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Good morning, here's a dog dressed as Amaterasu
Even dogs took part in the cosplay activities at this year's Otakon convention, with Dante the dog here dressing in the divine garb of Okami's heroine, the goddess Amaterasu. If you have a white dog you'd like to style as Amaterasu (and who is a good boy like Dante -- good boy!) his owners detailed the process of making the costume on their blog. Happily, the whole thing was conceived from the perspective of what would be best for Dante; even the decision to bring him to Otakon in the first place was explained as "this was better for him than leaving him in a boarding place for five days." The whole post is full of tips and disclaimers about ensuring your dog's happiness and comfort while also making it look like a video game character. Basically, our hearts were warmed twice by this story. And then a third time when our eyes drifted back up to the picture.
Selling custom Halo armor to the Pawn Stars is out of this guy's Reach
The importance of nerdom in public society has increased exponentially in the past decade, with the video game industry now producing over $25 billion in annual revenue alone. Ask any random group of cosplayers at San Diego Comic-Con what the above completely customized, electronic Halo MJOLNIR Assault Armor suit is worth, and they'd probably guess in the thousands. According to the experts at History Channel's Pawn Stars, they'd be wrong. This Halo fan is hoping to score a humble $2,000 for his spectacular suit, but the Pawn Stars won't go a cent over $200, crushing his dreams and possibly losing him a girlfriend. We salute you, Halo Hero, for testing the waters in popular society for nerds everywhere. We'll be sure to keep our fetishes in convention halls and caves -- for now.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever dressed up as a game character?
What to wear... what to wear.... With various conventions like SOE's Fan Faire and DragonCon offering contests with prizes and at least a few minutes of fame, it's no wonder some people harness their creativity and pull out all the stops to create a costume. After all, you love your game, so why not be a part of it? From Ratonga to superheroes, player avatars to mobs, there seems to be no shortage of costume ideas and cosplayers strutting their stuff. Some ideas are elaborate and some are a bit less involved. But really, who needs a reason?! Whether for an actual event, just for your office party, or just in the safety of your own home (with friends carefully sneaking YouTube videos), have you ever dressed up as a character in a game? Which one? Fess up! If you haven't yet, have you considered it? And who/what would you be? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Wear a Twisted Pixel costume to PAX East for chance to appear in a game
Already lining up your established video game intellectual property-themed wardrobe for the upcoming festivities at PAX East 2011? You might want to throw a costume based on one of Twisted Pixels' creations into the mix, as the developer announced over Twitter that one lucky 'Splosion Man, The Maw, Comic Jumper or Ms. 'Splosion Man cosplayer who comes to the studio's booth on the show floor will have a character modeled after them appear in an upcoming title of its choosing. "This will be a 'walk on role' for lack of a better term, as a character somewhere in the game. Background of this character will depend on where we feel they can fit in the story," a Twisted Pixel rep explained to Joystiq in more detail. "The winner will be updated on the status of their character and what game it will be when we get close to announcing the title." Everyone who stops by the booth in-costume will end up on Twisted Pixel's official website, while three runners-up will get their names in the credits of the unspecified game -- everyone, of course, has a chance to play those unreleased games.The studio also promises a very special prize for folks who show up as the increasingly infamous MaXplosion -- "a kick to the face." We think they were joking, but just to be safe, you'd better not.
Complete your Leon Kennedy cosplay with his bomber jacket
After five long years of careful manicuring, your hair is finally, perfectly coifed -- just like Resident Evil 4's Leon S. Kennedy. You've got that devil-may-care attitude down, ammo clips holstered around each thigh, and you're all about saving the president's daughter. The only thing left? Fingerless gloves. Oh, and also Leon's not-so-cheap, replica bomber jacket, now available to pre-order directly from Capcom's Japan-only online store -- though you'll have to go through a proxy service if you live outside Japan. (Game Swag has listed some of them.) The e-Capcom store has dated the first shipments of the jacket for "early January," so you may want to start saving up the ¥26,040 (about $315, plus the proxy fee), um, like, probably a few months ago. Or maybe just scour your neighborhood for treasure chests? That's what Leon would do.
Breakfast Topic: What is your favorite World of Warcraft fan art or media?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. With the massive number of players logging in every day to WoW, there's an equally expansive amount of art and media coming from that player base. Very few games have ever brought out such a community of creative minds showing the rest of us their vision of a fantasy world. From machinima to custom WoW dolls (I mean action figures -- right, guys?), to Horde/Alliance-themed cakes, there are a ton of different venues for artists of all varieties to express their passion for the game. I've just recently begun to start watching WoW-based machinima and have discovered there are quite a few masterpieces out there from people who seem talented enough to write or direct feature films. After the Cataclysm launch, I'm going to start an ongoing fan fiction story about a rogue and what his life is like after Deathwing ravages Azeroth. It should be plum full of adventures and high jinks! Although I'd love to include custom artwork with that story, my drawing skill ends at stick figures, so I'll have to use to screen shots. Out of all the different art, videos, and other "warcrafts," are there any you'd like to participate in? Or maybe you already check out great fan art, make custom troll outfits for cosplay, or bake cupcakes shaped like murlocs. What are your favorites?
BlizzCon 2010: Costume contest gallery
The BlizzCon costume contest took place yesterday afternoon with roughly 90 entries (give or take a few, depending on how you count group efforts). We did have a screenshot of one entrant in black that was unfortunately too dark to include, but this is an otherwise comprehensive gallery of all contest entrants, the five finalists and winner. There were a number of extraordinary costumes this year, and we highly recommend giving them a look. However, I think Jay Mohr was correct in observing that it's only a matter of time before someone's going to topple over on digitigrade stilts. Please, folks -- it's okay to suffer for your art, but it's not okay to break your ankles over it! The five finalists (you'll find them toward the end of the gallery) portrayed Ysera, the female monk from Diablo III, Jaina Proudmoore, the female witch doctor from Diablo III, and Illidan Stormrage. The eventual winner was Christina Estrada as the female monk. %Gallery-105850% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
BlizzCon 2010 Day 1: Costumes and characters
One of the best parts of every year's BlizzCon are the costumes worn by attendees. BlizzCon 2010 is no different. You can hardly go a few feet without seeing a character seemingly right off the battleworn world of Azeroth. Costuming is truly my favorite part of BlizzCon since it offers an experience you can't get anywhere else. Check out our gallery repeatedly through the day, as your intrepid WoW Insider staff continues to gather images of these awesome costumes. We've also included the previous galleries of costumes in the lines and convention center so that you don't miss anything. %Gallery-105831% %Gallery-105820% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
BlizzCon 2010: Costumes and crowds
WoW Insider has been working the lines this morning and was able to chat with Hogger, Jaina Proudmoore and so many of our favorite WoW characters at BlizzCon 2010. We'll be updating the gallery as we get more pictures. The first few are just from the line before the opening ceremonies. More crazy great costumes and the people behind them as the event continues! %Gallery-105820% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Father and son create elaborate Samus arm cannon
11-year-old Joseph DeRose decided he wanted to (cross) dress as Samus Aran for Halloween this year. So he and his dad set out to build a replica of Samus's Metroid Prime-era Varia Suit, starting with the arm cannon. The final cannon has a speaker and LED lights controlled by an Arduino microcontroller, so it can be made to fire simulated Power Beam, Plasma Beam and charged shots. Joseph even has to correctly "log in" to use it! The rest of the costume is still incomplete, but at this point Joseph has a perfectly acceptable backup costume: "Guy With This Awesome Arm Cannon."
TERA talks costume contest, shows off new screenshots
Looking forward to TERA? Like cosplay? If so, En Masse Entertainment has a Halloween costume contest just for you. Send in a picture of yourself dressed as a TERA player character, NPC, or monster, and you could snag TERA merchandise and multiple beta invites. The contest will also feature five runners-up, each of whom will take home t-shirts, posters, and lanyards as well as one beta invite. Entry requires a Twitter account, and you'll need to reply to the official TERA Twitter with a link to your costume photo and the hashtag #teracostume. Be sure and have a look at the costume contest rules on the official forums. Speaking of costumes, you can also check out the latest Screenshot of the Week featurette for a potential idea in the form of a Castanic Free Brotherhood farmer. %Gallery-96720%
TGS 2010: Cosplay goes to a new chapter
It's not Tokyo Game Show without cosplay! There's something uniquely TGS-like about being stuck in a game demo line between two Hatsune Mikus. We took our lives into our hands (leaving room for a camera, of course) and ventured into a raging sea of people to bring you pictures of those few folks dedicated enough to make and wear elaborate outfits in unseasonable heat. As for our favorite cosplayer of the show: we're definitely fond of the guy in Dragon Quest IX "Gooey Gear" Slime armor, but Airman can't be beaten.%Gallery-102629%
ZUG takes live-action Lemmings tribute to Boston
The very same mall we walked through to enter the inaugural PAX East this past March just saw a heavy influx of Lemmings, care of the folks at ZUG and "a few dozen" of their "closest friends." The video contains at least one water-based Lemming fatality -- you've been warned!
Cosplayers will compete at Tokyo Game Show's 'Metal Gear Cosplay Camp'
Start looking for a really nice cardboard box! And then ship yourself to Japan in it. Konami is holding a Metal Gear Solid cosplay contest next month, with the winner to be determined at the Tokyo Game Show. Interested Johnny Sasaki lookalikes (and other Metal Gear cosplayers) can submit pictures here (warning: Japanese-language application!) Konami will select a few of the entries to appear at the publisher's TGS booth on September 18. There, they will be evaluated by a panel of guest judges to be announced later -- as well as the TGS attendees in general, who know a thing or two about dressing up. The most difficult thing about Metal Gear cosplay is that if you're too accurate, you'll be too stealthy for the judges to notice.
The Cosplayers of Gamescom 2010
Given the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out for Gamescom 2010, the number of cosplayers in attendance was surprisingly small. Or maybe it wasn't surprising, given that this year's show didn't even encourage the costumed patrons with a feeble world record attempt or anything. As you browse this collection of photos, see if you can spot: The two guys who I suspect may have been gang members and not actually cosplayers A character that is usually not seen eating popcorn eating some popcorn Link pulling a reverse-Michael-Jackson (you'll know it when you see it) The best use of a pacifier for Day of the Tentacle cosplay you will ever see %Gallery-100135%
World of WarCrafts: Make your own leather blood elf ears
This World of WarCrafts has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. With the fabulous legion of blood elves dominating the Horde population, players are powerless to resist the appeal of the Sin'dorei. Even Alliance players find themselves watching their Orbs of the Sin'dorei, waiting impatiently for Fabulous Time to come off cooldown. My gift to you is your very own Orb of the Sin'dorei for personal use: leather blood elf ears. These babies are easily worn with a blonde wig -- for those of you who are not naturally fabulous -- or on a headband. Follow us after the break for a step-by-step how-to gallery that shows you how to create your own fabulous leather blood elf ears!
World of WarCrafts: Fan artists breathe creativity into their hobbies
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. I've been reading an anthropological analysis of the World of Warcraft for an upcoming 15 Minutes of Fame that talks about the game as an "active aesthetic experience," a collective expression in which the participation of all is key to the entire experience. One of the things I'm most looking forward to talking about with the author is the incredible creative energy that WoW breathes into so many talented artists, writers, crafters and musicians. From WoW-themed arts and crafts that tickle our fancies to re-imaginings of the very artistic underpinnings of the game soundtrack and art itself, the World of Warcraft has inspired so many people across the world. While obviously we could invite you to scroll through our backlog of World of WarCrafts columns (and indeed, if you're interested in any sort of creative effort, we think you should), we decided to make things simple. We'd like to invite you to our new resource guide, Arts and crafts in WoW. From how-to instructions for arts and crafts, to recipe "strats" bringing you the flavors of Azeroth, to soundtracks and artwork and fan fic and more, we've gathered the best of our galleries and in-depth features together in one place. We hope you find it as enjoyable and inspirational as we do ... Welcome to the sights and sounds of the community of World of Warcraft! World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing lisa@wow.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.
Fan totally Nerfs the Halo assault rifle
The Halo assault rifle has had a difficult time earning respect. It was totally outshined by the pistol in Halo: CE, ditched entirely for Halo 2 and brought back again in Halo 3 -- only to lose the spotlight to the battle rifle. Now, thanks to a creative Halo fan, the assault rifle has been brought to life ... and completely nerfed. (Like, it's actually a Nerf gun -- get it?) Taking a stock Nerf rifle and an "infamous knock off dollar store assault rifle," a modder known as Moz cobbled together this Halo assault rifle, adding custom pieces and paint. The best part: It actually works; albeit with a slightly lower rate of fire than an actual assault rifle. See it in action after the break. [Via Kotaku]
Final Fantasy XIII UK launch event rewarding cosplayers
Square Enix, apparently, is all about the cosplay. Just today, the publisher announced that it'll be rewarding the first 50 people dressed in "Final Fantasy costumes" who arrive at the March 9 launch event for Final Fantasy XIII with a free copy of the game's soundtrack. Oh, and also, Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase and art director Isamu Kamikokuryo will be there, signing whatever you want. The release further entices attendees with "high-profile DJ and TV presenter Alex Zane," who'll no doubt be spitting hot fire into a mic all evening. The event kicks off at 5:30PM at the Oxford Street HMV in London and runs until the sun comes up -- or 7:30PM, whichever comes first. %Gallery-41346%
Star Trek Online fans set nerdiest world record ever
[Image via Times Online] While we're certain you well-adjusted lotharios spent your Valentine's Day basking in the adoration of your significant other, 99 Star Trek Online fans spent the day breaking the most unapologetically dorky world record known to mankind: The most costumed Star Trek fans ever gathered in a single place. We imagine they also broke the "most depressing way to spend a Valentine's Day" record as well, but we don't have any way of empirically proving that. No, you know what? We take back that mean thing we just said. 99 people chose to dress up like their favorite Star Trek character, suffered crummy weather to gather on London's Millennium Bridge, and celebrated this thing that they love. Hell, if we'd known Atari representatives were going to be there to distribute free lifetime subscriptions to the game, we would've happily helped to bring the grand total of participants into the triple digits.
