Twitter Comics
Tonight on GeekNights, rather than talking about traditional webcomics, we consider the ones we stumble upon ad hoc in our social media feeds. Things like False Knees or webcomicname. Hit up the GeekNights Forum to see the list, and also to share the ones we forgot to mention!
In the news, Conan the Barbarian is now an Avenger, returned to Marvel, fought Wolverine that one time, and is available again! Also, watch out for these so-called "Vic" fans: they're basically gomergate all over again. We hope to see you at both Zenkaikon and PAX East!
Algorithmic Content Curation
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of algorithmic content creation. It is increasingly leading people to extremist right wing corners of the Internet, for a variety of reasons. In the news, Twitch might have become unwatchable, the 737 MAX situation is a tragic disaster, reminding us of good old Therac-25, and Scott hates cars.
See GeekNights LIVE at Zenkaikon and PAX East! And while you're at it, join our 100% nazi-free forum community. It's even in the TOS!
2001: A Space Odyssey
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we consider Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. You may have seen the movie.
In 1968 Stanley Kubrick released one of the all-time classic movies, "2001: a Space Odyssey". Until recently I had thought that this movie was based on the book of the same name. That is not the case.
What actually happened is that Arthur C. Clarke was writing the novel and also working on the screenplay with Kubrick simultaneously. The novel wasn't actually published until after the movie was released.
It would be impossible to maintain our pride as geeks without having read one of the most well known sci-fi novels of all time. It will be fascinating to see how it differs from the movie. I'm especially interested to see how the more psychedelic parts of the movie translate to written language.
Auto Chess
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the new hotness, a Dota2 mod called Auto Chess. It's buggy, weird, utterly novel, and definitely worth trying, continuing the long tradition of mods becoming transformational to PC gaming. In the news, Baba Is You finally arrives, Nvidia drops 3D Vision support, you can use Twitter to track Nvidia driver updates, and Rym has some Wargroove final thoughts.
Live at PAX East and Zenkaikon!
GeekNights will be live at PAX East 2019!
The Real Harm of Games
Friday Mar 29 @ 3:30pm
Cuttlefish Theatre
In the 80s, we were told Dungeons & Dragons would make us all satanists. In the 90s, first person shooters and Mortal Kombat were supposed to make us all murderers. Games have joined the long and storied history of books, music, movies, and television being primed to destroy us all. Thankfully, most of the fears around how games might harm us have proven false, misleading, or downright ridiculous. So what’s left? Lootboxes? What is the REAL harm of games? And what can we do about it?
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We will also be at Zenkaikon 2019 with three talks!
The Secret Guide to Running Panels
Saturday Mar 23 @ 1:00pm
Live 6 [Floor 3, Heritage B]
The 40 Tabletop Games You Must Play
Saturday Mar 23 @ 3:45pm
Live 1 [Floor 2, Commonwealth 3]
Play (Dirty) to Win!
Sunday Mar 24 @ 11:00am
Live 2 [Floor 2, Commonwealth 4]
Hope to see you at both! Back to back convention weekends for all!
Nostalgia vs Game Design
PAX South 2019
Everyone has the game that consumed their childhood. You grew up playing Quake 2 mods, Civ II, or Everquest late into the night. You got obsessed with Aerobiz on the SNES or DotA (the original one). You want to recreate that experience that was so core to your gaming life. But… can you? What was it ABOUT those games that made them so perfect. Was it the game, the context, or possibly even just you? From remakes to reboots to spiritual successors, some game mechanics are best left to history.
Book Club - 2001: a Space Odyssey
In 1968 Stanley Kubrick released one of the all-time classic movies, "2001: a Space Odyssey". Until recently I had thought that this movie was based on the book of the same name. That is not the case.
What actually happened is that Arthur C. Clarke was writing the novel and also working on the screenplay with Kubrick simultaneously. The novel wasn't actually published until after the movie was released.
It would be impossible to maintain our pride as geeks without having read one of the most well known sci-fi novels of all time. It will be fascinating to see how it differs from the movie. I'm especially interested to see how the more psychedelic parts of the movie translate to written language.
