Otakon 2010: Gaming, Fire Alarms, and Naughty Tetris – Oh My!

By Sarah Barrett | Published: August 2, 2010

“Please do not monopolize the games,” barked signs posted around every television in Otakon 2010’s massive gaming room. They dictate that winner stays and loser moves on – but with so much variety in gaming, being the loser might be best.

BlazBlue looked positively stunning on HD, widescreen televisions. Fans of the game wore expressions of utmost intensity and the competition was fierce, and that wasn’t even the tournament gameplay! There were, of course, Pump it Up and In the Groove machines, puzzle fighters aplenty (even a Card Captor Sakura game – who knew?), Rock Band, and Tekken among others.

The opportunity to compete with con-goers in the gaming room was not all that gamers could enjoy at Otakon this year. Disgaea, Resident Evil, and Pokemon cosplayers wandered the Baltimore Convention Center, available for photo ops with screaming fans. Pyramid Head even made a few appearances for fans, in-between flesh ripping and, well, you know.

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Interview with UMBC Game Dev Club President Jonathan Moriarty

By Gabriel Pendleton | Published: August 1, 2010

(AUDIO ONLY) Interviewing the guest at the many conventions we attend end up being the most fun and rewarding aspect of being part of BaltimoreGamer.com. In the interview with Jonathan we discussed the growth of the UMBC Game Development Club, his work and projects,  his future plans, and more. Jonathan will also be writing and doing some event coverage with our staff in the near future. This is the first chance all of you will have to hear him speak, also understand why he works so hard and why we want him as part of BaltimoreGamer.com.

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Betascape 2010: The Start of Something Good

By Jonathan Moriarty | Published: July 27, 2010

Visitors to this year’s Artscape, America’s largest art festival on the east coast, saw something new happening off to the side of Mount Royal Avenue. Baltimore’s leaders in technology unveiled Betascape, a showcase of cutting-edge creative technology.

The tent outside hosted a variety of attractions for everyone to enjoy. The Robot Fest tables displayed a plethora of automatons, ranging from remote-controlled forklift bots to the robotic wizard introducing visitors to the display. Visitors could also have their pictures taken and turned into 3D images at the 3D ShapeShot table, then walk over to the RepRap table and see how 3D images can be made physical through cutting-edge 3D printing technology.

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Betascape, Not Big Enough?

By Sarah Barrett | Published: July 25, 2010

Artscape 2010 was absolutely fantastic. There was definitely something for everyone at this festival, conveniently located right next to a LightRail stop. I found myself utterly enthralled by Souky’s hand made butterfly jewelry (yes, real butterflies!) and loving all of Dan Lachman’s “Sharp Shirter” tees. There were vegan soaps and perfumes aplenty, adorable plushies, and fantastic paintings and photographs. Of course, I couldn’t forget to mention the DeLorean in the artistic car alley.

But even with all the variety outside, Artscape has gone above and beyond and included Betascape for all the techno-buffs and enthusiasts to enjoy. I talked to a robotic wizard puppet, watched kids shoot rockets into the sky, and tried my hand at some really sweet games by small development groups. The addition of classic arcade favorites was a nice touch, bringing me back to the joys of the simpler games.

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IGDA Reorganizing Infrastructure, Bidding Farewell to Joshua Caulfield

By Gabriel Pendleton | Published: July 24, 2010

Press Release 2010 The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is continuing the reorganization of its infrastructure to better serve our members. Earlier this year the Board of Directors enacted a new committee system, to better focus on the primary needs of the organization. Each committee is chaired by a board member and they include Membership, Policy/Advocacy, Events/Sponsorship/Partners, Technology, Marketing/Communications, Special Interest Groups and Chapters.

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