Tag Archives: science fiction

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Teacups & 1UPs PAX Aus multipack: Single Player Indies

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Welcome back to Teacups & 1UPs, a somewhat-regular column in which I talk about games and pair them with tea. Today is going to be a little bit different from usual, as it’s going to be the first of a three-part PAX Aus special, all about the indie games I picked up and tried out while in Melbourne. Each part will briefly look at a bunch of games I tried and liked, rather than examining one in-depth.

First up: single player games, followed by virtual reality and finally, local multiplayer—because there’s not much I love more than kicking my friends’ asses in ridiculous indie games. Of course, there will also be tea.

So, single player. Leave your friends at home, because it’s time for an adventure.

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Why Science Fiction Must Err on the Side of Diversity

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On Friday the Supreme Court made an historic 5-4 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the entire United States. Although there is still much to be done, this is a huge step forward in the gay rights movement. Heck, it’s a huge step forward in the quest for human rights in general.

But Tosche Station isn’t a blog focused on current events or politics or even social justice (as much as some people would like to believe). We’re a blog about Star Wars, about fandom, about geek culture. That includes science fiction which, believe it or not, is a genre greatly affected by the Supreme Court ruling. Because from now on, if you create any sort of Earth-based science fiction set in the near or far future and you don’t include married couples of both the same and opposite sex, you’re doing it wrong.

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Kickstart Time Traveled Tales

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How would you like a speculative fiction anthology featuring works by authors like Timothy Zahn, Aaron Allston, Mike Stackpole, Janine Spendlove, and Bryan Young? Good news, there’s a Kickstarter for that.

At the $5 level, you’ll get an ebook version of the anthology. At $20, you’ll get the limited Kickstarter edition.

Why I Like Science Fiction, by A Woman

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This weekend, a Tumblr post appeared on my dash, about the 2009 Star Trek movie. Apparently, during the initial planning meetings, the writers asked themselves how to get women to go see this movie.

Wrong.

Women don’t like sci-fi, get it?

I read this and, understandably, got angry. Why, in 2013, do people still labor under the idea that women don’t like sci-fi? That sci-fi is something for only men to enjoy? That men must somehow trick women into seeing sci-fi movies by inserting story elements that appeal to them?

This is a famous science fiction writer saying this, by the way, not some Joe Schmoe nobody’s ever heard of. Go Google Damon Lindelof if you don’t know who he is. I’ll wait. Now that you know his credentials, one would think that he’s been around long enough not to fall into that old “women don’t like sci-fi” trap, right?

Apparently not.

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