#tym kaywork

Good evening, Nation! Yours truly has the awesome responsibility of heading out to Boston for a 3-day whirlwind run of Pax East, and you'll want to keep it locked in to Platform Nation for all the latest information as I come across it.  There are a few ways you'll be able to follow along, and I'll lay them all out for you.

First things first: If you're not already, follow me on Twitter @vttym.  Once you've done that, you'll want to add the channel #PNPax to your stream so you can follow what I'm putting up.  I'll be using that hashtag throughout the weekend so you can get my impressions on what I'm encountering.

If pictures are more your thing, I've also set up a set on Flickr that will show what I'm snapping.  I will try to make sure everything I send is tagged appropriately, and forgive the holder picture which, right now, is of my basement setup.  Exciting, I know.

Last but not least, I may even be able to live stream some of what I'm seeing.  This will largely depend on cell phone coverage and battery power, but keep an eye on my Ustream channel to see if I'm up to anything.  In the meantime, you can see such hits as my Rock Band 3 endless setlist run, my Extra Life 24 hours of gaming (all captured), or my daughter's first birthday.  I know, tough choice.

Finally, I will be posting information on Platform Nation under the heading PAX East 2011 as well.  I can't promise I'll flood the channels with information, but I will do my best to get a recap up daily of what I saw, who I talked to, and what I have been playing.  If you have anything in particular you want me to check out, let me know either in the comments here, or via twitter, so that I can do my best to get you the coverage you want.  If you have questions you want me to ask the developers, there's no better chance than now!

And spread the word: even if you don't have anything specific you want to see, your friends might.  You have a unique opportunity of having someone at the event who wants your input.  Don't squander it!

Arcade Sticks.  Bongos.  The Power Glove. Maracas.  The NES Advantage.  There have been a slew of ways to enhance your gaming experience through the use of controllers that were not part of the core system.  Games have often driven the need for these unique controllers (as those who experienced Steel Batallion can attest to).  More recent examples include the instruments needed for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.  In fact, yesterday saw the launch of the Fender Squier guitar; the real guitar that can be plugged into Rock Band.  The concept is fantastic, but the price is likely prohibitive to all but the most enthusiastic of gamers. It got me thinking:

What's the most unique game controller you've used or purchased? What's the most expensive controller you've shelled out for?

If you bought multiple controllers for one game, count it (Rock Band instruments, Dreamcast Arcade Sticks). I'm curious to see what folks have been bringing home.

Expense-wise, the recent upgrade of instruments I did for Rock Band wins, since I moved from all Rock Band 1 instruments to a Beatles Special Edition wireless guitar and drum, a pro guitar/double bass wireless bundle, and 3 wireless mics (not to mention the keyboard I got with the game).  Nothing beat that for sheer expense (though my initial Dreamcast purchase of the system, 4 games, two arcade sticks, 3 controllers and 4 memory units was close, and probably more expensive, albeit across 4 games).  The most interesting controller I used was either the Power Glove or the Power Pad.  I owned the Power Pad, so that probably wins out as the "Oh cool!" factor it had back then.  Of course, eventually I just used my hands on the pads, but while I was running, it was great!

What about you?

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Each week, you’ll be posed a question.   Give a response and let the world know what you think, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

With the announcement that SOE has just released progression servers on EverQuest, it got me thinking about my glory days playing MMOs.  I guess I technically started back with The Sierra Network's The Shadows of Yserbius (if you don't count BBS roleplaying games like TradeWars 2002 or Legend of the Red Dragon), and grew from there into AOL's Neverwinter Nights.  It wasn't until Ultima Online, however, that I got a real sense of the "Massive" behind MMORPG (the term was technically coined at that point by UO's creator and, looking back, UO is probably the first to give you that feeling).  I played Ultima Online until Everquest came out, and spent majority of my gaming in college on EQ.  So obviously, it holds a special place in my heart.  Hearing about the old-school coming back to EQ made me wonder:

What is your favorite MMORPG, and why?

Favorite doesn't have to mean best.  I was really tempted to say Ultima Online here, because it was a game changer for me in what I expected out of my online experience, but I just think back to exploring Norrath, meeting people, dying, killing, dying some more, trains.. ah.. how can you forget the trains?  Anyway, EverQuest is, by far, my favorite MMO; one I wish I could go back to sometimes, but know that it would never be the same as those first few years, doing Karana runs, 45 minute boat rides, trying to creep along the walls in Unrest, sneaking through Neriak, getting lost in Toxxulia Forest.  I clearly have some bottled up issues I need to address.. don't mind me.

Bonus points for mentioning if you're still playing the game, and if there's anything out on the horizon that has you excited.

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Each week, you’ll be posed a question.   Give a response and let the world know what you think, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.

When someone asks you to name a video game, what's the first thing that pops into your head?  Call of Duty? Mass Effect? Bioshock? Angry Birds?  The answer to the question largely depends on how you got into gaming; for me, it was through consoles, so my knee jerk reaction is to name a console game. I still think of XBLA or games on my phone as a secondary, almost lower tier game, despite the fact that I spend as much time playing Bubble Blast 2 on my Droid as I do most console games.  And yet, while Black Ops rakes in over $1,000,000,000 world-wide, Angry Birds sold 12 million copies on the iPhone alone.  Certainly it's a quality game, and I can't deny that the game is fun, but I don't consider it a video game in the same sense as I would Fallout: New Vegas.

Are retail and downloadable (app-like) games on the same level in your eyes?  Do you consider one to be a higher "tier" than the other?

Keep in mind, I'm not questioning the validity of downloadable games (and yes, I know many full-on retail games are available as download, never mind that almost all PC games now-a-days are downloadable).  I'm referring to games you'd find on your phone, or on PSN, XBLA, or WiiWare: games originally designed to be downloaded.  I just can't shake the notion that paying $5 for a casual game isn't what I consider when thinking about a video game.  Maybe it's just me..

A Simple Question (ASQ) is a weekly segment for Platform Nation.  Each week, you’ll be posed a question.   Give a response and let the world know what you think, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you have a suggestion for a question, hit me up on twitter @vttym.