I’m not scared of the woodshop- I just don’t trust myself.  I’ve belt-sanded my knuckles twice and accidentally melted a plastic bucket while spot welding.  So of course, I’m impressed by people who just dive right into woodworking and come out with awesome projects and healthy knuckles.

My guildie friend Zander has been working on replicating some of the coolest videogame weapons.  And this is a photo of his recent project:

Holy crap!  It’s a life-like model of the sentry from Team Fortress II!  Look at that candy apple red!  Now this is what it looks like in the game:

If I had attempted to make that, I’m sure I would’ve lost a limb by now.

So I had a shitload of Guitar Hero 2 boxes laying around, a few hours to kill, and a freakishly deep attachment to inanimate objects with hearts on them. The result? A weighted companion cube that I had to carry around a crowded Halloween party all night – that also served as a pillow after my stomach decided to disagree with some chocolate Rice Krispy treats I ate. Boo lactose.

(I actually dressed up as a “girl scout”…and with PJ dressed as a lazy Gordon Freeman, we were “The Orange Box”)

I actually made the cube for Mr. Cheats Superguide Extraordinaire Mike Nelson since he’s planning to dress up as an Aperture Science Office worker this Wednesday. I got carried away this weekend, and what was going to be a simple cut-and-paste-box project evolved into this architectural monstrosity. Look Mom, my B.A. in Architecture isn’t useless afterall!

Here’s how I made my Weighted Companion Cube:

The basic structure and foundation is a generic 6-sided cube, measuring 12 inches in height, width, and depth. I suggest using foam core. It’s sturdy and it’s lightweight and I knew I had to lug it around like a baby a la Angelina Jolie.

The corners are made from a template from 4Chan by Moony for /po/, via BoingBoing. Now, the template was designed on a very small paper craft scale. It was great that I had the overall template but I had to make a few changes to suit the larger scale that I’m constructing around. I used normal paper chip board for the corners…and by “normal paper chip board”…I actually mean “left over Guitar Hero controller boxes.” The key is to use something sturdy, less than 1/16″ thick, and easy to cut.

You can download my template here.

Here’s my cube undergoing the first paint of metal spray paint. After the first coat, I slathered modeling paste and gel medium all over (to ensure a better seal so the spray paint won’t just chip off…also, I was “beer-proofing” the cube), and then painted the corners a lighter color. I then used some silly pink ribbon I found from a skirt and used that as the pink crevices on each face of the cube.

Stick some foam core heart circles on each side and ta da! You have yourself a new best friend!

Ah, it’s close to that time again where the consumers are soon going to be vaulting themselves into a buying frenzy. Holidays also signify the closing of a year, and 2007 was a pretty badass year. It started with January’s World of Warcraft’s first expansion launch and the year will soon will meet its sweet end with Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4. Adams, Hourglasses, Spartans, Orcs, and Bee Suits…not a bad year, eh? Well, I’m no gaming expert but with two major console launches last November, this was probably the year to give consumers the time and reason to make the next generation into the current generation. I love GOTY time. It’s just interesting to see what people’s picks are and how much of the decision-making is influenced by media, personal tastes, or money.

So after my little intro, I’m going to cut the bull and ask this:

When it comes to discussions about Game of the Year, is it fair to count Orange Box as one game?

Now, I’m not questioning the quality of the Orange Box games even though they’re top-notch. But in a vernacular setting, gamers would probably refer to each game as its own. No one’s going to ask me, “Hey, did you play that sweet multiplayer in Orange Box?” But they will ask me, “Did you try Team Fortress II yet?”

This isn’t a Rodriguez/Tarantino Grindhouse situation since Death Proof and Planet Terror are well under the same genre, and both films aim to convey the same sense of B-movie nostalgia. Orange Box, on the other hand, is offering so many aspects and types of gaming on one disc. It blows my mind how generous Valve is to package five games (2 new games, 1 new episode, 1 pre-released episode, and 1 all-time classic must-have) in one. Do you think they could have made more money by releasing Portal and TF2 separately? Maybe. Maybe not.