themanclaw

I've tried to keep this as objective as possible in a way that will best inform the voters! Test yourself by not checking the answer until you've come to a decision about the question. If you have any questions about my sources, let me know what in particular and I will cite. Enjoy! 1. The context of Romney's “47%...” remark was (in his words): a: Will support him in the election because they disagree with Obama's entitlement programs as well as government handouts. b: Are at risk of loosing their jobs because of Obama's failed policies. c: Will vote for Obama no matter what because they don't pay income taxes feel entitled to food, housing, and healthcare. d: Will vote for Obama because they antagonize the rich, Romney being among them. 2. The context of Obama's “You didn't build that” remake was (his words): a: That successful business owners did not accomplish their feats alone, and that many people contributed to the building of roads and businesses. B: That the infrastructure of the US was created by the working class, not the rich. C: That the government is more responsible for the rise of successful businesses than the ambition of US citizens. D: That God is the one who enable all of us to come together as a country and build successful businesses and infrastructure. 3. One of the things Romney criticized Obama for supporting a cut on is: a: Healthcare b: Defense c: Education d: Corporate taxes 4. Obama has not raised taxes: *True *False 5. Social mandates and programs like income tax and redistribution of wealth have swollen in the last 30 years: *True *False 6. Mitt Romney returned his 2011 tax returns with a tax rate at 15%: *True *False 7. Obama's statement “Taxes are lower on families than they've been probably in the last 50 years” *True *False 8. Obama has stated that he plans to reinstate the federal Assault Weapons Ban, which outlaws rifles and shotguns with 'military-style aesthetics' *True *False 9. Romney supports abortion in the cases of rape, incest, and when the life of a mother is in danger: *true *false 10. Which of the following is most key to defining socialism? A. Universally available programs such as healthcare and food stamps b. Limits on an individual’s potential income and bans on public expression of religion. c. Redistribution of wealth by means of income tax and welfare. D. Government control of means of production and private property. 11. US national debt is at: a: 6 trillion b: 10 trillion c: 16 trillion d: 20 trillion 12. Under the affordable healthcare act (aka, Obamacare), you are required to switch to a government-drafted healthcare plan: *true *false 13. Romney's statement about the president advocating redistribution of wealth is *true *false 14. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney enacted a healthcare act essentially the same as the affordable healthcare act. *true *false 15. Which presidential candidate supported the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012, which included an infamous passage which allows for the indefinite detention of US citizens without due process by the military if they deem the circumstances appropriate? a. Obama b. Romney c. both d. neither 16. The NRA's claim that even though there are 436,000 gun crimes a year, there are 2.5 instances of an armed citizens preventing violent crimes is... *true *false 17. [DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to invalidate anybody's faith or beliefs, I simply cite objective scientific research.] At what point in pregnancy does the zygote/fetus show signs of early consciousness and susceptibility to pain? a. 2 months b. 4 months c. 6 months d. 8 months 18. Obama repealed the patriot act and the Bush tax cuts: *true *false 19. Obama does not officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: * true * false 20. Obama has no clearly defined date for full withdrawal from Afghanistan *true *false ANSWERS

Well, about as much romance as you can expect to wring out of MCA. It was a more subtle thing, but it was a very implicative relationship, and was done with taste and a certain amount of intimacy that you don't see in games romances that are based around sex.

Exactly what I was getting at earlier. It all comes down to if its fits within certain context. For example, historically, there were warriors who fought with little clothing, even if they weren't female, hence, revealing apparel for males and females could make sense.

I often wish I had that power myself.

The exile's fate was decided (in my opinion, changed) in the Revan novels, not KotOR 2, in order to bridge the gap between KotOR 2 and SWOTR. Both SWOTR and the Revan novels contradicted statements in KotOR 2 because George Lucas hates SW stories that aren't black and white, good and evil because he thinks his fans are idiots and thus believes that dumbing it down will make more sales.

Do you even know what are you talking about? They didn't left Middle Earth, they left their original home (Valinor) to start a fierce blood hunt for the one who betrayed them and stole their Silmaril. And they went far enough to slain other elves, their "brothers", just because those were on their way. They accepted to be *exiled* from Valinor and they disobeyed the Valar just because they were so passionate about their revenge that they just couldn't let it go. Their bloodlust went on for ages before, just after many centuries, decimated by endless battles, some of them started getting old and tired of all the struggle and accepted to go back in Valinor. I never finished the Simalarion, and don't remember much of what I did read... However, your argument seems to contradict itself. I don't think a perfect race would abandon Middle Earth to be, for all the reason they had to believe, dominated by Sauron, who would surely spread his dominion to all corners of the world... all just to settle the passion they place in revenge, where men placed their passion, and their lives, in preserving what made them free and compassionate.

Tolkien INVENTED the fantasy genre as we know it. It's not generic, its foundation. And so that's why they left Middle-Earth when it was doomed instead of fighting? You could say because they had a small population, but that is the panda bear argument. They could have reproduced. Do you know why they didn't? Because they lack passion and purpose; they don't see raising a new life to stand as an example of goodness as important in a universe where everything is at stake. See King Theoden's final speech to the Rohirrim. That is a quintessential example of the difference between men and elves. Men will lay down their lives because they know that love and freedom cannot be preserved by fleeing or ignoring the threats to it. That is where elves fail. They don't feel like love and freedom are what define them, so instead they shirk responsibility and neglect the other free races.

Wrong. They have long natural life spans, speed, finesse, and snobbishness. That is all. They lack determination, passion, loyalty and heart. They're basically the rich hipsters of the fantasy genre.

There's no reason they can't use well thought-out cultures and apply them to new sapient races. As much as the movie Avatar was simply a huge display of impressive CGI, I think they did a good job creating a race that looks human enough to be relatable, and yet exotic. Oh, and personally, I dislike the elves because they're stuck up, and, in my opinion lack the finest unique (to fantasy universes) qualities of humans; passion and determination

I totally get where you're coming from but... I'm not sure its necessary. One simple starting point may be easier and more practical. On the note of cliches, I am getting tired of seeing elves and Orcs in every fantasy game. I know Tolkien defined the genre by such, but I think there is a lot more creativity to explore. I'm guessing Obsidian already has an idea of the kind of races they intend to implement by now anyways.

I know OP is satire, but it still seems to fall into internet behavior of dismissing criticism as 'whining'. Not only are those of the community the ones who fund the project, but we're also the ones to play it. Now, that does not make us entitled to the perfect game, but if nothing else, entitle to express our opinions and desires for the game. Nobody is forcing you to like or agree with any of the sentiments expressed by others, so implying people are stupid or overly demanding for simply stating what they like just comes off as pretentious.

I know I'm going to get chewed out for this, but I think skimpy apparel is OK as long as it meets the following conditions: 1. It is not ridiculously impractical Obviously, design of all armor and clothing will probably be, to some extent, slightly impractical for reasons of artistic creativity and aesthetic appeal. If a character is wearing something skimpy, it should at least make some sense. By this I am agree that plate mail bikinis are just preposterous. However, if a character isn't wearing armor to prevent restrictions of movement/speed, and possibly comes from a tribal fighter society or something of the like. My point is, it can be put into proper context if done right. There are historical examples of warriors who dressed scantily for reasons of climate or fighting style, and also done sensibly in some quality fiction, such as Game of Trones and The Malloreon, had said warriors with the Dothraki and the people of Nyissa, respectively. 2. It does not objectify the character or gender in question Pretty straight-forward. Tasteful levels of revealed skin should not be the first thing the player associates with the character. This can be taken to a terrible place when all the females suffer from the same barbie doll look and chain mail bikini syndrome (see: skyrim mods). Likewise, if a female character is wearing skimpy clothing for reasons of fitting into a particular aspect of the universe, developers have to hold the male characters by the same standards (unless the society is explicitly sexist or something, which would have to be a theme of its own). ...so that's when I think skimpy apparel can be appropriate. It obviously isn't necessary, but if it would make sense for the warriors of a particular society not to be wearing berkas, then it might actually be a good idea. Now, onto weaponry. Please, please, PLEASE no anime swords or stupid, nonsensical, flashy items! I don't want to play a warrior with majestic, perfectly maintained hair flowing through the wind with a spotless face. If he gets down and dirty like a warrior does, then he ought to be rugged. And, contrary to what movies and games would have us believe, women also get bruised, scarred, and dirtied. I would also be displeased to see my enchanted items to be so blatantly colorful and glowing I can't shift my attention away from them. I know it's a fantasy universe, but I think we're all inclined to hope for some amount of realism and simplicity.

Well, since narrative has been emphasized as an key element in PE, I feel that without at least some VO, one would be deprived of crucial character aspects that denote their general mindset and subtitles of their statement.

I like the idea and think it would actually be very easy to implement: most games have values for each of these items, but are lumped together when choosing easy, normal, hard. Separating them wouldn't really be any extra work, nor would I see it as "distracting". I'm sure Obsidian won't make this as easy as Half-Life 2 (original) on easy settings, nor as hard as Dark Souls (I rage quit that game).

Or just have it so that you can't change armor during combat.

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to loot clothes that don't have any gameplay benifits (ie; help your stats) I do like the idea of only being wearable though if they fit the player's character. All in all, I hate in-game economies and grinding for money. If I wanted to feel like there is so much I need to get but can't afford I'd just check my bank account.

I can't stand poor voice acting in RPG's. Skyrim's dialogue was painful to sit through, even though I loved the rest of the game. It is essential to character development and narrative immersion and I would sacrifice gameplay features if it meant having quality acting.

Now we have something to agree upon! Fanboy/girlisms are the bane of all fiction. 20% of the BSN folks are fanboy/girls of the endings simply because they're written by bioware and will do whatever it takes to defend them, 35% (or so) are fanboy/girl deniers that Bioware could ever have bad writing, 25% are apathetic, and the other 20% actually recognize blatantly poor narrative when it is right in front of our faces. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ME series, but you can't excuse major faults just because you love the company so much. I mean, think about Bioware's KotOR 1 vs Obsidians KotOR 2. KotOR 1 (though good) had a 2-dimentional villain and a plot twist. KotOR 2 actually made you think! I think that Obsidian knows not to base the game off of a community of customers that is narrow-sighted, easily exploited, and/or insufficiently learned about video games. The Obsidian community has far less fanboys and girls. The community has invested in their project in the hope that they can provide a game that satisfies those things that gamers have been deprived of in recent years from forced multiplayer to shallow narrative to DRM's. This is why I would like to see a romance in PE; because from what I know of their previous works, when left unconstrained in their creativity, I think they could pull it off like no other.

Aside from the remark about BSN networks being astute rather than fanboys, I full-heartedly agree! Amen to natural progression and equal opportunity!

I think they got the skills to make it so that the player doesn't feel the need to romance anyone unless they pursue it. Hell, Bioware, who I see as writers not up to par with Obsidian, could do this. Imagine the outrage if the player felt forced to have a gay romance with Cortez. (not that I have a problem with the option, just that there would be outrage). Likewise. As I mentioned this before, they do sucessfully show their ability to do this in KotOR 2.

Damn right. It's pretty awesome. You should try learning about the subject to psychoanalyze people; it gives you a nice, smug sense of superiority. Sounds pretty douchey to me. Not interested. That's half the fun Alright... maybe I should attempt to say something topical. Me, personally, I will roll my eyes whenever there is a romance in a movie or video game where the characters have minimal/superficial interation in an artificial-feeling context and then spontaneously confess their "boudnless" love for each other, kiss, and as soon as they do that, they will immediately have sex on the spot. Good narrative needs proper building of relationships, romantic or otherwise

Damn right. It's pretty awesome. You should try learning about the subject to psychoanalyze people; it gives you a nice, smug sense of superiority. Yeah, he cleared that up for me. My tasteless American mindset could not comprehend it as it was presented

Fair enough. There are enough trolling and or stupid people on the internet to give me reason to suspect that your remarks were an attempt to empower yourself, but its cool. We'll play it like civilized internet humorists (adjusts monocle). Of course, aside from acting like a egotistic/pretentious bastard, I do have a fairly dry, humorless personality. And indeed (ritzy, stuck-up voice) we in this country also make usage of the English language. Quite exquisite, mmm, yes? This term you use, "banter", I have read of it in my studies, and yet, never once in the United States of America has that word come to my attention. I would much like to indulge in understanding the differences in dialect between British and American English.

You'll find I can tie lots of things together- representing a romance does necessitate some degree of understanding of interpersonal relationship mechanics. For example, two things I could tie together are your condescension and blanket assumptions about other people who live thousands of miles away from you based upon unfounded demographic stereotypes.

"No I don't have feelings 'cause feelings are gay." -MC Vagina Can't tell if acting like a ignorant fool or just trolling. In any case, excuse me for assuming research in modern psychology and neuroscience conducted under the scientific method is more valid than whatever anecdotal experience you have.