@Obliquity: That is my exact stance on abortion laws and how they should be, 100% agree.

About the mentally retarded inmates...I don't think the ones applicable for execution are truly mentally retarded. Maybe someone once in the history of forever in America was mentally handicapped and murdered someone else but honestly, this is most likely allowing the execution of those criminals who CLAIM mental retardation and then by some ACLU miracle are 'proven' to be so.

Claiming you are retarded as an excuse for your crimes is the ultimate shame, you deserve a good ol' fashioned needling.

sisedi

Since I'm a Texan, yay for Texas. Yaaaaaaaay.

@Obliquity: Only reason is becasue Strayhorn ran as an independent. If she didn't Perry would have easily broken 50%.

superevilcube

Never was big on keeping up with state politics and I really should. I've heard a lot of bad about Perry but I don't know enough about him to really decide for myself. He certainly has kindled my interest to look into the rest of his policies with this awesome incentive. I love my state and I love video games, the fact our governor wants to empower both is fine by me!

BTW, $63,000/year is a great salary in Texas-- it's fantastic here in San Antonio but not so much in Austin and Dallas, the only places in Texas with game companies (I don't know of any in Houston but the cost of living is worse there). Of course all our cities are so spread out that it shouldn't matter, it's no big deal to live on the north side of Austin paying for a $150k House that'd cost you two or three times more downtown.

Heck, when I lived in Austin I had no idea I was living a block away from Retro Studios.

Absent Blue

Rick Perry looks almost like a Mexican Mitt Romney.

Is that just me...?

SadSadSamus

wheeew! TX FTW!

TheTravisCooper

Hurrah, now that a politician is pandering to me, I'm going to ignore the rest of his policy platform!

Kirril

@Obliquity:

Why the hell not, eh?

Voted for him too, shame he didn't win.

mrantimatter

Sorry to be non-PC but this guy is a complete retard! He is trying to legislate Creationism.

CaveHonkey

*sigh* I guess I am somewhat happy about this news, as no matter how much I dislike him and his social politics, his economics have been known to make sense on occasion. Texas has the fifteenth largest economy in the world and is the only state to have ever survive successfully on its own as an independent Republic, so I guess it's about time we got some tech in here.

But I stand by my earlier statement that the issues are too important to brush to the side in the face of a single piece of good news and I still won't be voting for him.

Obliquity

Too bad Perry's still a used up douche nozzle.

CancerMan

I said "looks like". I revise nothing. :)

UbeWoll

Politicians always pander to special interest groups. This is no different, save that gamers happen to approve of this special interest group.

emag

@Savior:

Texas has plenty of quality devs, a lower cost of living, higher quality of life, and it's sunny year round there as well. As for the marijuana point... Houston and many other Texas cities have pain clinics where you can get Vicodin/Oxy/etc. over the counter just by asking for it. No prescription!

ToiletAssassin

Yeah, the Texas residents posting are aware of his bullshit. I'm glad he made a lovely speech and all, and I'm all for the gaming industry taking a greater foothold in Texas, but the guy is still a phenomenal douche. Although if we're honest it'd be less of a chore to name the politicans that aren't douches, than those that are.

Señor Vorpal Kickass'o

@RedRaptor: This is not an internet thing (for me, at least). I would do this in person with strangers if this topic came up within earshot. The other issues are simply too important to overlook, and I'm sorry if that's a problem for you.

Obliquity

@Obliquity: His abortion laws sound fine to me... his veto of the ban on execution, not so much.

ƒox

Sorry, Perry. Digging for money because you found out just how much cash video game companies have invested here in Austin doesn't impress.

But, then, neither did your homophobia or your evangelical bullcrap.

MrPsycohed

@tulanejosh: As a resident of Houston currently attending the highest ranked school in the state (Rice University), I'm a little offended by your Austin comments.

Not, you know, a lot, (since your comments are fairly accurate) but my pride demands at least some response.

Obliquity

@tzaketh: I don't know anything about politics in Texas, but I agree that it's hard to believe that any politicians truly live by Christian principles.

Methusalah

Leave it to the internet to take good news and twist it into "WELL HES STILL A REPUBLICAN HRRR GRRR"

RedRaptor

Perry will say anything to get re-elected and i mean anything. he's more transparent then most politicians and i'm almost shocked people keep voting for him

FP Bleentastic

@zegota: I'm not sure what you are trying to say with this. It'd only be pathetic if he claimed to be a Christian and denied the truth of that statement.

Methusalah

@tzaketh:

If he's a big enough of a kiss ass to be elected to Governor, he's almost certainly not a real Christian, either. He's almost certainly stating the aforementioned things just to cement himself as a Christian, considering he's a politician in Texas.

tzaketh

His laws allow for abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or maternal health; he vetoed the ban of execution of mentally retarded inmates; and is the first governor since 1853 to get elected with less than a 40% plurality (in 2006, he got a whole 39% of the vote).

I guarantee you, he is *not* going to get this videogamer's vote.

Also, to be fair to Kinky, his politics were no more or less moronic than anyone else running.

Obliquity

No doubt he's not a good governor for a lot of reasons, but Austin is a major game producing city. In fact, most of us here in Austin don't really acknowledge the fact that we live in Texas at all. We're a bit different here, educated, high-tech, progressive. This is the home of the Austin game industry and its a great place to develop games.

tulanejosh

Wow, the comments I see on this page :| A lot of y'all are niave and with the way things are going right now with the economy, it's hard to find jobs. With the game industry growing, it can create more jobs. Give Perry some credit, will ya :|

A_Zombie

*Sigh* so what if he wants the video game money? His job is to get money into the state and the economy. If advocating video games is going to do that, then he is gonna get video game voters.

Kudos to him. Even if he giant douche or terd sandwich.

FrigidAir44

you're still a corrupt prick, perry.

jkingsowner

@zegota:

Huh... you just stated the base belief of all Christians in the world. And it's a surprise that he believes this, being a Christian?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"

tzaketh

@etchasketchist: There are politicians that are our friends?

I'm glad he wants more money and a better economy for his state, especially if gaming will help achieve that. Everyone knows we could use a better economy right about...now.

In the perhaps no semi-famous words of David Hasselhof on last night's ep of America's Got Talent, "I'm moving to Dalas..."

sisedi

nice to see a governor welcoming games instead of trying to make laws against their content. way to go texas.

influenze

@banana_ridah: Actually, many states have been pushing just this kind of rhetoric lately. I know Massachusetts (spelling?) did a very similar thing just a couple of months ago-- economic incentives, tax exemptions and all of that.

The center for most of this growth is in Austin, unsurprisingly. Whether it's BioWare's new MMO studio the (relatively) large number of Web 2.0 startups in the city, or just the way the tech world has really embraced SXSW, Austin has (arguably) become the most important city in the state, even with its significantly lower population density. Awesome!

PSLeigh, Another thing you could have mentioned is that an effective bonus of being a game developer in Texas-- compared to many other states-- is that Texas has no state income tax, so that average income of $63,000 is going to be a lot larger in your pocket than in some other states.

wild homes

Let's not forget how often Texas sides with plaintiffs in copyright cases, making the state alluring to patent trolls.

PackerX

He's just playing nice, so he can probably get his paws on the game industry and start releasing secret messages within the game to win the 2012 elections.

Be Well John Spartan.

Seiger

When did Pierce Brosnan become a Texas Governor?

Finstern

Only about 2 more presidential terms until we have a chance at a real gamer president...

theonlydoublej

@zegota: Sorry, forgot to include HIS actual quote. That was from a reverend, his quote was "It is my faith, and I'm a believer of that."

zegota

He's just trying to get more votes and get more video game development in his state...

Spoony Bard

hmm, as good as this sounds, i think that governor has more things to do then talk about video game companies going / moving to his state.. also why move to Texas when devs are in L.A. and other areas of cali, you know they all have their medi card for marijuana.

Savior

Oy. How easily you people are suckered by right wingers. This guy's not your friend. He just wants your loot.

etchasketchist

@UbeWoll: "If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God Almighty through the authority of Christ and His blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket."

Uh, want to revise that?

zegota

@UbeWoll:

Ehh... He's just gunning for a more powerful Texas economy, somehow I really doubt he believes half the things he said about gaming being good for the soul and all that. If he'd said that gamers need to spend more time outside, or something, he wouldn't have been doing a very good job of attracting devs.

And btw, Kinky Friedman: Awesome name, moronic politics.

tzaketh

Someone who looks like he has a brain. Finally.

UbeWoll

Wow, a politician advocating more video games in his state. Awesome.

banana_ridah

Yes, it's just too bad he's a jackass in EVERY OTHER RESPECT. I voted for Kinky Friedman and am damn proud of it.

Obliquity

@Savior:

Its not that he wants them to leave CA or somewhere else, but if they are considering opening up additional studios (most game companies have multiple studios) to consider Texas, and Austin in particular.

A game company would want to do this becuase in addition to 250k in incentives and various other tax break available to them - they get access to a great pool of talent, a low cost of living, and very desirable city they can use to attract top tier talent (see cost of living).

He is not asking for EA to move its HQ to Texas.

tulanejosh

Imagine that. Turn a niche hobby into a multibillion dollar industry over a couple of decades and people start to notice.

doubtful

@Obliquity: t)

Dont want to speak out of turn here, but to give explanation to my own comment - large portions of our population are recent california residents. It is changing the face and character of austin, which i personally am fine with - everything changes and I never saw the old Austin anyway. But a lot of people in the area would prefer the old Austin at least maintain a presence (i.e. not everything changing to starbucks, strip malls, and cookie cutter houses). In their mind, its now too much like the California that the Californians left. Am I right on that AdeptVoice?

tulanejosh

@ToiletAssassin: yeah but oxy n pot r different... im sure there is devs in texas also.. im just saying, why move to tx if ur already in cali or some other states.. also 250k "incentive".. idk how much that is worth making a game.

Savior

@AdeptVoice: "And yes, Austin is located in Texas but it might as well be from CA - which is part of what is wrong with it." That's an interesting notion. I disagree (variety/diversity being the spice of life and all that) and I'm curious to to see the other side of the argument, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Obliquity

@AdeptVoice:

I agree - that's why i revised the post later to be slighlty less smug. I can eat my crow - i typed it too fast without fully thinking it through.

tulanejosh

@tulanejosh:

I understand what you meant. I just couldn't help but compare this line:

"We're a bit different here, educated, high-tech, progressive."

to exactly what the South Park episode was making fun.

And yes, Austin is located in Texas but it might as well be from CA - which is part of what is wrong with it. :p

AdeptVoice

@tulanejosh:

Actualy your right, the rest of the state is various levels of suck.

We here in Austin, however, are the shining beacon of awesome that keeps up from selling the rest of the state to mexico and writing the whole thing off as a bad deal.

mrantimatter

I'm sure he (money) cares about the game industry (money) and wants it to prosper (money) in texas (money).

Politicians, they're funny.

malio

@tulanejosh: Wow, thanks. It's not often on the internet (or even in real life) that you get a genuine apology. Which, I might add, I don't think was entirely necessary: I was really more rankled at the Perry stuff and viewed your comment too harshly, for which I apologize.

I might add that I actually have a "keep austin weird" bumper sticker which goes right next to my Black Mesa parking pass on the back of my Prius. So, you know, non-stereotypical Texas ftw. Although, I do admit listening to country music, from time to time, and rather enjoying it, so who knows.

Obliquity

And its not your Austin - it belongs to Southern California now (and no, i am not from there).

tulanejosh

@AdeptVoice:

I'm not being smug. Dang. Read the post.

"Austin should not be avoided because of stereotypical notions about what Texas is like."

Do you understand the meaning of "stereotypical"?

tulanejosh

@Absent Blue:

Ehh... $63k in Austin isn't as bad as you think. Austin clearly has the highest cost of living in the state, but compared to a lot of other places (NY, LA, SF, CHI) its criminally cheap. You aren't moving into a trendy downtown loft, but you can buy a very nice, brand new 3 or 4 br house 10 miles from downtown on $63k. I see the signs for them every day on the freeway.

tulanejosh

@tulanejosh:

Please keep smug out of my Austin.

Thanks.

AdeptVoice

@Obliquity:

I dont mean to offend, heck, Im not a real Texan, so blame it on that. I have no issues with the rest of the state, more reporting on the general feeling in Austin (as though I am some kind of authority on that). You know our motto here - "keep austin wierd"... Doesn't excactly fit the rest of the state.

My point was more - dont avoid basing a development company in Texas because its, you know, Texas. Austin is a center for high tech and, by and large, its the Texas that Perry is trying to get game companies to move to. Austin should not be avoided because of stereotypical notions about what Texas is like. It wasn't a slam on the rest of the state. My apologies for not communicating that more clearly.

tulanejosh

@Finstern: Exactly what I thought.

Mit

You know what? I don't really care about the rest of his policies. In fact, I don't honestly care that it's Perry saying this. Whatever I may think of him, if he's doing something good for the video game industry here, then let THAT decision ride. I can argue his merits or lack thereof elsewhere.

For now, if game devs are getting incentives to develop here, awesome. Last I checked, abortion doesn't have anything to do with video games unless Trauma Center's next iteration is poised to scramble the gaming world with a coat hanger. I'm certainly not going to vote for the guy, but if he can leave office having done some modicum of good, then so be it.

Testamonium

Hey, that's my shitty governor!

InsidiousTuna

@ninjafetus:

Oh yeah it is... I can personally attest to this. And dont forget our obscense Sales Tax.

tulanejosh

@wild homes: IIRC, the lack of state income tax is balanced by state property tax.

ninjafetus

@Obliquity: Personally, I can't say that I wholly dislike those views. At least he's not outright banning abortion, as cases like those certainly warrent it, while I could see him thinking it purely irresponsible of couples otherwise. I do think accidents should be accounted for, though.
As for mentally retarded inmates, the death penalty is really not that far-fetched of an option. What are you going to do with them? If they're so far gone as to be a danger to everyone around them, then no psychological work will suffice. The prison system is crowded enough, and why would it be so much better to let the guy slowly rot in prison than to get the inevitable over with? Prison is supposed to be a punishment to give lawbreakers incentive to not perform crimes, and yet we've run them like they're retirement homes you can file for as early as 18. Giving someone "life" in prison is a waste in every sense of the word.

I would like to note that these are simply my opinions, and I am not in any way trying to flame you or incite any arguments, unless said debates are carried out maturely. :)

AntiheroKing

Vote For Kinky!

'Fair Hair' Perry is a douche!

elpierce

@tulanejosh:

That's pretty much it. My only real big complaint with Austin is the heavy handed government. Austin is very much like California in the way that they can/will create a law for absolutely everything they can think of. A good example is talk in the capitol about outlawing smoking at OUTDOOR recreational facilities. This means if you had a kid who played baseball, soccer, whatever - you wouldn't be allowed to smoke while attending any of his/her games.

Now, I'm all for keeping kids healthy and away from smoking, but if the event is outdoors I see no reason to pass a LAW preventing people from smoking.

AdeptVoice

@Obliquity:

"Yes, it's just too bad he's a jackass in EVERY OTHER RESPECT. I voted for Kinky Friedman and am damn proud of it."

The job of politician, should go to a politician. If you don't have an opinion on anything very few will vote for you, which is why Kinky lost.

Anywho, I'm happy with Perry. He gets the job done, and this makes me like him even more.

HepCat

@Testamonium:

Well said, sir, well said.

tulanejosh

@Testamonium: I like the way you think, sir.

And I got a kick out of your Trauma Center: Right in the Babymaker edition. lol.

AntiheroKing

@zegota: LOL

salmonax

@Testamonium:

Then you just switch to South Congress or 4th or 2nd or even 3rd.

tulanejosh

@dagamer34: 6th street is fine until your third hour there, but that is by no means the street's fault...

Testamonium

Scariest place I've ever been was a little town called Fate, TX.

Arklop

Speaking as a native Texan and current resident, don't believe anything that comes out of Governor Rick Perry's mouth. Even if it sounds cool, he will fuck it up in a heartbeat.

axiomatic

Besides, who wouldn't like the awesomeness that is 6th street?

dagamer34

@shouryuuken:

Yeah, I agree, I felt i was being a bit smug when that's not what i was trying to communicate. I rephrased, scroll down a bit you'll see my retraction and apologies to Dallas and Houston and the rest of texas.

tulanejosh

Whatever else he may stand for or against he ios trying to get more gaming developed in Texas and even ponuing up some cash to get it going. With all the negative press going on about gaming it's good to see some people with ability to make change can see past that. He wouldn't be saying or doing any of this if he thought it would hurt him politically. I never thought he was that cool. It still doesn't make up for Bush though. Rock On Texas!

Awoken

@tulanejosh: "We're a bit different here, educated, high-tech, progressive."

sounds like dallas. not to knock austin, its actually the only other city i like in texas... but dallas has those things too. we also have id, gearbox, and 3d realms (lol not like 3d realms matters much anymore, but still..).

shouryuuken

Ah... Now i got you. 3 hours sound about right, people go out around 10 - 11, and the bar shut down at 2. 3 hours sounds right.

tulanejosh

@tulanejosh: Haha, that's not quite what I meant. Three hours is an awful lot of time to drink, and the street can seem a mite unfriendly when it won't stop spinning.

Testamonium

@shouryuuken:

Thats really all i was saying too. I remember when i moved here, I got "are you going to ride a horse to work and get a cowboy hat" or "do they have electricity there yet" or "i dont care how cheap it is to live there and how nice a house you can have - its still texas".

tulanejosh

Texas has been one of the centers of game development LONG before Rick Perry. ID, Virgin Games, other that have come and gone, have long named Texas their home. The founders of the companies live in Texas. There is little incentive to leave.

Austin and the DFW region have always had game developers, some of the best in the business. It is because of THEIR influence, not Perry's, that young, talented developers are moving to Texas.

I just received a petition from AARP to send to my congressmen (or women) to protect Medicare. The names:

Kay Bailey Hutchinson - Republican - whose campaign manager is none other than Carl Rove.

John Cornyn - Republican - such an embarrassment to state that he actually wasted 3 days of the Senate's time debating an amendment to "protect the flag".

Ralph Hall - Republican - an 85 year old remnant of past thinking who actually was called "out of touch" by the Dallas Morning News.

These people continually get reelected because this state allows a SINGLE check-mark to vote a straight party ticket. You don't even have to turn the page, or even know the names of the people you are voting for. You could put a dog on the ballot, or a convicted felon, or even someone deceased, and if they are Republican they will get elected. That is why you have Rick Perry (who scarcely had a majority of the vote) as governor of Texas. Or George W. Bush as President.

bornonce

@tulanejosh: oh i wasnt hatin on you bro lol. i was just sayin "hey dont forget about dallas and its tech advances as well." its funny when ppl bash texas and call it backwoods/country-ish.. they forget we have some pretty tech based cities like the dal metro and austin. i actually dont care much for houston, and san antonio i dont know enough about. besides that, im not defending the other cities.

shouryuuken

I knew I voted for him for a reason. Don't worry Governor Perry, I'm doing my part to help Texas' economy.

gcZanmato

I'm not a fan of the death penalty, but I do agree with his abortion stance.

But even if you don't like his other policies, at least this is +1 for the video game industry.

kojirodensetsu

@zegota:

Because he's proud of his belief and isn't afraid to share it in the idea that it might save people, doesn't make him stupid.

Ryuk

At least it's a sign that politicians have realised that the game biz has a future, and idiot parents don't, and they know who to suck up to now.

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

Keep in mind that the game development incentives that Perry has talked about have some riders in relation to content...

[www.gamepolitics.com]
"To appease some concerned legislators, the incentive program was structured to guard against paying companies that make violent games."

Devster

Finally, a government member who is on our side.

TF2Soldier914