We’re giving away a NECA Gears Of War 3 “Thrashball Cole” Hand Painted Resin Statue.  There are several ways to qualify and each one counts for an entry – so the more you complete the more chances to win. The giveaway is open now and will run through next Thursday, May 24th. Click read more to use the widget and enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jay is a strength trainer who has been lifting in one form or another for 15 years. Jay does short, intense workouts that include cardio and heavy lifting. Epic Games Art Director Chris Perna. Senior Cinematic Artist Grayson Edge and Senior Concept Artist Shane Pierce are also heavily into strength training.

You may remember Aaron Jones from THIS community story. Aaron runs marathons, he’s a snowboard, hiker, soccer player, hockey player and he loves to go camping. Even our very own President, Mike Capps has run the NYC 26.2 mile marathon!

Is there something you have done that is amazing? Did you ever ski in the Alps? Go deep sea diving with sharks? Go on a rescue mission?

We want to hear from you! If you have an amazing story to tell let us know in the comments below, Facebook or in our Epic Gamers forum. Also let us know which games you play from Epic. We plan on doing a community post and you might just hear from us!

Game Center ID: uns4evr
Name: Peter D.
Level in Infinity Blade II: 458
Favorite Weapon: Anarchax
Favorite Weapon Class: Heavy
Favorite Elemental Type: Dark
What tips do you have for Infinity Blade II players?
Be stubborn and keep playing! Change your play style when needed. Persistence is the key. With the new Gem forge you can make some gems to sell to fuel your character’s power or sell for some good money.

Peter’s Siris:

Want to be the next featured ClashMob player?  Send us YOUR Siris on our Facebook page or with the hashtag #MySiris on Twitter and we may contact you next!

• Autodesk 3D Max
• Webpage Design
• 2D/3D design
• 3D modeling
• Animation

Andy’s presentation included talking about the paths to get into the industry and the extra step it takes to be Epic. He also presented stories from Epic staff about how they got to Epic. From the perfect scenario, to exceptional drive and determination, Andy let the students know that getting into the game industry isn’t always the easiest path to take, but it is a very rewarding experience.

Andy also talked about Epic values and let the students know how important it is to learn UDK if they are interested in getting in the video game field.

After the presentation, the students were asked if they had any questions. The questions were about our games and which programming language they should be learning. Andy also brought some Gears of War 3 posters to hand out to the students. Andy had a great time and he’d love to do it again.

Are you interested in getting into the video game industry? Download Andy’s presentation that follows the paths of  some of our developers, artists and designers from how they got their start until joining the team at Epic. Paths Into the Game Industry (Right click, save as)

Have you ever drawn yourself as a COG soldier or manipulated an image to make you look like one? How about a Locust? We’d love to see it! We’ll gather the favorites and put them in a community post at a later date.

Stay Frosty – No shotguns and players start with the Hammerburst, Snub and one Frag Grenade. There are no pick ups other than limited damage frag grenades. No DBNO.

Raven Down 24/7 – A special Execution playlist that will take ten rounds to win. The weapon load-out will be Gnashers and the special one shot Snub that pops heads.

Classic Horde – No Savage, no Lambent, no bases, no fortifications, no cost for weapons, no buy back in and Gears 2 wave structure with Bloodmount “bosses.”

Head on over to Facebook and vote for your favorite! If you don’t see your favorite this week, be sure to vote again next week on the Epic Forums or on Twitter using the #GearsWeekend hashtags.

Say hello to GaryStorkamp, who has a gallery full of fun. Varied with both digital 2D and 3D work, and of course, Gears of War fan art, he’s no doubt one of the well-known Epic Gamer Artists in the community. One of his most popular pieces, titled “Gears of Fun”, features Damon Baird taking a break from killing grubs. Even COG Soldiers need some time off from work!

If you want to see some more of of his work, definitely check GaryStorkamp’s page out on deviantART. If you have something you’d like to show us, be sure to visit the Epic Gamers group on deviantART or post it on the Epic Gamers forum.

Fans of Infinity Blade II ClashMob will have another chance to earn a lethal Orci sword this weekend!  As if that isn’t enough to get you swiping away, another ClashMob event will offer a +150 Attack Stat gem!

Both of these events take place tomorrow, so make sure to ready your Mob by letting all of your friends know so they can participate as well.

• “Tame the Beast” –
  Saturday 5/12 at 11:00 a.m. MT/ 5:00 p.m. UTC
  Description: A wild Wretch is loose! Deal as much damage as you can – do your part to defeat the Titan! You will have an unlimited Super Meter!
  Required: Character Level 50+
  Reward:Attack Stat gem (+150 Attack Damage bonus)

• “Midnight Snack”
  Saturday 5/12 at 4:00 p.m. MT/ 10:00 p.m UTC
  Description:  The Wretch is trying to swallow you whole!! Survive as long as you can! Required: Character Level 15+
  Reward: Orci Sword

In early April, Tim Sweeney and Mark Rein drove up from Raleigh and took Anne to lunch. They offered her the job in North Carolina. Anne was hesitant to move her family for a temporary position, so she worked out of her house after the lease on the office expired. Mark kept pushing Anne to go to Raleigh. In July of 1999, Anne went to visit. She returned home around 10:00 PM on a Friday and told her husband she wanted to move to Raleigh. They moved with her two kids, aged nine and twelve in October of that year.

When she started there were only eight employees; Tim Sweeney, Mark Rein, Steve Polge, Alan Willard, Jack Porter, Brandon Reinhart and Eric de Neve. Shane Caudle and Jay Wilbur were also on the team as contractors. Only three of the employees were married. Anne was the only one who had kids. She was also the only one who showed up before noon every day and there were no company policies.  In fact, Anne worked every holiday because everyone else did and she wasn’t sure if she could take them off!

We asked Anne what it is like to be the Epic M.O.M. She said, “It is absolutely the best job in the world. I am so touched when the guys get excited to tell me good stuff that is happening to them. When Jack Porter bought his house, he called me up as he left settlement and said, “I couldn’t reach my dad, so I thought I would call my mom and tell her that I had bought a house!” I don’t mind telling you I teared up.  Just Saturday, our systems administrator, Woody told me that he and his girlfriend Ali had gotten engaged.  It was the look on his face when he said it that was so cool.”

What is really amazing, is Anne is terrible at video games! “The one and only time I played Gears, I hid behind a truck because every time I moved from behind it I got killed. When we were porting Unreal Tournament to the PS2, Cliff asked me to try out the controller.  He wanted someone who was not a gamer play to see if the controls worked well, if they needed tweaking.   After about five minutes of running into walls in the game, he turned to me and said, “Can you bring your son in?”  My son Frank was about ten at the time.”

“Annecdotes” – ” When I first moved to Raleigh, the refrigerator had those large magnet letters – the kind that children use to learn to spell and such.   The guys used to spell out some very graphic things with the letters.  Well, it was an office of all guys then.  Tim typed up a note and hung it on the fridge telling everyone to stop it.  I still have it.”

If Anne wasn’t the Epic M.O.M. she says she would be a caterer, event planner, or both. She loves to cook for the office and wishes she could do it more.

Happy Mother’s Day to the best M.O.M. in the world!

Cher has been gaming since she was a little girl and started with the Atari 2600. She started playing Gears of War in 2008, when Brian asked her to help him gain some Gears of War campaign achievements. She was reluctant since she had never played a shooter, but agreed to help. She immediately got hooked on the game and found herself playing alone when he was at work.

Cher’s favorite gametype in Gears of War 2 was Guardian and was very happy to find out that we were bring the gametype back in the last title update. Epic Games Lead Level Designer, Jim Brown, plays with Cher often and knew Guardian was her favorite. He couldn’t wait to break the news to her.

Cher said, “Going back to my Gears of war 2 days, Guardian was the mode that captured me the most. I loved how it was more of a team based game and how every player was “assigned” a duty. I had a group of guys that I played with and we unofficially called ourselves “The Dream Team.”

We just all flowed so well together and without saying a word we knew our roles, in and out. *shout out to turbz, LT, Roland, and Porsha* Fast forward to the addition of Guardian in Gears of War 3 and I’m beyond thrilled! It’s such an awesome game type and I have THE BEST TIME playing it.”

We asked Cher what other games she plays. “Borderlands is pure genius.  RockBand and Lips will always be in my top favorites too. I’m not much of a singer, but I like to think I am! I also love “horror” type games like Saw and Condemned. Scary is always good in my book. Then there is “Draw Something.” I love to play it on my phone with my husband and Flak!”

Cher has two beautiful daughters, Taylor and Hayden, who are very happy to have such a cool mom.