Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

The MMO Times: Togruta’s Are Awesome!

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On July 23, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Shaak Ti vs Darth Maul Would Be Epic

Issue 123: Can you believe that the summer months are nearly over and kids will be going back to school soon (which means Trade Chat will simmer down during the daylight hours)?? Where does the time go?? Before you know it Blizzcon will be here and we will all be thinking about candy and turkey. Speaking of Blizzcon, does anyone have any predictions as to what big announcements we will have this year? I am going to throw my guess in; I think the day of open ceremonies will be when they open up the beta testing for Overwatch. I also think there may be a WoW expansion announcement and it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw Blizzard trademark something in the next couple of months which will have us all freaked out just before Blizzcon (which will drive ticket sales).

There are some very interesting stories to show you today (depending on what you have a taste for). Personally the first story you will read about is one of my favorites and one I cannot believe I didn’t read about until SIX days after it was posted! #Fail. On the subject of Star Wars (*hint-hint*), the other piece of surprising news is related to a Star Wars title (and it’s not SWTOR). In fact most of this issues headlines talk about content updates coming to a lot of your favorite games, not to mention the allusive Heathstone announcement Blizzard has been teasing about for a few weeks. KCGO.

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My First Fanboy Episode VII Concern

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On July 22, 2015

In Fulmination, Geek Canon, Star Wars

han-chewie-episode-7I try not to read too many spoilers about The Force Awakens because I want to be surprised by the story just like anyone else. However in a couple of recent posts/interviews people have alluded to the possible death of one of the original characters.

Before I go any further I am going to do the ole’ SPOILERS warning. If you have read any of the books from the expanded universe then I won’t unveil anything new (and I am referring specifically to Vector Prime). Also, if you don’t want to hear the rumors going around about the upcoming movie, you may want to stop as well.

Continuing on …

If you are familiar with any of the Star Wars lore then you know the reason Chewbacca is always by Han’s side is he owes Han a life debt. At some point in the past Han saves Chewie’s life and therefore Chewie will remain by his side to fulfill said debt. I don’t recall anywhere else in the canon that suggests Chewie has ever fulfilled his life debt but its probably safe to assume he has not. Which brings us to Vector Prime. Vector Prime takes place several years after ROTJ and Han and Leia are married with three kids (Jaina, Jacen and Anakin). I don’t know the specifics as I haven’t read Vector Prime (yet) but I do know that Chewie fulfills his life debt by giving his own life to save Hans’ kid(s).

So that’s the lore as it stands today. (Btw, all books published using the Star Wars name and characters must be approved by George Lucas.)

In recent plot discussions about The Force Awakens, there have been statements that allude to the fact that either Han or Chewie die and the popular rumor is that it’s Han. At the risk of sounding like a nerd raging fanboy, this is NOT in line with the expanded universe. It doesn’t matter which one of them dies (assuming the rumor is true), neither are supposed to die before Han and Leia’s kids are born. When we deviate from the widely known canon we start to look as inconsistent as Star Trek!

Yes, I went there! I just compared Star Wars to Star Trek! Granted Star Trek couldn’t keep its story/timeline straight through all the television series and movies whereas we are comparing movies to books. You cannot use the old [Star Trek] cliché that the books are an “alternative universe or timeline” because that is WEAK! You cannot expect us nerdier Star Wars fans to read the books outside the context of the movies because, in our mind’s eye, that’s our sole basis for comparison.

After all, it is those of us that are the mega-Star-Wars-Universe-nerds that can look past the plot and acting flaws of the prequels (or Phantom Menace at the minimum). So, just like a losing wookie, it would also be unwise to piss us off.

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Mr. Robot vs Fight Club

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On July 16, 2015

In General Cogitation

mr-robot-headerIf you haven’t been watching this show but you have been considering it, then I wouldn’t continue reading because I am going to talk about something that may, or may not, be a spoiler for the show. I’ve always been a fan of high-brow shows and I do think this show constitutes as high-brow at a technical level. Granted not all of the “hacks” the main character performs are technically feasible (i.e. a brute force password script cannot complete within 2 minutes using only two pieces of personal minutia- ex: favorite baseball team and pets name). It is a pretty decent show if you can get past the far left-wing agenda subtext that comes off a little too radical to be believable. Be that as it may, I am going to get into one of the biggest theories of the show and why I think it would continue to make the show awesome.

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***

The big theory is that Christian Slater’s character is Eliot’s Tyler Durden brought on by the stress of his cyber security job and social anxiety, or perhaps its brought on by his morphine use. I was originally going to talk about how this was a theory I had since the second episode, but I later found out that this has been a theory posted out on the Internet since the first episode aired online (prior to its USA premiere). Initially I was disappointed that this theory was already so prolific but now I am disappointed to learn that if its true people will be upset. Fight Club, to my knowledge, was the only movie to successfully allude the audience that Edward Norton’s character was schizophrenic and there isn’t an episodic series or movie that has successfully done it.

In fact, I thought at one point I read that some studio was thinking about doing a Fight Club television series. Perhaps Mr. Robot is the evolution of those discussions. Granted I thought Fight Club was a great movie but I don’t know if the end really allowed for it to become a television series. Christian Slater is desperately trying to find a successful sitcom so if he is a figment of Eliot’s psychosis and the producers establish that in the show, does that still warrant a need for Christian Slater’s character? Sometimes tv series just use a big name to generate viewers and then hope that the remaining cast will eventually be able to carry the show without said A-lister (not that Christian Slater is much of an A-list actor anymore, but you get my point).

If it were me and I was producing of the show, I wouldn’t say either way for the entire series. I would keep the audience guessing with every episode. Let the Internet build the hype for you and let them argue about if he’s real or not. In every couple of episodes throw a couple of hints in either direction, creating just enough ambiguity to keep your viewers coming back each week. I would try to keep the suspense going until the final episode and only then reveal the truth. Just as long as the truth makes sense …

… we don’t want to find out he was in purgatory the whole time! 🙂

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

The MMO Times: Iwata’s Final 1Up

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On July 16, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

satoru-iwataIssue 122: Does the name Satoru Iwata mean anything to you? It’s alright if you didn’t know who he was, but if you are a gamer I think you should silently bestow some reverence. He was the CEO of Nintendo and a game developer pioneer who recently passed away. I know Nintendo had very little to do with MMO games but a gamer is always a gamer no matter what platform they prefer. I have a link to a great article about his life that you should check out in this issue.

Sadness aside, the SDCC definitely provided us all with many funny feelings in our special places. We not only got a sneak peak at The Force Awakens but also the Deadpool trailer (which is very NSFW, btw) the leaked X-Men: Apocalypse trailer, and you should seriously check out this Suicide Squad trailer (it actually looks pretty good). Of course there was also more details about the upcoming Warcraft movie. It was an exciting weekend for movie geeks and gamers alike. Arousing trailers aside, we do have some gaming news to talk about. The rumor mill and teasers continue from Blizzard regarding new content, specifically around Hearthstone. There is more information on the group changes for SWTOR as well as several other titles with new content coming in the next few months. KCGO.

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Tech Talk: Tech Pipe Bombs

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On July 15, 2015

In Microsoft, Mobile, Tech Talk, Technology

cm-punk-pipebomb

CM Punk is an amazing athlete and was known for his pipe bombs on WWE

Last week Microsoft and Logitech dropped a couple of pipe bombs on the tech industry. One was unexpected, the other … well, let’s just say I wasn’t terribly surprised. It’s going to be interesting for me to talk about both of these companies because I love everything Logitech creates but my relationship with Microsoft has been a little tumultuous lately. Either way, it was a pretty big shake-up for the mobile and computer industry.

Logitech Re-branding Itself

logi-logo

The new Logitech logo

The biggest surprise was Logitech re-branding itself as “Logi”. I have read all of the various reasons the company decided to do this but I still don’t know if I like the new branding. I have enjoyed Logitech’s products for so long that its going to be difficult for my brain to associate “Logi” and “Logitech” as the same entity, especially when all the logos change. I get why they did it. Our world has become so integrated with technology that it almost seems barbaric to do anything without it (even simply taking a walk now has some technology association).

I imagine its going to be a while before we stop calling it “Logitech”; I know that’s the name I’m going to use for a while (ex: I still call it “Sears Tower“). Also, how does one even pronounce “Logi”? Is it like “logic” without the “c” (i.e. “lodgie”)? Or “loggy”? It can’t be “loogie”, that’s just gross! My guess is “lodgie” but that sounds so childish to me. There wasn’t a corporate buy-out that prompted this change so they are still going to manufacturer the same outstanding products. Hopefully this new branding won’t damage their sales because there’s nothing comparable out there.

Microsoft Killed Nokia

borg

Microsoft of Borg

Now the not-so-surprising news. Windows Phone is officially dead (*cough*about time*cough*)! Microsoft performed a huge layoff, 7800 folks are now looking for new jobs, and most of them were part of the Nokia buyout/phone business. I feel kind of bad for Nokia because they made decent phones … then they started running Windows 8 mobile exclusively. It’s interesting because when I heard Microsoft make the deal to “help” Nokia by providing the OS, I predicted that they would end up buying Nokia (I’m kicking myself for not buying Nokia stock, which would now be Microsoft stock). I also predicted that the Windows Phone wouldn’t survive and is another failed venture, just like the Zune. Sometimes, I hate being right.

It’s also interesting because this seemed like such a surprise to so many people. It was talked about on most news feeds for a couple of days as if it were the most earth-shattering pimp bomb to come out of Redmond since Bill Gates announced his retirement. Obviously I’m not a fan of the Windows Phone but that’s isn’t why I think this was the right decision for Satya Nadella to make for Microsoft. When you have a failing product or a product that just can’t compete, the smarter thing to do is cut it loose, especially when your direct competitor is taking 92% of the profits in the industry. Every company goes through peaks and valleys and Microsoft’s recent moves suggest, to me, that they are trying to climb out of their current valley (perpetrated by said failed smartphone and Windows 8).

The futures of both of these companies is going to be an interesting thing to watch because they made some pretty difficult and paradigm-shifting changes. Don’t get me wrong, I hope the best for both of these companies; one keeps me happy and productive, the other keeps me employed.

/cheers

Book Review: Fairest

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On July 13, 2015

In Book Review, Fantasy

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5)Fairest by Marissa Meyer

My rating: [rating=4]
(Go to goodreads to see this review there)

Although fairly short, this book was well worth the read. It gives you an interesting look into the confused mind of Levana. It also provides a little bit of interesting backstory to other characters from the series as well as some of the plot elements critical to the story.

Reading about Levana does create an emotional dichotomy for the reader because you almost want to feel bad for her when you realize why its so critical for Lunars to use their “gift” more wisely. Unfortunately by the end Levana has pretty much gone as mad as Ahab and will stop at nothing to get her “white whale”.

Reading this book does make me excited for Winter (which doesn’t come out until this fall). The chronological value of this books is 3.5 so I would read it in that same order. It’s not really a book that needs to be read as a prequel.

Oh, and if you haven’t read any of the Lunar Chronicle books, you need to get right on that now!

View all my reviews

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