Post-PAX Blurb (Actual commentary later this week!)

Hello again!

After many years of hearing about the Penny Arcade Expo, I finally worked up the courage (And cash!) to attend the PAX East 2011 expo in Boston, MA this past weekend! Many (MANY!) things to discuss regarding an amazing and inexpensive FPS that I stumbled over, my first hands-on experience with TOR (And an awesome 20 minutes of conversation with Darth Hater's own Sado!), and getting to have a full 30 minutes of discussion with a Turbine animator over upcoming LOTRO expansions (And a current problem with the (unofficially announced!) Helms Deep raid).

But first, I leave you with a rather quick and simple tool for communicating with other game enthusiasts:

How do you label any form of media? I never gave a thought to the use of labels in advertisements or press releases until I attended PAX East, and on the plane ride back I worked on deconstructing some labels I heard through speakers and seen in glowing lights all over the show floor:

All media can be cited (or labeled) in the following format (We'll call it the SillyGeth Format, if you prefer):

Title (Publisher [Developer])
Label (Part 1, Part 2)

The first line is simple: Name of the game, followed by the publisher and, if separate from the publisher, the developing studio.

The second line is the label, usually used for sorting and categorizing the game:

Here's a quick example before I go hit the hay:

If you have sampled the rough and wild world of Red Dead Redemption, you probably know that the game-play progresses by traveling all across a fictional variation of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, finding new places and people in the process of exploration, and then using guns, rope, and good ol' fashion footwork to defeat enemies (Or those damnable Panthers!!!). The story is focused on a single character in the world, John Marston, and his mysterious origins and uncertain future: throughout the game the player makes choices and acts in ways that alter Marston's reputation, wealth, and fame in the region.

With this simple break down, it is clear that Red Dead Redemption is an Action-Adventure Role-Playing Game: The game's story is driven by a combination of player actions, fancy shooting, and various other activities, but the story progresses through various exotic locales over the course of the game. Therefore, the game's mechanics promote movement, action, and exploration: an Action-Adventure Game.

The game's story mechanics are driven by the player's choices in accordance with the laws and customs of the Old West, as well as a deep curiosity to uncover the  mysteries of Marston's past and how his story will end. The player's choices are (ideally) tempered by a lack of familiarity with laws and customs in the Old West, and therefore they are just as stumped as Marston when faced with a dilemma: the player must play the role of an intrepid explorer in the Old West in order to keep going: a clear mark of a Role-Playing Game.

That's all for now, check back soon for some funny tidbits and (hopefully!) some photos from PAX, as well as some awesome Swag from my Bag. G'night!