I had a baby.

It’s not the greatest picture, but that’s ok.  Welcome to our second daughter, gamertag: JoBear.  Born April 20, 7 pounds, 7 oz, 19 and 1/2 inches.

So now we’re the proud parents of two little girls!  I hope to get back to blogging regularly now that I’ve had some time to adjust, but it may be hit or miss for a while.  Will has a bunch of new videos, including some of the Halo Reach beta, that I’ll put up a link to pretty soon.

The Gamerbabies

It’s hard to see, because I took the picture with my cell phone, but here’s one of my creations: a cheap, plain tank top with rhinestones ironed on to say “hi n00b,” and then a girly skull iron on underneath.  Not too bad.  She also has a while one that says “I PWN NOOBS.”  More fun with rhinestones and gamer slang is forthcoming, because I now have what I need to make the baby girl we’re expecting in a few weeks a onsie that says “n00b.”  I am so cool.

Observe: further evidence of my coolness.     

I made Will a Halo 3 quilt for Christmas last year.  It took quite a bit of work, but I’m happy with the result.  More importantly, so is he.  In fact, this is without a doubt the most successful present I’ve ever giving anyone… ever.

For this project, I bought a lot of printable fabric iron-on paper for light and dark fabrics (the light is substantially cheaper, hence the white bars on the top and bottom of each picture… I had to put them on white fabric, also the light transfers were much better quality than the dark, which I had to go back and sew on).

There are 20 screenshots here total, all of him or games he played in.  Then I printed out the Halo logo, some art of his gamertag (made by Ironworks crew member Storm Sgt, very nice), and 12 smaller images (mostly medals).  I ironed them all onto their respective pieces of fabric.   Finally, I was able to start all the work that normally goes into quiltmaking. 

Granted, I’m not a real quilter; I just tie mine.  So maybe I’m not as cool as I pretend to be.  That’s ok, though.  He likes it.  So does she.  And I got my 15 minutes of Halo fame when Will sent in pictures and my quilt was featured on both Joystiq and Hawty McBloggy.  Thanks, guys!

Are there any new kinds of projects that you’ve done since being with your significant other?  I’d love to hear about it!

Red Storm vs. 8 Bit Brigade

I promise to post soon.  My sister was in town for a while, so that’s my excuse.

And he’s also getting pretty good at Photoshop.  I know I couldn’t have made this from nothing!

Here’s a video review of Blur, a racing game for the Xbox 360 and PS3, by my husband.

Watch the video!

Also, if actions speak louder than words, you should know that he stayed up until the wee hours playing this game the first night he had it.  So I’m guessing it’s pretty fun.

First off, the absolute best way for a non-gaming person to participate in any kind of gaming/LAN party is to send your significant other to someone else’s house.  However, if they insist on having one at your place, here are a few things I’d suggest.

1) In the case of a console gaming party (like Halo or Modern Warfare), some of his buddies are going to have to bring their own TV’s, because if there are more than four of them, they’re going to need to hook up some extra consoles.  I don’t have any experience with a full-blown LAN, but I’m pretty sure those require people to have their own computers.  Your gamer will be aware of this, but it leads me to the point below.

2) Set up restricted areas beforehand, because most of us have certain places in our homes that we’d rather not have a bunch of strange, smelly, and occasionally shady guys.  For me, those private zones include my bedroom and the room my daughters share (or will, when the next one is born).  So, to prevent those areas from being used, I make sure and talk to my husband about where exactly those boys will be playing before they all show up.  If they must be in my bedroom, I make sure it’s my husband and his friends that I know and trust.  Just a personal preference.

3) If possible, get some of the more responsible ones to bring some kind of food/drink item, or they’ll sweep through your house like locusts, and you’ll find your grocery bill has mysteriously doubled.

4) Decide what you’re going to do. 

Option #1, you can stay.  This might be a good option if a)you prefer to keep an eye on things with all those people in your house (which I totally understand), b) you’re relatively new to your relationship and you want to show how chill you are, or that you get along with his friends, or you just want to be with him, c) you’re about to pwn them ALL. 

Option #2 is the one that I’d suggest for a those not about to pwn.  Leave.  Go hang out with your friends, go to lunch, take your kids to the park or a playdate (or drop them off with the grandparents), etc.  Especially if you’re one of those who wants to be with him, because in my experience, he’s just after some guy time.  It’s ok to be apart.

These are the things that I’ve found work for me.  I hope they’re helpful to someone out there.  As always, I’d love to hear tips from you guys!

A little while ago, I posted about how the gaming industry could get girls to game.  My answer: add some love to the blood and guts and see what happens.

But G4 has compiled a list of games already out there that dabble in the “romantic.”  Check out their Top Five Love Stories in Video Games.  I’ll be honest, it’s not quite what I had in mind.

Red Storm vs Five Guys

For the full rundown, check out the Postgame Carnage Report at Ironworks.

A lot of guys don’t understand why their wives or girlfriends have a problem with their gaming.  We all need a hobby, right?  Well, look at it this way: guys game because they like it.  It relaxes you, helps you unwind after a tough day, and is a good way to stay connected to your friends.  Gaming bothers a lot of women because they feel like it’s more important to you than they are.  To many women, it’s not about the game, it’s about who or what you love more. Of course you love her more, and you tell her all the time.  So what?  You can tell her every second of every day for a hundred years, but just like you, we need to be shown.  For the wife of a gamer, nothing says “I love you” louder than seeing you select “Turn off System” voluntarily.

I’m not saying never game.  After all, you’re a gamer.  But here are a few things you can do that might stop her from getting mad when you do play:

Compromise # 1: Do some housework

Nothing is more frustrating than cleaning or folding laundry while your husband is sitting on his butt playing video games.  You may have worked all day, but in today’s society, chances are she has, too.  Even if she’s a stay at home mom, she’s been working all day.  Don’t believe me?  I dare you to trade places for a day.  I double-dog dare you.  Do it.  One or two little things will take literally 10-20 minutes of your time.  Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

Compromise #2: Give yourself a limit

The ultimate sacrifice: agreeing to turn off your console in a predetermined amount of time.  This isn’t something I personally need my husband to do every day.  But if you’ve been racking up a lot of hours lately, it might be nice to slow it down for a week or two.  A problem Will and I run into sometimes, especially with a winter live we’ve had this year, is not knowing what to do together when he’s not playing and I’m not off doing my own thing.  We’ve found that we enjoy playing non-video games together.  Some favorites include Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly Deal, and Euchre (YOO-ker, for those of you not from the midwest), etc.  We also have a kid, so it can be fun to take her places or con her into helping with housework while she still thinks it’s a fun game.

Compromise #3: Make sure you put her first

There is absolutely nothing on this green earth that will turn me into the Screeching Wifemonster faster than my husband ignoring me.  This happens at two times: 1) when he’s pretending to be asleep, and 2) when he’s gaming.  I know, I know, sometimes you really, truly don’t hear us.  It happens to me when I’m writing or reading a good book.  However, if it happens constantly, it’s something you may want to work on.  It can be done with conscious effort.  Conscious.  Effort.  It makes me so much happier to get a reasonably immediate, “Yeah?” and my happiness turns into his happiness, because I’m not screeching.  Even our daughter is happier.  It’s a beautiful cycle.

There are many, many things that gamers and their significant others can do to keep each other happy, and each couple can come up with lists unique to them.  This one is mine.  I think the key, besides communicating, is to always try to put the other person first.  Service, charity, whatever you want to call it.  Granted, sometimes that’s just hard, because why would you do that for them when they’re not doing that for you?  Relationships cycle, so give them some time.  Now if they never put you first, that’s a serious issue, and that’s your call.

If you’ve got any other ideas on what gamers and wives can do to make their relationship better, leave a comment.  I’d love to hear them!  There’s also some good advice in the comments of the related post, Compromising with your Gamer.

So my husband  just got a PVR, which basically allows you to record things from your TV on your computer.  He’s been really excited to do some game reviews.  This is his first one.  Check it out on YouTube.

Heavy Rain: A Willy Q Review

Pretty good for a first try.  I can’t wait to see what he does in the future!

You’ve probably noticed that times are hard for most of us, and for a lot of people may be cutting back on “unnecessary” expenses, which unfortunately includes most of your products (the exception is my husband, who continues to attempt your financial support single-handedly).  Well, I have an idea.  Why not expand your consumer base?

Though the Wii has made a valiant attempt to pick up non-gamers and has been fairly successful, I submit that there is still an enormous untapped demographic out there for you to mine: women.

Perhaps the intricacies of capturing the female audience have eluded you for so long because, to be quite frank, most of you are men.  However, I don’t think it would be difficult at all for you to get girls to game.  The “secret” isn’t very secret, after all.  Your cousin, the Publishing Industry, knows all about it.

Love.

Stop gagging.

Seriously. While most men only need guns, awesome graphics, and a passable plot to buy a game, women need something a little more from the story.  We need love.  We crave it.  Love sells.  Package chocolates with your games and you’ll snag 99% of women overnight.

Ok, probably not.  However, I think there’s something to this idea of mine.  In fact, this blog was inspired by another blog written by my friend Brooke (thanks, Brooke!).  While she enjoys the traditional aspects of video games, what really pulls her in and gets her hooked (and me, I admit) is the story.  Specifically, the love story.

 So a move like this would involve a lot of re-thinking; most women aren’t so much into the violence inherent in the traditional idea of video games at all.  While I’m sure a few slay-the-zombies-to-save-the-man-in-distress plots would do well, they can’t all be like that.  That’s not to say they shouldn’t be as difficult as games aimed at men, they just need to be different.  Don’t insult us.

Before I close, I’d like to make an acknowledgement.  I know that there are already female gamers who gag as much as their male counterparts at the idea of games like this.  I have an incredible amount of respect for them and don’t mean to demean them in any way.  After all, they’ve survived and thrived in a world most of us couldn’t.  I’m not saying that existing female gamers will enjoy these games; I’m saying this will net you a new set of consumers.

So there’s my idea.  It’s pretty basic, but it does leave you a lot of room to be creative.  It might be worth a try.  I can think of several authors you can look to for inspiration.

Sincerely Yours,

The Gamerwife