Just a quicky update. Since Destructoid has been expanding it's video content, I figured it was only fair to expand the video/podcast section of the forums as well.

I've added two new sections

Rev Rants

Still got more to say about a past episode? Want to type out a counter-rant and discuss it with the community? Here is the place to do it. I've started new threads for the last 5 episodes to get you all started but feel free to start any new threads about others or just general threads about the rants in particular.

The Videogame Show What I've Done

Want to comment further on an episode? Got some suggestions for future shows? Maybe some funny photoshops you want to share about an episode? Post em here. Like the Rev Rant section, I've added new threads for the last 5 episodes to get you all started.

I've also merged the HAWP forum to include Once Upon a Pixel as well!

Also, I've added a thread about Dtoid Memes for you all to add to. I'm going to keep updating the first post with your links to when the memes started (or examples) so we all have an easy reference for tracking them down or to show to new people so they can hop on board before they get too confused. I need your help though! So post those links ( and an explanation if you feel the need) in that thread.


That's all I've got for now! Cmon by and check this stuff out.

1. FORUMS

2. DTOID LA

3. This guy



4. These guys



5. This guy too



6. IRC

7. EVERYTHING ELSE.

8. I HOPE YOU RIDE MY BIKE TO HELL!

it's time to meet the Forum on the Forum Show tonight.

It's time to put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain on the Forum Show tonight.

Why do we always come here
I guess we'll never know
It's like a kind of torture
To have to watch the show

And now let's get things started
Why don't you get things started
It's time to get things started
On the most sensational
inspirational
celebrational
forumtational
THIS.
IS.
WHAT.
WE.
CALL.
THE FORUM SHOW!




Forums are back up yall.

:D

I made you some new forums. I hope you enjoy them!

http://www.destructoid.com/forum/

Niero, thank you for letting me have the forums. It means a lot to me that you would let me have this responsibility.

Destructoid, thank you guys for being the best goddamn game site on the web. 3 years down and lets hope a billion more to go.

<3 you guys and I'll see yall at PAX

So for the past month or so, I’ve been working on a new style for the forums. I figured the anniversary would be the perfect time to unveil it along with some other new tidbits of Forum funtime.

Before I get into that, this cblog is going to be changing it’s material a bit. Since I’m not much of a writer and didn’t write blogs all that frequently. I figured a good use of this space would be as a Dev blog for the forums. Something to keep everyone informed about anything that’s going on that maybe doesn’t come to the forums all the time or has never checked them out in the first place.

Along with that, I will also put things up here like particular threads that seem to be really taking off discussion wise, new users that have really made an impact and just other neat stuff that comes up in the forums that I think people would enjoy. The podcast hosts have been doing an incredible job talking up their forums on their respective shows, so I’m going to follow that lead and cover the rest of the forums. Don’t worry, it’s not going to be on a daily or even weekly basis, so don’t worry about me pushing the exceptional blogs down.

So first off, here are some teaser images of the new forums skin that I whipped up. It’s leaner, more user friendly and a lot more dtoider. None of the forums, threads or sections are changing, this is mostly cosmetic so everything should be in the same place, just more dtoidy lookin. Since I pretty much taught myself CSS to whip this up, all the bugs should come to me in this thread http://www.destructoid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10984.
It’s workin pretty well as is, but I’m sure I missed something. Of course, suggestions, comments and anything else should go in that thread too.







As a heads up, this forum skin will become the new default. However, since I know peoples tastes vary I will leave up the ability to choose your own skin and the Greentoid and UltraGreentoid skins will remain selectable.

In addition to that, I’m going to start up a kind of achievements/badge system for the forums. I figures this works very well in the forums already as there is a type of badge system already in place (your rank).
I’ve got the first two badges all ready to go and here is a preview of them here:



Anyone who is active in the forums on Monday the 16th from midnight to midnight will get this badge celebrating the 3rd anniversary of Destructoid. Kind of a “I was here for that” type of badge. I have a way to search for it, so sending me PM’s claiming you were active when you were not, isn’t going to help.



Starting on the 16th, anyone who has gotten a cblog promoted to the front page will receive this badge. This is from the 16th forward to give everyone a fair starting point. You get the badge once, so multiple blogs will not give you more. This won’t count for editors since well…I would just give them all the badge and they have enough as is. While I understand this isn’t fair to those that have been front paged in the past, think of it as an additional motivation to write another exceptional cblog. It also ensures that anyone who gets the badge is currently active on the site (at least recently in relation to the 16th).

So far those are the only two I have ready to go. Again, Ideas, suggestions and comments about future badges are always welcome and appreciated. I also want to calm any concern that these badges (or any I implement in the future) will somehow instill favoritism or special privileges to those that get them. They do not. Everything that applies to everyone else still applies to people with badges.

So that’s a heads up for all of you so you don’t freak out when you see the forums change on the 16th!
If you haven’t been to the forums before, come check us out. If you’ve not been back in a long time, come check out whats new. If you are a regular: Welcome home.

Thanks everyone.

Some of these might be interesting, most of em will probably be whiney and emo. So read with caution.

1. I’m a Buddhist



No really. I know what you are thinking, “lol white guy who is a Buddhist? LOL WEEBOO” and that’s fine. You can think that. I still am one however. I specifically follow the teachings of Bodhidharma. I’m always hesitant to speak about religion with anyone. Case in point being when during a conversation about religion with a couple coworkers, I mentioned that I was a Buddhist and my coworker countered with “So, don’t you believe in magical powers or some shit then?” *sigh* That’s why I don’t talk about it. I don’t go to a temple, I don’t “worship” a god. It’s a life philosophy and no, I’m not perfect about it either.

2. I wish I did something cool in the games industry



While it’s awesome that I work in the industry and I love it, I wish I could be an industry rockstar. I’m working on it, but I doubt it will ever happen. I think I’m just stuck being an office zombie doing work on games nobody cares about. Much like the movie industry, that’s what a lot of people do in games.

3. I’m envious of people with special talents



Especially music or art. Personally, I don’t think I have one particular skill or trait that I’m over the top excellent at. I used to be pretty good at drawing, at least good enough that I was taking college prep courses in high school for it, but my interest in it fell. So that’s more my fault for not sticking with it. Music, I’m incredibly untalented in and I love music, so I’m jealous of those that can do it.

4. I’m really proud of the forums



In case that wasn’t obvious. By no means can I take credit for much of it. I’m really just “managing” them in a sense of I’m adjusting options here and tweaking stuff there or coming up with ideas for things to do. I couldn’t do it without the editors, CTZ, Mxy, and especially Niero. Of course, it’s the community itself that creates all the awesome content. Without the community, the forums would be empty. I guess I’m really just proud to have played a part in it.

5. I have a really wacky schedule



Whenever I’m jobless, (like I am now)I tend to revert to my natural sleeping schedule. I’m a night person, so I tend to stay up till about 5 or 6am and sleep till 1 or 2. I really feel like a lazy bum, but I am only sleeping 8 hours. It’s just a weird 8 hours. So if you ever see me on the forums at like 5am PST, that’s why.

6. I have a reaaaaly poor image of myself



Oh, here we go with the whiney emo crap. Yeah, I have a really poor image of myself. I honestly don’t think I contribute a whole lot of anything worthwhile. To make things even more difficult, I hate it when people pity me (or what I perceive as pity). It just makes me feel worse and then I get upset about it. Let’s just say I was ignored by my parents and it’s usually the reason most of the relationships I’ve had fail and leave it at that. Yes, I’ve been to therapy, it helped but I still get really self conscious about everything.

7. I smoke like a damn chimney



Yes, I know it’s bad for me. Yes I know it’s gross. I KNOW. Fully aware of how dumb it is of me to not only smoke but also be aware of how bad it is. I still do it though. It’s relaxing and it helps me clear my head. I had a girl tell me she was breaking up with me because she was tired of me smoking. Of course I’m the asshole for pointing out that I smoked before and while we were dating and she never said it was a dealbreaker. Why date a smoker if you hate smokers? Which leads me to my next thing…

8. I’m pretty sure I’m un-dateable



Woo, more emo shit. This cartoon demonstrates what happens with every girl I’ve ever tried to get with. It’s been about 6 years since my last decent relationship. I’ve had girls I’ve dated since then, sure. I’ve gotten laid since then, absolutely. But those never turned into anything lasting more than a few months. I’ve pretty much stopped trying at this point. I’ve been set up, I’ve gone out and met people with the exclusive purpose of picking someone up (a practice I just loathe) and I’ve had girls approach me. None of it works. I’m sure it has a lot to do with #6 and various other things I do wrong.

9. I really dig science. Especially astrophysics



Let’s go back to positive stuff. I really dig the study of space. I think it’s just fascinating and I’ll watch or read anything having to do with it. In particular, anything having to do with how the universe works. Anything in theoretical physics is also just endlessly fascinating for me.

10. I’m a lore junkie



I’m a big fan of lore. I play WOW just because it’s got such a involved backstory. Heck, I catch myself reading the wowwiki just for background info about some random NPC. I also tend to love games that have established histories, even if it’s the first game of a series or the backstory is just discovered through the game. It explains why I love star wars (because there is so much going on beyond the films), why I love fallout 3 and why I love Diablo and Half Life among many other great games with great lore.

Ok, sorry that was probably TL/DR and most likely dumb. For those of you that read it, thanks. For those of you that didn’t, thanks. For those of you that don’t care, waffles.