JFSOCC

Maybe it's too much to ask, but I wouldn't mind a few points in the game where you can respec some of your level-up choices, since you can't always tell in advance how they'll work out and whether or not they suit your play. It'd be a shame if you're forced to stick with all your mistakes or roll a new character or go back to a previous save way back.

Patrick Rothfuss will be helping out on this game! http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2013/03/concerning-games-torment-and-a-sense-of-play/ Edit:ah damnit beaten to it.

I watched Cloud Atlas. Very nice. There was one scene in that movie which made me question my ethics.

So we give up more and more of our privacy in the name of security. I won't stand for it.

Yes! And not every adventuring party has members at odds with eachother, usually there is some form of team spirit. The whole notion that you need to choose between party members and you can't keep them all happy... I'll kick out the troublemaker who ruins the unit cohesion, not the person I disagree with most. Six people, a real team.

Ip, the deceiver. God of truth and deception. Patron of spindoctors, politicians, and lawyers. Patron of those who think on their feet. "One truth told with bad intent is worse than all the lies one can invent" Ip is known to lie by telling the truth, by taking the facts and misrepresenting them. For example: "20% less people applied for unemployment" might be absolutely true, but only because after a certain time period people can no longer apply for unemployment benefits. The amount of people not working is still growing. Or "Contains vitamin C" might be true, but there is only so much your body will accept. "Has anti-oxidants" yes, all vegetables do, big deal. "I was beaten up by a man about 20 years old!"(yes, 20 years ago) This is how Ip spread his lies; by telling the absolute truth. It is how he tricked his way into divinity in a bargain he made with Fastir without doing any hard work, insinuating credit for a task he had not done, but not stating it outright. It is assumed they are at odds because of this, although it is never stated outright. Those who are fooled by excellent bluff curse Ip, those who managed to bluff their way past the bouncer of a club praise him for their ability to think on their feet, provided no lies were used. Ip promotes people to look at the truth, but also the context, to find out more than just the truth, but it's relevancy, the story which belongs with it. No bare fact should ever convince anyone and if it does you have yourself to blame. The strangest thing has happened to the clergy of Ip. While they worship his genius spindoctoring skills, they feel unworthy of it, and that his use has been a lesson to all humanoidkind to avoid such devious ambiguity or suffer the consequences. They train to speak only truth, and to be as unambiguous as possible. Conversation with the clergy of Ip is incredibly ponderous, and unnerving at times. They will not use idiomatic language, they will state their intent clearly, and they will not use colourful language. They will not speak of morals for these are the subject of opinion, not fact. While this behaviour may seem to be very strange and self-defeating at times, it has led to the use of the clergy as arbiters in disputes, judges with inquisitorial privileges. The strict training and the abhorrence of ambiguity allows them, like Columbo, to worry at the details and facts until it is absolutely clear what has happened. This is a slow process, but their involvement is considered to be one of the most accurate ways to ascertain the truth. There is one exception. Servants of Ip are allowed by their doctrine to lie by telling the truth in order to save lives. This is not done on a whim however, and not every servant is equally good at it, having trained most of their life to do just the opposite. The symbol of Ip is a straight vertical line on a plane. The Clergy of Ip brands liars with a crooked or curved line on the back of their dominant hand. ---- And that, my friends, is 20. More than enough for a pantheon. I don't intend to write more gods. (which is not the same as saying I absolutely won't. Just don't expect it)

Bojanis' Club. Selene Bojanis is a Gorgeous woman, pleasant conversationalist, and very very rich. Oh, and she's single. She's the heiress of the Bojanis noble family, and in charge of the Bojanis' Club. AKA: The Hedonistic society. Out in sunny vineyard country, not too far out of town, there's a huge high walled complex. Palace Bojanis. It's beautiful. It is opulent, and it is well guarded. For those not invited, it is a place of magic to aspire visiting one day. For those invited, it is laughter and joy and sex, and drugs(if asked) and music, exotic food and more sex. Inside the place is filled with well tended gardens, alcoves and pillowed open air sitting rooms, hot tubs and pools, private rooms princes dream of, and all staffed with happy but silent servants, eager to fulfil any whim. They cater to any desire. A true paradise, IF you can afford it. To experience it, you must pay an outrageous annual fee. And you must abide by some rules: the servants will do anything you ask of them, provided they can and it doesn't interfere with other guests, but they will remain silent. If you wish conversation or song, there are hired performers, but don't expect conversation with the servants. And you must obey any directive given by the guards, they are there for your protection, but should they find you off-limits, say, near the servants quarters, they will kindly escort you back to the guest premises. Other than that, you can do what you please and the staff will happily oblige even absurd requests if it is within their ability. Once a year there is a three day costumed ball where all members can bring a guest, as long as they vouch for them. This is the one day of the year where all guests can meet each other in the giant central courtyard, decorated for the occasion and access to the giant central garden for those wishing a quiet stroll in the moonlight. There are performers, drink, exquisite food, fireworks. The Night ends in a giant orgie where masked men and women can anonymously get every STD they wish until they are utterly spent. While drunken sex with servants and other guests is expected, fighting amongst guests is not allowed and will earn you a lifetime ban. These festivities are strategically timed right after the annual subscription fee, and if you're a member of high-society, you really can't afford not to be seen going there. Yes, it's all peaches and cream. Unless you're a servant. All servants are slaves. Bought before they were six, imported from around the world, or raised bastards from guests' activities. The first thing which happens is that the servants, all except those who are chosen for guard duty, have their vocal cords cut. They are then taught a sign language to communicate with each other. And from day 1 they are indoctrinated: You are here because you are bad. Your life is penance for the crimes of your past life. Your karma put you in hell, because that is where you deserve to be. The guests are here because they are righteous, they have been born wealthy, a reward for past lives spent well. Do what they wish, even if it means debasing yourself, even if it means death, because through this is the only way your penance will ever be done. The only chance for a better rebirth is total obedience to those who are born good. If you're pretty, you're selected as a personal slave, which basically means sex slave. If you've got obedience problems, you're put to work in horrendous conditions. If you're too ugly but know how to listen, you're trained as a guard. Most slaves are believers. What can you expect, when you're indoctrinated from 6 years old. But occasionally, some do flee. The guards are dispatched to haul them back, any slave caught is killed, but not outside the complex. The guards serve to keep the guests from seeing the horrors of servitude. But they are also trained in non-lethal combat, to subdue rowdy guests, and unit combat, although the reason for that is never revealed. Guards units are trained fighters, rangers (for retrieval) Some "special" servants are tasked with spying on the guests (rogues, cyphers) and report to their betters. They are told that this is necessary to root out any souls which don't deserve to be there, but to what standard this is set is left a mystery, lest they start unconsciously filtering information. Some special guard units are true believers, indoctrination has made them totally obedient. They don't question their orders, and could for gameplay purposes be considered paladins. They're sent on special missions. 'escorting' staff abroad when they seek out exotic goods and slaves, food, entertainment to bring back to the hellish paradise complex. This year, rumour has it, Selene has something special planned for her costumed ball. The whole high society is abuzz with speculation, it is certainly expected that if you are somebody, you just HAVE to be there. Tailors are doing brisk business selling ever more extravagant costumes. Perfumers have had to deal with shortages, and moneylenders have seen a marked increase in high born customers. Whatever it's going to be, it's going to be big. The player will first encounter the Bojanis' Club as something unattainable, a place they can't get entry to, but dominating one of the landscapes they pass through. Rogues may wish to rob it blind (and who could blame them!) Players might need to curry favour with someone to enter the complex as their guest. (or with six someones to get the entire team in.) It is a place where one can encounter hard to meet VIP's, so a player wanting to track down one such might find itself facing the Bojanis' Club that way. Or, alternatively a player may come across a runaway servant, either preventing the recapture, or investigating what the hell happened after failing to do so. The player may investigate the loss of children under the age of six from a distant land, or the kidnapping of a wealthier child also fitting that description. Finding and getting that child out would require entrance to the club. Or the player may be sent to investigate this "special event" Selene Bojanis seems to have planned by any of the interested factions. Not everyone is without suspicion. The Bojanis' Club does occasionally contract freelancers, and since their coffers are full, that comes with interesting rewards. There is a large segment of the work the club can't leave to the slaves without raising suspicion, and joining as paid employees allows a player to raise within the organisation to a management position, if they can stomach the darker side to the operation. And who knows, the attractive Selene might take notice of you. (Ever the charmer, half the men in power, and some women too seem to think they have a special relationship with her)

advance wars is a classic now? that game isn't that old.

Edit: I don;t know what the **** I'm talking about.

most aren't.

Today I finished X-com enemy unknown after 4 days of near continuous play. I loved every last bit of it.

I agree with OP. For some reason people wrongly think that explaining everything makes a world deeper. And they are completely wrong, because when everything is defined, there is no more mystery, no more "beyond the horizon". A horizon which could be filled with dragons and treasure and magic and strange cultures. If you leave nothing to the imagination, well, what is there left to imagine? It puts borders (or a frame, if you will) on the experience, and that in turn will make your world seem small. A world with little explained lets you think about things more, Where do they come from? Why does it work like that? What ever happened to him? Who is behind all this. It allows you to speculate and theorize and that can keep you going forever. It allows you to see a world beyond what has been presented to you in the game. Of places and people and ideas unexplored. Ready for the next time. If you create an index entry on every little previously unexplained thing found in the game, rune stones, magic circles, organisations, you'll quickly kill what made the world interesting. Because hey, it's that, and that's the way it is. It's about curiosity. A good teacher/storyteller doesn't explain but lets you find out for yourself. I hope there is a lot of alluding to things beyond what the player will see. That'll keep you going, and provides a rich soil from which a sequel or expansion might grow.

And initiates know a secret one, Bose-Einsteinium condensate, also known as filament. (frost damage!)

The past 4 days I've been playing the latest X-com game, and that game is pretty much my new all time favourite. Right up my alley. I love it to pieces, every bit of it. I love the unapologetic use of popular myth, I love the artstyle, I love the pacing, The design is inspired. The game balance is such that you are constantly on the brink of total disaster and it feels like your flying by the seat of your pants. (or however that saying goes) yet, never do you feel like the task is impossible. I felt incredibly rewarded when I had success in a hard fought battle and losing a soldier felt like a very real loss, not something many games manage to do. (Oh noes, recruit 0162 died) The characters feel real, within the framework of the story, and the voiceacting was top notch. There was one point where I completed a hard story mission and at the end of it I was treated to a cutscene with the crew at headquarters breaking out in applause. I can tell you, I couldn't keep the smile of my face and I couldn't keep the tears out of my eyes because it was a costly mission. Not many games manage to do that. If I have to criticise it, it would be on the externalities, such as that one lab looks identical to the next, one workshop the same as the next, and some animated segments, like autopsies or interrogations are identical save for the subjects involved. Having say, six versions of these things (with the same function) would give it a slightly more polished look. But that's hardly something which matters. That isn't to say there's no polish. Soldiers are randomly generated, but their names are correct, A Dutch soldier has a Dutch name, while a Nigerian soldier will have a Nigerian name and a soldier from India will certainly have an Indian first and last name. Now that's attention to detail! I thoroughly recommend the game to anyone with two or more braincells. I've completed the game early this afternoon and it left me wanting more.

actually it's more like... "this game takes place in the desert, so there are no forests. But I really like forests! So let's teleport the player to a plane where they can see the cool swaying tree animations one of our artist has been working on in his spare time." it's like putting everything and the kitchen sink into the game, no matter if it goes against the concept/ premise of the game. If that forest he worked on in his spare time is really cool, and you can find an internally consistent reason for getting there, then hell, Awesome. As long as that quest isn't over in a heartbeat, like the pocket plane quest in DA:O

If you add this into the game as a giant nightmare monster I'd fear it. It'd be a perversion of the real thing.

If proximity was determining factor in ownership the biggest country in the world would rule all of it.

that's a very one sided view though. No one thing is solely negative or positive, including religion. I already posted my thoughts on that here Any show or series that tackles this topic seems to get stuck in vitriolic argument, which is a shame.

but they didn't state that it was the end all of narrative design, rather that is was an excellent way to go. I don't think they've ever discarded other ideas, especially because narrative techniques (and the efficacy) vary by culture.

scale challenge ratings. nice invisible(if not entirely unnoticable) way to make sure any challenge is a realistic threat.

The Warreners It was bound to happen. When a city builds layer upon layer of buildings, sewers on top of older sewers, when those who skulk build secret entrances and underground passages. You create an underground city. A warren of roads. In the most forgotten part of the underground warren, they reside. Outcasts, pariahs, beggars, lepers, criminals avoiding prosecution, hermits. They're the Warreners, those who call the warren their permanent home. From here they radiate outwards, they undermine canals to get water, build around open sewers for their own private waste disposal. It was a mess at first But decades of squalor ended when a couple, an engineer and his wife an architect got banished from the city. They'd designed a building which collapsed. And while they protested their innocence, put blame on the shoddy workmanship, they still got exiled. They fled underground, into the warrens. Life was tough at first, but in the squalor they started working. First a tap for clean water, then an adaptation for the sewers so they could be used by those other denizens of the dark. Then came light, impregnation of the walls to stop the mould which was sickening everyone. This got the attention of those in the warren, and they started silently offering their labour. Showing up with scavenged materials, metal pipes, timber. And by silent consent the couple became the de facto rulers of their community. They started calling themselves the Warreners. The Warreners see the entire underground city as their domain. And since their primary needs are being met, their secondary needs are being met, they've taken to expansion. While steadily their home improves, they're now patrolling ever more sections of the vast underground networks. They're digging new tunnels, collapsing others. They're setting up checkpoints and setting up strategical fortifications to block access to the warren. There's a lot still to be done. Shylae, the architect, has designed an underground vegetable garden in the centre of their complex. Trimp, the engineer has seen to getting enough artifical light, but the garden is far from finished. There's still little isolation, fresh air, but life is improving lots. and the Warreners, mostly outcasts, have been regaining their humanity, both good and bad. there's a camp circle with musicians which is becoming the equivalent of a pub. There's quarters, a resource pile, and a militia. The Militia is being led by an Aumaua called Rhothland. Rhothland is utterly devoted to Trimp and Shylae, but he has big plans for the warren. He means for the warrenites to become a fully recognised city-state under the city. He's ordering patrols, recruiting bored and starving Warreners, and setting them up on some more used underground paths. He's asking toll. He intends to use this to further the construction works of the Warren, new excavations, another deeper level, and better equipment for his militia. And this is where the warrenites have come into a bit of a pickle. The crime syndicates around town are not too fond of having their smuggling paths blocked by tax collectors of any kind. And it's already come to blows. The warrenites have lost some members, but so have the thieves. The Warren was hardly a blip on the Radar. But the various factions are finding their secret paths to be a little over-crowded now, and the only thing protecting the Warren against annihilation is the fact that no-one knows the exact location. That is bound to change, however. And the Warreners are already past the point of no return when it comes to pissing off the wrong people. The Hive of the Hiveless (see post a bit to the top of the page) is none too pleased either. Time will tell what will happen. The Warreners face extinction without help, or they might be enslaved and put to work for the crime syndicates running the smuggling operation, the other, more elusive groups who find their secret basements broken into may have a hand in matters as well. And those on the surface who find parts stolen by the Warreners are slowly bringing this to the attention of the city watch. It's a precarious dream, the underground utopia for the outcasts. But, all is not yet lost. The player encounters the warreners by finding their warren, by working for the thieves and having to deal with the new problem, by solving the mystery of the stolen goods (either by victims or working for the city guard) or searching for an exile living in the Warrens. Either as a bounty or as a witness. What happens next will be up to the player. Should the player choose to aid the Warreners, they can help in different ways leading to different outcomes. It could be a hostile takeover by reinforcing and training the militia and cleaning out the enemies. It maybe a deal negotiated between the crime syndicates and the Warreners, it maybe by aiding in the construction of additional defences for the warren, and helping out in finding resources for its growth and development. Someone skilled in subterfuge may help camouflage the warren's location, or find several blueprints which will aid in construction, and avoiding known obstacles. Finding hidden rooms and buildings which might still function. A city might be built here. Should the player choose to deal with the Warreners differently, it will improve their standing with factions opposing the Warreners, they may enslave or kill them, work out a protection deal, or simply coerce the Warreners to stay out of other faction's way. Which will limit their growth and keep them in relative squalor.

thank you for your subtly brought point

the only game where I care for achievements is team fortress 2

Capitalism works, but you need rules to play by. Complete deregulation is closer to mercantilism than capitalism.(like Monopoly). One core tenet of capitalism is competition, so there must be rules ensuring fair competition.

My views on Palestine are irrespective of my political leanings.