<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Aggrogate&#187; Will Greenwald</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.aggrogate.com/author/will/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.aggrogate.com</link>
	<description></description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:05:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>SMBC Covers Internet Policy Better Than Me</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/smbc-covers-internet-policy/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=smbc-covers-internet-policy</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/smbc-covers-internet-policy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:05:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Geek Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SMBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOPA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[webcomic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10643</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today's Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is one of the best, most concise criticism on SOPA and other Internet policies pushed by Congress.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&amp;id=2508#comic"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10644" title="Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/smbccomics.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="409" /></a></p>
<p>We usually don't pitch webcomics here, but today's Saturday <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/">Morning Breakfast Cereal</a> is one of the best, most concise criticism on SOPA and other Internet policies pushed by Congress. Click to read the full comic. <a href="www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&amp;id=2508#comic">This</a> should be required eating for all members of Congress. Curse you, Zach Weiner, for your eloquence and dick jokes.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/smbc-covers-internet-policy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Humble Bundle is Back Again, and Now For Android</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/humble-bundle-android/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=humble-bundle-android</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/humble-bundle-android/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Android]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Child's Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EFF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Humble Bundle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[indie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10635</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Great, it's another Humble Bundle. These are going to be the death of me. This time, it's indie games for your Android phone, or tablet, or Kindle Fire if you don't think it counts as a tablet (it totally counts as a tablet).]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/humblebundle.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10637" title="Humble Bundle" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/humblebundle.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="390" /></a></p>
<p>Great, it's another <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">Humble Bundle</a>. These are going to be the death of me. This time, it's indie games for your Android phone, or tablet, or Kindle Fire if you don't think it counts as a tablet (it totally counts as a tablet). These are games that ahve been on the Humble Bundle site before, but the Android versions are new, or at least new for the Humble Bundle.</p>
<p>You know the deal. Spend as much money as you want and distribute it to the developers and Child's Play and EFF charities (and the Humble Bundle folks, because they have costs, too) as you see fit. If you spend more than the average, you get a bonus game. This time, the games are Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Osmos, and EDGE, and if you spend more than the average of currently $5.73, you get World of Goo, too. You don't just get the Android versions of the games, though. You also get the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions, including Steam keys. They're not available on iOS through the bundle, because Apple is terrible at making software actually accessible outside of its own store. There's a good chance the Humble Bundle will add more games to the group before the deal runs out, so keep checking the Humble Bundle site over the next two weeks.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/02/humble-bundle-android/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Quinceanera, Final Fantasy 7</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/happy-quinceaera-final-fantasy-7/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=happy-quinceaera-final-fantasy-7</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/happy-quinceaera-final-fantasy-7/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PSN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Playstation 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Final Fantasy 7]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10630</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Final Fantasy 7 turned 15 today. In many Latin American cultures, it is now a young woman.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/finalfantasy7.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10631" title="Final Fantasy 7" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/finalfantasy7.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Final Fantasy 7 turned 15 today. In many Latin American cultures, it is now a young woman.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/happy-quinceaera-final-fantasy-7/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Panning Silver: The Wrongo Superman (Superman&#8217;s Pal Jimmy Olsen #114)</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/panning-silver-wrongo-superman-supermans-pal-jimmy-olsen-114/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=panning-silver-wrongo-superman-supermans-pal-jimmy-olsen-114</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/panning-silver-wrongo-superman-supermans-pal-jimmy-olsen-114/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comic Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panning Silver]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10586</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Wrongo Superman, the first story in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #114, where Jimmy is clearly about to be raped by Superman and his two chain gang friends according to the cover.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Superman1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10592" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Superman1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="585" /></a></p>
<p>Silver Age comics, especially Silver Age DC comics, were ridiculous. If you're familiar with <a href="http://www.superdickery.com">Superdickery</a>, you know that the covers were insane, the plots were stupid, and the contrivances had their own contrivances. That's what made them so awesome in retrospect. That's what brings us to yet another new experimental feature, Panning Silver, where my experience as an expert comic book shopper (or at least an expert guy-who-goes-to-the-creepy-Russian-guy's-table-at-the-flea-market-and-spends-$6) gets us issues of these insane Silver Age stories and pick them apart.</p>
<p>Let's start with The Wrongo Superman, the first story in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #114, where Jimmy is clearly about to be raped by Superman and his two chain gang friends according to the cover. Those are faces that say "it's a party now!"<span id="more-10586"></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10593" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman2.jpg" alt="" width="440" height="561" /></a></p>
<p>This is the first page. I need to point out that it's the first page because it has <em>nothing to do with the start of the freaking comic</em>. It's like the cover, showing a bizarre situation without any context until much later. It shows Superman making burgers with his heat vision for Jimmy Olsen's tall, midget, and fat clones while the president's plane is trying to fly upwards at a 45 degree angle in the background. And, amazingly, it actually gets explained, sort of, in the story. With 60s age bizarre moon logic.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10594" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman3.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="487" /></a></p>
<p>How does Superman keep his secret? Because everyone in Metropolis is brain damaged, as demonstrated in the first two pages of the story. Jimmy Olsen sits around when a traveling salesman comes in. He dresses up like Jimmy and shows him Jimmy Olsen merchandise. In two pages, Jimmy is cool with it and the Jimmy Olsen thing becomes a sensation. In three panels.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10595" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman4.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="399" /></a></p>
<p>Silver Age comics were fast-paced, to keep people from stopping and realizing how stupid they were. Jimmy Olsen hits full Angry Birds status before Superman even appears. Superman's completely cool about it because Jimmy's "donating half the money to charity" while Superman crushes a fat kid's dreams of becoming a dorky photographer.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10597" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman6.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="212" /></a></p>
<p>That's kind of sad. But Superman isn't only anti-fatties. He tells the tall skinny kid and the short kid they suck too, then he names Steve Rogers as the best Jimmy Olsen.</p>
<p>Then he goes on patrol. Some criminals escaped jail because Metropolis' prisons are less secure than Arkham Asylum, and Superman goes to catch them. That brings us to the cover, which from a different angle really casts a different light on the scene.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman7.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10598" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman7.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="301" /></a></p>
<p>See? It looks like Superman's about to rape the criminals, not Jimmy! Look at their horrified looks (and how much the one on the left looks like Stanley Spadowsky from UHF) as they wonder what the Kryptonian superhuman will do to their delicate human tissues. But Superman lets them go because he's mysteriously... um... it's really not clear. Superman doesn't become evil or stupid so much as infected with ADHD. He becomes a super-powered ferret, which becomes a problem when the president's plane has issues and Superman is needed to fix them.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman8.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10599" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman8.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="205" /></a></p>
<p>Because Superman's making burgers with his heat vision. See how the stupid crap on the cover and the first page actually happen? They actually think this through! It's not that stupid!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman9.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10600" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman9.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="568" /></a></p>
<p>Okay, it is that stupid. It's really, really, really that stupid. Silver Age comics were a game of bait-and-switch where they'd say "Were you expecting this dumb shit? Ha ha, we're giving you some different dumb shit!" And that's how Jimmy Olsen saved the president with a lasso and a helicopter. Note that it isn't even the B-plot. It's just:</p>
<p>"Hey, the president's plane is going down!"</p>
<p>"I'll save it, I have a lasso and a helicopter!"</p>
<p>"Do you have a super power?"</p>
<p>"No, I just think science is for pussies!"</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman10.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10601" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman10.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="288" /></a></p>
<p>Superman has no idea why he's acting strange, and it only gets stranger when a Jimmy Olsen wig blows on his head and turns him into Mentally Damaged Red-Headed Superman. Red Kryptonite messes with his powers, but red hair turns him into Lennie from Of Mice and Men.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman13.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10604" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman13.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="448" /></a></p>
<p>Mr. Mxyzptlk is the reason Superman is acting like an idiot, who reveals to his henchman salesman that he's a magic creature from the 5th dimension. Like all henchman, he's pretty cool about working for an unspeakable cosmic horror. Who looks like a vaguely racist drawing by an artist who hated both Jews and the Irish.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman11.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10602" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman11.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="275" /></a></p>
<p>Also, Mr. Mxyzptlk looks even scarier than <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/man-comics-comics-for-men/">Popsicle Pete</a>. Maybe almost as scary. Pretty close.</p>
<p>The joke's on him, though! Jimmy puts out Superman's secret identity in code, which Mr. Mxyzptlk decodes with his magic and shouts it out to everyone. And the code is actually his name backwards, which sends him back to the 5th dimension. And if you're cool with all of that, you've been reading comics for too long. Like me.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman12.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10603" title="Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 114" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/superman12.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="314" /></a></p>
<p>How did they know? Magic wind! that's some Sherlock Holmes shit right there. Also, fuck science. Wind going in a different direction from flying litter proves magic!</p>
<p>That's the first Panning Silver, and there's more to come. I have a stack of crappy Silver Age comics and I'm not afraid to use them. The sad thing is that Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #114 is not one of the worst or stupidest comics of the age by far. It doesn't even come close. It has an established villain who already had weird powers, and the stupid crap on the cover and first page are actually explained. This is freaking Agatha Christie compared to some of the stuff out there. And yes, we're going to get to the worse stuff in time.</p>
<p><em>[All art belongs to its respective creators and intellectual property owners. No, I did not draw these comics that were printed 25 years before I was born. They belong to DC.]</em></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/panning-silver-wrongo-superman-supermans-pal-jimmy-olsen-114/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bronycon: Bronies and Q Hit the Meadowlands This Summer</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/bronycon-bronies-hit-meadowlands-summer/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=bronycon-bronies-hit-meadowlands-summer</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/bronycon-bronies-hit-meadowlands-summer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:51:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Geek Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[convention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Little Pony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toys]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10571</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Bronycon is a convention for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fans in New York.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bronycon.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10573" title="Bronycon" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bronycon.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="133" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bronycon.org">Bronycon</a> is a convention for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fans in New York. It's a semiseasonal convention and the next one, Bronycon Summer, is June 31-July 1. It was going to be held at the Hotel Pennsylvania, which is a nice venue for small conventions. It won't be held there anymore.  Instead, Bronycon is going to be held at the freaking Meadowlands. No, it's not a pony-themed play on words. The convention will be held at the Meadowlands Expo Center.</p>
<p>Okay, it's not the Meadowlands Sports Complex/Racetrack/IZOD Center, but it's still a pretty big venue. The good news is this means the show's attendance cap has been increased from 1,500 people to 4,000. The bad news is New York bronies will have to go into New Jersey to attend. It's just a 20 minute bus ride from Port Authority, but still.  That's not the only news. Besides show creator Lauren Faust, Bronycon Summer will get another guest: John de Lancie. Even if you're not a brony, you know him as Q from Star Trek. And if you are a brony, you know as Discord he basically played... Q from Star Trek. Either way, he's pretty awesome.</p>
<p>The convention organizer, Purple Tinker (that's her brony name), notes that the convention is five months away, and that there will be other announcements. Possibly more voice actors will come to the convention. Even if you're not a brony, it promises to be great for any sci-fi, cartoon, or animation nerd if any other voice actors attend; Twilight Sparkle was Truffles from Chowder, Applejack was Maki from Black Lagoon, Pinkie Pie was AndrAIa from Reboot, Spike was Chiaotzu from Dragonball Z and Near from Death Note, and Princess Celestia was detective Kelly Blaine from Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. And I know way too much about voice actors. Fun fact: Alison on Eureka was Elisa Maza from Gargoyles. And Kevin Bacon has had no notable roles in animation.</p>
<p>Admission for both days of Bronycon Summer will be $65, and over 600 people have already pre-registered.  One more bit of brony news, since I'm laying it all out as the bizarre nerd I am: My Little Pony toys are coming to Happy Meals in March. Keep an eye out, because they and the blind bag figures usually have much better sculpts than the larger ponies you can get at toy stores, which stick more to the older My Little Pony molds and please stop me what am I doing with my life.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/bronycon-bronies-hit-meadowlands-summer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Resident Evil 6: The Elder Scrolls VI: Raccoon City?</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/resident-evil-6-elder-scrolls-vi-raccoon-city/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=resident-evil-6-elder-scrolls-vi-raccoon-city</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/resident-evil-6-elder-scrolls-vi-raccoon-city/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elder Scrolls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oblivion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Resident Evil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skyrim]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10568</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Isn't it better to notice that the Resident Evil 6 logo looks like the Oblivion and Skyrim logos than that it looks like a giraffe getting a beej?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/giraffe.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10569" title="Giraffe" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/giraffe.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="199" /></a></p>
<p>Just saying. And isn't it better to notice that the Resident Evil 6 logo looks like the Oblivion and Skyrim logos than to notice that it looks like a giraffe getting a beej?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/resident-evil-6-elder-scrolls-vi-raccoon-city/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Listing Restlessly: Graphical Ages of Gaming</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/listing-restlessly-graphical-ages-gaming/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=listing-restlessly-graphical-ages-gaming</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/listing-restlessly-graphical-ages-gaming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Atari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[categories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[graphics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nintendo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome to Listing Restlessly, a new and irregular feature where we look at gaming concepts and try to put them into categories that make some amount of sense.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ultimaonlinesecondage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10563" title="Ultima Online The Second Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ultimaonlinesecondage.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="335" /></a></p>
<p>Welcome to Listing Restlessly, a new and irregular feature where we look at geek concepts and try to put them into categories that make some amount of sense. There's so much vagueness in gaming ("role-playing games," "casual games," "retro games,") that we need some way to separate these ideas. Let's start with the ages of gaming, an amorphous yet steadfast concept that everyone knows but few can define beyond "today's consoles" and "yesterday's consoles."</p>
<p>We've used "current-gen" versus "next-gen" versus "last-gen." Well, generations change. We've used "8-bit" versus "16-bit" versus "32-bit" versus "64-bit." Well, the Atari 2600 was 8-bit, and the Atari Jaguar called itself 64-bit when it wasn't, <em>and</em> the 64-bit Nintendo 64 lost the battle against the same-generation 32-bit Sony PlayStation. Instead of looking at bits and vague generations, let's look at what really defined the generations: the graphics. Specifically, what they looked like, and not what drives them. Here are the new ages of gaming. Four clearly defined ages and one semi-clearly defined half-age that run from the beginning of home video game systems to today.<span id="more-10548"></span></p>
<h2>The Blob Age (Pong-1983)</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/blockage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10554" title="Blob Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/blockage.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="258" /></a></p>
<p>Technically, the graphics of the Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intellivision, and other pre-NES systems were sprites, but let's be honest here: they were blocks. They were squares, blocks, outlines, and shapes, but "sprites" is pushing it on an artistic and practical level. Look at Pac-Man on the Atari 2600. Montezuma's Revenge on the Colecovision. Astrosmash on the Intellivision. These were blobs.</p>
<p>There are certainly many exceptions in pre-1983 systems that had decent graphics for the time, but they were closer to PCs than home consoles. The Atari 2600 stands as the symbol of the era, and it had blobs. Big, nostalgic, beeping, screeching blobs.</p>
<h2>The Sprite Age (1983-1995)</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/spriteage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10553" title="Sprite Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/spriteage.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="309" /></a></p>
<p>Nintendo came into the scene in 1983, and from then to the mid-90's was the sprite age. Everything was 2D (or very simple 3D), and graphics evolved from bobs to "shit you can actually identify." The early black box NES games weren't the best example, but as the system progressed we got Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, Castlevania, and other games where you can actually figure out what the different shapes are without using your imagination. Mega Man looked like a robot. Simon Belmont looked like a warrior. There were multiple colors and outlines for each sprite.</p>
<p>The Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo (and Turbografix-16) are also part of this age, because even though they advanced in complexity they stayed sprite-based. Yes, even Donkey Kong Country and Vectorman. Those amazing 3D graphics? Prerendered and turned into sprites. The SNES didn't actually make a 3D Donkey Kong run and jump at your command. I'm sorry to break it to you.</p>
<p>Just like there were some detailed sprites in the Blob Age, there was basic 3D rendering in the Sprite Age. I'm talking about the Super FX Chip, that magical little processor that made Star Fox (and Stunt Race FX and Vortex, but who cares about those?) possible. The graphics were so basic that they didn't even have textures, but it was still 3D. And they were still in the Sprite Age.</p>
<h2>The Polygon Age (1995-2000)</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/polygonage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10552" title="Polygon Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/polygonage.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="276" /></a></p>
<p>Video games finally made the jump to 3D with the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 (yes, and the Sega Saturn). Sprites gave way to polygons with textured, and game systems actually modeled (in their own, very simple ways) three-dimensional objects interacting with each other. This brought us Mario 64, Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil. There were some shadows and "particle" effects, but only in the simplest sense, usually just blobs and animated textures. They were a leap ahead of the Super FX chip of the Sprite age and the vector graphics of arcade games of the Blob age, but they look ugly compared to graphics today. Even in standard definition, they're rough and have simple models and textures.</p>
<h2>The Smooth Age (2000-Present)</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/shadowage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10551" title="Smooth Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/shadowage.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="320" /></a></p>
<p>The PlayStation 2 and Xbox brought 3D graphics to a new level, with more complex models, better animations, and more advanced effects. It's still the same basic idea as the Polygon Age, but like the Blob Age to the Sprite Age, it represents a major and necessary step in its type of graphics. Besides more polygons, higher resolution textures, and smoother animations, the biggest advance was in shadow technology, with games like ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Splinter Cell, and Gran Turismo 4 seeing shadow and reflection effects the N64 and PlayStation couldn't hope to do. Since then, lighting, physics, and particle effects have only gotten better.</p>
<h2>Half-Step: The High Definition Age (2006-Present)</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/physicsage.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10550" title="High Definition Age" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/physicsage.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="280" /></a></p>
<p>We're still in the Smooth Age. Graphics haven't advanced that much in concept beyond the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube. They've just gotten smoother, with higher resolutions and better effects. It's not a jump like blobs to sprites, sprites to polygons, and polygons to complex, rendered 3D, but it's still a pretty big step in resolution. The last "generation" of consoles were standard definition. The current generation of consoles (except the Wii) are high definition. They can do 1080p video. It looks great on HDTVs. That's really the big thing. We've gotten better physics, but that's almost a separate issue than the graphics themselves. Right now, even though the Xbox 360 and PS3 are "next-gen," they're still part of the same age the PS2 and Xbox ushered in.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/listing-restlessly-graphical-ages-gaming/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>10 Sketchy Toys and Gadgets From China (That You Can Get Delivered Here)</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/10-pieces-weird-toys-gadgets-china-delivered/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=10-pieces-weird-toys-gadgets-china-delivered</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/10-pieces-weird-toys-gadgets-china-delivered/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:51:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geek Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DealExtreme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[imports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knock-off]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toys]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10456</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I found ten of the most sketchy toys and gadgets on the site that you can get shipped here. And one more that you can't.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/toys.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10534" title="Toys" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/toys.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="307" /></a></p>
<p>The toys you get at Toys R Us and the electronics you get at Best Buy (or both you get at Amazon) are nice, but they're limited by pesky industrial regulations and licensing laws. That means everything you buy is relatively well-built to safety standards and any characters or famous people on them are there with the express permission of the copyright holder. That leaves out the awesome rip-off and downright strange items you can get at dollar stores, flea markets, and the dark corners of the Internet. The products imported directly from China to be sold out of trucks, on cheap folding tables, or on rusty pegs in disreputable stores. Or to be relabeled and sold by nerds for a huge mark-up, but the idea still stands.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com?r=57352869">DealExtreme</a> brings those products online. There are plenty of web sites where you can get sketchy toys and gadgets, but DealExtreme is the least Engrish-filled one I've seen (and the most seemingly legitimate, with actual customer reviews, track records, and security things on its site). Think of it as ThinkGeek's ugly, cheaper, more-interesting-because-he-knows-how-to-score-drugs brother. It's a strange mix of relatively legitimate, generic products, gadgets no one would ever need, and toys that most likely aren't endorsed by Disney/Nintendo/Marvel. It's awesome, even if it's like playing a game of retail Russian roulette.</p>
<p>I found ten of the most sketchy toys and gadgets on the site that you can get shipped here. And one more that you can't (or, if you can, you probably shouldn't for legal reasons). I will only make two lead poisoning jokes in this story, because you deserve the best.<span id="more-10456"></span></p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/hit-a-bum-stress-relieving-electronic-game-toy-with-sound-effects-19742?r=57352869">"Hit a Bum" Electronic Toy</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hitabum.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10515" title="Hit a Bum" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hitabum.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="334" /></a></p>
<p>I honestly have no idea. It's like whack-a-mole with butts. It screams "Spencer's Gifts, but with slightly lower standards." It doesn't help that "imported from Asia" and "lots of butts" makes me think of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boong-Ga_Boong-Ga">Boong-Ga Boong-Ga</a>, the Japanese put-your-finger-up-a-butt arcade game. Seriously, this toy is less bizarre and literally anal than an arcade game you put coins in to play in public. Still weird enough to get on this list. I love the creepy sex doll look of the woman on the box. That just adds a whole layer of uncomfortable to it.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/enlighten-pistol-gun-assemble-construction-toy-with-shooting-function-43900?r=57352869">Enlighten Pistol/Gun Assemble Toy With Shooting Function</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/legogun.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10516" title="Enlighten Pistol" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/legogun.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="257" /></a></p>
<p>LEGO GUN. This is a <em>LEGO gun</em>. It's LEGO-like bricks you can turn into a pistol. When everything sold in this country that's made of plastic and shaped like a gun has to be neon orange, this is a LEGO set for building a freaking all-black pistol "with shooting function." For when you want to make your last stand as a LEGO maniac.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/emf-meter-for-electromagnetic-radiation-detector-56359?r=57352869">DT-1130 EMF Meter for Electromagnetic Radiation Detector</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/emfdetector.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10517" title="EMF Detector" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/emfdetector.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="393" /></a></p>
<p>Fuck Ghost Hunters. It's a horrible show that ignores science, logic, and common sense and relies on jump cuts and gullibility to "prove" ghosts, and it's the show SyFy has stuck to for <em>years</em> while letting better shows die. This is one of their tools. Ghosts apparently give off electromagnetic fields, so this lets you detect them. It's total bullshit, but if you're an electronics nerd you can use it to see how EM-saturated your house or office is, how much your cell phone is giving you ear cancer, and whether that weird lamp in the hallway is really a camera the conspiracy has been using to spy on you.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/harry-potter-hogwarts-house-metal-pin-badge-set-5-pieces-pack-52710?r=57352869">Harry Potter Hogwarts House Metal Pin Badge Set</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hogwarps.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10518" title="Hogwarps" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hogwarps.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="355" /></a></p>
<p>It's knock-off licensed merchandise time! I want to show my membership of Ravenctaw and Hufflepuee houses.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/novelty-tulip-with-hidden-sexy-underpants-for-couples-2-piece-pack-55635?r=57352869">Novelty Tulip with Hidden Sexy Underpants for Couples</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hiddensexypanties.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10519" title="Hidden Sexy Underpants" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hiddensexypanties.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="367" /></a></p>
<p>Hidden sexy underpants. That might be my new favorite phrase. It might be a romantic gesture, but "Hi, honey! I got you sexy panties! They're in novelty tulips I imported from a sketchy place in China!" isn't the best thing to say when you're spicing up your relationship. I need to find out if genital lead poisoning is possible. That is the first of two Chinese import lead poisoning jokes of this feature.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/instant-man-made-snow-powder-45399?r=57352869">Instant Man-Made Snow Powder</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fakesnow.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10520" title="Instant Snow" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fakesnow.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="352" /></a></p>
<p>Weird powder you add water to make "snow" that doesn't melt, that you can decorate your house with. Again, imported without any regulations from China. I'm not saying you're going to poison your kids and pets if you use this to decorate your house, but you're going to fucking poison your kids and pets if you use this to decorate your house. That's number two.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/scare-lifelike-horse-face-mask-headgear-49628?r=57352869">Scare Lifelike Horse Face Mask Headgear</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/scaryhorse.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10521" title="It's a horse get in the car" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/scaryhorse.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>I think that's what the Asylum would use if they made an Eyes Wide Shut rip-off. Scare? I assume scary, so yes. Lifelike? I've never skinned a horse's face, so I'm going to say maybe. That might actually be what it looks like. Either way, it's the best way to make your daughter never ask you for a pony in her life.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/shock-your-friend-shocking-fire-extinguisher-with-led-light-practical-joke-43154?r=57352869">Shock-Your-Friend Shocking Fire Extinguisher With LED Light</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/extinguisher.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10524" title="Fire Extinguisher" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/extinguisher.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>This doesn't count as a Chinese lead contaminated toy joke, because this isn't contaminated with anything. It's just fundamentally unsafe on an almost homicidal level. What psychotic would try to trick their friends with a shocking fire extinguisher? On the bright side, it's too small for anyone to take seriously, so it comes back from the bring of manslaughter and falls right into the land of stupidity. "Help, my dollhouse has a fire! Put the fire out with that novelty fire extinguisher! Ha ha, I shocked you!"</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cute-super-mario-pvc-anime-figures-8-figure-set-65781?r=57352869">Cute Super Mario PVC Anime Figures</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mario.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10522" title="Mario Figures" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mario.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="307" /></a></p>
<p>On one hand, these are amazingly shameless ripoff Mario figures that don't even try to follow the games' designs or color patterns. On the other hand, that's Mario in a Kill Bill/Game of Death jumpsuit holding nunchucks. So it <em>wins</em>.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/runner-shoe-transformer-robot-model-assorted-15669?r=57352869">Runner Shoe Transformer Model</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/transformersshoe.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10523" title="Transformer Shoe" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/transformersshoe.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="372" /></a></p>
<p>Fun fact here, these are actually rip-offs of a real Transformers line, and are probably the best way to get your hands on anything like them. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NQRWHU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=aggrogate-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B000NQRWHU">Takara's Transformers Sports Label</a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=aggrogate-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B000NQRWHU" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> toys were shoe-shaped versions of Megatron and Optimus Prime that turned into robots. They were awesome, and are ridiculously expensive. These are just $7. Unfortunately, they're sold out, because I'm not the only toy nerd who likes looking up sites like this.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/p/personal-cell-phone-signal-blocker-device-4355?r=57352869">Personal Cell Phone Signal Blocker Device</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cellphoneblocker.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10514" title="Cell Phone Blocker" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cellphoneblocker.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>This one doesn't quite belong on the list, because it's <em>ridiculously illegal</em>. You might be able to get it delivered here if customs doesn't give a crap about the package, but it's still really illegal and you should not buy it. It jams cell phone signals, which is something the FCC likes to arrest people for. The FCC controls who accesses what parts of the public airwaves to make sure they're clear, there isn't much signal crossing, and that important services like emergency communication stay up. This device doesn't really care about FCC regulations and it doesn't have that sticker that almost every single piece of electronics in America has that says it doesn't put out radio waves the FCC doesn't want it to put out. It might not destroy ambulance radios or make planes drop from the sky, but the FCC isn't big on taking that chance, and they'll bludgeon you with a satellite dish for trying. That said, it's still a cell phone jammer, and that's pretty rad.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/10-pieces-weird-toys-gadgets-china-delivered/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Make a Great Video Game Movie: Make a Crappy Action Movie</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/great-video-game-movie-crappy-action-movie/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=great-video-game-movie-crappy-action-movie</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/great-video-game-movie-crappy-action-movie/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Column]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geek Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[movie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scott Pilgrim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sucker Punch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[video game movie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sucker Punch was the perfect video game movie, and the template other video game movies should use.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/suckerpunch.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10487" title="Sucker Punch" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/suckerpunch.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="281" /></a></p>
<p>Put a bag on your head, because I'm about to blow your mind with the following two statements. You may rage. You may think I'm an idiot. But I'm right, and that's what's important.</p>
<p>1: Sucker Punch was a nearly perfect video game movie, and the template other video game movies should use.</p>
<p>2: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was the perfect tournament fighter movie, but it wasn't a general video game movie at all.</p>
<p>You're not with me on this. That's fine, because I'm going to explain.<span id="more-10473"></span></p>
<p>Sucker Punch was a <a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/2011/03/sucker-punch-sucks/">pile of shit</a>. I say this as a fan of Zack Snyder, but the movie was utterly fucking horrible. Under the excellent cinematography and action was a mess of a narrative that bordered on the offensive until you realized how hilariously misguided the intended message was in contrast with the tone and outcome of the story.  Any feminist message Snyder wanted to convey, any period atmosphere, and any sense of pathos was destroyed by the Inception-like levels of reality and the creepy undertones of ogling at enslaved supposed-to-be-teenage girls.</p>
<p>That said, it was visually and structurally perfect as a video game movie, outside of the strange layers of the narrative. Sucker Punch had specific levels, mobs, boss fights, and power-ups. It was like watching a video game. It would have been an enjoyable video game movie if it scraped away the layers of "empowerment" and just indulged in being action porn (and if Snyder held onto shots longer, because it suffered from some irritating shakycam).</p>
<p>For a video game movie to really feel like a video game movie, it needs to hit the same notes as video games. It needs to have the same pattern of levels and boss fights, with the stakes ratcheting up every time and the characters having a tangible sense of growth in power up to the climactic battle at the end. Admittedly, Sucker Punch didn't pay off so much with the last boss, but everything else kept to that pattern. Lots of set pieces, lots of action, and a few satisfying boss fights. The fight with the dragon could even have been a quick time event. You don't need constant winks and nods that it's a video game if you keep the same concepts as the game.</p>
<p>That brings us to Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. <a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/2010/08/scott-pilgrim-world-scott-pilgrim-wins/">I liked it</a>, but it wasn't really a video game movie, or at least it wasn't really a video game movie for the games it was referring to. It was a great tournament fighter movie, and should be the template for all games of that genre, but as a general video game movie it failed. It didn't really follow the video game concepts you expect from platformers or brawlers, the main games referenced in the movie. Worse yet, it tried too hard. It winked and nodded so much at the viewer and screamed "Hey! You like video games? Me too! Let's talk about video games! Look, I have a health bar and coin noises!" It was so ridiculously self-aware (to fit the theme of the movie, which itself was rife with ideas of coming of age and moving on with your life) that it didn't really feel like a video game movie as much as it felt like a movie that really loved talking about video games and referencing the 80's. It was a video game web site movie.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/scottpilgrim.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10488" title="Scott Pilgrim" src="http://www.aggrogate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/scottpilgrim.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="259" /></a></p>
<p>Scott Pilgrim was a great tournament fighter movie, though, and every future Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Soul Calibur movie should follow its formula because it kept to the pattern perfectly. Scenes of character interaction in between bright, varied battles with colorful, named enemies in big arenas. Every other fighter movie since Mortal Kombat has sucked because it hasn't followed that formula. It always adds a huge amount of bullshit story that has nothing to do with the game and ignores the fact that the game is several big fights between people in different levels. Movies like Tekken, Dead or Alive, and Street Fighter (both Van Damme and the one nobody saw) ruin themselves from the start by not drawing clear lines between fights. Walk your fighters out, show the arena, make the fight begin, have it end, move on to the next scene. It's not a hard formula, and every fighting game movie since Mortal Kombat has failed at it.</p>
<p>Mortal Kombat itself is considered a good video game movie because it actually followed that formula. They fought, they talked, they fought, they talked. Each fight was well-defined. Mortal Kombat Annihilation sucked because it let the fights bleed into each other with no sense of flow or pattern. Some fights were ridiculously short, some fights were in bizarre places not explained by the story, and nearly every fight was ridiculously random. Movies about fighting games need to follow the Scott Pilgrim (and Mortal Kombat) pattern of specific encounters in different arenas where the lines between fight and other scenes are clear.</p>
<p>Imagine if a Street Fighter movie followed the Scott Pilgrim pattern. Ryu is introduced as the main character. Some interaction with Shenlong, maybe introduce a romantic interest with Chun-Li if you really need it, then Ken comes along. They fight. It's a rivalry battle that sets them up as buddies and the group of them go on to fight in the Street Fighter tournament. The rest of the movie is a pattern of interacting with each other and new characters and having clear fights between one of the good guys and a new character, who then goes into the background as a villain or joins them as support. Ryu beats Guile, Guile joins them because he's made of flags. Ken fights Balrog, Balrog slinks away after losing, maybe showing up in the background during the final battle. Then, at the end, Ryu fights Sagat/M.Bison/Akuma/Seth in the largest, flashiest fight of the movie and the tournament is over. The movie's entertaining and the game's ideas are held up.</p>
<p>Adventure and RPG movies are harder because they're longer, so you have to fit more in. Also, giant dick joke. The average RPG has enough cut scenes for ten movies, and if you want to go old school you could do a solid film before getting off the first disc. If you were going to make a Final Fantasy 7 movie, you could probably hit the two hour mark just by getting them out of Midgard. The structure of adventure and RPG games might be easier to reproduce than action and fighting games, but there's just so much to cover in a given game that the movie will feel incomplete or extremely rushed.</p>
<p>Super Mario Bros. Street Fighter. Doom. Max Payne. Double Dragon. All of these movies sucked not just because they ignored the stories of the games they're based on, but because they ignored the structure. No levels. Few power-ups. One boss fight at most. They didn't feel like video games. Sucker Punch was horrible, but at least it felt like a video game movie because it was paced and shown like a video game. Scott Pilgrim tried too hard, but it felt like a fighting game movie not because of the endless video game jokes, but because it was paced and shown like a fighting game. These are the movies video game movies should be based on.</p>
<p>That said, Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter, and Double Dragon are all still worth watching because they're <em>fucking hilarious</em>. Also, I hear if you ask Bob Hoskins about Super Mario Bros. he'll beat you to death with a brick.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/great-video-game-movie-crappy-action-movie/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>SOPA&#8217;s First Major Casualty: Sanity</title>
		<link>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/sopas-major-casualty-sanity/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=sopas-major-casualty-sanity</link>
		<comments>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/sopas-major-casualty-sanity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:21:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Will Greenwald</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOPA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.aggrogate.com/?p=10475</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As recounted by a friend of the site.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As recounted by a friend of the site:</p>
<blockquote><p>"[My father] just gave me an external HD and a list while saying, and I quote; 'I just heard about this 'SOPAPILLA' thing off the tv, I want you to download all the movies on the list and put them on this HD, please.'"</p></blockquote>
<p>Later:</p>
<blockquote><p>"Oh god some of this stuff is porn. I sure as hell doubt that there's a 'real' movie about there called 'Gang Bang Beauties 2'."</p></blockquote>
<p>Later:</p>
<blockquote><p>"Nice, dad. List a 9-11 doc next to the string of pirate porn."</p></blockquote>
<p>Do you see what you've done? You monsters.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.aggrogate.com/2012/01/sopas-major-casualty-sanity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

