I Need Free Geek Entertainment Options!

The Summer Of Free is coming and I'll need to start doing my research soon!

I'd love to get some help with that, so if you have any suggestions for geek entertainment that is 100% (no grey areas) legal and 100% free, please let me know here or e-mail me at paeter(at)spiritblade(dot)com! Thank you!

Ooh. Here's an idea that's a little out of the box, but might fit the bill. For those who like superhero shows.
This is a web series about an ordinary guy (in my hometown) trying to become a real life superhero. It's amusing and very well produced. They're currently shooting their second season.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbA9wUs-S6b5qtezJpTxyQ

I'd mention that the side-kick character is the husband of the sister of my brother's wife (but that would be a Tasmanian stereotype and I don't want to promote those)

This guy reminds me a little of you, Adam! I think that means I'm racist, right? If all "down under" folks sound the same to me?
Yeah. Man, I hate being a racist. I never thought it would happen to me, but that's just the nature of life I guess.

I should really stop posting just after getting caffeinated.

My recommendation is to get a library card.

Our library has DVD, Blu-ray, and game "rentals". In addition, if you combine it with an Overdrive account you can get free audio books. We're also part of a system where you can get items on inter-library loan.

This is a great way to sample geek entertainment.

Paeter wrote:This guy reminds me a little of you, Adam! I think that means I'm racist, right? If all "down under" folks sound the same to me?
Yeah. Man, I hate being a racist. I never thought it would happen to me, but that's just the nature of life I guess.

I should really stop posting just after getting caffeinated.

Well, we have the same accent, we're both geeks, but I've never filmed myself on the toilet.
I think we can overlook it.

jorowi wrote:My recommendation is to get a library card.

Y'know, you've been promoting the Library for years, and I think it's time I gave it a good try. Based on what I've heard from my wife, my sister and now from what you're describing, the U.S. public library has changed a lot. I do remember when I started to see movies there, at the tail end of when I would still go from time to time. But they were all crappy movies. To hear that you can get games there now... that just kind of blows my mind.

So I am officially planning a scouting mission to my local library for "Summer Of Free" consideration.

Good to hear! Some libraries even have 3d printers you can use (for a fee). My kids use the teen room to play games while we're there. Sometimes they bank up their game time for trips to the library because they have new consoles than we do.

Seriously, look into Overdrive. I've listened to about 50 free audiobooks in the last 3 years.

I'd also recommend paying attention to Steam. Every once in a while an "old" game is offered for free for 24 hours.

jorowi wrote:

I'd also recommend paying attention to Steam. Every once in a while an "old" game is offered for free for 24 hours.

Good tip! Do you just check in now and then and set the price filter to "free", or do you get notified somehow?

I just check in once in a while.

Most people probably know about the free movies on Vudu and Crackle, but there is also an assortment of older geeky movies available for free (with ads) on Shout Factory TV http://www.shoutfactorytv.com

There are definitely movies there to avoid (for likely sexual content given the Titles), but if you are in the mood for sci-fi, horror, cultish movies like The Winged Serpent, Army of Frankensteins, Dreamscape, or classic MST3K, there is some free entertainment .

fxruizx wrote:there is also an assortment of older geeky movies available for free (with ads) on Shout Factory TV http://www.shoutfactorytv.com

Cool! Thanks, Francisco!

Anybody who has a fondness for classic adventure games would be interested in http://sarien.net/
With the legal blessing of Activision, they have made popular games from the Space Quest, King's Quest, Police Quest, and Black Cauldron series available to play for free in a browser.
This is interesting from a technical perspective, as the guy who runs the site re-implemented the AGI interpreter in Javascript and HTML. Quite an undertaking.

AdamCollings wrote:Anybody who has a fondness for classic adventure games would be interested in http://sarien.net/
With the legal blessing of Activision, they have made popular games from the Space Quest, King's Quest, Police Quest, and Black Cauldron series available to play for free in a browser.
This is interesting from a technical perspective, as the guy who runs the site re-implemented the AGI interpreter in Javascript and HTML. Quite an undertaking.

Thanks so much, Adam!