Your new resident gamer girl

Hi Destructoid, it's nice to meet you! I'm Ashley, and I'll be helming ?a new column focusing on women and games here on the site.&nb??sp;

I've been working as a full-time freelance writer for the past year, and before that, I was studying brains and language in college (I am a baby). In college, I was involved in my beloved student newspaper, the Campus Times, for all four years until I graduated. I did some cool things there, like make many dick jokes, and I founded a magazine offshoot called The Jenny, which was a culture magazine geared towards women on cam??pus. 

With the onset of the pandemic coinciding with my graduation, I reevaluated my trajectory in life a bit and decided to give up cognitive science in order to pursue a career in wri??ting. Yes, you guessed it, my parents were thrilled! Just kidding!

I said, "I'm sorry, parents!" and started writing for lots of different places, including the music magazine Pitchfork, the men's magazine M?el Magazine, and Bandcamp. I've written about all sorts of things and have been lucky enough to meet all kinds of people, but in general, I strive to foster critical conversations surrounding culture.

In my Destructoid column, I'm hoping to discuss and highlight some underserved members of the gaming community, as well as approach some difficult topics like violence and racism. But sometimes it will be fun, and?? I'll write about weird sex stuff. The magic of earth is there's an endless supply of weird sex stuff, and also many interesting birds. 

Now, I bet you're thinking, "what does this indie Pitchfork-writing MF 22-year-old know about video games!?" And to that I say, shhh. Don't speak. Like every other bonafide, say it with me, "90's kid," I was born with a Nintendo DS and Pokémon Diamond cartridge in my grubby little hands, and am a known Cooking Mama enjoyer. In middle school, I obsessively, exclusively played Batman games for Xbox 360, but I luckily got over that and started getting interested in more horror, cinematic-type games as I got older. I am extremely into Dark Souls (all of them except II… it's boring!), Bloodborne, and Outlast, but I'd never shy away from a round of Mario Party.

My fatal flaw, though, is that all first-person shooters give me motion sickness. I'm also genuinely bad at playing most video games, but I still try very hard to not be. Some things I like outside of video games include: watching Titanic, reading conspiracy theories about Grimes and Elon Mus?k, writing conspiracy theories about One Direction, and eating things with salt on it. I?'m excited to start writing for you all, and I'll see you soon.

The post Hi Destructoid, I’m Ashley appeared first on Destructoid.

Get to know the new features editor

Hi there! My name is Noelle and I'm the new Features Editor here at Destructoid. I'm a cat mom, dancer, and K-pop fan (I'm particularly into girl groups like Blackpink, Twice, ITZY, and LOONA). But we all know what ??I'??m really here for: video games.

My love of games has been lifelong, but I didn't really fall back into them wholeheartedly until a few years ago. It starts back in the days of 3D Pinball Space Cadet when we had the aptly named "Computer Room" in our family home, and through to the graduation up to various handheld consoles, a PS2,?? and an Xbox 360 in my pre-teen years.

However, around the time I hit middle school, I set games on the backburner to follow my love of books, and dove deep into a love of literary storytelling (much to the excitement of my mom, a third-generation English teacher). In college, I majored in Classic Literature, and planned to pursue a master's degree in that field as well -- that was until a friend sat me down and had me play The Last of Us. I was ??immediately floored by Naughty Dog's 2013 masterpiece of cinematic interactive narrative, which is really an all-but-perfect ch?aracter study disguised as apocalypse genre fiction.

From that moment on, all I could think about was how games are paving their way as a new storytelling medium, and I knew I had to be a part of it. I dug into researching narrative design, the history of storytelling in games, and how they're evolving to tell better and better stories year after year. I even gave a TEDx talk about it at my university. Unsurprisingly, all of my current favorite games focus a lot on narrative, like Disco Elysium, Kentucky Route Zero, and Hades.

I landed an editorial internship with Nerdist and then began freelance writing for games, both on the d??evelopment side and as a journalist. After graduation, I made the move from my small town in South Carolina to Los Angeles, working first as a games writer at Skybound Entertainment, and then a QA Tester at Naughty Dog, the very studio that inspired me to uproot my entire life in the first place.

That brings me here, to Destructoid, in a position that is incredibly exciting to me. One of the things I love mos??t in the world is thoughtful, productive conversations about art, how it affects us, and what it says about our experiences as people. Is that a little pretentious? Well sure, but I was planning on going into academia, remember? It comes with the territory.

My ultimate goal is to look at games, and the industry that surrounds them, through a critical le??ns that will hold them to the same standard as any other artistic medium out there, literature included. Journalistically, that's what features are perfect for, hence my enthusiasm in this new role. I really believe that if we continue to elevate our conversations about games, it will foster a reciprocal relationship that inspires better art, which will in turn create similarly rich and meaningful conversations as a reflection of that art.

Jumping into a well-established community like Destructoid is admittedly a bit intimidating, but it seems that those conversations are already h?appening here. All I can hope is that I can lend a unique perspective, and help enrich that environment even more. So thanks for having me, and I will do everything in my power to make you all fans of K-pop as well!

The post Hi Destructoid, I’m Noelle appeared first on Destructoid.

A new challenger approaches

Hello Destructoid! I'm Eric, and I'm joining on as a Se?nior News Reporter fo??r the site.

Over the past six or so years, I've covered a lot ?in the realm of video games, reported and otherwise. I've written for a few different sites as both a staff member and as a freelancer, though you'll probably recognize me most as one of the folks from USgamer.

One thing the last year has made very clear is that news, as it pertains to video games, can be a much wider blanket than you'd think. Reporting has expanded a lot, even in just the last year; events shut down and game development slowed due to a health crisis, political candidates made Animal Crossing islands and Among Us lobbies, and a bric?k-and-morta?r retailer became the focal point of a short squeeze.

My own work has stretched over a lot of these topics—covering how musicians used Minecraft to host concerts amid shutdowns, and how a studio managed to right the ship ?after a rough launch. I've also profiled some inspiring competitors in the scene, watched some really terrible movies, and yes, one time I found out why a guy was taped to t?he ceiling.

I like stories: untold histories and forgotten l?egacies, the how and why of what's happened, and how they inform what's to come. Video games are a part of our modern culture, e??ven more today than they've ever been, and my goal is to find those fascinating stories and share them with y'all.

Otherwise, I'm based out of Texas, watch a fair bit of sports, and have been trying to up my cooking game while we've all been stuck inside. I usually keep up with whatever's big on streaming, and I sorely miss live music. (I listen to a lot of different music, though lately I've been really digging Phoebe Bridgers!)

I've got a bit of a competitive drive, so I play a lot of Valorant, Overwatch, and Dota 2, and I'm eagerly looking forward to Guilty Gear Strive. My favorite games include The World Ends With You, Nier Automata, the Zero Escape series, and Mass Effect—w?hich I've spent literal years discussing with my friend and co-host ?on our podcast, Normandy FM.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the ins?? and outs of this community, and I hope y'all enjoy the news, reviews, and stories I'll be bringing your way.

The post Hi Destructoid, I’m Eric appeared first on Destructoid.

Whoooo?

Earlier this year, we hosted a contest on the official Destructoid Twitch channel where several streamers battled it out to impress us with their skills and personalities to win $5,000. As of the time of writing, we’re currently hosting a second one,? albeit with a more impressive $10,000 prize, sponsored by Gfuel!

Although she didn’t win the contest, we were so impressed with one of the entrants – Anabela – that we’ve hired her to stream on our channel every single Friday.

We??ll, we decided that we should work on a t-shirt design for Anabela?. Behold, the latest design for our merch store:

Created by Ashley Hay, our latest Whoooo? design is available to buy right now on the official Destructoid merch store, and can be printed on t-shi?rts, tote bags, face masks, hoodies and all sorts of other produ?cts.

The design itself features an in-joke with Anabela’s community on her own Twitch channel, alt??hough ??it’s likely to make it over to our own one. Besides, the owl featured on the design is kind of adorable.

As always, most of the profits from each product on our store go to the artists who designed them. So feel free to check out all of the lovely stuff that we have for sal?e.

The post Whooo is Anabela? Friday Night on Dtoi??d Twitch gets a shirt appeared first on Destructoid.

Available now at the Dtoid Merch shop

Once uttered by Boll,
Destructoid's famous motto.
“Also, cocks;” our phrase.

Our latest t-shirt,
Created by Ashley Hay,
Available now.

It's quite evident,
We're not ones for subtlety.
The message is clear.

Yet still it’s quite cute,
Just so highly endearing.
A classic, reborn.

In green, black, and white,
On mugs, towels, hoodies, and more,
From our new merch store.

Thanks for the feedback,
To those on our new forums,
It helped us a tonne.

On Dtoid's merch store,
There's many sexy designs.
Thanks for the support!

Shilling in haiku,
God help me, why’d I try this?
There's a clear reason.

Ghost of Tsushima,
Occupies all my free time.
I have a problem.

This post’s at an end.
So, in those immortal words;
“Also, cocks.” Goodbye.

The post Also, Cocks: The T-Shirt, and unfortunately there’s also a haiku appeared first on Destructoid.

We're bringing back a design from 2014

Today, we’re bringing back a Destructoid shirt that’s ?nostalgic in a c?ouple of ways.

Designed by the highly talented Drew Wise and inspired by the box art for a certain retro games console, this shirt was first featured on t?he Destruct??oid Store back in 2014.

The Pixel Destructoid is now available on our merch store, and can be printed on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and al?l sorts of other swag. And for those occasions where you do need to go out during t?his accused plague, you can look sexy as hell by wearing a face mask featuring this design.

On a semi-related note: we’re currently collecting feedback for our jbsgame.community ASCII shirt, now that all the names on it have been locked in. So head on over to our forums and let us know what you think!

The post Get retro once ag?ain with this classic Destructoid shirt appeared first on Destructoid.

An original T-Shirt designed by Triggerpigking

Today, we’re int??roducing a brand new shirt design to th?e Destructoid merch store.

Designed by jbsgame.community member Triggerpigking, the shirt features our site mascot Mr. Destructoid, but in the style of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

You might find yourself asking how such a design came into being. A while ago, the folks from our podcast, Podtoid, commissioned him to do the header image for their Twitter profile. An early proto??type of the design was featured in the background of the header picture, which we foun??d to be amusing.

Suffice it to say, we just had to commission a full shirt design based off of it.

As with all other designs on our merch store, you can also get it printed on mugs, tote bags, cushions, and other goods! Alongside that, the majority?? of ?proceeds go towards the artist, so go show them a bit of love.

On a somewhat related note, we’re also collecting feedback on a brand new shirt based off of our long-standing site motto; “Also Cocks.” Feel free to check out the accompanying forum thread and let us know what you think.

The post Boys only want one thing and it’s Mr. Destructoid dressed as Mona Lisa appeared first on Destructoid.

Get your name printed on a Dtoid shirt!

Destructoid has brand new forums! To sign up, go to forums.jbsgame.com register for a new account, and bookmark that while you're at it. Please give us 24-48 hours to approve your account. The forums are now in public beta, but still not yet linked on our site navigation or anywhere but this post as we continue to test. Many thanks to everyone from Qtoid that has already registered and contributed feedback.

And yes, yes, we had forums in the past and they imploded (RIP). I'm told those forums are long gone. Starting from scratch as one of your new community ?managers, my goal is to make our forums the very best they ca??n, and a truly welcoming place. We're starting over with slicker new software and a brand new moderation team, including fine folks like RiffRaff and all the Disqus mods you already know so well. Please lend us your full support.

Speaking of support, we’re also pleased to announce the opening of the brand new Destructoid T-Shirt?? and Semi-Erotic Merchandise store. Tell your lover you need these items and be sure to use the code EARLYBIRDS to get free shipping within the continental US:

//teespring.com/stores/dtoid

We have mugs, wall throws, pillowcases, phone cas?es, posters, as well as other miscellaneous Destructoid-themed gear. Heck, you could redecorate a fair bit of your office and residence with our ever-foreboding robot mascot. If you enjoy what we do here at Destructoid, we'd love your support, as 100% of the proceeds go towards helping cover our server costs and supporting?? all of our writers through these wild times. We will also be doing regular giveaways so if you're broke we'll try to get you in our gear one way or another, don't even sweat it.

It goes without saying that Destructoid needs your support as many of our sponsors all went into hiding with the rest of us during COVID, and we're certainly open to suggestions on other ways you'd prefer to support us if shirts are not your thing. If you can spare some shillings, awesome. We're also throwing work at our artist community: Over the next few months, we're going to be collaborating with various artists, including EricW (from Dtoid Twitch) and a collection of new shirts designed by the talented Ashley Hay, and re-colored limited designs from years past, so keep your eyes peeled for those. These shirts will definitely make you 69?% more attractive, as verified by our d?ata scientists and lawyers. If you'd like to pitch a Dtoid shirt or merch idea do find us in the new forums and send us your sketches.

As mentioned at the top of this story, you can get your name printed on an official pie?ce of? Destructoid merchandise. You absolutely read that correctly.

Next month, we'll be releasing a shirt featuring our site mascot, Mr. Destructoid, rendered in ASCII art. The text used to create this image will be made up of usernames of jbsgame.community and our writers an?d contributors.

To be featured in this design, all you have to do is follow these instructions. You have until the end of June. Follow the instructions there, and you may be featured on th??is new shirt. We'll be doing a contest to give some shirts away (as store credits) so if you buy one now you can win a different one later. 

Anyway, that's a bit of everything then. New forums, new shop. It's a circus of val?ues!

The post Last chance: Immortalize your name on the Destructoi??d Forums shirt appeared first on Destructoid.

Both are by a talented Dtoid community member!

Today, we’re proudly reintroducing two old school Destructoid shirt designs to our merch store – both of which were designed by Meanderbot; a highly talented member of our own community. 

The first shirt is a reference to an old Dtoid podcast where there was an oft-repeated plea: “Be Better People.” In his blog post promoting the shirt, Meanderbot implies that he felt inspired by this message. When you pick up a Destructoid shirt, most proceeds go towards the artists, so show them? some love!

The second of these shirts? Well, its inspirations are apparent from just a single glance, featuring Mr. Destructoid as the mascot for a specific Japan-exclusive attachme??nt t?o a certain popular line of retro game consoles.

As with all other designs on our stor?e, you can get them printed on mugs, phone cases, wall tapestries, and all sorts of other Destructoid collectibles.

We’ll be continuing to add ??more designs to our merch store over the next few weeks and months. Some of which are returning designs, others are entirely new. You may even see more stuff by some familiar faces from within our site’s commu??nity, so keep your eyes out for those!

On a related note, there’s still a little bit of time left to put your name down to be featured on the&nb?sp;upcoming jbsgame.community ASCII shirt. Feel free to head on over to our forums to find out how.

The post We’re bringing back two old school Destructoid shirts appeared first on Destructoid.

100% of profits will go to aid Black Lives Matter

About a week ago, we unveiled the new, official Destructoid merch store to the public. In the introduction post to it, I mentioned ?that over the coming few weeks and months, we’d be introducing more designs.

Today, we’re starting to make good on that promise with a brand new design. For a limited time, we’ll be selling a fundraiser shirt supp??orting the Bl?ack Lives Matter Global Network. It doesn't carry any company branding, and 100% of all proceeds will be donated to charity. Whatever gets the word out, we hope it helps.

This design is also available on hoodie?s, ph?one cases, and more. Like with the t-shirt, all proceeds will go to the Black Lives Matter Global Network.

The design was created in collaboration with Dtoid graphic designer Ashley and conceived by site founder, Niero, who added: “We wanted to create a shirt that says 'I'm not a racist piece of shit' but also 'I'm a gamer, tee-hee'.”

As many within the jbsgame.community will know, we’re a site that’s proud of ??its user-base coming from many different backgrounds, beliefs, and nations. We hope you'll d??ig it and help us spread the message.

The post Take This: Support #BlackLivesMatter with these charity shirts & more appeared first on Destructoid.

Those looking for an easy, snappy catchphrase better tread carefully in the future

Toy manufacturing companies? the world over have come out this week in support of greater protections for intellectual property rights. This comes in the wake of several incidents in which vigilante mobs have borrowed slogans from such companies when carrying out their vengeful acts of violence. I spoke with the CFO (Chief Fun Officer) of Haspro ;Inc., Norton Atoll, from the company's House of Fun in Slough, Berkshire, about the campaign and how his company in particular has been affecte?d.

"The besmirching of our wholesome name is no laughing matter for us," sighed At?oll, bouncing slightly on a space hopper, which all company employees use instead of an office chair. "People think helming a toy company is all fun and games, but when you're faced with a bunch of hoodlums stealing parts of your company's identity to peddle violence, it's time to quit joking around. It's not like we're the bloody video game industry, or something."

After taking a few bounces to regain his composure, Atoll elaborated on a particular case that has caused some anguish to his company. "There's some acrobatic, nunchuk-swinging turd yelling around town that Weebles are falling down. Well, for starters, we brought in the best kinetic physicists in the country and built a million-pound laboratory in an underground cave, all for our lovely little Weebles. We have peer-reviewed journals confirming that our Weebles wobble, but they do not, I repeat, do not fall down. Maybe some lesser knock-offs wobble and fall down. Maybe some of them do not wobble nor? do they fall down. Maybe a handful of outliers fall down, yet do not wobble beforehand. I cannot say. But the falling-wobbling ratio of our Weebles is a golden one that neither magic nor ancient martial arts can interfere with."

"And that's not all, Ms Interview Lady. We plan to go after them wit??h no mercy, the only way the corporate world knows how – with a sternly-worded warning from our solicitors, followed by an injunction notice."

This Interv??iewer Lady thinks the?? shiruken is mightier than the court document, but we'll see how this story unfolds in the coming weeks.

The post Toy manufacturers crackin??g down on copyright infringement appeared first on Destructoid.

Last seen this morning chasing animals into the jungle

Earlier this morning, local police began receiving reports of a man chasing animals into the jungle. Witnesses couldn't identify the suspect, but they did point out he ?was wearing barely anything clothing and carrying a large sword. The extent of his rage is unknown, but he was seen assaulting a few men before turning his attention to the sheep.

As one witness puts it,? "the man was holding his sword in what seemed to be a battle position. He did not say anything, though he struck a weird pose before starting his trek." At this moment, the suspect is considered armed and dangerous and is still at large.

Any information r??ega??rding the suspect or his motives is greatly appreciated, mentioned the police chief.

The post Police are investigating reports of a man’s relentless pursuit of a sheep appeared first on Destructoid.

Returning home for new opportunity

Battleborn lead writer an?d former Destr?uctoid editor Aaron Linde has left Gearbox Software. 

"Tomorrow's my last day at Gearbox" Linde tweeted Thursday. "Absolutely love this team and am incredibly proud of the work we did together." As part of t??he departu??re, Linde is also quitting Texas to head back to his native Pacific Northwest to pursue an "awesome [new] opportunity."

Linde joined the Frisco-based studio in 2013 after previously working on Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Monolith Prodocutions, Microsoft Studios' Gears of War 3, and his own Bonerquest.

Battleborn released early last month for PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. You can find our full review of the "hobby-grade coop campaign; genre-blended, multi-mode competitive e-sports; meta-growth" first-person shooter right here.

Aaron Linde [Twitter (2)]

The post Battleborn writer and old friend Aar??on Linde leaves Gearbox Software appeared first on Destructoid.

THAT MEANS YOU

PAX Prime is this weekend. It's a yearly, consumer-focused gaming convention held in rainy Seattle, Washington that always has a large turnout of Destructoid fol??ks. And I'm not just talking about us writerly jagoffs, though we'll be there in force. I'm talking the lovely community members that make this site a great place to work at everyday while actuall??y being mostly naked and at home. 

So let's hang out! All of us. We'll hud??dle under limited umbrellas because it's meant to rain all weekend, but that will just make us closer and wet??ter.

If you're making the trip, there are a number of ways to get coordi??nated with future besties, including a Facebook Messenger group that everyone is encouraged to join (figured it migh??t be easier than GroupMe or similar group chat apps). Getting the Facebook Messenger app on your phone is recommended, but it also works with the regular site/app. Anyone in the group can add you, holler if you need in, or physically handcuff yourself to someone in the group and have them serve as your liaison.

Let's roll 50 deep ?into every establishment so it takes an hour to get your McDonalds order.

For newbies, Andy's old How to survive PAX post is full of advice I endorse fully. Note that on the staff end, the following jagoffs are in attendance: Steven Hansen, Jordan Devore, Kyle MacGregor, Brett Makedonski, Zack Furniss, Alissa McAloon, Alessandro Fillari, Myles Cox, and Mike Cosimano.

As an aside: Captain Merica is doing a fab job rebuilding out the regional groups registrar in his PAX Prime community blog...even if you're not going to PAX, there ?m?ay be dtoiders closer than you think!

The general schedule of funsies is as follows:

THURSDAY

Join the Destructoid staff and community for some pre-PAX drinking and arcades at Gameworks (1511 7th Ave). Meet new folks, catch up with the homies, play Taiko Drum Master, and let me coax you into drinking strange liqueurs (round of Fernet? Round of Fernet) Let's say folks roll in around 8PM allowing time for dinn??ers (find people to dine wi?th!).

FRIDAY

Nothing "official" planned for today, but you've made so many new friends last night at Gameworks t??hat you'll have no problem coming up with some great plans, eh?

SATURDAY

Elephant & Castle, it lives! Located in the Motif Hotel (formerly the Red Lion, 1415 5th Avenue), it's a fake English bar to remind you of home. You're all from England, right? Let's plan for typical convening around 8PM, but note that this joint does food, too.

SUNDAY

Our yearly picture, days into the show, when when we look near our worst, but new and old friendships have had time to ferment and everyone has that glint in their eye, probably from all the sex. (No one is allowed to have sex, this is a family website - Ed.). Be re??ady for your ??close up at 12PM at Pike St in front of the convention center.

MONDAY

I'm leaving. I probably should get home and feed my cat. But e?lsewise, to quote the much better at this Andy Dixon, "Monday means sad goodbyes to friends you d??on't see nearly enough, and as always, we'll be meeting up at Rock Bottom (1333 Fifth Ave) about 8pm."

-

Plans can always change. Stay frosty. Keep friends in the loop. Use any means of communication you go?t. Take pictures. Get hugs. Give hugs. Say no to drugs. Let's have a lovely weekend.

The post Hang out with Destructoid at PAX Prime 2015 appeared first on Destructoid.

Wish you were her!

_{[From left to right: Steven, Alessandro Fillari, Brett Makedonski, Kyle MacGregor, Niero]}

We're not leaving much out of our E3 coverage on the homepage, but if you want to go behinder the scenes, follow us up on Twitter for instantaneous snarking, off the cuff responses, and pictures of J?ordan's legs.

Jordan Devore (@dtoidjordan)
Steven Hansen (@dtoidsteven)
Brett Makedonski (@Donski3)
Kyle MacGregor (@dtoidkyle)
Alessandro Fillari (@afillari)
Kenny Redublo (@misclet)
Laura Dale (@LauraKBuzz)
Zack Furniss (@ZackFurniss)
Mike Cosimano (@MikeCosimano)
Jed Whitaker (@Jed05)

Here's me, Jordan, Kyle MacGregor, Brett Make??donski, Zack Furniss, Mike Cosimano with friends of Destructoid Hayden and Phil at our hotel pool at midnight on Sunday after drinking some beers with turtles on them.

I like this Tecate ad. LA's tall buildings are surprisingly light on million foot videogame ads this ?year, though there are some.

Microsoft had an event on Monday night. There was this giant Tomb Raider ice sculpture and a bartender p??ouring shots in the top a?nd they'd come out the bottom into your glass. Unfortunately they were shots of Fireball and Fireball is disgusting.

Jordan, poolside as we work sun??rise to sunset. Our cool hotel was cool, but did not have wifi. The press room closes at some point. Thankfully, our cool hotel pool did have complimentary wifi.

Yesterday, we broke event rules and ate convention center food. This is a hamburger, not a hoc??key puck. 

Two days ago, though, after we already had eaten dinner, me, Jordan,?? Brett, and Kenny went to Little Tokyo to get our Japanese curry on. I finished it despite being full as heck. Felt bad for a while. I might get more tonight.

Finally, an Xbox throw pillow b?ig enough to cover my dick! I should've stole it.

_{[Photo Hayden Dingman]}
Zack Furn?iss cracked my back? after I shaved a metroid into his head. Speaking of...

Zack is a man of his word.

No one had a lighter. E3 is over, guys.

--

^_^

The post Hello from Destructoid at E3 2015! appeared first on Destructoid.

Let the Dtoid staff come all up in your (in)box

A few months ago, we kicked off a fun new perk for our HUGE members: monthly "Bonus Levels" newsletters direct from the Dtoid staff! Every month, you can expe??ct a new letter penned from your favorite staff members?? sent straight to your e-door. Sw33t!

In this month's le?tter, we talk about some of the fun stuff that's been going on behind the scenes lately, plus our hopes and dreams for 2015, and it features words from some of your favorite Dtoid Internet celebrities! Sound like something you might wanna take a peek at? Sign up for a Destructoid HUGE membership! It's only $3 a month, and it gets you auto-entered into every contest, ad-free browsing, experimental site features (like uploading your own background for the front page), and more! And best of all, the money goes directly toward supporting the site you love.

Already a H??UGE? member? Then just fill in the form below to get your first Bonus Level! I promise, we won't bite.

HARD.

The post HUGE memb??ers: Sign up for your monthly Bonu??s Levels! appeared first on Destructoid.

Fashion and game (blogging)

I started an account on jbsgame.com back in 2007. Shortly after that I was hired to write a few news posts here and there. Seven years later, I'm lucky enough to call this place a second home. I've c?reated video shows for the site, written essays and reviews, interviewed game dev?elopers, and, more than anything else, I've done my best to be a lover of games. 

For whatever reason, the people who run this joint have asked me to become the new editor-in-c?hie??f. I was afraid I couldn't do the position justice. I'm still afraid. That's how I know it's important. That's why I'm taking the job. 

But what's an editor-in-chief anyway?

The editor-in-chief at Destructoid isn't exactly an "editor"?? or a "chief." That's not how Destructoid works. As you can see from our staff roll, we don't have a CEO, we have a chief shark. We don't have a community manager, we have a community loveboat. Likewise, the editor-in-chief isn't a traditional boss.

So no, you don't have to worry about the site turning in??to a Nintendo/indie/glamour/glitter-focused website anytime soon. At Dtoid, the editor-in-ch??ief works with the staff to steer the site in the direction that we as a company, and as a community, want to take it. They have a responsibility to lift people up, expand creative boundaries, collaborate with outside parties, and help set the tone for the site as a whole. 

Destructoid is, at its best, a big videogame fan club where everyone is invited. It was formed because a man wanted to do what he loved more than he wanted to make money. It has grown becaus??e people who love videogames have used the site to share that love. When we're doing our job right, Destructoid fosters the kind of passion and excitement for games that keeps the industry ?moving.

The fact that so many of our staff and community members have gone on to make games themselves (Fantasia: Music Evolved, High Strangeness, and Borderlands 2 to name a few), is proof that we've managed ??to pull that off a few times. Creative freedom, risk taking, and genuine, heartfelt communic??ation are what we value most here.

We don't often share the same views, but that's not a problem. Quite the opposite. The fact that Destructoid welcomes a diverse set of values is part of what keeps us honest and (hopefully) interesting. What's important is that we never lose sight of the fact that differing values are not a threat. They are nothing to be angry about or to be struck down. They are to be heard, pondered, and reflected. Sometimes that's easier said than d?one, as human beings are prone to feeling angry or threatened when faced with differing ideas, especially when using the internet. But that's?? the goal and we aim to reach it.

So what's in it for me? 

As editor-in-chief, I have a million ideas of things I want to try in order to meet our creative and editorial goals. If? we were to start a community blog contest where I would sing to you and send you some random crap from my house every month, would you enter it? If we were to work toward getting guest editorials from former Dtoid staff about how their relationship with videogames has evolved over the years, would you read them? Would you like to see a new video show about Samus Aran and Sagat living as roommates? Do you want to he??ar game design analysis from some of the most talented game developers in the world? 

Let us know in the comment??s what you'd like to see happen next on Destructoid and we'll do?? our best to make it happen.

The post Hello, I’m the new editor-in-chief of Destructoid appeared first on Destructoid.

Congratulations, Aaron!

Destructoid alumnus Aaron Linde is now with Gearbox Software, reuniting the famed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time hater with his longtime Podtoid co-host.

"I've been hired specifically to challenge Anthony Burc?h to single combat and slay him," Linde told Destructoid. "[It's] a grim charge that, thus far, Gearbox has had little success in accomplishing on its own. Quite proud to be joining the ranks of such a dynamite studio."

It is unknown what Linde's role at the Borderlands 2 studio will be following the demise of Burch. Rumor has it the steamy heartthrob is currently in the early stages of developing a sequel to his acclaimed 2008 masterpiece, Aaron Linde's BonerQuest.

Also see: Where are they now? Ex-Dtoid Editors in the Biz

The post Destructoid a?lumnus Aaron Linde joins Gearbox Software appeared first on Destructoid.

But seriously, hide those kids. It's going to get crazy

Giddy up y'all! There's a Destructoid Hoe-down a-comin' up and you better grab whatever you southern people use to party. I'm going to admit, all I know about the s??outh comes from The Duke??s of Hazzard re-runs.

That's right, our very own Johnny Luchador is going to be in Nashville for the 3rd annual Scorecon. Oh yeah, we're goin??g to be slamming the south into submission with a panel dedicated to Johnny Luchador and Livestreaming as a whole. 

Want to know a bit more about how you can touch the most glorious luchador ever? We've got your hooku??p below the?? jump.

In Lucha's own words:

"Dtoid.tv's very own Johnny Luchador and Jumpin Jason of the Super Fantastic Video Game Rad Show: Get There! are doing a panel on Online S?treaming and Dtoid.tv. You heard that correctly, they are going to ??let Lucha and Jason speak about streaming and Dtoid. Now, we may not be able to bring hamburgers, but by hell there is no rule about whopper pocketing or running around in a cape with a boombox playing the best of Phil Collins. We'd love to see all you beautiful peeps there and would love to meet you guys in person. So come out to Scorecon 3 if you're in the area! Hell dress up; Lucha will be sporting the Dtoid mask all weekend during it."

Lucha will be on the?? main stage from 9-9:45 am on Sunday. Want ??to meet up afterward for Fandango and burritos? Sound off in the comments below.

The post Hide your kids, we’re going to Nashville next weekend! appeared first on Destructoid.

Get your blog on Destructoid's front page!

_{[When we're looking for blogs on a specific topic, we'll put out a Bloggers Wanted call. Check out the blog prompt, write a response, and you may see your blog promoted to the front page! --Mr Andy Dixon]}

Did you know that today is Destructoid's birthday? It's true! So in honor of our green-helmeted robot overlord turning seven (that's the legal drinking age, right?), we'd? love to hear your favorite Destructoid memories!

For me personally, it was attending my first PAX back in 2011. I had just b??een promoted to community man??ager a month earlier by Hamza, and it was one of the highlights of my life meeting and getting to know the Dtoid community on a more personal level.

What about you? Hit up the Cblogs and let us know! To participate, just write a community blog, title it "Dtoid Memories: [Your blog title here]", and select the Bloggers Wanted Essay Response tag. As an added incentive, the best bloggers this month will receive a copy of The Witcher 2 (plus five free games) from GOG.com!

So get to it, and be sure to grab your 7th Anniversary badge in the Forums while you're at it!

The post Bloggers Wanted: What’s your favorite Destructoid memory? appeared first on Destructoid.

Promoted from our Community Blogs!

_{[Destructoid turns seven this Saturday, and all month long Dtoiders have been sharing their favorite memories from their time in the community over in our Cblogs. Here's Swishiee's... what's yours? --Mr Andy Dixon]}

It's hard to believe that we're already nearing the seventh year of Destructoid. I've been visiting the site regularly for over two years now, yet it feels like it's been forever. From making Jim Sterling feel my junk, to getting drunk with Max and Tara in San Francisco, to partying with the best damn community on the Internet at PAX Prime 2012, I've had so many great memories in such a short time that it's hard to pick just one. So instead of picking one out of the lot, I decided I'd go with my most recent favorite: The ??Streamtoid 24-hour charity stream.

I remember getting the email from Extra Life notifying me of the upcoming event. I did some streaming and charity for the G3 event by Xbox and Extra Life the year before, and this year I wanted to go bigger. So I came up with an idea: Why not do Extra Life for 24 hours over on Streamtoid? So I contacted Spencer Hayes to see if he wanted to try and arrange something with me and get some people to stream over the 24-hour period. A few days later, the plan changed. "Let's do the stream liv?e from my place in San Francisco for 24 hours. I'd rea??lly like it if you could come down for it," said Spencer. Our plan was underway.

I met up with Spencer the day before the event, where we finalized our schedule, lined up our giveaway prizes, and got drunk. After a mere few hours of sleep, we awoke to start our live stream. Teamed up with Philanthr0py of Dtoid TV, Stella Wong, and several other friends throughout the time, we were ready to raise money. Everything started up nice and normal. We played some Spelunky, had one of the developers of Monaco on for an interview and playthrough, and more. It wasn't until later ??when things sta?rted to get crazy.

It started when we moved our stream to Dtoid TV. Phil, Spencer, and I started Chill with Phil with boxes on our heads while playing Metal Gear Solid 2, and they remained on our heads throughout the show. At one point we rea?ched a stretch goal and Phil slapped Spencer?? in the face at full force. That was the only beginning.

As the night went on, the stuff we were doing for money got crazier and crazier. Spencer himself took a beating that night. He got slapped in the face again by Phil, ran around the block at 1 AM in nothing but short shorts, drank a concoction of random items found in the kitchen, and for the finale, slapped twice and kicked in the nuts. The worst thing I had to do was wave at the camera when JJMccallum donated $200 to us. (It may have been one of the hardest ??things I'd ever done.)

But it wasn't only Team Streamtoid doing awesome things "Fo' da' shawties" (which was our catchphrase for the event). Over the entirety of the stream, we had community members joining in our chat, donating games and physical items to the people who were watching us and some of our donors. On top of that, we had videos sent in to us from around the world, ranging from vApathyv and AvalonTreman just showing their support, to Conor Elsea eating mayonnaise while listening to Coldplay. ??The kindness of our community nearly brought me to tears; never before had I seen such generosity in people.

In the end, the stream was a huge success. We raised over $1,500 for the UC Davis Children's Hospital. Spencer went through a lot of pain, and our sanity was tested after we'd been awake for over 24 hours and had to wait on a pizza that never got ordered, but I'd say it was all worth it. Plus, we raised enough money to where I got a set of Extra Life dice in the mail as a thanks for our efforts. While I received them, I wasn't the one who earned them. It was Spencer, Phil, Stella, Apathy, JohnnyViral, Beccy Caine, JJ, Conor, Avalon, and many more who we?re either on the stream or supported us by watching and donating. I cannot say thank you enough to all of you. You are all heroes.

I can't wait for the next Extra Life event.

The post Dtoid Memories: Fo’ Da’ Shawties appeared first on Destructoid.

Help us look to the future

As our esteemed founder has revealed,?? online advertising as we know it may dry up in the long run, so in the near future we will be accepting reader donations to keep Destructoid, Japanator, Flixist, and Tomopop exactly as you know them: 100% independent and free. We will not be pay-walling anything you already get for free from us.

Instead of a paywall, we believe readers ?can help us fund ??EXTRA content that we couldn't viably create before.  

Now, here's where you come in:

We'd love it if you would take a moment and let us know the kinds of things you'd like to see as a paying subscriber -- stuff that doesn't exist yet, but should.

Being entered automatically into contests? Bonus episodes of our podcasts? Sexy new video content? Jim Sterling's voice on your home answering machine, a la Carl Kasell? (OK, maybe not that last one.) Some kind of limit??ed edit??ion swag? Let us know!

Feel free to con??tinue your dis?cussion in the comments thread as well. And thanks! We appreciate all your support <3

_{*You have our word that we will NOT be taking away content, and that non-paying members will continue to enjoy the same sites that they've come to know and love. Every premium perk would be something new (and exciting!) as a special thank you for helping us out.}

The post Community pol?l: What mem?bership perks would you support? appeared first on Destructoid.

We did it, guys!

We did it!

[Update 2: Hey, remember that time we raised money to build a well in Africa? Well, it's done! CharityWater sent along some photos of Ethiopia's first Destructoid-branded water well, along with some cool and downright heartwarming facts about the village it was built in.Additional money raised was also put toward two other wells. Thanks again to everyone wh??o made this thing happen!]

Happy Sunday, all!

Max Scoville and I will be going live on Destructoid's Justin.tv stream today from 2-6pm in hopes of raising money for our CharityWater campaign. It will all??ow us to build a well to serve clean water to an entire villag??e of people.

This may or may not involve Max playing Dead Space 2. We've also managed to convince the always wonderful and always entertaining Tactix to stop by and sing some songs for charity, along with some other guest appearances by Anthony Carboni, the host of Bytejacker and silent hero of the new Bitejacker videogame, and at last b??ut not least, sass??y old Hamza Aziz.

So why don't you swing by and donate some of ??tha?t leftover holiday cash to those who can't afford clean water to drink, much less fancy and expensive video games?

The post There is a well in Africa n?amed Destructoid:? PROOF! appeared first on Destructoid.

All over the world, Dtoid community members gather to hold NARPs (No Apparent Reason Parties) to get to know each other outside of the internet. Well, the community team here at Destructoid wants to make it a bit easier for everyone to gather and have made a page at Meetup.jbsgame.com! On this site, you can make a profile and keep track of the major community gatherings planned by Destructoid. Events such as PA??X, Magfest, and the EuroNARP will be planned on this site that has features such as a calendar?? allowing for an easy way to see what's going on.

As part of this experience, we have also opened up a Meetup Everywhere page. This aspect of the Meetup experience is community focused and exists to make it easier for you to plan your own meetups. Always jealous of the NARPs you read about on the front ??page? With this part of the site its now even easier to throw your own gatherings!

So ch?eck out those two sites, and if you have any questions read below for our constantly up??dated FAQ!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a City Group and what do they do?

- Destruc??toid's community is one of the most awesome gaming communities - now worldwide! Not only do we hang out on the chat, forums, Twitch.tv channel, and c-blogs, but we also make a point to meet up in real life. Our love of c?ommunity is what brought about the Destructoid City Groups. These groups are run by the community in areas such as San Francisco, New York, Austraila and the Midwest.

These groups gather together whenever possible to hold NARPs, also known as No Apparent Reason Parties, as seen here, or get together to go to events such as Magfest, PAX, or the famous EuroNARP.

Sounds great, but there doesn't seem to be a City Group near me. What now, brown cow?

- That's part of the joy of our Meetup Everywhere page. If a city group doesn't exists that you want to join, feel free to start your own and invite your friends! You can use Meetup Everywhere to plan your events and spread the word to those who would be interested in joining! Let people know in the forums, c-blogs, and spread the word on Twitter/Facebook/Google+!  You'll be surprised how easy it is to meet people once you sign up, and we'll be writing about events worldwide to help people find your events. Tag your group as #destructoid and it will appear on the map.
 
I'm thinking about holding a NARP at home....what should I do?

- First of all, we recommend you start small.  Don't throw a 100 person spontaneous house party for strangers.  That is definitely not the point of a NARP.  We?? want to help people find like-minded people and bring them together: the purpose is small, tight groups where everyone knows and trusts each other. Less is definitely more. If you work up your way to hundreds of people, great!  We'll likely fly Mr. Destructoid out to meet you all someday!

Many of the Destrutoid city group started out as a house parties, and those are great ways to have a good time with out too much planning. But there are definitely things to consider when deciding on holding a house gathering. Make sure to use common sense with your be?longings and always remember to be mindful of things such as noise complaints. Just because our community is awesome doesn't mean a raging psychopath can't show up and murder your family (tee hee).  Use common sense, silly.  If you have any doubts just meet at public places first.

With that said, have a great time! Open up a forum and ask your meetup members what games they like most.  At our meetups in San Francisco food and drinks are always a good way to keep the party going strong, and crowd inclusive games like Rock Band and Dance Central are usually a hit. Knowing our community, nothing beats bringing out a retro gaming system and playing games such as Mario Kart or Power Stone. &nb??sp;Also, you're going to want to include games where guys can beat each other's faces in and sho?ot each other in the face.  Family entertainment!

Where do I upload my NARP photos?

- You did take photos, right?  We want to hear about it! There are plenty of ways you can share them with us: when you create a Group you can upload photos.  To post them on our site just write up a c-blog/forum post about your event, take lots of pictures and add them to Picasa tagged as "Destructoid",? or even upload some videos to youtu??be and let us know about them! We love seeing how the community gets together and might even talk about it on the front page! 

How do I get my NARP promoted?

- Every month we try to let the community at large know what NARPs are going on around the world. This means we'll be checking our WorldWide page where you'll be posting your own events.  If you are planning a NARP, and want to promote it to all of Destructoid, post about it on the Meetup Everywhere page, and let us know at community@jbsgame.com. That way we can try to make sure that the greater Dtoid community is aware of what is being planned. 

I already have a gaming Meetup.com group.  Can I just call it a Destructoid group?

- Fine by us!  Just tag it #destructoid and it will show up on our map.

Is this for singles?  OMG what should I wear?

- Romances have been the byproduct of these meetups, yes.  We don't make any guarantees though. More importantly, unlike your co-workers most people present will understand your obscure Penny Arcade references. Though, as pictured above, it will most likely be a bunch of unpretentious dudes.  Just shower before arriving, plz!

What can Destructoid do for my group?  Do I get free shit?

- We're definitely wanting to send the most active groups some love packages in the future.  Look for group competitions and challenges in the coming weeks as we get this party started.  For now all we can offer is to give your group awareness and bring awesome people your way.  We definitely want to get feedback fro??m our group leader??s on what their needs are after their first NARPS, so be in touch!  community@jbsgame.com.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments and we can keep this post updated with answers to your questions!

The post Check out Meetup.jbsgame.com appeared first on Destructoid.

Average starts at five, not seven

Hi! I'm Chris Carter, the Reviews Director for jbsgame.com. I've been reviewing games professionally for around nine years now. It's my job to give you an in?formed opinion of various games out on the market, so you can make a decision on what to spend your money on, or how you choose to spend your af?ternoons.

By nature, reviews are a subjective beast. They are based on our own individual opinions, and that may not reflect your exact feelings about a game. Best rest assured we strive for accuracy, and we will do our best to convey why a game made us feel a certain way. It is also our policy to review what's in the game, and not promises of what may come. We often may speculate on future features or facets of a ga?me through the course of a review, but i??t will not affect the score.

Let me stress that although we do speak to PR on occasion to obtain advance review copies for games, we do not collude with them, any sponsors, or advertising agencies on anything regarding reviews or scores. Our review team is completely and utterly isolated from the ad team. I have no idea how they conduct th??eir business, and I'd like to keep it that way.

How we score - the Destructoid scale

Here at Destructoid, we use the entire scale. It does not start at "7." Let me repeat that �if a game is less than "good," (7) it will be scored as such. Just because a game has obtained a "6" does not mean it's a "bad," game �far from it, in fact. If you come into this believing that the only games worth buying are 9's or 10's you're not really understanding what we're trying to ??convey. Please take a closer look:

10 �Essential (10s aren't perfect, since nothing is, but they come as close as you could get in a given genre. The new leader to beat in its sector.)

9 �Superb (9s are a hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.)

8 �Great (8s are impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but well worth your time and cash.)

7 �Good (7s are solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.)

6 �Alright (6s may be slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.)

5 �Mediocre (5s are an exercise in apathy, neither Solid nor Liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit "meh," really.)

4 �Below Average (4s have some high points, but they soon give way to glaring faults. Not the worst titles available, but difficult to recommend.)

3 �Poor (3s went wrong somewhere along the line. The original idea might have had promise, but in practice, it has failed. Threatens to be interesting sometimes, but rarely.)

2 �Bad (2s are a disaster. Any good they might have had are quickly swallowed up by a plethora of issues. The desperate may find a glimmer of fun hidden somewhere in the pit.)

1 �Failure (1s are the lowest of the low. There is no potential, no depth, and no engagement. These have nothing to offer anybody.)

_{[Our scores reverted back to our original system in April 2016, after using altered descriptions for a year.]}

Why score games at all, doesn't Destructoid believe that video games are art?

?In regards to why we use scores at all, our founder Niero set forth these ideas:

The post The Official Destructoid Review Guide appeared first on Destructoid.

[The Forums are totally taking credit for the Watdoom craze that swept the site this month.]

We int?errupt your regularly scheduled front page to once again remind you that Destructoid has Forums and if you didn't know about them you've been missing a lot. Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on this month.

Ordinarily t?his is where I'd make some witty commentary about life or videogames or ?the Forums, but it's been a rough month full of prolonged reoccurring illness so I'm a bit at a loss. Just pretend I wrote a naughty limerick here and let's move on.

In case you've been living under a rock and completely missed all news concerning the hacking and subsequent downtime of the PlayStation Network there's a thread dedicated to the discussion. Check it out?? and voice your concerns and speculations about Sony's and the PSN's future. 

In happier news, apparently Portal 2 is amazing. I wouldn't know since I need 2 copies of all co-op games to be able to enjoy them with the husband. Sad to say new games weren't in the budget this month so I'm having to live vicariously through the Portal 2 discussion thread??. Stop by to share your impressions and feel good moments with the rest of the Forums.

I also don't know about the new Mortal Kombat game that came out this month, but thankfully there's a whole thread dedicated to disc?ussing the finer points of ripping out each others sple?ens. 

If Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is more your bag then be sure to check out de Bloo's Ranbat Tournament. The winners bracket has already concluded, congrats to de Bloo for ? organizing/winning. The losers bracket is still ongoing and?? looks to be just as heated.

There's also a pretty active thread for the Gears of War 3 beta ??to join for people who are into that kind of thing.

Are you a fan of the new C Blog series Debatoid? Then it might interest you to know that you con contribute ideas for upcoming debates in the Debatoid Topic thread.

Remember text adventure games? Yeah, me neither, but that isn't stopping SchildConstruct from creating one. He's invited people to take a survey and play test his upcoming offering. Worth looking into if you wanna see wh??at really counts as "o??ld school" gaming.

Not gonna lie, I'm a fan of baked goods. Apparently so is culinary goddess Bec. This month she showed us the amazing cupcakes pictured above as well as the most epic Angry Birds cake mankind has ever laid eyes upon.

Have you had any especially epic moments while playing a game this month? Ever? Check out the Random Awesome Game Moments thread and share them with us.

Electronica is a thing and if you share a love of all music made by machines then The Glorious Thread of Electronica is the place to be this month.

Looking for a fun way to use and abuse your photo related skills? Head over to the What is Icarus pointing at? thread and try your hand at shopping our mo??derator IcarusKills into horribly embarrassing scenarios.

There's also the Paint Album Cover thread where people make MS Paint dr?awings of famous? album covers then have others try to guess which one it is.

WatDoom is a thing that is happening all over the forums right now, thanks in no small part to the dedicated efforts of Gobun an?d the rest of the Forum Gif Bomb Squad. This became such a big deal that it even leaked over onto the front page. Way to go guys!

That ??concludes this month in Forum news. Thanks as always to my wonderful Mod team and the general awesomeness that is the Forum?? community. Join us next month when Mxyzptlk exposes some dark secrets and I do some finger painting.

The post Forums, we have them: May 2011 appeared first on Destructoid.

Hey kid?s, it's that time again -- time for me to take you by the hand and walk you through another edition of Forums, we have them. Single file please; and I saw that, get your hand out of your pocket.

Okay, you're probably wondering about the header image this month. Well, it just so happens we're celebrating Destructoid's 5th anniversary in style over in Forum Land. We've even got a special new badge to commemorate the occasion, but you'll have to wait to find out wha??t it looks like.

If you want a piece of this sweet action (and you know you do) then all you have to do to earn it is head over to this thread and tell us who yo??ur favorite community member is and why. The thread will be open until the end of the month when we'll shut it down forever. Don't miss your chance to be part of Dtoid history and earn this exclusive, limited time only badge.

The big buzz around the Forums this month is our shiny new upgrade, compliments of beloved founder and top robot Niero (Happy birthday, boss) who broke the bank to bring us several exciting new skin options, including a spiffy new default that matches up more with the home page. It's like we're all one big happy family again! The themes are all still being worked on and customized, but come check out the new Destructoid Default, Twisted Dark, Shiny Green, and if you're not digging those we still have our "Also, Cocks" knock off Classic Dtoid Dark. A mobile version is also available, but wil?l likely be upgraded further once we find a better template. Suggestions welcome!

If you haven't visited in a while, now would be a great time to stop by and see all the massive improvements we're making. And also leave some feedback in the support thread.  Please keep in mind that problems with the main site or Cblogs are ?? better off being reported to support@jbsgame.com since t??he people who can actually help with those areas might not see your post in the Forums.

Happy Bar Unification Day! Our original Bar thread has finally been merged with the next-generation version and evolved into a massive mega thread of win. It'??s great?? to have all our memories fully restored. (Now to talk to Icarus about that money I finally recall him owing me.)

If you're gonna be at GDC (in which case, why are you reading this instead of playing games?) or PAX East you should check out those threads to find out how you can make the most of your experie??nce by meeting up with other community members. Ain't no party like a? Dtoid party.

The 10,000 post club has seen some action this month. Hit t??he link to find out which of our esteemed members spends way? too much time here (hint: most of them <3). Congrats to Aurain, Ali D and Some Dude with an Ascot.

Like games? Well The Dwarf Fortress Succession Game is a thing that is finally happening which you can totally check out. Don't let the dated first post fool you; around page 5 people finally get their act together and start the game. It looks like there is sti??ll room for more folks to get in on t??he fun.

Speaking of fun, resident forumnite and paint master extraordinaire Zombie Platypus got the super awesome idea to start making pictures depicting everyone's Forum title. He calls his genius idea Title Shots and this thread is responsible for some of the most hi??larious and eye-raising art work in Forum history.

Know what's almost as fun as hanging with your favorite Dtoiders in the forums? Stalking each other on Twitter, and with that in mind, Aurain and Sexualchocolate got together and made a list of people you should be following. Check it out here and make sure your name gets added.

Wanna join the Forums and talk with other cool and sexy people about your love of video games, but not sure where to get started after you make your intro? Try The Arcade. Much like The Bar, it's a whole t?hread of chat room like conversation revolving entirely around video games.

That about wraps up this month in Forum news. If you notice something cool happening that you think we should share with the community be sure to tell us about it in the FWHT thread.

Thanks again to Niero and company for the u?pgrade and all that you do to make this place the most amazing site on the Internets. ?Much love <3

The post Forums, we have them: March 2011 appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Awesome community member, forum moderator, and toy designer/creator Zodiac Eclipse has made these incredible plush Mr. Destructoid heads! If you want one (or any of the other awesome toys she and her husband create), head on over to her store's website and check them out! -- JRo]}

Greetings community! As most of you are aware I'm "officially" a stay-at-home mom (insert motherhood jokes here), but as only a few of you ??know I also run a home business on the side making and selling handmade toys. Christmas was mighty busy at the Eclipse Household, but now that we've put the mad rush behind us I finally have time to sit down and make things for fun again. Here's where you guys come in.

I'd like to introduce you to Plushtoid, a cuddly soft stuffed version of our beloved Destructoid helmet. Plushtoid is about 4.25 inches on all sides and completely handmade by me from fleece with felt details. I've got a handful of these ready to go with more on the way if enough people are interested.
 
You can order one today over at my business site Story Builder Toys for $15 plus shipping. Before anyone gets out their pitchfork, yes I will ship worldwide so long as the buyer assumes responsibility for all shipping and postal fees. I r??eally just want to get as many of these out to Dtoiders as possible as a way of doing something fun for the community that has done so much for me.

Special thanks to Mix for giving me the idea and super special thanks to Niero for letting me u?se his m??ascot to pimp my plushie skills. Much love guys!

The post Plushtoid has arrived! appeared first on Destructoid.

Update: Check out our archives on JTV for the show.  It was ridiculous.

Ther??e are three rollergirls at Destructoid HQ right now, live on our show. This is really happening.

Today the crew will be getting rowdy with some tough-as-nails rollerderby girls as we play JamCity Rollergirls, a brand new WiiWare title just released today by Frozen Codebase. We actually have real life rollergirls in the studio today, and maybe we can get Pico to join them. Check out an interview Jon Carnage did about the game at PAX.

Make sure you follow us, tweet us and watch us on Justin.TV/Destructoid 4pm PST.  Expect epicness!

The post Live Show: Dtoid Ch?ill Bros Vs Jam City RollerGirls appeared first on Destructoid.