School days were a waiting game, ticking the seconds off until we could dash home and play, our bags bulging with the triple prongs of spare Nintendo 64 controllers. Lunch breaks were spent reliving past conquests and planning for future marathon sessions. Our passion for Mario Kart 64 spawned a mythology. Rules and codes developed, seemingly arcane in their source, unwritten, but loudly voiced:

"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT!"

And it's true. I wasn't. My elation at discovering a neat glitch on the expansive Wario Stadium track quickly turned into disappointment as my less nimble-thumbed friends informed me that, as long as they couldn't use a shortcut, I wouldn't be able to.

Sociologists already look at in-game behavior and norms, and I have no doubt anthropologists will someday be looking at how people gamed and why. It's an interesting part of games in general, not just video games.

You're Not Allowed To Do That. [The Escapist]

Of course, this version appears to be hilariously official.

Fade2Black [Flickr via IronicGamer]

And so. Having totally burnt myself out on contests in June and July, I managed to sort of skip August in the way of contest. Sure I gave away a couple of things, but I was burnt out.

But this morning I woke up with a brilliant idea, well really just a lose concept, but I couldn't shake it. Why don't we giveaway a Playstation 3.

Sure why not, it will only cost us $600 and oh, by the way, they're likely going to be impossible to find. But that's the way we roll here at Team Kotaku.

I've got the money. I've got the stupid idea. So I'm doing it.

Hit the jump for the most convoluted rules yet for one of my little contests. While it doesn't involve math or the price of a glass of Guiness in Ireland, you're probably going to wish it did.

On a side note, while I can't absolutely promise the winner will get a PS3 on day one, I'm going to be sitting my own ass out in front of a store on PS3 launch eve to try to ensure it.

Ok, follow along, this gets tricky.

Starting today, I will be announcing a clue a month for our PS3 giveaway contest. So that means, I'll announce one clue today, one clue next month and one clue in November.

To be entered in the contest you have to answer all three clues correctly. And they're going to be very, very, very hard. So hard, in fact, that I look forward to randomly selecting one winner from the successful applicants with a coin.

To up a person's chance at winning I'm going to give anyone who successfully answers a clue the month I ask it an extra entry into the contest, if they get all three correct.

In other words, if you answer all three clues correctly you are eligible for the contest. I will then go back and see WHEN you answered the questions. If you answered this month's before November starts you're name will be placed in the metaphorical bag twice. If you also answered October's before the month ends, you're name goes in a total of three times. If you answered Novembers by the end of the contest as well, you're name goes in the bag a total of four times.

So, to reiterate, you need to get all three right to be eligible and for every month you answered the question within the month it was asked you get an extra entry. So in short, answer earlier, get more chances at winning.

I will then put all of the names, including the repeats in a list, number it and then use Random.Org to randomly select the winner.

The winner will receive a Playstation 3 60GB model as soon as I can get my frostbitten hands on one, which I hope will be the day the system launches.

I'll be posting the first question in a few minutes. Once think you know the answer, and this goes for the duration of the contest, email it to kotakucontest@gmail.com WITH YOUR ANSWER IN THE SUBJECT LINE and your contact info in the body of the message. And remember only one answer per a person for each question.

I will not be looking at the body of the message unless the subject line has the correct answer.

PS. For those of you counting, that means anyone who gets all three right will automatically be entered into the contest at least twice, because the giveaway ends before November does. Aren't you smart.
Brian Crecente

Personally, I couldn't care less whether there are booth babes at E3. I don't have any great desire to stop and take photos with women in tiny clothes while I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to see all of the relevant stuff on the show floor. This year there was a much ado about the booth babe crack down. According to one insider source, the big change, besides enforcement, was the addition of one new rule to the contract companies sign when they rent space on the floor. The addition basically said no bikinis.

Whether or not the rules had a huge change, it seemed that the companies did rely less on woman flesh and more on the actual product to sell what they were making. I saw a lot less booth babes this year then last and they typically were wearing more clothes.

Despite this drought in nearly-naked models, several sites have cobbled together Girls of E3 showcases. The latest to cross our email is from deepest red, darkest blue. The 18 photos in the spread seem to show the range I noticed on the floor, though the women in the short shorts giving out fans aren't represented. —Brian Crecente

The Girls of E3 2006 [Darkest Blue]

WCG Invites Gamers' Opinions on WCG 2006 Rules [TeamXbox]