(Skyrim) Todd Howard Keynote – February 8, 2012 – 6:30-7:30p Pacific

(Arkham City) Sefton Hill Session – February 9, 2012 – 10-10:30a Pacific

(Twisted Metal) David Jaffe Session – February 9, 2012 – 11:45a-12:15p Pacific

15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards – February 9, 2012 – 7:30p-10p Pacific

If you happen to catch any of these sessions, please share your thoughts on them…and also rate the speakers outfits on a scale of one to five (no halves!).

Based off a message I sent in the More-or-Less-Official RPad.TV Google+ Chat Room, I’ve been thinking a lot about materia. You know, those lovely magical balls (mind out of the gutter!) used in the world of Final Fantasy VII. If you could have one materia, what would it be and why? Would you go offensive? Maybe you’d like to summon Bahamut for afternoon tea chats? Or perhaps you’d like to heal you friends and family with restorative materia like Curaga or Esuna. Give it some thought and let me know your dream materia (please!).

Yuffie is a Materia Girl.

As for me, I’m stuck on a pair of materia from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Initially I was thinking that Costly Punch would be the way to go; it would pretty much let me win any fight in a cheap and annoying way that would mentally scar my opponents. However, I’m more of a thief than a fighter. Mug materia would be much more useful to me. Being able to steal and hit at the same time would rule! In my head, Mug would work with friendly slaps too. My victims would lose valuable possessions (or more likely, Pez dispensers) after innocent pats on the back thanks to the deceptively awesome power of Mug!

So how about it? If you have one materia, what would it be and why?

This weekend will be evenly split between my PlayStation 3 and my iPad 2. On the console side, I’ll be playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. My gaming-biz friends are all over the place with their opinions on the game. As a Final Fantasy homer, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy it. On the iPad side, I’ll be playing WinPokerHD. I’m headed to Las Vegas next week for DICE and I’ve randomly caught the video-poker bug. WinPokerHD is a fantastic training program that lets you practice, learn optimal play, and avoid mistakes. I used it a ton on my PC during my semi-pro gambling phase of 2001. Since video poker is played on a touchscreen, the game is even better on the iPad.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Humble Bundle is a great way to enjoy some sweet games, support some lovely indie developers, and contribute to great charities. On the game side, you get Anomaly, Edge, Osmos, and World of Goo. The games are DRM-free and available on multiple platforms (Android, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows). You pay what you want for the games, which is very cool. What’s even cooler is that you can split up your payment; you can decide how much goes to the developer, the charities, and Humble Bundle.

I’d love to hear what you think of Humble Bundle. On paper, it seems like a win-win for gamers, developers, and charities. If you happen to pick up the games, please share your Humble Bundle experience.

The other day, RPadholic Lunias wrote a great post about achievements killing cheat codes. While millions of gamers enjoy achievements, trophies, and negasonic teenage warheads, these features have definitely lessened the use of cheats, cheat codes, and cheat devices. Do you miss the world of cheats? Or are you happy that the use of cheat codes has been curbed (or eliminated depending on your point of view) by achievements, trophies, and negaonic teenage warheads?

As for me, I definitely miss them. Even though the vast majority of my cheat use was for replays and I could probably still use cheats the same way today, I’m sure they would cost me a small amount of achievements or trophies. This, I cannot have. Yes, I’m one of those idiots that will sacrifice a bit of enjoyment for some meaningless points…though I suppose it’s really trading one type of enjoyment for another. I love my meaningless points!

How about you? Have achievements, trophies, and the like stopped you from cheating? Do you miss cheat codes? Out of curiosity, what’s your all-time favorite cheat code?

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is still on my playlist. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish a large chunk of the game this weekend. I recently picked up The Bard’s Tale for iPad, as it was on sale for $2.99. I enjoyed the game on consoles and am really looking forward to seeing how it plays on the iPad 2. The game is totally in my wheelhouse — it’s an action-RPG with some of the funniest writing I’ve ever enjoyed.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

BlizzCon is an awesome event full of passionate fans, great panels, and cool products. I’m bummed that it won’t be happening this year (especially since I skipped BlizzCon 2011). That said, I’m excited about possibly trekking to Asia for the Battle.net World Championships.

Any of you bummed about BlizzCon 2012 not happening?

Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Bastion
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Supergiant Games

L.A. Noire
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Team Bondi

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Toys for Bob

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Action Game of the Year
Battlefield 3
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: DICE

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games

Dead Space 2
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: Visceral

Gears of War 3
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Epic Games

Saints Row: The Third
Publisher: THQ Inc.
Developer: Volition INC.

Adventure Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Rocksteady Studios

L.A. Noire
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Team Bondi

Portal 2
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Developer: Valve Corporation

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Naughty Dog

Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Dark Souls
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Developer: From Software

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Eidos Montreal

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: BioWare Austin

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Publisher: Atari
Developer: CD Projekt

Mobile Game of the Year
Contre Jour
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: Chillingo

Dead Space
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Inc.
Developer: EA Mobile

Infinity Blade II
Publisher: Epic Games
Developer: Chair Entertainment

Tentacles
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Press Play

The Dark Meadow
Publisher: Phosphor Games Studio
Developer: Phosphor Games Studio

Handheld Game of the Year
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Publisher: Capcom U.S. A.
Developer: Capcom

Kirby Mass Attack
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Hal Laboratory

Mario Kart 7
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Level 5

Super Mario 3D Land
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo

Downloadable Game of the Year
Bastion
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Supergiant Games

Drawn: Trail of Shadows
Publisher: Big Fish Games
Developer: Big Fish Games

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Fuel Cell

Ms. Splosion Man
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games

Orcs Must Die!
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Developer: Robot Entertainment

Bethesda Softworks and id Software have announced the official dates for QuakeCon 2012: August 2 – 5. Like last year’s QuakeCon, the event will take place at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. It’s a marvelous time for gamers, especially those that are into first-person shooters and want to hear the brilliant words of John Carmack.

I’d like to go, but August is too far ahead for me to be planning anything. Who knows what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be working. Any of you interested in attending? You down for some QuakeCon 2012 excitement?