Sugar Gamers @ E3

The E3 Experience:

Hey ladies, E3 was just a week ago and I’m still recovering from it. All the websites have news and previews on the latest greatest games and what not, but I really want to share my experience of my first E3. Sugar Gamers is still a new site and I’m still growing into it. So for me to have this opportunity so soon was awesome! Remember Christmas when you were young, getting to wear your favorite costume on Halloween, mastering your first game, reading you 100th comic, or going to Disneyland? Well E3 was like all those things rolled up into one! It’s like the video game Mecca!!


Atmosphere:

E3 was hands down the biggest convention I’ve ever been to. The 2010 E3 Expo featured approximately 300 exhibitors and 45,600 attendees from 90 countries. There was the Activision concert featuring all the hottest celebs. Also there were 2 exhibitions halls with thousands of square feet with every possible gadget, gaming device, accessory… whatever that you could think of! Free swag EVERYWHERE including t-shirts, pens, hats, posters, bags, coupons, downloads, ect. The exhibition halls were very visually stimulating - If you weren’t looking at huge projector setups, you were looking at elaborate models depicting characters and environments from different games.

Even though every presentation didn’t make me fall in love with the game or product- they were very entertaining and sophisticated. Just look at it this way, in the 4 days I was in LA, I probably got 15 hrs of sleep and walked at least 25 hours and I still didn’t see everything.


Highlights:

It was great to see the overall direction gaming is going in. Most games will become more interactive and realistic. With the Wii, XBOX Kinect, and the PS3 Move motion controller, games (especially rhythm based) are on a whole new level. You will be learning how to do choreographed dance moves, your virtual workout will replace your gym membership, and people will generally be actively immersed in the game they are playing. Music games like Gig and Rock Band 3 will start using REAL instruments, and the gameplay will actually be a realistic segway into learning how to play real guitars, real keyboards, and drums.




Also there are many online games that will give World of Warcraft a run for their money. One in particular that caught my eye was DC Universe Online. I just recently got into comics however, this game seems really fun because you get to make your own super hero.

The people I got to meet were also fantastic. Everyone I met was so cool and personable. You could be standing right next to the president of Sony or the composer for Final Fantasy and wouldn’t even know it.

Olivia Munn

Todd Hollenshead - PRESIDENT OF ID SOFTWARE

I also got to meet many of my fellow geeky gaming girls! I met a lot of the women from the Frag dolls as well as some of the other female pro-gamers.

Overall I’m really excited about the new technology that will be coming out and the opportunity to have experienced a lot of it firsthand. There wasn’t much I didn’t like about the whole experience with the exception that even though women make up close to half of the gaming population, the convention was still a sausage fest. Either way, I’m super stoked about next year and the surprises it will bring!

Night out with MoneyPenny!

So, it all started when I went out with my “not” brother Uthman and his friends (yes, Uthman is his real name and No he’s not my brother). I didn’t know anyone but him, so in my quest not annoy him the whole night (just half), I spoke to some of his friend’s friends.

Okay- you still with me? So I was talking to a young woman named… Lisa. I hope that was her name. And we were talking about awesome women that love video games. She asked me “have you ever heard of DJ Mother Hubbard? She’s a huge gamer and a great DJ”. I hadn’t and thus began my quest to learn more about this DJ Mother Hubbard. I figured she must really love her some nursery rhymes.

(poor dog)

So fast forward some research and a few lucky email interview requests later and I got to meet Chess Hubbard (I don’t think she’s obsessed with nursery rhymes at all)! And I was surprised to find that she is even MORE awesome than I anticipated. Even though she only appears to be about 19 or 20, this woman has been spinning for over 5 years. She is part owner, publisher, and creative director for http://www.urchicago.com/. She is also part of several other music projects including being ½ of DJing duo MoneyPenny with Jessica Gonyea and Life During Wartime. PLUS- she's a gamer! Woot woot!

(Chess Hubbard aka DJ Mother Hubbard)

(Jessica Gonyea)
(These last two photos are the pictures I took while at Beauty Bar- I'll get to that experience in a moment. In the mean time- these chicks are HOT!!)

So, of course I’ve heard great music reviews about MoneyPenny. I finally got a chance to listen to them for myself and…. MoneyPenny is good. You know how you go out to the club and the DJ is playing your favorite new Lady Gaga song and then tries to unsuccessfully mix it with old school Jay Z? All of a sudden you don’t feel like dancing anymore and you wish you had more alcohol. You think to yourself “I was just having fun! This DJ blows! Well these ladies don't do that to you- even if they do decide to blend together two unlikely songs- they pull it off seamlessly without changing your mood or desire to dance. They spin all sorts of goodies in their sets (a little Prince, a dash Michael Jackson, a little of this- a little of that). Even if you don’t like all the genres of music they play- MoneyPenny still manages to create this really happy mood that gets the party moving. So- just listen for yourself-

you can download Moneypenny's "Spandexxx Mixtape.012" here http://www.urchicago.com/rocktamixtapes/Spandexxx.012.mp3


So, meeting Dj Mother Hubbard and listening to MoneyPenny brings me to my next adventure. I decided to check out Beauty Bar.

(This looked too good to pass up!)

(Those drinks sound so cute and delicious)

Now- I’m not an avid clubber, I wore myself out between working a short stint at IMAGE Chicago magazine and URSupermodels. The thing I hate most about clubs- the DJ usually sucks, drinks are costly, and people ARE NOT DANCING!! They're just crowded around the bars and the VIP section looking attractive. I’m pretty much over that. However, Beauty Bar is stimulating for multiple reasons! First- It’s got a beautiful fun interior design. MoneyPenny was spinning so I already knew the music was going to be on point. Ladies- you can get a manicure while you’re drinking a martini!! The whole lounge/club is 1960’s beauty shop themed. They have cute features- such as the chairs you sit in have hair dryers attached. So far- so good. And there’s a huge dance floor where people are actually sweating it out dancing, how refreshing. And it’s only 10:15 PM!! I came on a great night! Plus, cover was only $5 bucks. Drinks were moderately priced and had really cute names! And there was no particular style going on-everyone looked very geek chic though. Here are some of the partiers there-

(A hair dry chair never looked so cool)

(this is my blurry picture of the night! But I had to take a picture of the disco ball and the people dancing under it)

(They have fabulous outfits on! Very cute)

(Mr. DuFour)

(Biggest smirky smile ever and a super cute scarf)

(Look at the gloves of the girl on the right! I'm going to steal those!)

I didn't want to post too many of the interior shots- half the fun of going out to a new place is seeing what it looks like inside! Trust me- you'll love it.
I had a great time! I hope Beauty Bar stays fun! And I’m now a Huge fan Of MoneyPenny. So, I just wanted to share my experience with you ladies- who’s going with me to the next event?

C2E2 Weekend!!!

I'll let you in on a little secret. This is my first convention! As nerdy as I am- I've never had time or people to go with until Sugar Gamers! I had a blast- And the people I met were awesome sauce. In the above photo is Agent M. His twitter bio describes him best- Editor of Marvel.com. Writer, blogger, lover of tacos, tattoos, comics, video games, pop culture and cute stuff. He was extremely nice and a great conversationalist! I had been following him on twitter for the longest and C2E2 was my chance to meet him in person! You should check on his website! http://agentmlovestacos.com/

Here are some of the Sugar Gamers that enjoyed the convention with me!







Ashley Woods was also on the Black Comix Panel to talk about her original comic http://www.millenniawar.com/ who she co-writes with Michael Smith II.







Yay- I ran into Christina! She was our news correspondent/journalist for our Sugar Gamers launch party as well as our Victoria Secret "Giving is Sexy" event. I ran up to her and shook her and she wasn't that surprised. I think she is used to running into crazy people!






Look at the adorable future Sugar Gamer in training carrying her prize she won from Marvel. She schooled me on all the women on the cover of models!

Finally- here is some awesome costumes- What's a convention without the cosplay?

More Crazy Cosplay from C2E2

Okay, I wasn't cosplaying but this mask was so freaking cool!









It's not over! More Costumes! Enjoy!

Autographes and Comics for Sugar Gamers!!

Janet Lee is as sweet as pie!!


I met a few artists and writers that weren't in Artist Alley- and their big booths or awesome personalities were amazing and I was compelled to go meet them and spend my hard earned money!







Christopher "mink" Morrison writer of Shinjuku- a graphic novel that features one of my favorite artist Yoshitaka Amano who is famous for Vampire Hunter D and some of the earlier Final Fantasy games illustrations.



These gentlemen from Top Cow convinced me to buy the volume 1 of the graphic novel the Darkness by Phil Hester and Michael Broussard. I'll let you know how it is! The art is already on point!