Poll of the Day > Life After Geeks

(+) Yeah! (+)

I_Abibde posted...

*looks up from the tedium of setting up a Roku TV*

Doom Patrol has a Season 2.

Yeah, I haven't watched Season 1 yet.

I still haven't watched The Witcher either or The Boys. I have a lot to catch up on myself.

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I'm not touching The Boys until the series wraps. I don't have super high hopes for it either way, considering the comic was so-so.


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The Boys was fantastic.

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I didn't watch the show because I kind of hated the comic.

But my opinion might not mean much because I dislike Garth Ennis in general. I kind of lump him into the same category with Mark Millar as edgelord writers. They always feel like they're trying way too hard to be rebellious and counterculture in ways that mostly only appeal to teenage boys. And that only really seems mature or well-adjusted to teenage boys.

The scene at the end of Wanted kind of sums up that sort of style for me. Mark Millar clearly thought it was the coolest thing evar, but it just makes me think the character (and the writer) is a try-hard dork.
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The trademark system remains a mystery to me. I would still really like to create a cross-media property, but wherever I start, I imagine I'd need to trademark at least some of the characters, etc, possibly just for merchandising. At the same time, I'm thinking that a lot of stuff that's released can't possibly be trademarked in all regards. I kinda assume that something like novels probably just rely on a copyright, which in the case of smaller works might not even be officially registered anywhere (although they'd be able to rely on whenever it was submitted as an ebook, if it's an ebook)

The other half of it is figuring out what's the best way of determining minimum viability. I want to have something concrete-looking before it gets to the point where it might need some investment or would be pitched to companies (I *might* be able to use a friend's connection to get me in touch with somebody at Nickelodeon, but it'd be a one-shot deal and it would require the cooperation of two people to get me a meeting with a third). Basically that'd be something I could do myself

In other news, I don't think I even had 2 hours of sleep last night. I'm used to not sleeping much (by necessity, I couldn't because, in addition to working full-time, I've often had a certain amount of freelance work and sometimes took a second job on top of it just to test the waters (which, by the way, was why I was barely around in January and February) but, since the furlough, I've been doing as much as 6 hours at times -- which is a LOT of sleep for me -- and it's kinda thrown things off because now there are nights when I just can't get to sleep

ParanoidObsessive posted...

But my opinion might not mean much because I dislike Garth Ennis in general. I kind of lump him into the same category with Mark Millar as edgelord writers. They always feel like they're trying way too hard to be rebellious and counterculture in ways that mostly only appeal to teenage boys. And that only really seems mature or well-adjusted to teenage boys.

The scene at the end of Wanted kind of sums up that sort of style for me. Mark Millar clearly thought it was the coolest thing evar, but it just makes me think the character (and the writer) is a try-hard dork.

Wanted! (the comic) was fantastic, Wanted (the movie) was shit.

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I'm not going to buy a Sex Box until they have at least a half a dozen Triple A or double A games I want, and more Halo isn't doing it for me.

The rumors of Microsoft buying Warners Interactive, and the Mortal Kombat and Batman licenses are intriguing, but we're still talking about 4 years before those studios start pumping out games, and The Sex Box is coming out this fall, and that's only the rumors pan out.

I am hoping that a new Killer Instinct from Iron Galaxy happens, but while the game still has a strong but small active community, it's not a big system seller, and I'm sure it's not a high priority for Microsoft.

Those are just my opinions, and I hope that with the Microsoft first party showcase in a few weeks happening, that a few surprises pique my interest, but thus far, meh.

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Warner isn't going to sell any of the DC rights.
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Still waiting on that Rocksteady Superman game

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Still waiting on that Rocksteady Superman game

So instead of playing through the game with Detective Mode enabled, it'd be with X-Ray Vision enabled? =p

idk, I think I'd be more excited for a Rocksteady Aquaman game. Feels like they could do more with the concept without it feeling underwhelming.

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Zeus posted...

The trademark system remains a mystery to me. I would still really like to create a cross-media property, but wherever I start, I imagine I'd need to trademark at least some of the characters, etc, possibly just for merchandising.

Trademarking is mostly just for branding.

The perfect example is "Captain Marvel". DC could literally have a character named "Captain Marvel" (aka Shazam), but they could never publish a comic book called Captain Marvel because Marvel owns the trademark on that name.

Trademarks mostly apply to brand names and logo designs, while copyright applies to other intellectual property aspects and concepts. This is why trademark has to be renewed/protected or it can be voided/abandoned, while copyright tends to stay valid regardless of what you do with it, and dates from the specific time of creation of the work in question.

Trademark's also what people are generally talking about when you hear the phrase "confusion in the marketplace" used for cease & desist sort of situations.

This is also the loophole that companies like Disney or Time Warner are going to use when they eventually can't extend copyright protection any longer. Sure, the character of Superman or Mickey Mouse may enter public domain when copyright lapses, but they'll still retain a death grip on the trademark for the terms "Superman" or "Mickey Mouse", so they'd still be able to sue you into oblivion if you ever wrote a comic called "Superman" or that prominently advertises the appearance of Superman in your comic.

In practice it can get more complicated once you start involving International rights and there's always quirks when you're dealing with large corporations who can hire enough lawyers to bend space-time, but at base level it's relatively simple.

If you were going to establish a cross-media property where you'd be likely to market individual characters (like comic books, toys, etc), you might benefit from trademarking every individual major character, but for most creative works you're just fine trademarking the overarching branding and relying on copyright for everything else.



Zeus posted...

Wanted! (the comic) was fantastic, Wanted (the movie) was shit.

My opinion is more that Wanted the movie was bland shit, Wanted the comic is a hot steaming turd that makes the entire universe a slightly worse place simply by existing within it. But again, I kind of hate every facet of Millar and Ennis' style and philosophy of writing.
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Zeus posted...

So instead of playing through the game with Detective Mode enabled, it'd be with X-Ray Vision enabled? =p

idk, I think I'd be more excited for a Rocksteady Aquaman game. Feels like they could do more with the concept without it feeling underwhelming.

Why not a Flash game?
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Revelation34 posted...

Why not a Flash game?

Flash games are so early 2000s.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

If you were going to establish a cross-media property where you'd be likely to market individual characters (like comic books, toys, etc), you might benefit from trademarking every individual major character, but for most creative works you're just fine trademarking the overarching branding and relying on copyright for everything else.

But do you think each character would need to be trademarked to sell them as toys?

Revelation34 posted...

Why not a Flash game?

By Rocksteady? Doesn't really seem like something that'd be in Rocksteady's wheelhouse. Keep in mind that this is a trickier superpower on top of everything else. There are certain superheroes who seem a great fit for Rocksteady (well... I'm mostly thinking of non-powereds and bat associates, as well as and Constantine. On the Marvel side, I can think of a ton, including Wolverine, Daredevil, and maybe even Spider-Man although I understand that people like the guys currently making the games)


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Zeus posted...

But do you think each character would need to be trademarked to sell them as toys?

Absolutely, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to use the name of the character on the packaging if someone else snagged the trademark.
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On Friday I got the wound vac to start sealing up my giant stomach wound.

I cried in the hospital parking lot like my dog just died. I haven't been in that much pain since they cut off my leg. No pain medication, no numbing medication, just two nurses and a tech sticking black sponges in my stomach and telling me it's almost over when it wasn't.

You ever seen those doctor shows or films where the doctor is on top of the patient pounding the patient's heart with both of their hands, violently? Well, that's what it was like watching three people violently put giant black sponges in my stomach that hurt so bad that I openly wept.

Then for some reason smoothie king was closed in the middle of the afternoon after we were done, and I didn't get my damn smoothie that I wanted to chase down with copious pills. Website said they were supposed to be open, but they coned off the drive thru.

Eventually the pain stopped a few hours later, but i still have to go back tomorrow for more replacement sponges and suffering. Smoothie king better be open this damn time. That's all I'm saying.

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There was a Twitter rumor that The Playstation 5 was going up live for pre-orders this afternoon, but like most Twitter rumors, or anything on Twitter, it was full of lies and garbage.

I assume that Sony is going to wait for Microsoft to make the next move so they can undercut them on price and steal their thunder. More importantly, Sony is going to probably have a digital press conference instead of just floating some crap out on Twitter.

Finally, The Washington Racial Slurs have finally agreed to change their name. What will it be? Take your guesses now for no money and no prizes, but a lot of street cred, which might be good for a subway sammich.

*Note: Street cred sammich redemption is not viable in any of the 50 United States, Mexico, or Canada.*

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Washington Woodteeth

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Washington Washouts
Washington Red Tails (Reds for short.... ugh)
DC Dynamite

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What do I win

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Has anybody played Ace Combat 7? If so, does it ever get around to any actual aerial combat in a game designed around airplanes, or am I just stuck in an endless nape of the earth loop against ground targets since this nation apparently has never heard of using ground forces to attack ground targets?... No wonder they were so easily overwhelmed at the start of the war.

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It's been a few years since I've been active in one of these topics, but I recently got the first Thomas Covenant trilogy! It's been on my reading list for years, a recommendation from PO I believe. Once I finish Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (on the last book!) that is the next fantasy book I intend on reading.

Quarantine has given me a lot of time to catch up on video games and books! A few particular favorite book series I'd recommend:

The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is kinda like A Song of Ice and Fire on Mars. A sprawling cast of characters with POV shifts and deeply political, it chronicles the the terraforming of Mars across several decades.

Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Liu Cixin. This is a really cool sci-fi series that starts off as a kind of a mystery involving scientists committing suicide and a virtual reality game, but quickly goes into other territory. I don't want to spoil too much, but if you know the implications behind the second book's title you'll see where it's headed.

The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. This series is a pretty bleak dystopian fantasy, centering on a world ironically called The Stillness that is plagued by earthquakes. There are earthbending like wizards who can both quell and trigger earthquakes and they are persecuted and brutalized, but also kept as part of society, as a result. A lot of people are turned off by the fact that some of the chapters are presented in second person, but I personally enjoyed it.

Also, thanks for keeping these topics alive! It was nice checking in after years and seeing something familiar still going on.

As for the opening questions and game I regret not finishing: up until a few months ago it was Suikoden II. But I finally got around to replaying and completing it a couple months ago! It's definitely up there as one of my favorites now.

Now, it would probably have to be Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. War of the Lions is my favorite game, so I wanted to give this one a chance, but I just couldn't get into it. I've played and completed almost every Final Fantasy up to XIII, so not having completed that one is a bit of a sore spot.

JigsawTDC posted...

As for the opening questions and game I regret not finishing: up until a few months ago it was Suikoden II. But I finally got around to replaying and completing it a couple months ago! It's definitely up there as one of my favorites now.

Now, it would probably have to be Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. War of the Lions is my favorite game, so I wanted to give this one a chance, but I just couldn't get into it. I've played and completed almost every Final Fantasy up to XIII, so not having completed that one is a bit of a sore spot.

That means you technically got the good ending lol

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JigsawTDC posted...

It's been a few years since I've been active in one of these topics, but I recently got the first Thomas Covenant trilogy!

First trilogy is better imo, but they're both good.

I used to own them all. I used to own a lot of good books. RIP

The Wave Master posted...

Finally, The Washington Racial Slurs have finally agreed to change their name.

Still ridiculous how people choose to make this team's name a big deal. Does nobody have shit going on in their lives any more? ...oh right, they kinda don't since some imbecile governors started closing all the states. CT's Lament even went so far as to cancel phase 3 of the re-opening, despite CT doing pretty well. Once again, Unsteady Neddy kinda makes me wish the state had just wound up with ex-felon Joe Ganim as governor, since the only thing worse would be another term for Dan Malloy.

SpeeDLeemon posted...

Washington Red Tails (Reds for short.... ugh)

They should just go with Washington Reds, which would a reasonable compromise.

Although personally, I'd just like them to defund the NFL.
https://money.cnn.com/2015/01/30/news/companies/nfl-taxpayers/

JigsawTDC posted...

It's been a few years since I've been active in one of these topics

What was your old username?

JigsawTDC posted...

Now, it would probably have to be Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. War of the Lions is my favorite game, so I wanted to give this one a chance, but I just couldn't get into it. I've played and completed almost every Final Fantasy up to XIII, so not having completed that one is a bit of a sore spot.

FFTA does kinda suck. I started attempting to replay it from an earlier point in the game and finally just called it quits. I can't recall being super into it during my actual playthroughs.


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Zeus posted...

What was your old username?

TheDarkCrusader, or TheTDC after that one got banned. It's been close to a decade since I was an active poster. I came back about 6 years ago very briefly under the name JigsawPhilosophy, but I didn't stick around too long or make it known that I was TDC.

Zeus posted...

Still ridiculous how people choose to make this team's name a big deal. Does nobody have shit going on in their lives any more? ...oh right, they kinda don't since some imbecile governors started closing all the states. CT's Lament even went so far as to cancel phase 3 of the re-opening, despite CT doing pretty well. Once again, Unsteady Neddy kinda makes me wish the state had just wound up with ex-felon Joe Ganim as governor, since the only thing worse would be another term for Dan Malloy.

They should just go with Washington Reds, which would a reasonable compromise.

Although personally, I'd just like them to defund the NFL.
https://money.cnn.com/2015/01/30/news/companies/nfl-taxpayers/

What was your old username?

FFTA does kinda suck. I started attempting to replay it from an earlier point in the game and finally just called it quits. I can't recall being super into it during my actual playthroughs.

FFTA sucked because everybody wanted a sequel to FFT and we got that instead.
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The story of Tactics Advance is not all that, but the game play is solid. I dropped 98 hours on it.

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I played a lot of Tactics Advance back in High School but the laws do become frustrating after a while

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I_Abibde posted...

The story of Tactics Advance is not all that, but the game play is solid. I dropped 98 hours on it.

I think the story lacking is what made me drop it. The first was the perfect combination of an excellent story and engaging gameplay. Having missed one of those elements, Tactics Advance just didn't do it for me. I think the lighter tone compared to the bleakness or the original also turned me off a bit.

JigsawTDC posted...

It's been a few years since I've been active in one of these topics, but I recently got the first Thomas Covenant trilogy! It's been on my reading list for years, a recommendation from PO I believe.

It's one of my favorite fantasy series ever, pretty much tied with Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber.

Fair warning for Covenant - it can be hard going, especially early on. You may find yourself kind of hating the main character, or at least finding it hard to really empathize with him. But it's ultimately kind of awesome, especially if you try to understand his worldview rather than just condemning it.

The funny trick with Covenant is that, even if you don't like Covenant himself, you may find yourself absolutely falling in love with pretty much every other character in the series. Mhoram, in particular, is one of my favorite characters in all of fantasy.
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Been having some Zoom meetings with local peeps/the film unions about how to re-open filming, at least in NM. Lot of doom and gloom and uncertainty so far. Governor recently said filming would remain suspended for the time being, since our numbers have started to spike (the counties that border TX and AZ, which are mostly barren, are spiking hardest, so thanks worthless neighbor states).

I would expect content made during this time, when it even can be, to be shitty akin to the writer's strike. A lot of the creative process is going to have to be done remotely and on-the-fly. It'll make for interesting results, to say the least. I also know they did a Children of the Corn remake in Australia recently.

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I'm honestly surprised that it wasn't a bunch of writing being done, and more of a focus on the prework of shooting.

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shadowsword87 posted...

I'm honestly surprised that it wasn't a bunch of writing being done, and more of a focus on the pre-work of shooting.

How to open up and do pre-shooting, and normal shooting, is the million dollar question right now. Or billions of dollars question.

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I haven't had the funds to purchase The Last of Us 2 (Even though there is a copy literally upstairs so it's not really an issue.) And now Ghost of Tsushima arrives on Friday.

My spare money went to moving expenses, having the terminator come out to spray the house for bugs and insects, (There were several huge wasp and hornet nest around the exterior of the house) and then getting hit with a 1,600 dollar termite bill. They have to drill into the foundation and spray to get rid of the hungry little jerks.

Plus, even if I did have the money I'm far too sick to actually play and enjoy any games right now. It's going to be months before I'm back to normal and strong enough to sit up and play a game. The new drugs make me very sick and I end up throwing up at least three times a day. Apparently it's a offshoot of some cancer drug. I'm dog sick right now. Plus I still have a giant hole in my stomach that is stuffed full of bleached damp gauze pads making it hard to move and even walk.

Check back with me near Thanksgiving!

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JigsawTDC posted...

Also, thanks for keeping these topics alive! It was nice checking in after years and seeing something familiar still going on.

yeah even the sports discussion topic ended after like 197 topics a year ago. We're on discord now lol. I don't check it very often.

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I've been re-watching Archer, and how is Wave not Bionic Barry at this point?

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Oh damn I should restart that. I only made it to season 3!!

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I like Archer but I can only watch a few episodes at a time.

I have the same problem with Always Sunny

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The Wave Master posted...

I haven't had the funds to purchase The Last of Us 2 (Even though there is a copy literally upstairs so it's not really an issue.)

Huh?


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Metalsonic66 posted...

I like Archer but I can only watch a few episodes at a time.

I have the same problem with Always Sunny

haha I feel the same about Always Sunny

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Zeus posted...

Huh?

someone else owns it?

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SpeeDLeemon posted...

someone else owns it?

I thought Wave said he and his wife were living in a single-family house and they'd turned down some relatives who wanted to move in.

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https://www.sideshow.com/collectibles/court-of-the-dead-dark-harvest-skybound-games-905881

https://www.sideshow.com/collectibles/court-of-the-dead-mourners-call-game-project-raygun-904722

Now that's what I'm talking about. (Well... somewhat.) Sideshow Collectibles started their Court of the Dead property several years ago as a series of original statues based on original artwork (with accompanying lore). Then today I get an email featuring a TCG for it and learn it also has a board game. All that's left now is for it to get some accompanying media.

Plus it has some super-overpriced playing cards

https://www.sideshow.com/collectibles/court-of-the-dead-court-of-the-dead-playing-card-set-project-raygun-usaopoly-903212

Admiration for the success aside, while I'm cool with the concept and name, I kinda dislike the character designs >_>

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hype hype hypeee

https://i.imgur.com/rAFCwLc.png

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Sucker Punch is a good team so I hope this one turns out okay. Kind of a departure from what they've done in the past

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The Wave Master posted...

And now Ghost of Tsushima arrives on Friday.

SpeeDLeemon posted...

hype hype hypeee

https://i.imgur.com/rAFCwLc.png

For all that people have been jerking off over this game for a while now, I still honestly have almost no idea what the game actually is.
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Open world samurai action

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It lets you change the graphics to look like old samurai movies or something like that right?
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I think I I read something about some kind of filter you can turn on

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