Cartoon and Comic Merchandise
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the merchandise around cartoons, anime, comics, and manga. In the news, the fireworks are back in Queens, Glamdring the Foe-Hammer is back, a ton of cels are up for auction, the Sweet Tooth TV adaptation is pretty good so far, the El Hazard OAVs are getting a re-release, and Yoko Kanno is scoring the live action Cowboy Bebop. Also, we'll be live at PAX East online 2021 with Atari Game Design!
Tech News Roundup - June 2021
Tonight on GeekNights, we accidentally do a June tech news roundup. So, in that news, US carries share vertical location data for 911 calls, Apple adds additional safety measures to AirTags (though there are still workarounds), Facetime is (sort of) coming to the web, and there's a ton of WWDC news.
Skin
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about skin. Yes, that kind of skin. In the news, Scott GeekBites Oxygen (2021), Rym GeekBites Walker (1987), maybe companies should be barred from bothering you after-hours, and AMC issues 11MM shares.
New Pokemon Snap
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the New Pokemon Snap. It's Pokemon Snap. It's exactly what it looks like. And it's probably worth playing. In the news, 1846 gets an update, An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs is out, the 3080 Ti is coming, Nintendo took down a rom site (but the buried lede is that the proprietor went pro se in court), and while Moon Hunters was a delightful game this article describes what was wrong with its level design.
GeekNights Community Code of Conduct
Effective immediately, the GeekNights community code of conduct is no longer in draft status. Compliance with the code is mandatory for participation in our communities. We want to send a clear message that our spaces are safe for all people who themselves do not make the space unsafe for others. The code is available on GitHub, please familiarize yourself with it.
https://github.com/Apreche/geeknights-code-of-conduct/blob/1/code_of_conduct.rst
The code isn't, and can never be perfect, so it is always subject to change and improvement. Feel free to contact us using the platform of your choice to discuss changes, errors, or omissions.
While this code applies to conduct in all of our community spaces, it is currently primarily focused on our forum and our Discord server. We would love to have you join us there. Links are below.
Where is the Finish Line?
PAX Online 2020
All games must end. This is especially important for competitive games. A single-player game ends when you decide to stop playing. But a competitive game ends when someone wins. Or does it? Turns out a lot of competitive games are over before they’re over. A good game can be ruined by ending too soon or too late. Too late, and you have players who have already lost trapped with nothing meaningful to do. Too soon, and you didn’t even “get to the good part.”
If you’re designing a game, how can you determine the best time for the game to end? The conditions that make it happen? Join GeekNights for a thorough examination of the common types of game ending conditions and exploration of a process to determine which one is best for your game.
Book Club - The Tale of Genji
What better selection for the book club than the first novel of all time? And of course, we have to read the best possible unabridged translation. No baby mode here at GeekNights
The plot revolves around Genji, who is the son of the Emperor and a low ranking concubine. Genji is removed from the line of succession, and proceeds to go on an epic journey. The journey involves tons of romance and court drama. Spicy!
Despite being older than any other novel, The Tale of Genji has a tremendous amount of relevance to the geeks of the 21st century. The influence of Japan on nerds around the world is undeniable, and a surprising amount of things we see in pop culture are present here in a book from the 11th century. I'm quite confident after reading it how we will notice how many newer stories have been making references to this tale without us realizing it.
Also, I feel the need to point out that this first novel ever written was written by a woman. For all these reasons and so many more, this is more than worthy of book club selection.
