Blizzard obviously wants people to cripple their bandwidth, having multiple games running in and out of the same room in the same household. Never mind that I should be able to purchase a single copy of a game and install it across my LAN without any problems. I certainly don't have to buy four copies of Mario Kart to play it in the same room with the rest of my family.
Compare modern first-person/third-person shooters and compare them to the classics like Perfect Dark, The Legend of Zelda or Goldeneye. They were so much fun because handling was so easy, you could move, you could strafe, etc. It was so much better!
I would not, ever say that a console-based FPS handles easily... especially not one using that hideous N64 controller.
Still, your point stands. Gameplay is more important. That said, extensively thought-out physics could go a long way in making or breaking the gameplay in some titles.
Doing things that others tell you to do, despite how you may feel about it, does indeed reveal signs of social conditioning... human or not. Sadly, you too show such traits. You seem to think that authority naturally has such psychological power, when in fact the very concept of such authority is very far removed from nature. The entire system is a social construct to produce such responses in people. Is it the girl's fault that she did what she had been trained to do? No, not necessarily. She could have just as easily gone against the norm however.
People like that don't simply have power, they are given the concept of power by their victims. They will stop abusing such traits only when others stop hiding and take them away.
I'd argue that it's the fact that people give too much attention to authority and blindly do whatever they're told to do. How difficult is it to scream 'get out of my pants you paedophile!' ?
It's everyone's duty to ensure that a correct balance of power is maintained. Those in 'authority' need to be challenged whenever they overstep the bounds of that authority.
That was my thought exactly. Why did this girl let herself be put in that position? It's because schools, much like society as a whole, is simply in place to turn people into sheep. That doesn't by any means make it the victim's "fault" that this happened, but it sure made the occurrence a lot easier and likely.
[quote]Shouting cliches doesn't change the fact that this situation (which I, again, think was highly unfortunate behavior on the part of the school administration in the ethical, not just legal, sense) is not the same as "ignorance of the law".[/quote]
I don't think think that providing a truly volunteer rating system would be such a bad thing. Listing the content of a product provides consumers with a way to make a (slightly more?) informed decision. The true problem, both with games and films, is that if you choose not to have your product rated, you are basically screwed. Most theaters will not show unrated films. Console manufacturers won't even allow "Adults Only" rated content on their systems, let alone unrated games. This is without even getting into the fallacies involved when a rater's personal biases get in the way of something that shouldn't be as objectionable as it often seems to become.
Why aren't the worries of all of those parents forcing Harry Potter books to display a sticker on the cover stating "Witchcraft and General Satanism Inside"? Why don't CDs have a breakdown of exactly why their lyrics are explicit? Furthermore, why do the explicit albums sit right on the shelf alongside more "wholesome" albums?
It isn't that the ESA is trying to extort money, it is that they are trying to protect their market from politics.
No, it's a money grab. They are middlemen, and just like any other middleman, they are only there to make money by providing a service that no one really needs. If they want to keep the government out of their market, then why don't they? Being bullied into doing something isn't much better than having it done for you. Last time I checked, books don't have to submit to some asinine ratings system. Hell, even music albums only need a vague, nondescript "Parental Warning" sticker.
This isn't that hard to explain. There is profit to be had. They make more money by selling a new game then by releasing free maps for an old one.
I believe that releasing major new updates for free would probably pay for itself, as more new people would then purchase the game. Regardless, if money is there worry, they should release an expansion pack, Not a sequel. This is, more than likely, a side effect of also having a console version. Those things aren't capable of doing anything be yearly sequels.
I'd love to see a comeback of at least Spawn Installs. Having a family that likes to play video games together across the home LAN is difficult when you have to purchase four copies of a game to do so.:(
Wolverine had three prior films, multiple cartoon series and a huge comic book based universe to build a fan base upon. The problem was that the Wolverine film absolutely sucked. Of course, the Star Trek film doesn't do a great job of catering to pre-existing fans either. It's a teeny-bopper reboot.
Bioshock was definitely too mainstream, both in story and gameplay. Had it provided the player with real choices, akin to Dues Ex, it could have been great. As it is however, the game was ridiculously linear despite shoving so many different abilities in your face.
A physical retailer offers a physical product, whether it be books or game discs. That means a lot to me. Besides, there are still a helluva lot of people out there with no access to broadband connections. Digital distribution is a poor solution to a non-existent problem. All it does is allow for DRM to be implemented and controller easier than ever.
Why do lesbians, gays, and bisexuals allow themselves to be lumped together with transgenders. To me, the layman, they seem like VERY different things. The first three are people who like to have relationships and sex in ways that aren't historically accepted.
Historically speaking, homosexual acts have been tolerated far more often than not. Perhaps the influence of modern western society has led you to believe differently, but Judaeo-Christian concepts of morality have not always been the norm.
The same happened with the Sega Saturm / Sony Playstation. Sega got their console onto the shelves about 1 month before Sony, and console fans were split on whether to wait that little bit longer for the Playstation or buy the Saturn now. Even if the Playstation was delayed a little bit, or out of stock, the carrot was always there, dangling just out of reach but within distance.
I'm pretty sure that happened with the Dreamcast and PS2 as well. The difference that go around however was that the Dreamcast was vastly superior and is still one of the most interesting consoles to have ever been made.
This is exactly what the country has needed for many, many years. Being such a large, open land this makes perfect sense. Not only will this make general travel easier, thus opening up new areas of commerce and "getaways" to people, but will also widen the job markets for those areas connected. This would be a boon to everyone except those with private jets.:P
Hopefully future expansions will be made as well, as there are plenty of places that could stand to be connected. Arguably, rural areas would benefit more than already high traffic cities.
Slashdot Mirror
Blizzard obviously wants people to cripple their bandwidth, having multiple games running in and out of the same room in the same household. Never mind that I should be able to purchase a single copy of a game and install it across my LAN without any problems. I certainly don't have to buy four copies of Mario Kart to play it in the same room with the rest of my family.
I don't think you have to worry about them getting another Left 4 Dead out "faster and cheaper".
Compare modern first-person/third-person shooters and compare them to the classics like Perfect Dark, The Legend of Zelda or Goldeneye. They were so much fun because handling was so easy, you could move, you could strafe, etc. It was so much better!
I would not, ever say that a console-based FPS handles easily... especially not one using that hideous N64 controller.
Still, your point stands. Gameplay is more important. That said, extensively thought-out physics could go a long way in making or breaking the gameplay in some titles.
Doing things that others tell you to do, despite how you may feel about it, does indeed reveal signs of social conditioning... human or not. Sadly, you too show such traits. You seem to think that authority naturally has such psychological power, when in fact the very concept of such authority is very far removed from nature. The entire system is a social construct to produce such responses in people. Is it the girl's fault that she did what she had been trained to do? No, not necessarily. She could have just as easily gone against the norm however.
People like that don't simply have power, they are given the concept of power by their victims. They will stop abusing such traits only when others stop hiding and take them away.
I'd argue that it's the fact that people give too much attention to authority and blindly do whatever they're told to do. How difficult is it to scream 'get out of my pants you paedophile!' ?
It's everyone's duty to ensure that a correct balance of power is maintained. Those in 'authority' need to be challenged whenever they overstep the bounds of that authority.
That was my thought exactly. Why did this girl let herself be put in that position? It's because schools, much like society as a whole, is simply in place to turn people into sheep. That doesn't by any means make it the victim's "fault" that this happened, but it sure made the occurrence a lot easier and likely.
[quote]Shouting cliches doesn't change the fact that this situation (which I, again, think was highly unfortunate behavior on the part of the school administration in the ethical, not just legal, sense) is not the same as "ignorance of the law".[/quote]
No, it's ignorance of common sense.
I don't think think that providing a truly volunteer rating system would be such a bad thing. Listing the content of a product provides consumers with a way to make a (slightly more?) informed decision. The true problem, both with games and films, is that if you choose not to have your product rated, you are basically screwed. Most theaters will not show unrated films. Console manufacturers won't even allow "Adults Only" rated content on their systems, let alone unrated games. This is without even getting into the fallacies involved when a rater's personal biases get in the way of something that shouldn't be as objectionable as it often seems to become.
Why aren't the worries of all of those parents forcing Harry Potter books to display a sticker on the cover stating "Witchcraft and General Satanism Inside"? Why don't CDs have a breakdown of exactly why their lyrics are explicit? Furthermore, why do the explicit albums sit right on the shelf alongside more "wholesome" albums?
It isn't that the ESA is trying to extort money, it is that they are trying to protect their market from politics.
No, it's a money grab. They are middlemen, and just like any other middleman, they are only there to make money by providing a service that no one really needs. If they want to keep the government out of their market, then why don't they? Being bullied into doing something isn't much better than having it done for you. Last time I checked, books don't have to submit to some asinine ratings system. Hell, even music albums only need a vague, nondescript "Parental Warning" sticker.
It sounds like you need to buy a shotgun instead of worrying about backup media.
It is really easier and more profitable to market a proper sequel.
Except that this does not look to be a proper sequel.
This isn't that hard to explain. There is profit to be had. They make more money by selling a new game then by releasing free maps for an old one.
I believe that releasing major new updates for free would probably pay for itself, as more new people would then purchase the game. Regardless, if money is there worry, they should release an expansion pack, Not a sequel. This is, more than likely, a side effect of also having a console version. Those things aren't capable of doing anything be yearly sequels.
You just described any school, not just those focused on "art".
I think the fact that we're getting a "sequel" instead of an expansion pack goes to show that console versions screw everyone over.
That's exactly what the Christians keep trying to convince us of as well...
I'd love to see a comeback of at least Spawn Installs. Having a family that likes to play video games together across the home LAN is difficult when you have to purchase four copies of a game to do so. :(
Wolverine had three prior films, multiple cartoon series and a huge comic book based universe to build a fan base upon. The problem was that the Wolverine film absolutely sucked. Of course, the Star Trek film doesn't do a great job of catering to pre-existing fans either. It's a teeny-bopper reboot.
Bioshock was definitely too mainstream, both in story and gameplay. Had it provided the player with real choices, akin to Dues Ex, it could have been great. As it is however, the game was ridiculously linear despite shoving so many different abilities in your face.
ow you know how PS3 owners felt about Bioshock, Fallout 3 DLC, etc.
PS3 owners were pretty stupid to have bought those games on a console instead of the PC. They got what they deserved.
And yet Burnout Paradise does not have this feature on the PC, where it'd be even easier to implement.
That doesn't sound bad at all, so long as the games come as some sort of standard installer that I can burn to a disc and archive if need be. ;)
PS3 owners obviously just need to buy a PC. They'd actually get some pretty darn good games then!
A physical retailer offers a physical product, whether it be books or game discs. That means a lot to me. Besides, there are still a helluva lot of people out there with no access to broadband connections. Digital distribution is a poor solution to a non-existent problem. All it does is allow for DRM to be implemented and controller easier than ever.
Why do lesbians, gays, and bisexuals allow themselves to be lumped together with transgenders. To me, the layman, they seem like VERY different things. The first three are people who like to have relationships and sex in ways that aren't historically accepted.
Historically speaking, homosexual acts have been tolerated far more often than not. Perhaps the influence of modern western society has led you to believe differently, but Judaeo-Christian concepts of morality have not always been the norm.
The same happened with the Sega Saturm / Sony Playstation. Sega got their console onto the shelves about 1 month before Sony, and console fans were split on whether to wait that little bit longer for the Playstation or buy the Saturn now. Even if the Playstation was delayed a little bit, or out of stock, the carrot was always there, dangling just out of reach but within distance.
I'm pretty sure that happened with the Dreamcast and PS2 as well. The difference that go around however was that the Dreamcast was vastly superior and is still one of the most interesting consoles to have ever been made.
Yes, yes, yes!
This is exactly what the country has needed for many, many years. Being such a large, open land this makes perfect sense. Not only will this make general travel easier, thus opening up new areas of commerce and "getaways" to people, but will also widen the job markets for those areas connected. This would be a boon to everyone except those with private jets. :P
Hopefully future expansions will be made as well, as there are plenty of places that could stand to be connected. Arguably, rural areas would benefit more than already high traffic cities.