Top 3 Geek Things of 2011: Direcow Edition

Here we are, having jumped off the cliff that was 2011 and headfirst in 2012. It’s been another crazy year for us at HereBeGeeks, and while Kakita, Peter and Melvin have shared their thoughts about what made 2011 a real geeky one for them, it took me a while to gather my thoughts (mostly because I was doing the most heinously ungeeky things in general for a bit) but here they are, uncensored for the most part.

2011 marked a huge year in general for HereBeGeeks in general – we started the year with a mention in 8Days which was, and still is, a huge honour – and since then we’ve been recognised on the streets and by bigwig geek creators which honestly had us all chuffed and feeling like we’re oh so important (we’re not). And looking back, it’s amazing to see how the field continues to grow in its own way even with supposed lack of support or with the constant grumbling – I believe the geeks in Singapore have tons to offer the world. And admittedly, even with a three man team and tons of help from our great friends like Melvin, Sarah and Charles + Kim Shermaine, there’s still a lot out there for us – things that we just haven’t had the time to catch up on. 2012 is here – and now with any luck, we can kick it into some kind of high gear.

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic

It might not have attained the meme-level of Skyrim, but one thing is for sure – this is the only game that I would have taken an arrow to the knee for. We’ve previously taken a look at the beta and Kakita’s had a look at it after a week into the game but to sum it all up here, SWTOR is the amalgamation of so many things for a geek – the expanded Star Wars universe, MMORPGs and BioWare goodness. I doubt anybody now has any reason to miss Star Wars Galaxies (RIP) – and let’s put it this way. We had maybe 1, 1.5 people in my close circle of friends excited about Skyrim – but we have 5 of us playing SWTOR (casually). The recipe to ruin friendships and marraiges? It’s gotten to a point where for some reason some of us decided to mashup Dance Central 2 songs with SWTOR. Possibly a bit weird.

2. On stage with Kieron Gillen

This is really my chance to share my experience during STGCC 2011, where I actually got to share the stage with Kieron Gillen. I’ve previously shared my thoughts on him pre-STGCC, but what can I say, really – being on stage with him was a blast! You can watch me dribble all over myself in awe in the video above (thanks to Sarah) but STGCC was big for me totally thanks to meeting him. It was also here that he shared his thoughts about a Journey Into Mystery Christmas issue, and it came into fruition! Mmmm, fruitcake.

3. My big fat geek wedding

I’ll have to admit – it’s not quite like having Darth Vader march you down the aisle, or having the 501st being your guard of honour, or having your vows read in Klingon, but to me, I think we managed to strike a fine balance between having a traditional “let’s-not-freak-our-parents-out” + “we-want-it-just-a-little-bit-hipster” + “hey-we-gotta-be-geeks-anyhow!”. From starting our day by stripping down to our superhero identities, to having a Tardis red packet box and ending off with a Dance Central song – I’d have to say this was the topping on the cake that was 2011 and really made it a year to remember.

Doesn’t Kakita make a pretty good Andrew Garfield?

Too bad it wasn’t bigger on the inside to hold more red packets.