BruceVC

Prince of Persia wasn't enough for you? No. I have high expectations just like any other Persian. You do realize that Hurlshot is just joking Astiaks? We all know that a game like Prince of Persia doesn't accurately reflect Persian\Iranian culture

Don't pass your silly right and wrong label onto me. In my view, you are wrong as hellll. So who wins now? Come on guys, hit the green like button so I can feel I won an internet discussion. For me its not about right or wrong. This isn't a competition. But that's not to say you can't have your view or perspective changed on a topic through a debate on a particular forum. This has happened many times to me and I consider that a benefit from engaging in discussions on forums.

Well it's no secret that those in the gaming industry have been trying to make games as equals to other mediums of story telling, for whatever reasons that are alien to me. Games should first and foremost be games, and if the end result is a good story then so be it but let's not apply some sort of preachy standard to games in general - they've been trying to do it for a while and fail each time. I didn't say games are unacceptable for social discussion and the like but let me know when there's a game that actually has good enough writing to be considered some sort of legit critique of society. Mostly all we have is cheesy Bioware dialogues and other fantasy games with dwarf racism and crap. Riveting stuff. Game politics are cliched as helllllll. Maybe the Witcher 1 had some decent stuff mixed in there, but it didn't generate the amount of publicity of those nudey cards. A game like Bloodlines, I'd consider it a work of art for sure. I'm not knocking the industry in that sense, but look at what one of the creators is making as a follow up. Dead State - a real life response to a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. The game might be cool but I can only imagine the type of people who would take the scenario seriously. You know what would be refreshing change, if you actually acknowledged something along the lines of "hey guys you know what. I was wrong. Games do actually have a significant impact in our lives. The same as a good book or movie. I agree that we think about them and the storylines" I don't understand why people think that admitting they are wrong is somehow a sign of weakness or it undermines what others may think of them. Anyway just a thought

I'm now very envious of you I love most kinds of curry, but the Massaman and the Lababdar will always have a special place. Especially with freshly baked Naan to dip in it. I also luvvvvvvvvv curry We have a very large and active Indian community in South Africa so we get spoilt for choice when it comes to Indian cuisine

Ah yes the famous Chicken hearts in a Brazilian restaurant. I bet it was an "eat as much as you want" and they bring all this meat to your table in skewers? Those restaurants are always loads of fun, the secret in those restaurants is to avoid the more common meats as they use loads of salt and that makes you thirsty and then you need to drink which makes you full. Check out this restaurant in South Africa which caters for exotic meat. I always take guests there from overseas as it provides a good African experience. Its called Carnivores (download the menu if you want to see some of the meat available ) http://www.recreationafrica.co.za/carnivore

Guys I appreciate the fact that you are also supportive of Romance in Bioware games but end of the day its not a game about sex. So you shouldn't expect sex scenes that are too explicit and vivid Remember Romance even though it is an enjoyable part of the RPG experience its only a very small part of the overall game design and features that Bioware will include I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm, I just don't want you to set your expectations too high.

I like that it resembles 'rapport'. Odd that 'ro' and 'or' are switched. Is eating hearts common? I'm afraid that sounds as enticing as bloody oyster-shooters. I need some broccoli to wash out my eyes. I wouldn't say its common but we also eat heart in South Africa, its delicious. I like Chicken heart personally

Yes we want it It sounds like a another interesting pickle you are in

But the graphics look olllllllllllllllld .....you sure this game is fun?

You always seem to eat so healthily..its a little depressing at times for me

Hi Kgambit Nice to see you posting again

Well as usual you response doesn't help the situation in the slightest

I've been following that and it does look good. But I'll try Walking Dead first

I'm not sure what you mean here, it was hardly the only reference to fandom peculiarities in the DLC. Considering the air time it has gotten here and elsewhere, it would have been a surprise had it not been referred there. This is an old discussion but still relevant, to be honest I'm not sure what the fuss is? So 12 fans or so took a real interest in a topic that most of wouldn't even think about. So what? Let people discuss what they want about a game, they aren't harming anyone are they The main reason I have an issue with this discussion is that its used in numerous debates to highlight how depraved and bizarre BSN has become. When in fact it represents one discussion compared to hundreds that occur on a daily basis at BSN. I just think people are making a big deal about a small minority of hard core fans as if everyone at BSN is like that

Thanks for the information

Hi Walsie Where have you been, you've been quiet the last day or 2?

I just finished playing Icewind Dale for the first time. Its an excellent game. As mentioned by most its your classic IE dungeon romping RPG. It deserves a solid 75/100 What I liked about it is The usage of spells and tactics in combat The length of the game, I must have spent 100 hours playing it The usage of the AD&D ruleset The exploration of the various dungeons and the different main enemies you had to fight What I didn't like about it was no real interaction with your party No Romance options But apart from that I highly recommend this game. Now I am going to play the Walking Dead, I have heard its an evocative game and I'm excited

Its funny but I see your perspective as anachronistic and outdated, not the campaign for equality. The reality is more and more people are aware of bigotry in society and more and more people won't keep quiet when they encounter it. You need to realize that you are on the losing side of this debate in Western countries Monte as most people do believe in the important of equal representation for all in society and that includes gaming and entertainment

I also disagree with the notion that default narrative settings are apolitical. That's is an excellent and informative read. Thanks Alan I hope people spend time reading the whole article because it raises and dismisses many of the reasons I hear from people when we talk about the importance of inclusivity of certain groups in games. For example you hear comments " I'm not opposed to women or gay characters in a game but its just that this is not historically accurate in the context of Medieval war, so why ask for something that doesn't reflect the reality" and other absurd views around the importance of equality. I'll be forwarding this link to several people I know who will find it very relevant and interesting

Please don xDD Yeah right. I lol'd. Games aren't remotely that serious. Wtf? Please try to understand the context of what I'm saying. You are being naïve or myopic if you think some games don't have a real impact on some of us. They may just be games but that doesn't detract from the message or emotional connection a person may feel. For example I have read several reviews around the Walking Dead and how people were generally moved by the ending. A game can be no different to a good book or movie and yes they can have an impact around your final personal feeling at the end of the game. Its not weird or difficult to understand Of course I'm not saying this applies to all games but lets not dismiss the impact a game can have

You are assuming he is even telling the truth. Seems like an alcoholic at least, to me. Yes I agree, I am not saying he doesn't have issues around substance abuse. But its rare to see someone in his position who is telling the truth about why he did something. You could argue this is just a political strategy and he is doesn't have another choice but most people would still use a defence like " its all this stress...I need help "

Angry birds... so deep, man. xDD Yeah right. First of all, those issues are important to YOU, not to all. I'm a fulfilled individual, I'm not fifteen, I don't have complexes of inferiority and so I don't give a flying f... about what some people might think about me because of the social group I belong to. And censoring things left and right won't change what they think about me either. And I don't want some people to try to get into my head and change what I think about some other social groups by censoring games/films/books. It won't work. I'll think what I'll think, and it will be based on my interactions with them. Supposing otherwise would be taking me for an idiot and THAT would be offensive. And second, a game isn't an inspirational video, it's an entertainment product. Don't like? Don't buy. If you start thinking that it owes you something, like it must inspire you or it must discuss important social issues (read this last part in a soft caring voice), then let's ban all films, games and books that don't exactly inspire OR have a gay iranian political refugee, a black guy, a jew, a trans-gender and a strong confident woman. After we're burned books, let's forbid history class cause history was mostly written by a white male and it's therefore discriminatory and offensive, then we'll just forbid school and knowledge altogether and then we'll live really well from that point on. Then we'll have mouth police patrolling the streets and checking if you're talking about important social issues. If you're not - PRISON TIME. With people like you, there are always all those "important social issue" except the one called "freedom of speech". That one is reserved for you only. I believe in Freedom of Speech but not if it infringes on the dignity of a person. In South Africa we have a constitution that addresses this exactly and I firmly believe in that. Words do matter and you can't hide behind free speech and believe that your words have no consequence I want to ask you something., You believe in the context of gaming that developers should be able to make any game they want with no sense of social responsibility. And people should just not play the game if they don't like the content. So what about a game where you play as a Paedophile and you have to abuse children to progress in the game. Would you still have the same view of this game. Please don't over complicate the response, I simply want to know if you feel this would be acceptable based on your view of the right of developers to make games as they see fit?

So I was watching the latest footage around Rob Ford the Mayor of Toronto that was filmed smoking crack cocaine. He finally said something I respect. He was being questioned by members of city hall and they were asking him about his drug usage and said to him "we are trying to help you " He basically responded by saying " I don't need help as I'm not an addict, I did drugs as it was a stupid mistake but I'm not going to blame the fact I did drugs on some external reason like I'm depressed or suffering from stress" I admire this kind of honesty, he is not saying he did drugs because of the Devil or because of a reason that wasn't his fault. He is saying he was drunk at the time and wanted to get wasted. Its rare to see this as most people in the public light will blame there drug taking on something else.

I made myself a killer pasta last night. I fried off used onions, garlic, mushrooms and Coppa ham as a base to a sauce, I then added a good bottled spicy pasta sauce and added the Pasta once cooked. It was simple to prepare and tasted delicious

Is it the fact that this generation can't get it or is it the fact that this generation believes that the days of companies benefitting from socially unacceptable themes, like sexism and racism, won't be supported by people anymore? Politically unacceptable you mean. From your political point of view. I don't understand people who want to drag politics into every aspect of their life and even impose it on others, proclaiming that a certain thing is suddenly "socially" unacceptable. Just because it's a humor you don't understand, doesn't make you the king of all people to rule out what is acceptable or not. All sexist/racist/cripple/dark humor is acceptable by me, it's not your place to deprive me of fun by labeling it as "socially unacceptable". Murder is socially unacceptable. Humor is ok. If you don't understand or like it - just don't play it. The more people say this or that is socially unacceptable, the more "rules" we're going to have against this or that. I hate it. So basically you argument is that its s a game and if I don't like the content then I shouldn't play it and I should stop trying to enforce my view on others? What I don't get is end of the day this type of game is actually an insult to people like you. You just don't realize it. The developers are appealing to the whole "shock" factor instead of creating something of substance. We are living in an age of profound creativity and genius. We have games that bring us to tears and games where people create websites where they spend months designing mods just to enhance the gaming experience. So in this all greatness and this ability to truly inspire people what do some developers decide to do? They create a game with a character that makes a mockery of very important social issues. Its lazy and pathetic and insulting to what fans should expect. You should hold Daedalic studios to a higher standard than that Unless of course you really a bigot, in which case you would get some vicarious joy from playing this game. But I doubt you are