MetaFilter posts tagged with PennyArcade

The virtual dice rolling has got to go.

lazaruslong — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:27:35 -0800

The Microsoft Surface was the subject of much ridicule. When Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade had the chance to sit down with one at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, known colloquially as the ETC, they saw potential for the Surface to become an amazing tool for Dungeons and Dragons tabletop gaming. They offered some suggestions to the team, and months later, SurfaceScapes is the result. Video. Wired Article with some more info on the ETC. The project is the work of a team of designers from the ETC. Currently, they only have a basic Game Master tool set programmed, but the researchers are working to enhance the player experience.

Penny Arcade: "Automata" inspired works

filthy light thief — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:01:27 -0800

The guys at Penny Arcade often refer to their sequential comics as "dreaded continuity," but some of their storylines have created their own microcosms apart from the usual commentary on things in the broad world video games. Prime examples of these storylines include Cardboard Tube Samurai and Song of the Sorcelator, the latter has spun into a world made by its fans. The newest sequential work started from one of three short "treatments," set in a nineteen-twenties crime fiction which unfolds in a time where "machine intellect" has been outlawed. The first page of Automata was set to music that was composed and performed by Christoph Hermiteer. The second fan creation is a short radio program, based on a script written by the Penny Arcade folks.

Babies are jerks, am I right?

Caduceus — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:01:49 -0800

As we were talking about Joke Theft, here's an interesting case. It appears that the Daily Show may have stolen a joke from Penny Arcade. Certainly, the similarities are there. I personally suspect that it was an unconscious joke theft on the part of one of the writers, reusing something they forgot they saw elsewhere. Assuming it's theft at all; certainly, I only punch babies when they're being dicks, so it's not that much of a stretch.

Raaaatt Swaaarrmm

xorry — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:16:47 -0800

The only thing cooler than playing D&D is listening to recordings of people playing D&D! Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade and Scott Kurtz of PvP got together with a couple of Wizards of the Coast guys for an episodic D&D romp to promote the upcoming release of D&D 4th edition. The first episode (and pictures!) is available online. Enjoy!

On the Rain-Slick Precipace of Darkness

Caduceus — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:40:02 -0800

The first video game based on the internet's most prominent gaming comic, Penny Arcade is released today. After nearly a decade of being a juggernaut of criticism and foul language to the game industry, the duo behind Penny Arcade put their money where their newsposts are; will their game be any good? I don't know yet, as I'm stuck at school all day. On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, developed by independent game studio Hothead Games, is a 1920s style pulp adventure with steampunk and Lovecraftian elements, mixed with the gameplay elements of a traditional turn-based Japanese console RPG and Penny Arcade's typical brand of humor. The Penny Arcade team divided their work on the game very much like their work on the comic; Gabe (Mike Krahulik) did the art design, and Tycho (Jerry Holkins) wrote the story and script (and each and every description of everything, as I understand it). While I imagine if you're a fan of Penny Arcade you already know about this and whether you want to buy it or not, I thought I'd throw it up anyway. It's available by download for PC, Mac, and Linux, for $20. Also available on X-box Live Arcade.

It's always funny until you're the one being made fun of

sdodd — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:20:14 -0800

"We need to make a comic so I can eat lunch." You're in your office sitting at your desk. There's a hot mic in the room. It's 45 minutes 'till lunch, your tummy's grumbling and you still have to write a comic. Fortunately your best friend -- who is also the co-founder of your decade-old business empire -- is sitting at his desk a few feet away. You are "Gabe" or "Tycho" of Penny Arcade, and the next 45 minutes will be captured on tape and published for all the world to hear as a podcast. But only if it's good. "Downloadable Content, The Penny Arcade Podcast" is practically a documentary on collaboratively authoring webcomics. The most recent episode is a particularly good example of that. The March 7th episode, "Our Crucial Pamphlet" [MP3], typifies the process. It starts with an informal brainstorming session to discover topics for the day's comic (and associated essay/blog post). The brainstorming is frequently interrupted by digressions. A short list of choices is produced. A topic is chosen and the layout, dialog, and action is discussed. The final comic is written out (dialog and description) panel by panel. One participant is the writer and one the artist, but you won't be able to tell who is who; no strong division of labor is evident in the give and take. Finally, the written description is read aloud, declared good and the recording ends. It's lunchtime. The March 3rd episode, entitled "PON PON PATA PON" [MP3], diverges from the pattern. But only in that the final comic is a Hitchcock-influenced horror scene with no dialog. We hear Tycho and Gabe remove lines of dialog one by one until only the action remains. The "pennyarcade" tag is alive and well here at MetaFilter, but the podcast has not yet been discussed. This is only my second post to the Blue, so criticism is welcome.

Beware Young People

unsupervised — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:13:15 -0800

A CNN scare piece on the rise of teen "sport killings" lead off with the story of a group of teenagers who brutally murdered a homeless man and then blamed it on violent video games. Penny Arcade's Gabe responded with an equally inflammatory, though tongue-in-cheek, post blaming the parents.

It seemed like just another case of the media rushing to blame video games while the truth lay somewhere else. It turns out that the stepmother of one of the murderers is an avid reader of Penny Arcade and she emailed them with the real, unreported story. (you'll need to scroll down for both Penny Arcade posts)

Tell me more of the furniture and the glory.

Loser — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:07:23 -0800

"Tell me more of Elemenstoring, Dogus." From the tiny seed of a news post, a new world has taken form. Too bad it never existed.

Jack Thompson's Big Week Out

robocop is bleeding — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 10:26:05 -0800

Jack Thompson, well-known anti-videogame violence crusader, recently submitted a modest proposal to the game industry: Make an ultraviolet game of his creation featuring, but not limited to, urinating on the brain stems of slain fictional game industry members, and he will donate $10,000 dollars to charity. Of course people leapt at the chance, and of course, Thompson backed out. So then Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade donated the $10,000 dollars to charity themselves in Thompson's name. Thompson's response? Call the cops! No wonder the National Institute on Media and the Family distanced themselves from him.

The Ultimate Geek Auction

eurasian — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 09:10:26 -0800

A tour with WotC, a session to play D&D with them. Lifetime subscription to Steam. Ok, some items are better than others. But for Child's Play, the folks at PA are pulling one heckuva dream auction for geeks. More auction items are detailed, go to the the second news post.

Fine and sometimes bear.

abcde — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 19:23:05 -0800

Penny Arcade remixes Penny Arcade remixes. A Japanese high-school English teacher assigns his students to fill in the captions of Penny Arcade comics. The results, predictably, are often really funny.

Child's play screwed over by media.

krisjohn — Mon, 05 Jan 2004 00:05:27 -0800

Wil Wheaton sums it up best -- Penny Arcade's Child's Play, as posted previously, has been completely ignored by the media, despite donating over US$200,000 worth or toys and cash to a local children's hospital. 11,100 news items on violence in video games, 3 news items on video gamers opening their hearts and wallets.

Won't somebody think of the children?!

Orange Goblin — Wed, 26 Nov 2003 09:55:17 -0800

Child's Play - Penny Arcade, the popular gaming web comic, is looking to reverse some of the stigma that comes with playing games, by asking the community to send games to children at the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

penny arcade

crunchland — Sun, 28 Sep 2003 14:36:07 -0800

Before there were videogames ... an archive of old penny arcade machines.

Fight it out Guys! Go for Broke!

hughbot — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 11:22:01 -0800

Penny Arcade, everyone's favorite gamegeek comic strip(well, not everyone's, but mine) is facing legal action over a recent strip they did, parodying Strawberry Shortcake. It seems American Greetings owner of such 80s icons as Popples and the aforementioned Shortcake, don't take too kindly to folks using their precious nostalgia. Here's the offending cartoon.

owillis — Sat, 03 Jun 2000 23:35:28 -0800

Priorites. From your local K-mart comes this exercise in futility.