Possible Witcher 3 DLC Date Leaked →

Originally published for Ice Gauntlet.

While not officially confirmed, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s upcoming expansion pack entitled Blood and Wine may have a release date of June 7.

According to WCCF Tech, Polish gaming website GRYOnline listed the release date for the DLC as “07 czerwca 2016,” or June 7, 2016, if you do not speak Polish. Now, this could be speculation or just a placeholder since if you visit GRYOnline’s website now, Blood and Wine’s release date now reads “not yet announced.”

Developer CD Projekt Red has not confirmed the June 7 release date, but the second expansion pack is slated for release in the first half of 2016, so it would fit within the timeline.

What we do know is that Blood and Wine will introduce a new area of The Witcher 3 called Toussaint, and contain over 20-plus-hours of additional content. This would be almost double the size of first expansion pack, Hearts of Stone, which added 10-plus hours to the game.

Hearts of Stone was released back in October 2015, and took Geralt to the wilds of No Man’s Land and introduced a new mysterious character called the Man of Glass.

Currently you can purchase Hearts of Stone for $9.99 for PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, while the upcoming Blood and Wine will cost $19.99, or you can purchase both expansion packs together in a bundle for $24.99.

So June 7 may or may not be the magic date for all you Witcher fans, but it looks like regardless, we still have a couple months to wait before diving into the land of Toussaint.

Discord vs Skype: The Battle of the Voice Chats

Post originally published on Ice Gauntlet.

There’s a new kid on the block in the world of all-in-one chat softwares, and his name is Discord. 

This new platform, which launched in 2015, looks to fix all the problems people have using the alternatives, such as Skype. But the question remains, should you make the switch?

It’s time to break down the pros and cons of up-and-comer Discord and veteran Skype, because no software is 100% perfect.

To begin, let’s follow the money trail. How much is this going to cost you?

For Skype, communication is free if the other user also has a Skype account. If you want to call an actual phone line, that’s when you start dishing out the money through the purchase credits. However with the exception of phone calls, all Skype communications, whether it be video, audio or text, are free.

On the Discord side of things, all communication, whether it be voice or text, is also free. According to their blog, the company plans to make money by selling “optional cosmetic items like sticker packs, sound packs, skins, and the like.” 

As stated earlier, the only communication Discord supports is voice and text. For gamers planning to storm a dungeon together, this could work, but you will have to look to Skype if your business requires, or just wants, any sort of video to accompany a call.

The nature and quality of calls differs between the two platforms as well.

To begin a call on Skype, one person hosts the call and alerts everyone else in the group that there is a call going on, which can be a nuisance when the Skype music starts and you were not expecting it. 

Because of the strain of hosting a call, the call’s quality can suffer, creating little robots, if the host’s internet is not up to par. But if you find someone with a decent internet connection, calls are reliable for the most part, allowing for smooth recording if desired. 

In Discord, each group can create multiple voice channels. So if you wanted to break your group up into teams without the enemy team knowing your plan, Discord allows for that. These voice channels don’t require a specific host, eliminating a strain on the host’s internet. 

People can also simply sit in the voice channels, awaiting for others to join when they’re free. It also means that no one is aware there is a call going on unless they check Discord itself. The audio quality in Discord is great, but almost everyone’s voices are cut off at various times. It makes recording from Discord choppy, and you might have to repeat something three or more times before it all gets out.

Switching over to the text side of things, Skype and Discord operate just about equally. Each software allows for both group and individual text chats; each displays a preview of links posted in chat. 

The main differences between the two regarding chat is aesthetic. Skype has the blue and white theme going on; Discord chose purple and white. 

Because Discord is geared toward a gamer audience, it allows users to connect their Twitch and YouTube accounts, with Battle.net, Facebook and Twitter connections coming soon. This allows users to see what games group members are playing at that moment.

Overall, Discord and Skype play to different audiences. Discord is an emerging, free software geared toward gamers that offers some great solutions to problems found on Skype or other alternatives like Teamspeak to Ventrilo, but with its own share of difficulties, causes it to be unreliable at times.

Skype, on the other hand, is geared toward the casual user, allowing for video chatting to assist with those long-distance connections, even with its share of bugs. 

So is it time to jump ship over to Discord? Or remain with the veteran Skype? Or perhaps even use a combination of both? It comes down to what your needs are for an all-in-one chat software.

And if you’re interested in learning more about or downloading Discord, feel free to check out their website here. Or if you’re interested more in Skype, you can visit their website here.

Her Story and Witcher 3 Dominate GDCA and IGF Awards

Originally published for Ice Gauntlet.

Wednesday night celebrated the 18th annual Independent Game Festival awards and the 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, or in other words, as close to the Academy Awards the gaming universe ever gets. Thousands of people tuned in throughout the evening via Twitch to watch as Sam Barlow’s Her Story and CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3 dominated the award shows.

While the GDCAs celebrate the video game industry’s top games and the people who make them — from the writers to the artists to the musicians and more, the IGFs celebrate the same, but from an independent perspective.

The Witcher 3 was a finalist in five GDCA categories, ultimately winning for best technology and the main Game of the Year award.

But the big story was Her Story, an interactive detective story, which walked away with three GDCAs for innovation, best handheld/mobile and best narrative, not to mention the two IGFs the game picked up earlier in the evening for best narrative and the Seumas McNally grand prize.

And if you didn’t get a chance to watch the ceremonies live on Twitch Wednesday night, fear no more! Below you find the complete list of winners and nominees, including honorable mentions.

Game Developers Choice Awards

Game of the Year

• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
• Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
• Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Rocket League (Psyonix)

Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)

Best Debut

• Studio Wildcard (ARK: Survival Evolved)
• Toby Fox (Undertale)
• Moon Studios (Ori and the Blind Forest)
• Moppin (Downwell)
• Steel Crate Games (Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes)

Honorable Mentions: Asteroid Base (Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime), Question (The Magic Circle), Thomas Happ (Axiom Verge), Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Metro), MidBoss (Read Only Memories)

Best Audio

• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
• Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
• Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)

Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), SOMA (Frictional Games), Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Innovation Award

• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo)
• Undertale (Toby Fox)
• Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)
• The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)

Honorable Mentions: Rocket League (Psyonix), Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games) Cibele (Star Maid Games), Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix), Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)

Best Technology

• Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
• The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios / Square Enix)

Honorable Mentions: Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Halo 5: Guardians (343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)

Best Visual Art

• Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)
• The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE / Electronic Arts)
• Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami), Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix), Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn / Sony Computer Entertainment), Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)

Best Narrative

• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)
• Life is Strange (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)
• Undertale (Toby Fox)
• The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)

Honorable Mentions: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (The Chinese Room / Sony Computer Entertainment), Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks), Until Dawn (Supermassive Games / Sony Computer Entertainment), Cibele (Star Maid Games), Soma (Frictional Games)

Best Design

• Rocket League (Psyonix)
• Metal Gear Solid V (Kojima Productions / Konami)
• Bloodborne (FromSoftware / Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• Splatoon (Nintendo EAD Group No. 2 / Nintendo)

Honorable Mentions: Her Story (Sam Barlow), Super Mario Maker (Nintendo EAD Group No. 4 / Nintendo), Undertale (Toby Fox), The Witcher 3 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios / Microsoft Studios)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

• Lara Croft: GO (Square Enix Montreal / Square Enix)
• Fallout Shelter (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
• Downwell (Moppin / Devolver Digital)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• AlphaBear (Spry Fox)

Honorable Mentions: Prune (Joel McDonald), The Room Three (Fireproof Games), Subterfuge (Ron Carmel and Noel Llopis), Pac-Man 256 (Hipster Whale and 3 Sprockets / BANDAI NAMCO), Sage Solitaire (Zach Gage), SteamWorld Heist (Image and Form), You Must Build a Boat (EightyEight Games)

Independent Game Festival Awards

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
• Superhot (SUPERHOT)
• Undertale (Toby Fox)

Honorable Mentions: The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.); Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga); Affordable Space Adventures (KnapNok Games and Nifflas' Games); Twelve Minutes (Luis Antonio); Oxenfree (Night School Studio); That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games); Cibele (Star Maid Games); Soft Body (Zeke Virant)

Excellence in Narrative

• The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
• Black Closet (Hanako Games)
• That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• Undertale (Toby Fox)
• The Magic Circle (Question)

Honorable Mentions: Oxenfree (Night School Studio); Orion Trail (Schell Games); Cibele (Star Maid Games); Contradiction (Tim Follin / Baggy Cat Ltd); The Writer Will Do Something (Tom Bissell and Matthew S. Burns)

Excellence in Audio

• Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
• That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games)
• Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)
• Lumini (Speelbaars)
• Undertale (Toby Fox)

Honorable Mentions: Heart Forth, Alicia (Alonso Martin); The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.); Gnog (KO_OP); Oxenfree (Night School Studio); Kingdom (noio & Licorice); Inside My Radio (Seaven Studio)

Excellence in Design

• Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Kingdom (noio & Licorice)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
• Superhot (SUPERHOT)
• Infinifactory (Zachtronics)

Honorable Mentions: Gang Beasts (Boneloaf); Imbroglio (Michael Brough); Duskers (Misfits Attic); Chaos Reborn (Snapshot Games); TIS-100 (Zachtronics); Soft Body (Zeke Virant)

Excellence in Visual Art

• Mini Metro (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
• Gnog (KO_OP)
• Armello (League of Geeks)
• Oxenfree (Night School Studio)
• Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios Inc.)

Honorable Mentions: Forkride Grilltime Sloth (Black Pants Game Studio / Sebastian Stamm); Epistory - Typing Chronicles (Fishing Cactus); Kingdom (noio & Licorice); Alto's Adventure (Snowman); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play); Astroneer (System Era Softworks)

Nuovo Award

• The Beginner's Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd.)
• Panoramical (Fernando Ramallo & David Kanaga)
• Fantastic Contraption (Northway Games & Radial Games)
• Orchids To Dusk (Pol Clarissou)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• Cibele (Star Maid Games)
• Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
• Progress (Tim Garbos, Martin Kvale and Joel Nyström)

Honorable Mentions: Enough (cabbibo); Sentree (Glitchnap); Affordable Space Adventures (KnapNok Games and Nifflas' Games); Vignettes (Pol Clarissou, Armel Gibson); Future Unfolding (Spaces of Play); Sage Solitaire (Zach Gage); TIS-100 (Zachtronics)

Best Student Game

• Pitfall Planet (Bonfire Games)
• Ape Out (Gabe Cuzzillo)
• Beglitched (Jenny Jiao Hsia & Alec Thomson)
• Circa Infinity (Kenny Sun)
• Orchids To Dusk (Pol Clarissou)
• Chambara (team ok)

Honorable Mentions: Anarcute (Anarteam); Gathering Sky (A Stranger Gravity); Not Everything is Flammable (DAM: David Shiyang Liu, Alex Hu and Mac Lotze); FAR (Mr. Whale's Game Service); Sumer (Studio Wumpus); Bad Blood (Winnie Song)

Nintendo Direct Summary – 03.03.2016

Original article published on Ice Gauntlet.

The March 2016 Nintendo Direct featured a large amount of updates and news on a wide range of Nintendo games, from Star Fox and Splatoon to Paper Mario and Metroid. If you didn’t tune in to the 40-minute event, here are the highlights on what you missed.

First up on the list was news on the upcoming Star Fox Zero. As Shigeru Miyamoto said in the Direct, “Star Fox Zero is finally ready.” The game has a release date of April 22, and will be packaged alongside a new game, Star Fox Guard.

Star Fox Guard features Slippy as he helps his Uncle Grippy ward off enemies at his mining site with Slippy’s newly invented security system. Players will be able to play about 100 missions, and then make their own creations to share with other players.

Star Fox hits shelves April 22 on Wii U.

Next, Splatoon isn’t done yet. An update, to be released March 8, will improve the game through improvements to gear abilities, adjustments to battle matchmaking and some new Splatfest elements.

This isn’t the only Splatoon update inbound either. The owner of Ammo Knights Sheldon has his own weapons updates. It will be divided into two volumes, with the first arriving in April.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games arrives March 18 for Nintendo 3DS first, and launches on Wii U June 24. The Direct announced that exclusive to the Wii U version will be two new events, Rugby Sevens and Rhythmic Gymnastics (Clubs). Also revealed in the Direct was that the venues in the game were modeled after the ones to be used in Rio this year.

It’s been about six months since Super Mario Maker hit the shelves, and over 6.2 million courses have been created since. The Direct announced a new update for the game. The update, which will be available March 9, adds new course elements like skewers, keys and locked doors, and pink coins, as well as a “Super Expert” mode for the 100 Mario Challenge.

The new RPG from developer Atlus Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE now has a release date of June 24. And once you’re done slaying monsters like a pop star, you can solved puzzles and fight zombies in Lost Reavers. The free to play action game goes live with its open beta for Wii U April 14, with the full version released April 28.

Paper Mario: Color Splash, announced at the March 2016 Nintendo Direct, will launch on Wii U in 2016.

Paper Mario: Color Splash was also revealed at this Nintendo Direct. The game sees Mario on Prism Island, which is being drained of color. Paper Mario must bring color back to the island using his new weapon, the paint hammer. The new addition to the Paper Mario series will launch on Wii U in 2016.

The Virtual Console is also getting a revamp with Super Nintendo titles going handheld, but exclusively to the New Nintendo 3DS XL. The first set of games was released immediately following the Nintendo Direct. These include Pilotwings, Super Mario World and F-Zero. On March 24, the second set released will include Super Mario Kart, EarthBound, and Donkey Kong Country, and then on April 14, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest will be added to the Virtual Console.

Some of the smaller titles revealed include Pocket Card Jockey, a game that combines solitaire and horse racing, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, an action platformer sequel, Disney Art Academy, which teaches how to draw beloved Disney and Pixar characters, and Rhythm Heaven Mega Mix, which combines the best mini-games from the franchise into one package.

Fire Emblem Fates: Revolution also got some time in the light, with the next installment in the series coming March 10. The game will have three new maps, with the first two released after the Direct, and the third coming March 17.

While already on Wii U, Hyrule Warriors Legends comes to the 3DS March 25, and will have DLC released throughout the year. It was also revealed that Medli from Wind Waker will be a new character free to download for both the Wii U and 3DS versions when the first DLC pack is released.

Also coming to the 3DS is a remake of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, with new 3D models and a retranslation into English. The game will launch later this year.

In Metroid Prime: Federation Force, players must take down the Space Pirates against all odds.

One of the final highlights of the event was more information on Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which is coming to the 3DS. The game tells the story between the Galactic Federation and the Space Pirates. Unlike other Metroid games, the main character is not Samus. Instead, it pulls from some RPG elements and players can craft their own character in that style, like choosing to be a healer or a warrior. The game is set to be available late spring this year.

Last in the Direct, Kirby returns to the 3DS in Kirby Planet Robobot. The pink character this adventure will use his enemies’ tech to defeat them as he climbs into a custombizable mech suit called robobot armor. Kirby fans can look forward to this game when it launches June 10.

In Kirby Planet Robobot, Kirby's robobot armor can absorb his enemies' powers, much like Kirby himself.

A Step Closer to Early Wildfire Detection System for Austin

The Austin Fire Department received a recommendation from the Public Safety Commission April 7 to purchase and install a wildfire early detection system for the city of Austin. The Austin City Council will vote on purchasing the system at its meeting Thursday.

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The system uses technology developed by FireWatch America. Cameras sit on towers and analyze the skyline for wildfire smoke. The sensors are able to triangulate where the fire is, and alert the staff monitoring the system.

“We’re looking into the possibility of trying one out here, and seeing if it can help us detect fires quicker and help us also locate fires,” said Austin Fire Department Assistant Director Jim Linardos.

The Austin Fire Department started looking into a wildfire early detection system after 2011, when the number of outside and other fires in Travis County increased 48 percent from 2010, according to the Texas Fire Incident Reporting System. The city of Austin accounted for 24 percent of these fires in Travis County in 2011, according to the Austin Fire Department.

“Our projected costs right now are somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 a sensor,” said Austin Fire Department Chief of Staff Harry Evans at the Public Safety Commission meeting.

The sensors also require staff to watch the monitors. According to a memo from Austin Deputy City Manager Michael McDonald, a staff of two to four members could monitor the sensors only on high-risk days. This would cost between $116,000 to $232,000 a year, he said.

Evans said they believe they can use existing cell towers, which would reduce the costs.

West Lake Hills, west of Austin, installed a FireWatch America early fire detection system in 2013, and the Austin Fire Department recommends purchasing two more sensors for Travis County to use in conjunction with the existing one in West Lake Hills.

“What we’re looking at is utilizing the one the city of West Lake has, in addition to Travis County buying one and the city buying one for a total of three and they would have overlapping coverages,” said Evans.

Austin Fire Department wants to purchase these sensors in conjunction with Travis County, and see after a year how the sensors aid the early detection of wildland fires.

“We would look at that for a period of about a year to determine the efficacy in detection and how much it advances our ability to detect fires early in the wildland urban interface,” said Evans.

One concern brought up was that the technology for FireWatch America early detection system was created more for larger forest areas instead of the wildland urban area like Travis County and Austin.

“It may not be the primary detection of wildfires. It may be secondary and tertiary. It may be size of the fire, where it’s located and get us there quicker,” said Linardos.

If the City Council passes the recommendation to try for a year, Linardos said he is looking forward to testing it out and see if it helps locate fires easier and quicker.

League of Legends Brings Friends Together

It’s Saturday night. The music is picked, the TV is connected, and the athletes are ready; but these three are not your typical athletes. These are League of Legends players.

League of Legends is an online multiplayer video game where players battle each other in teams of either three or five. However, it has become much more than a game; it’s a competitive sport that brings together many people.

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Thanatos Reaper, Boo the Goo, and GMechs Epsilon, better known as University of Texas students Grayson Northcutt, Eric Martinez and Eric Le, choose their champions to play a round of League of Legends.

The goal of the game is to destroy the enemy’s base on the opposite side of the map, while facing enemies and turrets that are attempting to kill you.

Northcutt said, everybody tries to pick different roles in order for the team to be spread out among the map. There are different positions that people take in order to best combat the enemy. Northcutt said he prefers the role of support, which watches the map and takes care of the other players.

“I like it because I feel most comfortable making sure everyone else is doing what they’re supposed to,” said Northcutt.

Northcutt, Martinez and Le met last semester at UT and have been playing League of Legends together since. The community aspect of the game is a reason many people enjoy League of Legends.

One of these people is Katherine Fan, a fourth year public relations major at UT who has been playing League for about two and a half years.

“I like the social aspect of it, so I always play with a group of friends,” said Fan. “If I don’t see any of my friends online, I most likely won’t be playing.”

Fan also runs Austin Pub Stop, an event that goes to local bars and plays League of Legend matches on the television screens instead showing sports coverage. She said they’ve had several hundred people come out to their event.

“It really breaks the gamer stereotype that you have about people staying in and being really reserved,” said Fan. “I feel like it’s a really social community.”

Mufeng Zhu, a UT marketing and pre-med graduate who has been playing since League of Legends was originally released, also enjoys the social aspect of League.

“I actually don’t like playing by myself that much,” said Zhu. “I think part of the reason that League is popular is because of its community.”

Zhu, who created a League of Legends league for UT, said he also enjoys the competitive aspect of the game as well because it’s like another type of sport.

In fact, League of Legends is considered an e-sport. Players compete internationally at the hopes of winning the world championship through one of the six regional series.

Currently, League of Legends is in its fourth season, which started in January. People are able to watch the professionals play through live streams of the tournaments on services like YouTube and Twitch.

Northcutt said, he enjoys watching the online streams because he sees things that he can incorporate into his own game.

“It’s a good way watching the professionals play to get an idea of things you should either try or just pay attention to in your game,” said Northcutt.

League of Legends is a demanding e-sport with a steep learning curve. The length of a match can be as a short as 20 minutes to as long as an hour and a half, said Northcutt.

Northcutt, Martinez and Le yell and curse at the computer screens as the match continues. A loss seems inevitable, but somehow the team is able to claim victory in the last moments as they destroy the enemy’s base.

“It’s play to win,” says Northcutt, “but if you’re having fun when you’re doing it, a lot of the times when we’re just screwing around not really caring, we usually win.”

University of Texas To Switch Registration Methods

The University of Texas at Austin is changing its registration system beginning in April for summer and fall courses.

“The new process will determine your registration access time by your progress toward degree completion,” said David Laude, senior vice provost for enrollment and graduation management. “The closer you are to completing your degree, the earlier will be your access period.”

Laude said the reason behind the change is to allow for those closest to graduation to receive higher registration priority rather than those students who have a higher classification because of college credit earned prior to attending college.

The previous system based registration access times on a student’s last name and classification as freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate.

“What has happened over time is that the whole process of describing somebody as a senior or a junior or a sophomore has gotten all screwed up because of the ways students earn semester credit hours now,” said Laude.

According to Laude, currently half of UT students register as if they are seniors, but only a fourth of UT students have standing to suggest they will graduate within a year.

Jared Wynne, a journalism major graduating fall 2014, likes the new registration because it will give him better priority.

“I’m planning to graduate fall ’14, which means I have very specific class needs,” said Wynne. “The new registration process should better allow me to see about that."

Under this new system, Wynne should be one of the first to register because he is so close to completing his degree.

Wynne said registration has been hard in the past because his last name begins with a W, and that would cause him to have a later registration time within his class year.

However, this is a misconception among many students. In the previous system, each classification would have two days of registration, and the times slotted rotated each semester by last name.

For fall 2013 registration, seniors whose last name began with T registered the first day at 8 a.m., but in spring 2013 registration, they were the last group of seniors to register.

Unlike Wynne, not everyone will benefit with the changes to registration access times.

Zack Gonzalez, a second year biology major at UT, hopes to switch into sports management. He does not like the changes because it will make registering for classes more difficult since he is changing majors.

“On top of being behind now, I’m going to have to fight registration even more,” said Gonzalez. “And I’m definitely not looking forward to that.”

He said his degree completion percentage is low because the classes related to biology are now going to be counted toward electives instead of his new degree.

Mandy Mullarkey, a third year radio-television-film major who transferred from Baylor University, also does not like the new changes.

“I have many credits that counted toward my film degree or just general degree there that have no relevance in my current degree plan,” said Mullarkey. “Even though I have many extra hours of a college education, the new rules act against me.”

Mullarkey is also working on her business foundations certificate, which does not count toward any degree plan. These and her extra hours from Baylor University do not help her degree plan, and will place her further back for registration time.

Although he has heard concerns, Laude said most of the input he received has been enthusiastic and he is looking forward to the registration change bringing excitement to the student’s final year of college.

“One of the things I think we’ve lost at the University of Texas is a sense of what that graduation year is like,” said Laude.

He said students don’t register to graduate until several weeks before the end of their final semester, and changing the registration would allow students to know when they should graduate sooner.

“Imagine students are registering to graduate a full year in advance, and in so doing, triggering people knowing that they are about to be a graduating senior.”

Laude said he is confident the new system, to begin April 14, will work because the registrar’s office has been able to run simulations on how registration will unfold.

“We have a very good idea heading into this of how exactly it’s going to turn out,” said Laude. “And we’re confident that it’s going to work the way we want to.”

Texas Attorney General Rallies at Rally for Life

The Texas governor’s race heated up on the steps of the Texas State Capitol Saturday as Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke to anti-abortion supporters at a rally.

Texas Rally for Life is an annual event, near the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision, where hundreds of anti-abortion supporters march around Austin up to the State Capitol to listen to speakers.

Abbott, who was the keynote speaker at the rally this year, had a chance to further his gubernatorial campaign while he criticized Wendy Davis, his Democratic opponent, during his speech.

“The cause that helped catapult a little known state senator into a race to be the next governor of Texas was not the fight to create more jobs. It was not the fight for better schools for our kids,” said Abbott. “Instead, it was a fight to be able to abort a baby more than five months after pregnancy.”

During his entire speech, Abbott never mentioned her name once. Instead, he referenced her as “little known state senator” or simply as “the person.” He continued to criticize her by mentioning her partnership with Planned Parenthood.

“The person who led the fight for late-term abortion is now running to govern this great state. She’s partnering with Planned Parenthood to return Texas to late term abortion on demand.”

The crowd was energized throughout his entire speech, booing and hissing at anytime Davis or Planned Parenthood was mentioned. Planned Parenthood helps those seeking an abortion or other sexual and reproductive help.

“You all know the fight did not end on that filibuster night,” Abbott said. “The fight wasn’t over until your voices were heard and the voices of unborn children were heard.”

Davis is well known because when she filibustered Senate Bill 5 in front of the Texas Senate in late June for protection of abortion rights. Since then, she has become a well known political figure and governor candidate while her supporters “Stand with Wendy.”

There were other speakers present at the march including Texas Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, who was the author of House Bill 2. The bill, which used to be Senate Bill 5, put several restrictions on abortion including making abortion illegal after 20 weeks after fertilization.

Laubenberg read a letter from Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was unable to attend. His letter focused on the passage of House Bill 2 and other anti-abortion legislation victories.

“From the parental consent act and the women’s right to know act to the sonogram law, which enables expectant mothers to see the humanity of their preborn children,” Dewhurst’s letter said. “I believe each of these achievements led up to the passage of HB 2 and its 20 week limit on abortion in the face of fiercely vocal resistance.”

Other speakers at the event included Ashton Jimenez, a Texas counselor who testified in favor of Senate Bill 97 after she received an abortion her freshman year of college, and Sylvia Johnson, CEO of Downton Pregnancy Center and Fifth Ward Pregnancy Center in Houston, Texas. Senate Bill 97, which became a part of House Bill 2, required the medical abortion drug, RU-486, to be dispensed according to FDA regulations.

Texas Rally for Life focused on bringing together anti-abortion supporters three days after the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. It also let the speakers and the crowd celebrate House Bill 2 passing and Abbott continue his gubernatorial campaign.

“I am a reminder that it does not take legs to take a stand. It takes backbone,” said Abbott.

Theater Fraternity Looks Ahead

Within the walls of the Department of Theatre and Dance, a spring semester dawns for a reactivated theater chapter for the first time in almost 80 years.

The Mu chapter of Alpha Psi Omega at the University of Texas at Austin begins its second active semester since 1937. “Alpha Psi Omega is a national academic co-ed theater society,” said Katy Wicker, the current president of the Mu chapter and second year theater major.

She and two of her fellow theater majors, Martin Rodriguez and Oscar Franco, are the three founders of this reinstated chapter at the University of Texas.

Wicker says they wanted another outlet for theater students so they can have as many opportunities as possible. The three came across Alpha Psi Omega through research and thought the co-ed theater fraternity was perfect.

Learning from their first semester, a few things have changed for this current spring semester.

One of which is that six more officers have been elected instead of the original three founders as the chapter’s only officers.

“It’s simply been a big weight off my shoulders,” said Wicker. “Because instead of now three people trying to do everything we have elected other officers … so we can disperse tasks and who does what.”

Another event they are learning from for this semester is Rush Showcase, a night where those pledging for Alpha Psi Omega put on various kinds of theatre.

Last semester, the pledges were split into six groups and had two weeks to come up with a performance piece.

This semester, Wicker said, “We’re gonna try and group people into groups so that’s evenly dispersed as who likes to do what. Not like a group of all actors, group of all techies or something.”

She is not alone in thinking Rush Showcase can be improved upon.

Looking back at last semester, Carson Campbell, the public relations officer of the Mu chapter and a second year theater major, said, “Since it was new and we didn’t necessarily know everyone and it was a very rushed process in the sense that we didn’t have a lot of time. But that was just how it had to be done.”

Campbell believes that it went very well for the first time, but it will be even better this spring.

Alpha Psi Omega is also hoping to have in the future is bigs and littles when the numbers allow for it.

Lauren-Nicole Martin, a theatre studies major, is excited by the idea of bigs and littles in the future.

“What Alpha Psi already does that I think is amazing is that it’s already a way for me to see people that I don’t get to see on a daily basis or that I don’t even know within the department. So I think that it’d be a great way to build on that.”

Martin also likes the idea so she can have someone to talk about the issues of theater to and about the unique stress that theater involves.

Service is one large aspect of Alpha Psi Omega. Although they did not do a whole lot last semester because they were new, the fraternity has helped around the campus especially with the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Martin helped out with the university’s parents’ weekend as well as the auditions for incoming freshmen with the Theatre and Dance Department.

“It was cool because I was getting to meet kids who will be the grade below us next year so I might get to meet the next generation.”

This semester the fraternity hopes to serve the theater community by hosting a spring carnival in the newly renovated area in front of the F. Loren Winship Drama building.

The big performance that Alpha Psi Omega is putting on this semester is the musical Spring Awakening.

It is a production that the cast and other members of Alpha Psi Omega are excited about. There were almost five hundred people who auditioned for it according to Ian Eisenberg, a first year theatre major.

He plays the role of man in the production, and says that one struggle has been addressing the subjects in Spring Awakening sensitively.

Eisenberg said, “The material is very sensitive because of its content, but we’re figuring out ways to be able to put on this show in a very mature manner.”

The organization has a few changes ahead as well as a schedule of what they want done, but Wicker seems positive about the future.

“We started this organization hoping to bring a positive impact to the department. We care about this department and the people in it so we wanted this to be something beneficial to them, and we’re doing our best to follow through with our word on that.”