TechSpec

TECHSPEC NO GIRLFRIEND? NO PROBLEM. Brenden Zimmerman shares a few tips to help with the ladies p.34

KEEPING AUSTIN WEIRD:

Edge of Reality proves that size doesn’t matter p.20

THE RISE OF LINUX GAMING p.8 WHY YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD UNTURNED TODAY p.14

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Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, Technological literacy is becoming an increasingly vital skill in modern society, and those lacking it will quickly fall behind the rest, regardless of their field. As technology is continuously improved, the prevalence of video games increases with it, which is beginning to dissolve the stigma that computer science is bland and uninteresting. Though it may not require extensive technical knowledge to play the majority of games, those who do are very likely to accrue at least some level of computer literacy through them, even if they are unaware of it at the time. Many may even be inspired to develop their own games and in their attempts to do so find that what they thought would be a thoroughly boring process is actually quite enjoyable, perhaps even inspiring them to enter a technical field in the future. The benefits of gaming are not limited to computer education though, learning in general is undergoing a transition to more interactive mediums with video games being one of the most effective. What was once seen as nothing but a mindless waste of time is now beginning to play a central role in the future of learning, STEM education in particular, creating a new generation of people with the essential technical knowledge to take part in our increasingly digital world. We all very much enjoyed producing this issue and hope you will enjoy reading it in turn.

William Slatton Editor in chief of TechSpec

Table Of Contents: Letter From The Editor: Pg. 2

Oculus Rift Feature Pg. 4 -7:

This feature will tell you all about the things that aren’t very commonly known about the Oculus rift and about the small facts and details about it too.

Linux Feature Pg. 8-11:

This feature will inform you all about the operating system Linux and comparing and contrasting Linux to Windows and other set-ups like it.

Learn to program ASF Pg. 12-13:

This ASF will tell you about the fundamentals of programming and the basics in programming.

Unturned feature Pg. 14-17: This Feature will tell you some of the awesome features of Unturned and tell you why you might want to check this game out.

Unsung Heroes of 6.85 B ASF Pg. 18-19:

This ASF will explain the underrated heroes of Dota and why they might still be powerful.

Edge of Reality Feature Pg. 20-23:

This Feature will explain how a small game development company has managed to make a name for themselves.

Batman ASF Pg. 24-25:

This ASF will give you a brief synopsis of each of the Batman games and will rate them on a scale of 1-10 Hearthstone Feature Pg. 26-29:

This Feature will explain the ins and outs of the hit game Hearthstone and tell you all about its features and game play Dota 2 VS. League Of Legends ASF Pg. 30-31:

This ASF will be comparing and contrasting characters from both Dota 2 and League of Legends.

Tips to maybe get a date ASF Pg. 32-33:

This ASF will provide you with a detailed explanation of what you should and should not do when trying to score a date with a women or just socializing in general.

Meet the Contributors Pg. 34-35

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The Shift to the Rift by: brenden zimmerman

Have you ever wanted to live in a video game?

Have you ever pondered what it would be like to step through the fourth wall? Have you been waiting for the era of virtual reality to arrive? Well, your waiting is over, the time is now. Thanks to the Oculus Rift, virtual reality has finally become part of ours. However, this isn’t news. The Oculus Rift has been around for about a year now and many people still don’t know what it is, and many who do know what it is don’t know much about it. So, let’s resolve that, here’s everything you need to know.

“Its really like nothing else I’ve ever tried before. So, I’ve been pretty into video games my whole life and watch movies and all the other experiences and with this it really feels like you’re actually somewhere else.

So, it’s a totally immersive feeling that is really just like nothing else before.” -Says Senior Computer Science major at UT of Austin, Harris Munir

The Oculus Rift is a revolutionary piece of technology that allows a never before experience of immersion with video games, says Munir. The Oculus Rift is a headset that provides the experience of virtual reality.

Currently owned by Facebook, Oculus has developed a line of virtual reality headsets and has made a significant step in the world of gaming. Originally released in the UK, these devices are currently available to the public internationally by placing an order at the oculus

website, but that’s not what’s important about the Oculus Rift. What’s important about the Oculus Rift is what it can do, how it works, it’s ups and downs, and all the other nitty gritty details. Allow me to fill you in on what you need to know.

“Up until now, like, throughout history we have been looking at virtual worlds through like a window on a monitor, but this a completely different device where you can actually sort of enter the space and feel like you are actually there.”

-Says Munir The Oculus rift is truly amazing according to Munir, it allows for so much more to happen in the world of gaming that was never possible before. This is nothing like watching a 3-D movie, 3-D is feeling like the movie is popping out at you, with Virtual reality, it’s more like you are popping out at the movie, and with this, there is going to be a lot coming our way.

“The Oculus Rift is remarkable, this device opens up a door to a whole new set of experiences that never would have been possible otherwise. With the Oculus Rift you can be able to travel to places that couldn’t even exist in reality, you can ride a roller coaster that would never work in real life, or play a game with a completely abstract style, or whatever you want to do it’s all made possible by virtual reality.” -Says Munir

5 Evidently, the Oculus rift has an effect on its players to the point where it actually affects the way they play the game. Munir and Freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Lexi Fisher both says that in virtual reality, it seems like it is so real that they act as if it truly is real, they play the game respecting their realm as if it is the one they dwell in, like it is real life, and they won’t want to do anything crazy in there because it would actually feel like putting themselves in danger.

those explosives from going off because you don’t want to die. So in a nutshell, when you are in Virtual reality, it doesn’t seem so virtual anymore.

“There’s this roller coaster game where just ride a roller coaster, and I’m sure that that’d be fun on a monitor or screen, but when you’re playing it on the rift, your brain actually believes that is happening. You actually feel like your the way your stomach feels when you ride a roller coaster. Your

In a video game, you would have no prob- brain is actually fooled into believing that you’re lem getting up to the zombies and meleing them there so it’s a very different sort of experience.” in the head and are willing to risk dying a couple -Says Munir times before actually getting it right, or shoot anything explosive in a heartbeat knowing that it will do you no harm, and even if it did it would be fine “Usually when I play shooting games I don’t because it’s not like it’s YOU in there; But with VR, freak out when something jumps at me or someone it’s feels like it IS you in there. It tricks your mind comes around the corner, but with the rift I feel like into accepting this new space as reality because it I’m actually there so I freak out and scream and just feels so real. With VR you wouldn’t even con- jump up because you feel like it’s in the real world. sider going anywhere near those zombies because So it’s really just kind of mind blowing.” you don’t want them to touch you, with VR, you -Says Fisher would want to do anything and everything to keep

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As great as it is that we have found a way to make virtual reality a thing that actually exists, it can present some problems. As mentioned before, when there is something that feels like reality, we feel the need to treat it like it is reality, and if we need to treat virtual reality like it is reality, it puts a large limit on the amount of things that VR can exaggerate from reality. If we do things in the virtual realm that are totally impossible in the real world but still make it feel real, it can have some not so good effects on people.

“It made me kinda nauseous. Which makes sense, but it wasn’t that bad, it went away in like five minutes after taking them off I just felt like, ‘Oh god, this is the real world now’.” -Says Fisher

“If you have a game that has you running around at crazy speeds and you’re looking all around and doing all this crazy stuff it might not

For example, if a person managed to trick their brain into thinking that this seemingly real world is fake and that he can do whatever he wants in it, then their brain might also mistake the ACTUAL world as a fake world and it will affect their behavior, their actions, and maybe even mess up their mental stability a little bit.

An example that is a bit more rational and less extreme that has been mentioned before is that the VR seems so realistic that doing unrealistic things in there has made people feel sick, and this could come from things such as too much turbulence on an impossible virtual roller coaster, or even just having their mind adapt from experiencing the virtual world to experiencing the real world.

actually work as well with the rift because it’s so realistic that people just can’t handle it, it will just make them throw up or something.” -Says Munir

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Another thing to mention about the rift would be that it has very limited usage ability right now because it is such a new concept that people do not yet know how to make games for it. It would involve so much programming and thought about

So at the moment there isn’t much to do with a rift.

However, just give it time and it will eventually have a fantastic lineup of games that people cannot wait to play. However that’s not for a little ways into the future, even further into the future

Well, That’s it. That’s everything you need to know about the Oculus Rift. It is a virtual reality headset that connects to a computer and displays images on a screen in the goggles in such a way that it makes you feel like you in inside the virtual realm, it is a fascinating leap in the world of gaming and technology as a whole, it has ushered in an era of all new possibilities and experiences like never before, and also at the moment there are still some bugs to be worked out as well, such as the ability to make some users nauseated and how the Oculus Rift has very limited range of compatibility due to its programing complexity.

That’s it, that’s what it is, what it does, how it works, the ups and downs, and the nitty gritty details. From here, the ultimate opinion of the Oculus rift is up to you. Game on. ~=[,,_,,]^^ PHOTO CAPTIONS:

how to make an original game than the Oculus Rift has already plot and be able to do things in brought us. the game that the minds of the players would actually be able to handle.

[The first image is the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset; the second image is a man wearing the Oculus Rift headset (He is looking up and around because he is looking around in the game that he is playing, he is observing his surroundings in the virtual world he is seeing); the third image is the view from inside the Oculus Rift headset (what the wearer sees while playing a game) ]

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The Rise of Linux Gaming

Does Linux have the potential to overtake Windows as the gamer’s OS of choice?

By William Slatton

or years, Microsoft Windows F has been the only real option for the machine of a serious gamer,

but now its reign has been threatened. The same operating system that powers your Android phone, accounting for the majority of total mobile usage, more than twothirds of the web, and upwards of 99 percent of the planet’s most powerful supercomputers has now set out to conquer the only sector it does not yet dominate: the desktop. In the past, Linux has catered solely to “power users”, or those with high levels of technical knowledge in need of a fully customizable environment, but now that more and more organizations are backing it, this is finally beginning to change.

This year alone, the number of Steam games touting native Linux support has risen from less than 700 to nearly 1500 and this recent progress shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, according to various studies conducted

by Phoronix. But the question remains: What exactly is Linux?

What differentiates it from the familiar Windows and Mac OS, and how does this pertain to the average user? First and foremost, Linux is an open source operating system, whereas both Windows and Mac are proprietary. Open source software is not only free in terms of price, but also free in the sense that there are virtually no restrictions on what you

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can do with the software.

With Linux, you can access, modify, and redistribute the system’s source code at no charge, effectively meaning that anyone can customize or improve any aspect of it, and that you can directly benefit from their contributions, according to the Linux Foundation.

This has fostered a massive community of Linux developers, which has led in turn to it becoming the industry standard in security, stability, and ability to be modified to suit any need imaginable.

Despite this, the momentum of Windows as a gaming platform has forced people to choose it over Linux as their desktop operating system, in turn leading to fewer developers taking the time to port their games to Linux, leading to less usage, and so forth. But has something changed? Are people beginning to grow weary of the restrictions Microsoft has placed on them? With gaming giants such as Valve investing so heavily in Linux recently, this may be the case.

“Linux is for the person that wants to go a bit deeper and unlock the potential of their computer. [...] Linux has huge customizability and there is no limit to what you can do to change your experience”, says LASA Student Zayan Vohra.

As aforementioned, perhaps the most significant advantage of Linux over its competitors is its inherently open nature. This allows a user’s system to be

Linux is for the person that wants to go a bit deeper and unlock the potential of their computer. [...]

Linux has huge customizability and there is no limit to what you can do to change your experience.

customized to perfectly complement any workflow, and, though configuration does take some time, the added efficiency is generally more than worth the effort. For example, with Windows, the most you can really do to modify your UI (user interface) is to apply a theme, change your desktop background, move your taskbar, etc.; but With Linux, there are hundreds of pre-built DEs (desktop environments, which include an entire UI and software built specifically for it) and WMs (window managers, lightweight alternatives to DEs) from which you can choose, and each one offers huge customization, according to an article by Engadget.

Somewhat counterintuitively, open source is actually significantly more secure than closed, despite the fact that anyone can view the code. It theory, it makes it easier for those with malicious intent to locate vulnerabilities, but the overwhelming majority are found by people who will either report them or patch the holes themselves. Though it is not technically a Linux, OpenBSD is a very similar piece of software (also open source) and has supposedly had only two serious security holes in the last decade, both of which were closed almost immediately, according to Core Security, whereas new exploits for Windows are found on a regular basis.

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9 Somewhat counterintuitively, open source is actually significantly more secure than closed, despite the fact that anyone can view the code. It theory, it makes it easier for those with malicious intent to locate vulnerabilities, but the overwhelming majority are found by people who will either report them or patch the holes themselves. Though it is not technically a Linux, OpenBSD is a very similar piece of software (also open source) and has supposedly had only two serious security holes in the last decade, both of which were closed almost immediately, according to Core Security, whereas new exploits for Windows are found on a regular basis.

Due to the modular structure of Linux, it has also managed to avoid any significant bloat, and has been tuned to take full advantage of whatever hardware it is on, thanks to its large presence in the supercomputing world, affording it impressively efficient performance on almost any machine. As evidence of this, in just over one month, Valve was able to port their hit game “Left for Dead 2” to Linux and achieve a performance of 315 frames per second, as opposed to 270 fps for Windows on the same machine, according to a report published by Valve in 2012.

Finally, in the light of the recent Windows 10 privacy scandal, which involved Microsoft collecting reams of data from their users by default and not allowing this to truly be opted out of, as detailed in a recent publication by The Next Web, privacy is another significant asset of open software. Due to the fact that no one

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really “owns” Linux, there is no one to profit from collecting your data, and even if Linux were, for some reason, to begin doing so, someone could simply fork (create a copy of) the codebase and disable it in their version.

“If you’re new to linux, I would use Ubuntu, just because it has a large base of support and many people are willing to help you, and it feels familiar to windows. It’s not that hard to switch to either Ubuntu or Mint, so its kinda a low effort thing, but if you’re going for maximum control over everything, you’d want to use Arch”, says Vohra.

One of the most confusing concepts for newcomers to the platform to wrap their heads around is the idea of a distribution (commonly referred to as a ‘distro’).

One cannot simply install “Linux”, because Linux itself is only a kernel, i.e the core of an operating system, not a complete OS. What you can actually run are distros, such as Ubuntu, Debian, or Arch Linux, all of which are suited for different tasks and levels of experience. Ubuntu is the most widely used desktop distro and is relatively easy to navigate, though some might argue that Mint or Zorin are superior in that respect, making it a good choice for getting started; however, Ubuntu

If you’re new to linux, I would use Ubuntu, just because it has a large base of support and many people are willing to help you, and it feels familiar to Windows [users].

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can be slightly resource intensive, so something like XUbuntu might be a better choice for lower-end computers. Those who choose to get deeper into Linux are often bored by these more conventional systems though, and might choose something like Arch or Gentoo, both of which require at least intermediate knowledge to install and configure, but reward the used with incredibly precise control over their system.

The mere number of these distros is often overwhelming to new users and this brief discussion has not even begun to cover all your options; thus, simply choosing between either Ubuntu or XUbuntu, depending on how powerful your machine is, is recommended for those with little to no experience, according to a recent publication by PCWorld.

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Natik Ameen. If, after this, you wish to do a native install, there are many guides that will walk you through the process.

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“By far the largest roadblocks are GPU driver support from the major players. NVIDIA has done a good job of supporting the platform, but for whatever reason AMD and Intel have lagged behind, forcing us (and other companies) to drop official support for those chipsets”, says Sr. f i Product and Sales Manager for G r Asypr Michael Blaire.

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Once you have chosen a distribution to suit your needs, the matter of actually installing it remains.

From here you have a few options, you can either install it over or alongside your current OS, the latter being called ‘dual-booting’, or you could install it in a VM (virtual machine). With a VM, there is no risk of accidentally breaking something, and the process is generally far simpler, though it will not perform quite as well as a native install. This method is most often used to try a Linux distro with no chance of making an irreversible error, and is your best choice if you simply want to test one out.

Oracle’s VirtualBox is a piece of software which streamlines the process of creating and running VMs and can be downloaded free of charge from their website. From there, you will need to find and download a disk image (.iso) for your distro of choice, create a new VM in VirtualBox, and then simply select the ISO which you downloaded previously, according to a blog post by Oracle Certified Expert

Though it clearly has an edge over Windows in many respects, Linux is far from perfect and has numerous issues of its own. First and foremost, it simply lacks support for large amounts of software at the moment, and though this is rapidly changing, there is still much work to be done. Fortunately, a decent number of Windows applications can be run under Linux with emulators such as Wine or PlayonLinux (a wrapper for Wine which makes it significantly more user-friendly). Obviously this does not work perfectly, but it is certainly an option, according to two articles

by How-To Geek. If all else fails, you are not confined to running only one operating system. As mentioned previously you can dual-boot, which would allow you to boot into Windows if you need to run a specific piece of software and then back into Linux when finished.

Another major hurdle for gaming on Linux is graphics driver support.

NVIDIA brand GPUs (graphical processing units) tend to work relatively well, as do Intel chips, though AMD support is rather lacking at the moment. In theory though, this is likely to improve in the near future with the release and adoption of the Vulkan API, which should happen near the end of this year. Vulkan will supercede OpenGL and potentially DirectX (which are all used to create modern graphics, and are therefore absolutely essential for game development) and both make it easier to port games to Linux and

to increase driver quality, according to the creators of the API, the Khronos Consortium. There additionally seems to be something of a stereotype that Linux is for hackers, requires you to use a terminal, and is otherwise difficult to use, but these are all entirely untrue and have been for quite some time. The Linux terminal is an incredibly powerful tool, but anything that most users will need to do can be done through a graphical interface as well. It is also true to some extent that Linux, specifically a distro named Kali, is an indispensable tool for security analysis, but this in no way means that it is not suited for the casual user as well, according to an article

by TechHive.

“I wouldn’t use Linux because in terms of gaming, it just doesn’t have the wide variety of games that Windows does, and I find myself spending more time configuring the operating system rather than playing games. A lot of the more advanced and better looking games only support windows, and so I found myself missing it more and more. I do admit that it was better in terms of coding and it was a valuable learning experience, but the ease of using windows brought me back”, says Vohra.

Vohra was drawn to Linux by the power and customization it had to offer. He began with the standard Ubuntu, he then went, as the Linux community calls it, ‘distro-hopping’, or switching between many distributions, until he decided to take the plunge and install Arch. This proved to be quite the challenge, but was a valuable learning experience for Vohra and allowed him to truly appreciate the power of Linux. He encountered no significant problems during his time on Arch, but when he built a new machine, he didn’t bother to reinstall it. Though he does enjoy programming, he was not so invested in it as to require the tools Linux offers, and thus converted back to Windows, where he could play all of the latest games.

In the end, Vohra valued the support and familiarity of Windows over the customizability and programming tools of Linux, though he may consider switching back when more games receive Linux ports.

11 “At this point, Linux is far from viable as a gaming platform for the standard user. Even I, somebody who has some experience with searching for the source of a problem, am having problems with getting certain games to run on Linux”, says LASA Student Nihal Jere.

Jere began using Linux in 2014, but has since chosen to abandon it for Mac OS, despite being relatively knowledgeable in computer science and interested in programming.

Much like Vohra, he was attracted to Linux by its open nature and the freedom it afforded him, but he encountered issues with his GPU, which made his system almost unusable. He initially used Ubuntu and was very impressed with its stability and customization, though his graphics problems rendered one of his games, “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive”, unplayable. The game purports to have native Linux support and seems to work well for the majority of users, but his NVIDIA drivers refused to function correctly for some reason. Following the same path as Vohra, Jere then attempted to install Arch Linux, a distribution focused on giving the user fine-tuned control, but which is significantly more challenging to get running than something like Ubuntu.

He was eventually successful in doing so, though his driver issues persisted, and he has yet to discern the reason. After some more troubleshooting, Jere eventually gave up and returned to Mac OS. Though he prefered Linux for many things, gaming was not one of them. He may make another attempt if NVIDIA fixes the bugs that were affecting him in their Linux drivers in the future, but until then, it is simply not worth the effort for him.

“A lot of companies are going “pro - linux” and are starting to make games and software for people of all operating systems. [...] I think it’s gonna be a while before Linux is at the same stage as Microsoft in

gaming, but who knows? [...]

The game design studios will follow wherever their customers will go”, says Vohra.

For the moment, the general consensus among both gamers and game developers seems to be that, albeit Linux is not yet ready to displace Windows for most casual users and will not be for quite some time, it is quickly gaining ground and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Even now though, it remains an option for the people who are willing to take the time and to sacrifice some convenience to unlock the full potential of their machines, especially so if they choose to dual-boot it alongside Windows.

So, for now, the choice of which system to use is not universal, but rather depends on the individual values and needs of each user; thus, it is more than worth the time to evaluate these alternative systems, even if you ultimately choose return to it: Linus Torval ds C re d the familiar.

L in u x® L o g o

12 Why learn to code?

The ability to read and write programs is becoming an absolutely essential skill.

Even if you never directly apply it, learning it will serve to greatly improve your problem solving abilities as well.

main :: IO () main = putStrLn “By William Slatton”

Where do I begin?

Lua

-Only one data structure -Simple to learn

Ease of Learning

Clojure

-Extremely simple syntax -Abstract structure

What do you value?

General

Simplicity The Web

Haskell

-”Pure” language -Highly mathematical

Elegance

Fun Games

How do you learn?

Education

Work on what?

Why do you want to learn?

Work

The easy way

The hard way The very hard way

Python

C++

C

Javascript

-Fast and easy to learn -Useful for small projects

-Doesn’t hold your hand -Gives you more control

Assembly

-Directly accesses CPU -Very complex

-Fast and robust -Powers most games

-Easy to learn -Very widely used

Java

-Popular for enterprise -Extremely stable

13 Where to now?

By far the best way to sharpen your skills is simply to never stop learning. Technology changes so quickly that this is the only way to maintain relevant knowledge for more than a few years.

Some tips for improving your skills: Keep Learning

Even if you don’t end up using a new programming language, learning another will give you new insight into how you might solve the problems with which you are faced. This is especially true if you learn a language which is based on a different paradigm.

Stay Organized

Use version control to track your changes and to aid in collaboration. Git is the recommended tool, and an interactive tutorial can be found at try.github.io.

Comment

Nobody wants to decipher your horrible code. Include comments that explain what each part does to make this easier for the people that come after you. Commenting will also require you to understand your own code to the point at which you can explain it to someone else, which will force you to write coherent programs and will make debugging the easier for later. Yes, it takes time to do so, but the result is more than worth the effort.

Learn your Tools

This will make your life far easier. No sane programmer has ever written anything in Notepad. At the very least try something like Notepad++, though a complete IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is recommended for beginners. C, C++, Java, and even Python are all supported

by Eclipse, which can be downloaded from eclipse.org free of charge. Emacs and Vim both are both very powerful as well but take time to learn.

Get Help

For nearly any problem you encounter, there will be someone else who has already solved it. Don’t just copy and paste others’ work, but never hesitate to ask for help online. A forum called StackOverflow was built specifically for this purpose and will help you immensely.

Format

Though it may seem arbitrary at first glance, adhering to conventions in formatting your code (e.g., whitespace, line breaks, etc.) will make it much easier to read as your programs grow more complex.

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Unturned: Survival of the Fittest

I

By John Hearn

magine a beautiful island, with rocky beaches and maple and birch forests blanketing the interior. Several cities and towns as well as farms are scattered around the island, but there are no people. Why? Everyone has turned into zombies, and you are the last living person on the island, left to survive in the infested land of Prince Edward’s Island.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, then look no further than the Yukon, a desolate, frozen wasteland in Northwestern Canada.

With a few less zombies but a harsher and more punishing environment, you’ll have to worry about keeping warm and staving off the hunger with the animals you catch and kill and what scraps of food you can find in the towns on the edge of the wilderness.

But if slowly freezing to death just isn’t your style, why not go out with a bang in Washington? Lots of military grade weaponry

spawns in the various towns and survivor outposts surrounding the massive city of Seattle, allowing players to battle to their heart’s content. With plenty of space to build forts and tons of loot to grab, this map is a PvP lover’s dream.

Unturned offers these maps and hundreds more that are made by the dedicated community, but Unturned isn’t known only for its various maps.

Unturned really stands out from the crowd as a survival game because of its versatility and its dedicated community. It is accessible to a wider audience than other games and includes ingame items like weapon skins and cosmetic items to equip on your character. It features a complex crafting system and skill tree to customize your play style.

On top of all of this, Unturned is free to play, giving gamers no reason not to give it a try.

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“[Once] you actually get started and get past the learning curve, which is smaller than other survival games, it’s a lot more fun.

It’s multiplayer friendly, it’s fun to play with a lot of friends, it’s easy to get started compared to other games of the same genre like DayZ and H1Z1,” says Youtuber MeLikeBigBoom.

One of the things Unturned has going for it is its large audience. Unturned’s graphics are simple yet beautiful and appeal to children and adults alike. Unturned is a very social game, giving players easy access to servers to connect its players.

MeLikeBigBoom explains, “I’ve never played an open world, survival, meet other (Photo Credit: John Hearn) players game that was so easy to get into as this. I’ve played DayZ and there are even bandits that kill “I’ve never played an it’s so open and hard to get for sport. PvP, or Player versus into because it’s difficult, open world, survival, Player combat, is very popular and it’s not as social as this.” in Unturned, with many servmeet other players In addition to being social, ers devoted to providing fans Unturned has a strong com- game that was so easy with a deathmatch at all times. bat system, featuring over 30 to get into as this.”

“I’m really a shoot-perguns and 26 melee weapons.

-MeLikeBigBoom son type player, because if Different players all have difyou shoot another player, ferent playstyles, and choose you get all of their stuff, espedifferent weapons to bring down their foes. cially if they’re much better than you you get Some like to go in guns blazing, but some opt for a stealthy, melee oriented approach.

MeLikeBigBoom shares his opinions his favorite weapons, saying “a well rounded gun [is the] Maplestrike. It’s easy to handle the recoil, its fully automatic, you can toggle between fully auto and semi, it has all of the attachment slots, [and] it supports the drum mag with 100 rounds in it.” He adds, “I also feel that it’s a bit ‘cheap’ in that way, like it’s the cliche favorite gun.” Another Unturned player, Caleb Harrell, says his favorite loadout is “the Grizzly with the Honey Badger on the side. It doesn’t get much better than that, I guess.”

There are different kinds of zombies to watch out for, but other players can prove to be more dangerous, as gunfights can break out over territory disputes or looting, but

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The inside of a cabin in Yukon (Credit: John Hearn)

much better stuff,” says Har- “[Unturned is] open layouts for bases and where to build them can save you your rell. Playing PvP doesn’t mean to more ages and life and your loot. Similarly, going Rambo all alone. Teamwork is definitely involved in because it’s a more being able to craft the items Unturned, and survival be- childish looking that you need to survive will greatly extend your life. Such comes a lot easier with a group. game, it’s open to a items can be as simple as Having some friends to play with will allow one to form lot more people. I bandages, campfires, or sandwiches, or as complicated as teams and to loot towns faster think that’s a major a backpack, a fishing rod, or and get more accomplished in factor in its success.” even a rifle. Being able to craft a lesser amount of time. A few buddies can cover your back -MeLikeBigBoom these items requires you to put skill points in your craftto prevent you from getting ambushed by zombie or player alike. Mak- ing skill, which requires you to gain experiing a group safe house on a PvP server is one ence through killing zombies, cutting trees, of the best and most satisfying ways to protect your loot from bad-intentioned players.

“If I’ve made a base, I like to play defensive, and hold down the fort. If I just started and don’t have a base, I like to play offensive and try to get more stuff so I can make a base or just survive as long as I can in any condition,” long time Unturned player Jake Worthington explains.

Mastering the base building and crafting system is core if you want to survive for extended periods of time. Knowing the best

17 harvesting crops, fishing, or hunting.

The survival in Unturned can be difficult, to say the least. Starvation and dehydration can be brutal in Unturned, forcing the player to constantly be checking their hunger and thirst levels.

There are a variety of ways to sate your hunger and satisfy your thirst, including venison, fish, vegetables, canned and packaged foods, canteens, bottled water, soda, milk, and juices. Getting food and water can be critical, and establishing a home near sources of those things is essential.

The developer of Unturned, Nelson Sexton is very interactive with the community. He responds to their feedback a lot and takes suggestions about what to add to the game. MeLikeBigBoom shared his opinion on the state of the game’s development, saying, “I feel like all of the features that I felt should be added already were added, because Nelson’s working so closely with the community and working on what they want. I felt like everything that I was looking for was [already] added.” He goes on to say that “I think more maps and more guns should be added periodically just to give me something to do.”

Overall Unturned is one of the top survival titles today, featuring a variety of crafting, survival, combat, and cooperative aspects making it one of the best games to pick up this year. The development is still active, and new features and updates are coming out every few weeks. On top of all of that, Unturned is free to play, giving gamers no reason not to give it a try. If you want a fun, social, versatile survival game, Unturned is for you.

Dota 2:

By John Hearn

Troll Warlord

Elder Titan

6.38% Pick Rate, 50% Win Rate

1.76% Pick Rate, 53% Win Rate

Even after his nerfs, Troll Warlord is still a strong carry, despite what many say. He is viable in any lane, and his abilities allow him to gank and avoid ganks with relative ease.

He has the unique ability to switch between melee and ranged form, getting bonus armor, health, movement speed and attack speed while he is in his melee form. He is very versatile and can choose between a wide range of items to give him a powerful teamfight presence. Troll can also buff his allies with massive amounts of extra attack speed, allowing him and his team to push towers quickly and efficiently.

Elder Titan is a very strong and versatile hero that can be played in a variety of roles, from hard support to semi-carry and can even be played as a carry, if you are very, very brave.

He sports an area-of-effect disable that lasts for up to 5 seconds, and can easily cripple an entire team if they are not careful. The Elder Titan can accrue bonus damage using his spirit form, which also allows him to cast his disable from a distance. Using his Ultimate ability, he can split the ground apart, dealing damage to his enemies based on their maximum health, allowing this powerful ability to scale as the game goes on.

Still strong Warlock

Phoenix

4.61% Pick Rate, 55% Win Rate

4.13% Pick Rate, 52% Win Rate

Warlock is a hero who can be played in a core or support role, and is able to both protect his teammates and destroy his foes with his versatile skillset. He can chain enemies together, forcing them to take some of the damage that the others take. He can heal his teamates and curse his enemies to take damage over time, allowing him to effectively harrass his foes. He posseses the ability to summon a powerful Golem to destroy his enemies. With the right items, Warlock can be a dangerous foe, able to heal his team and sow chaos in the enemy ranks

Phoenix is a support hero who is unique in that he sacrifices his life-force to cast his powerful spells. He has a very effective escape mechanism and attack speed slow which lets him harass the enemy carry in a solo offlane role.

He is able to get kills in a situation where other heroes could not, and can play very aggressively in a solo lane. He is able to damage enemies and heal his allies with a huge laser that drains his health as he blasts it. His ultimate allows him to willingly end his life for a chance to be reborn, with refreshed health, mana, and cooldowns.

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Keeping Austin Weird

By Dominic Juarez

the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series and Spider-Man. Porting is a term used when a video game designed to run on one platform is converted to run on a different platform.

But Edge of Reality cofounders Rob Cohen and Mike Panoff wanted more.

The company began to assist in games for the Playstation 2, and even had a part in the first console version of the Sims. Since then, the development teams at Edge “Austin is a great city for of Reality have worked on small and local business- many projects, including the es,” says Liberal Arts and Mass Effect series and their Science Academy student Ja- independent game Loadout. cob Watson. “[It’s] a very tech savvy city, which can mean “Looking at some of the a lot for a tech-based com- games [Edge of Reality] has pany trying to be successful”. contributed to, I’d say that they’ve had a massive impact Edge of Reality, a local game on the gaming industry,” says development company, was LASA freshman Connor Fierro. established in 1998. It’s primary goal was to create Nin- Edge of Reality is not big tendo 64 ports of games like enough to be a household name, but their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Many people, including Fierro and Watson, praise Edge of Reality for their contributions to the Mass Effect series.

When most people think of Texas, the first thing that comes to mind is the saying, “Everything’s bigger in Texas”. While that’s true for a lot of things, it doesn’t hold up for many game development companies.

Texas, especially Austin, is full of small game developers trying to make it big, and no company has done that better than Austin’s own Edge of Reality.

“[Mass Effect is] basically about a man named Commander Shepard trying to save the galaxy from super intelligent AI creatures called Reapers,” says Fierro. “[It] revolves… around a good story [at its] core, and decision making gameplay.”

Mass Effect, released in 2007, was one of the biggest games of it’s time. The “science fiction action roleplaying third person shooter” was developed by both BioWare, a Canadian company, and Edge of Reality. But what makes this game so good?

“By virtue of three simple traits – its medium, its message, and its philosophy – Mass Effect eclipses and engulfs all of science fiction’s greatest universes,” says Kyle Munkittrick, an io9 blogger.

BioWare and Edge of Reality have created a game se-

21 the most badass weaponry in the game,” says Watson.

Credit to Google Images

ries that extends beyond generations. But that wasn’t enough to make Edge of Reality a big name. Because of this, the general consensus of Mass Effect was that it was developed by BioWare, and BioWare alone.

Even though Edge of Reality did not get the popularity it was hoping for, Mass Effect has had lasting effects and influences on the gaming industry. “[The] Mass Effect Paragon and Nemesis system is now used by many other games to add a level of depth and immersion to their games,” says Watson.

You can see these influences in act today. The popular game “Shadow of Mordor” is known for using the nemesis system. Using this system added layers to the game that wouldn’t otherwise be there. The game took re-

venge to a whole new level.

Loadout strives to allow the player maximum customization. From the player model to the weapons, virtually anything is possible.

For many players, this was the high point of the game.

Many popular YouTuber’s played the game in videos, hoping to create the most vulgar and awesome characters possible. But according to Watson, the game’s popularity among YouTubers did not translate to its popularity in the gaming community.

With the nemesis system, any enemy who defeats you in battle is promoted within the ranks of their army or organization. If you encounter this enemy again, they will remember your “On a scale of 1 to 10… Loadcharacter and aspects of out is about a 5,” says Watson. your fighting style, making them more difficult to beat. Watson attributes the games minimal popularity to faults Mass Effect isn’t the only in development. Loadout game attributed to Edge of forum users attribute the Reality. They’re also respon- game’s lack of popularity to sible for an independent more specific problems, like game titled Loadout, a free- matchmaking and not capito-play multiplayer third- talizing on the game’s surge person shooter. Loadout has of players during its early all the regular mechanics of stages.The game also lacked a shooter, with one twist. sufficient advertising. Other than the occasional YouTube “There are no set weapons. video, there seemed to be a All of the weapons are cre- lack of advertisements for ated by the player using the the game online. This led to rules and parts set out by the a somewhat mild release of game. As you progress in lev- the PC version of the game el you unlock more and more in January of 2014. It wasn’t parts for your weapons, with until the game was ported for the ultimate goal of making the Playstation 4 later that

22 year that the game began to obtain some more popularity.

When asked if they would play other games developed in part or fully by Edge of Reality, Fierro and Watson had very different answers.

Watson was more exposed to Loadout, Edge of Reality’s only independent game. The difference in opinion could have been due to the respective style of the games. Mass Effect revolves around a central story, character development, and core gameplay.

Loadout only emphasizes character customization and multiplayer gameplay, lacking a story for the player to grasp on to. From these two responses, a gamers perception of Edge of Reality is definitely influenced in part by the game being played.

“After seeing all of the games they’ve worked on, I would actually look for more games from them when they’re released,” says Fierro.

Based on his experience with Mass Effect, Fierro is excited to see what new projects Edge of Reality will become a part of. He is eager to play their games, even if it isn’t Mass Effect 4. But Mass Effect was only developed in part by Edge of Reality, with most of the work being attributed to Bioware. Watson had a different opinion about Edge of Reality’s upcoming games.

“While I enjoyed Loadout for the time I played, I would need convincing before I play another Edge of Reality game.”

One of the biggest problems faced by independent game development companies is their popularity in the community. Edge of Reality is no exception to this problem. For this reason, many independent developers will showcase their creations at conventions like the Penny

23 Arcade Expo (PAX) and South teractive are great placby Southwest (SXSW). es for small and large developers alike to show off “I think that conventions and and promote their games. gatherings are really helpful in small game development. It gives companies the chance to bring their game into a larger world” says LASA student Kendrick Lam. At conventions, big and small companies alike can show their upcoming and developed products to the gaming community. Austin is home to one of the most recognized conventions in Texas, SXSW. Many people think South By is just for music and movies, but it’s also houses a prominent video game expo, SXSW Interactive. This allows companies like Edge of Reality to spread the word about their games that otherwise wouldn’t draw much attention.

From conventions to its tech savvy community, Austin, Texas, is a great setting for independent game development companies like Edge of Reality. Even though these “I attended... SXSW Inter- companies don’t produce active in 2012, and they the biggest games, all of had a booth set up for the them strive to make games beta version of [Loadout]. to the best of their abilities.

I tried it out and ended up loving it,” says Watson.

Lam will be attending PAX South this year. Held in San Antonio, Texas, PAX is a convention exclusively for gaming. In addition to San Antonio, PAX is also held in Seattle, Boston, and Melbourne.

“Pax is a gaming convention that occurs 5 times a year. It’s a place for gamers all over the world to meet famous streamers, see new games, and have fun meeting new people” says Lam. Both PAX and SXSW In-

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ARKHAM rocksteady’s batman

By Dominic Juarez

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM release date: august 25, 2009 developer: rocksteady studios ign rating: 9.3/10 synopsis: the players takes on the role of the batman as he delivers the joker to arkham asylum. but multiple super villians, including mr. freeze, harley quinn, scarecrow, the riddler, and bane trap the batman in the infamous arkham asylum, creating the most immersive combat game of it’s time.

BATMAN ARKHAM CITY

release date: october 18, 2011 developer: rocksteady studios metacritic rating: 9.6/10 synopsis: building upon the success of its predecessor, “batman: arkham city” sends the player into arkham city. with an updated arsenal, the dark knight must rid the heart of gotham from an all-star cast of supervillains.

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TRILOGY

groundbreaking series

BATMAN ARKHAM ORIGINS release date: october 25, 2013 developer: iron galaxy studios metacritic rating: 7.4/10 synopsis: a prequel to rocksteady’s batman series, the player becomes a young batman, attempting to fight crime in gotham city. experience the caped crusaders defining moments of his early career, as he fights his most fearsome enemies.

BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT release date: june 23, 2015 developer: rocksteady studios ign rating: 9.2/10 synopsis: the finale to rocksteady’s arkham trilogy, batman must defeat the greatest threat gotham has ever seen. assembling the greatest roster of villains in the series history, players can now access the all new batmobile, and the ultimate and complete batman experience.

sources: rocksteady studios, ign, metacritic

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H

earthstone is a game that is played on Blizzard’s Battle.net.

It’s a game that doesn’t take long to pick up and play, is completely free, is fun, and “does a lot for my stress levels”, says Dominic Juarez, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin.

In Hearthstone, you play the part of a “hero” who controls various minions and spells, represented by cards.

Every hero is unique in how it plays and how it operates.

For high school students, it provides “stress relief ”, says Ryan Russo, another freshman at LASA.

“Hearthstone’s games are really fast-paced. Every match lasts like 30 minutes tops, and each one is so different from the last it barely feels like you’re playing the same game.”, says Russo.

Every game of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (or CS:GO as it’s called) lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Every game of League of Legends can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. credit to play. google.com

Every game of Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Project M takes anywhere from 27-45 minutes.

Not with Hearthstone. Hearthstone’s games take from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. In LASA’s lunch, which lasts an hour (except on Wednesdays, when it lasts 30 minutes).

“Whenever you have WIFI or data, you can play it. When you’re waiting for the bus, you can play it.

Whenever you’re waiting for your little sister to finish her dumb dance concert, you can play it”, says Juarez.

“When your mom is yelling at you, you can play Hearthstone. Whenever you are somewhere where you can access the internet, you can play Hearthstone. It’s an amazing stress relief tool.”

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Hearthstone is unique in that it’s an online to credit card game. Most people have to flickr. fond memories of playing com card games like poker, presi- dents, and ERS around a table, Hearthlaughing. Hearthstone has el- stone has 566 ements of Magic: the Gath- cards, each ering and other card games. with a unique

“Card games in gen- and different abileral are just very fun to play, ity. Every card is unique. like with friends or fam- Some provide buffs (stats that ily, and Hearthstone offers make you and your minions that online. I love it.”, says stronger) to you or nerfs (subScott Schwertly, a profestracting stats from) the ensional Hearthstone player living in Nashville, Tennessee. emy hero. Some are mapwide

“In LASA, I have spells that impact the entire to do a lot of projects and board. Some do direct damtry a lot harder than I had age to “face” i.e. attacking the to do in Kealing. Hearth- opponent directly. stone offers fun, free, “Each spell is unique. I love the way each,” says Schwertly. stress relief,” says Russo.

At LASA, the sixth In Hearthstone, as you best high school in Texas play more games, complete (according to a recent US quests, and enter the Arena news ranking), stress lev- (a special Hearthstone mode) els are high, and many stu- you earn gold, which you dents use video games to can use to buy booster packs, cope, including Hearthstone. which give you new cards.

In Hearthstone, evIn this way, cash-strapped ery card brings something high school students don’t new and unique to the table. have to spend their dwinCreature cards, which attack the opponent directly, dling supply of money on are the favorite of many. Hearthstone, an “increas“I love just wrecking op- ingly fun game the more you ponent face”, says Russo. play” says Russo.

“Hearthstone offers you a unique bonding experiencenot over a death or traumatic experience (which has its obvious drawbacks) or a breathtaking view (which requires some money and often a car), but a game, with animations, explosions, and creatures leaping across the board,” says Schwertly.

In Hearthstone, you can play with friends in what’s called VS mode. In Hearthstone, you can play against friends with your phone or computer, anywhere, anytime.

If you’re on Skype or FaceTime or just next to each other, you can talk with your friends the whole time, laughing and trash talking them the whole time.

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According to a 2014 Google study, participants who played Hearthstone for four hours had much lower levels of cortisol, a hormone that is proven to increase stress and increase levels of dopamine, a hormone that stimulates the reward and motivation centers of your brain.

On Google Play, Hearthstone is listed as a “stress relieving” game.

“It’s amazing, really, what Hearthstone does for you,” says Juarez. “I love how it helps me cope with my stressful life. When I have Bs and sometimes Cs, I play Hearthstone”

Hearthstone has many options to learn and get better.. If you’re just looking to have fun or practice, you can play against a multitude of AIs and have fun. If you want to be ranked better and if you want to get better, you can play ranked, which increases your rank, from 30, to closer to one (the highest rank).

If you want to earn more cards/build your own deck from scratch, you can play the Arena, which allows you to build your own deck and compete with others in Arena, and earn rewards for how many times you’ve won. Rewards include booster packs, which you can use to get more cards, and gold, which is the currency Hearthstone uses to buy boosters and can be bought with real money.

Hearthstone Hearthstone offers unrivaled stress relief and provides many hours of entertainment and bonding over a simple computer game, which can be played on iOS or Android. For high school students and even some adults around the globe. When asked how they percieved Hearthstone, Russo, Juarez and Schwertly instantly replied, “I love Hearthstone.

It’s my favorite game.“

credit to feverheartstone.com

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by Daniel Chan League of Legends has almost 6 times as many players as DOTA (5.753 to be exact)

League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) published by Riot Games, based on the original DOTA (Defense of the Ancients, which was itself a mod of Warcraft III). Its playable characters are known as Champions, and there are 127 of them, with one more coming as of November 2015. In League, the object of the game is to push to the enemy base and destroy their Nexus, which is their main fortified structure, to win the game.

League of Legends’ games tend to run shorter and are more fast-paced, with Riot’s game design being more focused towards “balancing” every champion.

League of Legends’ Champions cost either RP (Riot Points, which cost real money to buy) or IP (Influence Points, which are earned in-game).

League of Legends is generally considered easier than DOTA, due to most champions’ gentle learning curves.

League of Legends’ world championship is (uncreatively) known as Worlds, with the prize pool being upwards of $2 million dollars.

League of Legends came after DOTA 2, leading to a lot of criticism of it by DOTA 2 fans and game critics.

V ashe Overall, both games have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither game is “better“ or “worse“ than the other. DOTA fans and League fans may be arguing about which game is better until the end of time, but they’re about equal.

DOTA 2 Dota 2 is a sequel of the original DOTA, published by Valve Corporation. DOTA’s playable characters are known as Heroes, and there are 110 of them, with 2 more on the way (as of November 2015). In DOTA 2, the main objective is to push to the enemy base and destroy the Ancient (hence the name Defense of the Ancients).

S

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Many League of Legends champions are considered (in)direct copies of DOTA champions, an example being Drow Ranger and Ashe, two characters that are extremely similar to one another (they both use an icy bow).

DOTA’s games tend to run longer, with games lasting upwards of an hour, because the games tend to focus more on grinding and making your hero stronger.

Every one of DOTA’s heroes are free to play.

DRow ranger DOTA is generally considered much harder than League, because a few of its heroes are extremely hard to learn (e.g. Meepo, Invoker).

DOTA’s world championship is know as The International, with the prize pool exceeding 15 million dollars.

Sources: venturebeat.com, dota2.gamepedia.com, leagueoflegends.wikia.com

Both games’ fans (stereotypically) don’t like each other, with League fans thinking that DOTA is too hard and too RNG based (random number), with DOTA fans thinking that League is a total ripoff of DOTA.

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How To Correctly Talk to Women By : Brenden Zimmerman

DON’TS Don’t e ven remotely con si der doing thi s DON’T CHECK YOUR PHONE: constantly

checking your phone while conversing with someone will give off the indication that you are not interested in the conversation which will make them lose interest in you. be engaged in conversation will maintain their attention in you and will also appreciate the attention you are giving them.

DON’T GET TRIVIAL: Don’t ask trivial questions.

Trivial questions are boring and have no interest value. ask trivial questions once you becoome friends, but not when you first meet them. trivial questions are boring and will not sustain conversation. talk about something else to break the ice.

DON’T JUDGE PEOPLE: dont assume what a person what a person will be like based on how they look. almost no one’s looks match their personality.

So if you see a person at the back of the room does not mean they want to be excluded. if you make an assumption, you are setting an personal standard.

DON’T USE PICK-UP LINES: Most girls have already heard them all a thousand times and they weren’t too pleased with any of them (that’s why they’re still available) if you don’t use a pick-up line they will see you as different from all the other guys that she has turned down. and you become a positive example for all the other women out there to prove that there are still good men out there.

DON’T RANT: Rants are boring and it sounds like they are just whining. no girl is going to be interested in a guy who is whining as soon as they meet. ask questions that get them engaged and will provide more than a one-word answer and try not to respond to any of her questions with one word answers or rants. No one likes one-word answers.

DON’T ASSUME HINTS: Don’t assume that things like bumping into someone or making eye contact from across the room is some kind of hint. take it for what it is: Random. You don’t have to start a conversation right away, just keep that in mind in case you do decide to interact with her later. if you approach er rigjht after you do something like eye contact from accross the room, th approach will be a bit awkward for her.

WARNING: If you do these things, you are not only not going to score a date or make a friend, you are practically begging to get slapped, or worse, SO DON’T DO IT!

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DO’S Definitely do thi s GO FOR IT: Unlike the things listed on the left, these things will make for a happpy woman. and if you can make a girl happy, she will want to be around you more, so DO THESE THINGS!

SMILE: as hard is it might be to go up and talk to a girl, maintain a smile on your face, if you approach her with a face of determination or anxiety, it will be a bit weird and she will be more reluctant to talk to you ASK ABOUT HERSELF: people love to talk about themselves more than anything else, so if you ask her about her thoughts, opinions, or about things she likes, she will be more likely to engage in that conversation with you than any other one, plus you can find something you two relate on and then you will have a chance to talk about yourself and she will begin to feel like she knows you.

CONFIDENCE: to most women whether they admit it or not, are a bit attracted to a man with confidence, so don’t be afraid to go up to her and talk, but be sure to draw the line between confident and cocky. don’t be cocky.

SUGGEST ATTRACTION: actually try to convey that

you are attracted to her and not just making your way around the place. it will flatter her and will subconsciously allow her to think of you in a different way (a good way). for example, say something like: “You couldn’t take your eyes off her all night because she looked like such an interesting person, so you had to come over and talk to her.”

LOOK LIKE YOU ARE HAVING FUN: when you look like you are having a good time, you appear significantly more likeable KEEP EYE CONTACT: Don’t scan the room while talking to someone. It is a clear indication you’re not interested in the conversation. If you really have no interest in what someone is saying, change the topic.

Or excuse yourself. There’s a million reasons to end the encounter; not every conversation has to be meaningful. Being able to look someone in the eyes is directly related to some recognizing honesty

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Meet the Contributors

Dominic Juarez enjoys playing games like League of Legends, the Batman: Arkham series, and the recently released Fallout 4.

He plays the viola, guitar, and is a master at Piano Tiles. He dislikes Terminator: Genisys, and the Star Wars prequels. When he grows up he wants to be a civil engineer for the City of Austin.

John Hearn lies on the opposite side of the popular MOBA debate, preferring DOTA to League of Legends. Other than DOTA, he enjoys playing Warframe and Unturned.

He likes pecan pie and playing the euphonium in the LBJ band. He dislikes tedious amounts of homework, and people who dislike DOTA. When he grows up he wants to be a biomedical engineer.

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Brenden Zimmerman enjoys all things food, unless it’s green, virtual reality, and the Halo series. He likes watching shows like Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother, and Doctor Who, all on the streaming service Netflix. He dislikes some of his classes and loud noises. When he grows up he wants to be a thermonuclear engineer.

Daniel Chan enjoys playing League of Legends, and strategy card games like Hearthstone and Magic: the Gathering. He enjoys spending time with his friends and playing both tennis and table tennis.

When he grows up he hopes to be a computer engineer. He dislikes the League of Legends champion Teemo.

Will Slatton enjoys activities related to computer science and mathematics. He likes programming and gaming and dislikes hardware, proprietary software, and reading others’ code. When he grows up, he would like to research artificial intelligence.

TechSpec Dec. 2015 Isssue