I have so many tabs open in Chrome now that each page’s title and favicon has disappeared, leaving only a row of identical little grey hills. To help me get through them I’m going to link each one as I read and close the tab. Let’s go!
I Was Teenage Hockey Message Board Jailbait is thankfully less salacious than the title suggests, and a great story about the lies teenagers tell on the internet, and why that can be valuable, and terrible.
I’m not sure when I started to lie, but it seemed like no big deal. Upholding a cherished tradition among so many high-school-aged girls throughout history, I shrugged and added two years to my age. Fifteen became seventeen. The truth just sounds different.
Diary of a Botched eBay Experience, from ThoughtCatalog, which is suddenly being linked everywhere. They’re good for these very simple tales of online life. See also: A Brief History of My Internet Usage in the ’90s.
Elsewhere, “Listen: I was once just like you — weak, pathetic, not practicing dentistry.”
Brendan Caldwell’s Games Journo Story, an RPG. Will play this later.
The AV Club are doing a series on 90s rock. Part 8 look at Oasis and Radiohead.
Why You Should Be Paying Attention To Kevin Smith, on the things he’s doing to find his own ways to make and distribute movies.
The best Maggie Smith quotes from Downton Abbey.
The Repercussions of David Brent appearing in Michael Scott’s The Office universe.
Chris Thursten’s take on Games Journo Story.
Did you know that iPhone hit Game Dev Story was originally a free Japanese PC game? Here’s a guide on how to play it. Or get the game here.
The Julia Project, a 17-years-long story of “multiple homes, AIDS, drug abuse, abusive relationships, poverty, births, deaths, loss and reunion. Following Julie from the backstreets of San Francisco to the backwoods of Alaska.” It’s told mostly through photographs, and it will ruin you, if you’re in the mood to be ruined.
73 minute long documentary on the making of The Social Network.
Hardcore Gaming 101 on Yume Nikki, a Japanese freeware game made using RPG Maker.
A typical extension of the player experience is seeking out answers online – it’s practically Yume Nikki’s metagame. Players have discovered and shared many of the game’s secrets. Devotees have created fan art for even the most minor characters, handmade dolls are sold online, and remixed soundtracks abound. The storyline itself is a major source of online discussion; the game’s refusal to explain itself has led to wild speculation about Madotsuki’s background and the meaning of the game’s extensive themes and imagery. From the identity of a corpse to the idea that Madotsuki is actually transgendered, it has all been been debated at length.
With a little program called Anime Game Text Hooker, you can translate Japanese PC games to English on the fly. Here’s a guide on how, with download links. Here’s another. And another. And some plugins to make it a smoother experience.
Jaz on the three things that bother him in Mass Effect 2.