, that description alone should intrigue you.

I'm not saying that every game needs to be adapted from another medium. Far from it; the more original ideas we have the better! But that doesn't mean we need to ignore one medium almost entirely.

If anybody out there wants to make a game based on Swan Song or The Dark Tower books, please feel free.


Was this entire article a thinly veiled way to talk about how awesome Swan Song is? Perhaps...

I've been a visitor to Destructoid for about 3 years now. In the beginning most of that was just reading the news and front-page stuff but eventually I found my way into the community (and now you can't get rid of me!)

During that time I had entered almost every single contest that was featured on the front page and won precisely none of those. In the Contest Discussion Thread on the forums, I made an offhand joke about it.

After having no internet for three days after that (construction crews on the road messed something up and caused the internet to go out), I logged into the forums to find I had a new PM from Zodiac Eclipse informing me of a contest I had won.

Confused, I follow her link to the Contest Discussion Thread to find this;



YAY!



NOOOOOOOOOO!

I can't even win a pity contest!

Later I'm asked by Hamza to send him my address, as I had still won! Just not that particular prize. Which is fine, because I don't own a PS3 or a gaming capable PC.

My prize package arrived today.
Note: Some of the pictures are blurry, too much flash, too dark, etc. The only batteries I had were dying so I didn't have time to fool around with perfect shots so sue me.

BEHOLD.


SOAP.

Wait, what? Soap? Really? What are you trying to say Hamza?

Well, let's see what else we have here.


This...Toyota bag thing.


Perfect for holding my Soap on a Rope!


This sticker is awesome because I LOVE CDV Software Entertainment!
Note: I have no idea who that is.


YEAH! There we go. That's more like it. Wario Ware D.I.Y. Papercraft!


Paper Wario is in some excellent company.


This awesome sticker will go somewhere, but I'm not quite sure yet. Perhaps on my bass drum head.


THIS ONE RULES! The patch reads Planet Cracker Starship Ishimura. I REALLY wish somebody didn't steal my copy of Dead Space so I could finish playing it. I might put it on my bomber jacket I've been wearing for a couple of years now.


Dante's Inferno #0? HAMZA, I LOVE COMIC BOOKS! YAY!


MORE COMIC BOOKS! I had never heard of Scorn but it's not that bad, I love the art in it!


This mouse pad is actually super awesome because I didn't have one for my current computer, I've been using it all day!


AWESOME Lost Planet 2 poster! I'm re-arranging my room, and this is gonna go next to my Marvel VS DC poster when it goes up.


Well that about wraps it up...hmm? What's this?



Protection Against Evil? What does that even mean? Tell me that does NOT look like a Condom wrapper...


Oh.


YES.



OH HELL YES!


Bring it.


Thanks Hamza!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have stumbled upon a vast conspiracy the likes of which you've never seen.

Who is the All American Hero with both an unnaturally high blonde haircut and a very unhealthy obsession with their own appearance?

If you answered Guile, you're correct. You're also wrong because the answer is Johnny Bravo.


Wait...




This couldn't be just coincidence, could it? I had to be sure, so I did the unthinkable.



MOTHER OF GOD.

Awhile back I decided I would try to make a Trials HD level based on Mr Destructoid.

I finally made this a reality.

I present to you, my custom TRIALS HD: MR Destructoid level!

Current difficulty rating: Medium



A few details about the level;

> The outline is made of Shipping Containers
> The metal parts are made out of ventilation grills
> The reason the rider moves backwards is because of the "Wind" effect (DLC)
> I decided to add some electricity to the metal parts
> The color scheme in the video is all black with a green background. I changed it for the full shots so he could be seen easier
> His eyes are made out of train tracks and are on fire/smoking! I tried to use red lights, but I couldn't get enough without filling up the meter for that area.


If you would like to download the level just send me a friend request on XBL, my gamertag is TwoToneMurder
(In Trials HD you can only download custom levels from people on your friends list)

My list is pretty full but just send me a message and I'll make room.
The level was created using pieces and effects that are from the DLC, so I'm not sure if you'll need it to download my level or not.


I'm going to keep the outline and do a new level on the inside at some point, so keep an eye out for that!

That's right. Me.
I'm about as Neutral as you can get in regards to your belief in God.


I was told the other day that I'm going to burn in a lake of fire, punished for all eternity. More or less. Let me explain.


My TV is so Hi-Def, it's even Hi-Def in paint!

So it's Friday afternoon, and I'm just sitting there minding my own business playing Xbox with my bass player before band practice that evening, when I get a knock on my door!


I'm not being onomatopoetic, it sounded like the word "KNOCK".

It's around 2PM, so this isn't too strange. I figure it's the mail man.
Oh how horribly wrong I was.
I open the door to find myself staring at three very happy people. People who are WAY too happy to be knocking on my door at 2PM. That's when I noticed what they were holding.


FUCK. Also, the girl on the right side was a little bet less jolly than the other two.
NOTE: I don't remember their names, so the girl in the middle is Roxanne, the girl on the right is Sarah, and the dude is Jeff.

Today was my lucky day! I was going to be saved! The kindly people on my porch politely asked if I could spare a minute to talk about The Lord. I stammered out the words "Uh, sure." before my brain could catch up to my mouth to tell it to shut the fuck up!

I was informed that they were from a Church in the neighboring area, trying to spread the message to the surrounding neighborhoods. AN OPPORTUNITY! I very quickly told them that I don't live here.

"This is my parent's house, I live downtown. They're not home, and I'm just visiting for a few days."


Yes...I am standing on my porch lying to preachers.


This was only a partial lie...this is my parents house, and I used to live downtown (my ID still says I do)...but I am most definitely living here.

Roxanne - "Oh, well we ... Sarah, I think you have? Yes...yes, you see Sarah works at the church downtown and I believe she has...yes...she has a paper here..."


FUCK.

I politely take the papers, at which point Roxanne decides it's time to get serious.

Roxanne - "What's your name?"
Mouth - "John"
- - -Brain - LIE! LIE LIE LIE FUCK!! You told them your name....

Roxanne - "Well John, when you die, your soul goes to Heaven if you believe in Jesus and....."
(I kinda zoned out)
Me - "Yeah..."

Roxanne - "OK, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
I shake my head no, like an idiot.

Roxanne - "Do you think that when you die, you'll go to Heaven?"
Mouth - "Yeah..."
- - -Brain - Maybe...LIE AGAIN! YES!


Brain and Mouth bro-fist.

Roxanne - "Have you ever stolen?
Me - "No."
This is not a lie.
Roxanne - "Really? Not even when you were a little kid?"
Me - "Nope!"

I'm pretty fucking proud of myself at this moment. What else you got? Ever kill a man? Nope. Are you secretly the Anti-Christ? NOPE!

Roxanne - "Have you ever had lustful thoughts about a woman?"

FUCK.

Me - "Uh, yeah."

Roxanne shakes her head. Not mocking or as if to say "no", but in a sad kind of way.

Roxanne - "The bible says that having lustful thoughts about a woman is as bad as acting on them and..."
I zone out again
Me - "Oh."
Roxanne - "So according to the bible, you're an adulterer."
Me - "Oh..."
Roxanne - "You're going to hell, and that's all there is to it. Are you happy? "

She didn't say that last part, but her fucking TONE sure as hell did.

Jeff finally speaks up. I'm thinking he's going to defend me or something, or tell me it's OK to lust! I can tell right away, Jeff is THERE for me. He's got my fucking back!
He hands me a small booklet.


MOTHER FUCKER. I knew I should have lied about my name. I would have said "Richard" or "Marty" or something. I bet you don't have a book that says "Marty's Prayers" you fuckers!

They tell me that my soul can be saved if I let them pray for me and I join them. Well, I'm already going to hell right? So what harm can letting them pray while I stare at my feet and think about what I've done do?

Jeff leads us in a little prayer while I stare at my feet. They hand me some more papers and finally leave.

I've learned my lesson. I'm going to change my ways!
Lust? NOT ME! I'm going to turn my life around...I'll be a better person! No more lazing around the house all day, I'm gonna go enjoy life! I'll...I'll ...oh yeah!