Score One for the Little Guy: Super Hexagon Rocks

was released for iPhone and iPad on Thursday, and it has drastically outperformed even its developer’s expectations. Having picked it up on Saturday and spent most of Sunday and this morning playing, I have to say it’s no surprise. Super Hexagon is a pure delight to play.

Though I love and play a great deal of games, it still is not often that I find myself smiling broadly from the sheer enjoyment of the experience. Super Hexagon achieves this with its flowing gameplay, simple visuals, and an astounding soundtrack. When you first start, losses come easily in the first several seconds, but you’re right back into it for another try with a simple tap of the screen. This means that the game can feature a steep learning curve and offer extremely challenging experiences without ever breaking the flow of the game. For those who don’t know, the term ‘flow’ in relation to gaming refers to when a players state of mind is fully engaged and focused on the game while fully enjoying. Basically, it means “in the zone.” Thus, a game which “flows” successfully facilitates this state in the player. The gameplay is so simple that it’s nearly impossible to explain, as even these screenshots tend not to help you understand. It’s a basic game of survival by dodging. You see an obstacle moving toward you, and you must move out of the way before it strikes you. Games of this type are nothing new, but Super Hexagon’s use of polygonal themes, catchy chiptunes (by Chipzel), and beautiful color palette set it apart. Such powerful music and colors could easily be overwhelming, but fortunately the music is tasteful and the color schemes pleasant.

Super Hexagon was developed by Terry Cavanagh, the indie developer genius behind VVVVVV. I can say genius because Marcus “Notch” Persson , member of Mensa and creator of Minecraft, lists Cavanagh as one of his idols. Cavanagh’s games tend to be reminiscent of those older gaming machines whose power was measured in bits, but they still always work in new and interesting ways.

Having already sold over 10,000 units, Super Hexagon is sure to keep me and many others smiling for quite some time to come. If you’ve got an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, this is a game you should definitely pick up.

So You Want to Read Comic Books: Video Games and The Fandom

Welcome back, fanboys and geek girls: this is the series where I instruct new readers on how to get into comic books. Hopefully, you have been reading my past couple of posts and are now diving into the world of comic books with gusto and hopefully a little more confidence than you had before.

Today we are going to talk about video games and the fandom as they relate to comic books.

The reason I paired these two together is that for me they are both sort of wild cards when understanding comics, especially for new comic book fans.

Web Crush Wednesdays: Geek and Sundry

It’s Wednesday again, and you know what that means. Yep, another web crush! This week’s web crush goes to Geek and Sundry, my new favorite site.

Felicia Day is my idol. She’s smart, funny, geeky, likes cool things, and is super pretty… okay, this is getting creepy, isn’t it. I’ll put aside any real life crushes for now and talk about how awesome Geek and Sundry actually is.

Geek and Sundry is an internet community that produces web videos about comics, games, books, hobbies and so much more. So, basically, all of the good things. They also have an IRC Chat Room, but I have been too nervous to join.

So let’s talk about some of the shows on Geek and Sundry!

First, there is Felicia Day’s Flog, a video blog where Felicia goes and does… whatever she wants. I promise it’s cool. Just check out the preview.

The show is so awesome! Day starts off every show by giving you her top five favorite things of the week (Fav Five!), which are always something interesting, whether it’s a new internet meme or a cool new game. We then get to see Felicia do whatever she wants, whether it’s blacksmithing or singing an ode to Carrie Fisher. And before you ask: Is there anything Felicia Day can’t do? Geek and Sundry answered that too.

There are in fact several things that Felicia cannot do (all entirely having to do with the laws of physics). We have decided not to print them here in the event that she might one day acquire super powers from fallen space debris or a small insect, at which point the question will be rendered moot. Plus, it’s always good to keep up the mystique, right?

Can you see why I love this site? She also takes questions from fans and types out her answers on her genuine hipster typewriter and mails them to you.

Season 5 of The Guild is also appearing on Geek and Sundry, but I’m not going to talk about that since I already did a post on The Guild, which you can find here. It’s like the second web crush I ever did, because I love The Guild. A lot. And Felicia Day. She’s my hero. Oh God, I’m fangirling again. Okay, moving swiftly on. But before we do that, since I’m not talking about The Guild here, have a video.

Next we have Sword and Laser, started by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt. Sword and Laser is a book club turned podcast, and now, it’s been turned into a web series. Huzzah!

This show, as you learned from the video, airs every other Friday and discusses science fiction and fantasy books with the authors and of course all their viewers. My favorite thing about this show is that they don’t just talk to well-known authors, but new and interesting up coming ones as well. I highly recommend it, though I admit, if you are like me and have a lot of reading to catch up on this show will be problematic to your life. I’ve already added two more books to my ever growing list.

Then we have Dark Horse Motion Comics where, as you may have guessed, Dark Horse Comics are brought to life. It’s basically every nerd’s dream.

What else can I say about this show? It’s animated comics. Who doesn’t like that? Go watch it.

Finally, we have Table Top, where celebrities play awesome nerdy table top games like Settlers of Catan and Last Night on Earth. Oh, and did I mention Wil Wheaton is hosting it? Yeah, he is.

What else am I supposed to say about this series? Awesome celebrities and show hosted by Wil Wheaton. I’ll say it again, Wil Wheaton. Why aren’t you watching this show yet? And if you are–golf claps.

The final two shows, Written by a Kid and Learning Town, haven’t premiered yet, but look fantastic. Check it out.

Well that’s all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed my latest web crush and that my very real crush on Felicia Day wasn’t too distracting. I should also tell you that Felicia Day is going to be in this week’s episode of Supernatural. I’m so excited! Except then I remembered Supernatural has a history of killing all their female characters… Please, Supernatural, don’t make me cry any more! Okay, this is getting embarrassing, Lady Geek Girl here, signing out, and telling you to check out Geek and Sundry.

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