Epic Default Productions

The latest push of Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” campaign has come, in the form of t-shirts that you probably pay for with your money.  Seriously. No, seriously. I can’t find a “buy” link, but rest assured I’ll update this post with it when I find one.

Honestly, I’ve found the whole ad blitz to be a horrible waste of effort on Microsoft’s part. Indeed, the old abbreviation “M$” had might as well stand for “Mad $tacks;” even in the midst of a recession they’re making money hand over fist (to the tune of $15.1 billion this latest fiscal quarter).  Despite losing some ground in the laptop field, Windows remains the dominant desktop OS, holds a healthy chunk of the server OS market, hell, even the Xbox 360 division is finally turning a profit. I suspect, regardless of the “I’m a PC” ads, they don’t need youthful hipsters. At least, not as much as they seem to think they do.

Marketing blowholery aside, am I alone in thinking the DOS shirt design looks pretty swank? I do love me some DOS.

(as seen on Engadget.)

Tell Oz that he is, indeed, all alone. Hit the comment link!

(I don’t even know what this is supposed to be, but it showed up under a Google Image Search for “memetics.” Speaking of which, it’s worthy of note that I use the term “memetic” in an odd way here: take it to mean ideas spread compulsively, rather than ideas that spread themselves.)

I-realize-now-that-I-will-probably-cut-everything-I-write-at-Epic-Default

**I’m going to be out of town so I’m doing this in a bit of rush. I apologize beforehand for any bad grammar/spelling**

This is how it is bound to happen. I have no idea what the hell to write about and then I have a “conversation” with Jon and vuala; an idea. What spawned this little rant or moment of reflection or stream of consciousness (or all the above for that matter) was a comment that Jon made when I was talking about Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I was saying how I’m not a big fan of either and though it may be popular, it doesn’t define nerd culture of today. His comment in response to this was that I am out of touch with nerd culture.

(This is going to get philosophical and serious quickly so I warn you now in hopes that you won’t start bitching at me three quarters of the way through this.)

I’m going to take a moment to give a little background because I think it’ll help to give a better picture of myself. I’m a pretty big nerd in multiple respects, but I approach my nerddom in the same way that I approach many aspects of my life. I always try to be a jack-of-all-trades. One who learns of the many aspects of a subject in attempt to master, or at least be knowledgeable, in each. So, when it comes to being a nerd, I like to partake in board/card gaming, tabletop, LARP, video gaming, anime, comic books, etc. It’s fun and intriguing what you find in each.

This ultimately left me to attempt to answer the question, am I in touch with nerd culture? I figure for simplicity sake we can start at video games and expand our view from there. Lately I do play a limited number of video games. I like to play games that either have a) a good storyline/character development, b) some fun stuff I can just shut off my brain and do, or c) a multi-player option so that I can play the game with friends. The problem with Guitar Hero for me is that it doesn’t fit any of those categories, even the “shut off your brain” concept. I’d rather do that for a first-person shooter then what equates to a rhythm game. That’s a gaming concept I could never really sink my teeth into. Also I know some will say that Guitar Hero is multiplayer and while that may be true, I have yet to amongst a group of friends where everyone wants to play the game at least once. In fact I’ve seen the moments that lead up to a drunken girl cheat on her boyfriend while he was too busy trying to master Bark At The Moon on expert. But hey, that’s the way it works.

image is property of Randall Munroe and taken from XKCD

I will make the following caveat before I continue any further on this subject though. I certainly do see the merit of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. People shouldn’t just stop playing it if they enjoy it. I may see it as a fleecing game of sorts. I may think that it really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and would rather just get a copy of the records of some of these artists and sit down and enjoy the music without all the damn clinking. It may not be entertaining to me but I’m not going to yelling at you while you are trying to play in a woeful attempt to stop you from having fun.

What I will say is this, in attempt to answer the question of being out of touch to nerd culture. No singular game, in any form, incarnation, series, resurrection, etc captures the entirety of what is nerd. Hell even genres can’t do that. Video gaming is not nerd culture. Neither is D&D, Firefly, Vampire, Settlers, or FLCL. The epiphany so many people forget or ignore is that it is all of them. The thought process of most nerds though ultimately leads to a shortsighted view that he/she and his/her followers are the penultimate sect. You are not the prophets. No jihad of gaming to cleanse nerddom of the infidels is needed. Just do your thing. Enjoy, be happy and embrace yourself. You may not always agree with the tastes of other nerds, but you cannot deny them of their calling. Go ahead and try if it really makes you happy but you are going to lose opportunities for friendships with cool people, seclude yourself from whole other worlds of entertainment, enlightenment, and education, and you will look like an ass. Don’t blame me for pointing it out if that’s the way you’re acting. Trust me, you’ll deserve it and yes, it is necessary.

Criticism is usually dished out by people who can’t take it, so I whole-heartedly invite people to critique me. Give me your thoughts and though we may agree to disagree we will find a truth in the work. The connection may be hard to see, but it is a bond that is nearly impossible to sever. Let nerds see the light and become the thing they always dreamed to be, a society of outcast that rise up to revolutionize the world. Let us not be our own worst enemies. Our dedications may differ but our hearts are one in the same.

Please, find love in your heart, and digg this