I can't even express how excited I am to share this project with everyone! It seems like its been years since Sebastian (my boyfriend) first described his idea for this game to me…

Kickstarter is helping him to make Z. a reality, and that reality is an awesome zombies-versus-survivors digital trading card game. The best part (in my opinion) is that all of the cards use real photos.

If you have a moment, please take a look at the Kickstarter video and read through the list of backer rewards. As a gamer and a zombie fanatic, I want to help this game come to fruition, and I hope many of you do as well! I received a large number of birthday messages yesterday, generously asking if I had a gift wish list living on the internet somewhere. If that sentiment still stands, I'd love for you to contribute to the project - any small amount makes a difference. If you can't contribute financially, a share would go a long way to making this game a reality.

I'm going to end by bragging a bit, and most likely embarrassing Sebastian. I'm immensely proud of him and all the work he's put into Z. I hope that hard work resonates with all of you!

You can check out the Kickstarter here: [link]

I'm ecstatic to finally blow the lid off a contest that's been a longtime in the making! I figure fellow Deviant Art users might want to take a stab and participate!

The competition in a nutshell: We're hosting a massive fanart contest, with a primary stipulation that the submission must be created "by hand." Why, you may ask? The prize helped to dictate the rules in this case.

The winner of the "By Hand" art competition will walk away with an original charcoal illustration of Lara Croft by Crystal Dynamics Senior Art Director Brian Horton. The exclusive drawing is a whopping 11x17 in size, is professionally matted, and signed by Brian. We've got three sizable subcategory prizes, too.

You can find all the rules and regulations in English here [link] . Links to additional languages can be found below. Thank you to the following webmasters who aided with translations, ensuring that Tomb Raider fans worldwide can participate!

French – Captain Alban Team [link]
Italian – Marco of Allgame: Tomb Raider [link]
German – Luca of Tomb Raider Insider [link]
Spanish – Sermongar of Croft Generation [link]
Portuguese – Marta aka dark7angel of Eidos Forums [link]
Russian – Sergey of Tomb Raider Russia [link]

If I may gush for a moment, one of my absolute favorite things about the Tomb Raider fandom is the creativity of our followers. I love sifting through paintings, crafts, sculptures, costumes, and other creative endeavors - it's the highlight of my day. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

Looking for a very exclusive 2012 calendar?

A limited (as in only one) Cosplay for a Cause calendar is currently up for auction, boasting signatures from all 18 cosplayers as well as artists Mark Brooks, Brian Stelfreeze, and Cully Hammer.

I'm very proud to have been involved in this initiative, and can't wait to announce the total amount we've raised for the Japanese Red Cross.

Please take a look, or share with anyone you think would be interested: [link]

If you're looking to pick up an unsigned version of the calendar, you can still do so here: [link]

Hey All!

This last week has been massively overwhelming, but in the best way possible. In addition to posting info about my own auction (the Nintendo DS sold for $4,050, all of which has been donated to the Red Cross), you may have seen me share links to other video game goods up for sale. I want to take a second and provide a bit more information on what exactly a small group of industry professionals and I have been cooking up. The collaborative effort is called Play for Japan, and you can read the official press release below.

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Play For Japan Launches Relief Efforts

Online Charity Auction Starts Today

PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Play For Japan (PFJ), a global campaign designed to raise funds for the victims of the recent tragedies in Japan, announced today the launch of its online charity auction.

Play For Japan's committee states:

"Japan's impact and contributions to videogames have been undeniable. Now it's time for us to give back to the country that has given the world so much."

In the wake of recent disasters that have struck the island nation, a collective of gaming industry professionals and members of the gaming media have combined their resources to create Play For Japan. The global campaign will raise funds for donation to various organizations devoted to relief efforts, including American Red Cross, Global Giving, International Medical Corps, Save the Children, UNICEF.

The goal of Play For Japan is to aggregate and promote online auctions of items culled from the resources of its members– videogame rarities, art, signed games, etc.–in order to generate donations for disaster relief. Today, PFJ committee member Meagan Marie's auction for a Nintendo DS signed by several Nintendo luminaries closed at $4,050 with 78 bids and all proceeds going to the American Red Cross.

PFJ is not an auction house. Rather, it is a movement designed to endorse and promote the gaming industry's efforts to help. Members of the gaming community can brand their individual auction as part of the PFJ campaign as they initiate them. 100% of all proceeds will go toward charitable organizations to benefit earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Here are a few examples of PFJ's numerous active auctions:

    * A Brutal Legend Eddie Riggs statue signed by Tim Schafer

    * A Super Mario Kart SNES cartridge signed and illustrated by Shigeru Miyamoto

    * A copy of Killer7 signed by Suda 51

    * A life-sized Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Ghost statue signed by Infinity Ward

    * A copy of Final Fantasy Tactics signed by Akihiko Yoshida & Hideo Minaba

    * A copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic signed by Bioware

    * A copy of Katamari Damacy signed by Keita Takahashi

If you are a member of the gaming industry or the gaming media and are interested in affiliating your gaming-related auction with Play For Japan, please contact auctions@playforjapan.org. For general inquiries, please contact contact@playforjapan.org. if you are looking for more information on upcoming auctions, please visit PlayForJapan.org, follow @PlayForJPN on Twitter, visit playforjapan.tumblr.com, or visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/playforjapan.

SOURCE Play For Japan

Blog: [link]

Twitter: [link]

Facebook: [link]

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Now I have something to ask of you all! Please, promote Play for Japan in whatever way you can. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Share links with your friends. This is an industry-wide effort to aid Japan in a measurable way. To achieve this, we need help from you!

Thank you all in advance!

Meagan

Hey everyone!

I spent the entire weekend brainstorming ways to utilize my skills to raise money for relief in Japan. My original idea was to create a custom Munny to sell on eBay, but time unfortunately won’t allow for that. After much thought, I’ve decided to part ways with my prized keepsake, an autographed Nintendo DS signed by some of the biggest names in gaming.

As the story goes, I was attending my first GDC back in 2007, writing for a small blog prior to my gig at Game Informer. I was asked to present awards during the annual Game Audio Network Guild ceremony, and as such was introduced to all the individuals listed below. I happened to have my Nintendo DS handy and asked each to sign it.

Meeting Miyamoto, Kondo, and the other individuals is still one of the highlights of both my career and life as a geek. I was completely dumbstruck when I walked away from the event, cradling the DS like it was a bar of gold. Someone made a joke that evening that they hoped it wouldn’t end up on eBay. Something tells me that the Nintendo creatives won't mind.

Securing my job at Game Informer a few years later has presented me with similar opportunities that I am very grateful to have experienced, and I’ve learned to rein in my fangirl tendencies a bit. Ultimately, my memories are more than enough to hang on to and if I can raise a donation of any size to aid the people of Japan, it is unquestionably worth it.

Please share this link with anyone you think may be interested in the purchase. For gamers, this is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item, and the individual also gets the satisfaction of knowing that their contribution will be fully donated to the Red Cross. Proof of the donation will be provided publicly as soon as the auction draws to a close.

You can find the auction via the link: [link]

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos, as our nice camera seems to be out of office on a trip, and as such I had to use my phone. I wanted to get the auction up sooner rather than later.

Thank you for your help and please spread the word!

Product Details

    * An original model Nintendo DS in red.
    * The DS is adorned with a Mario Kart sticker on the front, and four similar stickers on the inside. Please refer to the images.
    * As far as quality, the handheld features slight wear from use before I preserved it. Again, please refer to the images.
    * The DS is fully functional, but doesn’t come with a charger. I can track one down if the buyer so desires, but I highly recommend that it not be handled as it will degrade the quality of the signatures. The DS has been in a glass case for four or so years, and I urge the highest bidder to opt for a similar treatment.
    * The Nintendo DS features signatures from the following industry icons.
          o Shigeru Miyamoto: One of the most iconic video game designers in history. Miyamoto is credited with the creation of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and more.
          o Koji Kondo: A legendary video game composer who composed the classic Mario and Zelda tunes, among many others.
          o Charles Martinet:  Mario’s official voice actor since 1995. He also provides voices for Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and more.
          o Eiji Aonuma: A video game designer and director who oversaw several Legend of Zelda titles including Ocarina of time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, and  more.
          o Martin Leung: Known as the video game pianist, Martin became famous for playing the Super Mario Bros theme blindfolded. He now tours the world and performs with Video Games Live.

If you have any questions about this item, feel free to contact me.

Thank you!

So, I've been on a bit of a mission the past few days to update my site with any costume details and photos it may have been missing. The idea was to finish documenting my costumes of 2010 so I can focus on new ones and set goals for 2011! The updates are detailed below!

Mad Moxxi gallery/costume breakdown: [link]

New Velocity photos: [link]

Vintage DC dress photoshoot: [link]

I also updated my site with tons of information on the new Tomb Raider game, so that is bonus incentive to check it out.

Let me know what you think!

Happy New Year!