The saying “nothing in life is free” simply isn’t true. As a young PR professional, I love giving away awesome swag and promotional materials away for Alienware – as much as I love getting it from other companies. During my lunch break at events like PAX and GDC, I like to go “shopping” to see what kind of swag I can pick up and give away back at the office. It’s hard to turn down free stuff, no matter how useless it might be.

EA recently made some headlines when it shipped out genuine brass knuckles as part of their Godfather II press kits, aimed at getting the attention of influential game reviewers and Web sites. Well, it certainly got some attention and was even featured on the homepage of Yahoo – although I’m sure the content wasn’t what EA’s PR team had in mind. Brass knuckles are illegal in most states and shipping them across state lines is an even bigger no-no.

But I’m not here to regurgitate the news or speculate on how this will play out in the California court system. What I find fascinating is how much press one bad idea can get a company. Before the EA recall was picked up by the gaming press, I wasn’t even aware that the Godfather II was being released in April – and I would bet that neither did the average Yahoo reader. I’ve always been mixed on the cliché “no press is bad press” – but in this case, this decision seems to have paid off (at least in the number of people now aware of the game’s launch). I’m not in the advertising department, so I don’t have any real numbers to show off – but think about it, a front page ad on the homepage of Yahoo would costs a pretty penny.

Because of the recent media coverage, I now know that the Godfather II has been released, that it’s currently ranked #13 on the Top 100 games this week and critics say that beating the game on single-player mode isn’t difficult enough. The reviews on the game are mixed, but EA unknowingly (albeit illegally) hit a home run when it came to getting press coverage. This however, is not a chance that I will personally take with my career – so whenever plasma rifles are invented, I’ll make sure to double-check with Dell’s legal team before suggesting them for Alienware’s press kits.

DRM is an issue near and dear to many gamers’ hearts. Many gamers will refuse to buy titles based solely upon the method of copy protection the publisher decides to use for that particular game. I fall into that category. There are several games I’ve refused to even install a preview copy on my machines due to DRM on the disk. Spore comes to mind, as does the latest Riddick title, Assault on Dark Athena. It was my decision that the DRM employed in these titles was too obtrusive for my comfort, so I simply didn’t pick them up. I’m sure they’re great games. That’s not my point.

It isn’t a matter of me being pro-piracy. I’m not. I’ve seen comments all over the Web insinuating that if I don’t like certain methods of DRM, I’m a filthy software pirate. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only time you’ll be able to slap the pirate moniker on me is if you see me in EVE Online.

Most comment threads on the issue mirror the one here found on ShackNews. The PC gaming community is usually very vocal about what they find unacceptable from publishers with regards to DRM . That list includes, but isn’t limited to:

· Activation schemes that limit the number of times a game can be installed

· Third party programs which interfere with other software installed on the user’s system

· Software which reports hardware/software information to the game publisher or distributor

· Software that installs itself without full disclosure

· Software that runs in the background using system resources without user’s permission

If you’ve taken the time to check out the comments to the article I linked, you’ll notice that the discussions surrounding DRM get pretty heated. It’s a hot button for sure. Are gaming publishers and distributors listening?

For a while, the common response from gaming companies was to brush the complaints aside. If anyone complained about the DRM a game used, the official responses ranged from “they represent a vast minority of gamers” to “people who complain about anti-piracy measures must be software pirates.” Though most game companies are very tight lipped about the issue, there is hope that things are changing. EA, for instance, recently announced that Sims 3 will be DRM free upon release. I think this shows that things are progressing.

Fallout 3 is another title that points towards progress. While it does use DRM to protect itself against theft, the DRM amounts to a good old-fashioned “disc check.” I didn’t mind installing the game on every machine I use.

While progress is being made, I feel that DRM as it has been employed has singled out the PC platform and has done it a disservice. In today’s cross-platform market, many titles published for console are also being published for PC, though the console versions don’t limit gamer behavior as much as their PC counterparts. The effect this (among other things) has had on PC gaming has been pretty remarkable. PC game software sales have plummeted in the past few years, while console game sales have soared.

While DRM isn’t the only thing contributing to this trend, it certainly isn’t helping. If you buy a game for your console, for instance, you can bring the game over to a friend’s house to share. You don’t have to worry about installing the game, or that the game won’t work if you have to buy a new console. When you’re done with the game, you can sell it to a used game shop. You can even rent the game before you buy it. None of these are things you can do currently with PC titles, largely due to DRM restrictions. Normal gamer behavior is being discouraged.

It isn’t just being discouraged on a few PC titles. The list is huge and growing.

With the future of PC games in question, I personally feel it’s time that gaming publishers and distributors take a long hard look at the ways they’re limiting their customers with DRM. Public outcries like the one mentioned in ShackNews should be relegated to history. What do you think?

A report about Video Gamers in the Recession sites that 38 percent of gamers are women.

PopGadget has figured out why Adamo is Latin meaning to “fall in love with” in Dell Adamo Love.

Try Six tips for coping with the fact that you can’t remember a person’s name to try to avoid those awkward moments

GirlAmbition.com is a Safe Facebook For Kids and a great option for kids who are not ready for Facebook and MySpace.

I know I am not the only one that was searching for my car on the wrong side of the building last week. Check out the little GPS car-finder that popgadget found. It can attach to your keychain.

A User on Shine had a great idea for a Recession Buster–Bring Back the Potluck. I’ve always enjoyed the surprise element of the potluck, even if my contribution is always the same.

CNN has an article about an interesting videogame development challenge that a two-woman team won this week. Tough task: Designing a game about your ‘first time.’

A new study finds that women need female role models, reporting that 27 percent of female students who named a woman as their career role-model said that they were inspired by the gender-related obstacles overcome by their choice.

The interactive portion of SXSW came to a close yesterday, and even before the final panel opened its doors, the transformation from film/social media to music could be seen all around the convention center. Many participants had already rushed off to the airport to catch their flights, and many more had decided to break away from the convention center to see what downtown Austin had to offer.

I managed to catch one panel amidst all the excitement and transition, though I had slated several. The panel discussed the move of social gaming from the computer to other more mobile devices, and the implications this had on gaming in general. Many of the ideas presented were location based, allowing gamers to use real world environments to stage their play. The most bizarre concept presented was a game that can only be described as “combat picnicking”. Game participants go to popular picnic locations with little to no food, compete to see who can get the most freebees from the people around them, and then hilarity ensues.

After the panel, I met with Richard Bernier and Brad Laurich at a local pub and eatery to see how many tweeters showed up. Afterward, I wandered through the various tents around the convention center.

I finally landed in the Techset Blogger’s Lounge with Lionel Menchaca, and got my first look at the new Adamo. I must say it is the sleekest piece of hardware ever to exit the doors of Dell. Thank you Richard Binhammer for bringing it out! Now that I’ve put my hands on one, it’s definitely on the wish list!

I also have to say that hanging out with Lionel at SXSW was akin to hanging out with a rock star at Lollapalooza. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised…

Now that the music portion of SXSW is coming into full swing, be sure to follow Chris Byrd on twitter at @ChrisBatDell. I’ll be haunting the music as well, so you can follow me on twitter at @Dell_John_B.

I decided to end day two of SXSW Interactive by checking out the first annual Game Design Competition. They had two categories, one for “casual titles”, and one for AAA title proposals. It was really great to see the game designer hopefuls pitch their ideas to game industry professionals in front of a live audience. I have to give the teams props: all of their ideas had merit, and all sounded very interesting.

The casual game competition was taken by a great looking game concept called Sloppy Ice by Gwen Murray. In the game, players will take on the persona of a raindrop named Sip who just took the long tumble from his rain cloud home to earth, and desperately wants to make it back home. The objective of the game is to eventually make it to the ocean so Sip can evaporate and become part of a cloud again. The main mechanic of the game is to battle through “very angry” beasties on your way to the ocean using abilities granted you through the three states of matter. To add complexity, abilities can be mixed and matched by players, as Sip’s “state” can be controlled at will, allowing players to switch from water vapor to liquid to ice as necessary. Kudos to Gwen and team for coming up with such a great concept, and congratulations on winning the contest!

The AAA contest was taken by Seth Smith and his concept entitled Project Z.E.U.S., where players would be challenged to have their android avatar (Z.E.U.S.) battle against mutated monstrosities in a far future setting to make an area of a decimated Earth habitable by a population suspended for over 30,000 years in a time capsule. The game would allow players to customize their android with specific modules, and players would have to make hard choices about which technologies they employ to reach their goals. Different technology types would have different impacts on the environment both short and long term, making this sim/rts/third person strategy game enormously complex. I sincerely hope Seth can take this concept to production, as I’d really like to get my hands on this title.

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a panel to discuss ways to use gaming technology to help young girls feel more comfortable with technology, science, and mathematics. The panel notably featured Dee Kapila from girlstart.org, Sheri Graner Ray from Sony Online Entertainment, and Cindy Royal from TSU, et al. The discussion was very interesting, and focused on the way games are being built and marketed to a predominately male audience, and the effect this has on young women and their views about technology. While I thought they made some interesting points, I really felt the problems they were pointing out were market driven, and were the same problems that cause publishers to either go with licensed properties they know from the get go will do well, or pump out endless sequels and clones with no really new innovative content or mechanics year after year. There’s no easy answer to any of these problems, but I don’t believe these problems are gender specific, per se. I do see how these same problems affect would-be young female gamers, however. It certainly got my cognitive cogs turning.

Afterwards I went to Stubbs BBQ to eat some grub and attend a talk about using social media tools to make social differences. The stories presented about twitter and blog communities coming together to solve individual problems in different communities were inspiring.

This evening I’ll be attending a panel about mainstream girl gaming featuring some folks from GirlGamer.com, and one of my favorite gaming personalities, Amber Dalton from Clan PMS.

Don’t forget to swing by Dell’s Cocktails and Conversations this evening if you’re floating around SXSW. I’ll be there, as well as Lionel Menchaca and several other Dell Community team members. Oh, and the speaker and guest list is pretty impressive too…

After I submitted yesterday’s post, I rushed to the next panel on my list discussing the development and marketing of an indie game title. The most prominent panelist was Ron Carmel, creator of the popular game World of Goo. I was struck by how small his company was (a whopping 2 members), and equally impressed by how passionate these developers were about their games. John Baez, producer of Alien Hominid, recounted how he accrued enormous debt when working on his title with little promise of a financial light at the end of the tunnel. These indie developers give blood to see their titles launch, and I encourage everyone to remember that when picking up their games. These are games built with love.

My next panel was a nice round table with What They Like’s John Davison.  The intimate setting aroused a very spirited discussion about adult content in games, and why it seems to make so many eyebrows arch. In the US video games are seen as toys, and everyone agreed this was a big part of the problem. Davison predicted that more adult titles will be produced using adult themes and complicated plots rather than the “blood and gore fests” usually garnering the “M” rating today.

The discussion also touched on morality lessons taught in games today, and how the interactive nature of the media could possibly reinforce moral conditioning. Being the griefer that I am, I came down firmly on the opposite side of this sentiment. When I steal someone’s stuff in EVE Online, for instance, I don’t think of myself as any more of a morally depraved person than I would for checkmating my opponent in a game of chess. I’m simply playing the game as it was meant to be played, and outperforming my opponent while doing it. There’s another side to this argument? Others in the round table seemed to think so. I would have liked to dig a little deeper into it, but we unfortunately ran out of time.

I then met up with Chris Byrd for some libations and music by Dorkbot in Brush Square Park. We eventually sauntered off to the Frog Design opening bash, complete with drummers, dancers, dragons, and drinks.

This morning I’ve attended a great discussion about using lessons learned from game interface designs in developing online community site designs and application interfaces. It definitely got my creative juices flowing for future projects.

I also had the chance to attend a case study of the game phenomenon “Dead Space”. Getting an insider’s perspective on everything that went into putting together this cutting edge IP was an amazing experience.

The day isn’t over by far. I’m about to check out a game design competition, and they’re still having tournaments at the Alienware booth. This place is a buzzing!

Speaking of the Alienware booth, as promised, here’s a picture courtesy of Chris Byrd. This way you get to see the fun you’re missing!

Yesterday afternoon, after a blown cell phone battery and dealing with a truck fighting to start against the unseasonably cool weather, I finally made it to South by Southwest Interactive. After lamenting the loss of my normal Friday feature (TL;DR Gaming News), I shivered my way to the Austin Convention Center to attend the first of many panels offered throughout the weekend and into next week. The interactive event covers the full gamut of everything Social Media and electronic entertainment related, so my schedule is pretty full of gaming talks until the end of the conference.

The first talk I was able to attend featured Facebook’s Gareth Davis, and was a panel to discuss the future and impact of the indie gaming industry. Judging from the opinions expressed by the panelists, casual gaming holds a lot of opportunities for the indie developers, and online casual gaming is likely to replace the “boob tube” in the years to come. I haven’t owned a television in several years, so I can see why they might think that.

I was also able to attend a talk given by Caryl Shaw from Maxis, the studio behind Spore. In the talk, she showcased the upcoming expansion for Spore, Galactic Adventures. I was personally a little hesitant to pick up Spore when it was released due to several factors, but I have to say this expansion has me rethinking that a little bit. In the expansion community members will be able to create planetary scenarios with different goals and share them with each other. The design options Spore players will be given are truly impressive. She showed off a 3-part scenario designed by Maxis team members that began with a planetary assault, all created from user-generated content. Game… fracking… on.

Yesterday’s festivities ended with a social mixer at a local pub for bloggers and social networkers followed by a mix of burlesque and cupcakes at Emo’s. I finally dragged my cold tired self home after 10pm.

Today I finally got to see the Alienware booth at the Screenburn Arcade. I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to be able to find it, but when I went into the exhibition hall it was a little hard to miss. The booth was loaded with Alienware and XPS gear, and sported its own emcee. Any description I give wouldn’t do it justice, so I’ll post photos once I can yank them off my camera.

This morning I was able to see a couple of talks, one about the future of the MMO interface, and the other given by author Rich Newman about using lessons learned from cinematography in game design. The MMO talk was fascinating, as the panel discussed the ways MMO and virtual world participants built communities using text and voice interfaces, and their observations really hit home. Online games and their communication interfaces really are changing the way people connect, communicate, and build communities, and I had no idea just how fundamental those changes were. On any given day, I find myself using voice chat, in-game text, and IRC all at the same time, and according to the data they presented, I’m not alone. Raise your hand if you’ve been there. The fact that one of the panelists was there virtually just hammered their point home.

The talk by Rich Newman was far too short, as they only gave him 15 minutes to present and take questions. The most shocking revelation from his presentation was that many game studios don’t even think about bringing in a script writer until their projects are already halfway finished. No wonder so many games seem to lack content. Now I know why. I just wish he had more time to flesh out his presentation, as it was obvious he had a lot of insightful things to share.

I’ll have more to share as the weekend goes on. If you ever get a chance to attend this conference in the future, I can say it’s well worth the effort.

In a twist on the legal front, the Washington State Senate passed a resolution that did nothing other than honor Penny Arcade creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. With other state legislatures working hard to try to hurt the gaming industry, it’s definitely refreshing to see the opposite taking place. Congratulations, guys!

The Beatles: Rock Band finally has a release date, Sept. 9. The bundle (MSRP $250) will include equipment modeled after the instruments actually used by the Beatles throughout their careers. Extra content will be provided for pre-orders, but what that extra content will be hasn’t been announced yet. I’m still waiting on Guitar Hero or Rock Band to release a Tool edition. Something tells me I’ll be waiting a long time.

Hirokazu Yasuhara, senior design director at Namco Bandai, announced this week that the company is currently working on a new Pac-Man game to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the franchise. Just what this game will look like and how well it will translate to a new generation of gamers remains to be seen. Given the reception Street Fighter IV received, I have high hopes.

Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi spoke out this week against the racial controversy surrounding the game’s trailer. The video sparked controversy by showing violent African natives, seen by some as racist. Takeuchi was quoted as saying, “We don’t want to create something that offends a certain element of society. At the same time, we don’t want to be in a place where you can’t set a game in Africa or in an Arabic country. That in itself is a form of racism. For us, as creators of entertainment, it’s important for us to strike that right balance.” A representative of the British Board of Film Classification also went on record as saying reports that the trailer was racist were overblown. Hopefully this controversy can finally be put to rest.

What could an anti-trust lawsuit filed by an apparel manufacturer against the NFL have to do with video games? Should the Supreme Court find in favor of the plaintiff, EA may not be the only one with a license to produce video games based upon real NFL teams. A class-action monopoly case is currently under way against EA, and the results of the apparel case may have a profound effect upon the Madden franchise. What a twisted world we live in.

Think what you may, Electronic Arts is one of the biggest and most respected names in the video game business. They’ve been a part of my personal gaming life for decades. I vaguely remember losing countless hours to Archon and Archon II, Populous, The Bard’s Tale and, more recently, Need for Speed, Burnout,  Crysis and Warhammer Online. I could easily say I and countless others like me wouldn’t be the gamers we are today if it weren’t for Electronic Arts.

It was a treat for me to sit down last week and speak with EA’s senior director of customer service, Boyd Beasley. We had the chance to talk about the future of gaming, what it means to be a griefer, the role of social media in gaming, and how a company like EA can meet the challenges of the ever-changing gaming market.  I was able to capture some of our conversation on camera for posterity. Although there were a few subjects we really couldn’t talk about, I came as close to those as I could. The conversation was fairly refreshing, and it was good to see that EA is looking outside the box a bit to solve some of the industry’s problems. Take a look:

It was great to see a gamer at the helm of EA’s customer service, even if he is a carebear (sorry, Boyd. I had to take a shot!). From our discussion both on and off the camera, it was easy to see that Boyd is passionate about what he does, and the industry needs more passionate people.