My friends over at Naughty Dog have been secretly working on a new IP and they pulled the curtain back tonight at the SpikeVGAs. The Last of Us looks pretty damn cool. Looking forward to seeing more of it.

How Your Favorite Game Companies Use Facebook

Like this. Like that. Facebook has taken the world by storm and has become a crucial platform for community managers and companies to help keep in touch with and grow their online communities.   With the constant evolution of social media and Facebook in particular, you may not know some of the cool things happening on your favorite game studio’s Facebook page.  Join Collin Moore (Community Management Vet) as he moderates a discussion with community managers from across the game industry (Insomniac Games, Playfish/EA, Harmonix, and Robot Entertainment), about the importance of Facebook to game companies, and how pressing the “LIKE” button is just the beginning.

Where: Manticore Theatre
When: Friday, 8:00pm – 9:00pm

The Roads to Becoming a Community Manager (East Coast Version!)

Based on the great feedback we received after this panel at PAX Prime, we’ve decided to do it again! East-Coast Style. You hear us on podcasts, see us in videos, read our blogs on websites, retweet us, argue with us on forums, and give us high fives at PAX. But have you ever wondered how we became community managers? From games journalism to forum moderation to public policy and QA, every road is different. Find out the random history of some of your favorite game studio community managers, and hear their advice on what skills and knowledge you’ll need to become one of gaming’s next-generation of community managers.

Panelists include: Alli Thresher [Community Moderator, Harmonix Music Systems, Inc], James Stevenson [Community Manager, Insomniac Games], Arne Meyer [Manager, Community, Naughty Dog], Sam Houston [Online Content Manager, Playfish, EA], Jennifer Kye [Company Blogger, Social Media Editor, Gameloft]

Where: Wyvern Theatre
When: Saturday, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

I’ll be on Twitter the entire show, so look for some live updates, some fun photos, and perhaps a video here and there. See you at the show!

Madden 2011

I admit it, I love Madden and sports games.  I buy them each year.  I find them relaxing compared to some other games out there.  But this years Madden was a little different with the simplified play selection interface which leads to a much quicker game.  The game plays like your typical Madden game, which an improved running game, but passing can be a pain at the higher difficulties.

Halo: Reach

I was able to pick Halo: Reach up a couple weeks after it came out, but I wasn’t able to play it due to moving and not having access to my Xbox 360.  But now that I am all settled I decided to fire it up.  Having a number of friends working at Bungie, I feel I need to play their games to support them, but they also make great games.  Halo: Reach is nothing but polish.  From the menus to the flow, the art, the music, the multiplayer.  Everything just has the signs of a very well thought out game in every aspect.  I am currently a couple missions into the game, and been very impressed.  The only problem I have ran into is some silly partner AI and sometimes I get lost and don’t know where to go next, but find my way by just exploring for a couple minutes.

Dead Rising 2

Loading.  I loved the original Dead Rising.  It was fun just to wander around the mall and pick up hockey sticks and other random weapons, but sadly the sequel has some major problems.  First you don’t play the game for what seems like the first 30 minutes.  Just cinematic and press button, loading, cinematic and press button, loading, drive motorbike for three minutes, loading, cinematic… you get the idea.  I can understand their desire to provide a more impactful story, but let me go kill some zombies!  FAST!!  The loading is just a flaw.  With games like Red Dead Redemption allowing such open worlds with little to no loading, it is disappointing that Dead Rising 2 needs to load all the freaking time.

Super Meat Boy

I love it that the game that has been taking up most of my time is a simple jumping puzzle game.  I can’t help myself how fun this game is.  The campiness, the graphics, the simplicity, just makes me want to play it more.  With all the huge budget games coming out, it is a simple game made by two people that has my attention.  I might be in a minority, but I think that minority is growing, rapidly.

More posts shortly.

Core from Stone Temple Pilots is still one of my favorite albums of all time.  Guitar heavy, drums that fill the room, and Weiland’s odd and awesome vocals.  This album is perfect for Rock Band!  Vocally it wouldn’t be that difficult other then some of the faster lyrical songs, the drums are amazing, and you always need more awesome guitar parts in Rock Band.  You have your big hits like Plush and Wicked Garden, but some other awesome supporting songs Crackerman and Dead & Bloated.

Modest Mouse might be an odd choice, but The Moon & Antarctica is a masterpiece and would make for some amazing Rock Band moments.  The guitar parts mix between some very slow melodic notes to raw power cords.  The drums have a cool jazz influence to them, making it not your typical rock drum tracks.  Last but not least you can’t get around the lyrics in this album.  It is priceless.  I mean borderline insane.  I mean how can an album like this not make for some great Rock Band Nights!!  But sadly this album might be a little too strange to be released on something like Rock Band.

Bush’s first album Sixteen Stones has a soft spot in my heart. I listened to it nonstop during a trip out to Pearrygin Lake when I was like 14 or something. Not to mention it does have some great songs, the album was huge, so everyone and their mother knows the lyrics. It probably has four or five songs that almost anyone can sing just from memory, such as Everything Zen, Little Things, Glycerine, Comedown, and Machine Head. The guitars in on the album are actually quite strong with some light solos and some heavy riffs, even some great bass lines on songs like Comedown. It would make a perfect Rock Band album.

The Datsuns are straight up cock rock! Insane guitar parts, over the top lyrics, and they are freaking loud! All the good things for songs in Rock Band. This album would never come out on Rock Band simply because of the lyrical content, but how awesome would it be to play Motherfucker From Hell on Rock Band!! Almost every song is awesome and would make some some unbelievable moments!

Collin’s Xbox 360.  RIP November 2005 to December 2008.