I was introduced to the show not too long ago myself and was pretty excited to be able to ask Jessica a few questions about the show, how much of her is in her character and her thoughts about being a nerd.

Cherith: To start, I have to admit that I’m curious about the term ‘Nerd’ in general.  I have the Nerd vs. Geek discussion with my friends all the time, and I’m always curious when people brand themselves as one or the other (or both).  I know you call yourself a Nerd, but do you also think you’re a Geek, or do you think there’s a distinction between the two?  (For instance, I generally use the term Geek when referring to things in media/culture and the term Nerd when referring to academia.)

Jessica: I actually refer to myself as a geek the most often, but I think it’s all basically the same thing.  I mean, there are little differences in the interpretations of the words, but I generally have tried to embrace all those words that used to be considered insulting for people who were outside the “norm”. I love being a geek, I think my nerdy moments can be hilarious, and there’s nothing wrong with being a little dorky sometimes.

I saw in one of the bonus clips you’ve done for the show (where you are reading awkward dating experience letters) that you mention that you’re bad at naming things which is why your show characters all have their own names.  That made me curious about how much of yourself is actually in your character Jessica.  Are you mostly the same person – just in awkward situations for the show?  Or are there things that you’ve given her as a character that you don’t have/do?

My character is basically me, but exaggerated for comedic effect.  I am very awkward, but I’m not THAT awkward.  I actually have a filter when I’m in social situations that scare me, for the most part. But Jessica just sort of says whatever pops in her head when she’s nervous, which is way funnier. I’m also not quite as naive as she is in certain situations, but I definitely USED to be.

As a sort of sub-question to that one, as someone who has a lot of data analysis experience I was curious about the episode, “The Bulge” where Jessica rambles a bit about a way to come up with a measurement experiment.  Do your own personal nerdy tendencies go that far?  The same question applies for the Star Trek knowledge Jessica displays, is that your own knowledge, or do you have a big fan on the show’s cast/staff?

Ha. I’m wondering how honest I want to be here.  So I was this guy I had a crush on was at my house once, and he went to the bathroom and it sounded like someone’s yard hose was on full blast.  I’m not kidding. So I sat there thinking “What does that MEAN?!?”  Then, years later, I was writing the Bulge episode and that incident popped in my head, so I had the character Jessica go into an in depth analysis of how it could be measured. I didn’t go that far in real life, but the entire idea of it did occur to me.  The Star Trek knowledge is all mine. I’m a Trekkie from way back.  I’m a nerd/geek to the core. I adore TNG, I’m obsessed with Doctor Who, I love any book with magic, dragons, and/or spaceships, etc…  It goes on forever.  ha ha  If it’s geeky, I probably love it.

I think there’s a lot of Geeky and/or Nerdy people (both men and women) that can relate to the show’s characters experiences.  Was there a specific experience in real life that triggered the idea for the show?  Anyone that’s dated probably has at least ONE awkward experience, so how much of what we’ve seen from Jessica, Candis and Lyndsey’s experiences so far, are based in fact?

The fourth episode, the donut episode, was a particularly ridiculous incident in my real life. Again, we did exaggerate it…but not all that much.  I had wanted to incorporate it into a romantic comedy or something at some point.  Then I decided to make it a little 10 minute short.  The characters are so fun, and there was SO MUCH more awkwardness to mine from my life that we made it a series.  Most of the season 1 episodes are based on real events.  There are a few episodes that grew out of something little, a quote or a small incident.  The IT Guy episode is totally based off of this one day at work when a cute IT guy came in and all the girls at the front desk (I’m the  only single one) were trying to convince me to flirt with him.  I do not flirt well. At all.  So I got to thinking about how the AE characters would react in that situation and it grew into two episodes.  I’m so nerdy that instead of flirting with an actual guy, I wrote a script about a character named after me who flirts with a guy based on that guy.

I’ll admit when watching Season 1, especially with episodes where we see Jessica’s extreme Star Trek knowledge, I was reminded a lot of The Big Bang Theory on CBS (a show I love, and often use as torture for my super nerdy husband).  What do you think of that show and how it portrays the sort of nerd relationship issues in comparison to what you’re doing with Awkward Embraces?

Honestly, I haven’t had a chance to watch Big Bang Theory. I’m very familiar with it and I’ve been meaning to Netflix it, but there are so many shows I need to watch! Our show has been called Sex and the City meets Big Bang Theory, and I’m so flattered by that comparison.  I have no idea how ours is different or similar, but most of my friends are HUGE fans of that show. It really is criminal that I haven’t seen it yet.  I’m embarrassed to admit it!

I think what you’re doing with Awkward Embraces is unique because it’s so specifically dealing with the female side of nerdity and social situations.  Do you think that there is a sort of double-standard in dating or social relationships where it’s more acceptable, or that it’s written off more often when guys are nerdy/geeky?

I think geek women as a consumer culture are very underestimated.  We judge the norm by what we see in our pop culture, and generally it’s been an accepted romantic comedy formula for the bumbling, nerdy guy to get with the hot chick.  Usually, if the nerdy girl gets with a guy she goes through some sort of lame makeover where they take off her glasses and she suddenly looks like a model.  I don’t think it’s done consciously, but generally I feel that the female geek culture hasn’t had much of a voice in pop culture.  People think geek women are a rare magical find, but that’s not actually true at all.  A HUGE number of women are wonderfully geeky, but they haven’t really had much of a voice in the past.  However, I do think that is starting to change.  The internet has opened up a whole new world, and geek women are starting to realize how many other of us there are out there.

Since I write for GamingAngels, it’s only fair I ask about your video game knowledge.  Do you play video games, or would you call yourself a ‘gamer’?  If so, what game(s) would you consider your favorite, or what do you spend the most time playing?

I LOVE old school games. I quickly get addicted to Super Mario World, Mario Kart, Sonic the Hedgehog…etc.  I honestly have a HUGE problem with FPS games.  There’s a trigger, and a joystick, and 8 buttons and I have to hold up the gun, aim the gun, turn around…ACK!  It’s too much!  I can’t keep it all straight.  Give me a left screen to right screen game any day!  ha ha

Is there anything you have in store for Season Two of Awkward Embraces that you can share with us?

Lyndsey and Candis make it their life’s mission to find Jessica her perfect mate.  The result is that they end up putting her in some really unfamiliar situations so we get to see Jessica handle these new, awkward situations.  Candis is actually writing three scripts for us this season.

What do you think the most fun part of making Awkward Embraces has been for you so far?

That is a super hard question.  I do love every part of the process.  Honestly, through making Awkward Embraces I’ve discovered all these fantastic geek men and women who love the show. I’ve made some amazing geek IRL friends, and quite a few virtual ones.  Over the year and a half of working on this show, I’ve really embraced my own geekness and felt a confidence in it that I’ve never had before. I was always so afraid of being singled out or made fun of, that I wasn’t always very open about it.  But the fans of the show have given me so much confidence. I really feel like I’m not alone, and who cares if somebody makes fun of me for geeking out?  I’m having fun.  For the first time in my life I feel completely free to be myself, and that’s an incredible feeling.

For someone that’s never seen the show, but wants to give it a try, is there a specific episode (aside from the first one) that you’d recommend to hook them in?

Ha! Well, if you’re a geek watch Episode #6: The Favorite Episode.  If you aren’t a geek, start with Episode #3: The Bulge.

Have there been any situations you’ve written for the show thus far that you had to cut because you thought people wouldn’t understand, or because they felt too awkward?  Or alternatively, do you try and do things so that they play out in the most awkward way possible?

Oh, yes. I definitely make sure things are as awkward as possible.  ha! I haven’t cut anything or dulled it down, though.  Plus, when I write it, I know that the cast and their improv skills will really make those awkward silences, or side glances or whatever punch up the moment in the perfect way. I’ve got a fantastic group of actors taking these scenes and turning them into brilliant comedy.

Any recommendations for the geeky or nerdy people out there in the dating pool?

I’ve actually been out of the dating pool for quite a while!  I’m still single, but I don’t get out much. I was never very good at dating.  As far as my friends go, online dating seems to work? I hated it, but I have a lot of friends who found their perfect match online.  There are even some dating sites specifically for geeks.  Generally, though, if you want to date and find someone, you need to widen your social circle.  Meet more people, make some new friends.  Get involved in activities you like, and just go out and meet people.  Which is exactly why I haven’t dated in forever. I’m a hermit.  ha ha

Okay, last question.  I know that as teenagers, a lot of us feel like we can’t always been open about our nerdy or geeky habits/loves.  Was there a time that you felt you had to finally own up to yourself (and the people around you) about your nerdy nature, or do you feel like you’ve always been able to be open about it?

Oh, absolutely.  Yes.  I was bullied a lot as a kid and it made me incredibly introverted for a really long time.  Even when I got older and developed more confidence, I never really had other geek friends.  I remember meeting another girl who loved Star Trek TNG and being SO excited.  Just over the moon, because I had never met another girl who liked it as much as me.  So my geekiness has always just sort of been this thing that makes me weirder than other people, and not necessarily something I could share.  But since Awkward Embraces has been out in the world, I’ve met SO MANY awesome geeks.  It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been able to engage in daily geek chats about all the stuff that I love.  God bless the internet.  I don’t feel like a weirdo anymore. It’s a great thing, and I feel like my life and how I view myself has been fundamentally changed, in a really great way.

—

I want to thank Jessica for taking the time to answer my questions.  I know I’m ready for Season 2!  I hope that the rest of you can check out Awkward Embraces and are prepared for the premiere Season 2 on the 18th of February.

Facebook

According to the Experian Hitwise, which is a online measurement service, Facebook achieved 8.9 percent of all visits between January 2010 and November 2010. Google, which was the raining champion in 2008 and 2009, had to accept second place with 7.2 percent of all visits. For reference, this does not include all of Google’s proporities such as Youtube or email.

000000">However, when all of Google’s properties are considered — such as YouTube and email, for instance — Google still reigns as the most visited site at 9.9 percent between January and November 2010. Facebook follows at 8.9 percent. Yahoo and all of its properties ranked third at 8.1 percent.

It comes as no surprises that Facebook has made such a jump to knock out Google from it’s raining position, with the increases in it’s popularity over the last few years, Facebook has been the go to social network for marketing, social connections, or even “Facebook stalking” Don’t lie, you know you’ve done it too. The look up someone you haven’t seen in years, just to find out where they are today.  Also, it the apps such as games to play on the site, more people are logging in on a daily, or a bi-daily bases. As I discussed in an article back in September about how many hours (7.5 hours) students spend in a week on social networking sites such as Facebo

ok, it is no surprise that more and more people are logging in to connect to other, and to keep on contact with them, which made Facebook the most visited site in the US in 2010

This morning, MediaMall Technologies announced a free update to PlayOne Premium which allows users to stream content via Safari. This update allows streaming from PlayOn’s full library using 3G or Wi-Fo connection. This library includes Hulu, NetFlix, YouTube, Comedy Central, Amazon VOD, CBS, ESPN and others.

Existing subscribers will be able to download the update and immediately start streaming content while new users will have a 14 day free trial.  After the trial period, new users will be charged $39.99 for the first year and then $19.99 for each year after. PlayOne Basic subscribers will be required to upgrade to Premium prior to using the new service.

“PlayOn has established itself as the easiest way to consume online video on your home television screen in an affordable way, and now we’re ready to bring that same level of access to consumers on the go,” said Jeff Lawrence, CEO of MediaMall Technologies. “With this new update for iPhone and iPod touch, we are happy to offer a significant amount of additional value for PlayOn Premium customers.”

To try PlayOne using the 14 day free trial, check out www.PlayOne.tv.

“More than half a billion people worldwide have played Bejeweled over the past decade, which still blows our minds,” said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at PopCap and co-creator of Bejeweled. “Their enthusiasm for the game is unquestioned and we thought it would be fun to reward that incredible devotion in some way.”

What way is that, you ask? Well, by holding a contest and giving away prizes, of course!

The Contest: Show Your Bejeweled Love – part of the Bejeweled 10th Anniversary celebration extravaganza
The Entries: Participants are to make a video in some creative way showcasing their love for Bejeweled – in 2 minutes or less –
and post it on YouTube via the “Post Your Video Responses” button found at Bejeweled.com
The Prizes: A limited special edition Bejeweled 10th Anniversary laptop, (one of) 2 Apple iPads, or (one of) 7 complete PopCap
game libraries
The Judges: Members of PopCap’s Art and Game Design teams will judge entries on a combination of presentation, enthusiasm, and creativity.
Time & Eligibility: The Show Your Bejeweled Love contest is open today through May 26th to residents of US, Canada (except Quebec) and the UK ages 18 or older.

Here’s a video that’s under two minutes explaining the contest for videos under two minutes:

For complete contest rules, please visit Bejeweled.com

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The latest addition is animator and character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto. If you don’t know him by name, you may know his works such as chief animation director and character designer for Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083, Golden Boy and Wolf’s Rain. He has also been key animation director for Sword of the Stranger, Escaflowne: The Movie, Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven, but more impressively is the fact that he co-founded the anime studio BONES (producers of Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater, Wolf’s Rain and Fullmetal Alchemist). Toshihiro’s latest project involves being chief animation director on Hero Man and working with Stan Lee. Yep, THE Stan Lee.

Toshihiro Kawamoto will be appearing at autograph sessions, meet-and-greets, and attendee panels. To find out the latest information about Anime Expo 2010, you can visit their website, keep an eye on their Twitter or Facebook, or you could always check them out on YouTube.

Developer: Visceral Games
Genre: Action, Horror
ESRB: M (17+)
Number of players: 1
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: February 9th, 2010

BUY

Killing time while waiting for God of War 3 to release? Itching to feed your hack and slash needs? Maybe tired of the FPS right now? Might I suggest picking up Dante’s Inferno, ASAP!

Dante’s Inferno is loosely based on 14th century Dante Alighieri’s poem Divine Comedy. You take control of Dante as he returns home to discover that his father and fiance are brutally murdered. There he  sees the soul of his fiance, Beatrice, be taken down into the depths of Hell by Lucifer. In an attempt to free Beatrice’s soul he chases her to Hell where you guide him through the Nine Circles of Hell – limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.

While on a quest to save Beatrice you, Dante, realize that this quest is more than saving her from the grasps of Lucifer but to also face his own sins and redeem himself.

Watch as I include some in game footage, talk about the mechanics, the great elements, and some added bonus cut scenes in end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geXc4f4kwSM

By activating the game’s video capture feature, you can automatically take the last 30 seconds of gameplay and upload them to YouTube, effectively meaning that you don’t have to work at recreating that crazy moment – just upload it as soon as it happens.

If you want to take your time, that works too – just compose your shot and capture ten minutes at a time. The best videos will be linked to the official website and might even win prizes. Let us know if you do, okay?

The pair’s antics, captured in a new trailer released today, show Salem and Rios speaking with BBC 1Xtra’s Rampage Crew – Mike Anthony and Treble T – getting Kara Tointon to do their make-up, signing copies of the game for fans (including The Inbetweeners star and robot dance maestro Blake Harrison), rocking out with music act Pint Shot Riot, and generally creating havoc all over the city.

Army of Two: The 40th Day is out on January 15th 2010 on Xbox 360, PS 3 and PSP.

As a bonus, if you haven’t seen it, you might like to see the video of them on their way to London here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG8irFwNqoo (Warning NSFW language in that one.)

This is one of the lost interviews from Casual Connect that I really believe is still relevant. I had the opportunity to speak with Nickelodeon’s AddictingGames about their purpose in the casual and community spaces, thoughts on trends in the casual market, and being a woman and a leader in the gaming industry. Enjoy!

AG: Our goal at Addicting Games is to be the umbrella brand for the higher quality indie casual games, and I think what we’ve done as well is focused on the teenage demographic. There’s a lot of casual game brands that are about women over the age of 40. And what we’ve really done is emphasized that, “Hey there’s a ton of teenagers and aspirational teenagers both old and young who want to play games about being a teenager or just being goofy – being silly.” And it just so happens that a lot of the flash game developer community is very in tune with that kind of humor, that kind of game style – all that and so AddictingGames has really established itself as one of the leading brands in the casual games space by doing just that.

GA: So how does it work exactly? Are you a portal that they can come to with their games and say, “Can people play this here?”
AG: Absolutely. We take submissions from all over the world. We get hundreds of games submitted to us every week. And we did just open up submissions for iPhones as well. What we do though, that’s different from say like a Facebook platform or even YouTube where they’re totally open and everything that’s submitted gets published, we exert editorial control. And so what we do is we look at the games and say, “Does this fit the Addicting Games brand? Is this something that we really want to be part of the Addicting Games family?” And we’ll launch games on our site, and in some cases we will pay up front for the license to that game and that license includes including our brand more deeply in that game and incorporating our community features more deeply into the game. This way the game is a much deeper part of what we do. As well, the developer – when they participate in that program, they qualify for our developer bonus plan. Which means that the end of every quarter, all of the games that have incorporated this brand and the community features, the top 25 of those games split a portion of the revenue that was generated by all these games. So this is an example of how we are really trying to reward quality in the game development.

GA: So is this specifically Flash games?
AG: We have launched community games lately, we have some Shockwave games too. I would say right now, the majority of the kind of really funky, cool, silly game development community is in the Flash space. Although we’re very very interested in what’s happening with the community players, and watching it very closely as it gets pickup with the independent developer community. However right now, nothing can match Flash. I mean, if you think about the number of high schools and colleges that teach Flash, you just have an enormous number of creative people that are empowered to build games through that program.

GA: Then, when they submit their games to you, are you then granted exclusivity?
AG: It depends on what we want out of it. In some cases, we will pay for more exclusive rights, in some cases we’ll go for just nonexclusive rights. And then in some cases again, we’re not even paying for a license, we’re just doing a simple email agreement, yes you may take your game on our site, and then we have more limited rights of what we can do with it.

GA: So, you mentioned that you are now accepting iPhone submissions, do you see a trend going more toward the iPhones or…?
AG: I think that number 1 – playing games online is here to stay. And we’re just seeing a number of kids who will do a math problem, then play a level, and then do another math problem and play a level. I think that’s there to stay. And I just think that’s the way that kids work nowadays, and games are hard and they’re stimulating and so, that’s fine and so a lot of more progressive teachers are kind of okay with that. What we see with this thing is a whole new frontier opening up. Games can be more tightly woven into people’s daily lives. I think the best example is kids on the bus, or kids standing in line at the movie theater can now be engaging with their favorite games at the same time. The really interesting opportunity that’s really special for our organization is the proliferation of independent developers all submitting their stuff to Apple. They have this story that 1 billion apps have been downloaded. It is a screaming screaming success. And we really believe in that platform and we really really really believe in the creative energy that it’s unleashed in the developer community. What we recognize, however, is that a lot of apps get lost in the long tail. Independent game developers are really good at creating great concepts with games and making really fun experiences. But, understanding and supporting that sustained level of marketing that you have to do to remain competitive in that very very competitive environment for the iPhone is something that a lot of game developers aren’t equipped to do, don’t particularly want to do, and something that a uber brand like Addicting games can do for them. And that’s what our concept is behind the iPhone submissions portion, is to leverage the Addicting Games brand that we have built up through the great servicing of the flash game developer community and through the great brand building amongst the teenage and aspiring teenagers everywhere is really to use that halo to pull some of these great games out of the long tail and make them more competitive on the deck. As well, we develop partnerships with these game developers so that we can really help them have a continuing stream of solid performing games, like we have done with the flash games community.

GA: Last time I was here, there was a lot of talk about the saturation of the Flash games market. How do you deal with that? How many submissions would you say you get per day or per week?
AG: Well, we probably get hundreds and we don’t just look at our submissions. We have outreach into other sites and other places and we’re watching, doing outbound game scouting as well. I think what’s important is that we’re not launching garbage on the site. That’s the standard that we have to keep. I will say that as the Flash game developer community has grown up – has become more equipped to do games and there is more reasonable funding out there for them, the bar has raised as to what a good game is. We launch between 12 and 15 new games per week. All of those games have to cross that hurdle of – is this a good game? And that hurdle is getting higher and higher. This is the maturity of the market. And you just start to increase the depth of game play as the audience grows.

GA: Okay, and sort of switching gears here, do you think that it makes a difference being a woman in a leadership role this industry?
AG: I think the games industry is at this incredibly exciting point where it’s discovering that there is a very very broad demographic of people who want to play games. I think people have always known it, but the access to broad demographics who play games is even easier than it was before. Before, you had to get them to go into the store and purchase the product. Maybe 8 years ago you started getting people at their desk at work playing Bejeweled. The game industry overall is now going, “Holy cow. This is a really varied and big market,” and some of these audiences are much more easily addressed through the online world and I think that any different group coming in and saying, “Hey, I understand that we need to make better games for this group,” is a good thing. I would say that I can’t approach the marked as “Hi, I’m a woman and I’m going to make games for women.” You have to approach you job as “I’m going to make really fun games that do well.” I think that what you can see is that games that can appeal to teenage girls can be differentiated from a lot of the stuff that’s out there. A lot of the flash game developer community is male. Helping to provide some editorial guidance to that male developer community to help make games more accessible to young girls as well as boys is a good thing. But, rather than bust out as, “Here’s our girl game strategy,” what we’re trying to do is to make sure that our hit games – the games that we are really investing in have those hooks that make it meaningful for girls as well as boys. That’s just a responsibility that I have as someone who means to be successful in the games space. I think being a female probably makes it easier to say that, but I think you have to be careful because you don’t want to ever think that you are speaking for an entire gender, and what really we need to do is expand the process and expand the way we think about stuff and just get more women making games, frankly. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.

GA: Is there anything else you’d like to include here before we wrap up?
AG: We just want the indie developers to know that we are a resource for taking the flash game concepts to the iPhone, so bring us your ideas of what you think will work. We want to make sure there is a really strong very creative supply as well as very strong marketing for these games.