Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

If you are hiding under a social media rock, then you probably have not heard about Pokemon Go. It is a game played on cell phones or other portable devices. The Pokemon property has been around about 20 years and has spawned games, television shows, comic books, and movies. The basic rule of the game is to catch imaginary creatures and collect them, power them up (by collecting more of the same), and sending them to fight others. The collecting part requires a player to wander around the real world until they cross paths with a critter. Then, using the device on which they are playing, the critter is captured by flicking a ball on the screen toward the object of their capturing desires. Part of the real world interaction are places of interest or gathering. Pokestops are a sort of refilling station. Gyms are places where rival players can "battle" their Pokemon. No real violence is committed. What Niantic and Nintendo have done is create an intersection of virtual realit...

My social media feeds were filled with unending samples, comments, and memes regarding Pokemon Go! In order to be a well rounded geek, I downloaded the app and proceeded to discover what it was about. Walking around looking at your phone. Stopping occasionally and flipping something on the screen. Walking some more. In other words, it is an exercise program hidden within a conditioned response device. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I purchased the Steam updated version of System Shock. Originally released when computer game graphics were less realistic, that game had a fantastic story line as well as atmosphere. And all these years later, it still spawns some of the same gut reactions. It is not graphically pleasant to watch. But that may not be extremely necessary. It remains to be seen how it will hold up the further I play into the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~