Are You a Geek or a Nerd?

"Are you a geek or a nerd?" It's an odd question. Is there any difference between the two? And if so, is it that much of a difference that it means completely different things, or can you use both geek and nerd to the same effect? The answer is as odd as the question.

            Looking back to the early nineteen-hundreds, the word geek had a much more infamous meaning than its contemporary counterpart. Strangely a geek in the early nineteen-hundreds was a carnival performer who's performance consisted of biting the heads off of live animals, mainly chickens. Nowadays, being called a geek leaves a slightly less disgusting taste in our mouths. If you look in any dictionary you will find the definition of the word geek with something along the lines of "socially awkward," or "unpopular." These definitions couldn't be farther than the truth, and it's the other definitions that are much closer to the truth; "interested in and knowledgeable in a certain field," "an enthusiast or expert in a field or activity." These are the definitions that should be focused on when someone is called a geek.

            But what about nerds? For some the candy with the same name will pop into their head, or for others you may picture someone with black-rimmed classes with a pocket protector. Luckily the history and origin of the word nerd is less graphic of an event than geek was, and it came about much later, nearly fifty years. The first known use was a creature from a children's book titled, If I Ran the Zoo, by Theodor Geisel. You may know him by his alias, Dr. Seuss. Amazingly, one of the most used negative labels in society may have been created by one of the least negative people in the history of literature. And what of the contemporary definition of the word nerd? "A person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc." That is a direct quote from merriam-webster.com's definition of a nerd. Much like geek's definition however, a nerd is also interested in a technical field or activity.

            The only difference between being called a geek or nerd is how and why you are calling someone those two things. Are you calling them a nerd because they understand computers to a mind melting degree, or are you calling them that because they don't have perfect hair? How about calling someone a geek? Are they passionate about something, or are they shy and thus you assume they are socially awkward? Labels don't have to mean negative things; we choose to make them mean negative things.

Beta

Probably one of the most important stages in game development is the beta test stage. Beta testing is a simple concept; the game developers allow average players to play the game and report back any glitches in the game. However, it is much more than that as each game is different, and because of this each test is run slightly different, at different times in the test.

            For example, a game currently in development is the Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG for short. The game is in its early stages, and because of this it is not in its public beta stage. To put it simply, it is strictly invitation-only, and you have to apply for an invitation. When games are invitation-only it limits the amount of population stress on the servers, which are where players actually play the game. The testing is focused more on the game itself than on how well it handles with large amounts of players on at a given time.

            Contrary to that, Battlefield 4, which just closed their beta yesterday, had a public beta test.  Releasing a public beta test is a double edged sword; it gives the developers a sense of how well the servers can handle the populations. Since it is a public beta, or open beta as some say, there are no restrictions on if you can participate and it is completely free. Those reasons lead into the second edge of the sword, which is the advertising. What better way to see if people will buy your game than allow everyone to play it for free? Because it is free, more people will have played the game and by the time the release date arrives, word-of-mouth will have spread like wildfire about how amazing the game is. Also, it gives you an edge on the other players who never got the chance to play in the beta.

            There are many other important stages to game development; such as the coding of the game, getting the right voice actors to give your game personality, and many other processes. The chance to be a part of the process of making one of the games you will be playing in the future, that makes the beta test priceless to an average gamer such as myself. 

Beneficial Games?

It is a largely debated fact that video games are beneficial. Just saying they are beneficial and actually proving it, are two different things. I personally believe games have the power to be extremely helpful, even educational, if used under the right circumstances.  I feel I have benefited from the various games I have played.

            One such benefit is the realization of the importance of team work and working together to achieve a goal. Many games have some form of multiplayer or another, and many of those require massive amounts of cooperation in order to win the game. Even in some single player games you are required to keep a team alive, and you will lose if something happens to the team. It installs a sense of responsibility in you; everyone in the squad is responsible for the other, and if you don't watch their backs you will lose.

            Another benefit, and this one I feel is the most important, is video games forcing you to think inside and outside the box. I can't tell you how many times I have been stuck on a puzzle or even on a boss. It's in the hundreds. No matter what, I always manage to figure out the boss' pattern, or solve the puzzle that plagued me in my sleep. Part of why this is the most important benefit is because this also gives you a cocktail of determination and relaxation. There have been many times when my mind is a jumbled mess of a dozen things and I can't focus on anything.  When that happens, I play a game for a while and focus on the strategy, and my mind gets straightened out.

            Of course everyone is different and games may not be beneficial to them, but to write off games completely would be missing a great opportunity. I have learned so much through playing video games, and there is so much more to learn from them if both gamers and non-gamers would open their minds to the possibilities.

A Wet Weekend of Star Wars

Star Wars Weekends at Disney World, Orlando, is quite possibly the biggest event I have ever attended, at least an event relating to the geek community. The weekends are held annually in May and June at Hollywood Studios, one of the four main parks in Disney World. If you have never been to Florida in May or June, here are some words of warning for you; be ready to get wet. When it rains, it pours.

            The fondest memory I have of Star Wars Weekends has to be the day it drenched my family at Walt Disney World. It started off as any other day in Florida in the middle of June; hot and humid. There was enough steamy humidity and grey clouds in the sky to know it was going to rain; this was my first time in Florida so I had no clue what I was in for. After the usual routine of eating Mickey’s buffet breakfast at the resort, including whatever free fruits and snacks they had, we were off for the day’s magic filled adventure.  After getting on one of the many brightly colored shuttle buses that went to each resort and park we watched the ominous clouds roll in quickly, and eventually got off at the Magic Kingdom around midday. It had gotten noticeably darker by the time we got into the bustling town square area, and as we walked towards Cinderella's Castle, it started to lightly rain. Since most parts of the park shut down if it's raining, we decided to head back to the comfort of our resort. We didn't want to waste a day at Disney, and some of us were already grumbling as our moods deteriorated from the gloomy rain.

            As we were dragging ourselves back to our resort, it felt like every step we took the rainfall increased. By the time we got to the underpass of Mickey’s railroad, it was a torrential downpour. Although everyone was miserable because they were soaked to the bone, something caught my eye and I could not help myself as I started to laugh. In the middle of the downpour, someone from the Disney staff had left a bright yellow "Wet Floor" sign on Main Street. It had made the entire day worth it.