But let's be honest. How can singing costumed eggs not peak your curiosity?
WTF #11: the only article that brings cosplay eggs, Gallagher references, and web comics into the hug-circle that is IGN Insider.
Cute & Weird Website: I Love Eggs
I hate eggs. A lot. Just the smell of them is enough to turn my stomach. When I was a baby, my parents would try to mix some scrambled eggs in with the strained peas in an effort to trick me, but hoooo no, they never could and I would inevitably spit those suckers out. I just don't understand the appeal of eating something that tastes like sulphur and smells like day-old farts.
However, it has become glaringly apparent to me that I have been missing out on some high quality, eggy fun!
Korean (at least, I think it's Korean - I can't really tell seeing as I only speak/read English - and just enough Spanish to find a bathroom or shoe store in Mexico) graphics designer, character creator and egg aficionado Peoplesign has developed a cute and rather interesting bilingual website honoring its favorite food: egg.
iloveegg.com - Korean ingenuity at its most glorious!
The home of seven little foys...er, I mean happy little yolks that like to express themselves through dress-up *even though the daddy egg said that he'd disown them if they continued to dress up and play with their dolls. But the seven little eggs would not be deterred and followed their hearts. You go little eggs!!!*
These little nippers can't stand to be like other, more common eggs. No sirree, Bob - these eggs are special. Like that sullen kid in the back of the class with the purple hair, these eggs are unique! They need to be reborn! They will no longer conform to society's demands! They are their own eggs, damnit!
Comprised primarily of Flash animations and the AWESOMEST THEME SONG EVER, iloveegg.com is absolutely worth checking out. [Make sure to hook yourself up with iloveegg Ep. 7 (all about ninjas and kimono romance), and totally check out the Egg Song - it's soooo cute. The Korean version is even better if you can find it.]
Besides your standard paltry, computer wallpaper and Flash standbys, the site also offers up some quality (and kawaii) mobile screensavers.
So if you are tired of those peas mouthing off and you suspect that your carrot is cheating on you with someone or something a bit fresher, find solace in the love that only eggs seem to be able to provide. I know I'm a believer.
Web Comics: BrashFink's Apostasy
Recently, I received a very positive review/email from one Mr. BrashFink. It seems that Brash is not only an apparent Jessica loyalist, but also a kick-ass web comic creator.
Ironically enough, after contacting Brash, I came to find out that he and I were fated to know one another, not only because of the industry we find ourselves in, but because we apparently share mutual friends (I'm amazed at how small the world is becoming for me. I'm seriously playing 3 degrees to Jessica Chobot on a daily basis lately).
Apostasy, based on Half-Life 2, has been featured in FHM Magazine UK, PC Zone Magazine, and PC Gamer UK, so of course I felt we should have it on IGN Insider!
Brash and I spent a few minutes chatting up his comic creation, Apostasy, and his plans for it's future:
WTF: How long does it take to complete an Apostasy series?
Brash: Well, each page takes anywhere from four hours or up to create. It really depends on what is in the page. Some of the scenes require a lot of setup (like the train station in the beginning of issue #1) so those can take a great deal more time. The whole series should be around 10 or 12 issues I think. So, there is a huge amount still to do.
WTF: What program do you use to create your comics? Do you have a method to your madness or is it just pure artistic creativity?
Brash: To make the comics I use a mod for Half-Life called Garry's Mod. It is basically a physics sandbox that allows you to move, pose things and play with the physics engine. People use it for all kinds of crazy things. On the editing side I use Photoshop. As far as method to it, I wrote the basic story first - like just a thin outline of how the whole series would work. I did this in a pub a few blocks from my house. For the issues, I usually write out most of the script before I start on the comic. If you don't have a road map, you just get lost.
WTF: Were you formally trained (i.e.: college, art lessons, etc..) and if so, where?
Brash: Just bits and pieces really. When I went to college at one point I had designs on actually making real comics, so I have quite a bit of art in my background. When I was living in Chicago, I also took a couple of screen writing classes. All of those are more or less coming into play here I guess.
WTF: You've garnered a lot of praise and continue to get some impressive recognition. How are you handling your blossoming fame?
Brash: Ha. Well, that "fame" should come with a disclaimer really, but it is pretty cool having a lot of people know me. For some reason, though, all of the magazines I have been in so far have been in England. So I would say I am handling it pretty well so far (I think). I will tell you this though: the Buddies group on my Messaging list has never been so huge.
WTF: Any plans on bringing Apostasy into a paper-comic form, or are you going to stick with the net?
Brash: There has been some talk about it on the site that hosts my comic, but there are some copyright issues. I mean, I don't really own anything since it is all based on the game by Valve. I would like to see if I could get something in print though, even if it is on a totally non-profit basis - just because that would be cool.
WTF: Which comics/artists have you been inspired by?
Brash: Well, like a lot of people: Todd McFarlane when he was doing Spider-Man blew me away. It is not often that someone comes along who literally changes the face of comics. I am a giant fan of Jim Lee also. When I was actually drawing comics, he was doing X-Men and I wanted to draw just like him. When I was younger, I was really into Neil Adams. I still think of his Batman as the quintessential one. Of course there are the greats in writing for comics too - Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Allan Moore. There are too many to list.
WTF: What made you decide to tackle this project and where do you see it going in the future?
Brash: Really the reason is Half-Life 2 itself. I finished the game and I was like wow - just wow! The story was mind-boggling. It instantly got me thinking, "Man, I need to create something." Then I found Garry's Mod. At the time, I was not even aware that others were using it to make comics. I quickly realized a lot of people were though once I started looking around. Well, the story I am working on has a definite end. After that is over, I am not sure. I have a couple of other non-Half-Life ideas in the works.
WTF: Obviously, videogames have a big role within your life. What are some faves?
Brash: Well, of course, Half-Life goes without saying, but there are a lot of games I really dig. Too many, I guess. I suppose it is a good thing that there are not more that have the same kind of mod. That would kill what remains of my social life. I really only play PC games - I don't even have a console right now. I am really into massively multiplayer online games. I think I have played almost all of the major ones released over the past couple of years. Currently the only one I am playing is World of Warcraft (of course). Recent regular favorites have been, Far Cry, Knights of the Old Republic, Unreal 2K4 and Battlefield 2. My problem is that I have hardly anytime to finish these. Currently I am really looking forward to F.E.A.R. That game looks so freaky. Oh yeah. We can't forget the little something we call Half-Life: Aftermath!
***
Want more to wet your palette? Check out Brash's comics at BrashFink WebWerx (which also houses his blog), hit up the board at the PHW Forums, and support the economy by picking up a t-shirt.
Flash Game: Seventh Sky
Seventh Sky is a Gundam-esque, mecha-junkie wet dream. Although not exactly what I call addicting, it's still quite a bit of fun and can kill a decent chunk of time within your workday. The one downer (for those who don't read the language) is that the site is almost entirely in Japanese, which makes figuring out how to play a wee bit difficult.
However, after countless liters of cola, I've come up with some (very) basic instructions:
The menu isn't too difficult, since it's in English. Just choose whatever option you want and click it. Fin. Now choose one of the flashing blocks (except for the one saying "Return") and you're taken to a character selection screen. From there, scroll over the four cutouts and select your character.
To play, your mouse controls the direction you're facing, while the left button controls your acceleration. Space bar handles the guns. [Note: For "Survival Mode," guns do not seem to help much. Instead, hand-to-hand combat seems to deliver the most damage. The bad news? I haven't figured out which button that is yet.]
Pay close attention to the map in the upper right-hand corner for your enemies' location. Health bars above enemies' heads clue you in as to how close to complete and utter annihilation they are.
God speed and good luck soldier!
The Best Thread...EVAH'!!!
I'm not a big fan of message boards. I check things out, usually looking for unique links and flashes, and making the occasional post, but that's pretty much the extent of my board involvement. I primarily avoid them due to the incessant and pointless bickering they seem to produce. However, there have been a few occasions when utter brilliance rears its delightful visage.
I give you: The Ultimate Ownage!!!! And on the World of Warcraft boards no less!!!
I don't know what it is about this thread but it struck my funny bone like a sledgehammer on a watermelon (nothing quite like a Gallagher reference to put a smile on your face). Maybe it's the fact that this kid's mom totally emasculated him right in front of everyone (well, as "in front" as you can get on a board that is visited by imaginary characters). Things get good by post #5. They get better by post #8.
Don't bother checking out the thread past the first page. It just ends up as a ramble. But that first page - man, that's comedy gold, I tell ya'.
Solid.
Flashtastick: Kikkoman Cometh (all over your tempura)
For those of you who enjoy any Asian cuisine, I am more than confident that you have familiarized yourself with Kikkoman (and Kikkoman low sodium), the ultimate in condiment power.
Essentially liquid salt, Kikkoman is much, much cooler than I ever gave it credit for - and this flash proves it.
Fight! Kikkoman!!!
Reader Mail: Mmmmmm...Tasty
While I hate to bring the guy's name up more, but what are your thoughts about Jack Thompson and his mad power trip against Satan in disc form? Also, to Ted McFly, it's you're not your. Seriously.
-Jared
Ah, Jack Thompson - where to begin?
In all seriousness, here's the thing: I do think there should be some sort of rating system on video games for parents. Some video games do have violence for violence' sake (I'm thinking Postal) and although I might get a kick out of it after a hard day at work, I certainly wouldn't want my 10-year-old (if I had one) touching that game. It's the same thing as taking a five-year-old to an R-rated movie - you just don't.
But this is where I think Jack gets it wrong: His belief that video games are the cause of violence is blatant sensationalism and an irrational judgment. Because video games do not give rise to violent or "bad" kids. Piss-poor parenting does. And let me tell you, there are a lot of bad parents out there.
So many of today's parents are too quick to look elsewhere for excuses for their kid's behavior instead of taking on the responsibility themselves. They expect teachers to raise their children, television to watch their children, and God-knows-who to actually love their children, and then they wonder why Billy's room smells like pot and he never comes down for that Boston Chicken dinner mom brought home after a busy day of shopping.
People like Jack Thompson prey on this type of mentality, this weakness in the social system, and he does so by giving people an easy scapegoat (this time around it's video games, last time it was Marilyn Manson, the time before that it was Nirvana and flannel shirts). For people or parents out there that want to shirk their duties and blame life on the young, Jack Thompson's verbal diarrhea is just the kind of self-righteous slop they're looking to slurp up.
So Jared, there you have it. I'll be getting off my soapbox now.
Finally, a reader mail section. That means you are officially "cool" now. Congratulations!
I love WTF, especially all the Asian culture you seek out. My roommate is from Hong Kong, so in the past 3 years here at school I've come to appreciate it for more than just anime. As for that Justin kid, I found his description of the game on Newgrounds: "For those unfamilier with Jessica Chobot. She's an attention whore who licked a PSP, which got her a job on IGN as well as several appearences on G4TechTV. Jessica Chobot is about as knowledgable as a brick when it comes to video games."
This is the first I heard about the PSP licking. But it makes me like you even more. As does this
hater blog: https://thatchobotbitch.blogspot.com/. Having a blog dedicated to hating you proves you've been successful enough to make people jealous.
Chris Klein (not the actor)
P.S. Next time you come to A^2, I can own you in SC2. Yes, that's a 'calling
out'.
Yo there, Chris Klein (not the actor)..
Previous to IGN I thought I was a little cool, but now with my gig at IGN, I've come to realize that I was kidding myself back then and the real coolness has just started (seriously-I'm joking I'm not NEARLY that vain).
That is QUITE the calling out on SC2. Are you sure you wanna do that? Because I train on that sucker. A lot. And not just the system game but the arcade game as well. (And I'm presuming we're talking about Soul Caliber 2 here.) So, next time I'm out that way, it's on! LOL!
As for Justin, the blogspot and what have you, all I've got to say is: yyyyaaawwwwwnnnn.
P.S: I've always wanted to go to Hong Kong.
Chobot-
you look too cozy with Jefe in the vegas pictures--are you two dating? It might explain why he never writes an f-ing column anymore.
Jefe and I aren't dating (even though he was sporting those sexxxy chops). In fact, that was the first time I had ever actually physically met anyone from the IGN team.
After all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Dear Jessica,
Heya, I've been reading the WTF series since #1, I don't like your articles at all, but for some reason I read them. I just think that I have an idea why some people hate you, after all I do. If you and I were alone and you started hittin' on me, I would tell you to ---- yourself and make
out with your PSP. Here is 5 examples why people may hate you.
5.) People are feeling horrid because men, and who knows maybe some women, find you to be the perfect person. A covergirl who plays games, which, they know they have no chance of winning your body or heart.
4.) People may be surprised that of all the fanatics of Manga, Video Games and Anime that you were picked at E-3 as the person to write these articles. Why couldn't any other fanatic get that golden staff? Male fanatics realize they couldn't because there not women, female fanatics realize they couldn't because their not as attractive.
3.) When people get on ign.com, they are looking for video game related news, maybe some movies, maybe some comics, maybe some babes. Some people find that the WTF series is completely useless to ign, that it has nothing to do with the purpose, they believe, ign came to existance.
2.) Nintendo fanatics got a sour early impression when you showed a disturbing affection to your PSP, and said that Nintendo had nothing when they announced their downloadable wifi service. Yes, people can mod their Xbox's to do this, but it is illegal. Fact is people would be arrested and
fined if authority figured it out they were getting NES classics that way. Also, that more and more you show favor towards SONY's agenda. $500-$1k is a lot of money for people to save which is your #1 machine. Some people just couldn't afford it and a HDTV and still live with great amounts of food and water.
1.) What better way to know a person than to just sit and listen to what they have to say? People may find that in all of your rambling about the unimportant things of life, that you are along the lines of being as intelligent as a bag full of tunafish. Does buying a woman jewelry really get someone laid? Do people need to hear another Vegas story? Why would joe-shmoe care about another persons life that they don't know? What about the use of stem-cells to create teeth for the people who need them? What about the future of PC's where terabyte harddrives and 64 bit processers become usefull? What about Nanobodies being used to fight disease? Are games purely based off of graphics, speed and violence or imagination, ideas and just being fun?
These may be some reasons people hate you. I just don't like you, but I'm not pushing myself to create a video game or website that is a 'hate chobot' thing.
A fan and hater at the same time,
Darryl
Darryl,
You're sounding a little torn. I feel you need some clarification. Let me do just that.
Reasons #5 & #4 can't be helped. In fact, it sounds like you answered your own questions, so lets just zip right past that shall we?
# 3- Maybe you're right. Maybe WTF doesn't have as much purpose as say, babes. Let me ponder this one and get back to you.
#2 I favor no one's agenda but my own, and that includes Sony as much as Nintendo. The fact of the matter is simple, I enjoy the PSP more than the DS. End of story.
#1 (I'm gonna' break this one down)
- Does buying a woman jewelry really get someone laid? Yes. Just ask Elizabeth Taylor.
- Do people need to hear another Vegas story? Yes. Especially when IGN Insider has been doing an entire expose on it for the last few months.
- Why would some Joe-schmoe care about another person's life they don't know? I don't know, you tell me.
- What about the use of stem cells to create teeth for people that need them? Er, what!?
- What about the future of PC's where terabyte harddrives and 64 bit processers
become usefull? What about Nanobodies being used to fight disease? What about them?
- Are games purely based off of graphics, speed and violence or imagination, ideas
and just being fun? Yes to all of the above. That's why they're called "games."
Well Darryl, hope that helped you out a bit. Next time it might just be better to ask your cousin Larry for help when things get foggy like that.
Hey Jessica, I am just wondering next spring in April, I'll be going on my first trip to Japan. I'm just 16 but my pops has a buisness trip up there and I get to go with a couple of friends. I am just
wondering you got any reccomendations where to go? I'll be staying in Tokyo, thanks for help.
ps. i remember you said you like r/b and rap, I got new kanye cd if you want a hookup. -ant1532
Hi Ant-
It kills me to tell you this, but as of yet I haven't gone to Tokyo - just Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and a few smaller towns. However, this September I will be in Tokyo. I'll check out the scene and give you a little info. Just send me another email at the beginning of October as a reminder.
(Thanks for the Kanye cd offer, but don't worry about it. I usually just get I-Tunes stuff.)
hey J'Cho, i should say Jessica...
i really liked your article on your first trip and I'm really finding it fun to read about your new gig at IGN. in my opinion you are the best thing they have going. it's funny as i read your last article about your Vegas trip i couldn't help but imagine you and all of your excitement maybe being slightly overcome with the newness of your situation, and about half way through i thought to myself, "this girl needs a friendly massage to calm her down a bit", so it didn't surprise me one bit to hear you mention your unfortunate ulcer, (been there, done the pacing at all hours of the night in mind ripping pain)... so i hope you get that under control.
you are such a sweet girl, i find it almost impossible to imagine that some people would try to bring down your dreams, so i wanted to say that you should feel great about your good fortune, and maybe learn to relax, focus, and truly enjoy the success your are obviously having.
anyway, keep doing what you're doing, be yourself and i'll keep reading.
r.revalee
R.
Thank you for sending that. It had the same effect as a nice breath of fresh air. You have given me strength of spirit and henceforth I shall strive to battle those who try and oppress me with renewed vigor.
Thank you.
Wanna' thank Jessica for putting two flashes in this week's WTF? Got that egg song stuck in your head and are now bent on revenge? Want to send Jess your pic of Kikkoman cosplay? Then send your email and photos here.