Still Alive, Still Bloggin'

As regular readers know, I hate blogs that don't get updated.

But work has been super, super busy this last week and so I've just had no time. Sorry bout that ya'll. 

It's 2:30am Sunday morning as I write this (got woken up) and figured I'd say hey before I drop back to sleep.

Here are some quick hits:

- Tried to watch NINJA ASSASSIN tonite. Opening was campy, bloody fun...rest of the movie was kind of boring to me. Saw a panel with J. Michael Strazensky (sp?) at Comic Con last year and I THINK this was the movie/script he said he banged out in 48 hours. It shows :(...I wanted to dig it in a B movie kind of way but just could not get into it. Very dull. Way too much of an origin story (tons of flashbacks) for a character we don't know or care about or think is interesting. 

- Speaking of bad movies, walked out of GREEN ZONE with Matt Damon. Hurt Locker, Rendition, Three Kings, The Kingdom, and about 3-5 more Iraq war movies were better and this one brought nothing new to the party. And so many of the Iraq War Movie Cliches were on display here that after about 45 minutes I had seen enough. People don't get how I walk out of bad/boring movies. I don't get how more people don't. Isn't your time more valuable to you? I know mine is to me.

- Bought some toy eggs at the grocery store yesterday while picking up breakfast fixins for the kids. You put these in water and after about 8 hours, they hatch on their own and little toy dinos come out. Then if you keep the dinos in the water, the dinos get like 500% bigger! I lied to my kids and told them I found the eggs outside and they were bird eggs and we had to clean them in the sink so the mama bird would be willing to take the eggs back to her nest (kid logic=easy and fun!). Toys are so cool these days!

-Got my Comic Con hotel reservation! Sweet! Still not the hotel I wanted to stay in but hell, it's Comic Con! Hard to complain! Plus it's only 6 blocks from the show so much geeking out will be done during the day and lots of trolling the Gas Lamp district and drinking will be done at night. And I'll never need my car...just footing it everywhere!  Man, for a geek like me, Comic Con is such a fun show! 

- Ipad only about 5 week away! Yes, getting the 3G/WiFi Combo! 

- Can't wait to see the God of War 3 sales figures for the week. Did they do a million in the first 7 days?? I Hope so! That would make it the biggest GOW launch week by a looooong shot!  

- Speaking of God Of War 3, been seeing some very cool Kratos/GOW 3 billboards all over Los Angeles via pictures posted by the team (Facebook). I think that is so damn cool! 

-I went to a school fundraising party/function/event for families Friday night at my daughter's grammar school and almost tripped over a kid's backpack. Next to the backpack? A God of War Slurpee cup! :) I was both excited and kind of appalled (this is grammar school... I sure hope 1-4th graders do not play God of War games).

Ok need to crash/go back to bed. Hope you are all doing well. Talk more next week, promise :)

David 

OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO...

Look what UPS just dropped off :)

I love to design maps and take game design notes using pencils (not sure why, just makes me feel more creative and in touch than using pens).


So a few weeks ago I was looking at my 6 year old's pencils from school and they had all these cool designs on them. That got me to thinking: why are my pencils always so boring and dull and plain? I should get some fun, inspired, creative designs on my pencils too.

And since it was Dr. Seuss' birthday a few weeks ago- and since he is from San Diego and is a local hero round these parts-he was on my brain. And since- as a parent and creative kind of person- Doc Seuss really is a wonderful inspiration, it seemed like a good idea to surround myself with the magical, Seussacal energy. 

Anyway, so I got to wondering if I anyone had ever made some Dr. Seuss writin' utensils. And low and behold, they had!

And the pencils I found are from what I think is one of his very best books ever, "Oh the Places You'll Go!'If you have not read it, PLEASE give it a look. It's a fantastic book for kids and grown ups alike.


Anyway, so there ya go :) Now back to work! Later!

David

BONUS ROUND

Check me out on this week's episode of THE BONUS ROUND from Gametrailers.

Along with host Geoff Keighly, I chat with game design consultant N'gai Croal and Bioware Co-Founder Greg Zeschuk all about videogame stories.

Hope ya'll dig it! Part II hits this Sunday.
David

Shut Up And Bleed You Mother Fuc-!

Out in Utah the last few days working on the game. Some cool pics with a Sweet Tooth mask :)

Me and Scott Campbell (Eat Sleep Play co-founder/co-pres) posing with our boy's head. My understanding is a former Incognito employee made this for his Halloween costume back in the day. But this was the first time I'd ever seen it. It's so dang cool!

Me, being a dork :)

Me as dork, Part II :)

               

Close up of the mask. Nice detail!!!

Great weekend ya'll! I'm stuck inside tomorrow doing more work for our game. But I don't mind- game is going well so it's fun to keep cranking :). Plus, I'll spend a little time with War/Darksiders. Yes, I am STILL trying to finish it. I thought I was gonna do it last weekend but a little game called GOD OF WAR III hit my inbox and I played that all weekend (finished it too!...when is the last time I finished a game in 1-2 days?!? Probably it was ICO back in tha day!)...

Ok...take it easy, ya'll!

David 

SUMMARY JUDGEMENT GRANTED

Motion for Summary Judgement Granted...you can read it here if you are so inclined.

Here is the Hollywood Reporter's take on the judgement. 

GOD OF WAR III THOUGHTS SO FAR...

Playing GOD OF WAR 3 this weekend and really, really loving it.


But it being a great game aside, it is an AMAZING and RARE game design learning opportunity. To play a game based on your initial design formula that you had nothing to do with is eye opening! Because for the first time, I can actually see how the game/God Of War formula feels to a normal player! Before this, I could only go off reviews and player reactions and guesses in terms of gauging just what the game really was and how it felt to play. You can try to imagine that experience when you make the game but since you know it so intimately, you never really know what it feels like for a normal member of the audience. You never know how others are actually experiencing it. Now I get to see and know and experience that! What a very cool learning opportunity! 


I'll post my final thoughts on the game when I finish it (and once it's been out a bit) but I can say now that visually and production wise, I really don't think there has EVER been a game that has executed at this level! Presentation and production wise, this is a crazy ass bar raising simply staggering game! And the execution of the story telling process? Fucking fantastic (amazing opening credits)! Amazing job all around! NOTE: Not suggesting he new GOW doesn't add and change the formula- that's up to you to determine- I am just saying the original formula is still present as well and that is what I am talking about.

AND BY THE WAY...

UPDATE:
And I gotta say, pissed as I am about this, I STILL think Brian and Stephen are two of the really great ones in game journalism right now...and I still consider Kotaku my fave site for game news...that said, this pisses the shit out of me....but no need to throw the baby out with the bath water I suppose....
++++++++++++


You gonna fucking quote from my blog, the least you could do is print the whole mother fucking thing. Here is what just got detailed over at KOTAKU:

[I]f I owned the rights to TWISTED METAL and GOD OF WAR, I sure as hell would at the least send a sternly worded legal letter.

Heck, I'd send two legal letters if it were me.

I mean, first Microsoft puts out a car combat game and calls it SCRAP METAL?

Hey, looks like a great game! Right up my alley! Day one purchase for me. But come on guys, isn't that just a little too close to Sony's own car combat game TWISTED METAL?

And then Sony has GOD OF WAR, a game and potential movie about mortals fighting ancient Greek Gods. And then this movie gets announced called WAR OF THE GODS about- yep!- mortals fighting ancient Greek Gods.

Oh my, they left out the last paragraph...you know, the part where I make it CLEAR I am talking about game titles and not Sony suing over game CONCEPTS. What's the matter Kotaku, run out of fucking space on your blog? You couldn't afford to print these last few lines from the original post?

And look: Sony doesn't- and should not- own the concept of the Greek Myths. Nor should they own the idea of mortal fighting ancient Gods, Greek or any other kind. That's all public domain stuff. But the TITLE? Sony DOES own that. And GOD OF WAR/WAR OF THE GODS seem a little too close to comfort ya'll.

Anyway, like I said, not my fight. I don't own shit! :)

Yeah, I can see how that would have really added so much length to the post. What, did you run out of virtual ink? 

Nah, better to remove that part and- in my opinion- make me look like I was going off about lawsuits and thinking that Sony should own game concepts. And let's leave off the smiley face emoticon at the end of the post that- along with the picture of Chris Rock from a Kevin Smith comedy and the title of the original post (also a line from the same Kevin Smith comedy)- makes it clear this was a lighthearted observation and not a serious claim to anything.  Good move there guys. 

Anyway, I hope you guys will cover our games in the future. There are numerous companies and numerous people- not just me- who are busting ass to make our stuff. So I hope we can all count on a fair shake when you play and cover our games. But please- fucking stop covering me. You clearly can't do it right. And please, don't call me for any more favors. I have a feeling I'll be busy.

Thanks.

David 

KRATOS HAS ARRIVED!

Look what FED EX just dropped off!

To Stig, Scat, Whitney, Allan, Tim, Christer, Ken, Todd, Johnny HaHa, Johnny Hight, Jason, Shu, Matt, Scott, JoJo W, Max, Phil,  and hell SO MANY MORE peeps (from the original team and new folks along the way that I just don't have the time to ramble off)- thank you so much for bringing Kratos back to the world in such a grand, amazing style. What an amazing achievement!  I hope you all are as proud of this game as us fans are excited to play it!

And Allan, thanks for the advanced copy!

David

GEORGE LUCAS GONNA SUE SOMEBODY

++++++++UPDATE:+++++

I checked out a few boards last nite and it seems this latest post has rubbed some folks the wrong way. Let me try to address here some of the most common complaints some of the game forum folks seem to be having.

#1- I AM NOT SUE HAPPY- I have never sued anyone and unless someone really steps over the line, I look at lawsuits as a last line of defense. Trust me, as someone who gone thru the process of being sued, the whole thing is a nasty, nasty, expensive business and it seems- to me- that it is meant to be. Like burying someone, divorce, our complicated tax system, and so many other institutions of our society that are important but more and more just seem like they exist for the sake of big business, there's a whole lot of people with expensive suits and expensive degrees who make a crap ton of cash off lawsuits. And I sure as hell don't want to contribute to their bottom line. And that is why I suggested sending a letter. I would guess in 99% of cases like this, no one is out to harm anyone else. It is simply a misunderstanding or an oversight that, when brought to light, could be corrected. I harbor no ill will or resentment towards the people making SCRAP METAL or the people making WAR OF THE GODS. They both sound like products right up my alley and I will be purchasing a download and a ticket to each one, respectively, once they hit...whatever their names end up being. 

#2- YOU ARE NOT AN EXPERT AT COPYRIGHT LAW AND NEITHER AM I- I know experts in copyright law (I actually do) and you, sir, are not an expert in copyright law. With the exception of MAYBE .1% of the people who are even aware of this discussion we are having, you don't know if my claims have merit in court and neither do I. And frankly, just because you or I think we are right on this, there is no real right or wrong. There is a judge who decides if there is a case and if there is, then there is a jury who decides who wins the case. And there is a lot of gray area simply because- while the law is very concrete- the subjective interpretation of that law requires a human brain. I can tell you that when I saw the titles, they rubbed me the wrong way and seemed worth mentioning. I can live with the fact that I could be wrong and I can live with the fact that most folks may not agree with me. This doesn't make me an idiot and it doesn't make you a genius. YOU go spend your precious time on this planet working with others and giving everything you've got to create some intellectual property and I assure you, you will feel protective of it. Again, being protective does not mean my assumption that these titles cross the line is right. But being a smarmy asshole- like a good % of board posters have been towards me over this issue- doesn't make you right either. It just makes you a smarmy asshole. NOTE: It has been pointed out to me that because my issues are clearly with title and not idea, this is a TRADEMARK LAW issue, not a COPYWRIGHT LAW issue. Fair enough. I stand corrected on the type of law. My comments and thoughts still stand tho. 

#3- TONE- See the big Chris Rock picture? You know, the comedian? See the quote from a Kevin Smith movie that I use for the title of this post? See the smiley face at the bottom of this post? People, I'm not on a crazy rampage about this. I never said I was going to sue anyone. I was bringing it up as something that interests me and something I thought would be worth sharing with people who come to this blog to hear about- mainly- my game making life. And I was doing so in a lighthearted manner. I assure you, this is the farthest thing from a big deal in my life. If nothing were to change on this front, I really would not care. 

#4- FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK- Finally, for the people who are like, "JAFFE! GET BACK TO WORK ON YOUR GAME!"...please, let me assure you, I am working very hard. The team is working very hard. Sony is working very hard. We are all busting ass and- even tho we may not agree on these particular legal issues- we are still eager to entertain each and every one of you with what we've got cooking. Just like you, I don't work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even during my day, I take breaks. But as some of you know, I work at home. So while at your job you may hang in the breakroom with your buddies and chat about last nite's episode of LOST or what game you are playing, I video chat with friends and I blog. Fucking sue me. But the point IS, we are working hard on our game and we're looking forward to showing it to you today on GTTV...oh wait...that's not us :) 

Ok so that's my update. Thanks for reading. Later.

END UPDATE:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ok, maybe not Lucas but Sony should. Or if I owned the rights to TWISTED METAL and GOD OF WAR, I sure as hell would at the least send a sternly worded legal letter.

Heck, I'd send two legal letters if it were me.

I mean, first Microsoft puts out a car combat game and calls it SCRAP METAL?

Hey, looks like a great game! Right up my alley! Day one purchase for me. But come on guys, isn't that just a little too close to Sony's own car combat game TWISTED METAL?

And then Sony has GOD OF WAR, a game and potential movie about mortals fighting ancient Greek Gods. And then this movie gets announced called WAR OF THE GODS about- yep!- mortals fighting ancient Greek Gods. 

And look: Sony doesn't- and should not- own the concept of the Greek Myths. Nor should they own the idea of mortal fighting ancient Gods, Greek or any other kind. That's all public domain stuff. But the TITLE? Sony DOES own that. And GOD OF WAR/WAR OF THE GODS seem a little too close to comfort ya'll.

Anyway, like I said, not my fight. I don't own shit! :)

David 

ALL OF LIFE'S RIDDLES...

One of my favorite movies of all time. I found this on Youtube this morning while feeling 

homesick for my dear Los Angeles. I know people don't get how someone can love L.A. but I 

really do. It will always be my home and I will get back there one day, for sure. This movie- 

along with the great L.A. STORY- really capture the energy and vibe of that great city.

Also, it's just a really good- altho slightly hammy and pretty dated- flick. See it if you ain't!

Later ya'll!


David

Check Out Me and Mr. David Crane!!!

So here I am with one of my game making heroes, David Crane, as we presented at the Interactive Achievement Awards last week. You can watch the really funny, really entertaining entire awards show over at IFC.COM. Just click here!  This clip also show the very deserving GAME OF THE YEAR winner as well as Jay Mohr doing a dead on Christopher Walken! Check it out!



Clearly I went off script a bit as the teleprompter was a bit screwed and I was going on little sleep. But hey, at least they got me in a suit!

And here is the panel David and I did with G4's Adam Sessler on casual games. It was tons of fun and really interesting to hear about David's game making process and philosophies. Tried to embed it but blogger ain't having any of it :(

Ok, later ya'll! Up early (5am!??!) to get some more docs written for the game.

David

Uhm...Ok, Am I Missing Something Here?

So this headline has been making the net game news today:

DAVID JAFFE: I DON'T CARE ABOUT REVIEWS

It comes from a phone interview I did with OPM UK. 

I have not read the article yet but just based on this piece- which is what most people are linking to- does anyone see any place where I actually say I don't care about reviews?

Hey, I have not read the actual piece so it COULD be in there (not the net story but the OPM-UK print story) but I don't recall saying it and I sure don't see it in the net recap. Check out the news story on the net, see if you can find where I say I don't care about reviews. 

Here is the actual quote in the piece from me:

 "Don't get me wrong - a good review makes my night, but I no longer find myself connecting with what a lot of reviewers go for and so it doesn't matter as much to me any more."

To me, this sonds like I DO care about getting good reviews BUT I'm not as vested in proper media reviews as I used to be because I don't feel I connect as much as I used to to what mainstream game critics like/want/desire. That was all I was saying and I THINK I got that idea across.  Perhaps Tim Ingham who wrote the piece can let us know in an update of his story if I actually said what the headline of his piece makes it sound like I said. 

That would be good.

Like I said, perhaps I did. But I don't recall. I can't imagine someone would just make something up and attribute it to me...people don't do that sort of thing, do they?

David

KOTAKU'S HEARTLAND WRTIE UP + GOW OF WAR 3=HOLY HELL!!!!

And here is the LINK to KOTAKU I was talking about.
Great weekend everyone!

David

ps. UPDATE:

SONIC AND THE HOLOCAUST

UPDATE:

Oh, I forgot, for those who are interested in such things, a few recent interviews:

- HERE is the Kotaku live radio show we did yesterday. Sadly Scott Campbell, EAT SLEEP PLAY co-founder/co-pres,was not able to join us cause of crunch mode. But hopefully I repped the team well.

-And here is a GAMEPRO.COM interview I did at DICE last week. It's really choppy but that may just be my browser (Safari). And dunno what is up with the Hawaiian vibe but it does make me want to go on vacation. Anyway, so here ya go:



A few others DICE interviews are about to go live and I will link to when they hit...

END UPDATE:
++++++++++++++

Picked this up last nite and really liking it.

 Just woke up early to start work and the thing is drawing me back; calling out to me; wanting me to play it again. Love when that happens! Hope to squeeze in a few races during lunch...if not, I'll be online tonite with it.

To the EXP/RANK UP/META GAME discussion we were having a few weeks back, I do wish I earned something more than cash for winning races. Seems a game like this needs leader boards and a way to compare yourself with friends. I guess you could use total cash earned but:

a- still doesn't give you something to shoot for really...I mean I guess you could earn enough cash to unlock everything but feels a bit shallow.
b- ARE there leaderboards to compare total cash earned over time?

Anyway, that aside, this is a really fun game and I can see the split screen mode being great too.

Hope this is a nice sized hit for SEGA. Hard to say as these sorts of games (kart racers unless it is Mario, cartoony games on HD consoles, whimsical vs. gritty) don't tend to sell in bulk these days but hopefully people will come out for this one.

Oh, and I just woke up from a dream where I was a war photographer with a REALLY NICE modern camera shooting pics in WWII of the Holocaust. Got a flesh wound from a sniper's bullet but I was fine. Saw lots of crying kids without their parents (who had died in the camps) and it broke my heart.

Glad I woke up but now I have this sort of sad, melancholy vibe hanging around. Which- given the horrific subject matter- is a gift. I SHOULD be feeling worse. Maybe I'll let myself stew in the sadness out of respect for the subject matter and then put on some Ke$ha or other top 40 bubble gum pop and totally shift my thinking. Or maybe I'l watch this again:

THAT KINDA DAY

Ok, I swear I hate blogs where people just link to other videos and stuff. That ain't fresh content! BUT today is just that kinda day. First the new Karate Kid trailer hits (which I love) and now this, from Super Mario Galaxy 2. Holy HELL this looks like a ton of fun!



Man, why Nintendo doesn't go ahead and open a mega theme park to rival Disney at this point is beyond me (unless there is just no cash in it). But dude, it would be SO GREAT! Listening to this music- which is VERY Disneyland-y- and seeing these great, classic, family friendly and much beloved characters really just sells the idea. What's a good name?

World of Nintendo?
Nintendoland?
Mushroom Kingdom?

Anyway, I'd be there day one. Unless it was in Japan. Or in general anyplace I'd have to fly to get there. Then I'd get around to it eventually. But I'd still dig it...from afar :)

David

SWEEP THE LEG!

Oh me? Yeah, don't give a fuck what you say- this movie looks great!



And yes, I loved the first one (and dig the little soundtrack reference to it at the end of this trailer) but I just love this basic story. And Chan rocks and the kids seems pretty good too. Can't wait to take my oldest to this!

David

Listen To Me and Scott Campbell Live Today on Kotaku Radio!

 

Hey- sorry for the short notice. Everyone is in milestone crunch.

I will be on the live phone in Kotaku show today along with Eat Sleep Play co-founder, Downhill Domination director, and co-Twisted Metal creator Scott Campbell! That is, if we can pull Scott away from his shit ton of work out in Utah.  It's easier for me to hop on a phone interview cause I don't got 20 people pulling me in 100 directions all day long. Scott does. BUT I hope he can make it!

I will be there for sure so click here for details and swing by and ask some questions and chat with us this morning! It's at 10am Cali/Pacific time. You can do the math for the rest :)

Hope to hear from ya'll!

David

How Cool Is This?!?

Amazing someone would do this with one of our characters! How neat is that?!?! I don't know much about tats but it looks pretty good to me!

Another cool Sweet Tooth- this time it's CLASSIC Tooth! 

                        

Nice Kratos! Cool details!

Sadly, a lack of Calling All Cars tats, eh? Ah well- we'll get them with the next game! 

Later ya'll! 

David 

DICE PHOTO ALBUM!

Didn't get a chance to take lots of pics at the really fun, really informative DICE conference, but here's what I got! 

Day before the show I was getting a gambling craving (imagine that) but didn't want to get all serious on the craps table just yet (eventually I won $700 off $40 at craps...but lost it all). Anyway, so for a simple fix for my gambling needs, I played some WHEEL OF FORTUNE slots (the all time best slot machine around). Talk about effective risk/reward gameplay- you are ALWAYS betting the full 3 coins on this baby JUST for the chance to hit that SPIN button! Hard to tell in this shot, but the button is lit...which means I gets to spin!!!

And there she goes! Round and round and round and round...

...and I...lost again. :) Still, coulda been worse...coulda been 25 coins instead of 50. And hell, 50 coins on a quarter machine is still almost 13 bucks! 

                 

Here's me and Insomniac founder/president (and super nice guy) Ted Price. This is at the Insomniac sponsored martini bar where Ted got me my very first ever Martini. I like to get my drink on from time to time but had never had a martini. So Ted hooked me up with a super hard core martini called the SECRET AGENT CLANK. And HOLY HELL that thing was strong. As I told the 1up guys, it was like sticking a gasoline pump nozzle in my mouth and squeezing the handle. I could only take 4-5 sips and I was done. However, it did get me a bit drunk and I did then proceed to do an on camera interview with GAMESPOT where I went on about how now that I was single I was gonna go out and get some hookers. So I'm sure when that hits the interwebs it'll do wonders for my already squeaky clean image :)

                 

Me and Tina Koweskalofskittenakdkaieiysfljpsutpofsky (I kid her about her last name and hell if I can spell it to this day :)....) But she's the head of Santa Monica external development, a great gal, a super good friend, and one of the most connected industry players around. 

Here's my blurry pic of game design legend, Activision co-founder, and Dice Legend Award recipient David Crane.  David and I did a couple of events together at DICE this year. We were on a panel, presented an award together, and sat together at the awards. What a great guy. He's a total hero of mine as I grew up loving his games (PITFALL!, LASER BLAST, FREEWAY, OUTLAW, and more!) To be able to get to know him- along with Garry Kitchen (David's longtime biz partner and co founder of their new iphone game company APPSTAR) was a true treat and honor. Garry was also the coder of the classic 2600 game KEYSTONE KAPERS, by the way. So I got to sit with David and Garry at the awards show and I actually felt more at home and more in sync with these guys who made the games I grew up loving than I do sitting with a lot of the modern game designers. So that was really cool and a total treat! I think the panel we did will be on tv soon (G4) or up on the net so I'll link to it when I find it.

               

Here's David again. This time we are rehearsing for the DICE AWARDS. See that script in front of me? I really should have paid more attention to it as I totally fucked up my lines the nite of the show. Even tho I joked about being high, I really was not. I was just unprepared. I feel bad cause the writer of the show made a good deal of changes to accommodate my requests/changes to my original lines. And then I get up there the nite of the show and fucked it all up anyway. Sorry man, if you're reading this. I was just tired from being out late the nite before so I was just running on adrenaline and was pretty hyper.

View of the awards room during rehearsal. Notice the teleprompter down below. With that, why was I flubbing my lines? Cause- as I said- I was hopped up on adrenaline. BUT also: the damn thing was configured wrong and a good 10% of the words were bleeding off the edges of the prompter screen so you could not actually tell what you were supposed to say some of the time. Still, it was a blast! Show was great and Mohr was funny and vulgar as shit, as always (my kinda comedy!)

A shot of the stage before the show started and Uncharted 2 began it's total (well, almost total) domination of the nite! MW2, BATMAN, FLOWER, and SCRIBBLENAUTS also got a ton of well deserved love! :)

Ah, there we go- better shot of the stage, if not a bit blurry. It ain't the Oscars but she's a good little show, and she's ours, and I gotta say, every year she grows on me more and more. Joe and the academy board are doing a great job with this whole conference.

Me and David all decked out the nite of the show, ready to go up and hand out BEST GAME DIRECTION and BEST GAME DESIGN awards. Bet ya never thought you'd see me in a suit, eh? 

Me and super cool Shannon Studstill before the show. Shannon was the GOD OF WAR I genius producer, GOD OF WAR II exec producer, and now head of her own game company (BROODWORKS). Shannon rocks much and is one of the best producers in the biz! She's was also good drinkin', craps playin', and cigar smokin' partner post show! I told ya'll she was cool! 

Thought STAR WARS was a kids movie, George! What the fuck! If you are going to claim your whole series was- and more importantly- REMAINS intended for children, George, then you are mighty irresponsible allowing your brand to grace fucking slot machines. ESPECIALLY slot machines in fucking AIRPORTS where kids will see them and flock to them. I GET that adults love STAR WARS as well, but CLONE WARS and the new trilogy are HUGE among kids and they love STAR WARS overall. I'm not a prude AT ALL about things (and I think gambling is totally a blast!)..but this is pretty bad form, I gotta say.

Having said that(tm), as an adult, it's pretty cool to have STAR WARS slots! :)

Check it out! I got KEVIN SMITH back on a SOUTHWEST flight! Snootch to the Mother Fuckin' Bootch bitches :) 

Ok that's it! Wish I had taken more pics but was pretty busy. Did a shit ton of interviews (Bonus Round, 1up, Gamepro, IGN, a few others) which- looking back - was pretty stupid. I'm not promoting a game right now so it just makes me look like more of a media whore...which I really ain't. I just like talking games and geek culture and I just always feel like I should say 'yes' when they ask me for interviews. It's not like I seek them out. They ask me...if I say 'no' isn't that kind of rude? I dunno, maybe I'll take it down a notch till we're ready to announce and just blog till then. Or not. Who knows! Later ya'll!!!!

David 

Let me explain...

...just got home from DICE. Exhausted but it was a fantastic show. Thanks to the Acedemy and Joe Ollin for- as usual- showing us all a fantastic time!

I will post pics and some details this weekend but for now, just know this:

The dude in the audience shouting for TWISTED METAL? That was my buddy and- I assume- very drunk analyst Michael Pachter.

He was taking the piss out of me from the safety of the audience and I was hitting him right back. It was all in good fun and anyone who thinks I was being mean, I am sorry. We were just verbally sparring and that's all it was.

Ok- going to watch Bill Maher (it's back on tonite, sweet!) and then crashing.

Great weekend ya'll!

David