chandigarhia:
“mikepenance:
“Gotta use your head to get ahead.
”
f,f+1+2
”
‘Che cabezon!

chandigarhia:

mikepenance:

Gotta use your head to get ahead.

f,f+1+2

‘Che cabezon!

vgjunk:
“Alien 3, SNES.
”
My brothers and I rented the shit out of this game at Block Buster. Good times.

vgjunk:

Alien 3, SNES.

My brothers and I rented the shit out of this game at Block Buster. Good times.

towerfall:

We’ve already revealed the new Red Archer who was added for the Dark World Expansion, but she’s not the only new playable character. In fact, there’s 10 new archers total! We’re filling out the cast by adding an alternate for every single fighter. Some are different versions of the same archers…

SXSW Gaming Expo 2014: Anna Prosser Robinson

Anna Prosser Robinson is not just a pretty face. She is a dedicated and knowledgeable eSports authority. She was in Austin, TX all weekend for the SXSW Gaming Expo hosting the Monster Energy Drink DOTA II tournament.

I asked her about eSports and since this is for the Austin360.com audience, I made sure she explained it in easy to understand language.

pattheflip:

I’ve seen FGC Twitter blow up a few times over the last few days about Todd Harper’s $125 culture of fighting games book, which in turn resurrected blowups about the presentation he did with Maddy Myers at a conference called No Show a few months ago. Missed it then, figured I ought to weigh in…

Absolute Battle 4: Ryan “Fchamp” Ramirez

Howdy,  folks.

Went to absolute battle. Got an interview. Check it out below.

Gotta admit, I thought this interview was gonna be harder to nab. FChamp tends to carry with him a reputation of being a salty dog. I’m happy to report that not only was the Champ amenable to speaking in front of the camera, he was a pretty chill guy over all. 

crosscountertv:
“ Sakura takes on A-ha with her sweet dance moves.
”
Classy dame, that Sakura.

crosscountertv:

Sakura takes on A-ha with her sweet dance moves. 

Classy dame, that Sakura.

Fantastic Arcade 2013: Wiley Wiggins

Self proclaimed “Generalissimo of Fantastic Arcade,” Wiley Wiggins is responsible for putting on one of the most unique and entertaining gaming festivals in the great state of Texas. I saved his interview for last so that when you visited the blog it would be the first one you see - assuming you start at the top and work your way down.

Special thanks to Wiley for taking time from directing Fantastic Fest to give me this interview. Check it out below!

Don’t forget to check out Juegos Rancheros to find out about upcoming events in Austin.

Fantastic Arcade 2013: Beau Blyth

Arguably one of the most talked about developers at this years Fantastic Arcade 2013, Beau Blyth is well on his way to indie game royalty. Samurai Gunn which has been in production for a few years now had the crowd cheering for more both on the exhibition floor and during the tournaments in the Alamo Drafthouse theater. Check out the interview with this young gunn from Fantastic Arcade 2013.

I for one would love to see Samurai Gunn at fighting game tournaments around the country. Mind games? Check. Easy to learn, hard to master game mechanics? Check. The ability to get a room full of gamers and on-lookers frothing at the mouth with hype? Check!

Fantastic Arcade 2013: Rusty Moyher

Rusty Moyher is an Austin-based game making machine. Together with his team - Shaun Inman and Matt Grimm - Moyher has most recently embarked on a “six games in six months” createathon resulting in some deceptively simple, and incredibly fun games including End of Line.

In End of Line, you play as an immortal robot (who at first glance resembles Mega-Man) on a quest to die. One problem however, these pesky repair bots keep you from staying dead. Can’t a robot commit robocide in peace?! Check out my interview with Moyher from Fantastic Arcade 2013 and then go check out the six games at RetroGameCrunch.com.

Fantastic Arcade 2013: John Watson

Kickstarter darling ‘Banner Saga’ is one of the prettiest games I’ve seen in a while. John Watson, technical director at Stoic Studios, discusses the game at Fantastic Arcade 2013 as production on the single player campaign approaches completion. 

Learn more about the game at StoicStudio.com!

Fantastic Arcade 2013: Jason Nuyens and Jan Kozlowski

Citing Smash Bros. and Street Fighter as inspirations, Canadian game devs Jason and Jan of BreakFall submit ‘Starwhal: Just the Tip’ into the pantheon of competitive multiplayer games. 

Check out my interview with them at Fantastic Arcade 2013, and then go download the free demo at Breakfall.ca.

By the way, I googled “Just the Tip…” Their claim checks out!

Fantastic Arcade 2013: Rami Ismail

Created by the Dutch duo Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman, Vlambeer is responsible for wildly popular titles such as ‘Super Crate Box,’ 'Radical Fishing’ and the upcoming 'Luftrausers.’

During Fantastic Arcade 2013, I had a chance to speak with Rami Ismail, the self-proclaimed “business-minded” half of Vlambeer about the companies history, their title 'Wasteland Kings’ and the difficult decision of dropping out of school.   

Check out more from Vlambeer at Vlambeer.com.

Fantastic Arcade Coverage Incoming…

This week I will be attending and bringing you coverage from one of my favorite events of the year, Fantastic Arcade. It runs September 19-22 and you can check out the full schedule at this link

Expect interviews with the developers of Banner Saga, Starwhal: Just the Tip, Wasteland Kings and more… 

Competitive Video Gaming, the Sport of the Future

originally published on April 2013 as part of my Masters Report for graduate journalism school.

Abstract: 

Competitive video gaming is experiencing exponential growth. Advances in technology and global Internet penetration has created highly dedicated fan bases for games played at a competitive level. Game developing companies are beginning to focus their attention on making games for the new eSports market.

How avid eSports fans view competitive gaming is disrupting traditional consumption models. Twitch.TV a site that streams live gaming content is seeing massive growth. 

Now, more than ever, dedicated gamers can live off of playing games – whether by competing in tournaments as sponsored players or running ads on their Twitch.TV live stream while they play.

The communities that have developed around different genres of competitive games are as varied as traditional sports such as Major League Baseball or the National FootballLeague. A new industry with a complex infrastructure is developing in this new market.

 

Keep reading