1. Has anyone tested/previewed Beowulf? I’m wondering how good a game based on an epic can be. - NewCastleBrawlr

I just made a very inhuman noise in response to you asking about Beowulf… it sounded something like Aiyyeerrghbaa!  I have previewed/tested it!  Well, actually I watched Pyra demo it in Las Vegas at a Best Buy tradeshow.  But it looks incredible!  Besides it being graphically beautiful, it has the most gorgeous bloodiness.  That probably sounds bad, but you’d understand if you saw what I saw.  There’s this part in the demo where you rip the horn off the head of this giant monster, and use it to slide down his throat while brutally cutting it open like Zorro sliding down a red curtain.  I don’t want to sound like a blood thirsty animal, but it’s amazing!  Every time it got to that part in the demo, Pyra would say, “Guys! Guys!  Here it is! Watch!” And we’d all turn, and make yummy noises as the monster’s throat was torn open and blood gushed out like a lake bursting through a broken damn.

Jinx did an excellent interview with the lead narrative designer of the game.  The video has some great game footage in it.

2. My question is with DX10, and DX10 games coming in with a storm, how do you think the new technology will advance the gaming industry? - ShadowH4Ever

In amazing, amazing ways.  I think these two images comparing DX9 (used in Halo: Combat Evolved) and DX10 (Crysis), really sum up what this new technology will do for the gaming industry.

I’m extremely pleased with the advancement of gaming technology and excited to see how I can use my XPS laptop to its fullest potential.  I’s likes da prettiness.

3.  When you wear those shirts that you all seem to be wearing every time your in public together, lol, do your armpits sweat up stinky like ? - Boom4U1

I do get sweaty armpits in public, and especially when I game – Ohh, that’s bad. But the Frag Doll t-shirts are black so the sweat marks don’t show – that’s good! But sweat can sometimes cause stinky armpits – that’s bad.  But I wear a reliable deodorant, so I don’t have to worry about any stinkiness – that’s good!  But the deodorant is cursed.  That’s bad.

4. What was the most important characteristic/attribute you were looking for when deciding on who the new Frag Doll(s) would be? – Mookel

A passion for gaming.  Pyra and Mischief had the passion, dedication and talent that really stood out. 

5. Have any of the Frag dolls ever taken someone’s life in RL? What are the Frag Dolls opinion on taking life? Is it ever ok? – Seductivpancake

Earlier today I saw this little squirmy beetle-ant-buggy thing squiggling around on the carpet of my bedroom.  I killed it and didn’t even think twice.  I know Brookelyn would argue about the morality of killing any living creature, but I have no problem taking out a buggy that has invaded my domestic territory.

Also, it is lawful to kill a creature or even a human being in self-defense when they are trying to take your life… I learned this in a gun safety class I took about 3 years ago. 

6. Why do the blisters on my feet hurt so much? - SuperRobot7

First things first, stop running around your neighborhood at midnight stark-nekked except for your cowboy boots. 

7. Everyone has there opinions, how hard for you is it to deal with slander relating to the Frag Dolls, or gamers you know, and how stressful can being a Frag Doll get? - ShadowH4Ever

You know, I think it would be a lot harder on the Frag Dolls if we didn’t have such an amazing group of community members who stick up for us on the net.  Hundred percent serious.  People sometimes make uninformed accusations on the pretense that we’re not “real gamers.” So, it’s really helpful that we have a bunch of online friends, whose butts we’ve kicked hundreds of times to vouch for our validity.

8. Has a video game ever scared you? Do you think this form of entertainment can actually convey the same sense of dread as The Exorcist did when that was released? Perhaps games just can’t scare people due to the detachment that is usually present between player and world. - moonsongv1

I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I was terrified of Far Cry on PC.  I got all the way through the first part of the game, sneaking through the jungle and taking out the human guards. But when they started transforming into Trigens, leaping at me from huge distances, I nearly peed my pants.  The Trigens would come up on me so fast that I’d shriek in terror, throw my mouse as far as the cord would allow, and turn off my computer in frustrated embarrassment. 

Have you ever played Condemned?  I haven’t (cause I’m a scaredy-cat), but I’ve heard that it’s a sort of huddle-together-in-the-middle-of-the-room-for-comfort kind of game.

9.  You have a chance to create a national holiday based on yourselves - what would it involve and what date would it be on? Cake or biscuits? Is there a game you’ve never been able to beat? Mass Effect - much ado about nipple? - Ninja_Raiden

On Frag Doll Day (or, to our Canadian friends, Frog Dool D’eh; and in the UK it’d be Fregg Diddley-doo-dum Dee; and the French Dolls could have Je Louis XIV Fromage le’ Pon Pon Von den Lichtenstein Day), which takes place every year on June 15th (which happens to be the exact middle of the year and my birthday) it is customary to eat Funfetti ice cream, invite all your friends to one central location and play video games till your eyes bleed (and send Calyber birthday presents). And cake… pffff, biscuits. ::eyes roll::

No, there’s never been a game that I haven’t been able to beat… there’s a bunch that I’m still trying to beat and haven’t touched in months, but I swear I’m able.  Just not inclined at this juncture.

10. How/why/when did you start gaming? But most importantly when you started gaming, how/why did you decide that you wanted to compete? - Eliptyk73

I started gaming as soon as I could handle the NES controller… I was about 4 years old spending hours at a time on my Sesame Street, Little Nemo and Mario games.  Growing up, I was naturally competitive in sports and video games against my five older brothers.  But it wasn’t until I competed in my first video game competition in 2005, that I became hooked on the adrenaline of tournament play. I won second place, out of a hundred and six gamers, in a Halo 2 Free-For-All tournament at the Game Riot Tour in Scottsdale, Arizona.  After that I traveled to three different Major League Gaming events to compete, and ended up meeting the Frag Dolls, eventually joining the team.

11. Disclaimer: This is not an invitation for a political deliberation about the correctness of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That being said, have you considered doing a morale visit to the troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait? Would you? Most of us here cherish our game-boxes and pack them everywhere we go. I’ve seen LANs pop up in a parking lot!  I think it would be a great morale booster as well as great exposure. - Tex_Johnson

Wow!  You know, I don’t think it has ever been considered.  It’s dangerous there, right?  If it were left strictly up to us, I am sure we’d be doing a lot more crazy trips like that, but since we have to do everything through our sponsors, most of the event scouting and planning is out of our hands.  But I will mention it to the folks upstairs.