Sure, these could be fuzzy memories of something I wish I would've have experienced between the ages of 5 and 7 years old, but here it is, Pac-Man Land at theme park Six Flags Over Texas.

This Pac-Man children's play area was open from 1983-1985. It was awesome.

Pacman Land [Flickr via Technabob via Tiny Cartridge]

Gallagher explains that the ever-expanding Texas game development community is every bit as important to defining the state's rich cultural history as the music that the upcoming South By Southwest Music and Conference Festival (SXSW) was originally created to support. With both the Texas Senate and House of Representative currently considering bills to expand economic incentives for the entertainment industry, the ESA president does his job, making sure the voice of the games industry is heard.

Texas currently risks falling behind several states in economic incentive programs for the entertainment industry. This year alone, thirteen states are actively considering legislation that will either create or significantly expand their existing incentive program for digital interactive media development and production. These incentives not only help meet the needs of the video game industry for talented programmers and animators, but also help keep the state's brightest young minds from moving away.

It might sound boring to the naked ear, but tax incentives due play a rather large part in where a game company chooses to settle down. I've talked to two video game development studios here in Georgia - CCP and Hi-Rez Studios - and both have cited that Georgia's 20% tax incentive on game development was a major reason they set up, or in CCP's case, maintained shop here in my home state.

Gallagher finishes off his article with a heartfelt plea to the Texas state legislature, demonstrating a gift for words his predecessor, Doug Lowenstein, could only dream about.

Amidst this global financial crisis, Texas has more at stake than just its reputation as the birthplace of original artistic talent. While economic incentives for the video game industry are a sound investment for Texas' cultural legacy, they are an even better investment for the people of Texas.

The man sure knows how to turn a phrase, doesn't he?

Unfortunately we all know that Georgia remains the best state for game developers, and I'm not just saying that because it's lonely out here.

Okay, yes I am.

Gallagher: Incentives for the video game industry are an investment in Texas' future [Statesman.com]

The State of Texas has dubbed the day to recognize the impact of video games on the Texas economy. This is the first time the gaming has been recognized like this. During 2006, the Texas game industry grew 16 percent and contributed US$395 million to the state's economy.

Texas has been ambitious in attracting the game industry and a 2007 bill was passed by the state's government to provide tax rebates to video game companies.

According to the Entertainment Software Association's Michael D Gallagher, "These lawmakers are helping grow our industry as we work to create new jobs for Texans; boost the state's economy; and help discover new ways computer and videogames can improve the ways Americans live, work and play."

Texas hails videogames contribution [GamesIndustry] [Pic]

At a cost of $2 million, the system - called a "Virtual Stakeout" - involves a series of webcams placed along the Texas-Mexico border. These webcams can be viewed online, by you, by me, by anyone, with the aim of making public viewers "Virtual Deputies".

You sit there, you can the horizon, and if you spot someone trying to make a run across the border, you notify the authorities. So it's like Pokemon Snap, then, only without the Pokemon. Mexican Snap, if you will.

They've been in operation for six weeks now, and the "Virtual Deputies" have already clocked up one arrest, helping Police nab three suspects alleged to have been lugging 540 pounds of marijuana across the border.

It's a joint operation between the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition and BlueServo, BlueServo being a budding ...social networking site, who are helping foot the bill in exchange for the publicity.

Presumably so the virtual deputies can meet other agoraphobic, internet-obsessed, potentially Mexican-hatin' vigilante types from the safety and comfort of their own home. (Almost) Everybody wins!

$2 Million Texas Surveillance System Nets 500 Lbs of Pot [Wired, via Neatorama]

Gallagher praised Texas for passing an incentive package last year that was aimed at the movie industry but contained a provision for game companies to receive up to $250,000 per project.

But Gallagher said he didn't like the free-speech restrictions in the law, including "a content requirement about not disparaging Texas."

"Those types of speech restrictions in general are not viewed in favor by the courts. They tend to lead to a lot of problems down the road," he said.

WTF?! "Non-disparagement" of an entire state? When, I mean, there is a LOT, no offense — shit, look at King of the Hill.

Look, there's no reason to go picking a fight with Texas, but if Lego: No Country For Old Men comes out and Gov. Perry thinks the minifigs are a little demeaning to Lone Star Stateians, what the hell happens then?

Video Game Makers Lobby for Attention [Austin American-Statesman]

23-year-old Geovany Rivera, recently named to the marshal's 15 most-wanted list, was arrested late last night by the U.S. Marshalls Service at a cousin's house in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Rivera. a former EB Games employee, had long been a suspect in the case, with one witness having told the police that the suspect approached him on the morning before the crime suggesting they rob the store. Homicide detectives applied for a warrant to do DNA test on Rivera this past January after a short black hair had been found near the body.

Rivera was in a federal holding facility in Laredo as of late last night, from which he will be transferred to Bexar County to face charges of capital murder, along with two unrelated counts of sexual assualt stemming from unrelated incidents. On the arrest, deputy marshal and lead investigator Bobby Hogeland described the suspect's reaction as "very surprised".

“He thought he was going to evade the law, but that wasn't the case,” Hogeland said...But, he noted, though the arrest brings some satisfaction, Belken's parents “are still going to have to live with this for a long, long time.”

It should be noted that this particular case resulted in one of the largest rewards in San Antonio's history - $100,000, $95,000 of which was put up from EB Games.

Suspect in EB Games killing arrested [My San Antonio News - Thanks Jason]
[Image]

Speaking to an audience of industry professionals and press at the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit, Perry, archetype of the jovial Texan, said, "Gamers get so used to respawning themselves that they're willing to keep going when their health meter is down to real-life zero. There are more than a few people in this room who have ridden an ill-fated game into the ground, bounced back up and went at it again. They're still chasing dreams, but this time, they're... wiser and more committed to succeed."

Perry hopes that spirit will help drive the economy in Texas, and in that vein the state currently offers $250,000 in economic incentives to game companies who spend that money within the state. But he'd like to do more, he said.

"I'll be calling on legislators next January... to challenge them in 2009, and I'll also ask for more public and private-sector investment in the game education programs in our state schools. There are extraordinary opportunities there."

The game industry already plays a strong role in the Texas economy. Perry said that there are 22 game developers and publishing companies in the state, combining to spend about $177 million dollars there in the coming year. These companies created 2800 jobs in Texas, as well.

Not only does Perry hope the thriving games industry will continue to contribute to the state economy, but he believes Texas has a lot to offer the industry, as well. "CNBC declared that Texas was the best place in the country to do business," he said. "That's why it's home to more Fortune 500 corporate headquarters than any other state."

The average salary of a game development professional is about $63,000 annually - not a lot to those who live in urban hubs like Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York, but in Texas the lower cost of living means a higher quality of life, generally.

"As governor, I'm really proud that Texas is the third-biggest game-producing state... I'm gunning to be number one, and I think we can be. I think our game incentive program that we have can play a very important role as we go forward."

"I came to E3 to encourage your vast audience of people in the industry... and to acknowledge what you're doing, and the growing economic power you possess, and to celebrate the shared commitment to competitiveness that we both have," said Perry.

"But I also came here to challenge you again. In the months and years to come, what can you do to unlock the power of your medium, and to make the world a better place to live?"

“The Austin-area distribution center is strategically placed to provide the quickest shipping times to a large number of members across multiple states,” said Jeff Kawasugi, vice president of logistics for GameFly. “In addition, we are extremely pleased to join the Austin business community and look forward to a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship.”

Now all they need is a center in Seattle and they're golden. Sorry Hawaii and Alaska, but you knew what you were getting into in the first place.

GameFly Opens Latest Distribution Center in the Austin Area
New Distribution Center Provides Enhanced Delivery for Members in Seven States

LOS ANGELES—(BUSINESS WIRE)—GameFly, the leading online video game rental service, today announced the official opening of its latest distribution center located in the Austin area. The warehouse represents the third distribution center to open within the last 13 months and enables GameFly to deliver games more quickly to its members.

This distribution center further reinforces GameFly’s strong foothold in the online video game rental industry by confirming the growth of the company and gaming industry. Initially, the warehouse will service Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico. Additional Midwest states may be added in the future.

“The Austin-area distribution center is strategically placed to provide the quickest shipping times to a large number of members across multiple states,” said Jeff Kawasugi, vice president of logistics for GameFly. “In addition, we are extremely pleased to join the Austin business community and look forward to a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship.”

“We always strive to enhance the gaming experience for our community, whether it’s creating new applications, incorporating unique features or simply just providing a better service,” said Dave Hodess, CEO of GameFly. “We are thrilled so many gamers have found that GameFly makes videogaming an even better experience and expect the new distribution center will be a great benefit to our members in and around Texas.”

As far as we know, this story is a hoax. There have not been any arrests here, and we're not aware of any convictions like that in this county.

Did a 13yo buy hookers with dad's credit card? [Stuff.co.nz, via GamePolitics]

Rockwall County District Attorney Ray Sumrow is being tried in Dallas on charges of forgery, theft and records tampering. As part of the case, prosecutors allege that he used office funds to buy the computer for personal use.

Prosecutors say the computer, which was loaded with eBay sales, personal emails and a cheat sheet for a computer game, is equipped with two hard drives, seven fans, high-end video and audio cards, a wireless Internet connection and cables that glow under ultraviolet light.

Sumrow used the district attorney's "fee fund", which contains fees collected from hot-check writers, to pay for the PC.

The only question I have is: World of Warcraft?

Rockwall County District Attorney Ray Sumrow used server for personal items, expert says

Because of this disappointing result, some downsizing in Austin is inevitable. We are going to revamp our Austin development organization... I should admit that the actual result of Tabula Rasa has been disappointing... If you talk about our development cost we spent in the past several years, probably we are not making any money from this Tabula Rasa project. That should be the reality.

NCSoft hasn't decided how many Austin Studio staffers it will let go, but plans to keep enough for Tabula Rasa maintence. Of course, rattailed Richard Garriott won't get the axe. However, NCSoft games will no longer be developed at the Austin Studio as individual projects.

According to website Massively, contacts at NCSoft say The Korea Times article blows things out of proportion and omitted key details about the conference call. For example, NCSoft CFO Jae-ho Lee stated that "some" downsizing was going to happen, but that he hoped Tabula Rasa would eventually improve its revenue. What's more, NCSoft is putting several more million dollars into the game, which is launching in Japan later this year. (Garriott's games typically have done well in Japan.) Only the Tabula Rasa team will be effected by the downsizing. It is not uncommon for MMO teams to ramp up during production and then reduce after launch. Glaring omissions, damage control and rattails. This post has it all!
NCSoft Downsizing Austin Studio [The Korea Times via Massively]
Tabula Rasa Not In Dumps [Massively] [Pic]

115 fugitives, lured by gifts, arrested in El Paso sting [El Paso Times via GameRush Entertainment]

Although this seems strict, one of the developers already based in Texas sees this as an opportunity:

Rodney Gibbs, an exec with Austin-based Amaze Entertainment (Lord of the Rings Tactics, The Sims 2 DS) said that Texas developers struggled to distance themselves from the mainstream image of games as excessively violent.

Huh. Who knew Texas had such a soft-spot? Kim Phu

Texas Game Development Incentives Come with Political Strings Attached [Game Politics]

The best part? It's FREE! It's always free—minus travel expenses, hotel room, parking, food and requisite PC upgrades, that is. Check out the official site for more info and get your room reservations in early.

Hopefully, we'll be in attendance, as we're suckers for those John Carmack keynotes. They're riveting! Michael McWhertor

It's beginning to look a lot like...QUAKECON 2007!

E3... dead, bastardized, whatever. The Guardian GamesBlog points out just how opportunistic my fellow Texans are. Comparing these Johnny-Come-Latelies to vultures (and heck, why not?), GamesBlog posts this email excerpt from the Austin Game Conference:

I'm sure you've heard the announcement that E3 is downsizing next year from a zoo of 60,000 attendees to a smaller, more manageable invitation-only crowd of 5,000. Good for them! But what does that mean for you? If you're looking for a great event to cover that would be happy to have your journalistic-prowess, look no further than Austin, Texas, September 6-7-8... What we lack in booth babes, we offer in top notch headlining speakers...

Note to future E3 wanna-bes: Do not schedule your events too close to the Tokyo Games Show (end of September) or the Game Developers Conference (March), PAX (August) or Leipzig Games Convention (also August). Otherwise, nobody will give a fart. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [GamesBlog]

Being from Texas, I have seen my fair share of belt buckles (also guns and high school football games). And being from Texas, I do think I am in a position to judge a good buckle. The one in the Sticky Fingersesque photo above was purchased in LA's fashion district for $10. The belt was free. In my good ol' boy scorechart, this buckle gets ten out of ten heehaw's. Brian Ashcraft

More Here, Pardner [Flickr] Thanks, Stu!

There are some who never give up. Florian, for instance, is relentless and still hasn't got more than a frosty "slog off, matey!" out of Eliza. He has better chances of winning this Texas Lottery Pac-Man scratch off. Match numbers to win up to US $25,000 or reveal a Pac-Man symbol and win a Pac-Man cocktail table arcade game. If I was 13 years old and if the year was 1982, that *might* be cool. Florian, though, is sadden to learn this lotto is open only to Texans. Yee-ha! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Texas Lottery] Thanks, Matthew!

Aleks Krotoski over at The Guardian points to Trinity University research on that in-game sex phenomenon. She's posted some choice quotes, but what caught my attention was the conclusion to this student paper:

Regardless of how realistic or fantastical the situation is, online sex is a voluntary activity. As a result, there is an inherent freedom in its practice. People are less restricted by cultural assumptions or real-life dangers such as injury or disease. As a result, sex in virtual worlds is a common practice, and though it cannot replace actual sexual intercourse, it is used by many participants to enhance their existing and potentially fruitful real-world sexual activity.

So in-game nookie won't replace real-world nookie? THANK GOD. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Guardian Games Blog]

The taxes would go toward building new schools and upgrading poorer ones.

You have all these kids buying video games, and sometimes they are good, some are bad and that's not my call," he said to the paper. "But I think that we can generate [money] to put toward the schools they go to."

Hinojosa's proposal predicts the state would pick up about $65 million from the tax, but does little to explain what makes videogames so special. Music, movies and other forms of entertainment don't have a specific tax, but because videogames are in the legislative spotlight these days, it must be hip to propose something game-related.

Texas Senator Proposes Taxing Games [1Up]

Over in the den of sin known as Craigslist, there's a Texas modder near UT claiming to be able to make Xbox 360s play import and backed up games. "I will show you how to make legal back-ups of games you own," writes the modder. It takes only 30 minutes and costs $150.

"Your Xbox 360 is capapble [sic] of so much, just as the Xbox was. Let me unleash it."

Shudder. Has this Longhorn figured out how to do the DVD drive BIOS mod efficiently? And does it always require ripping the case off?

Post Here [Cragslist] Thanks, Katsu!