Jay Vergara
Bio
I'm a SoCal based photographer and freelance writer with a love for everything nerdy.
Follow me on Instagram at Mediumblast and Twitter on @medivmblast
Stories (162/0)
Why the NES from Nintendo is Still One of the Most Important Consoles Ever Made
Almost any gamer can look at the block outline of the NES controller and immediately recognize it. The simple looking controller is easily one of the most iconic symbols of gaming out there. Initially released in North America in 1985, this console arrived in the wake of the video game crash that followed before it. A lot of people were passing video games off as just another fad. The funny thing about the NES is that its impact on the gaming world rippled further out than anyone could have realized. For a lot of gamers, this was the start of their love affair with games and the source of a lot of solid inside jokes used in adulthood.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Gamers
Take A Look At One of THE Best Guile Cosplays I've Ever Seen
I completely understand that the 4th of July already came and went but when this cosplay was brought to my attention, I just had to share it with you. Guile from the Street Fighter series has been one of my favorite characters since I was a wee lad and seeing him come to life like this is nothing short of glee inspiring. This guy is literally Guile and, therefore, literally America.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
Watch This Cosplayer Roll His Way Through Saboten Con 2017
Even if you've only played a hot minute of #DarkSouls you know that there's a move that comes in handy in a pinch. If timed right, this move can save your life and can even put you in a position to strike a decisive blow if you're good enough. What I'm talking about, of course, is the all mighty roll. Getting those invincibility frames in at the right time can mean the difference between a mighty victory and screaming into the sun.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
Cosplayers Pull Off Amazing 'Beauty and the Beast' Shoot On a Budget
With cosplay steadily becoming a lot more mainstream, it's gotten a lot of people's attention. It seems like every year more and more people are giving it a try and the amount of awesome cosplay at conventions keeps increasing which is awesome. There are some, however, who might be intimidated by the hobby. Maybe they think they just don't have it in them artistically or they figure the hobby itself is prohibitively expensive. While it's true that there are some builds out there with price tags that could make your eyes water, that doesn't always have to be the case.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
Hating Every Picture I Take and Why That Means I Have to Keep Going
I started photography about seven months ago in June of 2016. It started out as something to help jazz up my articles for Movie Pilot or Now Loading. I figured if I get sent to press events that it would be nice if I took my own pictures instead of having to pull from the internet. I borrowed a camera for a press conference for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I sort of fell in love with that particular camera.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
Cosplay and Commerce: How Joanna Lynn Turned Her Passion Into A Successful Business
For the past six months I've been on a journey to learn photography that was all started by going to cons. This week, I jumped into the deep end by shooting with someone different every day and I got the opportunity to shoot with someone pretty cool. It was a little nerve wracking but that's how I always am when shooting with someone new. The good news is that I made it out alive. The cosplayer I got to shoot with was Joanna Lynn and she's known for her spot on princess cosplays. On this day, however, I decided on something a little different. Something that didn't involve cosplay (which is a stretch for me, I know). Thankfully she was patient with my experiment and was a joy to work with. She knew how to pose with very little direction which was a godsend for a beginner like me.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
How Going to A Con Alone To Take Photos Started My Cosplay Photography Adventure
When I was in college, I used to go to cons pretty often. It was mostly an excuse to walk around in a Yukata and utilize its utterly amazing sleeve pockets. Eventually, though, my attendance started to taper off. I graduated and so did my crew, which meant we were off doing our own thing; A few moved out of state, some moved just far enough that regularly hanging out wasn't possible. Either way, we grew up and grew out of that kind of thing. At least that's what I told myself when I finally stopped going. A part of me never stopped liking cons, though. I always loved watching the cosplay music videos and other great content that came from them.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
If You Ever Wanted a Battlefield 1 & Titanfall 2 Mashup, Check This Out
While playing Battlefield 1 did you ever think "man, sure wish there were more giant robots in this"? Maybe you enjoyed the heart pounding action of being put in WW1, but also wanted the joy of giant robotic death machines. I mean, there are very few things in life that aren't improved by giant robots, right?
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Gamers
Super Mario Run Has Been Announced, But Here's What I'm Actually Excited About
The iPhone launch event this week was pretty standard fare for the most part. At least that's what I got from the tweets my friends were shooting out. People were also foaming at the mouth about the headphones of the thing, but I didn't pay much attention. To be honest, I haven't paid much attention to the iPhone since it first came out since I am, admittedly, an Android fanboy. I didn't expect to there to be anything for me to get hyped about. Boy, was I wrong. During the event, Shigeru Miyamoto came up on stage and I paid attention with wide eyes and a confused stare. Shigeru Miya-f*#king-moto!? What the heck was he doing at an Apple event? And then he made the announcement. Super Mario would be coming to iOS via the mobile game, Super Mario Run.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Gamers
Analyzing the Rise and Fall of 'Pokemon GO'
The last two months have been an absolute whirlwind, hasn't it? One minute we're all just minding our business and then the next, a little app called Pokemon GO is dropped and the world went absolutely wild for it. In fact, the hype around the app reached absolute fever pitch to the tune of 45 million active users during its peak in July. Those are crazy numbers for any app which is why it was top of the charts in the App Store for a good long while.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Gamers
Live In The LA Area? Then You Have to Check Out The Perky Nerd
You know what's better than comic books, coffee, and tabletop gaming? Being able to have all those things at the same time. That was the concept behind The Perky Nerd, a newly opened comic book store and coffee shop in Burbank, CA. It's only been open for about six weeks and it's already making its mark in the local area with great events like its Geek Pride Day trivia extravaganza held this weekend. I was lucky enough to be in attendance and I vaguely crushed it at nerd trivia. My team, which we named "Anakin and the Midi-cholrians," didn't win but that's only because the room was filled with trivia savvy nerds. Also, there were a lot of GoT questions and for some reason no one in my team watches that show.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Geeks
Hit Series 'Critical Role' Releases Fan Art Book
If you even have a passing interest in Dungeons & Dragons then you may have heard of the series Critical Role. It's a live, multi-platform role playing show featuring Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer (Overwatch) and Vox Machina, a troupe of voice actors including Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us) who've worked on multiple nerd related projects. The show's engaging, funny, and Mercer makes for a very good Dungeon Master. So much so that people have been hooked ever since Geek & Sundry rolled out their first episode on YouTube way back in 2015. The premise back then was pretty simple, watch a bunch of nerds play Dungeons & Dragons. But it was much more than that. The stories they were telling together were compelling and it was just fun watching friends interact with each other while playing a classic tabletop game.
By Jay Vergara6 years ago in Gamers