MUN Tabletop Games Women's Night

MUN Tabletop Games Club will be holding a women's night tomorrow night (May 21, 2013) at 5-10 pm. The event will be held in The Loft (University Centre, UC3013). For those unfamiliar with MUN, the University Centre is where the buses stop at MUN. You just go in the doors and take the stairs up to the 3rd floor. When you reach the 3rd floor, The Loft will be to your right.

New Website

As Most of you may have noticed that yesterday we moved to a new website. The domain is the same but now we are hosted through blogger.com and a couple of third party plugins. This change has caused some issues but first I would like to explain the reason for our change.

Although we were very happy with our functionality before the site was hosted on a server at 5urieal's house, this meant we were subject to issues caused b y power outages as well as ISP (internet service provider) issues. This also means there was a lot of power consumption running a HP server with two 800 Watt power supplies 24/7. Due to this in order to save some funds as well as improving up-time we moved to a free hosting service.

What does this mean to you?

- First off everything looks a little different although most functionality is still here.
- Everyone will need to create new accounts. In order to join the forum hit "Login or Register" on the forum Page. If you want to be added as a writer for the blog just email info@nlgamer.ca with a brief explination and we will add your email address to our list of authors.
- If you use our events page this is now managed through Google calendar. this means you can simply email info@nlgamer.ca with event details and we can add it, or if you wish we can share a calendar with you that you can update yourself.
- Also our Gallery page is now a combination of Picasa and quick gallery so again you can either email info@nlgamer.ca with your pictures and a description or with a link to your existing gallery.

Hopefully everyone joins us on the new site and if you have any questions, concerns, comments or issues just let me know at either

bbatten@nlgamer.ca
or
info@nlgamer.ca

thanks,

Brad (5urieal)

What if Zelda was the Hero of The Legend of Zelda?

The author of the Dresden Codak has dreamt up a pretty cool concept for a game where Zelda is the hero! Check it out here:
http://dresdencodak.tumblr.com/post/47724463171/inspired-by-anita-sarkeesians-video-game-tropes

Thanks for checking us out at Sci-Fi

Hey Everyone!!

We would like to give thank all who stopped by our table to check us out and see who we are . This was our first year at Sci-Fi on the Rock, and it was a huge success!

People seemed to enjoy the N64, and in particular, Super Smash Bros. It's amazing that despite being released in 1999, the original is still able to please kids that are used to playing the sequels for Gamecube and Wii.

Thanks again,
from everyone at NL Gamer

It's Dangerous To Go Alone!

One of the many awesome baked goods to be had at the Goodwill Gaming Mixer.  (I'm INVINCIBLE!)

 It's dangerous to go alone!

Yep, that's right folks, I finally carried out my first solo away mission.  It's a big, scary world out there - especially when you're a Star Trek geek wearing a red shirt - but I stepped up to the challenge, wandered out of my cavelike apartment dwelling, and faced the world.  What a glorious day it turned out to be, once I finally gathered the courage to -

Wait, that's not where you thought I was going with this?  Oh, you might be thinking of that other "It's dangerous to go alone."  The one with the old man, and the cave, and the sword that shoots people, and men in tights.  Yes, Legend of Zelda, through my formative years and young adulthood, was iconic.  It had a strong, silent hero, fierce villains, a story formula that never got old, and it was Nintendo.  This weekend, I had the rare opportunity to don that famous green tunic, take up my Hylian shield, and wield the Master Sword against a trio of very skilled foes.

And let it be known that the Hero of Time's shame at having been solidly trounced by a trio of Pokemon, a baseball-bat-brandishing brat, and a very tall chimp know virtually no bounds.  I'm pretty sure I should work on my swordsmanship before I plan on rescuing any princesses in the near future.

The man was right, folks: It's dangerous to go alone.  And this lone Hero of Time got his butt thoroughly kicked.

And it was one of the best butt-kickings I'd endured in a long, long time.

Official Butt-Kickers of Butts to be Kicked at SSB: Brawl!

Picking up that controller this weekend and hopping into Super Smash Bros. Brawl was an incredibly fun experience, and I gladly shout out a thank-you to the good folks at Goodwill Gaming.  Goodwill Gaming, who will be appearing in force at this year's Sci Fi on the Rock convention, are a terrific gang of gamers who use their love of console-based video games to raise money for charities, specifically charities that help out youth and youth organizations.  Most recently, Goodwill Gaming held a mixer event at Memorial University, and I was glad to attend and show my geek colors.

Dance Dance Revolution!

The event started at 5:00pm Friday afternoon and ran straight through until around 10:00pm that evening.  I don't think I've ever seen so many gaming consoles in my life.  The Mixer sported an old-school SNES set up along one wall running Super Mario World, while a projector and screen diagonal to it broadcast a four-man Super Smash Bros battle royale for the eyes of eager masses.  There were no shortage of Nintendo consoles or Nintendo-based games, and my inner nostalgic nerd saw that it was good.  Nintendo wasn't the only console or gaming giant represented through the event, though.  Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was featured, along with Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock, and a Dance Dance Revolution game on the far side of the room that I may or may not have caught John Michael Bennett playing.

The good gentlemen at the bar, manning their posts.

If the Nintendo nerd in me was pleased by the games, it was doubly pleased by the refreshments.  The beverages, alcoholic and otherwise, were outstanding, but where Goodwill Gaming really shone over the weekend was in the culinary goods.  Cookies, cake, and baked goods abounded, some of them shaped like Kirby and other video game icons.

Baked goods in abundance! (And they were delicious!)

The event had a terrific atmosphere, and it was wonderful to see so many people of all ages brought together by a mutual love of gaming.  I had a terrific time, met a lot of great people, and played a few terrific games.  I'm looking forward to seeing how Goodwill Gaming follows this awesome mixer event up at Sci Fi on the Rock later this week, and I hope that the nerd community of St John's will continue supporting this awesome venture.

Ahem, speaking of Sci Fi on the Rock...

As fun as all of this console and tabletop gaming over the last few weeks has been, Redshirt on the Rock is proud to announce that we'll be getting back to our Sci-Fi roots at long last with a few awesome major events coming up later this week.  We'll be holding the front lines at Wolf 359 during the Best of Both Worlds event at Empire Theatres this Thursday night (Because the line must be drawn HERE!  This far, NO further!), and after that it is my great pleasure to announce that Sci Fi on the Rock is firing up this Friday at 2pm.  

If you want information on the convention itself, all sorts of informations and goodies are available at SciFiOnTheRock.com, and the con will be running through the weekend.  Guests include Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed, Star Trek: Enterprise), Dean Haglund ("Ringo" Langley, X-Files), Gary Jones (Walter, Stargate: SG-1), and more, so If you've got an interest in just about any form of geekery under the sun and you're in the St. John's area this is one event you won't want to miss!

Sci Fi on the Rock kicks off at 2pm this Friday.  Hope to see you all there!  Check scifiontherock.com for more info!

Watch Newfoundland Fighting Jam - Salty Sets On TwitchTV!

Newfoundland Fighting Jam Salty sets start today at 4:00! Tune in @ http://www.twitch.tv/andydiluvian if you can't make it out in person!

So, What Is A Salty Set?

The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club!

Fortunately, our good city's local gaming equivalent adheres to neither the first or the second rule, and so I had the opportunity recently to talk a little with Andrew Flood, who represents Newfoundland Fighting Jam.  Andrew is a MUN student specializing in Science and Georgraphy with a passion for fighting games, and has been playing these games since a young age.  He still fondly recalls playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 every day after high school, and that game specifically holds a lot of nostalgia value for him.  

Newfoundland Fighting Jam, as you'll notice on their handy Facebook page, is Newfoundland's premier fighting game community, and they regularly host games on Sunday at Memorial University or West Side Charlie's.  Andrew elaborated on what the NFJ is brilliantly.  Newfoundland Fighting Jam has been active for years, sparked by individuals who carried a mutual love for fighting games, and for competition.  He described the group as being "very specific" about the hobby and their gaming choices, and while many among the group double as regular gamers the team focuses very much on the fighting genre.  They practice, they play hard, and they run as a very well-oiled machine.  

Among the reasons for this Andrew cited is that many of the fighting games they practice have a steep learning curve, and that they are constantly trying to improve themselves.  The aim is to play at a dedicated, competitive level.  The games the team currently specializes in are Street Fighter 4, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and several others.  If it's a fighting game, and it exists, then there's a good chance that someone within the group has played it.

Andrew was also able to share with me war stories from the NFJ and some of their events.  One of the more memorable recent events involved one of their players getting trounced and he flipped his control stick onto the floor so that it landed on the block, and made the game impossible for his opponent to win.  So if anybody ever tells you that JD is second best to the floor at blocking, now you know, and knowing is half the battle!  Each event is unique, though, and there are always new stories, shenanigans, and highlights from these events.  Check out some of these events, and you might walk away with some war stories of your own to tell!

The Sunday games for Newfoundland Fighting Jam are usually just for-fun gaming without stakes, with random events like the upcoming Salty Sets event added once into the mix once in a while.  Their regular meetings usually feature between ten and fifteen players, where the larger events like Salty Sets can throw as many as thirty people into the fray.  Newfoundland Fighting Jam broadcasts their tournaments on Twitch TV, where you can watch the action live from home or wherever you have internet access.

By now, the question on your mind just might be "What is a Salty Set?  And what does a Salty Set have to do with fighting games, and tournament events?"  And we here at RotR have an answer.  And even if that wasn't the question on your mind, well, we're gonna give you the answer anyway!

"Salt" is a term used in the fighting game community for disappointment among players who don't make it to the top in tournaments like those held by Newfoundland Fighting Jam.  A "Salty Set" is an event that lets those salty players call out or challenge a rival player, sometimes with a wager at stake.  Want a rematch?  Sour that your foe put you out of the last tournament?  Then this is the event for you!  It leads well into one of Newfoundland Fighting Jam's next upcoming events, and getting everyone in peak performance for High Tide Throwdown in Halifax, a regular annual tournament.  Their hope is to represent the province, and hopefully bring back some prize money!

Tomorrow at 4:00pm, Salty Sets kicks off at the Landing at Memorial University, or room UC3018 in the University Center.  Thinking of checking out the NFJ, and getting involved?  This is an event you won't want to miss.  We at RedshirtOnTheRock wish the gang all the best, and I'm sure the good people here at NLGamer are also wishing them all luck on their big trip to Halifax, and all the awesome new war stories and challenges ahead!