Indoor Gameplay footage!

Did this game awhile ago, but finally had time to throw a little vid of it together.  You can see my initial post on this event here.

I was hoping for some better footage, but this is all I've got: some photos, a few quick battles on film, kickass music, and a bit of a fail to close it all out.  ENJOY!

What's NEW for Tactical Tag?

September has admittedly been a slow month for Tactical Tag, which reflects how busy I've been with other things.  At the same time, I know there's a slight concern out there from folks who have seen NM&R's activity take a massive dip with Jerm's departure from the hobby as he ::gasp:: refocuses his time on more important things in life.  While I'm not certain of NM&R's foreseeable future, as the other administrators there are discussing our options, Tactical Tag will always be here.  That much I am certain of!

There are a few things in the works to make Tactical Tag better for both my readers here and on YouTube.  First, I will be opening a store that I'll list products that I've worked on.  I still won't be accepting any commission work, but instead continuing to be active in the hobby and find good homes for my older projects. 

Second, I WILL be bringing back the Weekly Giveaway in some form.  I still haven't decided how I'm going to run it, but I can tell you it will no longer be a random selection.  It will also likely not be a weekly event anymore, but rather a monthly contest with a prize.  I know a lot of readers had been wanting the giveaway to return in some respect, so I'm hoping to give back to the community that has been so good to me!  No official ETA on that just yet.

And lastly, I'll be improving a few media things both here and on the YouTube channel thanks to a new camera I have on order and access to better video editing software.  It's something I've wanted to improve to better serve the hobby as far as promoting Laser Tag and Nerf as well as continuing to document and follow projects and make some nice tutorials.  I'm really looking forward to bettering the experience here for you, so stay tuned for all that!

Should I stay or should I go? Tactical Tips

It seems like when I'm playing a laser tag game outdoors with friends or when I'm slinging foam darts around indoors, folks tend to make some odd decisions as far as their movement (or lack thereof) is concerned that is tactically disadvantageous.  Since this blog is called "Tactical Tag", I figured it'd be a good time to address this common issue that novice players tend to make.  This marks the start of a series of "Tactical Tips" I'll be making every other week for this blog.

Should I stay or should I go?

Plan-a-saurus Rex

While I may not have been super busy with games, projects, or otherwise, don't think I've forgotten about it!  Life right now is a little busy, what with a new job, music gigs coming out my ears, moving into a new place, and just general life craziness, I haven't had time to actually pick up a blaster and mod it or have a game with friends recently.  Whilst running through this hobby drought, I do have a few things coming up quickly.

The first of those is a laser tag game coming up on October 14th.  There's also our Halloween Laser Tag game coming up on October 28th, so it'll be nice to tag it up outdoors again.

Next in line is related to that Halloween Laser Tag game.  Progress is slowly coming along on my Colonial Marine costume.  I have a few ideas on how to build/replicate the distinctive armor they used in the film and the Pulse Rifle isn't too far off from completion.

Lastly, a few friends have unofficially started organizing indoor and outdoor Nerf games too.  We'll be having more games and more modifications coming up as a result of that.

So while there's nothing really to report as far as games or gear for my hobbies, that's what's been on my "to do" list.  My other life commitments definitely take precedence over them, but I certainly haven't forgotten any of it!

USCM: Colonial Marine Build

Well, thanks to the great responses I've read from the previous post, it seems the overwhelming majority of folks are fans of my favorite Sci-Fi film ever: Aliens (1986).  Honestly, I can't blame them!  The Colonial Marines depicted in this film really paved the way for lots of our "future soldiers" we know and love in more modern science fiction themes both on-screen and in video games.  The Pulse Rifle is also one of the most iconic sci fi blasters of all time and JUST so happens to be the pride of my collection.  Even though it's currently unfinished, it's REALLY CLOSE to being completed.  I think between finishing the Pulse Rifle and getting some armor together for the Marine outfit that I can pull off this costume pretty easily.

I'm thinking about doing a hybrid modernized costume for this. In the original film, the Marines had a very "Vietnam" camo style both painted on their armor and worn on their fatigues.  I have seen more recent versions that utilize modern digital camouflage currently used by our United States Marine Corps, and I have full sets of Desert and Woodland camo for this.  I might try and go this route to help expedite the costume building process.

Either way... this means the Pulse Rifle's development gets put back on my priority list!  It's SO CLOSE to being complete so I'm hoping my Arduino buddy who has this thing all programmed can lend a hand to finish this up.  As I wait to resume work on that, it's now my task to find armor materials.  Should be a fun month!

Halloweeneth Approacheth

Last year I covered a bit of the progress I made on my costume for our Halloween Laser Tag game: Captain America.  I still haven't settled on whether I want to reuse this for the game this year or if I should try something else.  Figured it'd run the idea past my favorite people ever: this blog's readers.

I wouldn't be opposed to using the costume again, maybe tweaking a few things that I just didn't have time to really devote attention to last year.  But I've got a few other options I've been considering and wanted to gauge your opinion on them.

• Use parts of my Cap costume to make the "Avengers" version of Captain America
• Use items from my tactical gear to recreate a character from GI Joe
• Finish the Pulse Rifle and go as a Colonial Marine

Any preferences?  I'm open to suggestions too, but I've only got a month and a half to put something together, so I'd rather do one of the options I've listed since it'll be quicker to put together.

Apple Attacks

While I highly doubt they meant to, the iPhone 5 looks to put a dent in Hasbro's newest gadget: Lazer Tag Augmented Reality.  The new phone is physically bigger than the previous iPhone 3 and 4, both of which are compatible with the new iOS cradle in the newest iteration of Lazer Tag.  Hasbro has been heavily advertising Lazer Tag with it's iPod and iPhone heads up display gimmick and it looks to either make them design a new cradle (which isn't totally out of the question) or redesign this brand-new system to adapt to this new size.

Those involved with the LTAR's Development have already been hard at work meeting the demands of consumers who wish for Android functionality... but now there's another elephant in the room thanks to the larger size of the iPhone 5.  Got the tip from Skurj over at The Hive Mind, so give that article a read too.