Not Dead Yet ... Follow Me On Twitter

Yes everyone who still follows this site I am still alive. Been busy with work/life/stuff to the point that I just didn't have time to update the site and my podcast on a regular basis. I would love to tell everyone that I can start up the site full force once again, but that probably isn't realistic.

However I believe that Twitter might be my savior for now. Writing 140 characters or less on a regular basis should not be a problem. It might not be perfect, but it's going to be much easier than having to deal with always finding "that perfect picture to insert with the blog post" or spending hours upon hours editing the latest podcast. Writing lots of small snippets on a regular basis should be just about perfect for me right about now.

So check out my Twitter page at http://twitter.com/GamingSteve. Find out what I've been up too this past year, what I've been playing, and let's see where it goes from there.

First Post! Meet New Gaming Contributor, Chris Holmes

Hello your royal readership, I am a brand new writer for this wondrous oasis of gaming journalism that is more commonly known as Gaming Steve. My name is Chris Holmes, and my Gaming Steve forum alias is “homez99”, which I actually use for most of my online services, thanks to someone already taking “Homez” on Live when I first got it way back all those years ago with my little Xbox.

Bringing up systems, I can officially confirm in this post in the very etchings of my Gaming Steve career, I have a PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, DS, PSP and a 360, with intentions of purchasing a PS3 once they settle on a main SKU and I get a new television, which Steve can hopefully supply after he sees my delightful work.

I would say that I try to get my gaming equipment day one, but this strategy has not worked well with the 360, which has suffered the ill-fated “Red Rings Of Death” disease three times, and I can reveal that my fourth 360 has just arrived as I am writing this via the magical brown UPS van and the kind-hearted gentleman driving it.

To me, games are at the very crux of my existence, and a matter which I take very seriously, even when I inject a bit of comedy into proceedings to help the ebb and flow of my masterpieces. I do not have a favorite genre or system, and try to provide a balanced view whenever I can. However, this article has probably proven to you that my writing is a bit eccentric and mad, but I think it certainly livens up the page when compared to some of the stuff that makes it into the big name blogs.

I am accused of being opinionated and a bit dominative, but I think you’ll like the style. Articles you will see me write will be all over the spectrum of usual content; such as news and reviews, but I’m planning to throw some other stuff into the mixer as well, when appropriate. Moreover, I am completely wired into this industry with my Firefox mutated via the use of extensive add-ons and RSS feeds, as well as my insatiable appetite for podcasts.

My past experience has been quite tenacious, as at first I worked on a website with a few friends when I was much younger, called “Klik Gamers”, and I can assure you that name was not my idea, and if you find any archived articles I made for that site, ignore them, I was young and innocent. Then, I moved up to “Club Skill”, which has survived multiple supernovae, and it was with these gracious men that I had the opportunity to attend the Leipzig Games Convention in 2006. At this esteemed event, I got to see Crackdown and Viva Pinata in development, play with some Wii games that still haven’t been released (Wii Music), and most importantly, I got to experience the true power of Gaming Steve favorite Spore, albeit only in creation mode.

So there we are, after the long wait I am ready to write, and write I shall. I would like to encourage you to leave feedback whenever you see my work, as it will help me improve and feel happy about myself.

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributor, Robert Gauss

Hello! I’m a new contributor to the Gaming Steve site and as you can guess my name is Robert Gauss or “Robbway” on the forums. I’m a lifetime gamer and have been following video games since they were commercially available (think Telstar, not Nintendo) and I play almost every type of game there is. I also have very strong opinions on games, ratings, and censorship, as well as a pretty good BS meter when it comes to online PR“news” stories.

My games interests are vast and varied. I like classic old arcade games, new games, shooters, tactical, pinball, rhythm, casual, and a few genres that aren’t even around anymore. I don’t particularly like sports titles, but I make an exception with racing games and I play on every system currently available (and a few that aren't). All of this, plus I have non-video gaming interests such as cards, board, and pen & paper games.

In addition, I'm a member of the Entertainment Consumers Association since its inception in 2006 and I have high hopes for that organization. I’m against governmental regulation of gaming, blaming video games (or any other single influence) for societal ills, and censorship. I’m a very pro-personal responsibility gamer.

As you can tell I'm fairly opinionated and I plan on giving my opinions on practically everything. They are often very biased views of current events, but that’s the nature of blogging. If all you read on the internet was unbiased, it would be a very dull place, indeed!

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributer, Chuck Rice

Hi my name is Chuck Rice and I've been a freelance writer working in the field of tabletop RPGs professionally since 2002, mostly for RPGObjects, though I also did a tabletop adaptation of the Two Worlds Xbox 360 game that was released with the game's collector's edition.

As a fan of Steve's video game coverage and console RPGs generally, I jumped at the chance to cover the RPG beat when he issued a call for contributors.

I'll be covering RPGs, primarily on the DS, PS2 and PC platforms, as well as providing guidance for those who are fans of both console and tabletop RPGs, or would like to take the plunge from one to the other and experience the best of both worlds.

A Winner is You! Gaming Steve Podcast Winner Gets His Booty

Last month I ran a contest on the Gaming Steve podcast where you could win a free game console of your choice. All you had to do was write me an email and tell me what your favorite game was in 2007.

On last week's show I announced the lucky winner – ARogan, a long-time listener and first time winner, who obviously isn't a very punctual listener as didn't know he won until several days after the podcast was posted (the nerve!).

But I did find it quite amusing to see ARogan on Xbox Live before he knew he won. Just knowing that he won and he had no idea ... I guess I would have told him eventually if he didn't listen to show within a week or so (or would I have gone "Renegade" and not tell him? I guess we'll never know!)

But he did listen to the show a few days later and promptly contacted me, informing me that he wanted a PlayStation 3 as his grand prize. I was more than happy to fulfill his request and yesterday he got his prize.

ARogan did a nice little write-up and photo shoot of the unpacking and setting up his prize (what's up with those two Xboxes I wonder?). Make sure to check it out and give him a little pat on the back for wining a prize without having to much of anything! (By the way, his game of the year for 2007 was Crysis.)

Congratulations again ARogan!

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributer, Jay McDonald

First of all, Happy New Year to all of you at Gaming Steve. I'm Jay McDonald, though in most corners of the Internet, I go by "Pfellah". Unless you're with the RIAA, in which case that was a totally different guy. Honest.

I'm going to be one of GamingSteve's new contributors, so hopefully you'll be seeing more of my scribblings popping up as the days go by. I've worked with and for GamingSteve on some past projects, and we share similar tastes in gaming, so when he announced he was looking for contributors to his site, I jumped at the chance. Though we're still negotiating on whether I get my own cartoon head at some point.

To give you a little background, I'm first and foremost a PC gamer, though I do have a toe in console and handheld waters. Genre-wise, I'm all over the map, though as a Tolkein/D&D geek growing up, I can be easily lured with pretty much anything that's got sword-swinging, bow-shooting elves in it. Now if they can just add elves to Madden, so you can cut down an opposing running back with a volley of fire arrows…

My goal for this soapbox is to "explore the studio space" of the gaming experience. What happens when you turn your WoW character over to your three-year-old for an evening? Which game's character creation tool can create the most accurate "me"? (Though I'm totally OK with a slightly more svelte me that can grow real facial hair instead of the Chia variety.) Why is it that when you tell people "gaming" is your hobby, people look at you like you just started talking about alphabetizing your extensive cheese collection? In the course of my travels, I might touch on traditional game review, but it'll tend to be more by accident than on purpose.

In closing, enjoy whatever it is you're playing, and keep an eye out for more from me as we grind away the days until Spore and beyond. Later!

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributer, Steven Mills

Greetings everyone at Gaming Steve! My name is Steven Mills and while I would love to allow you to call me Steve for short ... well that would just get complicated!

If you want you can call me by my forum name, SoulVision. Or "Steve 2" could work as well. Hum, this could get tricky...

Anyhow, I'm happy to tear myself away from the controllers and styluses at my disposal to bring you all intelligent and dedicated gaming discussion on an active basis. Sometimes, however, I do sleep. When I'm not engaging in this action known as sleep be sure to know I'm scanning the web for the latest gaming news and hot stories.

I look forward to writing for you all. Happy new year and may 2008 bring many nights of gaming and game discussion!

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributer, Clayton Ashley

Hello denizens of gamingsteve.com, it is I, Clayton Ashley, yet another one of the content providers Steve has hired for the website. I'm a new face in the industry, I have followed the gaming scene quite extensively for many years. I'll be contributing news stories as often as possible and game reviews/impressions when I get the chance.

I try to keep my gaming tastes as diverse and open as possible. I play every genre in gamerdom, from hardcore RPGs, to casual webgames, and even a German style board game or two. While I don't often stray into sports games, I'm always willing to try out new innovations (such as the surprisingly fun Skate). In that vein, I'm always trying those genre busting games (A Monopoly style Collectible Card game? Count me in!) and I'll attempt to cover those as often as possible.

I'll play on any console, handheld, or PC platform (so long as I can afford it). And despite what Ebert says, I believe and will staunchly defend video games as works of art so you'll be seeing that aspect of my gaming tastes in future posts.

So hit me up for a game if you want to play a game or two – my forum name, gamertag, and Steam ID is "Rax Dakkar". See you out there.

First Post! Meet New Gaming Steve Contributer, Matt "Diggler" Robinson

Howdy, Gaming Stevers! My name's Matt Robinson, but I go by the more dignified moniker of "Diggler" for all things internet, so please, call me that.

With my iPod a long time recipient of Gaming Steve's wondrous ramblings, I jumped upon the chance to board his freight train to success the second the opportunity arose. As a gaming addict who dabbles in all systems and genres known to man (at least, those avoiding the acronym "RTS"), I plan to review many a game around here, post some fun top 10 lists, and maybe even sidetrack into the odd anecdote from my many (many) adventures in gaming land.

Hailing from the tea sipping capital of the world, I've been writing about games for five years now, initially for fun, more recently for beer money. My scribblings have popped up on the likes of IGN and some UK mags, but for the most part I stick to my own blog, which you can find by pawing the following keys into your browser: www.tpsreport.co.uk.

Sorry Steve. (Steve: that's okay, re-read your contract ... I now own your soul!)

You can read a whole lot more about which games tick my boxes very soon (and which don't...), but for now I simply wanted to pop my head around the corner and say 'ello. I look forward to melding my consciousness with the Gaming Steve community over the coming months, getting to know the lot of you, and doing my own, albeit minuscule bit to help contribute to the greatest gaming show of them all.

Steve: Please note that some of Matt's previous work from his personal site will occasionally appear here for the next few weeks, until Matt is fully up to speed. However, all posts will be "enhanced and improved" for the Gaming Steve site.

I'm Making a Note Here: Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from everyone here at Gaming Steve and our friends over at Aperture Science. The cake might be real, but the Santa is a lie.