Now that I'm in possession of what people are calling the next big portable gaming platform, I need to load it up with games. I've got a few in mind so far — and I did let Randy Nelson from Joystiq talk me into a Scrabble-type app so we could see who's the better wordsmith — but it'd be great to get your recommendations.

Here's what I'm thinking:

First I need Wurdle and Fieldrunners. Back in March I met the creators of both games at a Game Developers Conference panel and heard a lot of good things about both games. Also, I want to support indie gaming.

Second I should get Puzzle Quest. I know it caused me a lot of grief when an early bug deprived me of my Bard character while playing on my ex's iPhone. But the kinks seem to be out now; and really, portable gaming doesn't get much better than Bejeweled wrapped in a role-playing game.

Or maybe it does? Peggle is definitely third on my list both because of quality and because I feel like PopCap Games manufactures my own personal brand of crack and I owe it to them to support my addiction.

On that note and as my fourth choice, I'm keeping my eye out for Plants vs. Zombies on the App Store in January 2010.

Anybody got any other suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments.

Each of those ideas presents problems to me as a gamer. Rage quitting is usually beneath me as a lady. Walkthroughs are only for use when I need to get through a game quickly for work purposes. And asking the Internet for help – particularly on puzzle games where there's no way to give hints without just telling you the solution – just feels wrong.

Obviously, my circumstances are different from the average gamer's because I have publicists for many games on speed dial. However, I don't like to abuse these connections when I'm playing a game for fun and not for review purposes. So instead, I usually stick to a ritual of behavior.

First, I pause the game during the part where I'm stuck. It could be a bum boss battle, a room where I can't figure out how to progress or at a point where I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing or where I'm supposed to go. I'm the level-headed type, so I assume that this must be a case of user-error. Maybe I need to review my stats or my gameplay objectives and make sure I'm not under-leveled or something. This solved my stuck problem during that level with the train in Valkyria Chronicles.

If that doesn't work, I usually double back in the game to look for a special item or grind my level up in the case of bum boss fights. I usually don't have to do this because I'm a completion-obsessed gamer who searches every area, breaks every crate and fights every random encounter just for the experience points. But, hey, sometimes I missed a crate – sometime I forget to check the shops for all the armor upgrades. So maybe being stuck really is my fault. This tactic resolved an ugly boss fight in Tales of Vesperia – you know, the one with the demo boss only he's way harder in the retail game? And you can't go back and grind very much because the road is cut off?

Above: Sometimes, it's not your fault...

The third time, though, I stop blaming myself and indignation sets in. Why would they make a game this hard? How could I possibly have missed whatever it is I need to get past this point? What is wrong with the developers that they make something I can't figure out? This is a dangerous line of thinking because it's a small step away from a rage quit unbecoming of a lady. It also has way of contaminating the rest of my opinion of the game. Which is why I never finished the first Modern Warfare on Xbox 360 (stupid barn mission with the tanks – why don't you shoot them, Price, while I try not to die for the millionth time!).

The final part of my ritual is to quit the game – not rage quit, mind you; just a normal save and quit – and sleep on it preferably ‘til a Saturday morning. Then I come back to it while in my jammies with some cereal, the same way I played many a video game on Saturday morning as a child. It calms me down, gives me a fresh perspective and reminds me that games are supposed to be fun. This totally saved my experience with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (I hate you, Vamp – die in a fire).

There are exceptions and games that totally defeated my ritual, of course. I broke down and used a walkthrough on The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time after two and half years of wasted Saturday mornings ($%#&ing Water Temple!); I also looked up a puzzle solution in Puzzle Quest because I really wanted to capture a Wight or something and just couldn't figure it out.

But for gamers out there like myself who sometimes hit a wall with games we love (or would love to try and love), I ask you: How do you deal with being stuck?

Further reading:
Stuck!! – 21 game levels that stopped you dead in your tracks
Getting Stuck Sucks: OXCGN's Games That Frustrate

Image Cred

And...there's nothing more to add at this point. It's Puzzle Quest 2, it's on the way, it's coming to at least the 360, and we'll hear more about it later. For now, soak up the above screenshot from the game, and see if you can find anything different about it.

New Puzzle Quest revealed in January GamePro! [GamePro]

At the time, Namco Bandai already had deals to score up to 70% of the company, with plans to go for full ownership. As of this morning, they'd bought 95.02% of D3's company shares at $628 a pop for a total buyout value of $12.55 million, according to Japan's Nikkei newspaper.

D3 Publisher's Publicity Manager, Tamara Sanderson Low, emailed Kotaku the following statement:

Bandai Namco Games, owned by Bandai Namco Holding Inc, plans to acquire 100% of D3, Inc., and its subsidiaries D3Publisher of America and D3Publisher of Europe. D3Publisher operations will remain unchanged at this time. Development of our current and unannounced titles is ongoing and will move forward as planned. D3Publisher is thrilled to join forces with Bandai Namco Games to further strengthen their position in the US and European marketplaces and continue to make quality games that gamers will enjoy.

I guess the era of hostile takeovers is gone, what with the depression and stuff. Does this mean we'll be seeing Puzzle Quest: Naruto next?

Namco Bandai To Acquire Game Developer D3 [Nikkei - subscription required]

It's not so much the visuals in the Galactrix launch trailer that get to me, as they seem to have taken their own concept art and just moved it about on the screen using....I dunno, Powerpoint? Primitive, but it works well enough for a game that straddles the line between casual and hardcore gaming so very well.

No, I think it's the music. The sweeping, space opera music, struggling to maintain its epic feel, while in the background the actually gameplay makes little bleeps and bloops. Of course it won't stop me from picking up a copy, but I can't help but giggle a little. Bloop.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix doesn't simply stick you in one ship and send you off against the universe. The game allows you to collect and customize more than 30 different ships across seven different categories, allowing you to tailor your three-ship fleet to fit any situation.

Check out the descriptions of the various ship classes below, along with some rather lovely screens and concept art to get you in the mood for next week's release.

Warships

Trident Battleship, Vortraag Destroyer, Trident Gunship, Vortraag Cruiser, Trident Warship

These ships have large reserves of Red Energy, useful for outfitting with lasers and missiles. They focus on directly damaging an opponent. It's always good to keep one of these heavy-hitting ships in your fleet for when you find that inevitable boss fight! Take care with some items like Mines and Minelayers though, because they can sometimes do as much harm as good.

Fast Ships

Acheron Ghostship, MRI Blade, Cy-Tech Botship, Cy-Tech Needle

These are useful ships to have if you plan on spending a lot of time running away from encounters or smuggling contraband. Of course PSI Power will also let you escape your enemies so you may choose to concentrate on that instead. Keep in mind that many of the fast ships are also small, so you may be in trouble if you get caught. If you can manage to obtain an Acheron Ghostship though, you should be able to outfit it with quite a bit of equipment.

Science Ships

Lumina Archive, MRI Science Station, Lumina Warship, Lumina Cruiser

These ships have a large amount of Green Energy, representing the massive computer systems they have on board. Green Energy is useful for buffing your own ship, so Science vessels are often good defensive ships to keep around when fighting some big enemy capital ships. A science vessel with auto-repair functionality can last a very long time in combat.

Cargo Ships

Elysian Ferry, Jahrwoxi Homeship, Standard Hauler

If you want to make your fortune mining, then it is worthwhile to reserve one or more slots for these behemoths. Your cargo capacity is determined by adding together the capacity of each ship in your fleet, so it is never a waste to keep Cargo Ships around. Although these ships are not good in combat, they will save you the effort of constantly visiting distant stations to get the best prices for your cargo.

Long Range Ships

Cy-Tech Missile Array, Quesadan Lightship

These Ships have a high reserve of Yellow Energy. This is very useful for manipulating the board and can be a great way of denying a specific enemy the energy he needs to activate his most powerful items. In fact it is often worth keeping a long-range vessel and occasionally customizing it on the fly before a battle with a tricky opponent. Keep an eye out for Thrusters, Waves and Transformers that can be outfitted to these ships to target various gem types in play.

Capital Ships

Lumina Archive, Trident Battleship, Gamma Sphere

These ships have 8 item slots and can be literally filled with all sorts of items. They are often slow, but also have good cargo capacity, so you probably want as many of these in your fleet as possible. However they are very expensive to buy, and even if you can find the plans it is very difficult to build one yourself!

Well-Balanced Ships

MRI Mindship, All Soulless Ships,

These ships are obviously very versatile. Your biggest problem is locating one or finding all the cargo necessary to create one yourself.

Even better, TransGaming tells me that Chapter 2 of the iPhone trilogy will be released for free to owners of the original iPhone title as an update. The free update should be hitting in the next week or two and will include another 20 hours of gameplay for people who purchased Chapter 1.

If you haven't checked it out yet, now may be the time. Fahey seemed to love it.

PuzzleQuest: Chapter 1 - Battle of Gruulkar sells for a mighty $10 and is described as the first chapter in the trilogy of the Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords for the Apple portables.

Each chapter will include the ability to store characters, spells and high scores so you can carry your character from chapter to chapter. This first 68 meg or so download is said to include about 20 hours of gameplay culminating in a battle with Gruulkar, leader of the Orcs.

What the game's description is not clear about is whether this is a new story or if we're getting the same game, only doled out in three $10 chunks. That would sort of suck if it were true.

[Thanks Veselov ]

Weir takes a reasonably detailed look at how designers successfully married RPG and match 3 elements, and why Puzzle Quest is the best example of a well deployed hybrid design. He offers the following words for designers:

When creating genre-spanning games, developers should follow Puzzle Quest's example. They should choose genres that can interact well with each other, and look at places where the tropes of one genre can be exploited, as with Puzzle Quest's use of puzzle gameplay as a battle system.

Additionally, developers should not fall into the trap of believing that the novelty of genre fusion will make players forgive a shoddy implementation of the individual genres. An FPS/RPG hybrid need not be the best FPS or the best RPG, but it should present each genre in a way that it could at least hold its own against single-genre games. Combining shoddy implementations of two genres does not lead to a single good game, but a sort of shambling Frankenstein's monster. Puzzle Quest, on the other hand, is a true hybrid, taking two well-executed genre games and combining them into an even better whole.

Anyways, nice quick read on a nice game — Weir has some interesting points on the implementation of various design elements.

'The Interactive Palette' - Puzzle Quest and the Best of Both Worlds [GameSetWatch]

Now about Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, D3....

Tokyo Game Show 2008 [D3P via PS3Fanboy

You want PAX press coverage, you keep an eye out for Crecente’s posts – he’s the one with the official yellow pass. You want to know what you would go through if you were here at PAX, you read my stuff. Because I am you.

Now – onto another girl-centric panel; I’ve got a theme going, in case you can’t tell. This little feminist number features advice from real girl gamers directed at guy gamers who are still stuck with crabby girlfriends that can’t understand the “no, I can’t go out tonight, I’m in the middle of a raid” excuse.

As panels go, this was one of the better ones because most of the questions were asked by the audience (and the sound quality in the room didn’t blow). It was also one of the longer panels because people really got into the topic (also a plus). So if you can’t be arsed to scroll down through this long (and paraphrased) transcription, here’s a summary:

1) Give your girl a game that’s tailored to her interests; don’t force her to play a game just because you like it.
2) Play co-op, not competitive. Some girls are unnerved by 13-year-old trash-talkers.
3) Don’t force her to identify herself as a gamer; it’s enough that she’s playing a game.
4) Spend as much time doing what she wants to do in her life as you expect her to spend time gaming with you (basic rule of relationships).
5) Don’t act like an asshole while you’re gaming – it makes games into the enemy.
6) Don’t belittle her choices of game; maybe she likes Barbie’s Horse Adventure.
7) Let her backseat game you and don’t argue with what she tells you to do; if she tells you to make Master Chief jump to his death, just do it – it’ll be fun for her and get her one step closer to trying it herself. (That’s my own personal rule.)

The panelists (from the program, so any misspellings aren’t my fault):
Christa Phillips (Xbox Live Community Manager)
Jane Pinckard (Editor-in-Chief, GameGirlAdvance)
Cori Roberts (Editor, Gameinatrix)
Shelby Wills (Producer, Pipeworks Software)
Nicole Tanner (Director of PR & Marketing, Foundation 9 Entertainment)

Introductions

Shelby: Started gaming with Oregon Trail and King’s Quest 6. Got into gaming via osmosis – mom was a CPA with a computer in the days when computers were rare.

Christa: Started with Space Invaders on Atari and King’s Quest 2.

Jane: Got started with Commodore 64, playing Load Runner and making impossible levels that can’t be beat.

Cori: Likens first gaming experience to first crush. Pitfall Harry was her first “boy”.

Nicole: Had the coolest grandma ever that bought the Atari 2600 to lure her grandchildren over.

Q: What are some of the barriers to entry for non-gamers and what can we do about them?

Christa: A big one is gamers acting like jerks when they play games. You throw the controller, act like a dick, and ignore company. The game becomes the enemy – like football.

Cori: People try to force other people to like specifically what they like. Girlfriends may not be into Halo, but they might like something else; so don’t force Halo on them and expect them to love gaming.

Jane: Starting a non-gamer with something totally unfamiliar is bad. Final Fantasy will overwhelm a noob, but if they like soccer, they can identify with FIFA Street and get into it that way.

Shelby: People don’t know that there are games out there for them. They might think Halo and GTA are the only games ever. You can’t force it. Show ‘em what’s out there, let them try it. It’s about exposure.

Q from the floor: My wife plays puzzle games with me, but she gets pissed if I beat her. And if I let her win, she acts like a dick. What should I do?

Jane: Do you need to play versus? Because there are good co-op games out there…

Cori: There are some XBLA games that are co-op.

Shelby: Try Boom Blox.

Nicole: My husband and I had a huge thing going with Puzzle Fighter. 6 hour battle to beat him – but it was rewarding. Don’t just let her win.

Q: What are ideal games for introducing noobs?

Cori: Played Nintendogs at a Laundromat and a crowd of non-gamer women gathered around her to watch. The next week, they had each bought a DS for themselves.

Shelby: A few years ago, that question was a lot harder to answer. With the Wii and the DS, Nintendo basically is the answer. We got a Wii for Christmas a couple of years ago. The kids started playing the adults gathered around, even the anti-games ones. Pretty soon, they all wanted to play Wii Sports. My dad destroyed everyone in Bowling and Boxing. My mom did the same in Brain Age and then gave it to her mother.

Jane: Licenses are actually important. Name recognition can hook people. If Barbie is the girl’s thing, get her the damn Horse Adventure even if you hate it. A lot of girls got into games because of Tomb Raider because it had a main girl in it.

Q from the floor: My girlfriend only plays Mario games. How can I get her to try something else?

Nicole: Sounds like she’s a platformer. Try Ratchet & Clank. Insomniac is really great because they’ve perfected the difficulty such that it’s not too hard or too easy.

Cori: Then you can move on to Prince of Persia.

Jane: My sister got into Ico. She got emotionally engaged in the story and it’s just such a pretty game. Plus the controls are simple.

Q from the floor: Sixty-five percent of internet casual gamers are women. Is casual internet gaming the way to get people to cross over?

Cori: You’re assuming those gamers don’t play everything else.

Nicole: A lot of that has to do with access to the games. You can go to Pogo.com and play everything for free. Price is a barrier to access. It definitely is a starting point, especially with the iPhone and stuff. But what you need to do is show them a similar game on a console (Bejeweled on XBLA). And then ease them into Puzzle Fighter, etc.

Christa: Women in particular are intimidated to make the jump to consoles. They think of the console as a guy’s thing or a kid’s thing. Show them the other features (download movies, etc.) because then it justifies them spending money on it. Once you teach them that the console isn’t the enemy, then they’ll try it out.

Q from the floor: I’m a gamer, my fiancé is a gamer, my roommate’s a gamer – his girlfriend is not. Rock Band is the one thing that she’s kind of gotten into. But she really hates that we’re into games; it’s like racism – she’s disgusted.

Jane: Some people are just “gamist.”

Shelby: She might be an EverQuest widow. Look at how much you’re playing and make sure you’re not prioritizing games over her.

Christa?: Play when she’s not home.

Guy: That feels kind of dirty.

Nicole: If she likes to go shopping, take her shopping. Spend as much time doing what she wants to do as what he wants to do – Relationship 101.

Q from the floor: My wife thinks of herself as a non-gamer. But she spends all this time playing solitaire. How do I get her to stop being a solo-gamer and get her to branch out from solitaire?

Cori: There are people that only play Halo. If she wants to play just solitaire, then let her play.

Christa: You don’t need to get her to identify herself as a gamer. If she’s happy playing solitaire, why try and force her to try something else?

Guy: I’d like to share games that I like with her. Not Gears of War, or anything, but like LittleBigPlanet or something… (Something about Catan.)

Shelby: Casual games might be the next step for her. But you can’t force it. Try a smaller step than LittleBigPlanet.

Jane: If she doesn’t like versus online, start an asynchronous game with her on FaceBook.

Guy: Can you make a Jane Austen game? Because then she’d be all about it.

Jane: I’m working on it.

Q from the floor (and it’s a girl!): I am a girlfriend who games and my fiancé got me into it because he bought me my own console. I think it’s great to give a girl baby step, but don’t underestimate them. I got straight into FPS games. Going online is extremely intimidating. Especially when you’ve got strangers yelling at you all the time. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to go online and fight the intimidation?

Christa: Join GamerChicks. If your girlfriend/wife is afraid of jumping online thanks to 13-year-old assholes, train with her, go into games with her. Hook her up with other girl gamers so her sisters can help her if she’s getting abused online.

Nicole: There are some great online MMOs based around casual gaming like Puzzle Pirates. Everyone is super-nice on there and you don’t get trash-talking.

Shelby: It’s true, not everyone starts with the casual games. There’s some huge percentage of women gamers on World of Warcraft, so you never know which game will do it for a girl.

Q from the floor: My wife plays games, but doesn’t call herself a gamer. Is there still a stigma amongst women to identify?

Cori: Definitely. Some of the looks I get when I say I’m a gamer…

Guy: How can we get rid of it?

All: Time.

Nicole: For the longest time, it was just kids in basements that played games. It’s not necessary to adopt the gamer label – playing the game is what counts, not identifying as a gamer.

Cori: Send her to GamerChicks. I have friends that guilt me for playing, but I stand up for myself and if she can learn to do that, it’ll make her feel less ashamed.

Christa: Bring her to PAX next year.

Success Story from the floor: I bought Champions of Norrath and had to get three more controllers because all my racing gamer friends wanted to get into it. I wound up making different characters for different games and it was like I was cheating on one of them if I played with someone else (“I thought we were playing my game!”)

Jane: Yeah, it’s the co-op games that really attract people. Playing as a group is really healthy.

Christa: Give non-gamers an excuse to play. Like gaming for charity – “I’m curing breast cancer!” A lot of girls are looking for an excuse to game, but they don’t want to be bad at it and they don’t want to get made fun of.

Cori: Get girls to talk to each other about gaming.

Q from the floor: My girlfriend games, but isn’t really into it. And she’s not here because she’s out of the country… but she said only nerds would go to PAX anyway. How can I get her to come to PAX next year?

Shelby Jane?: Tell her to come check out the “freak show.” You’ve got pictures to back it up. Tell her “you’ve got to see some of this stuff.” And everybody likes free stuff…

Q from the floor: My fiancé is really trying hard to get into gaming. She came with me to PAX (waves at her), but she has a problem with the controls. And she’s an action-oriented martial artist, so she wants to do something like that, but gets frustrated. What can I do?

Cori: Do you have a Wii? Get Red Steel.

Jane: She’s totally not alone. The Wii control scheme is what people want because it’s simple to play.

Cori: Just cut people. That’s what I did.

Shelby: There are a lot of games that don’t use all the buttons – look for those.

Christa: Practice by yourself and get used to the controls. Eventually you’ll get the hang of it.

Q from the floor: What are your opinions on games focused towards girls? Like misogynist games like Fat Princess or demeaning games like Bratz?

Cori: I look around and I see little girls playing on their pink DS lites – I hate pink. And I look at their mothers and they are not gamers, so I realize they won’t buy their little girl something that doesn’t look girl-appropriate. I’m not opposed to the girly stuff because who knows what that girl will grow up to play?

Nicole: Making games just for girls is not the answer. Make games for everybody. The Sims wasn’t made for women, but it appealed to them. A company that aims specifically at women is going to fail.

Christa: Actually, Fashion Barbie games totally sell. I’m going to buy the Tinkerbell game for my pink DS (me too, me too!). Sexism is rampant, but games aren’t the cause – they’re a symptom. So bring on the sexist games, I’ll play Imagine Figure Skating.

Shelby: A lot of games are great and parents need to go out there and find them instead of assuming all of them are either Barbie, or violent.

Q from the floor: Cute games sometimes turn out competitive and that can be a barrier (i.e. Bomberman). Is that a gender issue?

Jane: No. Some of those games have co-op modes because people like co-op modes. People get sick of getting shot at, so it’s not a girl thing. It’s a comfort level thing. I suck at Bomberman – but I can be comfortable with it.

Comment from the floor: I’ve seen girlfriends convert just because they play with other girls who game.

Q from the floor: My mom had breast cancer and suffered nerve damage, but she kicked my ass at Boom Blox. These games are based on other games (like hunting or bowling). Do you think that more intuitive controls are helping people get into it or the game behind the game?

Cori: It’s the intuitive controls. The Wiimote looks like a TV remote, so she’ll pick it up and play.

Christa: I think it’s about content. Viva Piñata won my mother over because it’s about caretaking and that’s what moms do. She gets it, so she plays it.

Q from the floor (and it’s another girl!): There’s trouble with trying to get back into a game after hiatus. The stigma of sucking at something is so bad – it’s focused on my gender. I suck because I’m a girl, not because I suck, is what they think. It makes me want to pretend to be a guy just to get away from it. How do you deal with that?

Cori: I just talk trash whether I’m losing or not. Try to enjoy the game until you re-learn how to play.

Jane: Join GamerChicks.

Q from the floor: I’ve got two little girl gamers. My wife will watch us play and get really into cheering – but we can’t get her to game with us. She gets so excited she can’t press buttons. And she feels so guilty when she plays a game for herself. What can I do for her?

Christa: Get her a DS and Animal Crossing. So she can put it in her purse and play it on the go and there’s no guilt because you don’t have to do anything and you can put it down whenever.

Cori: My grandmother watches me play Resident Evil 4. She’ll get popcorn and she’ll watch it like it’s a horror movie.

Jane: It’s inherently fun to watch someone play. So it’s okay for her just to watch.

Q from the floor: I almost made my girlfriend a WoW widow and even though I recovered, I can’t get my girlfriend to give games a second chance.

Shelby: Game by example. Show her it’s okay and that you can game and be healthy.

Christa: Ask her to help you spot snipers. Chicks like flattery. If she feels like she’s helping (calling her “a lucky charm” when you score a headshot), you’re making it a positive experience.

Jane: I’m really bad with directions. I make my boyfriend navigate for me in GTA. Have you tried less hardcore games?

Guy: I’m really into RTS games, and she tried it out (Age of Empires), but she’s worried about it getting too complicated.

Jane: Try the DS version. It’s lighter on the strategy and it’s turn-based.

Q from the floor: Are games where you create stuff more effective for hooking your girlfriend on games?

Christa: There’s something to that. My daughter spent days designing a skate track she never used.

Jane: Spending two hours on building an avatar that looks like you… there’s something to that.

Q from the floor: My girlfriend is interested in the idea of games – she used to play Tetris like seven hours a day, but she’s never moved on. She avoids competition and online socialization of any kind. Any suggestions for her?

Shelby: Bejeweled? She might like that and Puzzle Quest.

Jane: Zuma.

Shelby: She can avoid online components in most games, so make that clear to her.

Nicole: There are so many “the shit keeps falling” games (her husband’s term for puzzle games), but each adds a different element so that they’re all similar to Tetris, but very different.

Guy: She’s also scared of the controller being so big…

Nicole: I have tiny hands and I can handle it. The fear comes from being unfamiliar.

Christa: A lot of these games don’t use all the buttons.

Shelby: And you can get them on the DS or something.

Christa: There are also games that are super easy. Try something more trivia oriented like Wits & Wagers or Buzz!

Success story from the floor (yet another girl): My friend was totally against games, but she saw me play Halo and Fable and liked both of them. But the controls scared her. I got her Fable on the PC and now she won’t stop gaming.

Story of some kind from the floor: I have a friend, let’s call him “Bort.” Bort has a girlfriend from out of town… I used to hang out with him a lot. But now when Bort’s girlfriend is in town, I go to his house to play games with her. She kicks my ass… Uh. I have a girlfriend, too.

*Awkward silence*

Admonishment from the floor (last girl in the line): For other girl gamers, be supportive to each other. And to the non-gamers, give games a chance!

Q from the floor: I go to a school where people are too snotty and smart to play games. I’ve won a few over with Guitar Hero, but I’d like to share artsy games with them. Any ideas?

Jane: Braid.

Shelby: Yeah, people eat up the existentialism. Smart people feel good playing that game.

Jane: And it deconstructs gaming – you could have deep discussions about it.

Last question: My girlfriend plays a couple games and is into music. She won’t really play anything besides Rock Band. I’d like to get her into core gaming so I can have more fun with her. Any suggestions?

Jane: You do other things besides playing games, right? You should respect her interests as much as she respects yours…

Guy: She doesn’t really do a whole lot… besides watching TV. She doesn’t play very many video games. (Jeez, it sounds like he doesn’t like his girlfriend very much…)

Cori: Look for a game that’s a little bit more immersive. So you can talk about it the way you talk about TV shows.

Christa: Go for something with a strong storyline. Break down the games and the barrier is gone.

MTV Multiplayer got some surprising info on one of the key titles, the Lindsay Lohan vehicle Mean Girls. It looks to be a shameless Puzzle Quest clone — not such a bad thing — but trades jewel matching for shoes, lipstick and, err, jewel matching.

Further solidifying the fantasy to high school setting change is the swapping out of spells and incantations for "rumors, pranks and putdowns." We should work on our own, Kotaku branded Puzzle Quest rip. There's obviously money it.

‘Mean Girls’ Game Plays Like ‘Puzzle Quest’ In A High School, Stars Lindsay Lohan [MTV Multiplayer]

Puzzle Quest Expansion Pack hits Xbox LIVE® Arcade on July 23rd

D3Publisher of Europe Ltd (D3PE), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, has announced that expansion pack Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords™ - Revenge of the Plague Lord, its latest Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360™ offering, will launch on Xbox LIVE Marketplace on July 23, 2008.

The expansion pack will be available for play as an addition to fan favorite game Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and includes four new hero professions, scores of new spells to cast and items to collect, challenging new quests, monsters and bosses, and the introduction of a new archenemy. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord will be available on Xbox LIVE marketplace for 700 Microsoft Points.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord will offer fans hours of additional gameplay with four brand new Hero Professions: Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock. Players will adventure with new or existing Heroes to explore an expansive new area on the Southern Map containing more than 25 challenging quests, cast more than 50 new spells and collect more than 40 new magical items as they’re immersed into the compelling story of Antharg, the Lord of Plague and brother to the infamous Lord Bane. New monsters, bosses and more will challenge veteran and casual fans alike for hours of compelling entertainment. The expansion pack further increases the full Puzzle Quest experience by adding three new Achievements and raising the character Level Cap to 60. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord was initially code-named “Puzzle Quest: 1.5” to reflect its tremendous amount of content.

For more information about the story and features of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord and other Puzzle Quest properties, please visit www.puzzle-quest.com.

A 'Spiritual Successor': Puzzle Quest: Galactrix:

The most obvious changes in this semi-followup to Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords are the space theme and the new circular game space, which allows for some interesting mechanics that are a slight-but-satisfying shift from the typical match three rules of play. As is obvious from screenshots, Galactrix has a galactic setting, with spaceships, stars, and planets. In this incarnation, players can have up to three ships with various capabilities and stats, so they can swap up play styles easily throughout the game.

I found the new layout of the play area, now in a circle shape, interesting — instead of falling down in a straight line, game pieces can slide in from all sides. The direction from which they slide depends on how you play your line of three (or however many) — while casual players probably won't notice this feature, it does add an extra bit of strategy. The game is due out in the first quarter of '09, for PC, XBLA, and DS.

Aliens for the Kiddies: Ben 10: Alien Force

Ben 10: Alien Force is a Cartoon Network property that features a kid (the titular Ben) who, while on summer vacation, comes to possess a watch known as the Omnitrix. The Omnitrix allows Ben to transform into a variety of alien forms in order to battle evil and save the world. A game based on the series (Ben 10: Protector of Earth) was released last year, and Ben 10: Alien Force is seeking to follow up on the apparent success of that game.

The game is an 3D action-brawler; it features 5 playable characters. While only Ben can transform into aliens, these aliens are selectable and each have unique qualities. The Wii and PS2 versions will feature a multiplayer coop mode; the DS version more strongly resembles a side scroller, but does feature three exclusive aliens. The game also features puzzles, though it was mentioned that it is not a puzzle heavy game — the focus is supposed to be on accessible, fun gameplay, estimated at 6 to 11 hours if one is breezing through and not focusing on collecting all the unlockables.

The game will see an October 28th release, launching simultaneously on the DS, PSP, Wii, and PS2. Yuri Lowenthal, the voice actor for Ben in both the cartoon and the game, wandered over to offer some thoughts on the challenges of recording for games — namely, most sessions are done alone, sometimes with very little context for what is going on beyond the actual lines.

My, That's Some Rack You Have: Onechanbara

Despite the enthusiasm of the person demonstrating this Wii game from Sandlot, which was compared to Earth Defense Force, I came away pretty unimpressed regarding this hack and slash — and I do love me some ridiculous hack and slash games every once and a while. 'It's like playing a cult-following B horror movie!' cried the demonstrator as he hacked and slashed his way through hordes of zombies with the Wiimote. It certainly had enough ridiculous costuming, jiggling cleavage, and blood to qualify.

The game features two sisters, Aya and Saki; players can choose to play as either and also engage in coop modes. Perhaps the most 'interesting' feature is the 'blood coating everything including your character' aspect of the game — if your sword gets covered it blood, it becomes dull and starts getting stuck in your zombie enemies. You must clean the sword off to return your weapon to its slashing glory. Furthermore, your character can become completely coated and go into a special rage mode, doing tons of damage ('The developers really like this because she looks naked!').

The game only has a Wii release planned in first quarter of 2009; it will be a 'budget title' and clock in for less than $59.99, actual price not yet decided.

Classical Shmup: Bangai-O Spirits

A follow up to Bangai-O, a side scrolling shmup released for the Dreamcast and N64, Bangai-O Spirits is a pretty retro looking game that features some playful technology. Featuring over 160 levels with an old school arcade feel, most of the presentation focused on the level editing and sharing capabilities.

Every level can be customized as you play to tailor your play experience, and for those among us who like creating things, levels can be created and shared. The interesting part is the delivery method, known as 'sound load.' It was a little hard to hear in the D3 room, but as a level was saved, it was possible to hear a sort of melody. This melody — the level save — can be uploaded or saved to computer as a .wav file. To transfer a saved level to the DS, one plays back the .wav while using the DS microphone. I didn't get an exact explanation of precisely how all this works, and it does seem ripe for mistranslation somewhere, but it's a cool idea nonetheless.

The North American release features some exclusive content, including eight all new levels and can support one to four player local wifi play. It will be released August 12th, and will be going for $29.99.

Baa, Baa Black Sheep: Shaun the Sheep

OK, I love sheep. I think real sheep are pretty cute, if kind of stupid, and really like the variety that don't barge through fences (i.e., trapped in a video game). Shaun the Sheep is an animated series from the Wallace and Grommet people, Aardman Studios — shown on Disney in the US, it's now getting a darling DS title to go with its adorable show. These are really, really cute sheep, and I had to stop myself from squeeing when the DS was fired up to demonstrate the game.

Shaun is a preternaturally intelligent sheep who is tasked with finding fifteen of his less cerebrally endowed herdmates in the game; the puzzle/adventure title is, unsurprisingly, being marketed as family friendly and fun for kids. Shaun features lots of mini and micro games and lots of cute sheep. The nature of gameplay is designed for kids, but also won't bore the pants off adults, especially those who are fans of Aardman productions.

The game will be released for DS on September 23rd and will retail for $29.99 — and feature lots and lots of cute and fuzzy sheep. Lots of sheep.

Galactrix, Puzzle Quest's sci-fi spin-off, looks to be a pretty impressive step-up from the original Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlods that took everyone, including the developers, by surprise.

This time around the puzzle game will have a full storyline penned by a professional writer, rather than something dreamed up by the development staff. The game opens after a scientific accident provokes an alien race to try and exterminate humanity. As with Challenge of the Warlords, players create a character who gains skills, craft items, and in this case, upgrades their space fleet and deals with political factions.

The new hexagonal puzzle board now drops uses gravity, based on a player's location in the universe, to determine how to drop pieces as others are cleared. The game will also include a set of new mini-games that has you hacking jumpgates, negotiating with other factions, trading commodities and collection blueprints.

My very short time with the game gave me a glimpse of the new game board and, as with Trism, the new gravity-specific gameplay adds a whole other level of complexity to the game. I'm sure I'll end up being just as addicted to Galactrix as I was to Warlords when it finally hits.

The App Store will be part of the iPhone 2.0 firmware update that is free to iPhone users, but $10 for iTouch owners. That's right, Apple is charging for a firmware update.

Why should you care if you own an iPhone or iTouch? Spore, Trism, Galga, Pacman and maybe, just maybe Puzzle Quest. Also there are the games announced at the beginning of the conference.

Games can be downloaded by cell connection if they are less than 10 MB and via WiFi if greater than 10MB.

So far it looks like games will run for $10 a pop, though it will ultimately be up to the developers to set prices. Apple keeps 30 percent of the revenues. If the dev decides to give the game away there is no charge at all from Apple.

Stay tuned here for other gaming news coming out of WWDC today and if you're looking for a deeper, more in-depth look at the whole show make sure to catch Gizmodo's amazing live coverage of the conference.

If you're interested hit up the jump to read the details and email Lisa over at Mind of the Gamer.

Attention all Puzzle Quest fans in the Los Angeles Area!

D3Publisher of America would like to give you the opportunity to participate in upcoming focus testing for the next game in the Puzzle Quest franchise. If you own Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on any platform and would like a chance to participate, please e-mail lisa@mindofthegamer.com and put "Puzzle Quest Research" in the subject line. All e-mails must be received by April 18th, 2008. Participants will be considered on a first come, first served basis and will be screened for some additional criteria.

The runners-up names were Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Sorceress of Malbec and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - The Scourge of Antharg.

Revenge of the Plague Lord will be hitting Xbox Live arcade this spring and include four new hero professions: bard, rogue, ranger and warlock, as well as a new area on teh Southern Map which includes more than 25 new quests, 50 new spells and 40 new magical items.

The expansion pack has players taking on Antharg, the Lord of Plague and brother of Lord Bane.

D3Publisher of America Reveals New Expansion Pack for Critically Acclaimed Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on Xbox LIVE Arcade D3PA and Developer Infinite Interactive Call on Fans to Name New Addition to Puzzle Quest Universe at www.puzzle-quest.com

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—D3Publisher of America, Inc. (D3PA) today revealed a robust new expansion pack for critically acclaimed Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords™ for Xbox LIVE® Arcade. Code-named "Puzzle Quest: 1.5" internally to reflect its tremendous amount of content, the expansion pack includes four new Hero professions, scores of new spells to cast and items to collect, challenging new quests, monsters and bosses and much more including the introduction of a new archenemy, Antharg, the Lord of Plague. D3PA and Infinite Interactive ask the devoted fan base to leave their mark on the Puzzle Quest universe by submitting game title suggestions to www.puzzle-quest.com starting at noon PDT Monday, March 17 and ending at noon PDT, Friday, March 21. The winning game title and two runners-up will be announced on April 2. The soon-to-be-named expansion pack will be available for play as an addition to Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in spring 2008.

"Infinite Interactive has delivered much more than the average expansion pack and the incredible amount of content that it will include sets a new precedent for offerings on Xbox Live Arcade," said Peter Andrew, vice president of product development, D3PA. "As much as 'Puzzle Quest 1.5' appropriately describes the new content, we look forward to having our fans name the next iteration in the Puzzle Quest universe."

The expansion pack will offer fans hours of additional gameplay with four brand new Hero professions: Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock. Players will adventure with new or existing Heroes to explore an expansive new area on the Southern Map containing more than 25 challenging quests, cast more than 50 new spells and collect more than 40 new magical items as they're immersed into the compelling story of Antharg, the Lord of Plague and brother to the infamous Lord Bane. New monsters, bosses and more will challenge veteran and casual fans alike for hours of compelling entertainment.

For more information about the story and features of the "Puzzle Quest 1.5" expansion pack and naming contest rules and regulations, please visit: www.puzzle-quest.com.

Developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd., Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords artfully blends match-three puzzle gameplay with strategy, character-building elements and a persistent storyline. This unique combination of gameplay elements produces an appealing new videogame genre that entices casual and hardcore gamers alike, offering hours of fun-filled gameplay for the whole family. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords has received numerous accolades acknowledging the excellence of the game. These include the prestigious Best Downloadable Game at the 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, a Best Puzzle Game of E3 2007 Award from IGN.com, and the esteemed iParenting Media Excellent Product Award for 2007.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords and "Puzzle Quest: 1.5" are developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. and are rated "E 10+" (Everyone 10 and older—suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

We all know the world can't get enough Puzzle Quest... well, at least I can't get enough of it. And the thought of being able to play the very touch-perfect puzzle RPG on my iPhone gives me goosebumps. So after my little hint didn't result in any immediate announcement of an iPhone Puzzle Quest or Galaxtrix, I took matters into my own hands and emailed Infinite Interactive to see what was up.

Janeen Fawkner, producer on the game was quick to respond:

Hi Brian, We would love to do a game on the iPhone, but we'll have to see what our publisher D3P has in mind... We'll suggest it to them :)

Sounds good, but I'm impatient, so I went to D3 next, asking when we could hope to see a Puzzle Quest on the iPhone and pointing out that Inifinite was gung-ho. Their spokesperson's response?

They're looking into details now and will get back to me soon.

Now, now, I want it now! I even made this handy-dandy screenshot for them. You can imagine what a pain I was to my parents when I was a kid.

Update: D3 just got back to me with this: "D3Publisher of America is exploring opportunities to bring Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords to a variety of mobile carriers."

That doesn't sound like a "Yes we're making it and you'll have it next week" to me at all. Not at all.