Modern Zorker (@modernzorker)
Inveterate retro gamer, compulsive keyboard banger, horror addict, 90's comic nerd, 48 consecutive yearly wins at 'not becoming a hobo' life competition.
Vampire For Dummies: Creating Interesting Characters
I love Vampire: The Masquerade. I love the setting, I love the storytelling, and I love the click-clack of the dice. What I do not love is how the Fifth Edition of the game (hereafter referred to a...
AI vs. Human Creativity
A professional writer I follow on the Book of Faces posed a question I feel merits a response. The writer in question I will not name, because I don't want anybody to dogpile their page with rants ...
From the Dreamlist: The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure
For some reason, a metric-ton of you read the long-ass essay I wrote about the future of game preservation. In it, I spoke positively about the steps some companies have taken to ensure at least so...
The Critical Role of Digital Preservation in Gaming History
This is a cross post of @modernzorker/the-critical-role-of-digital-preservation-in-gaming-history by @modernzorker. The rantings of a preservation-minded madman.
The Critical Role of Digital Preservation in Gaming History
Just a heads-up: This is a long read. Bring some popcorn. Intro It's no secret gaming history has a preservation problem. Just as the film industry viewed movies as disposable until the VCR and the...
Michael's Long Box: Secret Files (Angel Entertainment, 1996)
Have you ever thought to yourself, "What if Tomb Raider, but also The X-Files"? If so, then you were probably playing the Area 51 levels of Tomb Raider III on your PC or PlayStation around 1998. Bu...
Warhammer 40,000 Universe vs. Everybody Else: Why 40k (Almost) Always Wins
The Warhammer 40,000 universe (hereafter referred to as just 40k), is absolutely ridiculous, which is why it has so many fans. It's the single largest tabletop miniatures game in the world, and has...
Michael's RPG Shelf: Supplements For Adding Horror and The Horrific to Your Campaign, Part One
Dungeons & Dragons has always been about the eternal conflict between Good and Evil. The idea of heroic heroes cleansing bastions of corruption has existed in pulp fantasy long before Dave Arneson ...
Michael's Retro Stash: Great Xbox/360 Games to Acquire If You Have an Xbox One or Series S/X
Assuming the Xbox One or Series S/X wasn't your first Microsoft console, then you're probably aware there are a few titles from the 360 and original Xbox generation that are backwards compatible wi...
Michael's Retro Stash: The Fifteen Most Difficult Genesis/Mega Drive Games (That Are Not 'Battletoads')
In 2015, we held a combination shouting match/kumite among the Retro Gaming Magazine staff to determine the fifteen most difficult NES games, discounting Battletoads. In the aftermath, the hospital...
Michael's Long Box - The Great Gen 13 Re-Read, Part 15: Deathblow #20 - #21 (Oct./Nov. 1995)
Hey, kids! Remember when Lynch got kidnapped in issue 4 a few months ago while his wards were getting busy on a Coda island and we haven't seen him since? Yeah, me too! Well, if you've been wonderi...
Michael's Long Box - The Great Gen 13 Re-Read, Part 14: Gen 13 #7 (December 1995)
Gen 13 is sticking nicely to its monthly schedule, proving that Jim Lee's Wildstorm imprint can at least deliver their books on time, even if several other studios are still having difficulty doing...
Michael's RPG Shelf: Let's Read Dragon Magazine, Issue 4 (December, 1976)
Wow, it's been over two years since I did this for issue 3 of the magazine. Let's dive in and see what the magazine of Fantasy, Swords & Sorcery, and Science Fiction Gaming has in store for us toda...
Michael's Long Box: Why I Love "Dumb" Comics
This is a cross post of @modernzorker/michaels-long-box-why-i-love-dumb-comics by @modernzorker. Anybody else read comics for all the "wrong" reasons? :D
Michael's Long Box: Why I Love "Dumb" Comics
Hi there! I'm ModernZorker, and if you've ever dropped by the blog before, you're already aware of my not-so-secret shame: I love dumb comics. Cases in point: I'm the moron who... ... is slowly try...