Walsingham

Maybe it's just a cultural thing to say in default of anything else. Like S Africans say 'Shame', Irishmen say 'Jaysus' and Englishmen say 'Sorry'. Or it could be the arabic equivalent of 'a Keanu style 'Whoah'. I'm disturbed by that footage from the F16 although it could have been that crowd was clearly identified by ground observers I'd be concerned it wasn't just a crowd of non-combatants running like hell. Ye'll notice that neither sides tends to advertise the camera footage of them hitting civvies. However unlike the opposition, it's not our _official_ policy to aim at 'em. *ducks righteous indignation*

Fair points there, Steve. I think you've picked up the two key areas. 1) writing a half way decent story is not THAT hard. 2) Even if you have to have a straightforward main plot, you can get really weird and wild and moving in the sub-plots. 3) If you want people to game as a past-time they need more to get stuck into. Plots to keep them interested enough to play along to find out what happens. And attractive characters in the plot. Although I mean attractive as in pleasing. So they could be fiendishly evil. Alright. Three key areas.

I never expected you would.. as said in the "Story"-thread. Most gamers are ignorant, and blinded by graphics in games.. *hint hint* <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can't be blinded by graphics in games. My PC doesn't have a 3D card, for reasons I won't go into. Ever. I just worry about how much time it would suck up.

I don't know about you, but I didn't want my parents to take an active interest in me at that age. i think the answer is just that they shouldn't be given great skads of cash. Thinks: my kids won't have any option.

I had a look in most of the sources I know of, and couldn't find any copies. My guess is that it is simply not in high enough demand, or is too expensive now. Since I would anticipate anywhere between 75 and 150 dollars I suggest you try the library. You may not be able to find this precise book, but the True Crime section should help. EDIT: Meta is right IMO. If you do get a chance to look into truly aberrant behaviour you will certainly become more paranoid, and appreciate the cops more. If Steve is reading this, I'd be interested to hear if it makes him see things in a less friendly way. Actually, i hope he doesn't, as someone round here need s to be an idealist.

Meh! A good MUD is nothing of the kind(refering to those textbased games)! If you find a nice server, you should see that it's way.. way more roleplaying on them than any selling MMORPG. Talking from personal experience.. some of my best gaming moments are from MUDs <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fair do's I expect MUDs are more roleplay-ish. But I'm still not doing it! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well....ummmm...errr...I kinda made those pantaloons needed from BG1 appear in my inventory so I was able to construct the Big Metal Unit. :D <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fool! You will anger the gods! I didn't entirely deserve the golden pantaloons, because I only went into the to get to join my party so I could feed them poison and take their kit. So when I heard tell of the Big metal Unit I had to reload BG1 and go back there specially. Then re-start BG2.

I've never played a MMORPG, or a MUD, but the reason I haven't is because I know it will be something like this example from SomethingAwful Since this is ostensibly a family board, be advised that SA is not work safe, nor parent safe.

Further example: Hero: "At last! The fabled +10 armour of Zingabund. Worn by Zingabund the Mighty, and giving me the ability to strike any creature dead with a single blow." Love-interest: "*sigh* I think you should wear these purple stockings and velvet jerkin of Clein." Hero: "But that has a negative armour value, and incites a berzerker rage in orc-kind and dwarves." Love-interest: "I think you look handsome and _manly_ in it." Hero: "Righto. Jerkin it is."

We covered a similar point elsewhere on character creation. Quite simply, fourteen to sixteen year olds with no taste have somehow acquired the ability to fork out 40 quid at a time for games. The big money is in making shiny light displays to wow them with, and uber guns for them to work out their raging hormone imbalances with. They care not for your weedy stories. *sobs*

I'd suggest starting up a really well thought out character in BG1, and following through to BG2. Don't forget to use the Tales of the Sword Coast addition, and play all through Durlag's tower. You will appreciate BG2 much more knowing your character started out as a pimply nervous sort who had trouble getting into fisticuffs with kobolds. Plus the weird side events are excellent. As are some of the NPCs. Another thought: You may even be able to construct the Big Metal Unit. ~~~ NWN OC: Is possibly the worst campaign I can recall playing. Even including the PnP ones we made when we were fourteen. I can't remember a single interesting character or any twist, forks, or even curves in the plot. It was like riding a train. In England. And having to mop trolls to pay your way.

I assume we are talking about 'heroic romance' in the same way that the fighting is heroic fighting. Real romance would be too weird. Hero: "Aha, a good thing I just saved you from being hit by that sniper." Love-interest: "Why do you never take me out to the theatre?" Hero: "I must pack swiftly and take ship for South America, where the Nazis await me in their secret lair." Love-interest: "No. We are NOT missing my parents dinner next Thursday. You do this kind of thing just to annoy me." Hero: "I bought you some flowers. I thought we could go to dinner and the theatre with your parents this evening." Love-interest: *bursts into tears*

Much as I'd like to, let's not turn this into another USA debate. These videos are cranked out all over the place. We didn't have to seize the video. It probably just turned up on one of the Islamist websites and was picked up by surveillance.

If you have a genuinely strong stomach the NYPD publish their 'Homicide Investigation Handbook', or they did. You might have to pick it up second hand. Everything you really would wish you didn't know about human badness. I'm really not kidding about the badness though. I still can't erase some of the images from my head.

So you dremt of being murdered, eaten and raped on purpose? Then you were doing whatever you wanted. All that means is you are an emotionally unbalanced individual. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If I were would it be wise to poke fun at me? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Not in real life maybe, but here there is no threat of repercussion no matter how inflammatory one's posting style. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As a point of order, it is extremely unwise to drift into the perspective that the internet is automatically safe. Not only is it related to some notion that the peopel aren't real and you can't p*ss them off (which is rude irrespective), but it is not nearly so hard to track someone as you may think. I'm not taking any bets on y'all, because it's a time-consuming process, but most of you would be traceable given time. Basically, don't flame anyone you believe may genuinely try to hurt you. Unless you don't mind them trying. But having said that I don't think it's unfair or rude to say you may want consider your issues if you intentionally dream of getting raped. I have also lucid dreamed, although I don't have total control, and can't fly on purpose. My lucid dreams are usually far too literal and real. I get bored in them very frequently if I get stuck somewhere dull.

Steve's view is pretty close to my understanding. If you believe in a connectionist model of the brain (which, gven it's a load of connected neurons gets my vote) then dreams make sense as follows. Waking experience zaps electrical charges into various parts of the brain, which the conscious and preconscious mind tries to organise. You are consciously aware of groupings, such as 'types of car' and 'things that made me sad'. One theory is that they are stored in literal proximity to each other. Sleep is divided into roughly four hour chunks, each of which consisting of four stages. Stages one and two are just the brain relaxing. In stage three the lights go out, and the brain is almost completely at rest. You need this to happen to the synapses can clear out, and the neurons can re-stock on things like potassium and calcium. In stage four you begin 'dreaming'. One theory is that the brain 'deliberately' allows neurons to fire on their own. And the theory continues by suggesting that neurons which have fired during the preceding period are more likely to fire, since they are sensitized. More importantly, when the senstized nerves fire you get spreading activation, since the conscious mind is not regulating how the activation spreads. Things that are connected in dreams are thereby revealed as connected in your pre-conscious mind. This is why it can be useful to examine your dreams. If you are in an office and are attacked by velociraptors this may not be telling you you are scared of velociraptors, but are scared of offices. I don't know if I explained that very well. I am rather knackered.

I'm surprised you weasels didn't come up with anything other than knocking this. I don't know. I go away for five days and you learn to live in peace and harmony. Tsk tsk tsk. 1) Video games and movies don't make you violent. HOWEVER, there are quite a few studies that suggest they shape the way we choose to be violent. A quick example is the 'craze' for the gangsta grip on hand-guns. Bloody stupid way to hold a gun, but it was the way you were 'supposed' to shoot a gun, and thus people did it. The clinical studies showed that kids fought the same amount if they saw a violent film, but the type of violence, and the use of objects mimicked what they had seen. 2) People pester criminals to know why they did things. The truth is usually a lot more complicated and tedious and even embarassing than them steadfastly claiming a videogame made them do it. 3) Personally I do think there is a small effect from violent media on people. That is insofaras it helps them square their primitive and unrelated urge to be violent with their conscious mind. Someone who can think of reasons why they should give in to a violent impulse will be more likely (but not very much more likely) to do it than someone who cannot, or who recognises it as just an impulse.

I got Mastermind, which means I sit in a giant black chair and answer questions. But a lot of the answers would have been extremely different five years ago, before I started learning about maths.

This is like in that film: Invasion of the body snatchers. I 'm not getting gmail. I'm a free man! *exits stage left, shrieking and waving his arms around*

Is it true that GMail can scan your account messages for info? Irrespective, does anyone else do it? I have no problem with Echelon doing thsi sort of thing, but private companies are not on my list of people who need to know.

Cthulhu is great for stories. We were doing the aforementioned exploration. Norwegian Royal Family, giant lights in the sky, the usual. Anyway, of the three players I was the only one paying close attention when the ref said "You come into the kitchen, and in the ghostly light of your lamps is... a sandwich. I of course said "Oh., I pick it up and eat it." While my colleagues yelled "Shoot it!" before they stopped themselves. Took my bloody hand off.

Settle down with the double posting, gentlemen. Small boys in the forum; cultural cliches for goalposts...

Braaaaainzzzz

Stop bickering you two. We have to build this statue before our centipede overlords show up. Meta has spoken.

Genius. Finally a system to allow women to remain in an infantile mindset but still get off... Yay! I'm not going near anyone who hasn't the gumption to get a proper vibrator.