Quake: Polygons, Monsters, and Censorship

The Beer Garden features a sordid tale about Quake I, II and III, including:

• Bizarre product tie-ins: for the release of the movie "Anaconda" Sony pictures released through their website an add-on level for Quake titled "Temple of the Mist" were you made your way trough an ancient temple searching for the altar that holds the key to escape. Obviously, before escaping you have to go mano a mano with the Anaconda itself...weird uh?
• The original Quake was supposed to have a medieval environment, but a few months before its release, most of the medieval-role playing aspects of the game were removed (i.e. one of the weapons was going to be a sword and there was a dragon to fight with) and the result was a game with guns but such enemies like the fiend or the death knight (these were included in the original project).

Marcell Mars on Sci-Fi

Marcell Mars, net.guru of Multimedia Institute (net.culture club mama) and Creative Commons Croatia fame, talks about the influence of Science Fiction on free culture in an exclusive statement for Science Fiction Observer.

The Matrix - a Family Tree

Cyberpunk Neuromancer Johnny Mnemonic Ghost in the Shell (^) + the New Testament	+ martial arts Snake in the Eagle's Shadow Bruce Lee The Karate Kid Ninja Scroll	+ some more science fiction Aliens (tunnels) Blade Runner (rooftops & coats) Men in Black (cool eyewear, dress in black, secret reality to be uncovered) Predator (machineguns) & The Terminator (ditto + evil machines + wreck corporate building; have chopper outside)
= The Matrix

Klingons - a Family Tree

Neanderthals Cranium of a Neanderthal	+ assorted "barbarian" or "savage" experiences	+ Japanese Samurai
= the Klingons

New SF Observer Header

I used the following images, courtesy of Science Fiction Paperback Covers, for the new header of the Science Fiction Observer:

• The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt ($)
• City by Clifford D. Simak ($)
• The Princess of the Atom by Ray Cummings ($)
• Rogue Queen by L. Sprague de Camp ($)
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov ($)
  
• The Man Who Japed by Philip K. Dick ($)
• Saturday Evening Post Fantasy Stories ($)
• 1984 by George Orwell ($)
  

Star Trek: More Video Fun

A number of humorous Star Trek-references have recently surfaced, besides the Monty Phyton and the Holy Grail parody. Some are direct references such as All-Ages Kirk/Spock Archive, and some deal with Star Trek content as part of other issues, like the "White and Nerdy" video by Weird Al Yankovic (quiz!).

But these outsiders have serious competition by none other than the series themselves. From Captain Picard singing the Alphabet of Love, to a whole documentary piece devoted to humor and bloopers, hosted by William Shatner: