Last night, I finished up one of those raids that (how to say?) … build a lot of character. Yes, we built a lot of character by not turning on each other and (overtly) pointing fingers. So now that I have all this character, I’ll just say that my favorite part about the end of summer is back to school for the youngsters who play among us.

Not that I don’t enjoy their constant banter and off topic commentary, and that they question every damn decision that is ever made in a guild until I want to put a bullet in my head, because I do enjoy that so!

And I have character now! Lots of it even!

Anyhow, you didn’t stumble into this month’s Carnival of Gamers to see an ole game hag like me lord all my newfound character over you. You arrived to see the sights and so you shall.

Zubon of Kill Ten Rats described his problems negotiating virtual architecture in “What I Learned in Luigi’s Mansion”.

If you’re as confused by Jack Thompson’s agenda and tactics as other normal humans, Corvus Elrod of Man Bytes Blog has drawn up PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS of Thompson’s game pad in “BatJack’s Game”.

Qball of playeverything took a look at how advances in gaming available in the comfort of our own homes has changed arcades in “Insert Innovation to Continue”.

Joseph Valencia of Space World discussed Square’s most shameful NES moments in “The REAL History of Square, Vol 1: Defiling the NES”.

Troy Goodfellow of Portico suggested three possible strategy game designs set in the Old West in “Six Guns to Glory”.

Josh of Cathode Tan analyzed a recent Chatterbox interview of Jack Thompson (zealots are good material) in “Myths from Jack ‘BatJack’ Thompson”.

Crimsonsplat is a recently launched blog documenting a project to revamp the boardgame Starfire, 3rd Edition. Their history is documented in “Starfire: The First 20 Years”.

Brant of Control+V was looking for a gig in Eve Online recently and was denied. He described the details in “Ambition’s Con”.

Tony of buttonmashing reviewed the current state of MMO sports games in “MMORPG Sports (Part I)”.

Jake of 8Bit Joystick wrote a pair of tutorials for the PSP: “How to Read Game FAQs on a PlayStation Portable” and “How to Read Web Comics on a PlayStation Portable”.

Thomas of Mile Zero has an entire series in progress about Composing with Electroplankton.

Saccia of Pure Digital Thought explained the conspiracy theory behind the recent GTA: SA Hot Coffee mod uproar in “CT: Sex and Entertainment”.

Shane Whitehouse of Aeropause reminisced about the vintage Sierra games of his youth in “On a Quest for Childhood Memories”.

The Game Chair discussed the next generation of console gaming, roundtable-style, in “Are We Ready for the Next Generation of Console Gaming?”.

Tea Leaves‘ Peterb hates the camera in Neverwinter Nights and explained why in “Lights, Action, Camera” and psu is tired of all the Xbox 360 price model complaining in “Bundles of Whining”.

Jeffool of Outside Looking In interviewed Mark Healey of Rag Doll Kung Fu (and Fable, Black & White, Dungeon Keeper, Magic Carpet) in “Rag Doll Kung Fu Interview”.

(whew. That’s a lot. Went through a whole pot of coffee while reading.)

Just because Summer is ending doesn’t mean there won’t be more Carnivals. This isn’t real life, after all, where we’re limited by weather, finite natural resources or … death. The Carnivals will continue, next time at Flicker Gaming on October 7th.

As always, no admission price and absolutely no refunds.

(This Carnival of Gamers is also available through TTLB’s UberCarnival. Eventually, in theory, it will be available over there. wtf.)