The fourth food group of a nerd diet.

I’m writing a sci-fi superhero space adventure nowadays, so I’m always looking for inspiration in numerous forms.  In past blog posts I’ve mentioned the music, novels, and comic books/graphic novels that have inspired me.  Today I want to talk about the fourth “food group” of my nerd diet: video games.

The Mass Effect games were a huge inspiration.  From the scope of the galaxy, to the design of the weapons and ships, to the characters themselves (who were the most important part of the game).  It’s still the only video game series to make me cry.  Every so often I fire up Mass Effect 3 multiplayer to continue the “stories” of my soldiers, adepts, and sentinels that are going in my head.

I played Star Wars: The Old Republic for some time and found it enjoyable.  Star Wars was my first taste of science fiction and space adventure.  It holds a very special place in my heart, so I welcome any opportunity to fly around in that setting as a Jedi, a soldier of the Republic, or a smuggler.  I was Light Side all the way.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine wasn’t the greatest game I’ve ever played, but it served as an excellent introduction to the sprawling, bleak universe of Warhammer 40K.  I was both fascinated and terrified by the Imperium of Man, and the Orks were awesome despite being a brutal wave of death and WAAAAAAAGH!

I’m very much looking forward to Wildstar.  It looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun, both in gameplay and presentation.  I’ll probably play Exile, but the Dominion calls to that “republic soldier” part of me that enjoys playing an officer in a galactic empire.

There are many more space-related games out there that I’ve been meaning to try, like EVE Online and FTL; and classic 8-bit games I could talk about like Life Force, Guardian Legend, and even Galaga; but I think I’ve covered enough ground for one blog post.

The next time I talk about my nerd diet, it will probably be that fifth food group: TV/Movies.