tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81075907551961677452024-02-19T00:13:37.754-05:00The CodeWriting and musings from Shawn Struck on "geek culture" like video games, technology, web design, tabletop games and more.Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-66134804292133710072019-01-22T12:00:00.000-05:002019-01-22T12:00:04.072-05:00Guest Comic: Playing Runescape With Your Grandmother Means...Artist and gamer Cibayara Acosta recently penned a comic on what happened after she got her grandmother into Runescape and invested in the attendant lore, and the results were pretty surprising!
Cibayara Acosta is a US-based Taino comic artist. While her work spans a large spectrum, she most frequently enjoys engaging with children's media and fantasy. In her spare time she enjoys Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-66385847041320351612018-09-07T09:00:00.000-04:002018-09-07T09:00:01.904-04:00More Livestreamed Preview Valkryia Chronicles 4 TODAYHey all, yesterday's exclusive livestream playthrough of the upcoming Valkryia Chonicles 4 was such a success, I'm doing some more on my twitch channel TODAY at 2:30 PM eastern time. I'll be picking up exactly where I left off in Chapter 1, and be streaming for about an hour.Just click on over to my twitch channel to check it out! See you later today!Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-62761966676982595552018-09-06T13:25:00.000-04:002018-09-06T13:25:02.678-04:00Exclusive Preview Valkryia Chronicles 4 LIVESTREAM play-through TODAY 4PM
Cover art for U.S. Release ofValkryia Chronicles 4
In addition to everything else I do, I've taken up live-streaming and set up a twitch channel. I am pleased to announce that at 4PM eastern time today I'll be doing a live playthrough from the beginning of Valkryia Chronicles 4. Just click here to visit my twitch channel.If you missed the initial playthrough, the video will be archived for theShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-30510388526406071022018-07-05T15:54:00.001-04:002018-07-05T15:54:08.186-04:00Complete Event Schedule For DexCon 21 This Week
Description: Logo for DEXCON 21
It's been a little quiet on The Code lately, and that's because I've been hard at work with Kitsune Entertainment to bring interactive improvisational gaming to Dexcon 21 at the Morristown Hyatt Regency & Conference Center in Morristown, New Jersey from the 5th to the 8th! I'm taking it easy today (though if you see me wandering around, please say hello!), Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-51296154709091470452018-06-06T13:00:00.000-04:002018-06-06T13:00:04.340-04:00Telltale Tell-All: How Toxic Work Culture Drives Away Best Devs
Description: "Telltale Games Will Remember That"
Writing for The Verge, Megan Farokhmanesh, does a deep dive into the arduous working condition in the video game industry in general, and one award winning studio in particular. As she explains:
These conditions almost always hit one group the hardest: developers, or the people who actually make the games. Layoffs are a pervasive fact of life,Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-13445728755820926522018-06-04T12:30:00.000-04:002018-06-04T12:30:08.306-04:00Flash Memory: Preserving Web Games For The Future
Description: A tombstone with a tuft of grass with thesymbol for the program Adobe Flash wedged in it at an angle.
Last year, Adobe announced that it was slowly phasing out support for its Flash player plugin, with support ending in 2 years. Most modern browsers are phrasing out support of Flash before then.
That also means that over 20 years of game and interactive animation history could Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-64727798141156418172018-05-11T19:52:00.000-04:002018-05-11T19:52:52.485-04:00Fanvid Friday: The Greatest Teacher, Failure Is
Last year, I shared a bit about the history of fan videos and the culture and people who make them. Today I want to share an amazing fan video from Heroes Fan Productions titled "The Greatest Teacher Failure Is" that focuses on the legacies of both Yoda and Luke Skywalker. It's a great display of masterful editing and music choice that examines the ways that Luke Skywalker and Yoda both Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-71493401710079114392018-05-09T13:05:00.000-04:002018-05-09T13:08:19.254-04:00Latest Steven Universe Episode Changes EVERYTHING
The most recent episode of the Carton Network series Steven Universe, entitled "A Pale Rose" dropped a stunning revelation that affects the entire series' backstory as well as existing relationships in the show.
I'm going to review the reveal, some of the hints that I think were dropped along the way, and what it means about the show's characters AND characterization.
Discussion in this postShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-26986538641179613582018-05-09T11:30:00.000-04:002018-05-09T11:30:05.094-04:00May '18 Thanks & How You Can Help The Code, Get Free Stuff!Here's this month's Patron Thank Yous:
Cargo, who had nothing to link to, but is a great dude! Thanks, Cargo.
Daphny Drucilla Delight David! Their Patreon is here!
Fluffy! Check out their stuff at beesbuzz.biz!
Gabriel Gentile, on twitter at GabrielCGentile
This month's free Patron-exclusive download will be up next week.
What's The Patreon Stuff About, Anyhow?Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-82592987958777247822018-05-09T10:30:00.000-04:002018-05-09T10:30:00.911-04:00NEW Reward Announcement: Tiny TreasuresI offer people who subscribe to my Patreon various rewards: shout-outs, link-backs, free downloads, and even large surprise packages. Today, I'm happy to announce a new reward perk: Tiny Treasures!I take hand-crafted tiny envelopes, like these:
Description: A small brown envelope with a black &white drawing of a fox in the lower right hand corner. Asingle quarter is displayed at the bottomShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-46225759738003818072018-05-01T12:30:00.000-04:002018-05-01T12:30:23.301-04:00Mass' Effect: Why Are Fat People Vilified In Video Games?
Description: Screenshot from Silent Hill 2. A fat, white manwith blond hair wearing a backwards baseball cap & striped shirtpoints a finger towards the camera, with the subtitle "You've beenlaughin' at me all along, haven't you?" displayed at the bottom.
As a fat guy, I've gotten a lot of strangers commenting on my right to exist in public space over the years (and I have it easier than a Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-44571190770838276522018-04-30T12:00:00.000-04:002018-04-30T12:00:18.649-04:00Video Game Subtitles: The Good & The BadNowadays, most video games, from the tiniest independent title to the AAA blockbusters have subtitles. Subtitles are important not just for the Deaf and hard of hearing-- players with audio processing disorders need them too, as well as player who need the voices or sound lowered for whatever reason. Max Deryagin, an expert consultant on subtitles whose work has appeared in hundreds of videos, isShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-23034514602899170842018-04-24T12:00:00.000-04:002018-04-24T12:00:41.569-04:00Leveling the Playing Field: Video Games & Accessibility
Description: Close up of a pair of hands holding a Playstation4 controller. The controller is a deep blue, and a light on the frontof the controller glows brightly.
Accessibility in video games is more than just creating specialized controllers. It's an issue that doesn't even have to be particularly time-consuming or expensive, as long as you make sure to think of it at the beginning instead Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-13066784572501239702018-04-19T12:00:00.000-04:002018-09-07T07:52:31.200-04:00Wrestling With Depression: Gentleman Jervis Speaks On Mental HealthAs most longtime readers of The Code know, I'm a huge fan of pro wrestling, especially independent pro wrestling. One of the appeals of smaller scale pro wrestling is that fans get the opportunity to be closer to the action. The indie wrestlers themselves are often much more accessible to fans than those in the big leagues of WWE. One of my favorite pro wrestlers is a grappler by the name of Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-51292815494429471442018-04-18T10:00:00.000-04:002018-04-20T06:53:00.409-04:00Yakuza 6: The Song of Life PS4 Review
Does The Dragon of Dojima's Swan Song Strike The Right Notes?
Description: Screenshot of a close-up of of the back of Kiryu Kazama. He is shirtless,
showing off a muscular back adorned with an elaborately detailed dragon tattoo.
The Yakuza series has followed the life of Kiryu Kazama, a legendary yakuza who rose through the ranks of Japanese organized crime, only to try to leave it behind Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-1205223214877879412017-08-16T12:30:00.000-04:002017-08-16T12:30:10.635-04:00New Archive of 30 Years' Classic Sci-Fi Available For Free
Archive.org recently added a gigantic collection of the influential science fiction magazine Galaxy Science Fiction to its site that is free for anyone to read, worldwide. While it's not a complete collection of the magazine's run, there are many pieces of sci-fi history in the collection. Get the details after the jump.
The Galaxy Science Fiction collection covers 26 years. Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-49850345675487579452017-08-15T12:00:00.000-04:002017-08-15T12:00:13.227-04:00Muslim World's History of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Fiction
Writing for Aeon, Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad delves into the long, rich tradition of speculative fiction in Muslim culture, including some of the first examples of feminist fiction in the early 1900s. As he points out, it's not really all that surprising when you consider the background it came from:
Western readers often overlook the Muslim world’s speculative fiction... Some of the first Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-60672487662310788542017-08-11T12:39:00.000-04:002017-08-11T12:39:46.136-04:00Rare Recordings of Indigenous Language Saved By Today's Tech This week, on International Indigenous Peoples Day, UC Berkley announced that efforts were underway to use new non-invasive scanning procedures to archive and preserve recordings of indigenous California languages.
UC Berkeley said in an announcement:
Berkeley researchers are using optical scan technology to transfer recordings from thousands of decaying wax cylinders, preserving audio of 78 Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-73117873117141737232017-08-10T16:30:00.000-04:002017-08-10T16:30:35.426-04:00Listen Up: Rolling 12s
Rolling 12s theme is built around the world of tabletop gaming and looking at some of the more unique forms of storytelling that the format allows. In particular, Rolling 12s features audio drama content focused on black characters and black tabletop players. The main stories, "Monde Demasque" and "Hallows Eve" centers on a Vampiric court of black women fighting for survival in territory stakedShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-72765169065599468402017-08-10T12:30:00.000-04:002017-08-10T12:30:43.190-04:00Little Red Wolf Looks GorgeousI recently discovered Amélie Fléchais’ illustration work. I was delighted to find out that her delightful "The Little Red Wolf", originally published in French in 2014, will be published by Lion Forge Comics/CubHouse in the United States in English this fall. The English edition of this story, which turns the classic “Little Red Riding Hood” tale on its head and features a wolf in a Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-60645471692533755802017-08-09T15:30:00.000-04:002017-08-09T15:30:16.275-04:00Listen Up: Fan Bros
The Fan Bros Show is a podcast that bills itself as the "Voice of the Urban Geek". Hosted by Dj Benhameen, Tatiana King-Jones and Chico Leo, Fan Bros discusses the week in geek life and media fandom. The also have a weekly spinoff podcast called "Black Castle" that goes over the week in Game of Thrones. Lots of good stuff, and the guests they have on each week are super fun to listen to.
Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-2379064408938055262017-08-09T12:00:00.000-04:002017-08-09T12:00:21.448-04:00Shining Some Light On Solarpunk's Politics
Artwork courtesy of T.X. Watson
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've probably heard of steampunk. I've also covered steamfunk and silkpunk. There's a cyberpunk off-shoot that started via artist tumblrs and has grown from aesthetic to a speculative near-future with some interesting political underpinnings: solarpunk.
It's been the prompt for at least one game jam, and has an Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-59301164219970186212017-08-08T15:06:00.000-04:002017-08-08T15:06:04.498-04:00Listen Up: The Art Scene Podcast
Hosted by Louis Vargas, The Art Scene focuses of on-depth conversations with up and coming artists, gallery owners, museum professionals and anybody else with an art background that have gone on to take non-traditional paths in life after an art degree. The Art Scene doesn't just cover an artist's work but also an artist's life. He also gives a lot of insight into the California art sceneShawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-43534757379912466102017-08-08T12:30:00.000-04:002017-08-08T12:30:12.619-04:00Comic Con In Abandoned Mall Store A Hot Topic With Fans
Fandom Fest, a long-running comic and toy collector fan expo in Kentucky, seemed like is was off to a rocky start when it announced a change of venue a few weeks before the convention date. Soon after, sixteen of the previously announced celebrity guests canceled their appearances. Part of the reason? The new venue was an abandoned Macy's at a local mall. Writing for Comics Beat, Heidi McDonald Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107590755196167745.post-31277349272719974012017-08-07T15:00:00.000-04:002017-08-07T15:00:39.391-04:00Reaction Gifs: The New Digital Blackface?
Teen Vogue has been offering up a continuous supply of well-written, well researched essays, from a diverse range of writers. At least once a week, I'll read something on Teen Vogue that will give me pause and have me re-evaluate something I normally take for granted. This one surprised me: reaction gifs. As Lauren Michelle Jackson posits in her Teen Vogue op-ed, that could very well be the Shawn Struckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454598454512062919noreply@blogger.com0