THE INTERNET IS FOR SPORE:
Last geek I told you about the Spore creature creator, which had just made its debut. Since then, that sample of the highly anticipated evolution sim made quite a splash on the Internet. Sure, first it was the phallic creations that got plenty of attention, but those got boring quickly (even when EA threatened to ban users who uploaded naughty creatures). There were over a million creatures uploaded to the Sporepedia and plenty were interesting for other reasons.

Some gamers uploaded creatures that looked like video game controllers. Isn't that rather like having your sims play The Sims?

Those weren't the only inanimate objects to be turned into Spore creatures:

I found these creatures that resemble produce super kawaii (not that it stopped me from having a snack of steamed artichoke and a berry salad).

Does this mean I'll be able to create a world populated by vicious, carnivorous tomatoes in Spore? Can. Not. Wait.

GAYMERS ASSEMBLE!:
Hopefully this will be the amazing resource it promises to be: GayGamer.net net is looking to compile a list of all LGBT guilds and clans to be found. It's no fun signing on to a game where you don't know anyone and find yourself debating how honest you should be with any teams you may find, so hopefully this'll make it easier to find other LGBT gamers to connect with.

After the break: Pride comes to Paragon City, Metal Gear Solid goes gay and more!

• What's gay at the NY Comic Con?
  Who's attending the New York Comic Con, this weekend? Queer comics advocates Prism Comics will be helping to bring some gay sensibility to the gathering. On Sunday, Ivan Velez, Jr. leads a "Gays in Comics" panel that asks, "Glorified, Gentrified or Ghetto-Sized?" to a group that includes Phil Jimenez, Tim Fish, Stephen Sadowski and Jose Villarrubia. And on Saturday, don't miss the acclaimed Ariel Schrag's appearance at Jim Hanley's Universe.
  
  
• 8 Years, 100 Million, 35 titles:
  Electronic Arts bragged this week that The Sims franchise has sold over a hundred million units. There are a lot of reasons behind the game's popularity, I think one important factor is that you can't find a more gay inclusive video game (though it's probably just as important to note how gay friendly its fanbase is). I still remember the thrill of picking up the first Sims game on the release date and figuring out that, yes, you could have same-sex romances. That gets me thinking to how a gay couple in the first game could only move in together, while The Sims 2 let same-sex couples become unioned and enjoy the same wedding ceremonies... I wonder if any more equality will be seen by gay sims in the upcoming third game.
  
  
• Old Kingdom, New Screenplay:
  While I'm not sure if the devoted fanbase for Garth Nix' fantasy novel Sabriel includes a gay segment, I always figured that to be the case -- don't gay geeks have a weakness for brainy heroines from Nancy Drew to Barbara Gordon? Sabriel fans this week got some promising news this week as Nix announced that he's working on a Sabriel screenplay with gay ally Dan Futterman. Normally, I'd be worried about getting the tone right but considering the last time Futterman adapted a novel into a screenplay we got Capote, I think the project is starting out on solid ground. On and since I've got an excuse, here's the handsome Mister Futterman:

  

  Any Sabriel fans out there? (And who would you cast to play the young, hunky and easily befuddled Prince Touchstone?)
  
  
• Raise your hand if 'Huh?':
  Well, here's a very surprising bit of news, the next game in the Mortal Kombat series will be a Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game. Honestly, I'm having a hard time imagining this working out to either brand's advantage -- Mortal Kombat wouldn't be the same without the fatalities (even the repetitive ones from Armageddon) while the idea of The Flash (sadly, Wonder Woman is now an inapt example -- thank you very much Infinite Crisis) punching off his enemies heads doesn't sound like the DC game I've been waiting to play. On the other hand the idea of Dick Greyson battling Johnny Cage does have its appeal (or how about Black Canary versus Mileena). What do you think?
  
  
• "Get out of the house and play (in someone else's house)!" :
  I only just saw this year-old ad for the pen & paper Dungeons & Dragons and I'm curious what people think:

  

  (In case the image is too small, the ad reads, "If you're going to sit in your basement pretending to be an elf, you should at least have some friends over to help. Get together. Roll some dice. Have fun.") It feels a bit full circle to see the P&P RPG calling another type of game anti-social. That gave me a chuckle, at least.
  
  

• Brilliant but uncanceled:
  Here's some very good news for DC fans, the critically-adored series Manhunter will be returning in June. Out writer Marc Andreyko is still writing the series, thankfully. Meanwhile, Michael Gaydos, who gave us some really dramatic work on Alias, it taking over the art duties.

  

  Manhunter was the series where Obsidian's sexual orientation was finally confirmed to readers, after years of speculation. There's no word yet if Obsidian will continue to appear in the title, but does JSA really need him to appear in the background of crowd scenes every couple issues?
  
  
• Plus it's hosted by Guy Smiley's CGI brother:
  Could Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz be the gayest party game ever? According to GayGamer's tiny dancer, the game's trivia questions reveal a definite gay sensibility -- what other Playstation game would expect you to know Elizabeth Taylor's eye color? Sounds fabulous.
  
  
• Praising Strangers:
  Among this year's GLAAD Media Award winners is Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise which just wrapped up its 14-year run and I couldn't be happier to see the title end on that note.
  
  I'm a huge fan of SiP, which was a big soap opera where all the old romantic cliches are thrown at a same-sex couple (I tuned in at the point where Katchoo deliberately broke Francine's heart because she was afraid her mob past would put Francine in danger.) In honor of the win, I'll share a panel from my favorite moments from the series:

  

  It turns out that the woman is the ghost of Francine's ancestor who killed herself after giving in to family pressure not to marry the man she loved. I just love how Moore found such an emotional way to compare the struggle for same-sex marriage rights with the bigotry interracial couples once faced. Now, if only someone would create a gay male comic like SiP.
  
  
• What was that line about underestimating the intelligence of people?
  A few weeks ago, I mentioned Get Off the Internet, a blog collecting the dumb things said on message boards. Lately, it's been taking frequent aim at homophobic fools, including people outraged at Angels in America being taught in schools and a guy still bitter about that Rawhide Kid comic. Not only is this turning out to be the funniest thing since the Fanboy Rampage blog closed shop, it's giving some people a long-overdue public shaming.
  
  
• It's the return of the fanboys with an easily-threatened masculinity:
  Sigh. Well, last year there was a big hubub when photorealistic painter Alex Ross created a cover portrait of Citizen Steel that realistically depicted the kind of bulge you'd see on a guy wearing skintight spandex and a chorus of straight fanboys hilariously turned into Aunt Sassy, howling "I don't need to see that!" Apparently, pink jogging suits are back in fashion because there's another freak-out over an Alex Ross cover (warning site may be NSFW due to, uhm, photoreferences). Here's the cover in question

  

  It took me a moment for figure out what the fuss was about. How come straight guys are so much better at spotting pickle?

  
  
  

• By now all the 2d6 jokes have been used up:
  It speaks to his influence that a wide variety of sites were saddened to hear of the death of Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax this week. It's difficult to imagine what video games, comics, television or film would be like without the influence of D&D. Where would video games be now if Gygax's prototypical role playing game weren't around to inspire series like Ultima or The Bard's Tale -- or innovative games that mixed the RPG with elements of other types of games like the Grand Theft Auto series? What would our media be like if Gygax's game hadn't inspired an entire generation of nerds to become storytellers? It's hard to imagine what the pop culture landscape would be like today if not for the influence of D&D, a game that's colored the experiences of people who've never been in the same room as a Dungeon Master's Guide.
  
• The postman's a person in you Simberhood, in your Simberhood:
  This week, EA Games put up a teaser site for The Sims 3 and some details about the game have already begun leaking out. How do you top a sequel that added genetics and realistic life spans to Will Wright's dollhouse game? This time Sims will live in a fully seamless neighborhood. Even more interestingly, the need meters have been thrown out, breaking the hunger/bladder/sleep cycle of the game.
  
• Oh, I'll be watching:
  The upcoming Watchmen movie is probably the most scrutinized comic book movie projects, considering how the original comic is so challenging and respected. We got a visual idea of what to expect when pictures of the cast in costume came out this week. Check out a side-by-side comparison with the comic book versions. The Comedian is looking spot-on and I can easily see Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role, but I wonder if Night Owl looks right in a different side-by-side:

  

  I'm can't tell if they dropped Night Owl's paunchiness or if that picture comes from a deceptive angle. (Not that photographing a dark costume against a dark background is helpful.) Admittedly, taking Patrick Wilson and giving him a costume with a paunch is rather like buying fillet mignon and making hamburgers but that paunch does go far in defining the character. My optimism is holding up, so far.
  

• We've got movie sign!
  It's been a heavy week for comic book movie news. The most exciting bit for me is that the Justice League movie is set for a 2009 debut. Rapper Common will get to don Green Lantern's power ring while The O.C. hottie Adam Brody is cast as The Flash. Physically, Brody's pretty far from TV's Flash, John Wesley Shipp:





The difference seems apt, however, since we're talking The Flash, who probably should have more of a runner's physique.

Meanwhile, some new teaser images for the Wolverine movie hit the Internets this week. Maybe it's the well-defined back, but this one has me thinking of Mark Sivestri's sexy New X-Men cover:





We also heard little more news about the Watchmen movie, as the DVD will include a Tales of the Black Freighter animated short narrated by Gerald Butler. While it may seem odd to be discussing the bonus features on the Watchmen DVD when the movie hasn't come close to hitting theatres, that actually feels rather apt considering the way the original Watchmen comic was full of bonus features itself.


• Number one on the threatdown: Orcs!:
  I so love it when my geekdoms collide. Apparently, the World of Warcraft CCG considered including a character card inspired by Steven Colbert. The card is pretty brilliant:
  





"He's putting the hoard on notice." Heh.

Still, my inner gamer nerd can't help but shake my head and think about how "truthiness" would throw off the game balance. Then again, it's been ages since I've played a CCG, so maybe things have changed and truthiness usually puts Colbert in God Mode during his interviews, so maybe its all apt after all.


• The week in fanart and mashups:
  Brilliant. You've got to check out these comic covers of Vertigo comics re-imagined as Silver Age classics. (Thanks Heidi) Here's Y: The Last Man:
  





It's been ages since I've played Doom but if there's a mod giving you the Rick Roll of Death as a weapon, I could dig up my old 3.5" floppies. (Of course, finding a floppy drive is another question.) Ah, yes, demons do fear classic Stock/Aitken/Waterman...

And while we're discussing cool fan art, let me draw your attention back to Torchwood Babiez, where part two has already come out. Not only does the series manage to get even cuter, we've got a twist ending to this one.


• Link of the week:
  This could be my new favorite blog not named after Elton John: Get Off the Internet is a new blog collecting the best in people saying stupid things online. Think of it as the new Fanboy Rampage blog except that now it's not just comic readers making fools of themselves.
  
  

• Gotta kiss them all... and kiss them multiple times, by my count:
  When it debuted in 2006, the ability to kiss boys in Bully was an optional feature that had to be discovered by players exploring every possibility in the game. However, now that the game is coming out for the X-Box, getting a kiss from one of the boys of Bullsworth Academy is a step towards earning X-Box gamerscore points (which offers bragging rights to other X-Box Live users). How's that for progress, games rewarding you for same-sex snogging. (There's also an achievement for kissing female classmates, that offers the same amount of points.)
  
  
• Small screen Paradise:
  Over at our sister site, thelinster shares the exciting news that a Strangers in Paradise TV series is in the works, with some fantasy casting for Francine and Katchoo. (My vote for Katchoo would be Katee Sackhoff, since the first time I saw her on Battlestar Galactica, I thought of the lesbian hitwoman/artist.) That got me thinking about casting the series' hot guys. I'm at a loss at actors the right ethnicity and age to play David Qin, except maybe Ivan Shaw, recently seen on The Book of Daniel. What do you think?

  

  I really like the thought of the GLAAD Media Award winner hitting the small screen and it'll be interesting how the series' gay themes would change in the adaptation -- I thought SiP creator Terry Moore showed a growing understanding of queer issues as the series went on and I'd love to see how he'd tell the story from the beginning now that his understanding of gay issues are more complex.
  
  
• A Rock Band party out of bounds:
  I'm incredibly bad at Guitar Hero so my interest in the multiplayer Rock Band hasn't been very high. However, hearing that the next set downloadable songs includes The B-52s raises my interest. Any chance a DDR player would find the drums easier than a string instrument?
  
  
• We're getting close to the point where the phrase "Everybody loves Tim Gunn" isn't hyperbole:
  This seems to be the week for my nerd crushes to reveal an appreciation for Tim Gunn. A few days after Tim appeared on The Daily Show, we got to see Grant Imahara do an imitation of Tim on Mythbusters' second James Bond special. Unfortunately, I haven't found a clip of it online, so I'll just have to share a screencap:

  

• Tales of what should be an age left behind:
  One of the biggest challenges of sharing a love of comics with someone who doesn't already enjoy that hobby comes when you encounter the comic shops that live up to those Android's Dungeon stereotypes. (I've certainly made my share of apologies for saying "Hey, can we make a quick stop to check out that comic shop?" to friends.) Sadly, this story of visiting Comics Ink in Culver City brings back those bad memories:

  "Amazing Spider-Man" #548... was not bad, despite what the retail troll behind the counter was telling customers about it. "You got cancer by touching it," he told one man buying a copy. "You've read it, but now you've got eye cancer. It's like visual AIDS."

  Sigh. "Visual AIDS." Who thought I could be nostalgic for "Worst. Comic. Ever."
  
  
• YALSA finds a Hero for young adult readers:
  We've mentioned a few times how YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, has been inclusive of gay-themed books, something that can really be a help when you're young and struggling to accept yourself. Here's another example that's been brought to my attention, among their 2008 list of Best Books for Young Adults, is Perry Moore's gay superhero tale Hero.
  
  
• Link of the week:
  I heard that popular webcomic Shortpacked had a gay character, but when I checked it out it was in the middle of a storyline that left me a bit confused if the character really was gay or if it were just a way to turn down his co-worker, Robin. However, Pink Kryptonite alerted me to the current storyline, which has Robin scheming to set Ethan up with a regular customer, Thad:

  

  I was up late last night getting caught up on Shortpacked and, Ethan is a fun character to follow. I'm hoping he and Thad get together, they'd be a fun 'opposites attract' couple.
  
  

• Does Sonic Lipstick go with my skin tone?:
  The LA Times chatted with Russel T. Davies about his role in bringing the Doctor Who to its current level of success. There's a little bit in the article for every fan of a Doctor Who franchise but I'm most excited about the news that The Sarah Jane Adventures will show up on The Sci-Fi Channel in April. I really liked what we saw of Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion" (the Doctor Who episode that also gave us a baddie played by Anthony Steward Head), so I've been hoping that SJC wouldn't be the only Who spin-off not to make it stateside. The article also confirms earlier reports that the fourth Doctor Who season will arrive on The Sci-Fi Channel in April.
  

• Then again, I could see Hollywood deciding to cover him up in a wetsuit:
  I remember back when I played the Hollywood Stock Exchange, that proposed Submariner movie seemed like an odd idea that wouldn't get past the concept stage. However, the film seems to be moving forward after all: late last week, comic blogs were buzzing over news taht Jason Statham discussed playing the Altantean Prince. I was never a big fan of the grumpy gus that Namor usually was, so the best part about this news? An excuse to post pictures of Statham!

  

  If Statham swims as gracefully as he delivers a flying kick, he'll make a great Namor ... and, if I remember right, this is a production of Lionsgate, who struck a deal with the Writers' Guild. If I'm right on that account, this production won't be affected by the writers' strike.
  

• Too bad you can't fly a rainbow flag over your ship:
  For those of you are playing the recently-launched Pirates of the Burning Sea, the crew at GayGamer have formed a gay pirate society. Go out there and plunder yourselves some booty together.
  

• A new Calibur of video game stud:
  Namco just released new screencaps from the fourth Soul Calibur game and ... well, I'll admit I haven't played Soul Cailbur since encountering the first installment was in arcades, but when did the game start having guys as hot as these new characters?

  

  Between this and guys found in the Virtua Fighter and Mortal Kombat (ah, original edition Johnny Cage) series, I'd say Capcom is falling behind ... Will Ryu and Guile ever look this good?
  

• The Middleman cometh:
  A while back, I mentioned that ABC Family was looking at adapting indie comic The Middleman as a series with gay-fave Matt Keeslar in the lead role. This week, ABC Family announced that they're going ahead with the series. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait for the writers (and for SAG, probably) to get a fair deal before any news on when the show will make its debut.
  

• How could I not get excited about a show with"Super Big Fun" in the title:
  I'm a huge fan of G4's Ninja Warrior, an obstacle course show which has a campy silliness, announcers with a flair for melodrama, outrageous costumes and plenty of shirtless guys. (Extra points to G4 for avoiding the subtle racism that comes up sometimes when these odd Japanese shows get adapted for American networks... yes, MXC, I'm looking at you.) So I'm pretty thrilled to hear that the network is giving us more Ninja Warrior-like shows with an upcoming programming block called "Duty Free TV", which will feature unusual shows from around the globe (though the first two new shows are Japanese).
  

• Are you up to the challenge of Mount Midori?
  And speaking of Ninja Warrior, G4 is holding its second American Ninja Challenge, seeking viewers who deserve to go to Japan and represent the United States in the next Ninja Warrior competition. I'd love to see a gay man win the challenge, so if you know someone strong enough to defeat the Warped Wall or the Salmon Ladder, why not get them to send a video? It'd be great to have someone to cheer from here. (Also, I really want to know if Toshihiro Takeda is just as cute in real life as he is on the TV.)
  
  

  

  Okay not the best picture, but a total cutie even in a bad picture.
  
  The first American Ninja winner, Colin B. is pretty easy on the eyes, too:

  

• The same old song:
  Sigh. As usual, we've got people complaining in the media about sex and violence in video games who seem to be repeating what other people are saying instead of judging the game independently. First off, the release of Bully on other platforms in the UK is bringing up all the same complaints we heard before Bully ever hit store shelves. That seems pretty silly now since most of those concerns didn't show up in the actual game. I guess we should be glad no one's complaining about the boy-kissing that also goes on in Bully.
  
  Meanwhile, the lesbian-inclusive Mass Effect has become a target for conservative pundits. It started when one conservative news site claimed claimed the game had "explicitly graphic" love scenes, with another columnist saying the game "can be customized to sodomize whatever, whoever, however the game player wishes". Bastion of journalistic credibility, Fox News picked up the story, prompting (Mass Effect publisher) EA Games to demand a correction. Unsurprisingly, Fox News' first response was a disingenuos one. It'll be interesting to see how that develops...
  

• It's another list for us to obsess over:
  The guys at GayGamer.net have announced their 2007 Video Game Awards. If you want to get straight to the gay in the gay geek, Nathan Drake from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is their hottest male game character while the Chopin-themed RPG Eternal Sonata and the lesbian-inclusive Mass Effect are tied for Gayest Game of the Year. I can't disagree with the assessment of Nathan Drake, he was easily a contender for my list of sexy video game guys. To put it simply:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It's nice to be invited, at least:
  During our winter break, Marvel had a video interview with gay writer Allan Heinberg recorded during the Marvel Creative Summit. Unfortunately, Heinberg has no new Young Avengers projects for us to get excited over (he does discuss the upcoming Young Avengers Presents miniseries, which has different writers tackling the characters) but it's great to see Marvel promoting Heinberg's work.
  
  
• Where every day is 'Talk Like a Pirate Day':
  The highly-anticipated pirate MMO game Pirates of the Burning Sea is wrapping up its open beta, opening up to customers who pre-ordered the game on Monday. According to GayGamer, the game has a romance aspect that includes same-sex couples, which I believe gives PotBS another unique distinction over most other MMOs.
  
  
• Hey, there was a video game for The Restaurant:
  One of the ways that video game blog Kotaku wrapped up 2007 was a funny look at the missed chances to make movie-inspired video games. I have to admit, that has me thinking about some of the movies we discussed at AfterElton in the past year. Considering how much I loved the film, anything related to Hot Fuzz could catch my attention. Than again, they could probably catch my interest if they slapped a Hot Fuzz label on the ET video game.
  
  On the other hand, if we were to look at television, since That Mitchell and Webb Look is coming to BBC America, I think Numberwang: The Home Game would be just grand:
  
  

• Link of the week:
  Let me introduce you to the next thing to drain away at your productivity. Chain Factor is the latest addictive little webgame to grab my attention. Chain Factor actually manages to find a new dynamic for puzzle games: you have to put numbered tokens in rows or columns with the same number of tokens as the number on the token. A moment to learn, a lifetime to master...
  

• How can a show can go so long with a Pet Shop Boys theme song and no gays?
  This has me cautiously excited. A GayGamer.net reader spots a Craigslist post seeking gay geeks for a show that "will teach (gay geeks) how to have 'game' with other guys". The ad mentions Beauty and the Geek after promising a prize that just happens to be the same as what BatG offers. Hmmmm. I've wondered what a gay version of the show would be like, though considering how badly this past season's "girl geek" twist went, I don't have high expectations for a gay twist.
  

• We can add Street Fighter to the list of LGBT-inclusive games:
  Uhm, wow, I never heard any speculation about the gender of Final Fight baddie Poison, but now a Capcom producer has outed the pink-tressed street thug as transgender. Reading the character's entry on Wikipedia the character was first declared transgender because some people at Capcom were concerned that having a female foe in the game would mean depicting violence against women ... okay, so they decided hitting a transgender wasn't as bad? Poison will be a character in the upcoming Street Fighter IV. I have to admit I'm feeling mixed about this, as it's great to see a transgender character in a fighting game but the rationale leaves a bit to be desired.
  Additionally, I understand Poison isn't the only queer character in the Street Fighter universe, as a character from the original Street Fighter, Eagle, was visually inspired by Freddy Mercury and conceived as gay.
  

• It's not like I really need that vitamin D, anyway:
  The ever-addictive virtual dollhouse The Sims 2 has another expansion pack coming out. This one, Free Time, adds hobbies to the game, including athletics, arts and crafts, sewing and car restoration. Free Time comes out in February, just in time to keep me from getting some sun as the weather starts to warm up.

  

  One of the screenshots shows ballet classes. I can't wait to create my own Billy Elliot.
  

• Gratuitous nudity for everyone in the audience!
  In case Warren Ellis's gay fans need more reason to appreciate his work after creating (and sensitively writing) Apollo and Midnighter, here's a little more. As writer on an animated Castlevania film, he promises some nudity for the franchise's bishounen hero, Alucard. Ellis explains, "Girls and gay men need fan service too." While the animated nudity doesn't really mean much to me (though all the fan art one finds via Google says a whole lot of Castlevania fans would disagree), I do appreciate the sentiment about equal-opportunity fanservice.
  

• "I think he's awesomely gay":
  And while on the topic of comic creators, this is one of the many reasons I adore Gail Simone (who I've been mentioning a lot lately, as she just keeps being newsworthy). Recently, she's been making the case for why Spider-Man "represents repressed homosexuality". Hilarity ensues.
  

• Eternity's approximate release date:
  Eternity's Child, a platform game with nifty backgrounds and a gay character, finally has a release date. Sorta. The game comes out via WiiWare sometime in Q2 2008. I do love the art style in the screenshots we've seen so far: