Before Dead Space, before Halo, and before Aliens: Colonial Fuck-Ups, there was Doom, one of the greatest and most influential video games ever created. Also, it was one of the first games where I actually memorized some of the codes and gleefully walked through walls for probably hours on end. (At the behest of my good friends, no doubt.) The always snazzy YouTube page Did You Know Gaming? focused a recent video on Doom (and its first two sequels), delving into not only its development history but also sharing details on everything from inspirations to enemies to weapons.

For anyone who hasn’t ever searched for Doom‘s Wikia page, this video should please you to no end. I can’t imagine how bonkers I would have gone over this video had I somehow been able to watch it at 12-years-old. I’m kind of ashamed to say that I knew next to none of the information shared here, and that I haven’t really thought about Doom all that much since I last played Doom II almost 20 years ago. It’s always good to mix a little nostalgia in with your education, right?

Looking back at the history of board games, it’s no surprise why the most successful ones remain so, even if their concepts must have seemed weird at the time. A game based on a person’s life choices? Well, okay. A game where you try to solve a murder? Makes sense, I guess. What about a game where you buy up property in New Jersey? Nah, that’s too three-dimensional, right? Of course not. And the dimensional aspect of board games is about to get a major boost with the upcoming projects based on the acclaimed Portal video games and Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster Inception. That’s right, two iconic pieces of pop culture are getting board games that could potentially be as complicated as trying to maneuver yourself through global politics. Damn you, Risk!

I’m the dad of two awesome three-year-old boys, and one of the things I’m most enjoying is getting to gradually introduce them to the shows and movies that I loved growing up, as well as discovering new stuff together. (We’re currently watching Clone Wars, as a gateway to the Star Wars films.) But as much as I love to let my geek flag fly high, the parents we’re highlighting in this story have definitely taken things to the next level. For instance, I love video games, but it never would have occurred to me to figure out a way to put my kids in a video game.

In my defense, I’m also not a game developer. Super-dad Ben Stirling, however, is, and he used his skills to insert his one-year-old into assorted popular video games. Up top we see a fairy hilarious shot of Stirling the Younger facing off against the Locust hordes from Gears of War. I love that in that one he actually put the kiddo’s head on one of the in-game character’s bodies.

As a non-cosplayer, I’m always flabbergasted at how much work, creativity, and detail those who are passionate about the hobby put into their creations. And honestly, I’m probably not equipped to objectively rank the best and brightest of the field. I mean, my grand plans for Halloween costumes each year usually peter off into me grabbing the bathrobe and towel and going as Arthur Dent yet again. But, much like the Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s infamous definition of pornography, I feel like I’ll know good cosplay when I see it. And cosplayer Enayla’s GLaDOS costume up there? The one that actually has her suspended from a harness, the better to mimic everybody’s favorite murderous, passive-aggressive A.I. helper? That’s good fucking cosplay. Somebody get this lady a slice of non-hypothetical cake already.

Honestly, the picture isn’t enough. Just glancing at that image doesn’t really give you an idea of what’s going on here, the architecture of how she’s inhabiting this thing. Thankfully there’s some video interview with Enayla, courtesy of Invader Boom. It gives some really good looks at how she’s contorted herself to evoke the look of GLaDOS from the Portal games. Clearly, this lady is committed to her art. I hope she used the bathroom before they strapped her into that thing.

In any science fiction movie or series, the setting almost always becomes a character in and of itself. Whether unfolding on a distant alien world, a claustrophobic starship, or an alternative version of our own place and time, science fiction needs to provide a world that feels unique and real, so that whatever story is unfolding feels believable and engaging.

For video games, this is all the more true. With games, you’re not just watching a story unfold on the screen, you’re immersed in it, experiencing it, and the best games make you feel that you truly have been transported into a different world. The catch-22 of that reality, however, is that we often miss out on the details of those elaborate game worlds because we’re too busy running, gunning, or driving through it, full speed ahead. YouTuber ultrabrilliant’s “Other Places” series of videos aims to rectify that, providing beautiful tours of some of the most unforgettable game worlds out there, accompanied by thematically appropriate music from each game’s composers.

One of the great joys of having kids is getting to introduce them to movies and shows and books and comics you love. The only problem is, you have to wait for them to actually be old enough to comprehend it all, much less enjoy it. But where’s the fun in that? There’s bound to be a way to get my three-year-olds interested in the stomach-bursting joys of the Alien franchise. You just have to learn to talk to them in their own jabber-y language. Or hey, kids like cartoons! Maybe it’s all a matter of presentation…