culture – Page 49 – Steven Savage

Games And Tradition in The Video Game Age

July 13, 2011 by Steven Savage

There are games out there that are traditional. Dungeons and Dragons in all its incarnations. Settlers of Cataan. Cosmic Encounter. Risk. Axis and Allies. There are pen and paper games, board games that are older than many people, games people have played from childhood to adulthood. There are games that, for many, are traditions.

By traditions I mean games that people play for a considerable time, may identify with, and that act as cultural touchstones. How many of us (older geeks at least) remember Monopoly or D&D from Days Gone By, and played them for years and decades? How many times did we use certain games as references or ways to sync up with others?

So I began to wonder about computer games.

Could There Be Peak Geek?

June 1, 2011 by Steven Savage

You've probably heard about Peak Oil – sometimes its portrayed as "oil running out" but is really more "demand growing greter than we can get it out" (of which running out may be part of it).

I've been wondering about Peak Geek.

Geekiness And Normalization

April 17, 2011 by Steven Savage

I call myself a professional geek. I am quite proud to say that. Yet, oddly, I can remember when geek was an insulting term and not the definition–bordering–on–compliment it is today.

Or in short, I remember the 80s. If you don't, you're actually missing quite a lot, but I digress.

Now, being an old geek, I remember when the term was basically insulting, sort of a version of "egghead" and implying a kind of pathology or maladjustment. I remember when it was virtually the same as "nerd".