PAX Prime 2014

Now that I've had a day to just do nothing, I am back from PAX everybody!  I saw many things, I said many things, tried to keep a Twitter feed going but reception is AWFUL when you have that much wi-fi going at an event so there you are.  So here is a short recap:

Video Games:

There were the big name games that we all know are coming out soon: Assassin's Creed Unity and Rogue, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, Evolve, etc.  BUT I know I am purchasing these games so I tried to stick to the Indie games sections in which I found the following:

Assault Android Cactus:

Played a quick demo and it has nothing to do with cactus from what I could tell.  It was, however, the first time me and my SO played a co-op game without trying to harm each other (tried playing Portal *shudder*).  Graphics were 3D cartoonish and very clean.  Overall style was awesome.  Check them out on Steam:

Assault Android Cactus

Mega Coin Squad:

This multi-player game created by Adult Swim was extremely entertaining, I'd rate it pretty close to Super Smash or Mario Kart level.  You have coins to collect and you have to battle your friends to get them.  There is also a giant piggy bank squished in a bit and then oinked when you filled it with coins - oddly satisfying.  Check it out on Steam as well:

Mega Coin Squad


Costume Quest 2: I have not played the first installment, but that did not stop me from checking out the second installment.  Basically you are kids fighting to save Halloween from a very creepy dentist - seriously check out this guys mouth:

I was actually surprised by the overall gameplay.  There story is more fleshed out then simple save Halloween, the battle style is turn-based but with a slight flair to the animation, it's pretty solid.  Check it out here:

Costume Quest 2

Products:

Discovered a new product called a GlomTom.  What is it you ask?  It is an ergonomic pillow for playing video games from wherever really.  I tried it, it was awesome, I ordered one.  Will post about it later when I get it :-)  Until then, check them out:

GlomTom Twitter
GlomTom Facebook

(Sorry but their main site does not seem to be working at the moment . . .)

Cosplay:

Akali went off without a hitch, but my secret cosplay, Impa from Hyrule Warriors, had a malfunction :-(  It was sad, but I could not present her in such a fashion, so instead you can overload on Akali for a bit.  The following are the only photos I can find at the moment.  I will upload them to my FB page (at www.facebook.com/TheECGeekette)

All props to Lifted Geek for snapping this photo!

 Riot had what they called a Cospitality Lounge.  Cosplayers could come take a break, get some water, and take a break from cameras (if needs be).  Of course, their own cameras were present, lol.

And another of the whole group :-)

And that was PAX!  It was awesome fun times and can't wait for next year!  Now what else can I get into . . .

COSPLAY UPDATE - Akali and Secret Cosplay

I am so focused on cosplay right now. . . or cosplaying at PAX, hard to say . . .

UPDATES!  I started putting together Akali's scythes.  I've got a PVC foam board base, EVA foam as a brace/hilt type thing, and PVC tube as the handle.  The base and tube are supposed to be sandwiched between the EVA foam, but I ran into a problem - the tube was too big to fit between the foam.  I could have gotten a smaller tube, but then i might not have had enough stability so . . .   Lucky for me my best friend suggested melting the tube to flatten it.  I thought the tube couldn't be melted, but woo-hoo it can - heads up, PVC tubing smells awful when you melt it.  So after cutting a slit for the base to slide into I melted the tube, sandwiched the base in the slit, and then melted it flat, well, flat-ish.

And my SO said I should be kind so I'm posting some photos of part of my secret cosplay - ARMOR!

One of the pieces actually belongs to Akali, but not saying which.  Anyone care to guess the secret cosplay?  Whoever gets it will get a big "WHO'S AWESOME?  YOU'RE AWESOME!" :-)

Oh and COSPLAY BOO-BOO!  I don't usually hurt myself while working on stuff (not sure how), but the glue gun dripped and my instant reaction was oh-no-grab-it!  Needless to say, this happened

Not that bad, but still OW.

Cosplay Update - Akali

A while back I said I would make cosplay updates - time to make due on that promise!  So recently I started working on one of my cosplays for PAX Prime - Akali from League of Legends:

Clearly this a very stylized version of Akali.  There is a wonderful artist named Loiza and, while there are pop star versions of a few LOL characters, she did a full set of pop star designs for almost all of the female; she is even starting work on the males from what I've heard.  Check her out here:  Loiza Chen - Facebook

Now I've decided to begin my work on the weapons - two 3 foot scythes.  Yes I'm trying to make them as close to accurate as possible, hehehe.  I am using a dremel (off brand) with a set of sanding tips, PVC Foam board, and EVA foam to build the blades themselves.  The handles will be simple enough so its a matter of painting after that.  So here are some photos!

Drawing out the pattern for the blade and bracers around it.

 Full pattern laid out on PVC.

Dremeling - one of a cosplayers best friends.  Oh and check the mismatched socks, woot! 

Fully cut out and raring to go!

Brace (?) made out of EVA foam.  I realized after I had cut that the blades in the photo were turned at an angle, thus making extra bumps and points that don't exist.  I cut it out that way (as you can see above), but I am able to correct that with the brace :-)  Improvisation!

I made a mistake and tried to dremel indoors . . .  Notice the bits of PVC all over me.  I do not recommend using a dremel indoors.

So that is the start of this cosplay.  I will post updates when I have more progress to show.  Keep an eye out!