(Note: I originally published this article on Bits ‘n’ Bytes Gaming on February 22, 2011.)

Todd Purple is one of the most interesting people you will ever have the pleasure to meet. He is a veritable repository of trivia for just about everything and maintains a love for just about everything retro, including videogames. He is also currently ranked fifth in the world in the 1980s arcade game Tapper.

Todd’s score has been verified by Twin Galaxies, the governing authority for videogame high scores and player rankings. They have several categories for a plethora of games and submitted scores need to either be video taped for verification or play sessions need to be witnessed by one of their referees.

I talked with Todd a bit about his love for retro gaming, what went into that record-setting run, and what his plans are for further high scores.

(Note: I originally published this article on Bits ‘n’ Bytes Gaming on May 17, 2011.)

Are you geeky enough to put your nerd cred on the line?

Social media and an increasingly competitive gaming atmosphere have swirled together to make talking smack and one-upping your friends an effortless endeavor. Thanks to Xbox Software Development Engineer in Test Laura Massey, you now have a chance to prove who among your friends is the biggest nerd with Nerd Trivia, her new Twitter game.

Alright Lunar fans, I’ve been promising a surprise for you all for a while now, so I think it’s time I came clean! I, and the rest of PK Bloggin’! are excited to say that Jessica Chavez of XSEED Games was kind enough to make time for us to do an interview, and even provide some great exclusive Lunar: Silver Star Harmony screenshots just for us! (I’ve never conducted an interview before, how exciting!) Even if you aren’t a Lunar fan, please enjoy it, since there’s a lot of great information here about the localizing process, and being part of the game industry in general.

I’ve known Gavin Verhey for a few years now from various message boards. We’ve talked a lot, even played games online together a couple times. I’ve always thought he was a pretty cool guy, but I learned a couple of days ago that he’s even more awesome than I had thought. Gavin, you see, is a professional gamer.

Gavin plays in professional tournaments for the game Magic: The Gathering. Magic, for those of you who have lived under a rock for the past 17 years, is a collectible card game (CCG) where players construct decks of cards with various abilities, and compete to deplete the other’s life points. It sounds much simpler than it actually is, with an infinite amount of ways to customize your deck and formulate strategies. The game is popular worldwide, with a thriving pro circuit and tournaments held all over the world.