Cantousent

I think it's a tough comparison in terms of polish. It doesn't seem to me that fps, rts, or other titles are quite so burdened as an RPG. After all, most of the story in an RPG must unfold during actual gameplay. In other titles, cut scenes can do the vast majority, if not all, of the heavy lifting. Don't get me wrong, I play more fps than RPG titles these days. There are simply more quality fps titles to be found. Nevertheless, that limited "scope" is undoubtedly a great benefit to creating a tight story. ...And it's easy to keep the dialogue under control when there's less of it.

True words of wisdom, alan.

...And more conscientious. Sure, folks get their feelings hurt a tad too easily. That's fair. ...But some folks go out of their way to be nasty, and that's just not right, either. It's hard to admit you've been a jerk and try to make ammends, I know. Still, if some folks should be less sensitive about themselves, then other folks should be more sensitive to everyone else. Oh, but we're guys, right? So we have to prove how manly we are by being abrasive, abusive, and assinine. No, actually, we don't. If you don't like the word sensitive, try honorable or noble. Those are great RPG terms, aren't they? ...But before they enjoyed great status in RPGs, they were terms to describe the best of people. It doesn't make you less "manly" to think before you speak. It won't always work that way, I know from experience, but it's a damn sight better than trying to indulge your worst instincts. CALL 1-800-DIAL-A-SERMON today!

To save myself the trouble, I just hate all gnomes.

Great read. He's got his eye on the choir, of course. A couple of things, though: those metal detectors were installed in many schools while crime was enjoying a slight resurrgence in the mid to late 80's. Maybe those metal detectors he cites actually did help reduce crime. More people are in prison. Maybe laws such as 3 strikes really do help. This whole area, at the end of the article, was shaky ground from the very beginning. He should have kept discipline and stuck with the video game theme. Second of all, fear sells, including the fear Michael Moore pedals. I'm not making this a Michael Moore debate, but I think we live in a pretty damned good society with a pretty good bunch of people. Crime is not on the rise and we've managed to go through some rough times together without falling apart. The kids I know are a great bunch. Not perfect, mind you, but I'm happy to know most of them. I'm glad you shared this article. It was a breath of fresh air. EDIT: Thanks for the catch, alan. I meant that crime is still declining. I can see where that sentence, when taken with the whole post, might be a bit confusing. hahahaha

Over in the NWN2 fora, there's yet another argument revolving around the Timestop spell. When Bioware brought it into BG2, I know some folks were angry. It's been a source of angst and ire since the day NWN hit the shelves. Now folks want it modified or outright banned. What's wrong with the spell? In a PW or multiplayer game, it's easy to set the preference as the administrator. In a single player game, it's up to the player to use it or not as he sees fit. Usually, in my PnP games, the players never really get to high enough levels to cast 9th level spells. The players almost always retire characters before they become that powerful. NPCs have it as an option, but I don't hear folks complaining because Timestop is available to the bad guys. Mostly, the grief centers on the spell being available to players. Please, enlighten me, but what's the big deal? It's a powerful spell, to be sure, but it isn't the only spell at a wizard's disposal. Timestop is just part of a robust spell list for a high level wizard. It doesn't seem any more powerful than the Wish spell, which was also available in BG:ToB, if not BG2 itself.

The point isn't that I'm using a golf simulator as my only determining factor. It is one factor, as I can compare the same game on two systems. The problem I had was that folks seemed to be saying that the xbox didn't have better graphics. Since I have first hand experience to the contrary, I was dismayed. I usually look to the folks around here as being more or less informed. Sometimes there's more to the story, but the members usually aren't flat out misleading. I was afraid that maybe folks console preferances were getting the better of them.

I don't get this idea. As I've said, I've played Tiger Woods PGA tour 2005 (an EA title, I might add) on both the xbox and the ps2, the xbox looks much better. The anti-aliasing alone is noticable at a glance. In fact, I thought the PS2 was an xbox until I saw the screen. ...And the display TV at Best Buy was certainly newer than my TV at home. I don't have a vested interest. I'm not rooting for xbox to be good and PS2 to be bad. I can honestly see a difference and it causes me to question someone when he says that the graphics on the xbox aren't any better. I've heard that the PS3 has better stats than the xbox 360. I suppose the issue will be more or less resolved when both systems can be compared. Virtually everyone seems to have a stake in the discussion at this point, which makes it very difficult to know the truth.

I've been jonsin' for a Cthulu game for years. I'll try the WoD game also, if it comes to that. I'll probably need help with anything we play other than DnD. After all, DnD is all I've played for a long time.

I have to say that I find a significant difference in most titles between x-box and playstation 2. Even something as simple as Tiger Woods PGA Tour 200x is crisper and cleaner than the PS2. If you dislike the x-box, I suppose it's in your interest to trivialize those areas in which the x-box clearly surpasses the PS2. Are you then going to inflate the areas in which the PS3 might surpass the x-box 360? I have no vested interest in these consoles as a gaming platform. I have no loyalty to x-box. I'm just as likely going to buy a PS3 rather than an x-box 360 because the hardware is more powerful. I'll mostly use it as my stereo at any rate, but putting all of my albums on it, so I'm probably not the best judge. At any rate, Jade Empire looks infinitely more beautiful on the x-box than the PS2.

The problem is that a great game doesn't require a great story and some great stories don't make for very good games.

I'll wait for Civ 4. In the meantime, Jade Empire is a good game. It doesn't deserve a virtually perfect rating. Then again, I think a lot of games receive an undeserved perfect score. I even think a few games deserve a perfect score but don't receive them.

I took this quote from a discussion on the NWN2 boards. Too bad Gaider's design skills aren't as good as this particular quote. Thanks, Syrsuro, for the cite.

I agree, Anakin, but I didn't shell out the cash for the Civ 3 expansion. I'm glad. The point isn't to yell that you aren't going to buy from a company that screwed you. The point is to simply not buy from them.

My gut instinct is that Fionavar was asked to clean up this two bit town. My gut instinct is that he is doing so. I really think, Ender, that you should have addressed this question to Fionavar directly. He's a fair fellow. I'm sure he'd give you some sort of explanation. Being a mod is tough.

I'd be willing to try.

Jade Empire is a fun game. 9.9? *shrug* Civ 3 received a 5 star rating from Computer Gaming World. I no longer have a subscription. After all, how can something so buggy get a perfect score? How is it that a game that promised multi-player support in the original game, shipped without that support, and then charged players for the expansion pack that provided multi-player support, added to the fact that the multi-player component was buggy when it finally did ship be "perfect?"

One thing upon which we should agree with Sawyer is that it isn't the "teen" crowd that's changing the face of computer gaming. Until someone can come up with some hard information regarding gamer demographics, then I'll be forced to assume that the average gamer age is rising. Computer games are a maturing industry, with staggering production values. The folks who shell out the cash for these titles aren't likely to be those horrid young whipper-snappers. I'd like to know the reliable basis upon which folks assume these effects come from younger gamers. Really. Is it the language? I know educated adults who write in this leet speak business. u no who u r. Is it the desire for a gameplay (mechanic) rather than story based game? Give me a break! Is it the maturity level of posters? Do you honestly think that all the trolls and flamers around these parts are teens? We don't need good stories in bad games. We need good stories supported by a good game engine with good combat. ultimately, we want a great story with great gameplay. We very rarely get that. Simple games such as Dialbo and Dungeon Siege have great appeal for the adult gamers I know. I am among their number. Of course, and this isn't a sign I feel bad for criticizing Sawyer, when we get a game that manages to combine a more detailed story with great gameplay, such as IWD, folks deride it as a "hack and slash" title. My fishy friend made a good point when questioning the very idea of the story driven game. I'm a great fan of adventure games, but RPGs they are not. ...And adventure games didn't dwindle to insignificance owing to the "teen" crowd. If story driven RPGs go to the wayside, then the blame will rest on something other than the "teen" crowd as well. Sure, there should be room for more computer gaming genres. I suspect that millions of dollars are lost every year because the folks in charge of the corporate budget don't see the value in creating these games. We have to ask ourselves: is there money to be made? If we were the bean counters, would we support the outlay for a "story driven" title? If there is money to be made, then why has support for such games been eroding? ...Or has it? Not only that, but we now look upon Microsoft as the evil empire. Why don't we try to make them the "good empire" or even, should iit come down to that, the "not so terrible empire." Why don't we somehow make it clear to the folks at x-box that there is a dollar to be made in a well constructed RPG? If RPG players spent less time trying to tear down the other genres and more time trying to introduce folks to our particular brand of fun, then it would be much better. If our hobby doesn't support an industry, we have no right to complain.

I'm all for locking down threads in which you call Fionavar into question.

As in you'd have to be a git to do something like that to your brain.

When is the deadline for tossing in my name? I've been thinking about joining one of these games.

I have wondered whether or not some of the more extreme changes in the books were planned in advance, or even well in advance, by JKR. I'm still not unhappy with the latest book, but I agree with Steve that it's become centered on the characters more than the events. In retrospect, this was always the case, but it's even more pronounced in the latest book than in previous novels. JKR is a monumentally important author. I wish her well, but I doubt if I'd be as interested in the series if I picked up book six as I was in starting the series from the very beginning. That's probably not uncommon, but I had hoped for better. Nevertheless, the latest offering is solid, if not exceptional, and I'm looking forward to the end of the series. Moreover, I'm willing to take a look at future attempts beyond the Harry Potter series.

Comedy. Yeah, I think the series is going on fumes created by the middle books. The first part of the series was great, but I'm disappointed in the turn. At first I was impressed that she managed to make the overall tone dark. Then, however, I realized that darker is not necessarily better. I also get the impression that she's killing off characters just to flex muscle. She seems to think it adds weight to the series to show a willingness to kill important characters. I agree, it's admirable to take such an extreme step. Nevertheless, it's not a step to take "just 'cause." I'm still enjoying the book, but it's just a shame that the dark tone has come at the expense of the aspects that were so appealing about the first four books. My take is that she's spent too much time listening to the vocal minority trying to trivialize her work. That's a shame, because there's no way she can appeal to everyone and, heaven knows, the so-called "elites," most of whom have a rather shallow experience in classical literature, aren't a good benchmark by which to judge any work.

Doom series, half-life series, and Wolfenstein series. My favorite for multiplayer was RtCW. My second favorite for multiplayer was probably doom, but I did spend a lot of time with Half-Life. I like a lot of FPSs, though, so I don't tend to be snide about other choices.

Rape quests? ugh. Hey, what's the topic again?