Warning: serious stuff ahead. I'll try to keep it humorous. I was thinking back to the most impactful moments of my nerd life, wondering how things might have changed without them. Various small decisions and influences shaping me into the reasonable facsimile of an adult I am now. What if I'd seen Star Trek before… Continue reading A Letter to Myself: Identity in Geek Culture
Wonder Woman in America & Abroad Wonder Woman has been a hit of the early summer and while she has met with challenges in other countries, she has been America’s darling (again) for the last month. Wonder Woman has always had great popularity in the United States. She was created here, and her comics and… Continue reading America, The Wonder Woman
Character Creation Let's get this out of the way first because I need to display my biases and privileges before you read this piece. I am a straight, cis-gendered, Latino male. At age 32, I am on the older edge of the Millenial generation. Gaming is a lifelong hobby of mine, primarily of the pen-and-paper… Continue reading Why I Roleplay Women
A few weeks ago I wrote a piece about rediscovering Magic: The Gathering. The honeymoon isn't over yet, but my return to gaming culture opened my eyes to an intriguing phenomenon that occurs when nerds grow up. I call it the Neverland Effect. Let's rewind a tiny bit. When I moved to Portland a little… Continue reading The Neverland Effect
I've been playing RPGs for most of my life. Dungeons & Dragons (2e, 3e, 3.5e, & 5e), Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Unknown Armies, Shadowrun and a few others that I'm sure I forgot. I dabbled in Shadowrun in college and just started really picking it up again when I moved to Portland two… Continue reading Who created who?
This is the game screen on my iPhone. And I spend the majority of my free time lately gaming here. For many people, that would make me not a gamer. Social and mobile gaming is considered by many not to be "true" gaming, or not "hardcore" or "core," or somehow lacking in significance. Many people… Continue reading You Might Call Me a Casual Gamer, and That’s OK
When I first heard of the documentary Gaming in Color, I fully intended to watch the documentary and write a review, listing out a bunch of reasons why I think gamers and non-gamers alike should watch it. As I made my way through the film, however, I soon realized that that’s not really what I… Continue reading The Need for Queer Narratives: A Response to “Gaming in Color”
I grew up as a bit of a tomboy. I didn’t mind getting dirty or wrestling with my friends or my cousins. You see, I am the only girl in my family. I have three older brothers… waaaay older actually. The youngest is 17 years older than me. So I grew up with a pretty… Continue reading Gamer – Tomboy – Girly Girl
I’m not a gamer. Recently I was re-listening to Game on Girl’s great interview with author Genese Davis (episode 62) and was struck by their conversation about the term “gamer.” They were discussing how culture often perceives “gamers” as anti-social misfits living in their parents’ basement and playing non-stop. This is a fairly common discussion… Continue reading I play sometimes, but. . .
