The Quill #3: Video Games #4

March 17, 2025

Open Worlds Aren’t Open or Worldly

Elder Scrolls ArenaOpen worlds have been a staple of ambitious video games since before the turn of the century, with games like Elder Scrolls: Arena and Fallout: A Post-Apocalyptic Role-Playing Game debuting in the ’90’s and growing into franchises that dominate the genre. Even in these early days of the gaming subculture, gamers had concerns about just how much nothing there was.

“Open world” is more of a feature of a game than a true subgenre. An open world in the context of video games is where the player character can pursue objectives and side objectives at their leisure in an open environment. This is opposed to a level-based system familiar in games like Super Mario Brothers. At first, these games were considered revolutionary for the freedom given to the player, reminiscent of Dungeons of Dragons, all without the need of a game master.

However, even one of the greatest examples of open worlds, Elder Scrolls: Arena, fell for a basic trap. Procedurally generated content is the bane of open-world games. Part of the reason open-world games were so revolutionary was that they allowed the player to explore a world. After a while, a procedural environment starts to feel samey and uninteresting. On the other side, wide tracts of empty land that were made by hand can be beautiful, but in contrast to parts of the game with more content, can feel very obviously like a forgotten or unfinished area.

StarfieldGames have struggled with this balancing act for a long time. There are precious few examples of games that can pull it off. Recently, a game called Starfield drew in players with promises of hundreds of real-sized worlds to explore, only for almost all of those worlds to be completely barren or filled with curiously omnipresent wildlife. Open worlds are not a box to check but a commitment to uphold to your players.

 —Aiden Gervais

The Quill #3: Sports Center

March 17, 2025

How Equipment in Sports has Evolved to Provide Better Protection

hockey equipmentSafety in sports has come a long way, specifically in terms of what equipment players wear during a game. The equipment we see in today’s games is a far cry from what players used to wear (or not wear) in the early development days of sports. There have been massive changes to the gear worn by players in sports leagues like the NHL and MLB. This piece will look deeper into how their equipment has changed over time.

Since its inception, the National Hockey League (NHL) has seen a massive upgrade to its players’ equipment. Nearly every piece of equipment a hockey player puts on for game day has seen some sort of improvement, to better its overall functionality and level of safety. The most shocking changes to the equipment, though, come in the form of their pads and helmets/masks, both of which are incredibly different from what players wear today. During the early days of professional hockey, no player on the ice wore a helmet, including goalies. The only “helmets” even seen on the ice were introduced to goalies in 1927 and looked exactly like the mask worn by Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise. Helmets and masks were not made to be mandatory until 1979 for offensive and defensive players, and 1959 for goalies. Hockey players also didn’t always compete with the same style of pads that we are used to seeing in today’s game. In the early days of  hockey, the only pads players wore were those fashioned from leather and canvas and shin guards made from wood and leather. It wasn’t until after World War II concluded that players began wearing pads made from more “protective” materials like plastic and fiberglass.

Major League Baseball (MLB) is another sports league that’s seen a significant upgrade to their equipment. Athletes in this league did not start playing with baseball gloves until 1860, after catchers began wearing them. However, they were nothing like what we’re used to seeing in today’s league. Back then, a “baseball glove” was nothing more than a typical leather work glove that usually had the fingers exposed. Catchers also did not wear any type of mask to protect their faces. The first instance of a catcher wearing a mask didn’t happen until May of 1876. Having said that, the next time you go out to play a sport, think about how far the game has evolved to provide you with the protection that it does today.

For more information about how hockey has changed, refer to this article from the NHL’s own Pittsburg Penguins.

For more information about how baseball has changed, refer to this article.

 —Seth VanEss, Sports Editor

The Quill #3: Self-Care Corner #1

March 17, 2025

Grounding Techniques

young woman breathingWhen people think of anxiety, they don’t usually associate physical symptoms with it. But for those who do experience anxiety attacks, these physical symptoms are a struggle some days: the heart beating faster, the sweaty/clammy palms, the stomach aches and pains, etc. They were for me!

I was so nervous about messing up at work when I first started in my position. I left the floor before fainting a handful of times. My heart would be racing, the production line would get blurry, and I would feel the emergent need to sit down. A therapist explained grounding techniques to me, and one of our fellow classmates reminded me of them just recently.

Grounding techniques! They are great for managing anxiety and helping you focus on the present and attempt to reduce the feelings of panic. Here are just a few effective examples:

    •  5-4-3-2-1 Technique: This involves using your senses to bring you back to the present. You need to identify:
      • 5 things you can see
      • 4 things you can touch
      • 3 things you can hear
      • 2 things you can smell
      • 1 thing you can taste
    • Deep Breathing: Take a moment to breathe deeply. Inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold for four, and exhale through your mouth for a count of four. Repeat this a handful of times.
    • Physical Grounding: Focus on the physical sensations of your body. You can press your feet into the ground, feel the texture of an object in your hand, or even take a walk and pay attention to how your body moves.
    • Count Backwards: Start at 100 and count backwards by threes. (100, 97, 94, etc.) This can help distract your mind from those anxious thoughts.
For me, personally, grounding techniques were great at reminding me that I am here, now. Ever since my therapist told me about them, I’ve used them a handful of times, and I can say that they work! Most of my anxieties are rooted in social interactions, so focusing on what’s real around me calms me down about how little the person I’m talking to cares if I stumble over a word, if I’m wrong, etc.
—Jenna Fintelmann, Self-Care Editor

The Quill #3: Self-Care Corner #2

March 17, 2025

Anxiety-Calming Tips

Person meditating
Photo by Kaboompics.com / Pexels.

Anxiety can be overwhelming, yet simple techniques exist that help you cope and remain calm. One of the simplest methods is deep breathing: inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, and then exhale for four seconds. This helps your body recognize that it’s safe and encourages relaxation.

An incredible way to manage anxiety is through progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). This gentle technique guides you to systematically tense and then slowly relax your muscles, starting from your toes and working your way up to your head. By tuning into the difference between tension and relaxation, PMR effectively helps release physical stress and creates a lovely sense of calm. Not only does this method reduce anxiety, but it also enhances your awareness of your body. It’s particularly useful before bedtime, alleviating restlessness and promoting a more restful sleep.

If you struggle with racing thoughts, journaling can be highly beneficial. Writing down your concerns transfers them from your mind to paper, making them feel more manageable.

Additionally, engaging in movement — such as taking a short walk, stretching, or dancing to your favorite song — can alleviate built-up tension.

Lastly, don’t overlook the importance of self-compassion. Remember that anxiety is merely a feeling, not a definition of who you are. Be gentle with yourself and tackle things step by step — you’re doing better than you think!

—Cheyenne Shull

 

The Quill #3: Today’s Trends

March 17, 2025

The Rise of Socks and Sandals

Person wearing socks and sandals
Photo by Amar Preciado / Pexels.

Socks and sandals, once thought to be the ultimate fashion faux pas, have made a delightful arrival in 2025! What was previously seen as a dad-on-vacation look is now proudly embraced by fashion-savvy Gen Z and millennial trendsetters alike. From celebrities to influencers, people are enjoying the fun of pairing everything from sporty slides to chunky platform sandals with vibrant, patterned socks. This trendy combination has transformed from a style mistake into a celebration of comfort, individuality, and that effortlessly cool vibe we all love.

Luxury brands and streetwear designs are bringing socks and sandals into the spotlight, showcasing them in their fabulous runway shows. Brands like Balenciaga, Prada, and even Crocs have given this trend a stylish, high-fashion twist. Plus, athleisure culture is in the mix, as more people are embracing that comfy, casual vibe that socks and sandals deliver.

Social media platforms like TikTok are really embracing this trend, with users proudly displaying their stylish looks featuring colorful, logo-emblazoned socks peeking out from their sandals. This change shows a larger movement in fashion where comfort and self-expression are taking center stage over strict style rules. What was once laughed at is now a shining example of carefree confidence, showing us that in fashion, even the most surprising trends can emerge into the spotlight!

—Cheyenne Shull, Trends Editor

The Quill #3: Nerd Zone #1

March 17, 2025

Wandering Wikipedia: Hot Dog Buns

hot dogs
Photo by Ball Park Brand / Unsplash. 

This week I was hungry, so I went to the lunch room and ate a hot dog. I thought to myself, “This would make a great article, the classic hot dog.” Then I thought, “The hot dog would not be complete without the humble bun, to keep one’s fingers from being covered in grease or burnt by the hot dog.” So, I pulled up Wikipedia and looked up hot dog buns.

While the term “‘hot dog”’ was coined in the late 19th century by Americans joking that German sausages looked suspiciously like their dachshunds, the bun itself was invented slightly before that. Interestingly, one man on Coney Island during the 1870s claimed to have invented the hot dog bun, but the earliest evidence we have comes from 1904, at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Here, a German concessionaire1 started a sausage stand that sold hot sausages called “Frankfurters” after his hometown of Frankfurt, Hesse.2

At first, the man loaned gloves to his customers to hold the sausage in order to protect their hands., However, his gloves were not being returned after customers had finished their sausages. Thus, the man went to his brother, who happened to be a baker, looking for a solution. From there, his brother made some rolls that were longer, thinner, and able to be easily be split down the side for easy insertion of frankfurters. This was the earliest evidence we have of hot dog buns.

And that’s all the random knowledge we have for you this week. Tune in next issue for another edition of Wandering Wikipedia.

Footnotes

1. One who sells concessions.
2. A state in central Germany.

Sylvie Cavros, The Nerd Zone Co-Editor

The Quill #3: Nerd Zone #2

March 17, 2025

Meme of the Week: The Life and Death of Duolingo

DUolingo OwlWhen you learn a new language, it can be hard to keep up with lessons without proper motivation. Thankfully, Duolingo has you covered. With over 100 million monthly users, Duolingo has helped many people all over the world. One of the major reasons was because of the insane characterization of Duo’s Keyshauna Renee Lingo, otherwise known as the Duolingo Owl.

Usually, a language app is nothing special, but Duolingo has a unique way of connecting with its users. There have been plenty of screenshots of the Duolingo Owl casually threatening the app’s users when they haven’t done their lessons. Sometimes the threats are passive, like “You know what happens now,” but other times they are direct, such as “Do it, you vermin.” The threats became got so popular that the official Duolingo account made an announcement on April 1st, 2019 to their Twitter and Instagram accounts saying that they will start offering “in-person notifications,” meaning that someone will physically tell you to do your lessons. All of these threats have helped the app to grow.

But on February 11th, 2025, the official Duolingo account announced that their lovely bird mascot has passed away. He was hit by a Cybertruck and died from his injuries. As the users of Duolingo were mourning his death, a few weeks later on February 26th, the Duolingo Owl came back from the dead. He explained that he faked his death because he was trying to impress his crush Dua Lipa and to grab the attention of the app’s users. While many people are thankful the Duolingo Owl is alive, a handful of them are upset at him for lying.

I was sent an Instagram reel about this whole situation, and all of a sudden, the Duolingo Owl was all over my feed. A lot of people are drawn to the shenanigans of this owl and how he knows every single language under the sun. Most of the Duolingo memes come from how unhinged the lesson reminders are, making the Duolingo Owl a force to be reckoned with. If you see this green owl plastered on your screen, please pay attention to it … because you never know what he may do next.

—Julia Hahn, The Nerd Zone Co-Editor

The Quill #3: Nerd Zone #3

March 17, 2025

Fantasy Fight Club: Wile E. Coyote vs. Captain Boomerang

Captain Boomerang and Wile E. CoyoteWelcome to another rendition of Fictional Fight Club, where two random characters FIGHT TO THE DEATH! We have some fun fights coming up between two different character pairs who may have more in common than you think. Before we get into the main event, let’s start off with a battle of villains that rely on weapons. For the opening fight, we introduce Wile E. Coyote from Looney Tunes and Captain Boomerang from The Flash! 

Both fighters are known for chasing speedsters using weapons, yet they always fail. To start, Wile E. Coyote uses various ACME products to attempt to catch the Roadrunner. From hydration boulders to jet-fueled skates, these weapons should be able to nab a single speedy bird. But for some reason, no matter what Wile E. Coyote tries, the traps always blow up in his face. It’s surprising that he hasn’t sued for false advertising yet.

In the other corner, we have Captain Boomerang. Also known as George “Digger” Harkness, Captain Boomerang’s main goal is has been to commit a heist while taking down the Flash in the process. The Australian uses boomerangs to his advantage and has come very close to killing the Flash and Batman. Time after time, he has failed on his one goal, usually caused by his boomerangs.

You’d think this would be an easy win for Captain Boomerang, right? Well, Wile E. Coyote has one more trick up his sleeve that can cause the tides to turn  defying gravity.

The Coyote has the magical ability to bend the laws of physics. Every time he runs off a cliff, he can hang out in the air for a long period of time. He eventually hits the ground, but miraculously survives. From what we have seen, Wile E. Coyote has faced death and survived on multiple occasions. Captain Boomerang, on the other hand, has died before at the hands of various rogues. He has seen the other side, only to come back and then die again.

Due to the fact that Wile E. Coyote seemingly cannot die at all, we are going to give him the win to him. It doesn’t mean that Captain Boomerang won’t put up a fight. I think that the two of them should team up with ACME and create a device to finally capture and kill the Flash and the Roadrunner.

Speaking of which, let’s go on to the main event. Give it up for the Roadrunner and the Flash!

—Julia Hahn
[Editor’s note: Image generated using an exhaustive number of prompts with Google Gemini, which apparently has no idea who Captain Boomerang is or what a boomerang actually looks like.]

The Quill #3: Nerd Zone #4

March 17, 2025

Fantasy Fight Club: The Flash vs. Roadrunner

Road Runner vs. The FlashAre you ready to rumble? This week’s headline fight has two of the fastest folks in fantasy put head-to-head, or rather, head-to-beak. That’s because this week, we have something a little more cartoony, something a little more looney-toons.

Standing at 6’1” and 175 lbs, we have The Flash, or when he’s investigating the latest crime scene, Barry Allen. He has various speed-related powers, such as super speed, incredibly quick thinking, and even the ability to vibrate fast enough to pass through matter. While this does make him a rather formidable opponent, his challenger has been known to outwit many a foe.

Now, in the blue corner, we have an absolute icon of speed, smarts, and silliness. Beep! Beep! It’s the Roadrunner! Now, you may be wondering, shouldn’t this bird be foiling a coyote’s plan somewhere? Don’t worry, he did, and then he zoomed so fast he tore a hole in the fabric of space and time and ended up here.

While this lone bird may be powerless, it always seems that any plans to do it harm backfire in some way. This is exactly what happened to The Flash as he attempted to take on this devious bird. He first attempted to simply rush the bird, but it dashed out of the way. Barry attempted to back it into a corner, and it escaped between his legs. As The Flash stood there, panting and out of breath, he tried to think of a more clever solution, and then it hit him. He’s probably faster than this bird.

He started to run circles around the ring, trapping the bird, but then the outside of his foot landed on a stray feather causing him to slip, fall, and hit his head. He was unconscious the second he hit the mat. Our victor of today’s battle is the Roadrunner!

—Sylvie Cavros

The Quill #3: Nerd Zone #5

March 17, 2025

Fantasy Fight Club: D&D Version!

In this edition of The Quill, we are seeing a big fight happening between two iconic speedsters, The Road Runner from Looney Tunes and The Flash. These characters have extreme feats of agility in their original media, but how would you translate that into a playable Dungeons and Dragons character? Sit down, grab your dice, and pull up a character sheet, because you might just have your next joke character with today’s edition of Fight Club: D&D Version!

Character Name: The Road Runner

If you are trying to make a Road Runner-inspired chara

The Road Runner as a D&D Aacrakocra
Image created with Google Gemini.

cter, you’ll have to take some liberties from the typical D&D rules. For your character’s race, you may want to pick a bird-like race like Aarakocra (see photo above), which is a handy choice — especially since you naturally get +2 for dexterity! Speaking of dexterity, that’s the stat you’ll want to dump all your points into. Whether you’re playing with point buy or rolling for stats, you’ll want to make sure to pick the highest possible stats for dexterity. Typically, a playable D&D character maxes out their stats at 20 points, but that won’t be nearly enough to portray the amount of speed your Road Runner has. You’ll want to get the very rare item, the Manual of Quickness of Action to boost your dexterity all the way to 22!

Besides stats, however, there are a few complications when playing a character based on the Road Runner. You can only speak in “beep beeps!” meaning that you are not allowed to speak any language. This creates a few complications without homebrew intervention, as that means you aren’t allowed to play any spell-casting class. At least you’ll be the most dangerous and speediest rogue this world has ever seen!

The Flash as a D&D monk
Image created with Google Gemini.

The Flash is a legendary speedster who warps the very fabric of reality with how fast he moves — so how do we put that into a D&D character? Well, first, you’d want to pick the human race, which gives you a +1 stat increase in your ability scores, as well as options for feats like Charger. The Charger feat lets you make a melee attack during the dash action, which will represent the lightning-quick attacks The Flash is able to make. Similar to the Road Runner, you’ll want to focus heavily on your dexterity stat and related skills. Just having high dexterity doesn’t quite exemplify being The Flash, though, which is why you’ll want to pick a sensible class. For The Flash, you might want to go with a class that has access to electricity-based spells, or you might want to go with Monk (see photo above) for the ability to deliver rapid punches. You’ll also want to continue picking out feats that increase mobility, like Mobile, which lets you dash on tough terrain as well as increasing your speed. With all this in mind, you’ll be able to create a character who can run and punch all over the place!

—Alex Lopez