Anime and Comic Magazines
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider anime and comic magazines, including relics from an ancient past such as Newtype USA, Wizard, Animerica, and the like. In the news, Rym is enjoying Star Trek: Lower Decks (and you may too if you have even a passing interest in Star Trek), the live action Cowboy Bebop might be OK, and the monkey's paw has given us a hockey anime with Puraore! Pride of Orange.
Computer Magazines
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the archaic "computer magazine" that you may have heard old people talking about. From PC Gamer to Maximum PC to Computer Shopper, the pre-Internet was a wild time. In the news, Western Digital "My Book" users had all their data deleted in a convoluted story, Western Digital tried to trick people into buying inferior drives, Google's internal dysfunction led briefly to Google News failing for all Google Workspaces users, and Sir Clive Sinclair has passed away at 81. Also Rym was nearly attacked by a crazy driver biking from Poughkeepsie to Queens on Sunday.
Beverages
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble beverage. From soda to pop, orange juice to bourbon, milk to yilk, and even good old reliable "water" we consider the general concept of drinks. In the news, the IATSE is mobilizing for a possible strike, we encourage you to murder Spotted Lanternflies if you live in New York, and we encourage you to delete your Facebook account.
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. It's a solid legacy game that's worth taking a look at. In the news, Rym finally played West of Loathing and is sorting out if we'll play Aliens: Fireteam Elite, The CEO of Broken Token steps down (but still owns the company...) after abuse and harassment allegations, the CEO of Tripwire steps down due to his abhorrent statements on abortion rights, and Twitch sues two individuals over ongoing racist and bigoted harassment rampant on their platform.
We will not be presenting at PAX West 2021
As you all know, we have presented at a lot of PAXes. In fact, we've never missed a single PAX in the US since 2008. Over 13 years, 36 PAXes, and 58 panels, PAX is a huge part of our lives. We even flew to Australia twice for the first two PAXes down under. Giving a panel at PAX is something we look forward to every year, and every PAX.
We will, regrettably, not be attending or presenting at PAX West 2021.
We are not yet in a post-COVID world. The Delta variant is spreading fast. Not enough people are vaccinated. Frankly, it's too soon for a PAX.Our official appearance policy is very simple, and we encourage you to consider it for your own personal safety. We will not attend or perform at any convention where masks or social distancing measures are required.
This is not because these measures are not effective. They are extremely important. It is because, as long as such measures are prudent and necessary, it does not seem safe or wise to attend any large indoor gathering. Especially conventions.
Stay safe, stay healthy, be careful, and we hope to see you again at a future PAX! But please, do not risk your health or safety for any convention no matter how much you miss them. It's just too soon, and the near future is too uncertain.
Atari Game Design
PAX East Online 2021
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 - 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.
