We talk about what it’s like being a geek and how we can make the world a better place for geeks everywhere. And we run down the week in geek including new Dragon Age II news, discussion of the recent XBox Live dashboard update, tales from the Dallas W00tstock stop, kudos for George Takei’s recent YouTube vid, and talk some sweet upcoming sci-fi flicks. Don’t forget to call in your geek stories for next week’s Geekdom, Part II.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww yeah
I’m like 10min into the cast but I just want to side with Chuck.
The reason why I like Mass Effect so much is that I can hear my character talk, the more cinematographic my experience is the more I get on board with a game. I totally will play a game where there is no dialog but I find the game I like the most have dialog.
I got on board really fast with Knights of the Old Republic because of that (that was the 1st RPG with dialog I played).
On a Mass Effect vs Dragon Ages note, It is the same engine but the gameplay is way different. Where Mass Effect is kind of a shooter, Dragon Ages is more in line with a classic RPG. Don’t get me wrong, enjoyed both a lot and understand Sean point but in my own personal taste I’ll trade-in certain things for dialog and immersion. Mass Effect is more straight forward and Dragon Ages is a MONSTER of choice and a more personal experience.
You know what, listen to Chuck : GET BOTH.
PS : GOD bless Bioware!!!
Lol! Right off the bat, and I know a secret… d:
Actually, Chuck, Michael Crichton did write a sequel to Jurassic Park. It’s called “The Lost World”, but is completely different from the movie. No T-Rex in downtown San Diego for one. 
Aren’t Geeks - Nerds with social skills Joke
It’s actually refreshing to be in a workplace where people reference sci fi terms or talk about D&D without fear of ridicule.
I love Dragonage (I’m currently a warrior woman and have just got through defeating the High Dragon and cured the king). I was hooked onto RPG’s ever since FF7, and have played most of the FF, have got Dragonage, Mass effect 1 and 2. I just love the cerebal thinking that goes along with these kind of games. I have to say that Ariel’s death scene with the music was a truly OMG experience. MIght have to go through DA again as a rogue, and pick up awakenings.
It’ll be good when you get proper fighting games such as Tekken, I hear the current one that have is not that great due to a terrible lag that you get.
In terms of being creative, I love White Wolf roleplaying, being able to think up a Vampire character with its own background, motivation, desires and fears is great. Currently I’m playing a Ventrue neonate who trained as a lawyer. Next character is going to be a Gangrel.
As for the harry potter film, it’s going to be good to see the Forest of Dean as I only live about 30 minutes from there.
EDIT - I always wanted to learn how to draw, just don’t know where to start…
Mass Effects looks so cool but Ive never had the patience for RPG games. Im more into games like Halo Reach and more recently Star Wars the force unleashed II games that Im loving right now. I like games that I can just jump into and start playing instantly.
We are of a like mind on that sir. FF7 was the first time a game wow’d me with that story/graphics/music punch as well. After seeing it I have always held that an uber effective story can be told w/o voice. And the characters in it have always sounded better in my head anyway. For me it’s an imagination thing.
However, Aeris’ death scene hit me like a ton of bricks the first time. Esp. since she was my main healer. In fact, I purposely stay away from healers in RPG’s now b/c I don’t want to take the hit like I did that first time in FF7. Funny how things stay with you.
After the battle at about 9:00 when he wades into the water is when I always get a lump in my throat
I like FFVII as much as the next guy, but Phantasy Star IV is the game that did it for me, that really sold me on the RPG as a story-telling medium. It also had that game-changing moment relatively early on that you never expected. Also had a brilliant soundtrack.
Didn’t get the podcast quite yet but will be listening to it tomorrow. Looks like I’ve got a 'cast right up my alley to look forward to.
There’s plenty of how-to vids on youtube that will give you a starting point. The key thing is to practice. A lot.
There’s a classic book that has a bunch of exercises to train your eye and hand. Things like copying an image that’s upside down, or only drawing the negative space around a figure. I’m blanking, but someone here might remember it.
Remind me again… why did Sephiroth kill her? Was he just being a colossal dick or was there an actual reason? Final Fantasy plotlines are hard for me to wrap my head around at times.
I believe Sephiroth killed Aerith/Aeris to prevent her from casting Holy.
Actually I think both can be true. 
While they were at the Forgotten city with the white materia to summon Holy with her prayer, Sephiroth repeatedly proves he’s a tool throughout the game.
He did have sweet hair and a badass costume though.
That hair style made me wish I had “Chuck” hair from 17 to 25 years old
On FF7, that game was one of those unbelievable moment in my Vidéo Game “career”. When I’ve played that game I was not speaking english and had to buy an English to French dictionary and I was translating the story as I went.
On the Aeris, the fact that she died die (as opposed to “comic book die”) made that scene even more powerful. That made the advent children movie even better. The scene where Cloud “hallucinate” her made me all sad.
Now I’m gonna have to play that game again.
Sounds like you might be thinking of Drawing on the right Side of the Brain. Mrs. Amberite has gifted it to a couple friends who were looking to start drawing, and the upside down bit rings a bell, but there’s likely other books that mention it.
That may be it. The title sounds right. The cover would have changed since I last saw it.
Regardless, if it has those kinds of exercises, it’s worth your time. Get that.
The crew discussed cooperative gaming on single player RPGs. I used to do this in college because I can’t used a controller, so I’ve never owned a console. Still, some console games pique my interests. One was FF7 before it was released on the PC. I’d go to a friend’s room in college and watched him and another friend take turn playing.
I missed the Aerith part, but they told me about it. They didn’t use walk throughs or strategy guides, so they actually restarted the game hoping they could prevent her death by making different choices until they heard by word of mouth there was no way around it.
I had a third friend tell me in a sad voice, “But, I have 10 Phoenix Downs…” when he wondered why he couldn’t just revive Aerith. People were really attached to her and her death remains probably the top ten, or maybe even top 5, biggest gaming surprises ever. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a reaction from grown men over a video game character since.
I’m echoing Nightwing on Final Fantasy Advent Children. But, I’ll say any and every fan should watch the extended edition called Final Fantasy Advent Children Complete. Please note that Complete is an extended edition of the Special Edition. It’s 26 extra minutes versus 23 extra minutes. Trust me, you want Complete.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385700/alternateversions
A special edition called ‘Advent Children Complete’ was released on June 2, 2009, and adds 26 minutes to its runtime.
[LEFT]This ironic interjection was brought to you by the letters G, W, C and the number 69. IYKWIM.[/LEFT]
(:
These have been on the forums before, but here they are again.
And the awesomeness that is George Takei.