Galactica Star Finds Geek Love
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If you've ever heard the cries of a Gnome Death Knight, you know the work of voice actor, Dino Andrade. If you've ever watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica (the original or the new series), you've seen Richard Hatch. But what do these two guys have in common besides being staples of a dork diet? They're bringing geeks together to find love--and to form a multimedia social network. Seriously.
When the two met at a convention, everything seemed to fall into place. "Dino was doing something that I wanted as a component of my online project...but he already had a good foundation to build upon," Hatch says.
Andrade's foundation included community audio/video chat rooms, user content areas, and the beginnings of a community component. "If you want to be in digital special effects, animation, voice-over acting, or graphic arts, we have industry gurus offering free advice." Besides his sci-fi street cred and ideas, Hatch plans to bring his seminars, his workshops, and maybe a talk show over to the new network. And now, Hatch and Andarde are hoping to build something that's bigger than the two of them.
"SyFy [[editor's note: Ugh. Really? Was Sci-Fi Channel such a horrible name?]] has a lot of reality programming. From the fan's perspective, though, I don't think it gives them what they are looking for. I envision this larger project that really looks closer at the world that matters to the fans of the genre: books, movies, and ways to upload new shows and story ideas to this larger network."
The network idea isn't stopping there, either. Hatch and Andrade look at sites such as Disney's Club Penguin and see the possibilities of a 2D avatar-based environment where members can meet up for further nerdly endeavors. Hatch was quick to note that browser-based Flash and 3D games are possible content for the network as well. "When I go to conventions, I always think it's great being amongst my people," Hatch says. "I want people to have that same feeling by going to one place. Its time really has come because it's someplace that I want to go."
All this planning doesn't come cheap, though. Hatch and Andrade are looking both to their loyal community and to committed investors. "The fact is we've come this far without outside investment and not sure we really need it, but we are exploring the option of outside investment for the next couple of stages," says Andrade.
Will this scrappy startup get into orbit? Well, Dino is a believer--you can almost feel the fire when you speak with him. And he's teamed up with like-minded geeks on this personal mission to help bring people together. As Andrade puts it: "I want to create something that's going to outlast me."
[Of course, talking with Hatch, the subject turned to Battlestar Galactica's series finale and the fate of Tom Zarek. I'd never have forgiven myself if it hadn't. For more on that, click through to the next page.]
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