To clarify I'm not arguing that Farmville and the like are not games, I simply meant that at least in my own experience "gamer" is a term that implies a certain level of interest or involvement beyond dabbling in this or that flash game on our coffee breaks. Regardless, it wasn't my intention to be a dickhead about it, and if I had been smart enough to proofread before posting I'd have caught and changed my tone. Far from being against casual games I'm happy for their existence, just like any other type game I can't sink my teeth into they are still pushing the industry forward and employing game developers.
Heh, Rereading my comment I do come off as harsher than I intended. I do not dismiss casual games themselves, I simply believe that applying the tag of "Gamer" to someone who plays a little solitaire or liked that one Super Mario brothers game ten years ago is silly. That said, it was not my intention to sound as aggressive as I did, and I deserve the response I got.
Sorry but playing Farmville or Bejeweled doesn't make you a gamer by any reasonable definition anymore than playing a little soccer with my nieces and nephews makes me an athlete. This is no different than the recent popularization of some facets of geek culture which leads to hipsters in box frames talking about how they're so glad they can come out about how they read The Hobbit at thirteen and once saw the inside of their old iMac.
To be realistic most of us simply do not have an infinite amount of compassion. While yes, ultimately this is a story about a man selling his organs for things he cannot afford... It was an iPad.
Not food, clothing, shelter or even a chance to improve his lot in life just the days hottest piece of tech.
While I absolutely loved the soul system right out of the gate, I think once you spend some more time with it you'll find that the souls end up very very unbalanced. In my experience you don't find any more variation group to group than you could in a more traditional class system, and for the record I've played each base class except cleric. As a side note: props to them for letting avoidance tanks back in, even if they aren't usually competitive with the warriors. (Much like most rogue souls, har dee har har:P)
Funny. I play Haven and Hearth, where I spend the vast majority of my time destroying the lives of my neighbors, I just finished building a wall around someones land claim and locking the gate, I'll get around to his food and treasure once I finish clearing out his iron mine:)
Rift did a couple neat things, I think it's fair to say they moved mmos forward and that we will see that influence on the next generation of games. That said, I'm so goddamn sick of everyone holding them up as an example of whats being done right in gaming. It's yet another standard high fantasy setting in which you play one of three basic roles and form groups to conquer various challenges, the meaningful ones locked away in instances. The titular "Rifts" were interesting, but Trion has failed to make completing them purposeful for players who have already finished the leveling process, not to mention repeatedly screwing the pooch right out of the gate on their much anticipated world events. If anything I think Rift fans should be nervous about the immediate future, maybe that's why these so called journalists won't shut up about it, heh.
I hear this explanation for why MMO are a waste of time, but in reality what are you bringing away from any gaming experience? If you are playing these games to enrich your life beyond some entertainment and socialization then you should take some time for serious introspection.
Why bother? Because you enjoy it.
Gamer in my mid twenties weighing in here to point out that if anything I'm more interested in what the beards have to say than another of my so called peers:P
Lets put it this way, when was the last time you were looking for the guy with the LEAST experience for advice?
Cross Server battlegrounds and dungeon queues just made this worse, there is no real cohesive sense of community in WoW and it's fair to say that the majority of players if given the chance would shank each other for the smallest infraction.
"So let me get this straight Mr. Johnson, you finished up watching Inception in your home in Long Island, then six minutes later began watching it in Texas?"
Outside of obvious examples like these I doubt much will come of this.
You and me both, buddy. My family lives across the country. Most of my social group has spread out and I work a night shift where on average I will have contact with two, maybe three people each workday. Wouldn't change it for the world:D
Just like playing organized team sports implies you're good friends with the other thirty or fourty people you play with, right? More likely is the situation where 3/4 or more of those players are little more than names and faces in your mind.
The most iconic piece of product placement that I can think of is from the original (or possibly second) Superman movie. It's early on and shows Mrs Kent setting the table as the sun is coming up over their farm and shining through the window, she sets a box of Corn Flakes on the table within the beam of light. The only thing I can recall nearly as blatant is... well... all of " I, Robot", with Will Smith.
It helps that the game itself is fantastic as well. Fun, beautiful, and wonderfully detailed. Unfortunately it sort of falls flat at the end as they seemed to want to leave themselves lots of room for DLC and/or expansions.
What is the purpose of a firearm? It's a weapon designed to kill or disable another creature, in this case another human being. The police should be using deadly force only as a last result, but the fact remains that they are armed for more than using intimidation to defuse dangerous situations.
Slashdot Mirror
To clarify I'm not arguing that Farmville and the like are not games, I simply meant that at least in my own experience "gamer" is a term that implies a certain level of interest or involvement beyond dabbling in this or that flash game on our coffee breaks. Regardless, it wasn't my intention to be a dickhead about it, and if I had been smart enough to proofread before posting I'd have caught and changed my tone. Far from being against casual games I'm happy for their existence, just like any other type game I can't sink my teeth into they are still pushing the industry forward and employing game developers.
Heh, Rereading my comment I do come off as harsher than I intended. I do not dismiss casual games themselves, I simply believe that applying the tag of "Gamer" to someone who plays a little solitaire or liked that one Super Mario brothers game ten years ago is silly. That said, it was not my intention to sound as aggressive as I did, and I deserve the response I got.
Sorry but playing Farmville or Bejeweled doesn't make you a gamer by any reasonable definition anymore than playing a little soccer with my nieces and nephews makes me an athlete. This is no different than the recent popularization of some facets of geek culture which leads to hipsters in box frames talking about how they're so glad they can come out about how they read The Hobbit at thirteen and once saw the inside of their old iMac.
Get them to prove that without releasing source and we'll talk.
To be realistic most of us simply do not have an infinite amount of compassion. While yes, ultimately this is a story about a man selling his organs for things he cannot afford... It was an iPad.
Not food, clothing, shelter or even a chance to improve his lot in life just the days hottest piece of tech.
I'm not entirely sure, but they're probably full of advice as well.
" Are you sure it's plugged in on both ends? "
While I absolutely loved the soul system right out of the gate, I think once you spend some more time with it you'll find that the souls end up very very unbalanced. In my experience you don't find any more variation group to group than you could in a more traditional class system, and for the record I've played each base class except cleric. As a side note: props to them for letting avoidance tanks back in, even if they aren't usually competitive with the warriors. (Much like most rogue souls, har dee har har :P)
Funny. I play Haven and Hearth, where I spend the vast majority of my time destroying the lives of my neighbors, I just finished building a wall around someones land claim and locking the gate, I'll get around to his food and treasure once I finish clearing out his iron mine :)
" The following apology is given under legal duress. " Maybe?
Never let details get in the way of a good theory.
Rift did a couple neat things, I think it's fair to say they moved mmos forward and that we will see that influence on the next generation of games. That said, I'm so goddamn sick of everyone holding them up as an example of whats being done right in gaming. It's yet another standard high fantasy setting in which you play one of three basic roles and form groups to conquer various challenges, the meaningful ones locked away in instances. The titular "Rifts" were interesting, but Trion has failed to make completing them purposeful for players who have already finished the leveling process, not to mention repeatedly screwing the pooch right out of the gate on their much anticipated world events. If anything I think Rift fans should be nervous about the immediate future, maybe that's why these so called journalists won't shut up about it, heh.
I hear this explanation for why MMO are a waste of time, but in reality what are you bringing away from any gaming experience? If you are playing these games to enrich your life beyond some entertainment and socialization then you should take some time for serious introspection.
Why bother? Because you enjoy it.
Gamer in my mid twenties weighing in here to point out that if anything I'm more interested in what the beards have to say than another of my so called peers :P
Lets put it this way, when was the last time you were looking for the guy with the LEAST experience for advice?
Cross Server battlegrounds and dungeon queues just made this worse, there is no real cohesive sense of community in WoW and it's fair to say that the majority of players if given the chance would shank each other for the smallest infraction.
"So let me get this straight Mr. Johnson, you finished up watching Inception in your home in Long Island, then six minutes later began watching it in Texas?"
Outside of obvious examples like these I doubt much will come of this.
I believe you mean the Humancentipad.
You and me both, buddy. My family lives across the country. Most of my social group has spread out and I work a night shift where on average I will have contact with two, maybe three people each workday. Wouldn't change it for the world :D
Just like playing organized team sports implies you're good friends with the other thirty or fourty people you play with, right? More likely is the situation where 3/4 or more of those players are little more than names and faces in your mind.
So your family was wealthy and owned many automobiles. Wasn't the point of this comment to prove you AREN'T an anomaly?
The most iconic piece of product placement that I can think of is from the original (or possibly second) Superman movie. It's early on and shows Mrs Kent setting the table as the sun is coming up over their farm and shining through the window, she sets a box of Corn Flakes on the table within the beam of light. The only thing I can recall nearly as blatant is ... well... all of " I, Robot", with Will Smith.
It helps that the game itself is fantastic as well. Fun, beautiful, and wonderfully detailed. Unfortunately it sort of falls flat at the end as they seemed to want to leave themselves lots of room for DLC and/or expansions.
What is the purpose of a firearm? It's a weapon designed to kill or disable another creature, in this case another human being. The police should be using deadly force only as a last result, but the fact remains that they are armed for more than using intimidation to defuse dangerous situations.
and I wonder why tax money goes into trying to educate and keep alive you worthless cum sprouts when you are so incapable of intelligent thought.
I offer a hybrid solution: Drop these laser enhanced sharks from orbit.