Hey! New here? Destructoid is a gaming discussion community, updated nearly every 20 minutes. Make a quick avatar to comment and enter our contests. Take the tour!
Despite the thousands of mouth-watering high resolution video games available at the show, my favorite game was the queasy little independent shmup coming to the PlayStation 3 -- Everyday Shooter. If I could have taken one game home, that would have been it. The game is completely unassuming -- it looks like a cross between a trapper-keeper and geometry wars, with a hint of Rez for flavor. The simplistic enemies and flat cell-shaded graphics are the complete antithesis of what we were told next-gen games would be like, which is why it is so refreshing. Little did I know that it has been around since the 29th of March, 2006! I've been living in a bubble.
While Everyday shooter looks simple, there is more depth to this game than Geometry Wars. The chain system is completely different in each level has a lot of depth and makes the game as challenging as you want it to be -- you can either ignore it and enjoy the sheer pew-pew-pew joy of it or waste E3 away trying to get on the leaderboard. Last but not least: I had the pleasure of playing it with headphones and can't say enough about the music. It has a simple rock guitar riff that sounds like a roadie doing warm up session at a Tom Petty concert -- and everything you react with also plays a chord. This is no discredit to big studios like EA who had some of the best looking games I've ever seen at a gaming conference, but I'm chalking this one up for the independents who are still making great casual hardcore games that have nothing to do with me cooking, playing tennis, or doing aerobics. Check out the developer's site: http://www.everydayshooter.com/
Runner up? Army of Two. The stealth co-op system is fucking amazing.
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just Create an avatar now - it's fast and free: PLUS you also get your own gaming blog and begin posting stories and uploading videos in our open community area that may also appear on our home page. Sign up and we'll guide you through it, it's easy and 100% anonymous.
about me
Hey, I'm Niero. I'm kind of a robot.
So, three years ago I was an art school drop out who was (unhappily) working in advertising for airlines when I decided to attend a video game convention (E3 2006) as a birthday gift to myself ... and got denied. They said I couldn't go because I wasn't press. So I started a blog and, well, it's turned into Destructoid. It isn't as random as it sounds. I've always had video game clubs. Here's what my first one looked like:
That's before blogs were around, you see! You can see more pics of it here. So, I'm Destructoid's founder and first blogger. I wrote over 2,000 articles my first year. Now, we have a team. Cool trick, eh? We share a dream to be THE video game web site, so I don't write much anymore. I'm working on that second part now. Long way to go.
This is Mr. Destructoid. I made that version of the helmet out of air conditioner parts. We have a fancier one now that Vulpin Props made for us, but I'm still pretty keen on the original as its such a big part of our history. I made him to stand out at E3 when it was just me trying to promote my blog. I had no idea people would like it. Still blows my mind. I have a lot to say when it comes to gaming, but am generally a pretty quiet reserved and contemplative person otherwise. Likewise, Mr. Destructoid is a mute. However, unlike me, Mr. Destructoid is a fucking pimp and has probably already fucked your mom. I work for this guy.
This is Tom Lackner. We've been making e-commerce type web sites a-la-freelance since we met in high school. He came up with ModernMethod and codes our software, ElephantBlog. Tlack is the real programming force behind the site. He runs MiamiNights.com and DJ's in pink wig and a bathrobe with a full beard. Would you expect anything less from this company? If the site is ever down it's probably because I broke something Tom made. That's kind of our process.
Mah community manager
Mah skydiving instructor
Mah girl
The first time I saw a video game was at a tiny game room near the beach in 1984. It was a stand-up wooden Pong machine. There were people huddling around it. It didn't even register in my brain that I could ask to play among the adults so I just kinda stood there watching them do it, laughing and competing intensely with each other. I remember feeling that everyone in that room was really into it and that it was something cool and important. I didn't actually play a video game until years later at a cousin's house. That year I saved all my gift money my parents bought me an Atari, then years later my best friend Ozzy bought an NES, and we haven't stopped collecting or talking about video games since. It was only natural that something game related become my life's calling. So here I am, at your service.
Destructoid is my favorite thing in the world, even though it's far from perfect. It's something I'm proud of and hope to make better as time goes on. We do our best with site policies, trying to keep it fun and rewarding and as even-handed for the benefit of our community. Sometimes that means making tough calls and pissing off people you love. That's the crap part of my job. You have to ban and send away people to keep the greater community intact and growing strong. Only people that attempt to run and moderate internet communities can truly understand this. We're just people doing the best we can, doing this web site, trying to make it something great. That's another reason I like video games -- the rules are easier to understand.
I barely knew what a blog was until I dove in, so I'm not a terribly good blog designer, programmer, manager, speaker, entertainer, business asshole, or anything *yet* -- but I'm working on it every day, always hustling to make it happen. It may be comforting to know that some random dude made Destructoid. Either that, or you'll find it unsettling. Either way, I'm that dude. Not too smart, kinda shy, but a hardworking bastard doing the best he can. I'm not rich and my editors are underpaid. But we're still here despite the shit economy and not going anywhere. We have Destructoid and are doing precisely what we want to be doing with our lives. That's living the dream, since 2006.
So that's my story in a nutshell. Thanks for checking Dtoid and let me know if there's anything I can do to make it better. You can always reach me at Niero [ at ] Destructoid.com or on our Facebook/Myspace/Twitter/etc. Check out the Keep In Touch links at the bottom of the page. Thanks for reading all that crap. See you around!
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
(# 0) on 07/15/2007 20:55
(# 1) on 07/15/2007 21:20
(# 2) on 07/15/2007 21:42
(# 3) on 07/15/2007 21:56
(# 4) on 07/15/2007 21:59
(# 5) on 07/15/2007 22:44
(# 6) on 07/16/2007 14:56