Analytical Otaku

Pewdiepie and Tobuscus are two awesome people. They make money playing video games, for crying out loud! It doesn’t get much cooler than that. Yet for some reason, many of their fans don’t think the internet is big enough for both of them. They claim one is better than the other. This is the internet, so stupidity isn’t shocking. What is shocking is what we can learn by studying these primitive tribes of fans. Or re-learn, as the case...

Are you as excited for the next season of Korra as I am? If you are, you’ve probably spent a fair amount of time wondering what’s going to happen in Book Two. Who knows what the writers are going to come up with? Whatever they do, there are a few things I hope they avoid. Let’s face it, even great writers make mistakes, and if they aren’t careful, they could write the show into an early grave. Here are five mistakes that could make...

DC is stupid. That’s not news. From their convoluted crossover events to their asinine editorial decisions, they’ve stuck their foot in their mouth more than once. The most recent offender is the New 52. The New 52 isn’t all bad (only about 90% of it), but it’s been over a year and some much needed corrections still haven’t been made. My biggest pet peeve: the absence of Stephanie Brown. Here are five reasons Stephanie Brown should be...

Being a nerd is officially cool. Video games are widespread, superheroes are mainstream, and Jediism is the seventh most popular religion in the UK.  I guess people have finally figured out that nerds rule the world, and they’re eager to get a slice of the action. Except that this new, mainstream nerdiness is an insult to us purist nerds. After all, part of the experience of being ageek is the social ostracism. There's more to...

For each answer you respond yes to, reward yourself with points. Unless stated otherwise, each question is worth one point. This is in no way a complete listing of all possible aspects of nerdiness. It’s just a general overview of the many ways one can be socially awkward. This test is for fun. Don’t stretch your butthole out of shape if you don’t get a score you like. Even I wouldn’t get a hundred on this test, so take it with...

Young Justice isn’t getting a third season. This is immensely disappointing, because the show hasn’t been around that long. There’s still a lot of momentum to the story, and I haven’t had my fill of the amazing characters. There are thousands of comic stories the series could draw on. But that’s the thing. The DC Universe has so many stories, subplots, and characters to draw from that it would be impossible to fit them all into...

Last time we talked about how video game objectives can influence how much a player values something. The careful designer can set up an objective that forces the player to temporarily adopt a value-set that is not their own.  Speaking of forcing their values on players, Every Day the Same Dream is an indie game with a bleak outlook on life. The player is stuck in a vicious cycle of waking up, getting dressed, and going to work....