I鈥檓 a self-professed geek.
Okay, I don鈥檛 sport a pocket protector or taped-up, horned-rim glasses, I play sports, electric guitar and can talk to girls without too much stammering鈥� but deep inside I鈥檓 as nerdy as you can get. Chances are if it has anything to do with robots, outer space, superheroes or sword and sorcery 鈥� it makes me feel all warm and squishy inside.
And it鈥檚 a pretty good time to be a fanboy or geek, too, with new Star Wars, Star Trek and The Avengers movies coming out soon, plus Agents of Shield, Gotham, Constantine and The Flash all appearing weekly on the small screen.
Seriously. Warm and squishy just thinking about it.
It鈥檚 just as good if you鈥檙e also into video games (and what self-respecting geek isn鈥檛?), because every single massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMO) based on a fanboy-favourite franchise is absolutely free to play now.
When MMOs first hit the scene in 2000, you would have to both purchase the game discs from a store and pay $15 a month to roam a virtual game world with thousands of other people from around the globe.
I鈥檓 sure you鈥檒l agree that鈥檚 a lot of real cash to dish out for the privilege of stabbing a virtual orc in the eye with an imaginary sword made up of ones and zeroes.
And although games like World of Warcraft, Eve Online and Elder Scrolls Online all still charge those same hard-to-explain-to-your-wife subscription fees today; the vast majority of top-rated MMOs have switched over to a free-to-play business model.
Free-to-play games let you download and play the base game for absolutely nothing, but get you in the wallet by offering an in-game store that features cosmetic items for your characters, perks, boosts and bonuses, plus premium game content unlocks 鈥� all for real-world cash.
So, if you want to gain experience and progress faster, want to look different from every other character at your level, or maybe have a customized pet follow you around the game world, you鈥檇 better have a credit card handy.
The model has proved to be successful, and many MMOs that once were subscription-only at launch have made the move to free-to-play. Although, some still offer you the option of paying a monthly fee for a 鈥減remium鈥� experience that includes much of the content and customization features you鈥檇 otherwise have to buy.
But if you have a PC that can play these games 鈥� and you鈥檙e a geeky fanboy 鈥� there鈥檚 no reason you have to even lay down a dime to leap into one of your favourite franchises.
Do you like superheroes? Both DC Universe Online and Marvel Heroes 2015 are free titles worth any gamer鈥檚 time. DC has you create your own unique character to work alongside the likes of Batman and Superman, while Marvel lets you play their iconic heroes like Spiderman, Hulk and Iron Man.
More into sword and sorcery? Lord of the Rings Online is another fine and free MMO that lets you wander Tolkien鈥檚 world as an elf, dwarf or human.
Or how about space, the final frontier? Pilot your own starship and order your crew around as a Starfleet captain in the free-to-play Star Trek Online, or fight for the light or dark side of the Force in the epic (and free) Star Wars: The Old Republic.
So embrace your inner fanboy or geek, and rejoice that the world seems to be revolving around us at the moment.
Let the warm and squishy feelings begin.
