Saturday, April 20, 2013

A-Z Geek (R): The International Grand Master

During the April A-Z Challenge, I’m posting six days a week, following the letters of the alphabet. I will share all the movies, books and games I watched, read and played--all the influences that turned me into the geeky person and writer I am today.
GAMES
Red Planet (1990s): This was a ‘new’ kind of arcade game where the player sits in a fully enclosed pod, the door is closed and all you have is two screens, many buttons, joysticks and rudder pedals, made to simulate the controls of a Mars mining ship. Basically it’s a racing game and you compete against other players also sitting in their individual pods. The graphics were shoddy at best, but the camaraderie amongst the players was awesome. This is where I met my husband. I also entered the Nationals and won. I went to America and competed against both the Americans and the Japanese… and won! I now own the title of International Grand Master. I was the only girl who competed. Such a buzz.

Riven ( 1996): This is the sequel to Myst. Beautiful graphics and immersive story and great puzzles to solve.


BOOKS
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011):
I fully recommend this for everyone who has a love of the 80s and computer games. An intelligent read set in the future with great world-building and nostalgia. This is a true geek indulgence.

TV
Red Dwarf (1988-99):
A British scifi comedy set in space with an unlikely crew of misfits. The early seasons are particularly funny.


Do you own any unusual titles? What would your 'R' picks be?

#AtoZChallenge

31 comments:

Fairview said...

No R titles but I love your story of red planet, oh International Grand Master!

Rachna Chhabria said...

Can't think of a R title. The title of International Grand Master is cool. Suits you :) Looking forward to co-hosting with you Lyn.

mooderino said...

What? There's so much information here, my mind is reeling. There was a racing game with pods is the least of it. They had international championships? You won? That's how you met your husband!?!?

mood
(apologies to Nancy for the punctuation overload)

Cynthia said...

I'm often curious to see how other people define and interpret the '80s (big hair, bright pink lipstick, disco balls!) so Ready Player One sounds interesting.

Sheena-kay Graham said...

The only Red Planet I know of is the alien movie. I don't know any of these but I bet others will. Nice post today.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That is amazing! Congratulations on the championship. I take it your husband played as well? Was he all right with you being better than him?

Cathrina Constantine said...

Wow, Lynda, you stumped me on this one. I'm not familiar with any....

M.J. Fifield said...

Ready Player One is such a cool book. I'm a total 80's child, so it was a perfect read for me.

Unknown said...

I'll take a look at your book recommendation. How has the challenge treated you so far?


Damyanti @Daily(w)rite Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
AZ blogs on Social Media

DEZMOND said...

you've played so many games, Lyndy....

Nana Prah said...

This is an action/adventure movie, but I loved it back in the day. Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Al Diaz said...

Wow, you're amazing! I've never heard of games championships but you have so many awards! I think that's just awesome :D

cleemckenzie said...

You've stumped me on all of these. I haven't seen one of them. I have to get my movie mojo going.

M Pax said...

Wow on the Red Planet wizardry. That's awesome.

I've heard of Ready Player One, but haven't read it yet. And have seen a few Red Dwarfs.

Kern Windwraith said...

Red Dwarf was hilarious! Man, I loved that show. Ready Player One sounds interesting--will have to check that out.

Teresa Cypher said...

I don't think I own any unusual tiles, Lynda. Off the top of my head, I really liked Race to Witch Mountain, and (The) Rundown with "The Rock" , Roadhouse, and the original Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze. And recently, I like Red with Bruce Willis. :-)

It's fun--and challenging to come up with answers for your posts. :-)

Sherry Ellis said...

I think it's funny that you met your husband playing video games! That's what my husband is doing right now (playing video games).

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

lol, yes indeedy :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, he played as well. He claims he would've beaten me had he been at the championships but other commitments pulled him away ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Mighty fine. I've enjoyed writing up the nostalgic posts.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

yeah, a true gamer.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Oh! Good pick! I loved Romancing the Stone as well!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Ha! I recently watched the original and the remake of Red Dawn. I hadn't seen either previously. I have to admit, though, they both sent me to sleep, but the original was better (no surprises).

Unknown said...

Wow! Thats a cool way to meet your husband! Lovely post!

Suze said...

'Ready Player One' was a good read.

Suze said...

I meant, 'Ready Player One' was a good read, International Grand Master.

(little bow)

Patricia Stoltey said...

I missed reading a whole bunch of posts while out of town last week, so I'm scrolling back through and trying to catch up but not leaving comments on each one. I haven't read ready Player One -- sounds like it might be a good one.

DWei said...

Red Alert 2 comes to mind. One of the best RTSs.

Unknown said...

I'm a fan of both Riven and Myst; probably the only games I've really gotten into since Zelda (yes, the old one)

Unknown said...

Yes, I liked playing Riven. However, the coolest thing is the fact you won the championship! How cool is that!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

(giggle)