A curious thing happened as I was completing Mark of the Ninja a few weeks back (and yes, there are significant spoilers ahead). While the game has an entertaining story, it’s there for context and flavor, rather than being the driving force. The star of the show is the deliciously stylish gameplay, which caters to puzzle-loving adults who grew up with Saturday morning cartoons and martial arts movies. I often take satisfaction in playing stealth games as non-lethally as possible, but the combat in this one was too good to pass up. Ambushing baddies from shadowy air vents never got old. But I stopped doing it anyway.

We had one comic book course when I went to college and I didn’t even get to take it. Now one university in Texas is offering a course on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Maybe I need to go back to school… 

Ever wanted your very own helmet from Skyrim? The Helm of Yngol to be exact? Well now is your lucky day! YouTuber volpin, also of Volpin Props, has posted a handy tutorial of how it can be done without relying on a smithy or knowing how to use a forge. You will need a few other things of course.

(via Kotaku)

Last week, comic writer Gail Simone shared some musings on her Tumblr about how video games are bucking the long-held three act model of narrative structure. The whole thing is worth a read (even though she tells you not to), and it poses a lot of good food for thought about how this fledgling medium could be starting to really shake things up. Most of my brainpower this weekend was spent mulling over her closing question:

…are video games training us to look at stories differently, and if so, will they affect or alter the three act structure in other media?

I can address the first part of that question with a resounding yes.

You may have seen someone turn the dragons from Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim into My Little Ponies. You may have even seen the audio from the video game trailer mixed with the intro to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Here’s something you probably haven’t seen. Someone playing Skyrim as a My Little Pony, riding a My Little Pony. I’ll leave you to it. [Editors Note: There's lots of NSFW cursing in the video as well as pony violence.]

This isn’t something I ever would have thought to do (even if I did have the skills) but now that it’s here I’m glad it exists. YouTuber GeekRemixed posted an interesting remix by Fatboy Roberts . He used, “samples from ‘Main Title’ from Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi, and “Dragonborn” from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by Jeremy Soule, with Violin samples from YouTube user JasonYangViolin” to create “A Dance With Dragonborn.” What do you think of the result?

(via Kotaku)

I haven’t even played Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim but I can’t get enough of this video. Probably because I can’t get enough of Lindsey Stirling. She’s the violinist who brought us the Zelda theme as well as a truly epic music video shot in New Zealand, featuring the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Peter Hollens joins Stirling this time around to provide the necessary vocals (yes, all those voices are his). And just for the record, Stirling will sword fight you with her bow and win. Don’t even try.

We’ve got a very special treat for you today, readers. How would you like to find out more about a fantasy action/comedy web series about a women’s LARP (live-action role play) group? And what about the added bonus of some killer talent? Directed by Greg Aronowitz (The Guild, DragonAge), co-rroduced by America Young (Geek Therapy) and Jessica Mills (Awkward Embraces), and written by Eric Collin Campbell (Geek Therapy, Connect To), it’s called Damsels and Dragons and we have an inkling it’s up your alley, as it features some strong female characters. The Mary Sue is also proud to be the first to announce the IndieGogo campaign to fund the second season of the series. Now read on and find out all about it! 

Video games feature a few non-player characters (NPCs) and like many NPCs, they are notoriously obnoxious to the point of hair-pulling, controller-throwing frustration. There is one such NPC in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Her name is Lydia. Here is Kristen Nedopak’s parody on the stalwart follower. I can hear her saying “What’s the hurry?” now…

Well this certainly would have made things interesting. Comics Alliance showcased as series of artwork from Alex Tuis depicting some interesting personal casting choices for Marvel superhero roles. Among them: Bruce Lee as Spider-Man, Naomi Harris as Storm, and Rutger Hauer as Thor. Now take a gander as what else we saw today.