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Ask Geek Girls, Inc.

10/31/2014

I have always been a nerdy guy. My favorite childhood memories involve words like [BAM!] <POW!> & {Ka-BOOM!}. If you looked at my Netflix queue, it is packed full of sci-fi and fantasy titles. I was an MMO guy during my bachelor years and still enjoy an annual Steam Summer Sale binge. My enjoyment of all things geek-ery is limited by one thing: my wife.

We share many interests, but the super-hero-Doctor-cosplay side of life is not one of them. Until we got married, she had never seen Star Wars. When I got excited over Guardians of the Galaxy, she just looked at me perplexed.

As fellow geeks of the female-persuasion, how do you reach out to your womanly friends who don't share your affinity for WWZ or a rousing game of Settlers? Any thoughts or suggestions on how to get my loving wife to wade into the shallow end of the nerd-life?

- Ben "Help Bring Her to the Dark Side" Kenobi

Eye Candy

Dear Ben,

The great news is that geekery is so vast and so overlapping that she might already like geeky things and she doesn't even realize.

But if it turns out that she has no existing geek interests this is where to start: hot guys.

Be secure in your manhood and be her wing-man into fandom because she might be overlooking something that many geek girls are well aware of, the eye candy. If nothing else works appeal to the part of her that will forever be 13 and drooling over dreamy boys.

Forget Magic Mike - we have men that do not need to take off their clothes to turn us into screaming fan girls. You don't have to sell her on geek culture these guys will do it for you, then hopefully over time her fangirling will turn into genuine interest. Then once she has an interest in some facet of geek culture try to find other things that are similar.

What was I talking about....I just....I got distracted.

Here is a quick list of TV and Movies suggestions that are geeky, approachable and contain hot men.

Arrow
Game of Thrones
The Walking Dead
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Once Upon a Time
True Blood
Sherlock
Star Trek (the new JJ Abrams ones.)
The Avengers, Iron man, Thor, Captain America any of these especially if Loki shows up.
Hunger Games
Divergent

Cosplay

Once she has developed an interest in something you can work on how to express the interest in other ways. Halloween is a great time for this!

Let's say she loves Iron Man maybe you could suggest a couples costume that she is Pepper Pots and you are Tony Stark. You could even go on Pinterest together and plan your costumes and look at other costumes.

Pinterest is like lady crack. Then if she's up for this later you could state that these costumes would be perfect to wear to a con and wouldn't it be fun because it's like you get another Halloween!

Games

Get her phone and see if she has any game apps. It doesn't matter what they are, download them too on your phone. Ask or observe which one she plays the most and then you play it too even if it is Kardashian related.

Take an interest in the games she likes then after you have been playing her games for a while maybe she would be more agreeable to play one that is more fun for you.

I hope this helps. She also might never come around to embrace your geek interests but really it's all just entertainment and culture and it is just fine to have separate interests.

I learned to like college football for my husband. I was just tired of getting ignored on Saturday so I asked him to explain the game to me and over time I learned to enjoy football. People can change a little there is always hope.

Good luck, and remember - the dark side has cookies.
Your friends at Geek Girls, Inc.

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Everyday Cosplay: Halloween Edition

10/30/2014

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by Ariyanna

As Geeks, we may plan and work for months on end on our Con Costumes but this is the best time of the year to be a procrastinator about dressing up or taking your everyday cosplay to the next level. Halloween brings out the best in last minute creative costumers.

With Halloween on a Friday night this year, there may not be much time to prepare, so if you forgot you were invited to the neighbor's party or you just want to greet the neighborhood trick or treaters with gusto, check out these 28 quick and easy at home costumes you can put together in a flash.

Probably the easiest costume ever, the “Error 404 Costume not Found” shirt. Simply take a white tee shirt and write this logo and you have a costume.

Find those vintage acid washed jeans, take a sharpie and outline all the wrinkles and you have instant Anime pants! Pair that with Comic book face and you are set to go.

Every girl has a little black dress somewhere in their closet. Find that dress or something close, grab that silver tape stuff (you know the brand) and cut and dot your dress in good ole Darth Vader Fashion. For the red and green circles, construction paper or an large magazine add will help you with that and you are ready to do your best James Earl Jones impression.

They say the devil is in the details and for this next costume it definitely is! Dress yourself as a Deviled Egg. Take a white tee shirt, cut up some yellow material - probably that springtime table cloth that never gets used would work - attach it to the white shirt by whatever means you have available and find your inner devil, oh and some horns which you can probably get at the Dollar store on your way to the party. Your friends will Eat You Up!

Ok, I have to admit, this next one is cute, casual, fun and would be awesome with the inverse color scheme or some glow sticks. Turn yourself into the classic art piece every one can draw, Stick Figure Person.

You can wear all white, take some electrical tape and make a stick figure on your clothes. A piece of poster board and more tape or a marker and it's time to make your artistic debut. I have seen this with an all black outfit, using dollar store glow sticks taped on for the stick body and then you will be the rave of the party.

This one is a classic Halloween treat. The panty hose spider. For this costume you just need to pick up two pair of black panty hose, stuff them with something soft - as a kid, I went for the TP - , some safety pins for the no sew version, you'll need some string (or dental floss) to attach the spider legs to your wrists, a black pair of pants and shirt. In the picture you can see the girl got creative with some googly eyes and you can do that also but even without them you will probably be able to play on your friends arachnophobia easily enough.

The rest of the images below are pretty self explanatory. Check your closet, see what you've got, get creative and most of all have fun with your Halloween costume and your everyday cosplay.

We would love to see and hear about your costumes and/or everyday cosplay ideas. Share them with us in the comments.

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Spooky Games You Aren’t Playing - Don't Starve

10/24/2014

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I love it when a game is so high-concept that the title sums up the goal.

In Don’t Starve your character is unceremoniously plopped in the middle of the woods with no direction, so at least you’re very clear of what’s expected of you.

If you’re not a fan of horror games, but still want to get into the Halloween spirit, this game has a charmingly spooky Victorian aesthetic, plenty of menacing monsters, and a touch of magic. Just don’t roam around at night!

Starving is a very real possibility in Don’t Starve, but so is freezing, burning, being eaten by wolves, going mad… the harsh world you’re in has plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Make survival easier by building fires, securing a variety of food sources from berry bushes to rabbit traps, and arming yourself to the teeth. You can also wear a very dapper hat, which seems to help a lot in these Victorian-gentleman-type situations. The game doesn’t give you much in the way of instruction, since part of the fun is exploring, adventuring, and experimenting.

If you go into the game blindly (which I highly recommend) you’re going to die. A lot. My first game ended with the poor protagonist getting mauled by territorial penguins. Winter is a harsh season, and it takes a lot of strategy to create enough warmth and food. Luckily, the game world is randomly generated each time you play, so starting up for the 30th time isn’t a drag.

When you start getting better at being able to fend for yourself, there are plenty of challenges in the game to keep you on your toes. The enemies get bigger, badder and more vicious as time progresses, so keep sharpening that spear. Dangerous areas become yours to explore, with some pretty nice rewards for your effort. There’s also a super-hard adventure mode that tests the nerves of even the most dedicated survivor.

Of course, if you still want to get your horror on for Halloween, there’s a free mod with the game that converts it into a Slender-esque creep-fest. I haven’t tried this mode because I’m a total chicken, so I can’t say much about it. Jump scare lovers-- have at it! And let me know how it goes, because I’ll be hiding behind the couch.

A multiplayer version of Don’t Starve is coming out soon, so you can attempt to conquer the woods with your friends. This option will be free for those who already own the game, so if you’re thinking of trying it out, now would be the time to snag it before the price goes up. Keep an eye out for those Halloween sales, too!

Take that, nature!

-The Dungeon Dame

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Fun Games You Aren’t Playing - Sailor Moon: Another Story

10/17/2014

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Who is enjoying the crap out of Sailor Moon Crystal with me? It seems I can’t get enough Sailor Moon, no matter how many times it’s rebooted.

Even the Live Action version.

ESPECIALLY the Live Action version.

There have been plenty of Sailor Moon games, especially arcade-style beat ‘em ups where an assortment of butt-kicking sailor senshi inspire you to give up all your quarters. There have been Sailor Moon puzzle games, including a Tetris game and a balloon-popping game. If you have a free afternoon and an insatiable love for the series, you can find all sorts of 90s game kitsch devoted to the pretty soldier heroines.

Nearly all of these games never left Japan, but due to the wonders of the internet, Sailor Moon fans around the world have made these games semi-available to modern players. In honor of the latest Sailor Moon renaissance, I’ve decided to dust off the ol’ SNES classic, Sailor Moon: Another Story, a full RPG featuring a brand new adventure Sailor Moon and her friends. I can’t tell you how to procure a copy, but if you just so happen to stumble across it, you’ll find a real treat for Sailor Moon fans.

Sailor Moon: Another Story takes place after the Sailor Moon S series, so knowledge of the major plot lines is very beneficial to diving straight into the game’s story, especially since the fan translators kept many of the original Japanese names and words for inexplicable reasons. That said, I had a very basic knowledge of Sailor Moon lore playing this game for the first time, and I still had a blast. SM:AS has all of the humor and silliness of the beloved anime series, with the sailor scouts gossiping about boys, dreaming about boys, chasing after… you get the idea.

Goofy middle-school drama aside, there’s still a world that needs to be saved, and the scouts have all of their famous powers to bring the pain down on a variety of baddies. This game has all of the bad habits of 90s Japanese RPGs, so don’t be surprised if you’re suddenly underpowered and the rules of battle seem obscure.

Just remember these tips: accessorize your scouts with tiaras, bracelets and necklaces, learn link techniques where multiple sailor scouts combine their powers for massive attacks, and stock up on a variety of items.

If you like vintage magical girl mayhem, saving the world in a mini-skirt, old-school JRPG adventures, and very long Japanese fantasy words, Sailor Moon: Another Story is a must-play. Licensed games have a bad reputation for being hastily made and poorly-executed, but SM:AS is truly a joy for fans of the series and a legitimate game with a fairly-lengthy plot. So, between episodes of the latest series, get your retro SM fix with me!

In the name of the moon, I will punish you!

-The Dungeon Dame

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Sad Games You Aren’t Playing - Mother 3

10/9/2014

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Confession: A gameboy game made me cry. Not a ~single tear slowly rolls down cheek~ cry, but an UGLY cry, a snot-rolling-down-my-nose-into-my-mouth sob. Not my proudest moment!

For the last Sad Game, I’m going to delve into my own personal Old Yeller of Video Games. The game was introduced to me as being “a bit sad” so I was caught unprepared for the emotional punch to the gut.

Now that I’ve warned you, you might be able to brace yourself accordingly, and not be a complete wreck at the end. Or not! Everyone needs a good cry every once in a while.

The Saddest Game I Ever Played award goes to Mother 3, the last game in the cult classic Mother series. I’m not going to make you play the previous games, but if you want the full experience, please play Mother 2, more commonly known as Earthbound in the US.

It’s full of charm and humor, has a crazy fanbase, and is probably my favorite game of all time (™). Best of all, it’s heartwarming, not sad. It’s available on the Wii U Virtual Console, so if you’re looking for a reason to get a Wii U, here you go. Yes, for a SNES game-- it’s worth it.

Go on, I’ll wait.

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Sad Games You Aren’t Playing - To The Moon

10/2/2014

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We’re continuing the series on Sad Games and upping the stakes with an adventure game that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster.

Have you ever watched the first ten minutes of the Pixar movie “UP” and thought “Gee, I wish this was longer, and also in video game format.” then I’ve got great news for you!

To The Moon has a synopsis that blatantly tells you that you’re in for a weepy time: two doctors alter a dying man’s memories so that he can “live” his final request-- to go to the moon. The duo travel through his tragic life story, memory-by-memory, all the way back to his childhood, so that they can re-create the life he lived.

Despite your first reaction of “NOPE” stick with me, here. There is plenty of comic relief supplied by the bumbling doctors, and you’ll be eager to fill in all the intriguing plot pieces of a story-told-backwards.

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