Amentep

do we? *shrug* No. But I'll also say if a woman comes and posts under the username "Ultima0u812" and puts up an avatar of Han Solo from Star Wars, does anyone realize she's female?

We need to know our known unknowns and our unknown unknowns.

"I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member." -Groucho Marx

am feeling the same... although we probable fall into the **** category. the thing is, Gromnir treats everybody equal bad. oddly enough, this endeared us to many o' the female posters at old interplay boards. we don't like lack o' fairness, so maybe that strikes some kinda resonating chord. dunno. regardless, am thinking most women ain't as frail as they is frequent portrayed. treat with same respect/disrespect as male counterparts, and female gamers/posters respond positively... for the most part. HA! Good Fun! Gromnir have you not noticed there are very few females members active on these forums? Am I the only one who is concerned by this and wonders why? Can you determine why they aren't active though? Is the forum (or its posters) uninviting or are women uninterested in posting?

Back when people thought I was a girl on the BIS boards (something about the avatars or some such) I got hit on by unsuspecting male forumites in PM. You mean you're not? Oh, um, ignore that last PM then. Who says RPG fans don't like romance!

That is kind of a weird coincidence, but I don't remember the guy in our neighborhood having a go-cart like in the link too (which would be really weird!) He and his dad did do soap box derbies though...

Well I wouldn't argue it would necessarily rescue the situation since my position is that the movie doesn't start in the right place to begin with; but "in theory" I don't think the idea of Anakin having an twisted hero's path as being unworkable. I do think Lucas doesn't pull it off, however.

Back when people thought I was a girl on the BIS boards (something about the avatars or some such) I got hit on by unsuspecting male forumites in PM.

Sure, I agree to disagree with you on it, I just found it fascinating to discuss.

Hmm, well that was enlightening. Thanks. I think I'll continue to stick to single player games.

Whoops, misread the replies, sorry. Regarding the ends of AotC vs Empire, you could argue that Anakin has already lost himself since his mother died and he slaughter the Tuskan Raiders, thus making his lack of reaction to losing his hand a part of the path Anakin is on (and that he's so far lost he's not able to recognize loss anymore). In general Anakin's Path, in many ways, is an inverted path relative to Luke's; where Luke is self-aware, Anakin shouldn't be.

I think there was only one kid who had a Green Machine in my neighborhood. Dunno if he had a pony or a rifle too; I know he had a sports car (an 86 corvette?) when he was 16...

I'm not sure I presented a false dichotomy and I'm not saying that Obi-Wan couldn't have been the central character; I'm just saying that if Lucas is going Joseph Campbell again then Anakin's character arc fits that role better than Obi-Wan (as Obi-Wan's story is antithetical to the monomyth). I'd disagree that nothing was at stake with respect to Anakin; his romance with Padme and his friendship with Obi-Wan were both lost - after the loss of his mother probably the only two things that really meant much to him.

I see your point, but I'm not sure I agree; if Star Wars IV-VI is the archtypical Hero's Journey, then there's no real reason that I-III can't be. Anakin can still be the character who is introduced into a magical world, wins a decisive victory and returns to grant boons to his fellow man (remember, ultimately from the story's perspective, the prophesy that Qui-Gon thinks he will fulfill is true and as in all monomyths, Anakin achieves the goals of his quest (even if, ultimately, his quest ends up not being what he thought it was)). The problem, then to my mind, isn't the overarching hero's journey and focusing on Anakin. While they could have focused on Obi-Wan entirely and probably had a decent film out of it, he's ultimately Han Solo in the original films. The difference being that Han and Luke ultimately end up on the same side after they separate but Obi-Wan and Anakin don't. He provides a different perspective on the events in the film, but ultimately I don't think Lucas was wrong to make the first three about Anakin (I'd argue, for example, Anakin's betrayal of Obi-Wan is important only in how his hubris in dealing with Obi-Wan led to him becoming Darth Vader; the real choices that Anakin made were all in his scenes with the Emperor. Betraying Obi-Wan was only a consequence of those previous, more important actions).

Curiosity question, what is the context of the use of "Goon" in this? I'm suspecting some kind of alternate definition from the norm the way its used (something common in online gaming?)

Big Wheel vs Green Machine, now that's a debate I remember (oddly after 30-something years)

^Pernilla August, IIRC. There's a lot about the prequels that are fairly similar to the other films in the series - look back at Star Wars: it is plot heavy and doesn't contain a lot of character development (why Han and Luke are pals at the end when they're still bickering as late as the choice to rescue Leia seems to be writers fiat; why Leia has bonded with either is never explained; Luke is more crushed by Obi-Wan's death (a man he was only vaguely familiar with prior to his saving him from the Sand People) than he is his Uncle and Aunt who raised him as a son). But it also - very rightly - excised a lot of back story (the scenes with Biggs, Wedge and Cammie, the scene with Han and Jabba) to make sure the story really stick to the exciting path of the rebels vs empire. Phantom Menace doesn't excise these scenes, and I think it effects the pacing a good deal. A lot of film problems can be ignored if the pacing keeps pushing us past them. ANH also starts Luke as an adult and I still think fundamental mistake #1 for PM is not starting Annakin off at an equivalent age.

Except the plate would be from the wrong state if I did that.

Cut them. Or merge their role into a new character who is sorta like them but better?

Driving home, I got behind a Toyota Highlander and noticed it had weird vanity plates - "BE ONLY". Then I saw it had a special made license plate frame with three words on it "There", "Can" and "one" So yes, you're probably getting what it said - HIGHLANDER (car logo) There can (top of frame) BE ONLY (license) one (bottom of frame)

Not familiar with the series, so will American Truck Simulator recreate every major city, or just select parts of the country?

Nice work Suburban-Fox and KazikluBey, I'd worked out what the first one should have looked like but never had time to try and set anything down. Nice to see them realized.

I'm exactly the same, I have enjoyed every Bioware game I have played. Or maybe it is more fair to say the " good far outweighs the bad " around the overall Bioware gaming experience . Nothing to be embarrassed about I'm not embarrassed. I just felt it should be pointed out that there's probably a fair lot of people who have enjoyed the Bio games even with their flaws like I do.

True story: I've liked every Bioware game that I've played. Yes, even NWN official campaign. That doesn't make them perfect, somehow even with their flaws I manage to be entertained to greater or lesser degrees. I imagine that a lot of the people who make Bio's audience fall into the same category as opposed to those vocal diehards posting regularly to their boards and the vocal anti-diehards (die-easies?) posting elsewhere. As long as DA:I is an enjoyable game on its own terms, I'm okay with that without having to place it in some mythic pantheon of RPGs.

I never did finish the Nosferatu I created...should go back to that someday.