It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that I’m a Star Trek fan. Chances are you’ll be a big sci-fi fan when you write a geek culture blog. Anyhow, since we have the second movie in J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek franchise coming out in May, I thought you might enjoy this chart that track who performs the various roles in the various Star Trek series. (more…)
Geek Links of the Week
We’re back with another week’s collection of cool geek links. No one wanted this killed with fire so it’s going to keep coming back, even if no one reads this. Now, on with the show.
Senior writer Greg Sandoval resigned from CNET over a lack of editorial independence from parent company CBS. It turns out that CBS vetoed CNET’s choice for the site’s Best in Show award for CES because CBS is suing the company that made the product. [The Verge]
There are some very interesting legal proceedings over at AMD. They’ve filed suit against four former employees who allegedly stole confidential documents before departing for NVIDIA. [ExtremeTech]
The NRA hates video games and think they’re to blame for mass shootings and gun violence. The problem is that guns in games are really there for the same reasons that the NRA champions. [Insert Coin]
You know what’s cool? Life hacks! Here are 50 illustrated life hacks to make your life just a little bit easier. [Twisted Sifter]
You know what else is cool? These pieces of geek themed furniture. I need this stuff in my life. [Mental_Floss]
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Spec Ops: The Line Review: Do You Know the Enemy?
Despite having yet to play it, I named Spec Ops: The Line as one of my 12 favourite games of 2012. The game created a fair bit of discussion about its story which delved into the psychological effects of war on soldiers. I was amazed that a military shooter, a genre that usually omits any effort when it comes to storytelling in lieu of spending money on graphics and multiplayer content, was making waves over its plot and a complex sounding plot at that.
I figured that I couldn’t name the game one of my 12 favourites of last year without giving it a try. So when it went on sale during the recent Steam sale, I put my money where my mouth was to see if it was actually worth a spot on the blog’s de facto year-end award list. Read the rest of this entry
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Super Hexagon Review: My Eyes! The Goggles Do Nothing!
One of the surprise entries on many year-end lists was Super Hexagon. In a year where small indie games were more fondly thought of and better reviewed than many triple-A releases, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the one-man development team of Terry Cavanagh was able to produce a critically acclaimed game. However, I wasn’t sold on what appeared to be such a simple game so I had to pick it up and give it a go. Read the rest of this entry
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Do Bedside Gadgets Affect How You Sleep? (Infographic)
Most people I know keep their cell phones close at hand at night. They’ll send texts or check Facebook from their phone right before going to sleep. They also have no issue with getting up when the phone buzzes with a late night drunk text, either. On the other hand, I’ll shut off my phone before going to sleep because I need enough caffeine to get through the day with a steady night’s sleep that I don’t need a phone making it worse.
So who is doing it right? Does having a phone or other gadget affect how you sleep? This handy infographic has the answer. Read the rest of this entry
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Watch How A Cosplayer Becomes Commander Shepard
In their ongoing video series highlighting cosplayers, games developer Red 5 Studios examines how cosplayer Crystal Graziano built her Commander Shepard outfit. The video goes through which materials Crystal selected and some of the design and construction process that went into making her FemShep.
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Real-Life Mario Kart
The geniuses at Waterloo Labs have outdone themselves this time. Using modified go-karts, RFID chips and on-board and trackside computers, they’ve done an amazing and faithful recreation of Mario Kart in real life. This isn’t the same thing that French comedian Remi Gaillard did with Mario Kart. This is bananas spinning you into walls and knocking people out of the way with stars Mario Kart.
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How Much Does It Cost to Make a Web Series: Video Game High School Edition
Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to produce your own high-quality web series that you would ride to fame and fortune on YouTube? As part of the launch of the Kickstarter fundraiser for Season Two of the popular Video Game High School web series, Freddie Wong and the team over at Rocket Jump disclosed the total cost of Season One of VGHS.
If you haven’t seen it, the first season of Video Game High School was a nine episode webseries with a total length of two hours. Yes, that’s as long as a feature film. While the cost was still a fraction of a feature film, it had as many visual effects shots as many big budget releases along with a full cast and crew.
Today, for a little bit of education about being one of the baddest guys on the interweb, we have Rocket Jump’s breakdown of the total cost of VGHS. Read the rest of this entry
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There’s Nothing Wrong with BioWare Adding Same Sex Relationships to SWTOR
If you have read what I wrote about Mass Effect 3 and the ending controversy at my other blog, The Lowdown Blog, I’d understand if you thought very poorly of BioWare. I think of what I wrote as tough love. I really like BioWare games. My first love from BioWare was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Despite the ending, I still love the Mass Effect series.
That’s why I’m stepping up to bat to defend them from some of ridiculous criticisms over the addition of same-sex relationships to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Read the rest of this entry
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Season Four of Community Will Start with THE HUNGER DEANS!
I’m a huge fan of NBC’s cult hit sitcom Community. Like many of my fellow Human Beings (that’s the name of the show’s fans), I’m a little worried about the direction of the show after NBC turfed showrunner Dan Harmon which led to a mass exodus of the show’s writing staff and producers.
NBC is trying to calm everyone down with their sneak peek of the Season Four premiere episode, airing February 7th, which we have below. Read the rest of this entry
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