BruceVC

Guys if you enjoy cute dog videos you need to watch this and read the history underneath the video http://za.news.yahoo.com/video/german-shepherd-caught-red-nosed-103322010.html

Do you think that it would be viable to do the same with a game like Skyrim where following the quest marker was all you did and descriptions where lazy? @Alanschu: I understand what the mechanic is and i'm not against it; although the point brought in the article about the level design are valid, but the amount of information the player has in a game dictates the extent of their strategies. It can be an inane thing as it doesn't affect what the most viable solution is, or it can be a cheat button such as in the latest hitman. It wasn't the same in DX:HR because it came with a cost which balanced its usefulness. Ultimately I don't believe that is a faulty mechanic but that it is being used lazily to "handheld" players and make sure they don't get lost, something that could be solved with good level design, quest objectives and a map. I have to confess I haven't played Skyrim yet but its going to be on my game list in the next 2-3 games. I have been researching exactly what you mentioned about Skyrim and there are some Mods that remove map markers and apparently one that adds more details to quest information so you can find what you looking for through decent exploration

I know this may not seem relevant but it ties in Alan's point about "not using a certain ability" I'm playing and loving Dishonored at the moment and I'm enjoying the functionality where you can choose to hide the quest markers so you need to explore to find where you going. The only issue I'm finding is at times I turn it back on because I'm lazy on certain maps

Personally, The ending was one thing, but the lack of a distinct cohesive narrative that followed through the entire game (instead of being almost episodic) bit the game. I mean, the Events of Tuchaunka and that entire segment of the story only have consequence for the 15ish minutes after the segment ends. Then it's onto the next segment of the game with the next "gutpunch". You know how a lot of people say that Call of Duty lost a lot of it's emotional punch when it was killing protagonist characters as a "thing"? With that big moment in MW1, and then in MW2 they do it twice(?) and by the third Modern Warfare it'd just lost all possible emotional impact it may have had. It's like that, but shoved into one game because the devs wanted you to know that WAR IS BAD MMMMK? Interesting assessment, you make some good points

I enjoyed the entire ME series. I'm a lover of fantasy primarily so I admit I wasn't one of hard core fans who had this huge expectation for ME 3. Personally I think that ME 3 was a good game but the lack of a cohesive ending for many fans blurred there enjoyment of the entire journey, in other words the game received unfair criticism because of the ending. I think people over analyse this a little The only complaint I do have is that there weren't enough Romance options in the game

I agree with the general view of this article. This is a really about dumbing down games to the point where we don't even think anymore. But one consideration is we have become lazy to a certain degree, so when you remove something like Eagle Vision people complain that the game is confusing or frustrating. A good idea as he mentioned is some sort of penalty if you use abilities that reveal locations. I think Mana drain would be appropriate

Good to have you back

Guys what's Fable: The Lost Chapters like, I saw it on special on GameStop and it seems interesting ?

Why did you cancel your pledge if you don't mind me asking? Was it because there isn't the option to play a female from the beginning ? I'm mostly skeptical about multi-platform support in such an ambitious Kickstarter game ...and lack of elves If it turns out good then I will pick it up "and lack of elves" ...

And some people would say that you just summed up everything that is wrong with the gaming industry: You look at a game, and before playing it, wonder who will patch it, as you are by now expecting a certain amount of bugs in any and every product. That's well said, very clever observation. I'm so use to bugs I assume you can't release a game without a development team waiting to fix things Hurlshot you probably won't believe me but that's exactly why I've never bought this game before, I'm battling with the fact that there will never be another game set in the world with all the lore and characters. It shouldn't effect me but for some reason it does

Why did you cancel your pledge if you don't mind me asking? Was it because there isn't the option to play a female from the beginning ?

That's entirely not what I said. If a game has a stretch goal for, say, other platforms, I'll contribute more. I never said it was, hence the question. Just that to be on the fence and all it took was them giving an option for a female PC does indicate that the presence of one is fairly important to you. Was curious how many of these racist, homophobic games you come across. Then again sometimes that is a matter of not looking hard enough and counting percentages of races/sexes it seems. But is not much these days for sure with the outrage machine running on social media, for sure. you make me a laugh Malc with your logic which in this case is accurate You right, I can't recall any games that I specifically haven't bought because they are homophobic or racist, I may just have forgotten. But that's a good thing isn't it as clearly companies are realizing what is not acceptable as content...so this is a reason to be happy

What I'm confused about is if 38 Studio's has gone bankrupt who does the support for this game? Where are the developers....

It's ironic, because when the Russians offered help to the US which would definitely have prevented a terrorist attack they leaped to accept. Oh wait, they didn't, did they. Shame about the people who died and were injured, still at least people didn't try to blame the Russians afterwards... oh wait, that they did do, didn't they. Strawman argument Zor ( I hope I used it in the right context) We aren't talking about Saudi Arabia, but we can start a discussion about this and if they ever hosted an international sports event what would be consequences. But Qatar is hosting a FIFA world cup in the next decade or so, so several discussions need to be had about points like where can fans drink and gay rights of fans who visit the country. International sports events and conservative governments do create a dichotomous situation so thanks for putting this one on the radar Finally the USA doesn't really need Russia's help in fighting internal terrorist attacks, that's why they refused Russian aid which I question if it was sincere anyway

1) It is their fault - they violate the law by illegally crossing the border. Anything else is secondary. You are not blaming a shop owner for slippery floors because thief broke his neck in attempted burglary at night. 2) When in Rome, do as Romans do. Eating or not eating pork hurts precisely nobody yet considered as offensive by the majority of population in certain locations. Should some country practice necrophilia and will root for fellow necrophiles I doubt they would enjoy the same support gay community have. Oh Cultist darling You being such a naughty boy. I'll tell you something interesting. During Apartheid the government believed, like you do, that homosexuality was a choice that could be "cured". Anyway they had these clandestine clinics where gay conscripted soldiers were sent for reprogramming. The treatment involved electro therapy...seriously basically torture to get people to change there sexual orientation. Do you think that would work on you and your sexual orientation. And even if they did manage to somehow rewire you do you think this is what a civilised and reasonable society does? The words you need to remember are empathy and tolerance, practice them and try to follow the

Uh. They're under sanctions- and the US will apply those sanctions to companies that ignore their own 'special' set of sanctions amounting to a total economic blockade too, so anyone selling to Iran gets zero US business- hence (1) and (2) might as well be "harness the power of djinn (which exist)" to all practical purposes. The US sanctions were imposed in 1987 in response to, er, Iran's brutal, uh, invasion of, hmm, Iraq, yet another act of aggression and instability as that war started when Ayatollah Khomenei personally head butted Saddam Hussein's fist in a truly egregious manner... Besides, renewables are Rich Person power sources, not poor. Solar is ludicrously expensive for actual power generation, though useful enough for subsidiary stuff like hot water heating. So, the US has basically made it impossible for Iran to develop enough power generation by conventional means and is now complaining that they're gone nuclear. But more importantly, and Walsie this is where you are mistaken, is that the UN sanctions have had an undeniable negative impact on there economy. The UN sanctions have effected there currency, oil exports and all other exports. They have had assets frozen and they couldn't access there international funds in overseas banks. These steps would bring any country to its knees. I'm not saying Iran out of the goodness of there heart has decided that they want to abandon the development of nuclear technology for military reasons ( if this indeed was there intention) but they have realized they cannot sustain the financial consequences of the sanctions. I think people keep underestimating how much sanctions had contributed towards the more reconciliatory attitude from Iran, this is something we should be celebrating as it means less chance of military action which would just further destabilize the whole region

No idea. What's wrong with your donkey?

Sorry if I misunderstood you, no hard feelings

This is one of the points I wanted to raise. I will watch the Winter Olympics because there is a greater good here but I am generally just appalled with the Russian social conditions and how minority groups are treated and how Putin runs his government. Some of the issues for me include the unacceptable rise and legislation of homophobia the working conditions of migrant workers getting the Olympics ready Russian disinterest in accepting American help with preventing any terrorist attacks. I know this is a point around pride but they should have no issue with accepting unconditional help that may prevent loss of life

So is north Korea It's not about who is more stable or less, its about preventing the spread of nuclear weapons everywhere.(and reducing the stocks that we already have) Everyone want them, especially the "underdogs", if Iran get them its only a matter of time until Turkey and Saudi get them(they are already thinking about it) etc etc etc Ahmadinejad?! don't tell me you buy this whole Rouhani the liberal crap. Iran has been misconducting well before Ahmadinejad read this The figure head change is purely political move, underneath it still the same supreme leader Ali Khamenei... Their policies hasn't been changed. They still playing for time hoping that with time public relations will allow them to pass the sanctions and keep at what they do. You've raised some good points but we differ on Iran's international intentions. I believe that they want sanctions lifted and they want to be part of the international community again. In order to do this they are prepared to make serious concessions around there nuclear program, these concessions are tangible and needed. Now they could be lying and planning to somehow develop nuclear weapons, not nuclear technology needed for a source of energy, but we will have to wait and see.

We need more people like you on these forums, BruceVC! I really think this is a great candidate for the post of the year! This is exactly how I feel. That's a nice thing to say, thanks Indira I also want to say you haven't typically been involved in too many complex Off Topic discussions and I'm really enjoying your perspective and insight into various topics. Keep up the good work.

I've heard some stories about South Africa, particularly the ones about the myth of virgin blood being the cure for aids and what ensued after. Not pleasant tales. I do realize that sexism, discrimination, and aggression towards women exists but there is a world of difference between some third world country village where the chief orders the rape of woman and someone saying that Dragon's Crown is bad cause is sexist. The thing about the changes is that some of those things are part of the visual style of the game, Frazetta created a style that explored sex and fantasy; what if he had compromised his vision to quell malcontents? There is a difference between art and taste which is something that a lot of people have trouble separating. PS; you seem to like a lot of posts from this thread and from both sides of the argument. What gives man, pick a side? Well I try to not let emotion, or the fact I stand by what I say, cloud my recognition of a valid point even if that person typically disagrees with the sentiment of what I believe

Mor I have been following this story for a while now and the one point that I missed through the years about Iran's right to develop peaceful nuclear technology is that they genuinely feel that they haven't been treated fairly by the international community. There are countries much more unstable than them like Pakistan and NK and they have nuclear technology and weapons. So why can't they be allowed to get this technology? Now I know under Ahmadinejad Iran made several statements and committed several deeds that were very concerning but I really feel the country is following a more liberal and reasonable direction under Rouhani. So we need to give them the benefit of the doubt, we don't really have a choice as the USA is not going to go the military route unless all options are exhausted. And we are seeing Iran making the agreed on changes to there nuclear program so its looking good

I can't tell but from your tone it seems that I'm getting a rise out of you, I assure that is not my intention and I apologize. If what I understand from your post is right then we should analyze the context of modern feminist philosophy which can be summarized as: Women are being oppressed by a system that devalues them while simultaneously promoting aggression towards them (aka. the Patriarchy, rape Culture). Even if you ignore the fact that those two concepts could be the result of a conspiracy nut delusions, those notions have an effect of radicalizing feminists who take the concept to heart. I can't take someone who presents those concepts as self evident proof of the oppression of women (which they aren't) seriously. The reason why I brought that picture and quote forward is because there is no solid evidence on either side that there is a conspiracy against them. So it amount to nothing more that opinions rather than facts. I have thought of the importance of a re-branding of feminism who don't subscribe to the same philosophy that those fringe elements; which it has somewhat occurred with the Sex Positive Feminists. Otherwise any genuinely rational idea that comes from it would be regarded as fruit of the poisonous tree and dismissed. I am totally OK with that, as I said before I believe that the industry should grow. It is just that I see that particular market heading in no direction since no one seems to know how to approach it, myself included. But as long as the rhetoric remains blaming publishers for targeting male demographics and shaming men for their enjoyment I doubt anyone is going to figure it out. Which is the problem with the whole affair, their rhetoric is confrontational and seeks to antagonize rather than cooperate and contribute to the growth of the industry. IMO this is due to the aformentioned concepts which create a divide between feminists and the systems that are perceived to oppress them. I just see a lot of people throwing that study as concrete proof of a female gaming audience which could turn out to be the new COD crowd; which is a mass of people that just buys a few games a year, or it could possibly be the result of an overlap in demographics. Either way it couldn't be replicated and it spawned a series of COD clones. The case could be that there are women who are active in social sites that enjoy playing those game while browsing but aren't necessarily interested in gaming. I don't require a study just proof that there is a demographic, which is hard to say since there hasn't been a game solely targeting women. Instead publishers opt for the token character as a means of attracting said group. Which is really counterproductive as it is the equivalent of asking for a seat at the table and instead getting scraps. I don't believe that a study that is directed specifically to figuring out the buying habits of female gamers counts as a defensive perpetuity, that's the study I would like to see. It would give a more clear direction on how to tap said market and in turn it would be proof that said market exists. That's a good post and I can appreciate the fact you have taken the time to articulate your point in detail. I agree with several things you've said But one thing you need to realize is that sexism and discrimination against women is not some fantasy made up by bored liberals, its real and exists all around us. Sometimes its surreptitious and underhanded but it is real. I can tell you stories about living in South Africa that will shock you You can often see the true views of people when it comes to discussions of social justice not so much by what they say but rather what they don't say. For me end of the day what I don't get is that you can make certain changes to some games without impacting the gaming experience, so if we know that some things people object to why not just make those changes? Now I'm not suggesting every change that every person demands should be considered but I think you get my point

Funny enough Malc but I've supported numerous KS that are your typical party based RPG where there are male and female characters But in most cases I won't support a KS that doesn't have some sort of female representation or is dismissive of social issues, for example a game that has homophobia or racist undertones. The good news is these games nowadays are few and far between as most publishing and development companies are aware of what many people expect or don't think is applicable. You probably think this is an extreme view but that's my stance on what games I'm prepared to support. Of course there are games where my view isn't relevant like RTS