English Russia reports that:

“it was impossible to put an attention of those hopeless men off. The game was drawing to a close and the ladies were sweating as much as they could, but the eyes of the tough players were nailed to the screens tight.”

In the matchup, the team forZe bested rival Virtus.pro.

I pulled ten pics from English Russia, galleried below. There are tons more at the link.

Hot Gaming [English Russia, thanks to Kevin!]

These shots are from a little trip to the wilderness near Vyborg, Russia, which took place last month. You can’t see it, but we’re on our feet applauding the dedication.

Tons and tons of pics at the link below.

Вне зоны комфорта

The body, called the National Russian Association of Game Industry, will be created by October. There’s also an All-Russian Conference on Game Industry taking place October 27-29.

The announcement was made by Russia’s Federal Agency for Management of Special Economic Zones, the State Academy of Innovations, and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Gamasutra notes that “Russia’s game industry has historically been fairly insular, with a primary focus on PC titles”. These moves are meant to broaden its profile within the global development community.

It’s a sign of rather progressive support of the industry from one of its emerging markets. It’s a shame we don’t see more of it in the West.

Russia To Form National Game Body, First National Trade Conference [Gamasutra]

All of the information we have on the event is translated from Russian via Google, so it could be completely wrong. From we understand, a workshop group called Albion organised the event, securing the setting and providing technical, medical, and rescue support. Around 300 players participated, creating their own costumes and modifying fake weapons until they looked as if you just plucked them from a freshly-killed raider’s hands. The game followed a basic plot, which the organisers would change on the fly according to how the players reacted.

Say what you will about live-action roleplaying, or LARPing, but this actually looks like a great deal of fun. Unfortunately it also looks like a lot of work, so you won’t catch my lazy arse participating in something like this anytime soon. Hit up the link below for even more pictures.

Fallout 2009 «Ничто человеческое» [LiveJournal via Polygamia]

Nothing says post-apocalyptic like Leningrad.

Slavery is serious business.

Looks like box art, doesn’t it?

Working headlights.

Just a pleasant stroll through the woods.

They completely nailed the atmosphere.

Free agent.

Probably just a guy they saw on the way to the game.

Post-apocalycious!

Please stand by.

Nice hair.

The Brotherhood.

Over the shoulder view.

Ew. Ew. Ew.

You thought things were hot in England during the 13th century, check out what they were up to in Eastern Europe.

Unicorn Games’ hardcore strategy game, XIII Century, recreates the battles between Teutonian knights and their target, Pskov city (which is part of present-day Russia).This expansion, Blood of Europe, zeroes in on more of the legendary fights as well as adding. Eight new missions in particular focus on the battles fought by Dovmont, Prince of Pskov.

The game looks pretty good both in the overhead God view and in the zoomed-in battlefield mode that actually lets you see the heads fly during combat. A definite requisite in historical Russian combat.

The Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines (the Soviet ethic lives on in the place’s name, then) is home to versions of 20 of the original 37 machines licensed for manufacture in the old USSR during the 70’s and 80’s.

The place is open to the public, and all the machines have been restored, so they’re playable. Worth remembering if you’re planning on taking a trip to Moscow! Or, you know. If you live there.

The Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines [MSAM, via Hobby Blog]

Fighting, shooting, etc. There’s something about paintball, too. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are filmed like traditional 2D fighters, while the shoot-outs use first-person camera angles. Wonder how Microsoft feels about the poster, which, you know, uses the Xbox 360 controller. Good thing there’s not that pesky Xbox logo on the controller.

Thanks, Kirill for the tip!

The five countries are the ones singled out by the Anti-Piracy Caucus as priorities for 2009, with Congress urging said countries to improve enforcement legislation and practices. How are they urging? Through a series of announcements that I am sure weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of those countries’ governments, should they be paying any attention at all.

Still, the Entertainment Software Association seems pleased.

“The copyright-based industries will be leaders in our economic recovery – and the entertainment software industry, which had record sales in 2008, will continue to be a strong contributor to our nation’s GDP,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Exports can comprise as much as 30% of our members’ sales, and are a direct contributor to domestic job growth. The work of the Caucus helps us to grow our export markets, create jobs and strengthen our balance of trade. Additionally, stemming the flood of pirated creative works benefits and protects legitimate consumers everywhere.

The ESA specifically thanked the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus for singling out Mexico and Canada, from which many mod-chips flow into the U.S., and Spain, where peer-to-peer piracy is running rampant.

Canada was also added to the U.S. Trade Representative’s priority watch list this year. If they keep it up, we’ll have no choice but to invade.

Apparently on May 19 of last year, the victim was playing CS against his “friend” in an internet cafe when things got nasty. Two separate fistfights broke out between the pair, and when they eventually left, the accused set upon the victim, beating him in the head and torso until he died at the scene.

The boy was found guilty of intention to inflict grievous bodily harm, and sentenced to four years detention in a juvenile prison.

Компьютерные игры закончились смертью [ГЛАВНАЯ СТРАНИЦА, via Planet Half-Life]

Remember those S.T.A.L.K.E.R. cosplayers from last year? They’re back. And they’ve taken the last twelve months to step up their game.

Around 70 fans met up in the village of Sengileyevskoe, in the south of Russia last week for some serious S.T.A.L.K.E.R. re-enactment. Like, very serious. We’re talking simulated firefights, simulated wasteland bartering, even simulated knife fights in a dimly-lit warehouse.

Our hats are off to you, crazy S.T.A.L.K.E.R. cosplayers. But from a distance. Because you’re crazy.

Fighting ”mutants” in a live-action game [Reuters]