The Blue Skittle

The long awaited online gaming magazine The Blue Skittle is finally up and running. Our dear friends Ooopy and Pink Sage, have worked long and hard to bring their vision to life.

Lets show them how much Podtacular supports those who support us. The site can be found at http://www.theblueskittle.com.

Here is a statement from The Blue Skittle:

MISSION STATEMENT

The blue skittle—the one on the Xbox 360 controller. The one you hit without giving it a second thought, until now. That’s the epitome of what we’re doing. Still don’t understand? Time for enlightenment.

Players hit the blue skittle when playing G.R.A.W. to ready up, and that’s what we’re telling you to do. Ready up, because we’re coming for you. The Blue Skittle is a new type of games publication—one created by writers, artists, and designers from numerous gaming communities and websites. It’s a publication that’s going to change perceptions about video games journalism because it isn’t going to be limited to the same kinds of information found in traditional magazines (previews and reviews), internet communities (site life), or on websites (news and rumors). Prepare yourself for something more.

In Halo 2, tapping the blue skittle drops a default weapon in favor of a new one; that’s what we’re asking you to do. Why not grab something with a little more range and a little more power? Why not read something from people who start with different expectations about games journalism? There’s a whole video game culture that exists beyond the edges of television or computer screens, beyond the pages of popular magazines, and it’s waiting to be discovered and explored. But to get to it, the default sources of information need to be altered. Don’t look on the newsstands, in the forums, or at the videos online. This is where you’ll find what you need.

Hitting the blue skittle in Dead Rising executes an attack, and that’s what we’re doing: attacking expectations, assaulting preconceptions, and destroying assumptions. Everything “they” take for granted, we question. All the rules “they” follow, we ignore. Why? Because their traditions have, for far too long, marginalized ideas, styles of writing, and approaches to gamer culture that should no longer be excluded. We have the voices you want to hear.

Pressing the blue skittle while typing a message with the Live keyboard would cause the cursor to backspace, which is what we’re going to do. We want to erase what you think you know about gaming by working with a new perspective. Instead of repeating and regurgitating, we’re beginning with a clean slate. Forget what has been done and think about what can be done. Step back and try something new.

In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, hitting the blue skittle performs an action. That’s what we want to enable and encourage you to do: act, get involved, and do something, anything, that will enhance or change the culture of gaming. You can support or start a charity, learn about other gamers, organize an event, write a story, or create a work of art. Just wake up and shake off the stupor of apathy you’ve grown accustomed to. This is all on you.

So now you know what we are and what we want. Good to go? Then hit The Blue Skittle and ready up.