One of my favorite computer games of all time is Eidos' Deus Ex (wikipedia). At the time it came out it was quite unique as a mix of role-playing and first-person stealth/shooter, which I think lead to a new cross-genre game style. The gameplay alone made it worthwhile, but the cyberpunk setting, angsty characters and paranoid storyline are what really made it fun, frightening and fascinating. You could play in several different ways and there are usually 2-3 ways to handle any situation, plus the cyber-mods are AWESOME. Alas the follow up game isn't very good, but sequels rarely are.

Anyhow, at one time I had a brief dialog with one the game's writers regarding one of his post-game articles following 9/11. It wasn't too far off from EDGE magazine's gamedev homage to this eerily 9/11-ish game that preceded that ugly day. Mind you, Deus Ex is fiction, which is a good thing, but under the layers there's might be some truths you don't wanna know if you believe your government is transparent. You can find an uber cheap copy online for Mac, PC or Xbox if you're looking for a bit of gaming greatness.

Whoa, I just got an eye opener after returning from vacation. One of my favorite TV stations (or at least it was long ago) has decided to rebrand itself and insult its core audience -- the one that kept it afloat for over a decade -- in the process. I'm of course talking about the Sci-Fi Channel, who has now opted to go the road of trendy mediocrity by rebranding themselves as SyFy in an attempt to be clever and dodge their sci-fi origins.

Mind you, I don't watch the channel much now since all the good shows are gone, but Eureka's and Sanctuary are popcorn level entertaining, it's the rest that's drivel IMHO.

Why do I care? Well, first, it's NOT original, since SyFy has been used before. Second, its not clever, so I'll from now pronounce it "siffy" instead of "sci-fi" (thank you Cassie), because it puts the "wuss" in acronym wordplay... or should that be WuSy? Lastly, SyFy apparently has no desire to acknowledge the fans that made them successful. Instead, if you read this article, you'll see SyFy execs go out of their way to actually insult fans of the station, calling sci-fi fans geeks and losers more-or-less. Damn son, the people doing your PR should perhaps evolve past cro-magnun, because homo sapien PR folks know who butters their bread. Can you say fan...base?

The president of SyFy, Dave Howe, implies their new programming moves away from sci-fi flavored programs, however SyFy's new programming agenda looks no different than before. When the original Sci-Fi Channel (which was really quite excellent) was taken over a number of years back, they already abandoned most sci-fi programming and diluted it with more fantastical or completely off-target stuff like wrestling. Basically, they've in no way created something new.

I think it's ironic that the very shows that have kept them on the map SG-1, Farscape and BSTG -- to name the most obvious ones -- are all sci-fi shows (some more fantastical than others mind you), so what's with their dislike of sci-fi SyFy? Suffice it to say that more horrifically bad SyFy original movies, more wrestling, and more reality shows won't save your asses if you lose your fanbase. Oh wait, if your fanbase reads your comments you've probably already lost them.

I do believe that SyFy is living in it's own fantastical realm. Your new demographic will probably watch another station, since you're like about 10 others now, and your old demographic will have to find a new channel since you don't respect or want them. Way to go SyFy, you WuSy...you've lost a fan for life!

Wow! I can't believe one of the great pieces of fiction (and not so fiction), William Gibson's Neuromancer turns 25. I've read it twice -- once back around 1986 and later around 2000. This was one of the first "cyberpunk" novels I read. I personally think for me and many of my friends, it defined a generation. Hats off to a true master.

Mind you, Gibson is never an easy read, but once you adapt to HIS way or thinking and wrap your head around the ideas, it's immersive, brainy, raw and provocative. Much of the world described has come to pass, and some "thankfully" hasn't. Here's a nice write up by Mark Sullivan about what did and did not come to pass in Gibson's future.