Brilliant Gameologists

You may have noticed a few facts recently…

1) We have not put out a show in a while.

2) Our site and boards have been down quite a bit

3) The increase in number of vampire shows on TV seems to be directly related to outbursts in Congress?

These are actually all related.  Well, #3 isn’t, but that’s besides the point.

We have 4 episodes recorded and have been prevented from releasing mostly due to some fairly severe technology issues.  First, our sound quality for some reason plummeted and the files keep getting corrupted, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to put out such a subpar product.  They aren’t completely lost, but we have a few computer reinstalls to do to get everything back on track.

Our web issues were also a big pain in the butt.  The site was hacked and I couldn’t log in to WP to post anything new at all until about 20 minutes ago.  Things look to be pretty stable now thanks, not in part, but in 99% entirety to Adam from Spooky Outhouse Productions to whom we owe a great bit of gratitude.  Beer is on us next time we get together, dude.

So it’s looking like for the most part, #2 on the list is taken care of.  We’re going to concentrate in earnest on fixing #1 now.  #3, we’re sorry, but you’re just going to have to deal with.

Warm-Up:

Each time we record, we watch a video or find a picture to get us in the mood for the episode. It doesn’t always have anything to do with the episode, but frames our minds, so we’re going to share so you can be appropriately framed as well.

• Funny or Die’s Mystique is Pregnant
• Funny or Die’s 40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes
• A montage of the Best Viral Videos of 2008. Must be seen to be appreciated:

News:

It’s Meg’s birthday this coming Saturday, January 10th!  To celebrate, we are having our first special LIVE episode this Thursday, January 8th!  Come on in and chat with us in real time!  See this blog post for more information.

Icebreaker:

Podcast resolutions!

• Meg wants more charts and graphs and wants to say “douche” and “fantastic” less
• Josh wants to do more reviews
• Zeke wants to party like it’s 1999.

7 Gaming Resolutions

Get your own bingo card and play along! Get Bingo (or “GAMER” as we eventually decided) and get your very own Official GAMER card! We’re playing too! Track our progress on our message boards.

1. Play New Games- a new story game, new action-adventure game and a new tabletop game.
2. Pay it forward- convince someone new to play a game.
3. Put together a character you wouldn’t normally consider
4. Learn how to play a game differently- use a mechanic you normally avoid, find a new way to solve an old problem or find new problems to solve.
5. Play with strangers 3 different times (in order to get all 3 checks- playing once with 3 new people doesn’t count!)
6. Go to a convention- a regional con (under 500 people), a state con (500 or more people), and a national con (2,000 or more).
7. Why so serious??
   1. Play a crazy game
   2. Convince others to play a game crazy
   3. Put together a fun/silly character in a real game
   4. Do something fun and unexpected in a game
   5. Play with someone crazy or a stranger in a strange spot
   6. Let yourself out of the box- play a character in real life at a con

Reminders-

• The answer to last episode’s trivia question is contained! Think you know the answer to this week’s? Post on the thread about this episode here.
• We put show updates and random goodies on Meg’s Twitter, Josh’s Twitter and Zeke’s Twitter.
• Lots of good stuff on our Facebook Page!
• Join our Facebook Group!
• Email us at GM@BrilliantGameologists.com

Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!

Warning: This episode is tagged Explicit. It is intended for adult audiences.

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The Brilliant Gameologists will be at two upcoming con events- come and hang out!

November 22nd: New England Fan Experience

Brilliant Gameologists are presenting two panels at NEFE and will be hanging from the Friday night through Saturday night at the con hotel. If you are going, make sure you stop by and say hi!

Where: Hyatt Regency Cambridge, MA

When: November 21-23, 2008

Panels:

10:00 A.M. WILLIAM DAWES B: A Salon on Gameology

8:00 P.M. THOMAS PAYNE A: 7 Words You Can’t Say While Gaming

Check out the full schedule!

December 6th: JiffyCon/ V3: One Shot Game Day

JiffyCon Lowell was rescheduled for December 6 and is now combined with Veni, Vidi, Venatus (I came, I saw, I gamed) led by the PodgeCast. A chance to come and play a new game with other cool folks- including of course, us! The JiffyCon side will feature one shots of indie games- some published, some not, and the Game Day side will feature some more popular traditional games that you haven’t had a chance to try- perhaps some Burning Wheel or 4th Edition D&D for example. There will also be a Board Game Corner so you can be introduced to new and exciting board games you’ve never even heard of! This event is proudly supported by Myriad Games in Salem, NH.

Where: Middlesex Community College- Lowell Campus

When: December 6, 9:00 am to Question Mark!

GenCon Afterglow…

We’ve been home from GenCon for 6 days and are still recovering…

It didn’t help that we each had very heavy-duty weeks IRL. This past week is one of the busiest for me professionally, Josh had a killer week at work playing

catch up, and Zeke moved. So we haven’t really had time to pause and recap GenCon.

But we are set to record our Post-GenCon show this week! So stay tuned!

Also, if you haven’t checked it out, we each Twittered our experiences and have kept up with some folks we met and the “afterglow”:

• www.twitter.com/bg_meg
• www.twitter.com/bg_josh
• www.twitter.com/bg_zeke

We picked up some new games and hope to review some others in the next couple of months. Stay tuned for that as well.

I also have a whole rant about the ENnies… let’s see if that ever goes anywhere.

We have our own pictures we’ll upload at some point. Not a ton, but hopefully enough to show some highlights. The Penthouse Suite upgrade was a huge highlight of the trip.

This GenCon was the year of Bears vs. Robots. We made 1000 postcards and handed them to everyone we came in contact with. At the last minute I needed a design for the front, and made an extremely silly picture and the rest is history.

If you didn’t get a postcard yourself, bask in the glow here:

In other news…

As soon as we returned, we found out that Brilliant Gameologists was nominated for a Parsec Award in the Best Gaming Podcast category! Super cool! We weren’t planning on attending, but this was just enough of an excuse to make it happen and Meg will be at Dragon*Con Saturday-Monday. If you are going, send a message her way! This is her first time at Dragon*Con and her first time going to a con alone in general, so some friendly faces are high in order.

GenCon is almost here! I’m wavering between super excited and overwhelmed with everything that needs to get ready.

While we’re at the con, we will be updating on where we are and what we’re doing on our twitters:

• www.twitter.com/bg_meg
• www.twitter.com/bg_josh

We’re staying at the Embassy Suites and our general schedule is:

Wednesday:

Our plane arrives at about 7:00. Hoping to meet up with some friends Wed night and hang out.

Thursday:

• 10:00-11:00 AM: Introduction to Podcasting - (Westin Congress Rooms)
  • Zeke is on this panel led by Ethan Parker of The Gamer’s Haven Podcast
  • Full Description
• 2:00-3:00 PM: How to Talk: Podcasting, Marketing Yourself, and Selling your Product (Embassy Suites Chancellor 3 room)
  • Meg, Josh, and Zeke lead this panel with special guest Luke from The Podgecast (was formerly on Fear the Boot)
  • Full Description
• 6:00-7:00: A Salon on Gameology (Embassy Suites Coronation I)
  • Meg, Josh and Zeke will lead this roundtable discussion.
  • Full Description

Friday:

• 10:00-11:00 AM: Setting Up The Studio (Westin Congress Rooms)
  • Meg is on this panel led by Ryan Macklin of The Master Plan Podcast
  • Full Description
• 11:00-12:00 PM: The 7 Words You Don’t Say While Gaming (Embassy Suites Coronation I)
  • Meg, Josh, and Zeke lead this panel with special guest Luke from The Podgecast (was formerly on Fear the Boot)
  • Full Description

Saturday:

• 10:00-11:00 AM: Content is King (Westin Congress Rooms)
  • Josh is on this panel led by Ryan Macklin of The Master Plan Podcast
  • Full Description
• 7:00-9:00 PM: Media Meet & Greet – (Westin Congress Rooms)
  • Meg, Josh and Zeke will join all of the podcasters and fans for networking, socialization, and miscellaneous Meeting and Greeting

We also have a lot of panels we’re looking forward to attending and of course, spending time in the dealer room. This year we have Press Badges so we’re hoping to get a good look at some new games and a deeper look at some favorites. Then of course there is the obligatory eating, drinking, and socializing.

If you’re going to Gencon, stop and say hi!

We got a note today from Quantum Mechanix that caught our eye.  If you are a fan of Firefly/ Serenity and haven’t checked out the DarkHorse comics, what are you waiting for?  The only complaint is that they are a bit too short, but definitely full of Firefly goodness.

Quantum Mechanix who does movie replicas, has partnered with Dark Horse to have a Firefly-themed give away.  Spreading the word:

Ever wanted to hit a “big haul” like Malcolm Reynolds did in the first issue of Serenity: Better Days? Well now you can.

A huge pile of Alliance cash and other prized Serenity collectibles will be awarded in the Serenity: Better Days Big Haul Giveaway from co-sponsors Quantum Mechanix Inc. (QMx) and Dark Horse Comics. Inspired by the piles of cashy money seen in the first issue of the Dark Horse comic, the Serenity: Better Days Big Haul Giveaway features one-of-kind Serenity items including a whopping one million in official Alliance credits, a signed prototype Kaylee maquette, a Malcolm Reynolds stunt pistol replica with card signed by Nathan Fillion and much more. No purchase necessary.

The promotion runs from June 30, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2008. No purchase is necessary. Enter by downloading, printing and mailing in a completed entry form, available at www.qmxonline.com/bighaul, or by visiting the QMx website at qmxonline.com. Limit one entry per household; void where prohibited.