Despite the occasional shitty day (read my previous post below this), I've gotta admit - living in a video game would be awesome. There's money hidden in trees, the women are usually way more hot and way more easy, and it's your job to kick ass. No school or 9-5 job, just you and one world waiting to be saved. Ever since the "Make Love, Not WarCraft" episode of South Park got so much attention in the media, I've been waiting for a major television company to start a show based on the lives of gamers. It would be made by business tycoons who haven't played a single video game in their life, and it would most likely become a scar on the game industry that we'd all agree to never mention in the future. A shoe based on gaming culture is definitely something better left to actual gamers to accomplish, and that's exactly what the ambitious gamers behind the PutGamersOnTV project intend to do. Here's their goal:

"Gamers is a single-camera, filmed comedy TV series that throws out the typical studio production conventions and is presented in a style that Gamers can relate to and appreciate. Written and independently produced by actual Gamers, this speculative television series promises to be everything that ancient movies and TV shows like The Wizard and Captain N weren't: smart, in touch, and most importantly-- entertaining to all types of Gamers."

Awesome. Now get back to me when you've actually got a budget and more than a YouTube dream of growing to famous proportions. Oh wait, you've already been given $3,500 by a film production company in Washington just to shoot the pilot episode? Damn. Ok, tell me more - what's the show going to be about?

"Whether they’re battling role-playing vampires, bartering for vintage videogames with hippies or going to AA for an energy drink addiction, the lives of Kaylan and her friends Anthony, Parker and CJ are anything but the typical high school experience. Largely responsible for many of the group’s misadventures is Kaylan’s creepy older brother Edwin, who is so addicted to videogames that he can’t distinguish games from reality. Spending most of their time hanging out at a niche soda shop, Kaylan and her friends have fully immersed themselves in the quirky and sometimes disturbing world of gaming."

I expected a video barely more advanced and entertaining than a cosplayer getting dressed, but to be honest, it doesn't look that bad. There's enough geeky moments to appeal to silly gamers, but still enough thought and preparation included to make it watchable by even the casual gamers. They approach it the way that I was hoping for - I always wanted to start a Web comic where real life and the world of video games blend together, and that's how the trailer for their pilot episode appears. Whether it's just video editing in a shooter interface during a fight scene, or including a score meter while one of the characters is skateboarding, this looks like a show that would always be refreshing to watch. They've got thousands of games to pull ideas from, so I don't think they'll fuck it up until at least two, but getting season one to start is their biggest obstacle. If you like the video above then make sure you spread the word and help them out.

They've even got an alternate version of the trailer to appeal more to girl gamers, where the girlfriend of the main character complains about how annoying her gaming guy friends can be. If this project fails then we probably won't see another group fighting for gamers for a few more years, and chances are, it'll be people more interested in making money than playing games. You can read all about them here on their Web site, I'll make sure to keep everyone updated on how their project progresses.

2 weeks ago I put together what I thought was the best 25 gaming tattoos on the net from what I could find. I tried to judge based on how large and colorful some were, how painful they might be, and even the WTF factor they might induce from viewers in public. I asked you guys and girls to send in your own tattoos and I got a few emails every day so I held off on posting this until the submissions died down.

I still think my original list is a solid representation of the best gamer tattoos, but a few that you all submitted definitely deserve to be on it - one of the recent submissions (Maduin's leg) is even damn near the best I've ever seen. So keep sending in your tattoos and sometime in 2007 I'll update it and make a best of the best gallery.

And I love game art too - so if you make any awesome paintings or videos involving video games make sure to show me. Also, are any of you in gaming music bands? That shit kicks ass too, so lemme know! Here are the 25 new pics in no particular order, with their owner's name included when you click on them:

Update: I swear I know how to count to 25, but there's now more since people keep sending in their tattoos. Mail me yours over the weekend and I'll add them too.

You've all seen them before, but you've never seen this many in one place. From Mario to Halo to Zelda to Final Fantasy to Bubble Bobble to the infamous Pac Man butt crack tattoo to NES guns, there's enough body ink in this gallery to make even Michael Jackson look pretty. A FF7 tattoo ironically scored 7th on the 25 list, which was judged based on how large and colorful the tattoos were, how obscure the related games were, and the 'WTF is that' factor of certain body tattoo placement. And pain. The winner of them all had to hurt like a Chain Chomp, but it was worth it!

If you have any gaming tattoos of your own, feel free to send them in to get seen. Or if you found a tattoo you think is badass enough to jump onto this Top 25 list then that works too, I challenge you to wow my retinas with retro love!

Update 1: Now's your last chance to send in your gamer tattoos. I got a bunch of submissions and will be posting them all late tomorrow (Tuesday) night. So far I've received some really cool ones that even deserve to dethrone a few of the top 25 winners. Check back tomorrow to see some more amazing gamer skin art.

From #25 to #1, here they are: