Nonek

Durlag's Tower, really one of the finest dungeons ever created in my humble opinion. Superior even to Demigorgon's prison if I may be so bold.

Introduced my boy to the Disney of my youth, first Tron and then Dragonslayer. Throughout Tron he was amazed and excited, and jumping around like a jackrabbit at the end, With Dragonslayer he was quiet and intent, I think Vermithrax Perjorative scared the living daylights out of him. He was amazed by these films and couldn't stop babbling about them, especially the Dragonscale shield scene, where McNichol survives the Dragonfire. I think that twelve is the right age for these, and it certainly seems like he enjoyed them.

I wonder what the state of the arts are in the Reach? Music, theatre, sculpture, painting etcetera. How does the Chanter's recital of sagas figure into this, are performances of Animancy in vogue among the intelligentsia, such as Mary Shelley experienced where a current was passed through a corpse making it seem alive? Why does the Watcher have insomnia? Ha.

Tolerable, I know that sounds like harsh criticism but it's praise really, as I find myself switching off from the inane drivel that most Youtubers produce. You've got a good strong voice that's not irritating or overly excited, and you don't fall pray to the squeeing humour that far too many emulate. If I may suggest a queue card, not with a script but with topic buzzwords laid out before you, one for every subject you deal with. So it's not stilted or stiff as scripts always sound, but sounds more like improvisation on a theme. Public speaking was exceptionally difficult for me at work, and what I did to try and break my own reticence was perform readings, play them back and try to improve as practice truly does work. Good luck.

Now that subject matter, the old Greek plays and myths, they truly are timeless.

Stop motion animation still has a certain odd unsettling quality that fits perfectly with some of the subject matter, one of the reasons that I found the modern remake of Clash of the Titans to be deeply uninspiring compared to Harryhausen's epic. His Gorgon still haunts my memories. Edit: Or Kubrick's paranoid, sparse cinematography for the Shining, arguably making one of the most effective psychological horrors without all of the jump scares or gore that modern directors think will terrorise, but in truth only shock.

I think the problem to my mind is that if we're talking a historical position, words like "outdated" and "timeless" are ultimately useless in understanding the context of the game. Its trying to play the game as if it was a modern game which is always going to be outdated (unless you played the game and have fond memories of it back in the day, in which case it is timeless). In a larger context, though, what is being lost is the...er...larger context. It bugs me to no end to see someone talking about fantasy/sci-fi film history who starts talking about unbelievable rubber masks, blue screen halos etc. Yes we all know that there are actors who couldn't turn the wheel to match the backscreen projection to save their lives - that's why it was mocked in Airplane! But ultimately that has nothing to do with the history. Yes, you could argue that Jack Pierce's makeup effects in FRANKENSTEIN is subpar to what's been done today, or that Kenneth Strickfadden's machines don't make any sense. But it fails to understand the context of the time. If you're going to talk about a game in a historical context it needs to be compared to other games in its historical context. Read an eviscerating review of Sega's ETERNAL CHAMPIONS - a really fun game at the time IMO [Timeless! ] that was a knock off of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II in the Genesis era. The review was hung up on how poorly the game looked against the arcade versions of MK and SFII (instead of their Sega ports). The context of the game was lost - so it was understandable why the reviewer was mystified about the game's popularity at the time of its release. Oh yes I agree that detail in reviews should be paramount and thus I reiterate that if someone is going to criticise a game then they should have first hand experience of it, and not simply parrot (as you say) a useless term. Though I'd argue that certain games such as Tetris are timeless, along with a good few fighting games of the period such as the original Streets of Rage.

I'm afraid that I can't afford the tickets prices to visit all of the beta testers and prop them up (one assumes their legs have grown weak,) but I will wish all the ladies and gentlemen a hearty thank you for their hard work.

Personally I think if you're going to speak with authority on a particular game, saying it's outdated, timeless or whatever, then the least you should have done is play it. There is a modern trend as Felipepe states of dismissing older games without ever experiencing them, but still holding an opinion that is not based on any kind of evidence, other than recieved wisdom or perhaps the words of game journalists whom are not really interested in the medium, other than as a means of getting in the industry or of lecturing others on the dogma they learned at university. This seems to lead to past innovations and freatures being forgotten, never built upon and the consumer being led to believe that there are no alternatives to what is currently presented as the apex of the genre. Yet we all know that more than twenty years ago NPC's lives were depicted in a far more detailed fashion, environmental interaction was far more advanced, there were no loading screens for massive living worlds and oftentimes the narrative and plotting of a game dealt with far more complex subject matter, such as moral absolutism, spirituality and self improvement, racism and patriotism and what it meant to be a hero and to live with ones actions. For instance I recently read an article on the new Numenera game which stated that its inspiration Torment had a forgettable and unimportant setting, yet everyone whom has played it can clearly state that this is poppy**** (pardon my French) as the rich, detailed and deadly nature of the planes stands at the very centre of that games narrative. From the chill the Nameless One feels as he hears of the Blood War, to the brilliant depiction of Sigil that serves as the players introduction to the planes across which they will travel, the game is built upon and glories in the setting it embraces. I was left believing that the writer was simply spouting accepted wisdom born of simply no first hand experience.

Romance thread for you chaps discussing the subject: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/69574-the-official-romance-thread/ Please don't thank me, i'm far too insular, toxic and probematic because of my choice of games and critics. Not the Britney Spears Toxic however, as I must admit i'm quite a capable baritone, and have some musical talent.

Excuse me I just threw up a little.

Oh dear, well never mind Poe might be good anyway, still I admit this has me a little worried.

Hah, well caught friend. I wonder why I swapped the "p" and "c" around? Ah the humbling of a once sound mind, how harsh a mistress is time!

Foreigner were popular in my day, sigh. Edit: I've always thought ones partner expecting to change an individual was one of the reasons that marriage is such a risky proposition nowadays. I personally married because I liked and wanted Mrs Nonek, not because of how I could concievably control or change her. Rather off-topic for my originating poor and clumsy joke post however.

A very worthy thing to ask for in my opinion, Mr Felipepe is really pursuing some very interesting goals, even though looking back at gaming history I am somewhat depressed by how much has been discarded and cast aside. The useless nature of game journalists whom prate of best games ever and innovation on streamlined and clearly inferior products really becomes all the more glaring, especially when they simply have no frame of reference for their assertions or a grasp of what games have done what, when.

What can change the nature of a man? Other than alcohol of course.

I want to know what love is. My deepest apologies, few too many glasses of a fine Spanish red.

Well, to truly understand what it was all about, we'd have to go back to the first edition of Rogue Trader in the '80s; back then, the game made no secret out of it being very pointed satire built around the idea of a universe where fascism is objectively good. (Your point about uncreative thievery still stands, though; the source being 2000AD.) Later writers have diluted this theme to the point of it being almost unrecognizable in the current incarnation of the game (well, some of it; I still maintain that Only War has strong satirical elements baked into it), but yeah. When even the next generation of your own line writers is fooled, it's time to salute on a job well done. There is still a large amount of satire in W40k, even in Dark Heresy perhaps the grimmest part of the current line up, but a lot of it is missed simply because it is very English referential humour. The usual things to look out for are odd place names and small inconsequential details, that are usually throwbacks to farce or comedy of the seventies or eighties. And of course the practically lustful fetishisation of the Astartes.

"Brimstone" comes to mind, I do believe i'm the only person who ever watched that however.

A little too easy and quite frankly distasteful to blame a class of untermencsh for societies problems in my opinion, and all too frequently done by those whom believe they are superior. I know that this is a timeless passtime, but I still find it extremely uncomfortable and would argue that a little self reflection is warranted, we are all human and flawed, and even if we travel in anothers shoes we have no right to judge them anymore than they do us.

Balance in all things I suppose, the urge to improve oneself can become greed, the urge to improve humanity can become contempt for them (as we see all too often,) the urge for civility can become an opposition to anything said that one individual does not like, etcetera. I may be wrong however, I am not the great and everlasting know-it-all Yoghurt. Edit: Torment and Spaceballs, i'm doing well today.

I wonder if there is something within mankinds genetic code that drives us to consume more, perhaps because of millenia eeking out nourishment?

I'm wondering if one can pay lip service to whichever deity seems appropriate for the situation, scorn the churches and deal directly with the gods and give them whatever sacrifices one negotiates if they answer you (or seem to.)

I visited Rotherham the other day while staying with the family, the Taxi Driver was telling us that he and other white drivers were now glutted with work because of the recent paedophilia scandal. A lot of people would now only accept white or black drivers, and obviously the firms were adjusting accordingly, and there was simply no work for Indian or Pakistani drivers. I really didn't know what to think about this, as a parent one can understand, as a rationalist it seems silly, such criminals usually stick to their own racial groups.

I must not be hyped, hype is the mind killer. Hype is the little death that brings squeeing. I will face hype. I will permit it to wash over and through me. And when iit has gone I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the hype has gone there will be nothing, only first impressions will remain.