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Syfytonians
Watch "Syfytonians" - Official Full Documentary about The Alamo City Comic Con on YouTube
https://youtu.be/iRYtT6YPPyM
Friday, September 4, 2015
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Man Dies After 3-Day Games Binge
Paramedics rush to Taiwan internet cafe after body is found slumped over desk; Second such death to occur in 2015
A 32 year-old man has been found dead in an internet cafe in Taiwan following what is reported to be a three-day gaming binge.
Emergency services were called to the cafe, based in Kaohsiung, after an employee discovered a customer was slumped over his desk motionless.
The man, known only by his surname Hsieh, was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead from cardiac failure. Police believe that Hsieh likely died several hours before discovery, due to how stiff his corpse had become.
Gamers sitting in the cafe continued as if nothing happened when paramedics arrived, according to police spokesperson Jennifer Wu.
"The CCTV footage from the internet cafe showed that Hsieh had a small struggle before he collapsed motionless," Wu told CNN.
Cold temperatures and exhaustion from the extensive hours playing games are likely to have contributed to Hsieh's cardiac arrest, a police statement read.
Wu added that Hsieh had been "unemployed for a long time, and internet cafes were the only place he could go to."
"His family said he would disappear for two to three days on end."
According to the Taipei Times, Hsieh was a "regular customer" who often played for consecutive days.
"When tired, he would sleep face down on the table or doze off slumped in his chair," the staff member was quoted as saying.
"That is why we were not aware of his condition in the beginning."
Hsieh's death is already the second to occur in a Taiwan internet cafe this year, according to CNN. On January 1, a 38 year-old man was found dead at an internet cafe in Taipei, apparently after playing video games for five days straight.
Net cafes in the region offer extended gaming sessions at low prices. Eight hours of play can cost as little as two dollars.
Story By: Rob Crossley on January 19, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
New Video Game Arcade Opens in San Antonio
San Antonio has its own Japanese arcade, jam-packed with Japanese toys and games.
Named Otaku Café, after the Japanese word for people who are obsessed with Japanese anime and manga, the arcade will feature 18 Japanese game machines, including popular titles like BlazBlue, Street Fighter IV, and Marvel vs. Capcom. They will have Japanese games most people haven’t heard of, including Rumble Fish, Melty Blood, and Rage of Dragons. They will also sell Japanese toys, pins, apparel, and other goodies.
Owners Ricardo Polendo and Richard Giron have a long history of fandom, dating back to 1996 as high school students. As teens, they bonded over video games and cartoons. When Polendo and Giron discovered anime – Japanese animation – they were spirited away to a new level of nerdiness.
And they amassed enormous collections of anime memorabilia.
Eventually, they got the idea to sell Japanese toys at anime and comic book conventions. They also began to buy Japanese arcade machines and bring them to events, like Mini Mini Con and San Japan, too.
Those machines were wildly popular. So much so, it helped motivate them to turn their part-time convention store into a full-time San Antonio shop.
They looked at several locations, but none of them fully met their needs. They needed a space with sufficient parking that could stay open late for events.
Fortunately for San Antonio, they finally found a place for Otaku Café.
Their grand opening was on Saturday, January 17 at 5525 Blanco Road. Fans and curious onlookers alike can expect raffles, cosplayers, and an opportunity to play any of their arcades machines for free
Five Things Minecraft Teaches Kids
The popular build-and-survive video game Minecraft could very well be the most surprising tech success of this decade. Created in 2009 by programmer Markus "Notch" Persson, expanded by a small team, and advertised mostly by word of mouth, it has more than 100 million users. To drive home its success, Microsoft bought the game a few months ago for a staggering $2.5 billion.
I'm sure you've heard many kids, teens, and adults in your life talking about Minecraft. Here's why that might be a good thing, and how to keep it from turning bad.
1. It builds creativity
I'm a huge fan of Lego. My son and I have spent hours building the model on the box and then taking it apart and making whatever else we wanted by rearranging the parts. Minecraft gives kids the same creative freedom, but it's easier on your bank account. Plus, you'll never step on a loose piece barefoot in the dark.
If you haven't played or seen it, Minecraft is a very blocky world, i.e. everything is built from blocks. The ground is made up of blocks, trees are blocks, and even your character avatar is very blocky. You get progress in the game by scavenging or mining blocks of various materials such as stone, wood, lava, etc. You use these as the basis for your creations, or combine them in "recipes" to create more advanced materials, tools and objects.
Some of the things Minecraft players have built are truly staggering: massive vehicles, intricate skyscrapers, working analog computers, and even the entire country of Denmark exactly to scale. Click here to see it.
There are also game modifications, or "mods," that add more advanced items like robots, nuclear reactors and a whole range of high-tech real-world materials. If you can think it, you can probably build it on Minecraft.
2. It teaches real-world skills
One overlooked value of most strategy-based video games is resource management. The player has a finite amount of resources at any given time and needs to decide wisely how to use them most effectively.
Do you use that wood block now to upgrade your ax for mining, or save it for the house you're building? Do you spend your time mining or exploring for new resources?
Even if they don't realize it, kids are learning cost-benefit analysis, when to save vs. spend and other key budgeting and financial skills so important later in life. Of course, they might need you to help them make this connection.
Kids learn patience with Minecraft. It takes a while to assemble the resources you need, so instant gratification isn't an option. Any adult who's had to save for a car or a house down payment knows that patience is important.
Kids learn perseverance. Your child might not build that amazing monument correctly the first time when it comes tumbling down under its own weight. They can learn how to recognize where they made mistakes and try again.
Kids learn teamwork. While Minecraft can be played solo, it also has online options. Kids can play with others from around the world. They can team up and learn how to work cooperatively to make amazing things. That also builds pride in cooperation with others.
Of course, they might also learn how to deal with people who don't want to play nice. This is where parental monitoring is essential. If you want your child and friends to be able to play together, but not worry about strangers, you can set up a dedicated Minecraft server. It isn't as hard as it sounds, and it lets you set the rules and who can play.
Before your kid does anything online, however, whether it's Minecraft, Facebook or just basic browsing, have them read and sign my 10 Commandments for Kids Online. It's a great starting place for talking with kids about what is and isn't acceptable online, and how to recognize dangers.
3. Kids can play anywhere
Unlike high-end video games that only work on certain systems or require expensive hardware to run, Minecraft works just about anywhere. It runs on computers, smartphones and tablets, most video game consoles, several handheld gaming systems and more.
That means you can give your kid a free hand-me-down or inexpensive older gadget and they can go to town. Or you can let them jump on your smartphone or tablet while in the car or running errands to keep them occupied.
If you are handing your kid a gadget, there are a few things you need to do first. If it's your gadget, learn how to let kids use your tablet or smartphone without messing up your settings or getting into things they shouldn't. If they're using their own personal gadgets, make sure you prepare it so they can't get into anything online they shouldn't. You should also install an app that lets you control when they can use the gadget so they're forced to take breaks.
4. It's kid friendly
Violence is a big complaint with video games. Sure, older video games were violent but the graphics were so cartoonish and crude it wasn't the same as gunning down the highly detailed, lifelike characters found in modern games.
Minecraft does have some fighting elements to it. You have to fend off "mobs" of monsters but the graphics are blocky and bloodless, like an old-school video game.
For concerned parents of younger kids, Minecraft also features a "Peaceful" mode. This is the easiest setting and turns off all enemies. It also makes it nearly impossible to die, so you can just explore and build.
5. Fun for the whole family
I'm always a fan of parents playing video games with their kids. That way, you're right there to monitor the game, teach them to be good sports, or shut it off when their time is up or when they start melting down. Plus, there are plenty of fun video games that you might genuinely enjoy. The LEGO series, for example, is very clever and not too difficult.
Minecraft is another fun one. You can sit next to your children and give them advice, or create your own character and jump into the game using a different computer or gadget. I know a few families who have Minecraft night and everyone joins in to work on a fun in-game project.
The one bad thing: Minecraft isn't all roses and sunlight. I already mentioned that playing online can lead to encounters with strangers who might not be that nice. The detailed replica of Denmark I mentioned at the beginning struggles with constant visits from spoilsport players who want to destroy it.
Even worse than that, however, is that Minecraft like any other game or Internet service can become addicting. You might find that it's all your kid wants to do. My son Ian and his friends talk about the game non-stop and I have to put strict limits and conditions on how long he can play each day.
If you suspect your child is suffering from an addiction to Minecraft, or the Internet in general, check out reSTART. You can take a revealing quiz, get insightful articles on the dangers and find links to treatment centers and therapists who can help.
If you aren't sure how long your child is spending playingMinecraft, the RescueTime program and app can tell you exactly where your child's time is going. It might show there's a problem you didn't realize.
Story By: Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY
Friday, January 16, 2015
Mom Calls Police Because Son Won't Stop Playing Xbox
POST FALLS, Idaho – A single mom in Post Falls, Idaho called police to complain her son would not turn off his Xbox and she needed help getting him to behave.
So, officers responded.
"We had an officer respond up there, had a chat with the child and everything was turned off," said Post Falls Police Captain Pat Knight.
Even though it may not seem serious, police said they want to respond to any concern a citizen might have.
"These calls can sometimes be comical to the officers but yeah, they're important to somebody," said Captain Knight.
Patrol Officers were responding to other calls at the time but because the sergeant on duty was available, he decided to go talk to the mom.
Shawn Chitnis, KREM
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Oregon Trail, 2,000 Other MS-DOS Games Now Free
KUSA - Get the family in the wagon, get your dysentery shot and head off on the rocky trail to Oregon because the MS-DOS games that occupied our time in the 80s and 90s are now available for free.
The Internet Archive released more than 2,000 titles online, including The Oregon Trail, Street Fighter, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lion King, Duke, Nukem, Prince of Persiaand Chuck Yaeger's Advanced Flight Trainer.
The website allows users to play in their web browser, making them available to people instantly on all computer platforms. The creators acknowledge this means that there may be some bugs and want users to offer feedback as they play. The format also means you can't really save your game to play later, but when you're fighting your way across the a dusty trail with only 6 pounds of squirrel meat left, you wouldn't really want to stop anyway.
The Internet Archive is primarily known for running The Wayback Machine, a time capsule for the World Wide Web, but is becoming a hotbed for gaming after releasing emulators to play Atari and arcade games previously. And just like with those games, there aren't any instructions, so if you haven't played before or if it's been awhile, it may take some experimentation. But, hey, that's half the fun!
Play your favorite title here:https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games/v2
