by Bob Suicide

E3 came and went with none of the real excitement that we’re used to. No new consoles, most of the major franchises were absent, nothing to really look forward to. Don’t get me wrong, there were several games that looked promising. But, with many of these announcements, looks can be deceiving…

I know I sound cynical and, to be honest, I really AM cynical. But it’s not my fault. I blame the marketing departments of every game I’ve ever been excited about but ultimately let down by when it fails to meet the advertised expectations. Now, I know that’s a pretty long list of people to shake my fist at, but stick with me, I promise this will make sense.

I’m tired of the bait-and-switch that occurs between the premiere teaser trailer announcement and the actual delivery of the game. I’m tried of getting excited about a game that looks awesome but which turns out to be a mindless button masher with terrible graphics or something that’s been rushed through to retail that has terrible development bugs.

For example, let’s look at Dead Island, which was developed by Techland and published by Deep Silver. It’s not to say it wasn’t a good game, but it retains little of what’s depicted in the teaser video short beyond the fact that there is an island and the people on it happen to be dead — and zombies. What Techland created was a great game open-world, action-rpg that answered gamers’ first-person prayers when Dead Rising couldn’t. But, Deep Silver’s Dead Island announcement trailer was moving, gritty, and harrowing; a vignette into the human drama of a no-win situation.

And, while Deep Silver said the trailer was supposed to capture the game’s “solemn tone and setting,” I definitely didn’t get any sense of the gravity of the situation that was evident in the trailer while playing the game. But, I’m sure everyone was feeling that deep solemnity when they found porno-zombie Nenja Samejon.

With Dead Island I basically got excited over a game that doesn’t exist. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the game they made, but I’m still waiting for a game I’ll never get.

While the Deep Silver trailer was a major marketing success – inspiring people to deconstruct, reconstruct, post and repost it, resulting in a large amount of media buzz –– it ultimately did just as much to alienate a core base of gamers like me who felt cheated. Some even went so far as to call it “false advertising.” And, at this point, I’m not inclined to disagree.

So, when I see an announcement like Beyond: Two Souls, I’m tentatively excited. I loved Quantic Dream’s earlier Heavy Rain. It was a wonderful new and innovative gaming experience. I yelled and raged for a sequel until my voice was hoarse. And, from the looks of the trailer, Beyond: Two Souls appears to be the kind of quality gaming experience that I’ve come to know, obsess about, and expect from the Parisian developers.

But, rather disappointingly, the announcement trailer didn’t show any real action on the part of the main character. It didn’t show any emotionally moving moments that were so important in Heavy Rain and in Deep Silver’s Dead Island trailer, and it didn’t show any important dialogue to properly showcase the actor’s abilities (unless you count the eff word).

Does this mean the more emotionally-charged aspects of the game are not worth displaying because they’re not on-par? ‘Cause it’s evident from the Deep Silver trailer that emotionally agonizing is marketing gold. Why wouldn’t Quantic Dream founder and Beyond: Two Souls creator David Cage use any of that in the E3 preview? He said the game was “about death…separation…[and] mourning.” Set it to melancholy music and you’ve got the Dead Island announcement trailer –– but with the gamplay to back it up!

So, is this another bait-and-switch? I don’t want to get my hopes up – I’ve been burned before.

[..]

by Blogbot

Every week we ask the ladies and gentlemen of the web to show us their finest ink in celebration of #TattooTuesday.

Our favorite submission from Twitter wins a free 3 month membership to SuicideGirls.com.

This week’s #TattooTuesday winner is @sstrongone, with an hourglass which was done in memory of his grandfather. “His initials are in the top of the hourglass,” @sstrongone tells us.

Enter this week’s competition by replying to this tweet with a pic of your fav tattoo and the #tattootuesday hashtag.

Good luck!

A few things to remember:

• You have to be 18 to qualify.
• The tattoo has to be yours…that means permanently etched on your body.
• On Twitter we search for your entries by looking up the hashtag #TattooTuesday, so make sure you include it in your tweet!

Check out the Tattoo Tuesday winners of weeks past!

by Keith Daniels

“It’s like that expression: ‘Smile until the rest of you catches on.'”
– Jennifer Axen, The Stripper’s Guide to Looking Great Naked

Authors and researchers Jennifer Axen and Leigh Phillips uncovered an untapped gold mine of real-world beauty technique from strippers and erotic dancers. The pair traveled the country interviewing women who make their livings in the nude in order to find out their secrets for looking great naked. The result? The Stripper’s Guide to Looking Great Naked, a fun, informative, and easy-to-use manual for real women who want to look as sexy as strippers do when they take off their clothes.

Read our exclusive interview with Jennifer Axen and Leigh Phillips on SuicideGirls.com.

Terry Suicide in Crystallized

• MAKES ME HAPPY: Becoming a Suicide Girl.
• MAKES ME SAD: People who waste their lives.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Books, my friends, parties, chocolate, sleep.
• VICES: Pretty Faces, coffee, alcohol, food.

Get to know Terry better over at SuicideGirls.com!

by Nahp Suicide

Milloux is from Los Angeles and is our newest Staff Photographer. She’s been a Suicide Girl since 2009, and has shot 9 sets as a model and 10 as a photographer.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I became involved with SuicideGirls when I was 18. I applied to become one a week after my 18th birthday. After many years lurking the SG Myspace page with friends, I wasted no time!




What’s your background photography-wise?

I studied film and cinematography in school but didn’t really start shooting photography until a few years ago. Since then I’ve taken many classes and spent a lot more time shooting on my own, and shooting myself if I can’t grab a hold of a anyone else. 



What was the first photo you had published?

The first photos I had published was the first set SuicideGirls bought from me: Callioppe’s “Grey Scale.”

How would you describe your style?

I’d say my style is very personal with a dreamy feel. 



What gear do you use?

I have a Canon 60D equipped with either a 50m 1/4 or 85m 1.8 lens, and a reflector equipped with a cute lady to hold it for me! I use a couple of simple soft boxes in some cases.




How important is Photoshop in your final images?

I’d say Photoshop is pretty important. I come from a background in post production, so I believe heavily in using post-tools to accentuate the beauty of a particular work.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

I am inspired by everything! Everywhere I go and everything I see, inspires me to shoot. I am obsessed with capturing moments because my memory isn’t the best. When I’m in a new place, or meet a new person or creature, I instantly think of photographing it/him/her in a way that expresses the way our encounter made me feel.



What is your favorite image?

I’d say Kurosune’s lovely “Dancing In The Sun” (NSFW) shot from her “Apollo” set.

Tell us why it’s your fave and how you achieved it?

I simply had Kurosune sort of “dance” as she jumped from side to side while stretching her arms and throwing her hair back and forth. As she did that, I laid on the floor and shot up her continuously until the moment was perfect.

Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

I would love to shoot Nemesis. That’s would be an utter dream. I might have actually already had a dream about shooting her.

[..]

by SG’s Team Agony feat. Jeckyl

Let us answer life’s questions – because great advice is even better when it comes from SuicideGirls.

Q: Ok, so I have this problem. I am friends with this girl who I now have a lot of feelings for. I would like to take our relationship to the next level and try dating. I have asked her about it and she says that she doesn’t want to mess up our friendship right now. When we are hanging out with my friends and her friends, they all tell me that she really likes me. I don’t know what to do about it.


A: Well, maybe you don’t need to do anything about it. Remember she said she doesn’t want to mess up your friendship “right now” – this doesn’t mean that a relationship is completely out of the question. Just not a likelihood at this point. She knows that you have feelings for her, and you know that she has feelings for you. You’ve obviously discussed this and she’s given you her opinion. With everything out in the open, all there’s really left to do is wait.


The basis of any great relationship is the ability to put the other person’s feelings above your own, so I think it’d be wise to respect her decision. If both parties or one party aren’t ready for the next step, pushing it only leads to resentment in the long run.

Instead, right now focus on nurturing what you already have. If more comes of it, great but, if not, that’s fine too. Take the time to really consider what it is that you want. A good friendship doesn’t necessarily translate into a good relationship. Dating is a completely different ballgame.

Also consider the effect it’ll have on your friendship if this relationship goes south. Make sure it’s worth the risk.
You’d be very wise to consider all the implications of your choices before you make them because there’s really no going back.


Dating your friend is sometimes a lot harder than dating a stranger. You don’t get a clean slate and you only get one shot. Make sure that, when the time comes, you’re ready and you do it right. Love is hard to find and you don’t want to ruin something that had the potential to be amazing.

Best of luck, whatever your final decision may be. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.

Jeckyl

Got Problems? Let SuicideGirls’ team of Agony Aunts provide solutions. Email questions to: gotproblems@suicidegirls.com

by Daniel Robert Epstein

“Whenever you are engaged in a long piece of writing the fun of it is to create a whole consistent world that somebody could sink into. I think if you do it with enough confidence people could just pop into your world and just splash around.”
– Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of the more interesting fiction novels to come out in recent years. It’’s about Henry DeTamble, an adventurous librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare’s passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap.

Read our exclusive interview with Audrey Niffenegger on SuicideGirls.com.