Please turn in your geek card, sir/madam.

[Elfgore]

It's safe to say most of us here are of a geeky nature. Most geeky things tend to have deep backstories and complex ideas, that can sometimes make us forget the basics. This thread is to admit to you making a silly mistake about something nerdy.

Mine is Pokemon. Most would say any decent Pokemon geek, could at least tell you what generation every Pokemon comes from. I've failed at this. I've gone the past nine years, assuming that Marill and Azumarill were first gen Pokemon. It didn't help that my first experience with first gen was FireRed, in which Oak tells you about Pokemon with a Marill. Yesterday while browsing through bulbapedia, I see Marill in second gen. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt ashamed at my faulty Pokemon knowledge.

So, when have you guys felt like you needed to turn in your geek cards?

 

[madwarper]

Mine is Pokemon. Most would say any decent Pokemon geek, could at least tell you what generation every Pokemon comes from. I've failed at this. I've gone the past nine years, assuming that Marill and Azumarill were first gen Pokemon. It didn't help that my first experience with first gen was FireRed, in which Oak tells you about Pokemon with a Marill. Yesterday while browsing through bulbapedia, I see Marill in second gen. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt ashamed at my faulty Pokemon knowledge.

To be fair, there was a rumored hidden Pikachu evolution in Gen 1 called the Pikablu. The picture attributed to the rumor turned out to a leaked model of Gen 2's Marril.

 

[JoJo]

Most of the time when people talk about a 'classic game', I have zero idea what they're talking about. Most likely due to me not getting into gaming until the mid Noughties, anything before then passed under my radar and I've never bothered catching up

 

[Fappy]

Mine is Pokemon. Most would say any decent Pokemon geek, could at least tell you what generation every Pokemon comes from. I've failed at this. I've gone the past nine years, assuming that Marill and Azumarill were first gen Pokemon. It didn't help that my first experience with first gen was FireRed, in which Oak tells you about Pokemon with a Marill. Yesterday while browsing through bulbapedia, I see Marill in second gen. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt ashamed at my faulty Pokemon knowledge.

To be fair, there was a rumored hidden Pikachu evolution in Gen 1 called the Pikablu. The picture attributed to the rumor turned out to a leaked model of Gen 2's Marril.

I remember that rumor. I went crazy as a kid trying to figure out how to get him. Man, there were so many rumors like that in Gen 1. I still don't understand what the fuck the deal is with that truck near the S.S. Anne. No Mew under that shit! I have tried!

 

[Neverhoodian]

Well, lessee here...

-I have never played a single Final Fantasy game (aside from a few minutes of the prologue and a blitzball round in FFX).

-I don't care much for the Mega Man franchise. The gameplay is okay, but I find the difficulty to be too frustrating. Actually, that can apply to many "classic" 8 and 16-bit games. "NES hard" difficulty tends to be a big turn-off for me unless it's meant to be an arcade-style or roguelike experience.

-I can't bring myself to play many old-school FPS games like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. Not because I think they're bad or offensive, but because I get motion sickness when I try to play them.

-I'm not interested in tabletop RPGs or CCGs. The rules tend to be too needlessly complicated for my taste.

-I have never seen a single episode of many "nerdy" TV shows, such as Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Firefly, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, etc.

-I find most 80's cartoons like Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be hollow and vapid. Perhaps that can be chalked up to having not grown up watching them. I was born in 1986, which was a little too late to catch them in their heyday. My family didn't have cable either, so I flat-out couldn't watch many cartoons even if I wanted to unless it was at the neighbor kid's house.

-I'm not interested at all in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It just looks...dumb to me.

 

[shrekfan246]

Mine is Pokemon. Most would say any decent Pokemon geek, could at least tell you what generation every Pokemon comes from. I've failed at this. I've gone the past nine years, assuming that Marill and Azumarill were first gen Pokemon. It didn't help that my first experience with first gen was FireRed, in which Oak tells you about Pokemon with a Marill. Yesterday while browsing through bulbapedia, I see Marill in second gen. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt ashamed at my faulty Pokemon knowledge.

To be fair, there was a rumored hidden Pikachu evolution in Gen 1 called the Pikablu. The picture attributed to the rumor turned out to a leaked model of Gen 2's Marril.

I remember that rumor. I went crazy as a kid trying to figure out how to get him. Man, there were so many rumors like that in Gen 1. I still don't understand what the fuck the deal is with that truck near the S.S. Anne. No Mew under that shit! I have tried!

Didn't you hear? You're supposed to Surf south and then turn 360 degrees and Surf back toward it while chanting prayers to the Almighty. And even then it's only a .1% chance!

OT: I have flawless knowledge of all things geeky. I have never been wrong about anything, ever.

Somewhat more seriously, I'm just having a hard time thinking of one. I tend to do a fair bit of research on topics I'm going to talk about if I don't already have the background information behind them and am going to actually tackle the topic at hand rather than something somebody said in it.

I mean, there are a lot of things I know nothing about; I'd never even watched Blade Runner until last night. But most of the things I get any investment in, I think I look up enough to not have stumbles like that? Not memorable ones, at least... oh well, I've always said I'm incredibly boring.

 

[Eamar]

Somewhat more seriously, I'm just having a hard time thinking of one. I tend to do a fair bit of research on topics I'm going to talk about if I don't already have the background information behind them and am going to actually tackle the topic at hand rather than something somebody said in it.

I mean, there are a lot of things I know nothing about; I'd never even watched Blade Runner until last night. But most of the things I get any investment in, I think I look up enough to not have stumbles like that? Not memorable ones, at least... oh well, I've always said I'm incredibly boring.

I think I'm in the same boat - I don't really make basic mistakes about the things I'm into, but there are lots of geeky things I know next to nothing about. For example, I wasn't a gamer and I didn't watch cartoons when I was a kid, so I have no investment in most "classic" games/cartoons and hence no motivation to become knowledgeable about them.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I have never watched Doctor Who or Predator?. While I plan to watch the latter, I'm not sure about the former. I don't know where to start or how to understand the whole series.

 

[EeveeElectro]

When I went to see Winter Soldier, I was in my Captain America tee and some guys on the row behind spotted this and started laughing and not so subtly said "heheh the shirt, she doesn't even know what Captain America is. I turned round to them, smiled widely and (jokingly) said, "Of course I do, he's the one with the hammer!"
Following on from that story, I put a tweet up 'Imagine the kids between Black Widow and Cpt America!'
Someone replied telling me they do have a child at one point. D'oh. I don't read any Avengers comics so I didn't even know.
I did mean it as 'imagine how gorgeous a child between Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans would be!' though.

My niece showed me something and I asked her if it was a new Moshi Monsters character and she told me it was a Pokemon. For shame :/

 

[Scarim Coral]

I guess my would be calling myself a Gundam fan and yet I have not once watch any of the Universial Century (Gundam, Zeta etc) series except for Unicorn. Granded I have read summeries of the UC timeline and most of their series so I kind of awared of the situation in Unicorn most of the time.
In saying so when I do state myself to be a Gundam fan, I do say it as post Gundam Win fan as I have seen all of the Gundam series from Gundam Wing upward except for Destiny (which is not a bad thing from what I read about that sequel).

 

[Someone Depressing]

Oh God, D&D. The one or two times I played Dungeons and Dragons, one of the times a room exploded and I ended up seperated from the party, so they tried to get me out and exploded the support beams that held the dungeon up, killing us all.

Did not realise what all the hype was. Never got into it. Biggest regret when it comes to RPGs.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I have a heavy binder full of Pokemon cards (generations 1 and 2), but I've never played the game before. Why I have the as opposed to selling them, I dunno. Probably because I don't know a soul that would wanna buy them since the other generations and their rules would render the cards I have worthless and useless.

I have Final Fantasy X-2 scroll posters, yet I've never played the game (I've no clue who the heck this grey-haired chick wielding a sword as large as she is tall is).

I've had to take my computer to a shop to get it fixed or rebuilt, despite having built my computer. There are some things I can't do, and trying would inevitably cause even more problems.

I also aggressively ignore shows that are very popular with geekdom because it seems like the shows are being thrown in my face no matter where I go, basically telling me to watch it (Game of Thrones, Walking Dead et al).

 

[Lilani]

-I don't care much for the Mega Man franchise. The gameplay is okay, but I find the difficulty to be too frustrating. Actually, that can apply to many "classic" 8 and 16-bit games. "NES hard" difficulty tends to be a big turn-off for me unless it's meant to be an arcade-style or roguelike experience.

-I can't bring myself to play many old-school FPS games like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D. Not because I think they're bad or offensive, but because I get motion sickness when I try to play them.

-I'm not interested in tabletop RPGs or CCGs. The rules tend to be too needlessly complicated for my taste.

-I have never seen a single episode of many "nerdy" TV shows, such as Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Firefly, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, etc.

-I find most 80's cartoons like Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be hollow and vapid. Perhaps that can be chalked up to having not grown up watching them. I was born in 1986, which was a little too late to catch them in their heyday. My family didn't have cable either, so I flat-out couldn't watch many cartoons even if I wanted to unless it was at the neighbor kid's house.

Pretty much all of these apply to me, as well. I like the idea of the MegaMan series, but I can only deal with controller-snappingly frustrating difficulty if I'm REALLY taken in by the game, and at this point the only game that's really pushed me beyond that normal threshold is Psychonauts. The only FPS I've really gotten into is TF2, I've tried a few tabletop games with friends but I never could get into those either, of those series you listed I've only seen Firefly and even then I don't remember much (because I was watching with my boyfriend at the time and was spending more time making eyes at him than anything), and while I enjoyed many 80s/90s cartoons and kids shows TMNT, Transformers, and Power Rangers were not among them.

 

[Shadowstar38]

I've gone the past nine years, assuming that Marill and Azumarill were first gen Pokemon. It didn't help that my first experience with first gen was FireRed, in which Oak tells you about Pokemon with a Marill. Yesterday while browsing through bulbapedia, I see Marill in second gen. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I felt ashamed at my faulty Pokemon knowledge.

That's probably cause Marill showed up in the anime during the Orange Island thing before Gen 2 came out.

OT: I think I asked a friend of mine if Ironman's suit is actually made of iron. I mean, it just seems like there are better materials you could use there.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

-I'm not interested in tabletop RPGs or CCGs. The rules tend to be too needlessly complicated for my taste.

That isn't always the case, though it depends how you approach them. I have no first hand experience of the the former, but know that the secret to playing and learning to play a tabletop RPG is a good DM and friendly players who won't be put out that one is new. You'll find that more players are helpful friendly than not because a) it's not a massive playerbase b) they were a noob once and c) by being helpful and friendly it encourages more people to try and join the hobby.

With regard to CCGs, they can be needlessly complicated but really that's only if you life and breathe that stuff. Weighing every card, considering every strategy and being ultra competitive drives one to obsessiveness. Many of those games offer pre-built "starter decks". They're not for competitions by any stretch, but are relatively inexpensive (say £5-ish each) and are created to introduce a beginner to the game without worrying about any specifics. They usually include instructions on any relevant strategies as well. Picking up 2-4 of these decks is not expensive and offers 2-3 players choice and variety. You each crack open one of the decks and learn as you play. You'll find you learn the rules very quickly and don't need to know anything more advanced.

Even if you never pursue it further, the balanced, pre-built decks can be played as they are for fun and without significant knowledge, investment or commitment. I genuinely recommend giving it a try in lieu of a board game/spilt screen game next time you have a (willing) friend over. Not a date tho, unless you never want to see her again

 

[Shymer]

So, when have you guys felt like you needed to turn in your geek cards?

The last time I went to a games convention. Or wargaming club. Or role-playing game group. Then I realise... I'm just not into this stuff. I don't collect books/posters/memorabilia, I don't dress up, I'm not sure I can name every character or actor, I don't remember episodes, or story arcs, I don't spot fan call outs, or nods to fans. I like games, I enjoy films, I like science and technology - just not that much. My lack of passion about these things probably means I never had the geek card to begin with. I cannot turn in that which I never had.

 

[Ranorak]

I have never watched Doctor Who or Predator?. While I plan to watch the latter, I'm not sure about the former. I don't know where to start or how to understand the whole series.

In 2005 They restarted The Doctor Who series. They created all new series with the idea that all the previous 8 doctors did infact happen, but the viewer will not possible know it. So old things get re-introduced as if new. And a big off-screen event called The Time War happened in between that pretty much redefined some aspects of the Doctor.

So, start with Series 1, Episode 1 "Rose" and go from there.
All you need to know is that The Doctor is a alien, with a time machine, that can regenerated when near-death. And, if you start with "Rose" he's in his 9th regeneration*.

As for the question at hand, I feel I had to hand in my Geek Card when I forgot FF8's main Character's name was Squall.

*....Or is he...?

 

[Little Woodsman]

There are a lot of "geek" things that I'm not in to at all, but I don't count those as embarrassing mistakes.
*However*--I am the 'ancient comic book geek' in my circle of geek friends, and often get hit up with questions such as "Is Juggernaut's power more his strength, or more his invulnerability?" {neither, btw} and "If aliens were to kidnap Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Captain Atom, and manacle them to a table and put an electric current through the table, and slowly increase the electricity, which would go unconscious first and which last?" always giving detailed & supportable answers. My friends won't play "Geek Out" with me any more because I have too great an advantage in the comic books category.

But once when playing Trivial Pursuit, in a question for the win, I got the question "What iconic Marvel Comics character has a red, white and blue costume and uses a shield?"-- And even though my brain went "Duh, Captain America" my mouth said "Captain Marvel". My only excuse is that I was *really* *really* tired....

 

[Veylon]

I've felt like I needed to trade in my card a few times over technical stuff, especially with Linux, but never with knowledge of fictional worlds.