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(07/26/17 7:49pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones.
Remember Gendry? He was that nice young blacksmith, saved Arya once or twice, bastard of the late King Robert Baratheon, and apparently still at sea according to what the showrunners have previously mentioned.
Despite teasing about how massive his lats must be after all that rowing in the small craft Ser Davos Seaworth launched him in, saving him from Melisandre and her thirst for a king’s blood for her dark magics, Weiss and Benioff might be hiding that Gendry still has a larger purpose in the Game of Thrones narrative.
Firstly Gendry appears to be the final Baratheon if we’re to believe that Stannis is actually dead. His being Robert Baratheon’s son has always made him a more legitimate heir to the Iron Throne than Cersei’s children who are purely Lannister. While I can’t see a campaign to vote some random but ripped Rower King, I could see some whisperings of a surviving son of Robert Baratheon shaking up houses who still are loyal to Cersei. For the most part, loyalty to the Lannisters is being kept up out of fear of the kingdom falling to dragonfire and Dothraki hordes.
Then there’s where we left off in the second episode of this season,“Stormborn.” After Euron Greyjoy attacked the fleet headed for Dorne, Theon is left treading water. This lead to theories about Gendry appearing to save him, complete with his ultra beefy arms.
There actually might be some validity to the idea of Gendry swooping in as a hero, just not in this instance. But soon enough.
Last year Joe Dempsie, who plays Gendry, was spotted by paparazzi in Belfast, where a significant portion of the show is filmed. He was also spotted in Spain, where the Dragonstone set is. Allegedly, paparazzi saw him swinging a war hammer, freeing a bound Tyrion and Ser Davos.
A war hammer is awfully fitting considering it was his father’s weapon of choice during Robert’s Rebellion. His saving Ser Davos also makes sense, Davos having saved Gendry from Melisandre and her leeches.
Were Gendry to reappear, it would favor him to put his lot in with Daenerys. His appearance—complete with war hammer and Robert Baratheon’s looks—might rally houses that favored the old rule and ridiculed the Lannisters. Cersei would likely worry about having another Baratheon usurper on her hands, just like Stannis before him. The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms (or three of them anyway) has proven her determination to crush anything that threatens her future dynasty, so Gendry would just be another problem to solve with a quick death.
Cersei’s current sway over Westeros is her being the lesser or two evils in the form of protection from foreign invasion: Daenerys has Dothraki and Unsullied, foreigners that the Westerosi believe to be barbaric pillagers. It might be a good PR move for the Mad King's daughter to attach herself to the familiar Baratheon name.
This is all assuming a lot, but the fact remains that the main title still features the stag—the sign of House Baratheon. For the sake of symmetry, shock factor, and supporting initial design choices, it would behoove the show to see the return of Gendry Baratheon, out of the water and into the fray.
(07/25/17 10:00am)
by Daley Wilhelm
This article contains spoilers for Dream Daddy.
But one of the endings is.
Last week the much anticipated dad dating simulator Dream Daddy created by the Game Grumps captivated the Internet with a punny, original concept that charmed players with an adorable aesthetic, wholesome meme-ery, and of course those handsome, datable dads. The game, announced only about a month ago, offers a Dadsona-creator, mini-games, and according to the last bullet-point of the features on Steam “Secretssssssss.”
Data miners may have already discovered one of those secrets. And it’s a dark one.
For those of you unfamiliar with the genre, dating simulators feature multiple endings with your multiple love interests, some “good” (Happily ever after!) and some “bad” (You break up, he moves away, he’s actually in a cult, etc.). In Dream Daddy, your objective is to seek a “good end” with one of the seven eligible dads. However, one of those dads isn’t so very eligible.
Dream Daddy features Damien “Goth Dad” Bloodmarch who looks like a stereotypical vampire and Robert “Bad Dad” Small whose hobbies include hunting cryptids, but it’s Joseph “Cool Youth Minister Dad” Christiansen that has the more complicated background. Joseph is married to his aptly named wife Mary, making the player a kind of interloper should they choose to pursue this prim blonde.
Another ending with Joseph has him try to reconcile his miserable relationship with his wife, and since he does not wind up with the player, this would be considered a “bad end.”
But it gets worse.
One data miner found a disturbing transcript of another ending with Joseph, one a little off-kilter considering the good vibes this game exudes. The player awakens in a dungeon with Joseph in a priest’s outfit and a much different demeanor. He reveals that the reason why all the dads in the cul-de-sac are so datable is because he had systematically murdered all their spouses for his dark, occult purposes. The player and Mary then team up to defeat Joseph. The assets and art from this ending reflect an entirely different tone from the rest of the soft, pastel Dream Daddy art.
Dating sims have done this before, most notably Hatoful Boyfriend, with it’s dystopian premise and plethora of endings wherein the hapless player ends up beheaded, dismembered, or assassinated quite frequently at the hands (wings?) of the pigeons she tries to woo. Fans have theorized that this “cult ending” was meant perhaps to be a Halloween DLC. Players have tried desperately to actually trigger the cult ending, but so far to no avail. The closest players have gotten is a brief moment with Joseph’s wife, Mary, wherein deeper implications seem to be hinted at.
For me, this adds another layer of intrigue into a seemingly simple but nonetheless delightful take on a frequently tired and/or overtly sexualized genre. What’s truly even more interesting about this bonus ending is that this dark secret seems to be an open one--meaning that the cult end is referred to in-game.
Bad Dad Robert casts aspersions on Joseph’s character, seeming to warn the player about what the Cool Youth Minister could be capable of. On one of the dates with Robert, you might catch of glimpse of a dark figure dragging a body in the woods. There’s also Robert’s tattoo, a kind of compass/eye/demonic script which one sharp eye found also appears on a clock and even on a cross.
Currently, Dream Daddy is still a little buggy, it’s release having been pushed back in order to remedy this. But hey, for a game that appeared so quickly and gained an immense following overnight, it’s a great game complete with all those secretssssssss.
(07/23/17 4:00pm)
by Tt Shinkan
With Comic-Con International this weekend, many people from around the world will be tuning in to see all the news regarding their favorite franchise or purchasing exclusive merchandise from the event. This event has given way to huge announcements such as the announcement for the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, previews for Justice League, and the cast for The Avengers finally being announced. But has anyone ever stopped to wonder: “How exactly did Comic-Con come to be”? Well you’re in luck! This article will explore the history and backstory of the massive pop culture event and how such a small gathering turned into one of the most anticipated conventions of the year.
Like every great event, it has to have founders. Comic-Con International was founded by Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger, and Richard Alf in 1970 as the Golden State Comic-Con. Fan conventions were just starting to gain more popularity in the late 60s and early 70s, so the idea to start a new convention just seemed reasonable at the time. This event was considered a “minicon”, a convention lasting only one day, and was held at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego on March 21, 1970 and featured two special guests: Forrest J. Ackerman (magazine editor and founder of the science fiction fandom) and Mike Royer (comic book artist). The founders wanted to not only include comic books, but other varieties in popular culture arts such as film and literature. The single-day con brought in nearly 100 attendees. The reason as to why these three held a one day only con was so that they could raise money and generate interest for a much larger convention.
This minicon proved to be a success and a few months later on August 1st through the 3rd, the three-day San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con was held at the same location. This slightly larger convention boasted nearly 300 attendees and included a dealers’ room, panels, and films screenings to name a few of the attractions. This was the model future comic conventions would look at and follow. Comic-Con moved to the Convention and Performing Arts Center in 1979 and stayed there until 1991 when the San Diego Convention Center opened and the convention moved and has stayed there ever since.
In 1972, the convention was renamed to San Diego’s West Coast Comic Convention and renamed a year later to San Diego Comic-Con. The name we know today, Comic-Con International: San Diego, was established in 1995, only 22 years ago.
Since the start, Comic-Con has grown to nearly 130,000 attendees and has branched out to include neighboring hotels and parks. Almost creating a college-campus-like feel with numerous events being held in different parts of downtown San Diego.
Unfortunately, on November 3, 2009, one of the convention’s founders, Shel Dorf, passed away due to complications regarding diabetes. In his memory, the Shel Dorf Awards were created as a way for fans to give a voice on what they believe is the best of the best in the media world.
With Comic-Con International 2017 upon us, it’s important for people to learn about the history and importance of this massive pop culture event. To be honest, without the major success of this convention, geek culture would probably be still lurking in the shadows, scared to show its face, but thanks to Dorf, Krueger, and Alf, geek culture hasn’t just come out of the shadows, it has become a normal part of our everyday lives.
(07/18/17 10:00am)
by Sarah James
It’s been a little while since the 8th annual VidCon took place in Anaheim California, and since the dust has seemed to settle, let’s take a look at VidCon 2017. A brainchild of the dynamic YouTuber brother duo John and Hank Green, VidCon has offered a place for people of the internet to gather for the past eight years. Just like any other convention, VidCon hosts a variety of panels and booths where fans and followers of YouTube culture can meet and listen to their favorite creators. Since its inception, VidCon has grown from a crowd of 1,400 fans of online video to an assemblage of of over 25,000 children of the internet. VidCon has even gone international; VidCon Europe debuted in Amsterdam back in April, and VidCon Australia is set for this upcoming September. People across the globe flock to these events for the opportunity to see those whose influence matters the most to them.
Why does any of this matter? Why do thousands upon thousands of people show up to see a bunch of E-list celebrities who make a living creating videos in their bedrooms? The phenomenon of YouTube and its content creators is one that has been growing over the past several years, with many young people claiming they watch more shows on YouTube than they do on TV. YouTube has become the place of the independent creator, where people can make whatever they want and watch whatever they want without jumping through the corporate hoops of having a studio run television series. The glory of this platform is that anyone has the potential to be a YouTuber. The people who run the most successful channels were once bored kids with a camera and a hobby. For example, John and Hank Green, the creators of VidCon, have built an empire on YouTube with the brothers running their primary channel, The Vlog Brothers, as well as producing content for dozens of other outlets, such as Crash Course and SciShow. Sure, YouTubers may not have the same status as a traditional celebrity, but everyday the content creators who dominate the platform are gaining on mainstream media. These social media influencers are the future of famous, and fans will give anything to have the chance to meet them.
And maybe that’s because YouTubers have a very different relationship with their fans than traditional celebrities. I have a close connection to the channels I regularly watch, and the people behind those channels seem more like people than any musician or movie star. Vloggers let us into their daily lives; gamers show off their instinctual reactions though they may not be pretty; beauty gurus walk through the sometimes-not-so-glamorous process of getting to the end result we see on Instagram. YouTubers are the ones that permeate our lives every single day, not just once a week on a TV show, every few years when a new movie comes out, or whenever a tour is announced. We, as the viewers, choose to let these people into our daily routines. Each channel is a little window into someone else’s world, and each YouTuber has their own quirks and personalities that draw people to their content. I don’t know every game that MatPat talks about over on The Game Theorists channel, but I watch the videos anyway because I enjoy his personality. I feel like I know these people, more so than almost any mainstream celebrity that I’m a fan of. If I actually met Brendon Urie I’m not sure what I’d be able to say, since he seems like an unattainable voice I hear in my favorite songs. But I bet I could carry a conversation with my favorite YouTubers; they just seem more personable.
Which is why VidCon is such a bucket list event for any fan of YouTube. The opportunity to meet and listen to those who are a part of our everyday lives is one that is extremely tantalizing, and thousands upon thousands of individuals trek out to California each year to do just that. This past year VidCon saw a lot of the same successes as previous years. Massive YouTubers like Tyler Oakley, Philip DeFranco, Casey Neistat, Rhett and Link, Markiplier and dozens more came to the convention as featured creators and participated in a variety of panels discussing the industry of internet video, tips on how to build a successful channel, live gaming, concerts, interviews, Q&As, and so much more. The event is the largest of its kind, and while the entire weekend was fairly favorable, it didn’t go off without a hitch.
Probably one of the biggest things to come out of VidCon 2017 was Logan Paul and the actions that got him kicked out of VidCon. Logan Paul is a Viner that made the switch to YouTube when Vine died and has maintained a substantial following on the platform. Currently boasting almost 2 million followers on Twitter and over 7.7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, it’s safe to say that this guy has a lot of influence, and when he says something it’s not going to go unnoticed. While at VidCon, Logan Paul stated that he hid a prize of $3,000 around the Anaheim Convention Center, and then posted clues on social media for his fans to follow. Stunts like this are not allowed at VidCon as they can easily cause dangerous mobs and destruction of property, and featured content creators for the event are given a packet that details this exact information.
But Logan Paul wasn’t a featured creator at this year’s VidCon. He was not provided the information about illicit scavenger hunts during the event. He pulled a stunt without knowing it wasn’t allowed, and in doing so he caused a mob of teenagers to rampage the convention center, was chased by security, and then was kicked out of VidCon. But how much of this is actually his fault? Sure, it may seem like common sense to some to not invoke a mob when you have millions of followers across the internet, but for Logan Paul it seemed like a fun way to interact with his followers and the makings of a great video for his channel. But in doing so, he put thousands of people in danger, and his fans ended up tearing through the convention center looking for his $3,000 prize. Is he responsible for the actions of his fans? Or did the fans take it too far?
This question is not new when it comes to celebrities, especially in recent years. Fans of certain people will tear down other artists just because there was a slight argument- look at the feud between fans of Katy Perry and fans of Taylor Swift. Most people will agree that it's not the celebrity’s fault if a fan acts outlandishly, but does that opinion shift when it comes to YouTubers? When creator and followers become so close and when idols are so easily accessible, is there more responsibility for the actions of the fan base? And is almost causing a riot justifiable when it makes for a great video? The role of the Internet and the creators who have made their home there is becoming more important every day, and the rules we apply to traditional celebrities may need to be rewritten so events like VidCon can continue to grow.
(07/13/17 12:00pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
This article is dark and full of spoilers for season six of Game of Thrones. Unlike G.R.R. Martin’s next book, season seven’s Sunday premier is fast approaching, so here’s a refresher on what horrible things happened to your favorite characters last season and where they seem to be heading in the titillating trailer for season seven.
The Starks
Jon Snow
At the end of season five, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch Jon Snow was betrayed by his own men who thought that Jon himself was a traitor for his allegiance to the Wildlings. He was stabbed “for the Watch” and left to die in the snow. Which he did.
For a whole episode, he’s just a slab of cold flesh on a table until Davos manages to bully the Red Woman Melisandre into necromancing him back to life, much to the shock of everyone, especially his murderers. Jon then oversees their deaths, but decides that his time at the Night’s Watch is done since he fulfilled his oath, living and dying at his post. Before he can leave Castle Black, Sansa arrives, seeing her brother for the first time since he rode out for the Night’s Watch back in season one.
Jon and Sansa, learning that Ramsay Bolton has declared himself Lord of Winterfell and has their youngest brother Rickon hostage, decide they must take back their home. They go about mustering forces from Northern houses still loyal to the Starks but find little help and much contention over Jon’s plan for the Wildings to live among them as they retreat from the oncoming tide of White Walkers.
Jon’s story crescendos in the infamous episode nine, “The Battle of the Bastards” wherein Jon and Ramsay clash in a brutal battle over Winterfell. Ramsay, in true sadistic fashion, begins the battle by killing his hostage Rickon. Despite having fierce Wildlings and even a giant on their side, Jon’s forces are outnumbered and outclassed by the Boltons. The tide turns in their favor when all was looking its darkest as reinforcements from the Vale arrive, lead by Littlefinger.
After the battle, the Northern houses, the Knights of the Vale, and the Wildlings declare Jon as “the King in the North.” A flashback via Bran also suggests that the long-held fan theory that Jon is also the rightful heir to the South is confirmed, revealing that he is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and thus has the most legitimate claim to the Iron Throne.
Sansa Stark
Sansa leapt from a rampart twenty feet high at the end of season five and is now on the run with a mangled Theon Greyjoy from her tortuous, rapist husband Ramsay Bolton to whom she was forcibly married in order to secure his claim to the North. They are saved from Ramsay’s pursuing men by Brienne and Podrick, prompting Sansa to accept Brienne’s offer to serve and protect her. Brienne is finally able to deliver Sansa to her family--what little of it she has left.
While campaigning for the cause to take back Winterfell, she meets with Petyr Baelish, who still has a creepy crush on her and whom she blames for her violent marriage to Ramsay Bolton. As an apology, he offers the support of the Vale and reminds her of her mother’s family, the Tullys and how they might be of aid. She refuses Littlefinger’s help, but sends Brienne to Riverrun.
Before the Battle of the Bastards, Sansa realizes how dire the situation is and writes to Littlefinger. After the battle, she saves Ramsay from being beaten to death by Jon, only to tie him up in his kennels and sic his vicious hounds on him.
Arya
The end of season five left Arya blind after her betrayal to the House of Black and White. She’s a beggar on the streets of Braavos, intermittently beaten by the Waif. H’ghar recruits her again, leading to more training and more beatings by the Waif until she accepts that she is “no one” and thus given her sight back.
Arya is then given the task to go undercover and assassinate an actress but instead warns her mark and retrieves the sword Jon gave her back in season one, Needle. H’ghar when hearing of this, agrees with the Waif that Arya must die. Arya buys passage to Westeros but is caught and stabbed by the Waif. She only survives because the actress that she saves finds and heals her. However, this leads to the Waif finding Arya and killing the actress.
Arya manages to kill the Waif, bringing her face to the House of Black and White and declaring to H’ghar that she is Arya Stark of Winterfell and that she is going home. And she makes it all the way to the Twins, where she kills Walder Frey’s sons, feeds them to him in a pie, and slits his throat, thus checking off a name on her list.
Bran
Bran is beyond the Wall, having finally found the Three-Eyed Raven with the help of his warg friends Jojen Reed, Meera Reed, and Hodor. He provides helpful context through the season, flashing back into the past as he trains to grasp his mysterious powers. He sees Winterfell in his father’s childhood, his father and Howland Reed storm the Tower of Joy where Lyanna Stark was kept, and he sees the creation of the White Walkers. They were created to protect the Children of the Forest from the First Men. Bran gets cocky and goes into a vision unaccompanied, leading the Night King--apparent leader of the White Walkers--to realize where they were.
Their hideout with the Children of the Forest is attacked by wights and White Walkers. Meera and Bran are the only two to escape--his direwolf Summer and Hodor falling to the White Walkers. This is where we learn how Hodor came to be the Hodor we knew.
Benjen Stark--Ned’s brother who had been missing from the Night’s Watch since the show’s inception--saves the two from certain doom. He reveals that Dragonglass, obsidian, can save someone from being turned into a White Walker.
As they head south toward Castle Black, Bran has another walk into the past where he finally gets to the top of the Tower of Joy, where it is revealed that Jon is Lyanna Stark’s son and that she died shortly after giving birth to him. And after making her brother Eddard swear to never reveal where Jon came from: a Stark and a Targaryen.
Daenerys
Season five ended with Dany on Drogon’s back, setting fire to all those who plotted against her and wanted to reinstate slavery in Meeren. Drogon, still a moody teenager of a dragon, took her far away from the city. He flew off, leaving his mother to the mercy of a Dothraki horde that descended on her.
While Jorah and Daario track her, Tyrion tries to deal with the three cities that fall back into slavery. He manages to release Viserion and Rhaegal without being eaten. Dany is taken to Vaes Dothrak, where she is put with the other widowed Khaleesi, meant to stay there forever.
Jorah and Daario find her and want to sneak her away, but she demands to meet with the Khals, asking them to serve her as she strives to take the Iron Throne. They refuse, so she burns the whole building down, emerging unburnt as she did from her husband’s funeral pyre. When the Dothraki witness this, the whole horde kneels to her.
On the way back to Meeren, Jorah reveals that he has greyscale, so Dany orders him to go find a cure and return. Back in the city, she meets with the slave masters from the other cities she conquered and demands their surrender. When they refuse, she climbs onto Drogon and along with the other two dragons burns the whole of the slavers’ fleet.
Meanwhile, Varys who had disappeared onto a ship, turned out to be in Highgarden buttering up the Tyrells to join the Targaryen cause.
After the conflagration in the bay, an alliance is made between the exiled Greyjoy siblings so she sets sail with her armies, dragons, and the Ironborn navy for Westeros with Tyrion as the official Hand of the Queen and Daario left behind to rule Meeren.
The Greyjoys
Theon, an absolute wreck after Ramsay’s brainwashing and torture, is given leave by Sansa to return to the Iron Islands to try again to bring the Ironborn to the North’s cause. When he gets there, however, his uncle Euron appears and murders his father King Balon.
A Kingsmoot, wherein longship captains choose the new king, is held to choose either Euron, who freely admitted to the murder of the previous king, or Yara the apparent heir and one of the strongest captains. Euron is chosen as he promises to wed and bed the Dragon Queen in Essos in order to gain more power so that the Ironborn might take the Iron Throne. He also promised to kill his remaining family, but Yara and Theon had already fled to Essos with all of the boats.
Eventually they decide to go to Meeren and offer the Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen the Ironborn fleet and an alliance in order to get rid of Euron.
King’s Landing
Cersei and Jaime are down to one child after the Sand Snakes take over Dorne and assassinate Myrcella. Young Tommen is now King, and Margaery is finally Queen of the Realm. However, the Faith gained power and begins investigating the moral crimes of the royal family, which includes the Queen and her twin brother Loras, who are both placed in prison. The High Sparrow also declares that Cersei must stand trial for her crimes, officially outing her for committing incest.
The Lannisters and the Tyrells devise an alliance in order to defeat the Faith Militant that now seemingly has control of the kingdom, but then Margaery repents for her sins, starts preaching the faith, and convinces Tommen to go along with it all, effectively giving the High Sparrow the reins to the kingdom. Tommen sends Jaime away to Riverrun and Margaery sends her grandmother Olenna away to Highgarden--with a hint that she doesn’t buy into the Faith.
With Cersei’s trial looming, King Tommen abolishes trial by combat, essentially ensuring that his mother lose her trial, which she planned to win with the zombie that is The Mountain at her side.
With no control left, Cersei takes a page for the Daenerys book of strategy and burns down the whole of the Sept of Baelor using Wildfire with the Faith Militant, the High Sparrow, Margaery, and a whole lot of nobles inside.
Tommen upon seeing this and having been depressed and wracked with guilt over the imprisonment of his wife and now, her death, quietly steps out of a very high window, killing himself.
Jaime returns to King’s Landing from his successful raid on Riverrun to find his son dead and Cersei crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Season seven promises to see all these building forces converge--Daenerys, Cersei, and the Starks all gunning for control over the Seven Kingdoms all while the threat of the rising dead and the coming White Walkers loom. At the end of season six, Sam Tarley made his way down to the Citadel in Old Towne where he could train as a Maester and tell the Maesters there about the White Walkers. White ravens are dispatched throughout the kingdoms and apparently winter has finally arrived.
The Hound, after a brief stint of living peacefully, has embraced violence again and allowed himself to be recruited into the Brotherhood Without Banners, following Ser Beric Dondarrion who has been resurrected from the dead multiple times and who appears in the new trailer wielding a flaming sword. Melisandre was banished for her past crimes despite her belief in Jon being the true “promised prince.”
Prophecies, new wars, and the one that had been raging all along against the coming cold all promise to make Game of Thrones' second-to-last season a memorable one.
(07/12/17 9:36pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
Back in 2012, the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) were proposed and vehemently protested online, since the implications of these bills included infringement of free speech online and an attack on user-generated content on platforms like Tumblr and Reddit.
Reddit, English Wikipedia, and other sites shut down temporarily and redirected users to a message opposing the legislation. More than 100,000 sites participated in this protest, and by the end of January the bills were “shelved.”
Today, something very similar to 2012’s fight is happening in the form of the Day of Action: a mass protest in favor of upholding Net Neutrality in the face of current attitudes toward its repeal by the FCC and large Internet Service Providers such as Comcast.
All over the Internet, sites are participating through banner ad informing visitors of the seriousness of the issue at hand, or in the case of Reddit, demonstrating through a slow-loading pop up message how the repeal of Net Neutrality could affect the average user.
In Twitter’s trending tags, #NetNeutrality, complete with a buffering emoji, has been promoted by the company and posted a policy blog post supporting the movement. Netflix also featured the infamous buffering circle in a banner message directing viewers to “Protest Internet Freedom. Defend Net Neutrality.” Twitch also has a prominent red banner and slow-loading emotes for the Day of Action.
Some sites like Rosetta Stone and The Internet Archive have taken protest a step further by featuring a pop up box where users can enter their information to send a letter of protest to the US Congress and the FCC.
Giants like Amazon and Google have also made statements in favor of net neutrality. Google released a blog saying,
Today’s open internet ensures that both new and established services, whether offered by an established internet company like Google, a broadband provider, or a small startup, have the same ability to reach users on an equal playing field.
It’s an important chapter in this debate, and we hope you’ll make your voice heard.
The Internet blackout of 2012 worked to stop Internet-hampering legislation, but it remains to be seen if today’s fight will make the same impact.
(07/07/17 1:26am)
by Daley Wilhelm
After being continually teased throughout the summer, Overwatch’s newest hero Doomfist dropped today via an explosive, anime-style cinematic.
Doomfist has been long awaited by fans, his famous fist first appearing in the cinematic trailer that announced Overwatch over a year ago. Two days ago Blizzard finally gave the ominous villain a name: Akande Ogundimu.
According to the Overwatch Wikia, the title Doomfist is a legacy rather than a single person. Before Ogundimu there were two others who wielded the gauntlet that gives the name Doomfist. In an in-universe blog post, the Times of Numbani foreshadowed Doomfist’s eventual prison break saying that there was an attack on Helix Securities, the prison that held Ogundimu, by a “black shadowy figure.” Evidence suggests this is Reaper, especially considering Ogundimu’s affiliation with Talon.
In-universe, this prison break was a while ago, since Doomfist was the one who left the crater in the Numbani map when he destroyed the city’s new line of defense robots called OR15s, leading to the creation of Orisa. This is where he reclaimed his considerable gauntlet.
This cybernetic glove powers abilities like Rocket Punch and Seismic Slam, both of which deliver considerable damage and are fairly self-explanatory, Rocket Punch being the more devastating of the two, packing 100 damage and more should the target impact a wall. He’s a serious assault character focused on melee and short-ranged attacks. His primary attack, Hand Cannon, lies in his other hand which fires short bursts and regenerates ammo over time. Players are given some mobility with his Rising Uppercut ability, which can knock enemies into the air and be combined with other moves for maximum utility.
https://gfycat.com/UntidyCourteousAnemonecrab
Doomfist’s ultimate is the positively destructive Meteor Strike, wherein he leaps into the sky--off the map--giving the player about five seconds to aim his landing before he crashes down, creating a crater that deals 300 damage to whoever is unlucky enough to be in the center and walloping what appears to be around 175 to those a little farther off.
Doomfist is the ultimate in offensive with his Passive “The Best Defense…” clearly being a good offense since he generates 30 points of shields each time he hits an enemy with an ability.
With a fittingly aggressive play style considering his ultraviolent cinematic trailer, it’s easy to see why fan-favorite Terry Crews was not chosen to voice Doomfist despite rumors and the actor’s own enthusiasm for the game. Instead Doomfist is voiced by Sahr Ngaujah, an American theater director and Tony Award-nominated actor who has appeared in films such as Stomp the Yard (2007) and Money Monster (2016).
Doomfist’s massive fingerprints have been all over Overwatch lore from the beginning, and at last he is available for players to try out in Blizzard’s Public Test Region and for the Internet to make memes about.
(06/21/17 2:15am)
by Daley Wilhelm and Matthew Yapp
It’s important to recognize that in terms of LGBT+ representation, we are certainly doing better. But that doesn’t mean that we’re doing our best. Our best doesn’t mean sprinkling on the queer for flavor as seen with one-off characters or flat stereotypes. It certainly doesn't mean introducing a queer character, and then burying them a season later as so many shows—even well-meaning Degrassi—are guilty of. It means writing characters whose sexuality isn’t what defines them, but is also an undeniable part of them rather than a footnote.
GLAAD’s annual report on LGBTQ inclusion found overall, queer representation is on the uptick, but has dwindled in certain aspects. Between June of 2016 and May of this year, 43 out of 854 characters on television, both broadcast and on streaming services, were LGBTQ. Bisexual representation rose to 30% of that 43 with 16 bisexual women and five men. ABC has the highest amount of representation of LGBTQ characters, followed by FOX, and the CW in third.
Optimism is justified: we’re in a much better place than ever before. These percentages are little leaps, but still steps forward. However, it’s more than accurate to admit that we could be doing better.
The meme of “this is what the liberals want” depicting a drag queer, false lashes cast down on her phone, sitting beside a woman in a full niqab on the subway has been floating around lately. And I agree that it’s personally what I want in terms of people populating public spaces, and feeling secure in doing so no matter how they present themselves. So maybe I’m greedy when I want our media to do the same. After all, media reflects reality, which in turn is influenced by media. It’s a vicious circle, no end or beginning, and that’s why I think it’s hard to deny the importance of representation in media. When we have a glaring lack of queer characters on television, there’s a gap in the general public understanding as to their problems, even their existence.
The LGBT+ community has always struggled to be seen in mainstream media. I remember when I was younger the only shows I could see queer characters on was Glee or Will and Grace. I also thought Golden Girls was about old lesbians but I digress. We have made serious strides in just the past few years, however it’s still not where we’d like it to be. Sure, you can see more queer characters but they just aren’t cutting it in terms of representation. It feels like even though more writers are creating these characters, they don’t know how to write them. They are either completely defined by their sexualities and stereotypes like Titus from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, or their sexualities are just ignored, making it kind of hard to be real representation. Looking at you Rizzoli & Isles. That being said we do have some diamonds in all this rough. We’re going to be highlighting shows that we feel represent the LGBT+ community well.
Transparent
First off, I’d like to give bonus points to the show for making their title a pun, that’s really respectable. Transparent follows the Pfefferman family dealing with the realization that the patriarch of the family is actually a transgender woman named Maura. Coming off its third season the show continues to receive critical acclaim as one of the best shows streaming right now. Something that has always stuck out to me is that it shows true family dynamic. Often shows gloss over the hardship that goes with coming out, but not this one. It’s very realistic in showing that your children who thought they had a father for 20 some years, are going to struggle to understand that they have another mother. Beyond that the show looks at all the characters understanding themselves, and how family has to understand each other. In season two, spoilers, Ali and Sarah both explore their sexualities realizing that they might be on the queer spectrum in some way, and even that was handled in a tasteful way. This show really checks all the right boxes and is the representation that the trans community deserves. It manages to balance between talking about queer issues and just classic family antics so it never feels heavy handed at any point. Touching, realistic, funny, and groundbreaking Transparent is easily one of the best shows for LGBT+ representation.
Supergirl
Before this show I had given up on the CW in terms of representing the LGBT+ Community. The 100 had fallen victim to the trope off dying lesbians, Arrow had Sarah Lance, a bisexual character who was portrayed as constantly sleeping and flirting with women, but never actually showed interest in men or mentioned her sexuality. The Flash had two gay men, both of which were one off characters that almost felt like were just inserted so they could say they were there. Then Supergirl came in and blew me away. In season two Supergirl’s sister Alex meets a police officer named Maggie and it sparks something in her. Alex goes through the process of realizing that she has feelings for Maggie, and that she is a lesbian. Alex’s coming out story is easily the best I’ve ever gotten to see on television. The tearful admission that she’s always known there was something different about her, that she thought maybe she was just never supposed to be with anyone, the fear that the people she cared about would look at her differently as she came out to her mother was something that so many people could relate to. Alex and Maggie have gone on to have one of the best relationships I’ve seen. Both characters are so fleshed out, neither of them fall to stereotypes, or sacrifice any character development for the sake of being the gay character. Most importantly they love, encourage each other, and throughout the show bring out the best in one another. It’s incredible that a show that should just be your basic superhero TV show has managed to craft such a beautiful love story. Had someone told me I’d be watching a badass alien hunter propose to her cop girlfriend on a major television network I wouldn’t believe them, but I sure am glad it’s true.
Rupaul’s Drag Race
I don’t think there’s any show on television that celebrates queerness quite as well as Rupaul’s Drag Race does. At its core, it’s a reality competition in the same vein as America’s Next Top Model or Project Runway but with drag queens. Each week one of the queens leaves the competition until one is left to receive the seal of approval from the legendary Rupaul as America’s next drag superstar. What makes this show so special is that it is created by queer people for queer people. There is next to nowhere else on mainstream television that you would see an entire cast of a show be a part of the LGBT+ community. Not only that, but because all of the contestants are queer we get real people talking about real queer issues. Right from season one, we got to see one of the contestants, Ongina, tearfully reveal that she had AIDS which is a difficult reality for many in the community that is still hard to talk about in this day and age. They’ve talked about everything from coming out, being homeless after rejection from family, self-harm, eating disorders, being gay in the military, all the way to the Pulse shooting. All the issues that someone in the LGBT+ community could face has been discussed on the show. It also teaches so much about the history of LGBT+ movements as Rupaul is always eager to drop knowledge and give challenges that shines a light on how we got to where we are today. Most importantly, the show doesn’t just gay men, it’s had contestants that are all over the gender spectrum that are out and ready to discuss their identities. They’ve had transgender contestants like Peppermint, gender-fluid folks like Violet Chachki, and non-binary people like Jinkx Monsoon. This show has provided a platform for amazing queens who have gone on to do amazing things for the community, by Rupaul giving these queens a voice thousands of people have been able to see and be inspired by people like them. This is why I agree with season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen when he says that Drag Race is “the most important show to queer culture ever.”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
I hate the notion that you can’t be funny without being offensive. Please someone direct me to where it is explicitly written that in order for someone to laugh, someone else has to hurt. We can move past the physical humor of children falling off bikes and hold my beer moments from the days of America's Funniest Home Videos. We’re now in a very humor-rich environment and I’m of the belief that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the funniest shows around. The show captures and parodies procedural cop shows with a quirkiness that celebrates its diverse cast. No procedural cop show is complete without the hard-ass boss who won’t put up with his subordinates breaking rules or cutting corners. Captain Ray Holt of the 99th precinct inhabits this tired stereotype to the T with his stern, unmoving face and considerable reputation. What’s refreshing is that he is also the first openly gay police captain in New York City, according to the show’s canon. And this isn’t a joke. He’s not suddenly flamboyant when his office door is closed. He openly talks about his struggles being a black, gay cop in New York. If anything the joke is on the archaic administration that laughed at him when he suggested starting a support fund for LGBT and minority police officers. (There was no express no, so he did it anyway.) Captain Holt is a fantastic example of what representation should be; not hidden and not a punchline. Brooklyn Nine-Nine avoids the way comedy can be reductive to underrepresented people.
Degrassi: The Next Generation and First Class
Degrassi has long been one of the most progressive shows, doing much by the way of backing up the fact that “it goes there.” Despite it’s occasional outright campiness and it’s after school special air, Degrassi has been at the forefront of representing LGBTQ characters. The show clearly grew in terms of it’s depth of writing queer characters over it’s considerable run time. At first, characters like closeted Marco were only given airtime in relation to plot lines that focused on their sexuality. Later, the show moved on from exclusively focusing on gay men, or that sexuality was black and white. What I really want to give Degrassi credit for is this focus on fluidity. All the characters in Degrassi were high schoolers, defining themselves and their identities for the first time. The show gave them room to explore, and this is especially demonstrated in one of my favorite characters Imogen Moreno. When first introduced as a freshman she was weird and awkward (aren’t we all) and definitely interested in boys, dating one to an… obsessive extent. In later seasons, she dates two girls respectively, but never “takes back” liking boys. Imogen never put a precise label on her sexuality, and later other characters do the same when exploring their sexualities. When exact labeling is focused on, it’s making a point. The latest season of Next Class made a powerful statement in featuring Rasha, a Syrian refugee, who stood up for herself under the contention that you can't be a good Muslim girl while dating girls. The fact that there's more queer characters than I can count on two hands speaks volumes of Degrassi's history of representation, which is far from perfect--remember how the show recklessly killed it’s only trans character?—but nevertheless there.
Penny Dreadful
When examining historical dramas, it would be easy to assume that queer people didn’t exist until the twentieth century since there’s very, very rarely a mention of the possibility. This is part of a bigger issue of queer erasure in history, but historical fiction with fantastical elements have been doing better, however marginally, when it comes to combating that erasure. Penny Dreadful is Showtime’s amalgam of occult stories, from werewolves to witchery, complete with famous names such as Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Grey. The latter, is established early on as a hedonistic playboy who regularly hosts orgies and will pursue anything with a pulse. Penny Dreadful’s win for representation does not lie with Gray’s apparent pansexuality, since it’s really just exploited for shock. What brings this show to the list is one of the main characters, Ethan Chandler. Spoilers; Ethan is an American werewolf in London, a hot-blooded sharp shooter with a gruff voice and a considerable amount of scenes featuring him seducing lovely English ladies. He’s as hetero as he can get—until he sleeps with Dorian Gray. This also adds dimension to another LGBTQ character in the show, Mr. Lyle, who is flouncy and fussy and certainly a stereotype, with whom Ethan flirts. Nothing ever comes from that, of course, and the narrative of Dorian and Ethan’s tryst isn’t either, but Ethan’s security in this encounter I think is important. Subverting his raging masculinity, Ethan proves that queerness and the alpha stereotype can exist in the same character. Overall Penny Dreadful’s least shocking premise is that—gasp!—queer people have always existed.
Honorable mentions
Matt and I once discussed the practice of slash fiction, and how oftentimes that it is written from a place of frustration in the lack of representation in media. There are no queer characters, so why not write some of them as queer? There’s an absolutely raving fan base behind the practice, and occasionally that fan base is noticed, even acknowledged by a show’s production. This can end in ships being recognized, even validated, but oftentimes ends in queer-baiting.
Here’s some honorable mentions to the list—the characters that never where, but could have been, positive LGBTQ representation.
Lena Luthor
Let’s hop back to Supergirl for a second. Someone introduced in season two was none other than Lena Luthor, sister of the infamous Lex Luthor. While it initially seemed like the setup to be a hero-villain rivalry, it actually turned into an amazing friendship between Supergirl and Luthor. But it doesn’t feel like just a friendship. While at this point Supergirl has only ever dated men, and Lena has never shown interest in anyone the two rely on each other heavily throughout the series, going to one another for advice, help, and just companionship being shown on multiple occasions on cute lunch dates. The chemistry between the two leaves many feeling as though there is something more there, from the loving looks, to Supergirl literally flying in the air while holding Lena in a bridal carry many fans are calling for the CW to give us what it seems like the characters are feeling.
Stiles Stilinski
Teen Wolf does have gay characters, but not the one fans want. Stiles Stilinski has been a fan favorite from the beginning, and even more so when they thought he was in a steamy relationship with the brooding werewolf Derek Hale. While it was apparent he had a pretty deep obsession with a female character Lydia, he also continuously asked a gay character if he thought he was attractive. This left viewers thinking that he could be bisexual. The writers certainly didn’t shut do anything to halt assumptions as they continuously put Stiles into flirtatious situations with Derek and romantic conversations with other male characters. While I’m a big fan of Lydia and Stiles as a couple I would also love it if they could confirm that he is bi. In my opinion there is nowhere near enough representation for bi men on television and having such a popular character on such a popular show would be amazing.
Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester is a lot like the aforementioned Ethan Chandler. He’s all American, rough hewn from years on the road, positively deadly with a gun, and an absolutely unrepentant lady killer. And he’s really in love with an angel named Castiel. At least, that’s what a significant part of the Supernatural fandom claims. And this is something that the show’s production is definitely aware of, and something that keeps Supernatural, now doddering into it’s 13th season, alive. Long, lingering looks. Intense declarations of a “profound bond.” It’s hard not to pick up on the homoerotic subtext of Dean and Castiel’s relationship. There’s also the fact of Dean’s numerous relationships with women throughout his storyline, which is why the fandom generally likes to think of Dean as bisexual. As much as I think it’s important for men to be shown having close friendships, Dean and Castiel’s relationship reads as a volatile love affair filled with I need yous. It’s something that makes sense considering how emotionally constipated Dean is. He can’t admit to feeling anything unless he risks losing Cas. The show plays off of it, exploits it, but likely will never confirm it despite the ardent hopes of thousands.
(06/13/17 4:32am)
by Daley Wilhelm
Sony followed a very similar model to their conference last year, as it presented a with back to back trailers, but very little reflection on all it's released in the past year. PlayStation was all about the future, the future--meaning 2018 game releases, for the most part.
Setting the mood with mysterious music and a waterfall display, the conference opened with a trailer for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, featuring mossy ruins, untold fortunes, and two new protagonists now that Nathan Drake has retired. The new game will follow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer and mercenary Nadine Ross who were both featured in previous Uncharted titles. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is slated for an August 22nd release this year on the PlayStation 4.
Next Sony gave audiences a brand new announcement in the first story DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn entitled The Frozen Wilds. Unlike many of the announcements this evening, this content will be available later this year.
The stage changed, got darker, red lights washing over bodies—live, or undead, rather—hanging from the stage. Sony showed off further gameplay of the post-apocalyptic, Pacific Northwest survival horror from Bend Studio, Days Gone. Last year, the game featured action, massive zombie hordes, and explosions. The seven-minute gameplay at this E3 was more stealth-focused, exploring some interesting game mechanics as you play as Deacon St. John and contend with threats both human, zombie, and zombie animal.
Speaking of avoiding (or fighting) giant, deadly beasts, Sony revealed that Monster Hunter World would be coming to the PlayStation 4 next year, and later coming to PC and Xbox One.
A massive announcement followed in that the 2005 cult hit Shadow of the Colossus will be remade by SCE Japan and released in 2018. The short trailer promised everything the original game excelled at; monumental battles, minimalistic gameplay, and zero dialogue.
Along with Monster Hunter World, Capcom will also be releasing Marvel vs Capcom Infinite this September 22nd, but the story mode demo featuring Thanos, Mega Man, Black Panther, and Chun-Li among other memorable fighters is available now for download.
At last, Call of Duty World War II and its considerably graphic multiplayer was mentioned at this year’s E3. Sony gave the stage to a new trailer featuring iconic World War II locations such as the beaches of Normandy, setting a more serious tone than past COD titles. The game will launch this fall on November 3rd.
Sony really set the stage for the future of VR, and the company’s focus on giving new titles to the number one Christmas gift of last year: the PlayStation VR. Starting with yet another rerelease of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but this time entirely in VR. This includes all the DLC content, so players can presumably get married, kill vampires, and ride dragons all in VR.
New titles such as colorful, sci-fi game Star Child, the whimsical Moss, first person shooter Bravo Team, and horror game The Inpatient, were introduced, the latter of the two from Supermassive Games, the same studio behind the PlayStation VR hit Until Dawn: A Rush of Blood.
Final Fantasy XV is also getting a VR spin-off, but rather than the game remade for VR, Monsters of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is a light-hearted fishing simulator, which is set to release this September.
We saw more of the much anticipated Norse mythology-based God of War through a brand new trailer and some of the brutal, bloody gameplay the franchise is famous for. This new incarnation of Kratos is slated for release early next year.
From the studio that made Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, comes another title centered around player’s choices, and the effects of those choices. Quantic Dream teased Detroit: Become Human in 2015 during Paris Games Week, and readers might be familiar with the viral Kara video wherein a newly created android questioned how far she was from being truly human. The new trailer further explores a world wherein people and androids are the same in appearance, but not in status. With no release date just yet, the game teases an android revolution, piloted by either pacifism or violence. Player’s choice.
Gamers have already been in a frenzy over Destiny 2, but tonight’s conference sneaked in new details including the revelation of Dominus Ghaul, the game’s antagonist. Along with this, Sony promised some exclusive items, weapons, and armor available to PS4 players first. For all platforms, the game will be available two days sooner than previously thought. Destiny 2 will launch September 6th.
Sony wrapped up with the web-slinger himself, Spider-Man. The self-titled game is the first Spider-man game for over a decade and was showcased in a nine-minute trailer featuring strategic combat gameplay and acrobatic cinematic. Unrelated to this summer’s release of Spider-man: Homecoming, Peter Parker is in true, smart-talking form as he swings through the city, takes down super-powered gangsters called “Demons,” and FaceTimes Wilson Fisk. At the very end, much to the theatre’s delight, the fan-favorite character and future friendly neighborhood Spider-man Miles Morales was teased. Spider-Man is scheduled for release sometime in 2018.
Overall, Sony said nothing about it's hardware and gave the whole of it’s stage to games to come, some soon, and some in the uncertain later.
(06/10/17 5:34pm)
by Sarah James
Music.
For some, music is nothing more than noise, merely something to listen to, or a distraction from getting something done. For others, music is an escape, an expression of one’s thoughts and emotions, and a way to communicate on a level that once seemed impossible. It is these people, the ones who find themselves in the melodies and lyrics constructed by their heroes, that are also the first ones to criticize. When an artist releases new music that may seem a little different than their previous work, it is usually the fans who react with an uproar.
This has been common within music scenes for decades, but the past few months, there have been many artists accused of “selling out,” or conforming to a mainstream sound in order to make money instead of art, and many of these artists come from the alternative or rock scene - the same scene I love to be a part of. All Time Low received criticism a few months ago when they changed labels and released their single, “Dirty Laundry.” Linkin Park was met with outrage when they released “Heavy” back in March. More recently, Fall Out Boy fans were confused and critical after “Young and Menace” dropped, and followers of Paramore cried out for the band to return to their alternative roots after the release of After Laughter. Check the comments of the “Hard Times” music video and you'll see complaint after complaint of wanting the “old Paramore” back. It seems as if the slightest inkling of an alternative artist moving towards pop is only ever met with a negative response.
Why is that? Why do fans get so upset when the artists they love switch up their sound? Does sounding like pop automatically mean an artist is selling out? And what about those artists who are constantly breaking the genre barriers? Does genre as we know it have a future in this ever evolving music industry?
Many people view pop music as an easy way out, especially fans who come from more selective music scenes. Pop music isn't difficult; following the formula to create a hit is fairly simple, and most pop artists don't write their own songs. To many, pop music just isn't as artistic. However, sounding more mainstream is not necessarily a sign of selling out. It all has to do with authenticity; was the artist being true to themselves in creating their music? Or were they the mouthpiece of a corporate machine?
In the case of Fall Out Boy, “Young and Menace” was a chance for the band to play with new recording technology while also utilizing the talent they have as a band. While some may see the voice modulation and heavy drop in the chorus as a sign of selling out, any interview with Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz proves that this song is still genuine, still 100% Fall Out Boy. Hayley Williams has been honest about her struggles as an artist, opening up about how she considered quitting after the release of Paramore’s self-titled album in 2014. Though After Laughter is definitely more pop than rock, a little background and a quick look at the lyrics show that this album is genuine. Yet, that doesn't stop fans from complaining.
It all has to do with authenticity; was the artist being true to themselves in creating their music? Or were they the mouthpiece of a corporate machine?Maybe this is because we immerse ourselves so fully into music. When we find an artist that speaks to us and then they change, it feels as if we lose parts of ourselves. Personally, I place a lot of who I am as an individual in the artists I love. My friends know me as the girl who loves Twenty One Pilots, and large chunks of my identity reside in the fact that I am part of the Clique.
When an artist drastically changes, fans are quite suddenly left feeling as if they've been abandoned. I would be lying if I said I haven't been critical of artists I love. When Fall Out Boy returned from their hiatus in 2011, all I wanted was to have the old Fall Out Boy back. Yet, over time, I have come to appreciate each era of music this band has offered, and I look forward to the next era of Fall Out Boy with the release of MANIA this fall.
More and more, we see artists branch out of a genre they had previously ascribed to, only to be met with questions and ridicule. More musicians are taking inspirations from genres of music outside of their own. However, genre in music as we know it is constantly changing. As previously mentioned, I am a huge fan of Twenty One Pilots, a band who has rose to notoriety by creating music influenced by a variety of genres. While they're mostly classified as pop, rock, or alternative, there are heavy electronic, folk, and even reggae vibes to their songs. Maybe this breaking of genre barriers is even more authentic than staying in the lines that radio stations and award shows have drawn for musicians. Maybe artists branching out is actually a means of expression, and not an act of selling out. Maybe, just maybe, the artists we love create music they want to listen to, and all they ever want is for us to listen to it too.
(06/10/17 4:18pm)
Adam West, the first actor to give life to the iconic character of Batman, died today at the age of 88.
(05/27/17 3:46pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
On the 23rd Overwatch celebrated its one-year anniversary and is inviting everyone to celebrate with the release of three new maps, now-viral dance emotes, and some snazzy new skins.
We’ve lauded Overwatch before for their attention to detail and for lead writer Michael Chu’s dedication to diversity in the game’s lore and characters. Despite this, players have recently been pointing out some inaccuracies concerning Japanese writing in the game and in previous cinematics.
Japanese has three alphabets, kanji in particular being the one adapted from Chinese characters. As someone who has been studying the language for many years, I can say it’s incredibly easy to mix up kanji meanings, since the meaning can change depending on the other kanji they are written with. There seems to have been something lost in translation when it comes to Hanzo’s new legendary skin.
This is what many Japanese players are asking about the very prominent but not exactly accurate kanji 矢印 (yajirushi) featured both on the strip of Hanzo’s quiver and on the bow itself. The “sign” part here literally translates as something that would be featured on a road or street sign. The single kanji 矢 (ya) would have sufficed for the obvious label of “arrow” because that’s what it translates to.
This naturally reminded fans of the similar kanji blunder when the cinematic that explained Genji and Hanzo’s backstory released last year. The scroll at the altar before which Hanzo kneels to offer prayers to the late Genji features the kanji 竜頭蛇尾 (ryoutoudabi), which literally translates as “dragon head, snake tail” which fits the theme of the brothers being long, Japanese-style dragons in the fable. However, Japanese speakers recognized this as an idiom that means “anticlimax.” Something starts out magnificent like a dragon but becomes smaller and unimpressive like a snake. A quick dictionary check confirms the translation of “anticlimax.”
It’s rather disappointing to see a mistake so easily recognizable by Japanese language speakers go unnoticed as production rolled out these features, especially since Overwatch usually does a good job of representing and exploring Japanese culture.
Subtle Details and Better Research in Skins
Genji’s newest legendary skin featuring a sleek green helmet and armor is a play on one of Japan’s most recognizable and oldest pop culture series: Super Sentai Series. Sentai translates as “lightning squadron” and is used to describe teams of superheroes in color-coded costumes who battle the monster of the week using mech-armor, usually with the power of hard work and friendship. The Power Rangers series are the Americanized version of Sentai, which has consistently kept up production and popularity since the 70’s.
Another of Genji’s skins, the demon-masked Oni skin, gets kanji and culture right in a subtle detail on his twin swords, one used for defense and the other he uses to attack. The offensive sword on his back bears the kanji 村正 “Muramasa” the name of a real life 13th and 14th century swordsmith. The other defensive katana has the name 正宗 “Masamune” a rival swordsmith considered to be the greatest in Japanese history. This speaks to game designer’s attention to detail considering the legend behind these two names.
Muramasa and Masamune had a contest to see who was truly the better craftsman. They each made a katana, brought it to the river and laid the blade in the stream, where various things caught against the sword. Muramasa’s blade cut leaves and fish right in half; whereas fish swam around and leaves remained intact when they hit Masamune’s blade. Muramasa declared himself the winner, saying the other had failed. A passing monk came forward and explained that he had seen the contest and interpreted Masamune as the winner. Masamune’s blade refused to cut the innocent while Muramasa’s blade was indiscriminate and blood-thirsty, cutting through anything in it’s path.
There was clearly some research put into such a small detail. Overwatch’s development team does a generally good job of representing the cultures it features in game and playing up the folklore from those cultures. Anyone familiar with Japanese folklore instantly recognized the two Japanese heroes’ names: Hanzo comes from the famous ninja of the Sengoku era Hattori Hanzou, who was described as “Demon Hanzou” by his enemies. Genji is a reference to The Tale of Genji, the world’s first modern novel by Murasaki Shikibu. The book is about Hikaru Genji is a wandering, banished nobleman and his relationships with various women.
According to some fans, his name origin explains Genji’s ambiguous relationship with Mercy.
Shipping theorists aside, Japanese Twitter generally appreciates the two Japanese heroes. As a whole, I believe that Blizzard has done a good job appealing to the massive audience they have in Japan. That’s why it’s confusing why little slip ups in kanji were released without review from someone familiar with the language. Overwatch has the cultural callbacks down but needs to do some dictionary checks.
(05/19/17 11:00am)
by Dalton Martin
Ever since Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios has included some interesting guest characters for their fighting games, and with their parent company being Warner Bros. Interactive, they have plenty of iconic characters to utilize. From the nightmarish Freddy Krueger to the deadly Xenomorph, creative director Ed Boon is always hinting at what fighters will be coming next in the form of DLC. So who else might show up to battle with the world's greatest heroes and villains of Injustice 2? Find out what unpredictable surprise guests we think will be appearing below.
T-800 (Terminator series)
With Terminator 2: Judgement Day having just celebrated its 25th anniversary and a rumored reboot of the series coming soon, now would be the perfect time to include the killer robot as a special guest character. The T-800, besides being extremely proficient with firearms and hand to hand combat, is also no stranger to fighting heroes of the DC Universe either. Superman went toe-to-toe with the robots in a special 4-part series back in 2000 titled Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future. In the run, the Terminators were upgraded to take on the likes of Superman and the rest of the Justice League making them far more deadly than their film counterparts. With the combination of the character's comic book past and the promotional timing, it would not be a complete shock to see Arnold Schwarzenegger's face appear in the Injustice universe in the near future.
The Comedian (Watchmen)
Ever since the first Injustice title was released, fans have been clamoring for a character from the Watchmen and with DC’s Rebirth comic run heavily hinting that the Watchmen are coming into the main DC storyline, now would be the perfect time to include someone like the Comedian. Why the Comedian though? Well, the reason the Comedian seems like a more likely character to be included out of the Watchmen cast is because he is the one fans would least expect, something Ed Boon loves to do. Coupled with the fact that fan-favorite Rorschach would translate into a boring brawler fighter and that Dr. Manhattan's is almost too obvious of a fit for the Injustice game and the Comedian looks the most likely out of the trio. The Comedian himself can easily utilize a combination of firearms and brute strength, making him a more versatile character for NetherRealm to work around. His character is also a good match for the bleak and tyrannical world of the Injustice universe and could easily be written in as a Regime-aligned character.
John Cena
Alright, so this one is probably the most ridiculous prediction but bear with me on this one. For those who do not remember, a few years back the WWE teamed up with NetherRealm to produce a mobile fighting game that was very similar to the Injustice mobile title called WWE: Immortals. One of the characters introduced in the game was John Cena in very Superman-esque attire. With the business partnership already established between NetherRealm and its parent company Warner Bros Entertainment, it does not seem so far fetched to predict the inclusion of a powered up version of the WWE champion - if not strictly for a silly way for the companies to promote one another, something WWE is venturing into with their recent business partnership with Rocket League creators Psyonix. Ed Boon has even emphasized how “you will not see” some of these DLC characters coming in interviews leading up to the release of the game. As angry as it would make some hardcore DC fans, the Internet would absolutely blow up in laughter if NetherRealm ever decided to include a superhero version of John Cena in Injustice as a DLC character.
Spawn
Outside of Watchmen characters, Spawn has definitely been one of the most requested DLC characters for not only just the Injustice titles, but the Mortal Kombat series as well. No stranger to being a special guest in a fighting series, having been included in Soulcalibur 2, Spawn seems the most likely out of all the characters listed above to be included as a DLC character. The anti-hero would be a perfect fit for the Injustice universe and it wouldn’t be the first time the character has had a run-in with a DC character, having starred with the Caped Crusader in the one-shot comic Spawn/Batman. With Spawn’s many weapons, his signature cape, and his demonic/angelic powers, NetherRealm could easily craft a unique fighting style for the character that could feel like a combination of Scorpion and Lobo from the first Injustice game.
(05/13/17 3:00pm)
SourceFed, a company born in 2012 from YouTube’s
Original Channel Initiative recently shut down after a merger with Discovery Communications-backed Group Nine Media, to the surprise of both fans and those who worked there. The SourceFed, originally created by Philip DeFranco had three channels, including SourceFed Nerd that produced YouTube personalities such as Steven Suptic, Ava Gordy, and Mike Falzone who have since moved on to produce content on their own channels.
(05/12/17 7:54pm)
by Daley Wilhelm
SourceFed, a company born in 2012 from YouTube’s Original Channel Initiative recently shut down after a merger with Discovery Communications-backed Group Nine Media, to the surprise of both fans and those who worked there. The SourceFed, originally created by Philip DeFranco had three channels, including SourceFed Nerd that produced YouTube personalities such as Steven Suptic, Ava Gordy, and Mike Falzone who have since moved on to produce content on their own channels.
The decision to shut down SourceFed Studios, which provided pop culture and tech news was made purely by Group Nine, DeFranco having sold the company to Discovery Communications back in 2013. Group Nine Media owns brands Facebook users might recognize such as Thrillist, The Dodo, and NowThis. The issue that has Internet commenters extra salty this week involves the latter of this list because those million-odd subscribers who stayed subscribed to the then-dead SourceFed Nerd channel were awoken to a surprise on May 4th when SourceFed Nerd was reanimated as NowThis Nerd.
The channel was originally left untouched: an archive of all the previous content which is still on the renamed and rebranded channel. It doesn’t appear as if there are any plans to delete old content; but former employees such as Reina Scully are worried, as are current subscribers.
The main problem isn’t so much the idea of the eradication of old content, but rather that the rebrand seems like the desecration of a grave. A large portion of comments involve complaints that this is not the channel that users subscribed to and that NowThis effectively stole SourceFed Nerd’s subscriber base by rebranding the channel hundreds of thousands were still subscribed to. On paper, it probably made a lot of sense for NowThis to use a channel that already had a guaranteed subscriber base rather than starting from scratch with a new channel. NowThis Nerd currently has 939,480 subscribers, but this is after the mass exodus of thousands of subscribers in protest, over 20,000 of which occurred within the first five hours of the takeover. The dislikes on the introductory video currently stand at 60,229.
[pullquote]“While this wasn’t our decision, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t honored by the opportunity to produce some great content for such an awesome, loyal community,” and that, “Our ultimate goal is still the same as SourceFed Nerd,”[/pullquote]
NowThis Nerd’s first video Welcome to NowThis Nerd features the channel’s Senior Producer Mike Calabro saying, “While this wasn’t our decision, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t honored by the opportunity to produce some great content for such an awesome, loyal community,” and that, “Our ultimate goal is still the same as SourceFed Nerd,”
The hashtag #notmynerd seems to have been born to contradict the statement that SourceFed Nerd’s community would be loyal to NowThis coming in as a usurper (an apt comparison considering that Calabro compared himself to Ramsey Bolton).
What NowThis didn’t take into account when assuring audiences that the content would be essentially the same was that a significant majority of subscribers aren’t so much brand loyal as they are to personalities associated with brands, especially in terms of YouTubers. Brand loyalty is defined as consumers making repeat purchases, or in the case of YouTube, repeat views, to a certain brand. Personalities are perhaps one of the most recognizable type of branding, and much consideration has to be put into the face that represents a brand. SourceFed Nerd certainly functioned as a news organization, but there was a clear focus on the hosts. The channel’s most popular videos were less focused on subject matter, and more on interaction with the personalities within the company, their most viewed video being 9 + 10 = 21? - Nerds Play the Impossible Quiz at over 4 million views. Among their most viewed content are other challenge videos. Since the dissolution of SourceFed, subscriber counts for the individual channels of various hosts from the company have gone up. Former host Steven Suptic’s subscriber count has officially surpassed the NowThis Nerd channel’s own since the rebrand.
Comments on the videos made by former hosts or others like Hank Green appear to have been deleted.
What former employees and fans of SourceFed Nerd are really upset about is if the channel intends on making the same content, why fire all the staff? This is an echo of what happened earlier this year when the Seeker Daily channel was rebranded as NowThis’ main YouTube channel. New hosts were also introduced, and a plethora of comments followed suit about buying subscribers, fans feeling betrayed, and the content they loved being hijacked.
Technically, YouTube’s Terms of Service in Article 4D communicates that the individual sale of a channel, and thus the “hijacking” of a fanbase, is against YouTube’s Terms of Service. This doesn’t necessarily apply to the acquisition of a company that owns the channel. When Group Nine acquired SourceFed, it acquired the associated YouTube channels. However, it’s easy to see the ethical dilemma here that led to such a PR nightmare. NowThis Nerd is certainly getting attention, but it’s all hostile. Various protest hashtags have emerged and the @NowThisNerd handle on Twitter has been claimed as a protest Twitter as well, since the NowThis failed to secure it before the big reveal.
It’s suspect as well that former employees of SourceFed were not given prior warning to the rebrand. Thus far, there has been no official statement from Group Nine as to why they made this decision. There might have been a lapse in judgement as to how fans might react, despite the similar vitriol NowThis experienced when Seeker Daily was rebranded. Personally I don’t think they had a good strategy in launching the rebrand ambush-style, or in their choice of cover image on the channel: Spider-man wiping off a window, as if starting clean slate.
NowThis Nerd has started off with a dozen reaction videos from various former hosts of the reanimated channel, and a couple dozen livestreams of their subscriber count dropping on SocialBlade.
(05/06/17 11:00am)
by Sarah James
Over the past several months, content creators on YouTube have had an uphill battle when it has comes to their ad revenue. Many YouTubers have had their videos randomly demonetized, most without any notification or reason why. Why is this happening? Well, many large companies have pulled their advertising from YouTube after seeing that ads were placed on inappropriate videos. Videos showing extreme violence or containing hate speech weren’t caught by YouTube’s monetization algorithm and were still running ads, and companies like McDonald’s, Walmart, Verizon, and many others have decided to pull their ads from YouTube in general. In response, YouTube has had to pull back on their monetized content, which makes sense from a business standpoint, but does not bode well for the content creators who have made their living on the platform.
Many large YouTubers have opened up about how this demonetization has affected their channel. Co-creator of VidCon and one-half of the famed Vlogbrothers, Hank Green, made a video last week titled, “The Adpocalypse: What It Means.” Not only did Hank coin an amazing term for what is happening with YouTube right now, but he also shed a lot of light on what this demonetization is doing to content creators. In this video, the younger Green brother discusses advertising on the Internet in general before diving into the current YouTube drama. He comments that, “The average YouTube channel gets, like, fifty times less revenue than the average TV channel per minute of viewership. Why? Why are my eyeballs worth ten times more when I’m watching TV than when I’m watching YouTube? They’re the same eyeballs; I promise.”
“The average YouTube channel gets, like, fifty times less revenue than the average TV channel per minute of viewership. Why? Why are my eyeballs worth ten times more when I’m watching TV than when I’m watching YouTube? They’re the same eyeballs; I promise.” - Hank GreenAdvertising on the Internet for online personalities to make a living is still a very new concept, especially when compared to the behemoth that is advertising in broadcast media. Over the past several years, there has been a growing “us versus them” mentality when it comes to YouTubers and mainstream media. More people of the younger generations watch YouTube and not mainstream television shows. Most college students I know, including myself, only turn on the television because there’s a gaming console connected to it. When you ask a group of twenty-year-olds what they are watching, they’ll more than likely give you a list of shows on Netflix or YouTube channels they’re subscribed to. The Internet as a primary source of entertainment is a much more popular idea now than it was five years ago. Yet, YouTube and its content creators are not held anywhere close to the standards of television, especially in the eyes of advertisers.
Hank then goes on to talk about YouTube’s recent issues with demonetizing certain channels, asking himself and the people watching if it’s worth it. Is YouTube’s reliance on advertising helping or hurting those pouring their lives into creating content? Is this system of advertising outdated and not sustainable for the ever-changing Internet? Bigger YouTubers are starting to look towards being independently funded in response; look at Philip DeFranco. Phil, who hosts a weekday news show and currently has over five million subscribers, announced this past Monday that he is now a completely independent creator, and is using crowd-funding site, Patreon, to launch his own news network. The largest YouTuber on the planet, PewDiePie, announced last month that he would be moving to Twitch, where streamers are funded by viewers alone. There are plenty of other YouTubers with millions of subscribers who are looking at this fan-funded option, and it seems to be working.
But what about the smaller YouTubers? Sure, content creators with millions of followers are definitely going to receive the support they need from fan funding, but people without fans aren’t getting anywhere. As someone who has a very small channel (less than 1,000 subscribers), it’s discouraging to see this response from YouTube and the advertisers that once supported it. Creating a successful YouTube channel, one that could feasibly sustain the cost of living, is something that takes an insane amount of time and effort. If I wanted to really get my YouTube channel to a place where I could make money off of it, the amount of time and energy I would need to pour into it would be the equivalent of a full time job. I can’t afford to do that, especially when I may not even be monetized to begin with. All those children of the Internet, the ones who dream of making it big on YouTube, may not even get the chance to try.
(04/26/17 9:00pm)
By Tt Shinkan
Last week, Starbucks introduced the world to the Unicorn Frappuccino and within a day it created online buzz with thousands of Instagram posts. So I made it my mission to set out and attain the colorful drink for myself so I can see what this “buzz” was all about. Just a day after the drink came out, the campus Starbucks had run out of ingredients under the intense demand for the frappucino.
When the drink first came out, I only ever saw it on my Twitter and Instagram feeds. I had no idea that this drink was being released, but once it had, there were no less than six articles on Buzzfeed about it. When looking at the sugary drink, I can understand why people would want to snap a picture with it. It’s aesthetically pleasing. The purple and pink remind me of grape and strawberry nerds and the blue drizzle ties the drink together. It gives off a Disney vibe, which appeals to almost everyone. People love colorful products; it’s glamour makes for a good Instagram post. This type of marketing strategy is the perfect way to get customers into a business to purchase their products since most people want to show the world the beautifully colored drink they bought.
Another appealing aspect of the drink is the name, “Unicorn Frappuccino”. No other coffee chain has a drink named after a mythical animal. When someone says the name “Unicorn Frappuccino”, you’re instantly going to wonder what exactly it tastes like. Is it fruity? Does it taste like vanilla? What exactly does a unicorn taste like? Also, Starbucks has the stereotype of being the basic Millennial hangout coffee shop, so introducing yet another Frappuccino with an appealing name is sure to spark some interest.
Promotions like this actually helps Starbucks. They’ll have these “special” drinks for only a limited time and then discontinue them. Once the drink has gained a following, Starbucks is more than likely to bring it back, like my favorite, the s’mores Frappuccino, or the ever popular Pumpkin Spice Latte. The latter has brought in almost $80 million a year and sold more than 200 million since it was first introduced in 2003.
Starbucks executives know that by slapping “limited time” on a drink, they are guaranteed to bring in more money. Humans have an instinct that if they see something as “limited edition” or “limited time”, they view that product as more valuable. Yale studies have shown that in order for someone to make a choice, a seller will often put a time restraint on a product to get the customer to purchase it as fast as possible. This marketing strategy can even create a high demand for that product and might even result in a company bringing it back.
Circled in pink you can see a spike in Starbuck's stock the day of the Unicorn Frappucino's release
Now the flavor of the drink is supposed to taste like Sweet Tarts, but since I haven’t tried it, I don’t have an answer to the question. The people who’ve tried it, however, had mixed reactions. Some love it, describing the flavor as sour and after a while it changes to sweet. Then there are those who hate it and say that the flavor is too sugary and chemically. Well, it seems that not everyone hated it since most Starbucks are sold out of the drink nationwide and Starbucks’s stocks are skyrocketing because of it. I’m sure Starbucks intended to create a drink that would not only bring in non-coffee drinkers, but a younger consumer demographic as well.
Another interesting bit I must mention is the fact that baristas hate making the colorful Frappuccino. They’ve said that the drink is time-consuming and very complicated to make. Not to mention it also creates a mess in the process.
With the success of the “Unicorn Frappuccino”, it’s only a matter of time until Starbucks releases their next drink, but will it be worthy of a selfie?
(04/10/17 4:29pm)
Fantastically Mundane S1E1 - A Welcoming Warning
https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/fantastically-mundane-s1e1-a-welcoming-warning
Fantastically Mundane is an original radio drama produced by byte. Through writing, audio editing, and voice acting we tell the tale of Aisling University of Arcane Studies’ four most awkward misfits and their adventures in magic, demons, and social anxiety.
In this episode we meet Marley, an inept and awkward wizard who by some miracle got into Aisling, the best school for magic in the world. His miracle turned out to be more of a curse. The demon Marley summoned, Fauster, is now Marley's annoying, and permanent, roommate inside his head. Marley has to work hard to keep his secret, find his place at Aisling, and insist to his new friends that he is not crazy.
Check out all the new happenings at Aisling via the University's Twitter.
Fantastically Mundane S1E2 - Sunshine's Sob Story
https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/fantastically-mundane-s1e2-sunshines-sob-story
Marley has managed to keep Fauster a secret... so far. He's on his way to deciding his future at Aisling, his dream come true. However, not everyone is having such a good time. Sunshine, queen of darkness and sass, isn't so happy with the majors Declan suggested she choose from.
Marley's never had friends, so he's trying to be the best one he can. That might be a little difficult with Sunshine's demon obsession and Nikki's zeal for hunting them.
Check out all the new happenings at Aisling via the University's Twitter.
Fantastically Mundane S1E2 - Searching for Sigils
https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/fantastically-mundane-s1e3-searching-for-sigils
There's something demonic at Aisling... and it's not just Fauster, who is getting a little nervous about Marley's choice in friends. Nikki, heir to a monster hunting empire, has enlisted Marley as her partner. For hunting demons. Fauster finds humor in this, even if Marley doesn't.
Marley finally leaves the safety of the dorms alongside Nikki to investigate the demonic sigils on campus.
Check out all the new happenings at Aisling via the University's Twitter.
Fantastically Mundane S1E4 - Reckless Ritual
https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/fantastically-mundane-s1e4-reckless-ritual
Marley's secret is out, Nikki is angrier than ever, Sunshine is somewhere in the shadows consorting with powerful demons, and he could get kicked out of Aisling... but all that turns out to be the least of his worries.
Nikki, Marley, and the newly unveiled Fauster reluctantly team up to try to help Sunshine before the campus goes to hell.
Check out all the new happenings at Aisling via the University's Twitter.
(04/10/17 4:16pm)
Fantastically Mundane: A Radio Drama
The Fantastically Mundane is byte's first original, fictional production. This fifteen minute podcast follows the story of Marley, an awkward inept wizard hiding the fact that he got into the prestigious Aisling University of Arcane Studies through the equally inept demon that he is stuck sharing a headspace with.
Aisling University for Arcane Studies
Aisling University for Arcane Studies is the greatest school of magic in the world, boasting a storied history and a diverse student body of all kinds of magical creatures. Although this can cause some conflicts, Aisling strives to welcome everyone with magical potential into it's ancient hallways.
Internal Exploration Living and Learning Community
Not everyone at Aisling realizes the full extent of their abilities immediately. For those who are having trouble finding themselves, the Internal Exploration Living and Learning Community serves as a home for students who are less magically inclined to incubate and catch up with the general student body. In the dorms, they are able to work and play together, building each other up and helping one another to realize their full potential.
Humanity Defense Division
Some humans, feeling marginalized and menaced by the magical creatures that outnumber them, have created the Humanity Defense Division in order to proactively protect themselves for species they consider problematic such as vampires or werewolves. This faction of humans are considered extremist by many, considering their "killing now to save lives later" motto.
(04/10/17 4:12pm)
Aisling University for Arcane Studies has a diverse student body of magical beings from all walks of life. The main cast is comprised of six key characters, all establishing their place at the historic university.
Marley and Fauster
Marley is a young wizard, a freshman who's dream had been to walk the halls of the best school for magic in the world. Not the best at magic himself, hardly able to spark a candle or a conversation for that matter, he became desperate. In his desperation, he made a deal with a demon named Fauster in order to gain power enough to gain acceptance into Aisling. Unfortunately for Marley, Fauster isn't the most powerful demon himself. His greatest power seems to be sarcasm and bad jokes, mostly at Marley's expense.
Marley is now stuck as a mediocre wizard with a massive, annoying secret in the devil sitting on his shoulder.
Sunshine
Sunshine is a pixie who is anything but sunshine-y. She likes darkness, not sparkles. Dead things, not rainbows. Sunshine isn't awkward like Marley, but she doesn't have the best track record of making friends given her thorny attitude and her obsession with studying Dark Arts.
Nikki
Nikki Kelsing is not your average vampire. She denies that she's a vampire in the first place, and understandably so. She is the daughter of the Kelsing family, a clan of hunters most known for their powerful connections to the Humanity Defense Division. Nikki has a hard time adjusting to a magical environment, but she's trying her best. She might be backward about some things, but she's earnest when it comes to friendship.
Declan
Declan is a druid dedicated to his studies, and to his position as a resident assistant for the Internal Exploration Living and Learning Community. Knowledgable and maybe a little uptight, he is determined to keeping his Internal Explorers out of trouble and on their way to realizing their full potential.