E3-2010

So as most of you know E3 is going on right now, and with it comes some pretty big gaming announcements.

One of those announcements came from Microsoft. They announced a new sleeker version of the Xbox 360. It is all black, with a 250 GB hard drive, and built in wi-fi. It comes in at about $300, which I think is a pretty good deal. The system looks very slick and sexy. I found myself salivating over the announcement of this new 360, especially since it is shipping this week. I can't wait to get my hands on this puppy.

Another bit of big news came from Sony, when they unveiled Portal 2 for the PS3. Now for those of you who don't know the developers of Portal, Valve, has publicly spoken against the PS3. So it was a huge surprise when GLaDOS' voice came from the speakers. Gabe Newell even acknowledge the fact that in the past he has dissed the PS3. Still this is very good news for the PS3, this means that it is catching up with the Xbox 360. One day it could be on equal footing with the 360.

Finally as far as Nintendo goes, if you're a fan girl/boy there were a lot of exciting announcements. Such a brand new Zelda, new Donkey Kong, and a new yarn themed Kirby. All of these games and more should satisfy the fans for awhile. Although these games had me chopping at the bit what really got me was the official unveiling of the 3DS. The 3DS is a new handheld the offers complete 3D gameplay, without glasses. Now that's a big one.

With all the announcements the game that I was most excited to see was Star Wars: Old Republic. This new Star Wars game is an MMO developed by Bioware, this game is poised to topple the Goliath that is World of Warcraft. And I can't wait to play this game into the wee hours of the night.

How about you guys are there any games that you are excited about? Or are you just tired of all the E3 news?

Even Geek Girls get the Blues

I’m struggling today with something that certainly isn’t new, but it’s persistent. No, we’re not talking a new programming language or attaining the next level in the latest MMORPG.

I’m talking about depression.

I wonder sometimes if maybe geeks might be prone to just a little higher probability of depression than the rest of the world. Here’s my thoughts, with minimal scientific data to back it up (sorry, too…meh…to do more than Google) :

1. Geeks tend towards the higher end of the IQ spectrum. In the article “Depression and Intelligence” at RecurrentDepression.com the author states: “In fact, a high IQ is a good predictor of depression. Why? Simply because those with higher intelligence are amazingly “creative” with their inner dialogues.”

2. The nature of the Geek life itself tends towards isolation. If you’ve ever seen “Welcome to the NHK,” an anime about the Hikikomiri life, you’ll see where hours of anime and gaming can lead to an actual documented illness as the individual pulls away from life in general.

3. Geeks…let’s face it…tend not to have the network of friends to support them when they start getting ‘down.’ If all your friends are online, who’s going to see past the IMed responses to see how you really are?

4. Geek activities tend to feed into the depression. While the non-geek population might think a night out clubbing or shopping is the cure to the blues, the Geek gravitates towards their favorite pastimes of computer games and all weekend anime marathons. While physical activity (so all that window shopping and dancing) will actually stimulate the release of endorphins to raise mood levels, there have been studies that show video gaming can lead to adrenalin rushes that will actually dump dopamine into your brain…much like crack will. The problem comes afterwards when the rush fades. In the wake of the rush, your body will crash, and hard. Your mood will in fact be worse than when you started.

5. Geeks are human. I hate to break this to you…but they are. And guess what? If depression affects as many as 19 million Americans every year, it just might well be your turn. After all, geeks have the same money/relationship/life stress the rest of the world does.

So what to do? If you suspect you have a severe problem with depression, please talk to someone. Anyone. I would suggest starting with your doctor.

And as for me? I’m going to get away from the computer a bit and get outside, maybe take a walk and scuff through the leaves with someone I love.

How do you beat the blues?

Extra Life

I'm proud to say that The Geek Project will be participating in Extra Life. Now for those of you who don't know about Extra Life it's a fundraiser started by Sarcastic Gamer to raise money for pediatric cancer. The fundraiser is a 24-hour gaming marathon from October 17 to October 18. And if you want to help you can do one of four things, or a combination of the four. You can donate to us by going to our donation page or by clicking on the Extra Life ad on our site. You could sponsor us during the event, this means you would have to give us at least a dollar an hour for every hour we play. That would be a total of $24. You could also start your own team and get to work raising money for Extra Life. Or you could just give your money to one of the many other teams that are participating in the event. Whatever you do you'll be helping in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Halo 3 Ego Trip

Halo 3 Ego Trip

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A few months ago I won the Millington Naval Base’s Halo 3 tournament; I barely pulled this feat off seeing as I had an appropriate adversary. Now, I’m not going to say I’m perfect, but I’m damn near close to it when it comes to Halo. This is something earned (skill), not necessarily gained seeing as you have to be unemployed, or basically live with your parents and have no social life what so ever. Headshots are attained… three shot BR isn’t luck, it’s skill… Being an egotistical asshole is attained as well, which is why I quit playing Halo 3 for the most part. Xbox live has been going strong since it’s release in 2002, but the entire system promotes a nation wide pissing contest.

I guess I started to think about quitting Xbox live after I started several arguments via email; that led to arguments over the phone. Yelling at the top of my lungs through a headpiece at opponents wasn’t quite enough for me, so I needed to yell over the phone as well. I believe I have personally threatened the life of many people via live…That just doesn’t seem mentally sound. I never threatened to kill anyone, but I have made many propositions to fight in real life after I got wiped across the floor on MLG Guardian/MLG Slayer game type (Whatever the fuck its called.. All the MLG kids name the shit like ,“M..L.G. TSK5.50” and other little fancy abbreviations).

Anyway, the online gaming is typically a pissing contest. I used to get infuriated when I lost, even if it was a stupid game mode meant to be fun, I took my head shots very seriously. I still despise “Infection” game types for the most part because it isn’t serious at all, but it is good to play for fun which is what most of us forget about. I quit playing based on the fact that I genuinely felt guilty after killing that same noob for the 18th time in a row. I just know there is somebody having a terrible day out there, and me shooting them over and over in the face and then calling them a bitch isn’t helping matters at all. I got so good, I just decided to quit for my sake, and others because “karma” exists just as the air we breath.

If you really think about it, video games are similar to drugs. It gets you through problems in life by getting the user basically ignoring them. Here, focus on something else for a while. Lose out there, but in here, safe in your room, you can win! An internal attitude like that is designed for epic failure. These are rather abstract concepts, but the lines become sharper when you look at the issue as a whole. The ego trips are an escape from some sort of shortcoming in reality. My ego issue was I didn’t have a job, and at the time I was literally 100 pounds over weight… I wonder why? My Halo skills corresponded with my weight if you get my drift. Instead of bicep curls, I was killing Master Chief zombies. Instead of 100 crunches, you could catch me simply zoned in on “the next battle to be won”. I was losing the war, that was the only problem.

Personally absolute trust in God has helped me see a clear path ahead. I would suggest the reader to maybe look in the mirror. Are the games just fun, or is it truly an escape? Are you lying, or are you being honest with yourself? Is it your life, or your lifestyle? Some people are balanced and happy, but I’m just here to remind you even people that claim to plan on making a mental escape of some kind. Plan for this week: I’m going to focus on reality and throw the virtual reality to the pros.

-PCP