Tech Books
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about tech books. As in, the ones with animals on the cover. As a reference or as a teaching aid, they're not entirely obsolete. In other news, Netflix releases its Meridian test/reference footage under the Creative Commons, the Apple II gets an update, and some good camera stuff was announced at Photokina 2016! We also streamed the production of this episode live for some reason.
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Pizza
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about pizza in all its forms. You guys love the food episodes, so here you go. 100 years Rym and Scott and pizza. But before that, Luke Crane's Inheritance is on Kickstarter (and funded before we finished the show) and South Park is back!
Support GeekNights on Patreon! Read our book club book! Or our politics club book!
Captain Sonar
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the fantastic Captain Sonar. We're back from PAX West, Rym's back from Utah, and we're ready to return to our regular schedule! The Omegathon Finale was a sequel to the last one, Apple Day both giveth Mario, and taketh away headphone jacks. Downtown Seattle does not have delivery pizza. Pokemon GO enables the lollipop farm even as the player base walks away.
Queen Emeraldas
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Leiji Matsumoto Queen Emeraldas manga. It's mostly about strangers giving guns to children. In the news, there's an Astroboy digital CCG that you should avoid, Steven Universe fans that you should avoid, and we learn why Mario was there at the Olympics instead of Pokemon. Also honey and meat, and the Prince Valiant storytelling game (which you should NOT avoid)!
This is our last show before PAX, and we hope to see you there! Support GeekNights on Patreon to get things like Rym and Emily reviewing Kubo and the Two Strings!
GeekNights Live at PAX West 2016
GeekNights will be performing live at PAX West 2016!
The Grind
Saturday, Sept 3rd
5:00pm
Chicken Theatre
The Grind. We've all experienced it. We've all complained about it. Some of us secretly love it. But ask 100 people what it actually IS, and you'll get 40 different answers. Join us for a mechanical discussion of what "grinding" really means in games. Is it necessary for a "classic MMO?" Is it part of the genre of a "JRPG?" Does it exist in board games? Is it bad? Is it good? Is it necessary? Part storytelling, part game design, part game theory: let's explore the grind from all angles.
Atari Game Design
PAX East 2016
Game design is a wide subject. The best approach to mastering it is to focus on the fundamentals, and what better place to do that than with Atari 2600 games? Join us for a deep game design analysis of classic competitive Atari games like Outlaw, and how their core concepts extend to modern games. When you can literally count the pixels with your eyes, and the code will fit in your calculator, the core principles of good (and bad) design become starkly apparent.
Book Club - Oryx and Crake
Several people have been recommending Oryx and Crake to us for some time now, with a fairly recent acceleration of these recommendations. Chicky-nubs sealed the deal. Gene-fueled science fiction dystopia, too-real commercialization of life itself, and a short read to boot, we had no choice but to make this - the first of the MaddAddam Trilogy) our GeekNights Book Club choice.
