From Grandma Shirley talking about her love of killing people and her hidden dagger to Miss Jessa talking about the beauty of the community they built, here is why you should be paying attention to the Grand Dames.
Everyone knows Shirley, AKA Skyrim Grandma, by now. Her community loves her so much, for good reason, because of the calming gaming experiences she has to offer the public through her adventures in Tamriel. In fact, she is even a fully voiced follower in Skyrim now thanks to this mod, and she's even going to be an actual character in The Elder Scrolls 6. But what you may not know is that she's a part of a group of phenomenal women called the Grand Dames, and we sat down with these amazing gamers to learn more about their journey and hear more about their thoughts on the gaming community.
You can learn more about these amazing women right here, but here's an intro into each Dame before diving into our video interview!
According to the official Dames website: Dame Haughty has been gaming for over 40 years, starting with Pong and moving on to many types of games from survival, MMORPGs, RPGs, and simulations. She plays and streams World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14, but also loves Fallout 4 and 76, Minecraft, and Rust. She has built a very chill, inclusive & safe community, called the Coop, which joins her for livestreams on Twitch. Haughty proves that you can play your game however you choose and loves to show the many different ways one can enjoy games.
After returning to college in her 50s to get her Bachelors in Social Work and a Masters in gender and sexuality, she is now studying for her Ph.D. in domestic violence and social work practice and loving every minute of her academic studies.
You can find Dame Haughty, her beloved husband Mal, and her community at Twitch.com/HaughtyChicken or on Twitter: @HaughtyChicken.
Dame Jessa loves the roleplaying and storytelling aspects of gaming. Rather than the highest score, Jessa seeks the deepest side of any character she is playing. From her epic elf Mala the Dragonborn and Kinlen the swordswoman and spy in Skyrim to her quaint and tiny little Sims 2 villages of Acanthop and Kettle Falls, Jessa is always looking for more connection with her fans through voice-acting her endearing stories and her love of Indie games. She brings her technical and communication skills to the tea table by being the host of The Grand Dames monthly livestream and administering their channel. When she is not attending to the needs of The Grand Dames channel, Jessa tells her stories on YouTube at The Jessa Channel, and posts cat pictures that make her giggle @TheJessaChannel on Twitter. You can learn more about Jessa at TheJessaChannel.com.
Dame Merrie is a team player—literally. She loves co-op gaming and the joy of playing with others for a shared goal, and shooting skags and outlaws in Borderlands with her gaming group, the Borderlands Babes. Merrie loves all things gaming merch: hats, plushies, pins and tons of gaming gewgaws, and while at one of the many games conventions she attends, she will happily put on her chicken hat while sharing how she conquered nations in Civilization 5! Dame Merrie has a keen eye, a warm heart and a quick trigger finger. You can catch Merrie live from time to time on Twitch.tv/LadyMpire or touch base with her on Twitter @LadyMpire.
Dame Shirley Curry has nearly a million grandkids that she greets with a gentle smile and the words, "Good morning, grandkids'' every episode. Shirley loves The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim because it gives her the chance to do what she loves most: tell stories and wander the windy, snowy, rugged lands of Skyrim taking photos of every beautiful vista she sees. She loves to share her screenshots on Twitter with her many caring fans. What Shirley loves most about being a Dame is the opportunity to actually visit with fans in the afterparties when the monthly livestream is finished. Shirley wants to hear the stories of those who love what she loves, the gentle joy of gaming. Shirley can be found in many newspaper and magazine articles that celebrate the fact that she is still gaming and thriving at 85 years of age. Shirley can be found hanging with her followers on Twitter @ShirleyScurry.
So join Alex Stadnik and Liana Ruppert as we sit down with the Grand Dames themselves to talk silliness, the love of games, and get real about some of the uglier aspects of the industry such agesim. It's a great chat, we hope you enjoy what they have to say and fall in love with this group like we have!
If you’re looking for an experience you don’t often see in games, how about an adventure you don’t “see” at all? The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is an audio-only action RPG arriving this August that we first laid ears on at PAX West 2019. By controlling a blind warrior, you’ll embark on a medieval quest guided only by sound for an adventure unlike any other.
You play as a royal noble, born blind, who is second-in-line to the crown. Unfortunately, your older brother just ascended to the throne and banished you from the kingdom because he’s kind of a jerk. You’re all alone in a world you can’t see so you must use your remaining senses to battle enemies and find resources to stay alive.
So how do you play something you can’t see? To the surprise of no one, headphones are a must. The Vale combines binural audio tech with diverse soundscapes to provide realistic, 3D surround sound to guide you through environments. The game also features full voice-acting to further assist players and keep them on track. Besides offering a unique form of exploration, The Vale offers a fantastic option for visually impaired players.
The game features a complete combat system as you’ll battle a variety of enemies and even bosses. Again, you’ll rely on sound to determine exactly when to attack or defend. The Vale is still an RPG, so you’ll improve your character by equipping sets of armor and learn upgradable magic spells. You’ll also purchase new items from vendors or gather ingredients by hunting animals.
The Vale packs in 20 locations, just as many side quests, and dozens of audio cutscenes into a 5+ hour adventure. If you’re down to try something totally different, it launches August 19 for Xbox One and PC via Steam and itch.io. There's also a free Steam demo you can try to see if The Vale is for you. The game will launch on the Epic Games Store a short time later.
What do you think of The Vale: Shadow of the Crown? Are you willing to play an audio-only action RPG? Let us know in the comments!
Just like every month, there are four free new games for players to claim as part of the Xbox Games With Gold program. For those that have Xbox Live or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, here are the freebies you can scoop up in order to start a new gaming adventure.
Whether you want to slay foes as an archetype of destruction or just have some fun in a playful and colorful environment, the choice is yours with the August 2021 lineup!
Personally, I can't recommend Darksiders III enough, it's an enjoyable adventure that took the franchise in a different direction with Fury front and center. Or, if you felt like having a horrific single-player experience, Lost Planet 3 is a solid choice as well. It's a prequel but allows players to revisit the adventures of Jim Peyton while also uncovering all sorts of mysteries related to E.D.N III.
Xbox Game Pass is a deal that has been a huge talking point in the gaming community, and Ultimate members can enjoy the games above at no additional cost. For those that simply have Xbox Gold, the standard membership before Game Pass was even a concept, the above titles are free to own as long as your membership remains active.
With the new lineup on the way, it's not too late to scoop up July's freebies! You can learn more about those here.
Thoughts on this month's lineup? What do you hope to see Xbox include in the future? Sound off with your hot takes in the comment section below!
Back 4 Blood is essentially the Left 4 Dead 3 experience we've been hoping for. The same team that created Left 4 Dead is back with a new co-op experience (and no, the creator doesn't mind the constant Left 4 Dead tie-ins either, he told us himself!). We know that there are no microtransactions regarding the cards, we know about the PvP element, but now Turtle Rock wants players to dive once more to learn more about the co-op experience. Because of that, an open beta is just around the corner in addition to a brand new trailer.
The open beta early access period kicks off on August 5 and will run until August 9 for those that pre-ordered the game or registered through this link. The regular open beta will continue on August 12-16 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players. Take a look at the latest trailer below:
Click here to watch embedded mediaThe Back 4 Blood beta includes:
To catch up on what else we've learned about the zombie co-op experience, you can check out our Back 4 Blood game hub here. We also recently had an interview go up with the creator himself to talk about pay-to-win concerns, seasonal events, the beta, and more.
The Tokyo Olympics kicked off just last week and the opening ceremony featured amazing tracks from some of our favorite gaming franchises. With music from Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Soul Caliber, and more, the absence of Nintendo was glaring. Apparently, the company was initially slated to be a part of the Tokyo Olympics commencement ceremony, including a scrapped concept of Lady Gaga coming out of a Super Mario warp pipe.
In a new report from the Japanese site Bunshun (via Resetera), there is documentation of the opening ceremony's "collapse," detailing what was initially thought to be the show starter. According to the site, the original plan was to have a red motorcycle rush in to the theme of the main character from Katsuhiro Otomo's manga Akira. A song written by Yasutaka Nakata was meant to play, and the overall vibe was meant to be "sunny" and "cheery." But what actually ended up making the final production was a very different picture, which makes the leaked showcase plans all the more interesting.
The report states, "On July 19, four days before the performance, Keigo Oyamada, who was in charge of composition, was forced to resign because he had made statements in the past that boasted of 'bullying for people with disabilities.' Kentaro Kobayashi, who was in charge of the production as a show director, was also dismissed after discovering that he had been ridiculing the Holocaust in the past." With those changes, many visions regarding the event were altered.
The documentation details several major ways that the opening ceremony changed just before the final curtain call. Nintendo's participation, as of June 16, was meant to include the main theme of The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Suite, Kirby Super Star Medley, and the opening of Pokemon. The article details that all of those plans were scrapped "just before the show," though Nintendo did not comment when inquiries were made outside of "We are not in a position to answer."
The proceedings were also meant to feature Lady Gaga and Naomi Watanabe coming out of a warp pipe donning Mario-related gear:
While the Olympics are in person this year following a year of lockdown due to COVID-19, it is reported that nearly 80% of Japanese people that were asked if they were for or against the Olympics taking place this year (in person) said that they were against it. Given the current situation of Japan in relation to COVID-19, that hesitency is understandable.
For those interested in which songs did make the Tokyo Olympics cut, check out our previous coverage here.