Release!

In just under 12 hours, my baby is heading out into the world. Like all proud parents, I'm a little nervous about his first steps, and I'll be carefully watching his progress in the big world. But unlike (most) other parents, I'll be partying and watching as people line up around the block to take a piece of him.

Best Buy is doing midnight launch events for Fallout 3 all around the nation, and we're having a big event at the 1200 Rockville Pike, MD Best Buy!

I'll be showing up around 9ish, to begin tailgating and generally celebrating like a fool. Hope to see you!

Some friends and I have organized a game of McGonigal and Bogost's brilliant "benevolent assassination" game, Cruel 2 B Kind, to be played on the National Mall in DC, on Saturday, October 18th, from 2-4pm.

For those who don't know of it: Cruel 2 B Kind is "a game of benevolent assassination" - basically, you sneak up on other people you think are playing and use one of your three weapons on them. Except your "weapons" are things that are benevolent to the average person: complimenting their shoes, for example, or welcoming them to the city.

If your target isn't playing the game, they're pleased, if a little confused. If they are playing, they join your team, and you go looking for other targets. Repeat across the national mall, while stalking and hiding from other potential players on the national mall, around the Hirshhorn, in the Smithsonian sculpture garden, and so forth. By the end of it, players ahve coalesced into two huge teams that are too big to hide from each other, and one massive, apocalyptic benevolence occurs.

Then we all go out drinking together and generally having fun and meeting new folks.

This is with Tom Lotze and the rest of the same group of folks that put together the very popular "Survive DC" game a few months ago, so we're expecting a similar turnout - in the order of 100 - 200 players. It'll be massive and massively fun.

Sign up on the website or at the Facebook page, and show up ready to play on Saturday, October 18th.