Bats

What's better than steampunk?  Gotham, when set in the art deco style (hope that's the right terminology).  Batman, in the animated series a lot of us grew up with, really worked here.  The old-fashioned architecture and B-man's futuristic tech just fit, you know?

I can get behind the Christopher Nolan version, I like it.  Having a modern context and interpretation is cool. The over-the-top style that Tim Burton played with was entertaining, and thankfully free of the now-requisite Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter casting...though, I'm certainly not complaining about the latter.

Ol' Bats is alright, though, whatever the version*.  He's not a Marvel character, but he can hang.  I'd pay real money to see him face off with Iron Man.

Score

This is my happy place music.

One of the things I like about being alive right now: people can upload (legally or otherwise) music to youtube and you can just go get it.  Click, typey type type, click, music.  There's a lifetime of content available at a moment's notice, and it's awesome.

Want to build a soundtrack for your day?  Knock yourself out.
Hour-long interview of Neil deGrasse Tyson by Stephen Colbert?  Done.
Tips for making better bacon?  Here ya go.

This is an exciting time, for absolutely silly reasons.

Space

Source.

Is it just me, or are images from lower orbits more impressive than those from longer distances?

Companions

So, at what point do your game avatars become characters?

Is it when the game's story evolves them to the level that they finally have enough depth?  Is there a certain hour-mark where they become worthy of things like names?

What makes a character, from a player's point of view?  I have friends that spend a lot of time on first-person shooters that have a favored weapon loadout and may spend time customizing their appearance, but I can't think of any time that they've referred to their avatars as anything as familiar as "my character."

When do they transition from coded construct to personality?

You're so vain...

I used to play City of Heroes.  The character creation setup gave players a HUGE amount of control over exactly how their avatars looked.  It was practically its own game...and then you could use the characters in the real content!

I liked that.  Being able to customize how you appear in-game is a wonderful option, even if it's just fluff.  It's easy to write it off as "my current gear looks stupid as hell, and I don't want to look at it anymore," but for a lot of us, it's something more...

Give it time.

The last few months, I've been talking with gamers across a decent spectrum of interests about why they did/didn't stick with a particular game, or what they think about what's coming down the line.  Basically, most of my sample doesn't like thinking about the bigger picture or how their attitudes might change closer to release.  Settle in, this one's a lengthy entry.

Blizzard Gamers - I was fortunate enough to land a ticket for Blizzcon 2011, and attended it with great enthusiasm.  It was awesome, and I'll hold it as one of my greater geek experiences for years to come.  This was the year that Diablo III was about to be released, and they announced the upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, Mists of Pandaria. 

Adaptation

I get a grim amusement from people's change in attitude over time regarding things that used to make them absolutely livid.  Namely, gas prices.  It wasn't that long ago that there was a spike in the average gasoline prices and the per-gallon cost was starting to approach an insane $2.  People lost their collective minds.

I think I filled up at about $3.36 per gallon the other day, and I haven't heard anyone gripe about how high gas prices are in months.  Now, the possibility of prices dropping is a good thing, but I wonder if people will be grateful or go back to bemoaning how much it is compared to a few years ago.

I'm not overly optimistic about the grateful part.  But, hey, there's a bright side: we'll adapt, again.

Cheap and fast.

Naming blogs is hard.

So, I spent a good deal of time at my job today thinking about a possible name for the blog.  It got me thinking about my history as a geek/nerd.  As a brief aside, those labels are too vague and it's annoying.
Anyway, reviewing my history as a gamer reminded me just how different people are when it comes to naming things.  Some of my friends pull from favored characters in literature, or composers and works of art.  Others follow a theme (I happen to dabble in this), and then there are the M1LFp0UnD3r types.

That actually sounds like a good drink name.

Back in the days of original X-Box gaming, I had trouble coming up with names, because I didn't know what would fit for me.  My name is monosyllabic, so I've never had any nicknames stick, and I couldn't ever think of anything that was distinct about me, so I had no theme.

Then I played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  Possible spoiler after the jump.

The first time is always awkward...

(tap tap)
This thing on?  Mic check...

Getting the idea from a friend, I've decided to start up a new blog so I can post thoughts that I can't always share with friends (distance, convenience, and other issues) when they come to mind.

Please pardon the mess while I get settled in with this new beast.