EMPIRE OF THE ANTS VIDEO GAME

Entomologists, zoologists who study insects, as well as those of us who are fans of Disney's "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" movies are sure to be geeked about an upcoming video game coming to PC, PlayStation and Xbox later this year. Video game publisher Microids is creating a 3D strategy game based upon author Bernard Werber's popular Empire of the Ants novel. In Werber's science fiction fantasy, ants are the heroes of the story while humans are the pesty antagonists. The upcoming video game will allow players to explore a vast photo-realistic world inspired by Bernard Werber's book viewed from an ant's perspective. 

Microids just released a trailer of its work in progress for Empire of the Ants. The video game looks amazing! Check out the Microids Empire of the Ants trailer:

In the Empire of the Ants video game, use every move to your advantage on the path to world domination. Strategy, exploration, conflict, and alliances with local wildlife species will be essential for your colony’s survival. Stand out elements of the game include:

• Take part in an epic adventure - Take the role of a brave ant through a third person view and explore unique abilities that can help you in battle and exploration. 
•  A 3D real-time strategy game with progressive difficulty - The game offers an intuitive experience with tutorials for newcomers to learn RTS fundamentals, while providing scalable difficulty and advanced mechanics for veteran players. 
•  Explore vast environments and meet the local wildlife - Empire of the Ants will invite players to sink their teeth into a photorealistic forest where they will meet and interact with other ants and forest dwellers throughout their journey. 
•  Immersive and photo-realistic - Unreal Engine 5 pushes the boundaries of photorealism - just look at the plants and wildlife! 
•  Narrative based on the seasons - The game features a narrative that follows the rhythm of the seasons and affects wildlife attributes such as speed, resistance, buffs, and more. 
•  Day and night environments - The maps in the game will also change depending on the time of day (day, night, dawn, and twilight).

For more updates on the video games release, visit microids.com

One of my favorite scenes in the Empire of the Ants video game trailer was watching the appearance of the Praying Mantis. They are one of my favorite insects. I'm always geeked when catching a glimpse of them hunting around our backyard landscape and pool.

If you want to get a close up look at insects like praying mantis, ants, butterflies, and lady bugs in real life check out insectlore.com. They have kits where you can order insect eggs or larva and watch them hatch. My kids loved it when we watched caterpillars that arrived in an Insect Lore kit create cocoons them emerge as butterflies. Read our Insect Lore review here. You can find Insect Lore kits on Amazon.com. 

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Could you Survive as a Mouse?

Orkin "Mouse in a House" Game & Giveaway

A Geek Daddy's Little Helper

Brrr! We were outside raking autumn leaves and mowing the yard one last time before winter and I wasn't expecting it to be as brisk as it was.  I'm not looking forward to cold temperatures becoming the daily norm around here but with Halloween passed and Thanksgiving approaching that time of year is here.  Fortunately, I have a cozy house to escape the winter chill in.  What though becomes of all the critters in your neighborhood where the outdoors is their home?

Many of the birds migrate, bats, racoons and skunks tend to sleep through much of the winter in their dens, and rodents often try to invite themselves into your home to take advantage of the warmth, food and shelter.  We may not like the sound of unwelcome visitors treating our home like a winter timeshare, but how would you look at the situation if you were a mouse looking to get out of the cold?  Our friends at Orkin challenge you to see what you would do if you were a mouse trying to survive the winter through their new interactive app #MouseInAHouse 

Try your luck by playing "Mouse in a House", a choose-your-own-adventure game that puts you in the shoes of a rodent looking to survive the upcoming harsh winter season.  Give it your best shot to stay alive and see how long you last!

To help keep one lucky A GEEK DADDY BLOG reader warm this winter, Orkin is providing us with a Mouse In A House Cozy Fleece Blanket ( 4'x6' ) to giveaway.  Just follow the instructions below before Sunday, November 9 @ 11:59pm EST to enter and one random entry will be selected to win.

UPDATE: Congrats to our winner Pat S from Alexandria VA

 ENTRY #1:  Email thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com with your name, mailing address with subject line MOUSE IN A HOUSE.

ENTRY #2:  Tell us either in a blog comment or your Entry #1 email a funny or horrific story about a mouse in your house.

ENTRY #3:  Follow A GEEK DADDY BLOG on Facebook and tell us your FB identity in your Entry #1 email.

ENTRY #4:  Follow A GEEK DADDY BLOG on Google+ and tell us your Google+ identity in your Entry #1 email.

Basically don't send us an email until you've done all four things and include all the info in one message.  Entry #1 is the only required submission and the other three are optional for a maximum of up to four entries.

Disclaimer & Rules:

You must be a US resident to enter over the age of 18. A Geek Daddy Blog will select a random winner on  Monday, November 10, 2014 ( 1 winner will be selected from a random draw of all eligible entries - each submitted entry will be assigned a number and a random number will be drawn to select a winner based upon total entries ).  A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but ORKIN LLC is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize. By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion. A Geek Daddy Blog hosted this contest and blog post based upon ORKIN LLC providing the prize to the selected winner.  Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Prize will be delivered by UPS or FedEx so no P.O. Boxes are allowed as mailing addresses. A Geek Daddy Blog is hosting this giveaway as a benefit to our readers.  Information for this post was provided by ORKIN LLC.  A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive any financial compensation for publishing this post.

If you do find mice in your house this winter you may want to contact Orkin at 1-800-800-ORKIN to help eliminate the problem.  Check out Orkin on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.