Ok, I have to make a point here. Manga isn't a "style." A manga is just a comic book from Japan. They all have different styles. Before you object, I'll say, yes I know what you mean by Manga-style, Rumiko Takahashi type characters, big eyes small mouth. That is a popular manga style, but considering the sheer volume of manga which are produced, it is hardly the only style.
In some manga characters are drawn in a realistic style, in others they are drawn in a different type of surrealist style. Depends on the artist. Don't imagine Manga artists never look at American comic books for inspiration, that would be a mistake. With a huge number manga artists vying for recognition in Japan, they've got to vary their styles to stand out from the crowd.
Besides which, they tend to put comic books from different traditions, that come from places like Korea in with the manga so as not to "confuse" the American audience.
The truth is, a lot of manga doesn't make it over here because it doesn't have an audience, or isn't believed to. So, the limited amount that comes over tends to be somewhat similar.
In the US comic books are a much smaller market than manga are in Japan. This is due to the efforts of the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in the 1950's. Never forget! We should burn Frederick Wertham in effigy every year as a reminder. American comics were deliberately damaged by the Federal government with malice aforethought. That's why the excellence of the early days of American comics sometimes seems elusive.
Nothing like that happened in Japan, so there is a large diversity of subject matter not found in American sequential art (yes, I know about the outliers. Heck, I subscribed to Doom Patrol during Grant Morrison's run, I buy The Goon and Astro City pretty regularly (when there is new product available). Yet, even those excellent comics I've cited are mostly capes and masks. Except The Goon really... Put it this way, you won't find a story about the trials and tribulations of a shut in, or a detailed study of a rivalry between wine connoisseurs in an American comic, generally speaking... unless it turns out that Batman and the Riddler are wine connoisseurs that is...
Batman is really cool of course, but some of his lesser known bretheren and sisteren (often it seems especially the sisteren) are often not...
That reminds me of that Greek Mythology coloring book I had as a kid... one of my grammar school teachers liked it so much that she used it to make transparencies. I wonder if that would be allowed today?
A young wife fell sick and was about to die. "I love you so much," she told her husband, "I do not want to leave you. Do not go from me to any other woman. If you do, I will return as a ghost and cause you endless trouble."
Soon the wife passed away. The husband respected her last wish for the first three months, but then he met another woman and fell in love with her. They became engaged to be married.
Immediately after the engagement a ghost appeared every night to the man, blaming him for not keeping his promise. The ghost was clever too. She told him exactly what had transpired between himself and his new sweetheart. Whenever he gave his fiancee a present, the ghost would describe it in detail. She would even repeat conversations, and it so annoyed the man that he could not sleep. Someone advised him to take his problem to a Zen master who lived close to the village. At length, in despair, the poor man went to him for help.
"Your former wife became a ghost and knows everything you do, " commented the master. "Whatever you do or say, whatever you give your beloved, she knows. She must be a very wise ghost. Really you should admire such a ghost. The next time she appears, bargain with her. Tell her that she knows so much you can hide nothing from her, and that if she will answer you one question, you promise to break your engagement and remain single."
"What is the question I must ask her?" inquired the man.
The master replied: "Take a large handful of soy beans and ask her exactly how many beans you hold in your hand. If she cannot tell you, you will know that she is only a figment of your imagination and will trouble you no longer."
The next night, when the ghost appeared the man flattered her and told her that she knew everything.
"Indeed," replied the ghost, "and I know you went to see that Zen master today."
"And since you know so much," demanded the man, "tell me how many beans I hold in this hand!"
There was no longer any ghost to answer the question.
What is meant by "enforced low prices?" If it is "Microsoft requires you to charge a certain price point for XBox Live games," then, guess what, your game isn't truly indie.
That shouldn't surprise anyone, since consoles are extremely locked down and loaded with DRM. If you take the King's Penny, you play by his rules or dance a yard arm jig! Yaar!
Now, if you are trying to get on Steam or Amazon download and play, or something and they are requiring you to charge a certain price point, you have to weight whether that is worth it or not. If it isn't, it might be best to forgo those venues.
Now, if it is what I think, and that is that the guy in the article thinks indie game makers should form an indie "cartel" and agree to keep prices high.... well, I don't know if there is a good reason for me, as a customer, to agree to that. There may be one, the way price fixing on airlines in the old days meant really attractive stewardesses, but I can't think of one now.
Anyway, if you are actually an indie studio, you should set whatever price you feel like, create whatever kind of game you feel like, and find a way to sell it where you aren't beholden to the big industry players (who are not your friends). Oh, and pray to Cthulhu, Hastur and Yog-Sothoth that PC gaming continues to be an open platform.
See and this is a problem with "sin taxes." A sin tax is just a tax on a socially unpopular item. It's not meant to be a fine, which is a punishment that's used to discourage people from breaking the law.
The reason why sin taxes target socially unpopular items is "divide and rule." In other words, if everything gets a sales tax, everyone complains. If violent video games get a sales tax, only video game players complain. If they aren't a big enough block to vote out the taxers, and the tax holds up in court (I'm not sure that it would, but it might), then the tax gets put into place and allows the state government to collect the revenue.
Sin Taxes, are sold as fines, but it's usually a problem for the taxers if they work as fines (in other words, if people quit smoking, drinking and gaming). Because in that case the tax base starts to shrink and the revenue disappears.
I'm reminded of the story of a town whihc levied a fine on false burglar alarms. Well the town auditor complained when one year the fine brought in less revenue than the previous year. The police chief had to patiently explain to him that the fine was working as intended, and the police were having less of their time wasted with false alarms. The fine wasn't supposed to be about raising revenue, it was to free up police resources to go after actual crimes rather than people who carelessly set off their own alarm.
Well, part of the problem there is the definition of Fantasy. The giant of American Fantasy is named Howard Philips Lovecraft, not only because of his own stories but because he was so influential on other important American Fantasy authors like Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith.
It's not like people don't reckognize the man's influence, the problem is that they just don't reckognize him as "Fantasy" partly because a large numbers of his fantasy stories are set in what were for him modern times, and partly because he was comfortable dabbling in science fiction and mixing up science fiction and fantasy. Oh, and also because nowadays people think that Fantasy has to have knights and elves in it.
Putting it all down to Tolkien is not saying he invented Fantasy, just that in the U.S. when the term Fantasy is used as a defining term people are often referring to Elves and Hobbits (or Halflings, Kithkin, what have you).
You would be correct except for one thing, most of what we call Science Fiction is just fantasy dressed in Science Fiction clothes. Here's a good example, I'm a science fiction character traveling in my FTL spaceship to Alpha Centuri. Trouble is, according to modern understandings of science, that's not possible! It's basically making the rather huge assumption that modern science is wrong. This happens often in "soft" science fiction.
Now, it's true that science fiction that doesn't actually include magic (which leaves out things like Star Wars, 40k, and Dune) has to keep things within a realm of possibility whereas Fantasy can play looser with the rules. However, that's just verisimilitude, it's like all Cthulhu Mythos stories referencing the same madmen and forbidden books.
Fantasy alone carries with it assumptions based in our own history, a romanticized version of the middle ages where knights were good guys and smart people with beards could cast spells
Ugh... just ugh... let's see, I'll tweak that a bit:
Science fiction carries with it assumptions based in our own history, a romanticized version of the future where starship troopers are good guys and smart people with bald heads could build robots and death rays.
Here's the truth, Fantasy is so dominated by one single author that it's easy to see how almost all commercial Fantasy follows one single vision, the vision of J. R. R. Tolkein. Fantasy series aren't based on the Middle Ages, they are based on Middle Earth.
If you'd like to see an RPG that is more based on the Middle Ages, try Ars Magica. Elves aren't tall, pointy eared, immortal people in that game, they are terrifying magical creatures.
It's not like we aren't aware of all the possibilities of Fantasy, here are some Fantasy series that have made great inroads into popular culture:
1. Conan the Barbarian: This is not set in medieval times, and there are no Elves, Orcs, or Dwarves in it.
2. The Indiana Jones Series: Well, excepting "Crystal Skull" (ugnnhh). Fantasy series set in the 1930's.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Ok, it's got the medieval period and the dwarves. It also has a ton of talking animals.
4. Harry Freakin' Potter: No Text
5. Anne Rices Vampire Series.... (Ok, I know, that's Horror... except it's Fantasy Horror... different than Science Fiction Horror like Alien)
That's not even taking into account Fantasy Science Fiction hybrids, like the Cthulhu Mythos, Star Wars, and Others.
Yes, George W. Bush was much more intelligent, poised and talented than Barack Obama. That anyone could think otherwise just proves the grip of extreme, hard-core, Obama-style Communism on their soul. There is no other explanation. It's frightening, really.
Yes, even the babies, as American military philospher Lieutenant William Calley was wont to remark (paraphrased), "Well, wouldn't those babies have just grown up to be Viet Cong anyway?"
Of course, some of the babies in that case were decapitated for their necklaces, and some of the women, even underaged girls were raped. I'm sure there were important military reasons for that as well... and it wasn't just that the soldiers who did it were a gang of murderous thugs whatever their nationality.
I'm reminded of the game Sacrifice, in which my character remarks, "I don't know why, but I slaughtered all the villagers." Then Charnel appears and tells me I am "an artist."
You are thinking of napalm, the grandparent is talking about white phosphorous, "shake and bake." Napalm doesn't really burn to the bone the way white phosphorus does, it's more like gooey gasoline.
White phosphorus is the stuff that burns down to the bone. The US military used white phosphorus in Fallujah, according to U.S. military spokespeople. See this article for reference, US used white phosphorus in Iraq
We continue to ruthlessly exploit and pollute the planet, so the rich can get richer.
No, so that the poor (by which I mean developing countries) can get richer. The alternative? Well, when one country wants to impose it's values on another country, how is that usually done?
Slashdot Mirror
And a Satanist! With evil supernatural powers... ah, but I'm becoming nostalgic....
Still, you would think I'd have gotten more trim with that reputation, ah well...
They've done two live action adaptations of Dune... the time has come for an Anime adaptation!
Hey, if it's good enough for E. E. "Doc" Smith.... okay, really bad example...
Ok, I have to make a point here. Manga isn't a "style." A manga is just a comic book from Japan. They all have different styles. Before you object, I'll say, yes I know what you mean by Manga-style, Rumiko Takahashi type characters, big eyes small mouth. That is a popular manga style, but considering the sheer volume of manga which are produced, it is hardly the only style.
In some manga characters are drawn in a realistic style, in others they are drawn in a different type of surrealist style. Depends on the artist. Don't imagine Manga artists never look at American comic books for inspiration, that would be a mistake. With a huge number manga artists vying for recognition in Japan, they've got to vary their styles to stand out from the crowd.
Besides which, they tend to put comic books from different traditions, that come from places like Korea in with the manga so as not to "confuse" the American audience.
The truth is, a lot of manga doesn't make it over here because it doesn't have an audience, or isn't believed to. So, the limited amount that comes over tends to be somewhat similar.
In the US comic books are a much smaller market than manga are in Japan. This is due to the efforts of the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in the 1950's. Never forget! We should burn Frederick Wertham in effigy every year as a reminder. American comics were deliberately damaged by the Federal government with malice aforethought. That's why the excellence of the early days of American comics sometimes seems elusive.
Nothing like that happened in Japan, so there is a large diversity of subject matter not found in American sequential art (yes, I know about the outliers. Heck, I subscribed to Doom Patrol during Grant Morrison's run, I buy The Goon and Astro City pretty regularly (when there is new product available). Yet, even those excellent comics I've cited are mostly capes and masks. Except The Goon really... Put it this way, you won't find a story about the trials and tribulations of a shut in, or a detailed study of a rivalry between wine connoisseurs in an American comic, generally speaking... unless it turns out that Batman and the Riddler are wine connoisseurs that is...
Batman is really cool of course, but some of his lesser known bretheren and sisteren (often it seems especially the sisteren) are often not...
Hmmph, I'd like to see a group of Daleks take on a similarly sized group of Tachikoma, that would be a fun fight.
But the real question is what would the Cybermen make of someone like Major Motoko Kusanagi? Kindred spirit or hated enemy?
Tune in to the next episode of Dr. Who versus Ghost in The Shell....
That reminds me of that Greek Mythology coloring book I had as a kid... one of my grammar school teachers liked it so much that she used it to make transparencies. I wonder if that would be allowed today?
I mean, otherwise how do we explain how some things are "Too big to fail," and others get anti-trust actions taken against them.
-- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones By Paul Reps, Nyogen Senzaki
Hmm... I've never met an adult, unless inheritances don't count.
Even then, the only adults I've met are pretty old.
So, when is the best place a cube where you are constantly being peppered with questions? (Some related to what you are working on and some not?)
What is their position on Atomic Monsters? With octagonal bodies that suck blood....
What is meant by "enforced low prices?" If it is "Microsoft requires you to charge a certain price point for XBox Live games," then, guess what, your game isn't truly indie.
That shouldn't surprise anyone, since consoles are extremely locked down and loaded with DRM. If you take the King's Penny, you play by his rules or dance a yard arm jig! Yaar!
Now, if you are trying to get on Steam or Amazon download and play, or something and they are requiring you to charge a certain price point, you have to weight whether that is worth it or not. If it isn't, it might be best to forgo those venues.
Now, if it is what I think, and that is that the guy in the article thinks indie game makers should form an indie "cartel" and agree to keep prices high.... well, I don't know if there is a good reason for me, as a customer, to agree to that. There may be one, the way price fixing on airlines in the old days meant really attractive stewardesses, but I can't think of one now.
Anyway, if you are actually an indie studio, you should set whatever price you feel like, create whatever kind of game you feel like, and find a way to sell it where you aren't beholden to the big industry players (who are not your friends). Oh, and pray to Cthulhu, Hastur and Yog-Sothoth that PC gaming continues to be an open platform.
See and this is a problem with "sin taxes." A sin tax is just a tax on a socially unpopular item. It's not meant to be a fine, which is a punishment that's used to discourage people from breaking the law.
The reason why sin taxes target socially unpopular items is "divide and rule." In other words, if everything gets a sales tax, everyone complains. If violent video games get a sales tax, only video game players complain. If they aren't a big enough block to vote out the taxers, and the tax holds up in court (I'm not sure that it would, but it might), then the tax gets put into place and allows the state government to collect the revenue.
Sin Taxes, are sold as fines, but it's usually a problem for the taxers if they work as fines (in other words, if people quit smoking, drinking and gaming). Because in that case the tax base starts to shrink and the revenue disappears.
I'm reminded of the story of a town whihc levied a fine on false burglar alarms. Well the town auditor complained when one year the fine brought in less revenue than the previous year. The police chief had to patiently explain to him that the fine was working as intended, and the police were having less of their time wasted with false alarms. The fine wasn't supposed to be about raising revenue, it was to free up police resources to go after actual crimes rather than people who carelessly set off their own alarm.
Search results for Books: Sleeping Beauty. Well, they aren't doing a very good job with that.
Hooray for American Fantasy and Margaret Brundage!
I have this theory, it's that the next big MMO is going to have the word 'Starcraft' in it's title. I'm might be wrong about that, but I like my odds.
Or is it Hasbro? I'm serious, I'm thinking they are getting interferance from the top brass at Hasbro... at least it's the only way I can explain 4e.
Well, part of the problem there is the definition of Fantasy. The giant of American Fantasy is named Howard Philips Lovecraft, not only because of his own stories but because he was so influential on other important American Fantasy authors like Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith.
It's not like people don't reckognize the man's influence, the problem is that they just don't reckognize him as "Fantasy" partly because a large numbers of his fantasy stories are set in what were for him modern times, and partly because he was comfortable dabbling in science fiction and mixing up science fiction and fantasy. Oh, and also because nowadays people think that Fantasy has to have knights and elves in it.
Putting it all down to Tolkien is not saying he invented Fantasy, just that in the U.S. when the term Fantasy is used as a defining term people are often referring to Elves and Hobbits (or Halflings, Kithkin, what have you).
"Did you hack my eyes?" -- Batou, Stand Alone Complex
You would be correct except for one thing, most of what we call Science Fiction is just fantasy dressed in Science Fiction clothes. Here's a good example, I'm a science fiction character traveling in my FTL spaceship to Alpha Centuri. Trouble is, according to modern understandings of science, that's not possible! It's basically making the rather huge assumption that modern science is wrong. This happens often in "soft" science fiction.
Now, it's true that science fiction that doesn't actually include magic (which leaves out things like Star Wars, 40k, and Dune) has to keep things within a realm of possibility whereas Fantasy can play looser with the rules. However, that's just verisimilitude, it's like all Cthulhu Mythos stories referencing the same madmen and forbidden books.
Ugh... just ugh... let's see, I'll tweak that a bit:
Actually, "What's New" did a good comic strip on this years ago, Differences between Medieval and Science Fiction RPGs.
Here's the truth, Fantasy is so dominated by one single author that it's easy to see how almost all commercial Fantasy follows one single vision, the vision of J. R. R. Tolkein. Fantasy series aren't based on the Middle Ages, they are based on Middle Earth.
If you'd like to see an RPG that is more based on the Middle Ages, try Ars Magica. Elves aren't tall, pointy eared, immortal people in that game, they are terrifying magical creatures.
It's not like we aren't aware of all the possibilities of Fantasy, here are some Fantasy series that have made great inroads into popular culture:
1. Conan the Barbarian: This is not set in medieval times, and there are no Elves, Orcs, or Dwarves in it.
2. The Indiana Jones Series: Well, excepting "Crystal Skull" (ugnnhh). Fantasy series set in the 1930's.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Ok, it's got the medieval period and the dwarves. It also has a ton of talking animals.
4. Harry Freakin' Potter: No Text
5. Anne Rices Vampire Series.... (Ok, I know, that's Horror... except it's Fantasy Horror... different than Science Fiction Horror like Alien)
That's not even taking into account Fantasy Science Fiction hybrids, like the Cthulhu Mythos, Star Wars, and Others.
Yes, George W. Bush was much more intelligent, poised and talented than Barack Obama. That anyone could think otherwise just proves the grip of extreme, hard-core, Obama-style Communism on their soul. There is no other explanation. It's frightening, really.
Yes, even the babies, as American military philospher Lieutenant William Calley was wont to remark (paraphrased), "Well, wouldn't those babies have just grown up to be Viet Cong anyway?"
Of course, some of the babies in that case were decapitated for their necklaces, and some of the women, even underaged girls were raped. I'm sure there were important military reasons for that as well... and it wasn't just that the soldiers who did it were a gang of murderous thugs whatever their nationality.
We should probably take back Hugh Thompson's Soldier's Medal, in fact... the nerve of that guy!
I'm reminded of the game Sacrifice, in which my character remarks, "I don't know why, but I slaughtered all the villagers." Then Charnel appears and tells me I am "an artist."
You are thinking of napalm, the grandparent is talking about white phosphorous, "shake and bake." Napalm doesn't really burn to the bone the way white phosphorus does, it's more like gooey gasoline.
White phosphorus is the stuff that burns down to the bone. The US military used white phosphorus in Fallujah, according to U.S. military spokespeople. See this article for reference, US used white phosphorus in Iraq
Now, the U. S. also used gooey jet fuel in Iraq, but technically it wasn't napalm. Here's another article for a reference, Napalm by another name: Pentagon denial goes up in flames.
No, so that the poor (by which I mean developing countries) can get richer. The alternative? Well, when one country wants to impose it's values on another country, how is that usually done?
War.
Haunting Ground is said to be similar to Clock Tower III in the Wikipedia article.