The Nukezilla Sunday Supplement – April 3rd 2011

Every Sunday we’re going to post links to articles we think are interesting from the last week. Sundays are usually very quiet around here, so this seems like the best day to do it. We’re going to link to articles on range of subjects, including videogames, technology, movies, geek culture and much, much more.

Videogames

The New Vegas Diaries: Boone - A Live Tiny World. This a fantastically written post on Fallout New Vegas and specifically the character Boone, who you can acquire as a follower. The writer talks about a lack of involvement in the game she experienced, but Boone’s sad backstory brought the game to life.

A Guide To iOS Twin Stick Shooter Usability – Gamasutra.”Working on a twin stick shooter for iOS? This article goes in-depth into the right techniques for honing this difficult-to-get-right control-scheme on Apple’s touch-only devices, and examines many popular games’ approaches.”

Internet

Is Facebook a Fad? – Slate. The largest social networking site in the world is so entranched in our social make-up that it would be very difficult for it to fail, argues Farhad Manjoo in an interesting look at the future of the Facebook.

Six Reasons Google Books Failed – New York Review of Books. Google Books, the company’s attempts to copy every book ever written, recently collapsed after a judge ruled that they weren’t allowed to simply copy books without permission and then try to seek it out afterwards. This article looks at the details.

Science

The Rise of Dog Identity Politics – NY Mag. This an interesting article of dogs that manages to entwine the narrative of a fiction price with some interesting science and form it into a fascinating article about a dog’s relationship with humans.

Brian Cox: ‘Physics is better than rock’n'roll’ – The Guardian. An interview professor Brian Cox, the lead man on the BBC Wonder of the Universe series. An interesting read about a fairly interesting man.

Culture

Why are nerds so omnipresent in the BDSM scene? – The Stranger. Why are nerds so omnipresent in the BDSM scene? asks this piece (found by our very own Wardrox). “Because,” the argument goes, “being a nerd is excellent training for becoming an active member of the BDSM community.”

Water Rushing Through Cities, The Gentle Version – NPR: Krulwich Wonders. “And so, like water, we flow. Or, let’s try to imagine ourselves flowing. We may not realize it when we’re in the flow, but take a look at these pictures from St. Petersburg. Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko sees city crowds as a stream of hands, heads and coats rushing along stairs and streets, in and out of buildings…rushing like water…”