We're off to Emerald City!

Hey, so, hope everybody is having a nice summer away from school. I'm not quite sure anybody still reads this. It all depends on whether or not RSS Feed is your friend, I suppose.

Anyways, in latest news: Monday- Thursday I will be in Seattle volunteering at ION 2008, a gaming conference there. It's fairly new out there in the world of gaming conferences, and is not really there for the student in mind. (More so for "networking" and events for higher-ups on the gaming chain...directors...heads of whatevers).

But, since I'm volunteering there, I get a view on this wide world of the top of the gaming industry that not many get.... I plan on when I'm not working, sitting in on some of the sessions that are going place there. In particular, I'm going to try and go to sessions that involve either game design or community in mind, as those two aspects of gaming I find particularly fascinating...I still don't know a great deal about game design when it comes to online gaming (As I don't really play them- I blame the weird arse semester I had last year mostly- I've been trying to get into Second Life and America's Army recently, but to not much avail.), and considering that a big part of online game is interacting with other users and community, I also figured this might be a good thing to look at.

(Besides- Im not quite sure I'm ready for the business aspect of online gaming quite yet...maybe when I get further along in deciding if I really want a part of the game industry for my job, really)

Pictures? Videos? Notes? I might try and get them while I'm there, but I really don't know. My digital camera has a tendancy to spazz out at the wrong moments and "break", and my trusty mini-Moleskine will have the job of note taking for me. Either way, if I find absolutely anything facinating enough to share, I might slap a summary or something up here. And if it sounds so interesting you want to know EVERY SINGLE THING, well, I imagine you could probably email and ask me nicely about the details of what I learned at such and such session.

Anyways, I'm really stoked about going to Seattle. It's a great city...I mean....when I'm not at the conference, like tommorow after I check into the hotel, I plan on doing all the geeky thing I normally do when I'm in Seattle. Go to the International District and stock up on Japanese snack foods/drinks at Uwajimaya, maybe some manga at Kinokuniya. Eat ramen at Samurai Noodle at LEAST once while I'm there. Try not to blow a whole wad of cash at Gameworks downtown (and I will probably horribly fail at that dream if they still have the Taiko no Tatsujin simulators or all those classic arcade machines/fighting games upstairs, lol). Coffee. Coffee. Coffee shops everywhere, and I will <3 every one of them that isn't a Starbucks. (Except for the original Starbucks at Pike Place...that one's cool.) Etc,etc.

So, to all the Spookaloo crew, see you in 4 days, and to any Ringling-ers who may be reading as well, hope you're having a good summer thus far!