Women in Games: Amanda McGinnis from Console to Closet

Amanda McGinnis shops around and finds the best outfits and accessories inspired by video game characters. Currently a junior English major in college, Amanda hopes to one-day work for a gaming publication, or become a community manager for a gaming community. In addition to keeping everyone up on gamer fashion Amanda founded Assassionista, a gaming blog. Here is my conversation with Amanda about her Tumblr, Console to Closet. Natasha: So, how did you come up with this idea? Amanda: I actually came up with this idea a few months ago, when I decided that I wanted to learn how to make jewelry. I had this idea that I could make jewelry that looked inspired by games for people who wanted to show their nerd pride, but still look fashionable. After one trip to Michaels, I realized I had no idea how to make jewelry. Fast-forward a few months, I was

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Watch ‘Assassin’s Creed III’ Gameplay Trailer

Assassin’s Creed III takes gamers to America with a new main character, Connor. Battle through Boston and see some stunning gameplay in this trailer that dropped this morning.  

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‘PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’ Official

  One of the games that PlayStation has neglected to make, but has been rumored,  is finally official. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is PlayStation’s fighting game featuring favorites from a myriad of the console’s franchises throughout the years. In the video, SuperBot Entertainment talks about Fat Princess and Parappa the Rapper’s abilities, both characters aren’t thought of as fighting powerhouses, but they make a presence. SuperBot Entertainment says they tried to capture the essence of each character. The video also shows some other favorites like Kratos. Are you excited about the game? Which characters do you hope make a showing?    

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Winner of Women in Games Scholarship Announced

  Kristina Soltvedt Wiik, from Norway, won the Vancouver Film School’s women in games scholarship. Wiik enjoys a full scholarship to the school’s one year game design program as well as its premier education. Wiik is currently a journalist for Gamereator Magazine and a writer of game fiction. “My initial reaction to receiving the Women in Games Scholarship was disbelief,” said Wiik. “It is a tremendous privilege to be awarded such a coveted scholarship and I can’t help but be excited at the possibility of realizing my dreams. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead of me, and the ensuing opportunities that VFS will surely offer.” Vancouver Film School created the scholarship to give opportunities to women, in a male dominated industry. “With what I have seen from our latest winner, the future of gaming looks very promising,” said Dave Warfield, Head of Game Design at VFS.  

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Pre-Order Torchlight 2 and Get Special Bonus

Pre-order bonuses are the norm, so now that Torchlight 2 is up for pre-order, Perfect World Entertainment is promising a little extra incentive. For the people who pre-order Torchlight 2, they will receive a closed beta key for Dungeons and Dragons Neverwinter. The game enters beta later this year. To make sure you can get your key, pre-order from Perfect World Entertainment. An email will be sent at the time of the beta containing your beta key.  

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Portal 2 DLC Coming to PC and Mac

  Fans of the popular Portal series can now take the first person puzzler to a new level. In Perpetual Testing Initiative, the DLC for Portal 2, allows players to create, share and play puzzles. The free DLC  is coming to Windows PC and Mac on May 8. The puzzle creator allows players to create levels without ever leaving the game and it can be directly published to Steam Workshop. Players can then meander the store, vote on their favorites and of course play them.

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Nintendo Bringing a lot of Old/New to its Systems

Between now an August Nintendo fans can rejoice. Fans can play through old Kirby levels, and jump through New Super Mario Bros. 2. In two days, the Nintendo 3DS is getting a system update that brings the Nintendo eShop to the present. And, finally, in May Mario Tennis Open for the 3DS launches. Nintendo is marking the 20th anniversary of Kirby with a compilation disc, for the Wii, with fan favorite Kirby games from the past 20 years. The disc will release later this year. Nintendo also plans to have specific Kirby activities for the anniversary. The New Super Mario Bros. 2 game is the traditional side-scrolling adventure with Mario and Luigi for the Nintendo 3DS. The new game is meant to be a pick up and play game for any skill level. New Super Mario Bros. 2 will release in North America in August. “A new Mario game and

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Ride Mt. Eddie in SSX DLC

  SSX is getting DLC on May 1 for Xbox LIVE and PSN. The new track goes retro with less ways to kill yourself and more opportunities for fun. The DLC also sports classic versions of everyone’s favorite characters. Bring on the fun, and watch this gameplay trailer for the upcoming DLC.    

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CBS Interactive Partners With MLG, TwitchTV

CBS Interactive expands with a partnership with Major League Gaming and TwitchTV. Now the media giant has over 3 billion minutes of live gaming and eSports content each month. TwitchTV brings 16 million viewers to the CBS family, which already includes GameSpot. Also,  MLG’s partnership makes CBS Interactive the exclusive online broadcaster of the league’s Pro Circuit, and both deals include advertising contracts. “The eSports scene is one of the hottest trends in video, and is rapidly attracting the core 18-34 male demographic in greater numbers than any other medium or category,” said Jim Lanzone, President, CBS Interactive. “With these partnerships, CBSi now represents the biggest audience in live gaming and is able to offer our advertising partners a unique mix of trusted, premium content along with the huge engagement and audience that the eSports scene is commanding right now.” Gaming media is exploding, the MLG had record viewers from

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Play ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ Demo

Fight a chimerain or a griffin with your custom character that can be imported once Dragon’s Dogma comes out May 22. The demo is available Aril 24 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Gamers can play as two of the game’s classes, the fighter and the strider. The fighter is the typical melded hack n’ slasher and the strider is an expert in bows and daggers. Each class has a different demo experience. The fighter dives you into the prologue fighting the chimerain, while the strider as you facing the mighty griffin. Don’t worry creating your character is no waste of time as they can be imported into the full game.

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