nostalgic
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Free for All: Adventure Time's nostalgia is MMO drama done right
I've tried to explain my love for a bit of melodrama several times over the years. It's sort of a hard thing to explain. I like a good bit of "sad" in my MMOs when I can get it, and I can say that I enjoy some measure of drama as well. Sure, many MMOs have a dramatic storyline quest here or there, but more often than not, the game forgets to be a world and rushes us off into yet another combat assignment. The fact is that it's very hard to find the balance. We all want a good story, but many of us just want to get to the good stuff. The loot. The treasure. The virtual glory. I've had a hard time explaining my want for a game that makes me feel real emotion and explaining why I enjoy those feelings. Well, the PBS Idea Channel on YouTube did it much better than I ever could, and it used the popular Cartoon Network series Adventure Time as the perfect example of why nostalgia is a powerful and universal thing. When it comes to video games, I believe nostalgia is even more powerful than loot.
iPad Etch A Sketch case: can you handle more magic?
If there's one sure way to get consumers to part with their hard-earned cash it's nostalgia. So check this, the official Magic Etch A Sketch iPad case licensed from Ohio Art. Made from ABS plastic, the case features rubber feet, felt backing, and retractable kickstands for laying the iPad flat or angling it for on-screen keyboard use. And those knobs? Decoration only son, they don't actually do anything. And while it promises to make you the "coolest kid in the conference room," it's more likely to confirm your boss' suspicion that he hired an overgrown baby -- such is the price for wistful affection. Oh, and the $39 required to take this home.%Gallery-102844%
WarGames 'Shall we play a game?' computer for sale; credit cards at DEFCON 1 (video)
You know what sells? Nostalgia. And while you might be from the Kin generation, you have undoubtedly heard the W.O.P.R. supercomputer utter the text-to-speech phrase, "Shall we play a game?" from the speaker resting atop David Lightman's IMSAI 8080. The 1983 film WarGames is the stuff of nerd legend, of geek folklore; a 1200 baud, acoustically-coupled, wardialing catalyst in a Hollywood blockbuster that gave phreakers mainstream cred and a real chance at Ally Sheedy. Appraised at $25,000, the perfectly preserved IMSAI 8080 and its associated peripherals will go sale to the general public soon. So embrace it, buy it, and then hand over your icon of computing to the Smithsonian where it can be admired for generations. See the 8080 after the break with a gratuitous WarGames trailer tossed in just for fun.
