Read Play Blog: Favorite Science Fiction Game

Read. Play. Blog. is a meme about video games and books, posted every 16th of the month. Bloggers are encouraged to answer a discussion question, and recommend a video game that is similar to a book they liked. Hosted by Happy Indulgence & Read Me Away.

What is your favorite sci-fi game?

I'm trying to dig back and remember all of the sci-fi games I've played. Alternative futures and fancy tech is something that gets explored a lot in video games, after all. There's no shortage to choose from.

I think the earliest sci-fi game I played that wasn't just a future alien shooter (I still love you, Contra) was Beneath A Steel Sky, though I played it nearly ten years after its initial 1994 release. It's a point-and-click adventure game set in a future dystopic Australia, ruined after humans went crazy with pollution and/or nuclear fallout. It was a lot of fun, though I never finished it (I got close but then couldn't solve some last puzzle). It won loads of awards and is almost always on "Top Whatever" lists, yet somehow I missed out on it entirely until 2003, when JV insisted I try it. I think because in 1994 I was all about the SNES and the only PC games I was into were of the edutainment variety. Also, I was 8, and I can't imagine my parents would have been down with the gritty violence in the opening story.

The creator (Charles Cecil) collaborated with Dave Gibbons on this project. Yeah, that Dave Gibbons. If you're curious, it's still available as freeware, available to play on the ScummVM environment. A sequel is now in the works, though no word on when it's going to be released.

My current favorite, though, is Fallout 3. I don't care much for Bethesda's other behemoth, the Elder Scrolls series, but I am totally in love with the post-apocalyptic universe they've created in Fallout. I'm also in love with the diversity of that world, with a variety of race and ethnicities and interesting characters of both sexes. And the VATS system, since I can't aim for shit.

I can count, though! Which is all you need with VATS.

 I haven't played the first two Fallout games (or Fallout 3: New Vegas); they're on my list of "games to catch up on." I just have so many other games to finish first....


Recommendation

Since right now I'm deeply entrenched in my rotating trilogy of Ni no Kuni, Fallout 3, and Diablo 3, I'll branch out a little bit into a game I've always wanted to play myself (but never have) that also fits nicely into this sci-fi theme: Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic. (Which happens to tie in nicely with the book theme as well! Douglas Adams is, well, Douglas Adams, but also Terry Jones later adapted Starship Titanic the game into Starship Titanic the novel. I have no idea if it's any good, though.) There are a few Let's Plays of it so I can live vicariously through other people on the Internet, but that's not quite the same, y'know?

NaNo and Carmina Burana

God, there are a thousand things I should probably be blogging about, like the Philae landing or that dude's shirt with the half-naked ladies, but I'm going to have to miss those awesome blogging opportunities (or write about them later) because all of my spare energy has been thrown into my NaNo project this year, Your New Fan.

The title is subject to change but I think it's a good one.

This is an idea I've been sitting on for a couple years, at least in a vague way. You see, I listen to a lot of NPR in the states, and my particular affiliate (WDIY out of Allentown, PA) has a really great mix of indie music, local events, and syndicated NPR material. ("I'm Terry Gross and you're listening to Fresh Air.") But my favorite show, by far, is the three-hour weekday afternoon indie binge that is The Blend. If it was a good day at work, we'd have the dial tuned to NPR and those three hours during the slow winter months would just fly by. Then an hour of the news and then it was closing time.

It occurred to me on a drive once, on a day off, that it would be really easy for a mentally unwell person to fall in love with the DJ of just such a show, with only the music selection, the DJ's voice and a bit of banter or explanation in between songs to go on.

This year I finally decided to make that story happen. I also decided to go a little postmodern/House of Leaves with it and present the whole thing as a "found footage" story-within-a-story: someone discovers the letters addressed to a local DJ in their new apartment and presents their own commentary and thoughts on the letters; the more we learn about the author of the letters the more we also learn about the person who found the letters.

It is almost aggressively complex and ~literary~ but why not? I think this NaNo, more than my other attempts, is becoming a useful psychological exercise for me, but that's a topic best left to another day.

So, anyway, that's why I haven't been posting so much. And it isn't even NaNo that's prompting me to post today, but the fact that THIS IS HAPPENING AND I HAVE TICKETS FOR IT AND I'M GOING TO SEE IT IN A FEW HOURS:

I know Carmina Burana is like the super sexy popular kid of Modern orchestral music and is probably way overplayed but I don't care, I think it's a fantastic concert cantata.

If I lost you at "Carmina Burana" let me embed a selection from it that you absolutely positively know because at this point it's become something like a musical trope (especially in movie soundtracks).

Trek Thursday: What Are Little Girls Made Of?

#48: What Are Little Girls Made Of?

In case you forgot: Kirk and Nurse Chapel square off against Chapel's (ex?) fiancé, Roger Korby, and his android henchmen, including Ted Cassidy. Twist ending: Korby is himself an android.

This is the only episode where Nurse Chapel (aka Future Mrs. Roddenberry) gets to have some time off the Enterprise. While Kirk spends most of the episode being the hero, Chapel at least doesn't get endangered or in the way, which is refreshing. (Though, if she hadn't been a major recurring character in the series/dating the head writer, she might not have been spared.)

Spock is also sharp enough to catch on to robo-Kirk right away and takes immediate and sane action, compared to other possessed/fake/etc Kirks that pop up later in the series. Not catching on to a body-snatched individual right away is one of my biggest Trek-related pet peeves. In the course of daily life here in the real world we of course never encounter that kind of situation but this is Star Trek, for fuck's sake. Everyone on the Enterprise has probably seen weird, freaky shit we can't even imagine. Body-snatching seems like it would be pretty high on the list of "weird shit that happens in space."

(Weird Shit That Happens in Space would be a good alternative title for Star Trek.)

The whole court scene in Turnabout Intruder bugs me for this very reason.

Korby attempting to prove his humanity to Chapel and Kirk is a little bit funny and a lot bit sad.  ("I'm not a computer. Test me. Ask me to solve any... equate... transmit...") His suicide comes totally out of left field, too, so that's a bit of a gut-puncher.

Somehow Kirk manages to get an android to fall in love with him, just by forcibly kissing her? Ugh. I don't think I need to explain how unappealing that is. (Thought: how awesome would it have been if Kirk had taught Ted Cassidy the power of love, instead of Sherry Jackson?) Really, the whole "androids are people too!...or are they?" theme is another iteration of "why man is superior to the computer" and it never brings anything new to the discussion.


What bugs me the most, though, are the implications of the method Kirk uses to foil the android-making process. If he is so easily able to "overwrite" his friendship and fraternal feelings for Spock by just focusing on one snarly bigoted comment about Spock's Vulcan heritage, how deep is the friendship, really?

Five Fandom Friday: Comfort Foods That Always Make Me Feel Better

This week's 5 Fandom Friday is about food again. Be still, my heart!

1. Macaroni and Cheese

Like Natalie, mac 'n' cheese is at the top of my list, now and forever.

Growing up it was a double-edged sword because we always had mac 'n' cheese alongside ham, easily my most-loathed meat. In general I have never been a hardcore meat lover, but things like chicken, pork, beef, turkey, and so on, I can eat without issue. I don't particularly like them but they're not abhorrent. 

Ham, on the other hand, is gross. And you know what? It's still gross now, too. I've managed to outgrow a lot of my childhood aversions and dislikes, but ham is definitely NOT one of them. 

So for years mac 'n' cheese was a mixed blessing. I would have to ration out bits of the mac 'n' cheese as rewards for finishing so many bites of ham. And then hope there would be enough left for a massive heaping reward of "HURRAY YOU ATE ALL YOUR HAM." When I was old enough that I could make my own dinners out of whatever I wanted, there were definitely a few nights where I just had like half a box of  mac 'n' cheese right out of the serving bowl. 

There's no Velveeta in Sweden, though. Sadface.

2. Dolsot bibimbap

What? Vegetables? This doesn't seem like it belongs in the same category as mac 'n' cheese, but it does. Piping hot in the stone pot, it warms you from the inside out. The best part? The crunchy rice at the bottom that fries in the sesame oil while you eat. Mmmm.

I ate this for lunch every day at my first school in South Korea. I struggled a lot at that first job, and the daily caloric dump of a bowl full of hot rice and veggies gave me the strength I needed to make it until 9 pm.

I really need to get a dolsot of my own.

3. Budae jjigae

Dolsot bibimbap is something you eat on your own; budae jjigae is something you eat with your friends. Sometimes after a long day teaching you don't feel like making dinner, so you get your friends to go out for dinner instead.

And there are any number of Korean dishes you can have, really, that would be about as comforting. Budae jjigae is especially dear to my heart because it is the signature dish of my Korean "hometown."

A jjigae is a Korean stew, of which there are innumerable varieties. Kimchi jjigae, tofu jjigae, tuna jjigae, and on and on. Budae jjigae features random bits of meat like you'd find in American military MREs: hot dogs, SPAM, and cheap sausage. During the Korean War, enterprising Koreans used these scraps to supplement their own cooking. So in addition to the meat, budae jjigae contains all the trappings of typical jjigaes: kimchi, mushrooms, tofu, bits of seaweed, and the spicy broth. However, budae jjigae is the only jjigae I've had that is also served with ramen noodles and slices of ddeok (rice cake).

The best way to have a bowl of budae jjigae is to eat the ramen noodles before they get too soggy, then go after all the large bits (ddeok, SPAM, hotdogs), and then have the remaining broth and little bits with rice. And if all that food doesn't make you feel better, the endless bottles of soju you're going to have with it will!

4. Pirogi/pelmeni

Every culture has some variation on the dumpling. I came to know them as pirogi, and they were regular dinner guests in our house, both the Hanka Foods pirogi (a local company that was bought by the company that makes Mrs. T's in 2001) and school fundraiser pirogi handmade by little old ladies whose names end in "-ski." Saute with onions and serve with sour cream. Heaven. Acceptable fillings: potato, with cheese or vegetable as you like.

The best part about pirogi when I was a kid was that they were a dish of their own. Unlike mac 'n' cheese, there was no nasty ham I had to contend with first to get to my starch-filled starch.

It wasn't until I went to college that I met people who had no idea what these were. Once in a while these were available at the dining hall and that was always a good night when that happened. 

5. Fruity Pebbles

I don't care if this doesn't count as food. Disgustingly sweet sugar-loaded breakfast cereals are an important part of a balanced breakfast American food culture. The only reason I don't take my grown-up Muesli with equal parts Fruity Pebbles is because there are no Fruity Pebbles (or weirdo European equivalent) at our grocery store. But this was my favorite cereal as a kid and a regular breakfast all the way through high school. Even as an adult I would cut my bowl of Kashi with equal parts Fruity Pebble to get me started. I have the same relationship with sugar that most people my age have with caffeine.

What are some of your favorite comfort foods?

Trek Thursday: Spectre of the Gun

#49: Spectre of the Gun

In case you forgot: On orders to make contact with the reclusive Melkotian race,The Power Trio, plus Scotty and Chekov, are stuck on a planet that's a half-finished Tombstone. Seems like Kirk pushed the Melkotians a little too far and now they're facing justice in a moment "constructed from Kirk's memory." Spock convinces everyone not to believe in the bullets and so the landing party is safe for another day.

It's been a while since we've had a good case of backassing in this countdown. This time it seems less for plot contrivance ("how do we get Bones to jump into the time portal?") and more for filming practicality ("how we do we get the story happening on a set we've already built because we are way behind schedule?"). At least, I hope it's backassing, because otherwise that means someone thought the Wild West shootout at the O.K. Corral was a great idea.

Don't get me wrong, I'm always a fan of Matrix-style "it's all in your mind!" premises, but the setting really limits the coolness factor.

Well, the setting and the internal inconsistencies within the logic established by the story. Spock figures out that everything is just in their heads because a sleeping gas that should have knocked him out doesn't. Somehow he makes the leap that because the laws of science are not working as they should, they must be in a weird Matrix-style construct. That's a far leap there, but okay.

But if just believing is enough to unravel the whole thing, why wouldn't the Melkotians have, I don't know, made sure that sleeping gas actually worked? It's such a massive oversight, especially for a race of super intelligent, super powerful god-like beings. And even if the Power Trio convinces themselves that the bullets are fake, can't the Melkotians still kill them in a thousand other ways?

Also, why does Spock know about the Tombstone shootout? How much Earth history has he studied? If they're still on the bridge, what is going on around them? It would have been nice to have a couple shots of the Power Trio et al. ignoring the rest of the bridge and babbling nonsense about the O.K. Corral.


On another, non-Trek–related note, I'm sorry to have disappeared from the blogging world. I am (1) fighting back a not particularly nasty but incredibly persistent and lingering cold and (2) NANO. On top of my usual Swedish studies and editing work.

I am already at 30,000 words, though!! I am really into this particular story—maybe a little too into it, considering how mentally unhinged most of the characters are—so I am extremely confident in my ability to clear the 50,000 goal before the deadline. I thought my idea this year was going to be a hard, difficult one but it's turning out to be the easiest I've done yet. Maybe this means I need to see a therapist or something?

I promise that once I hit 50,000 words, I'll slow my relentless pace and spend some of those words here instead of in my NaNo. I do have some exciting news that I CAN'T WAIT to share with you guys but it is a little premature so I'm sitting on it....for now. But don't wander away!

Five Fandom Friday: CANDY

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly meme hosted by The Nerdy Girlie. I've been following it (or rather, blogs that participate) for a while, but haven't felt compelled to answer.

Until now.

My participation in fandom is minimal and subdued, shall we say. But no greater love hath a man than I do for chocolate and candy. Or something.

The Halloween Candy I Always Hope(d) For When Trick-or-Treating:

1. 3 Musketeers

I was a picky eater as a child, even when it came to candy. I don't like peanut butter in my chocolate (at all, ever), and since I probably got burned some time with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I was wary for YEARS about having anything else ever with my chocolate. Ever. I don't think I had a Twix bar until I was in college. So whenever a house was giving out 3 Musketeers I got super stoked, because a lot of them always had nothing but "chocolate + another thing" candy.

Fortunately, I could always trade with my brother, who was happy to get more Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

2. Kit Kat Bars

Another safe, pure chocolate bet. Also, they are really satisfying to snap into pieces.

3. York Peppermint Patties

The only safe bet to mix with chocolate is mint. I would always save these for last and eat them in teeny-tiny nibbles to make them last as long as possible. 

4. Swedish Fish

I'm sure I got a few small bags of these suckers here and there from trick-or-treating, but I'll admit I probably ate more of them during my brother's baseball games than at Halloween. 

Ironically, now that I live in Sweden and can get "candy fish" from the candy section of the grocery store any time I want, it's been ages since I had any.

5. Candy Corn

Far and away the best Halloween candy of all time. It's more the province of school crafts and party gift bags than proper "grab a fistful" trick-or-treating, but either way this is the candy I looked forward to the most when the calendar switches to October. Or, in my broke college student days, when the calendar flipped to November and all of the Halloween candy went on massive discount. 

Apparently a lot of people hate candy corn. I can only surmise they hate all that is good and beautiful in this world.

Trek Thursday: The Man Trap

#50: The Man Trap

In case you forgot: A shape-shifting salt vampire, whom Bones believes is his beloved ex-girlfriend, chows down on some redshirts. She spares McCoy because he has such strong feelings for her (she also feeds on love...?), but turns on her husband and the captain. McCoy is the one who has to shoot her to save Kirk and the ship, of course, because of the Rule of Drama.

Getting to see the rest of the crew of the Enterprise have some more lines and some more personality is a nice change of pace. This could be either a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about the somewhat painful exchange between Spock and Uhura; personally, I wish it had carried over into later episodes (though written more competently). Regardless, a salt vampire is kind of a cool idea for a monster, shape-shifting or otherwise, and the pathos of the species' extinction at the hands of the good doctor doesn't feel at all hamfisted.

Also, I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks the handpuppet flower in Sulu's botany laboratory is a cool, cute effect.

But what potential this episode had is squandered pretty quickly. (There's a reason it's not ranked higher, after all.) McCoy may get a backstory, but what he gains in character development he loses in smarts. We all do stupid things for love, but Bones makes some decisions that are just, well, bone-headed. (Hah, hah.) To be fair, McCoy isn't the only one holding the idiot ball: Kirk and the crew seem to be pretty unnaturally slow on the uptake that they're dealing with a shape-shifter.

There's also far more shots of the creature wandering around the Enterprise looking for a meal than is really necessary. Smells like filler, to be honest.