Childish is a negative comment. It implies that you are doing something sub-standard when you should really know better. The word you're looking for is "childlike", which is neutral and implies that the action is normal. Such as playing games no matter what age you are.:-)
Minor pet-peeve vented, I shall now return to lurking.
I remember playing those. Was always the last back to the PL/1-course after breaks as I was playing Star Trek at every opportunity.
Not nerd, possibly dinosaur?:-)
I'd be more surprised if the "*Entertainment Software* Association" found us to be PC-potato troglodytes. In their best interests not to, really.
It's the fluff that makes it easy for newbies to pick up the system and create characters and/or worlds that will have them coming back for more, though. Those of us with years of experience can easily do without, but if you've never role-played before it is much easier to see what can be done if you're given some colourful pictures and pre-made characters to play with. After that, most people will have a concept of what they'd like to change, but it's taking that first step that needs padding, and the more people hooked on RPG:s the better IMHO. And even after yonks of systems, I still find it interesting to read other designer's thoughts and ideas.
Not sure five seconds of a game will tell you anything about how "safe" it is for your child. The article has a point in that if the rules for a rating were consistent, you could make a ball-park guess whether to buy/rent it. And then, of course, check in on your offspring at regular intervals to make sure that it still seems to be agreeing with your ideas of "suitable". OT:ish - My Dad used to play the PC (and later console) games *with* us, part of both parents ideas that bringing us up was a joint venture and one best done by parents and not TV, teachers nor other outsiders. I'm very glad they were that oldfashioned.
Another aspect would be: how much time do you want to spend in one go with the game? If it's to fill a gap here and there (lunch-breaks spring to mind), then a completely developed story will be wasted, or even get in the way of the quick-fix game. How much do you remember of a detailed story, where the slightest detail matters, a week later? Perhaps not as much as you would need to fully enjoy a chromatic game. For the dedicated all-nighters and RPG-addicts, a fully developed story with believable, though-out and -through characters and as many choices as possible is a no-brainer. Of course we'd like unlimited choice and NPC:s who matter to us!
Would that not depend on the kind of game you play? For RPG:s multi-shade characters would work very well, and I would appreciate the variation (not just grey, bring on the whole colour-spectrum!), but for shoot-em-ups, isn't part of the premise that the characters you are shooting by the dozen are totally evil? War-games would be different again, "enemies" in that sense are also just people, but there is a war on. I'm talking your average kill-everything-in-sight game where you would not necessarily be wanting to justify your actions other than by "but they're *evil*".
And wouldn't this not-ugly female (quasi-)geek already be earning fistfulls of cash working in IT (and possibly a good, paying customer), rather than "aspiring" to be a glorified waitress? I think you'd do better to take very good care of the female gamers you have, and do your best to advertise your place to all and sundry so that ignorance of its existance isn't what keeps good people (of any gender) away. Hire female staff by all means, all extra qualifications they need are to be unintimidated by the geekhood and computer literate - must be less difficult to find. On the job training will sort the rest.
And how much weight will this add to the helmet? Can't say I'd be pleased to increase the chance of the helmet breaking my neck... or the extra force needed to survive on a naked bike.
Ten-hour flights; Either I chose to play games on my GBA (not SP for obvious reasons...), or I bring a phone (hypothetic, I don't own one and am deliberately staying clear of them) and die of boredom half way through. And I can link up to my fiance for some good fights on the GBA:s - best way to relieve airport-related stress.
My vote is for picking the best tool for the job. That this feeds my gadget-greed is purely incidental.:-)
Surely we need both? I play "simple" games (such as "Wario Ware"), or games with a good save-function for those spare ten minutes waiting for the bus, or for a break from work. When I happen to have a spare weekend, I like something more complex that will draw me in Friday evening and not spit me out until Monday morning. Yes, the "just one more go" type game could do that, but something slightly less repetetive is more fun in the long run. I *like* a good story and a huge and strange world to explore (and/or conquer). Then again, my game-tastes and I don't fit into any demographic aimed for by games-producers.:-) I can understand that the majority may cherish simplicity as a feature. Most people probably don't play games to be challenged, thus it is more profitable to make that sort of game. I just hope that enough game-makers find the time and the finances to produce the occasional quirky and fun game.
I do agree that the controls shouldn't be the complex bit, they don't have to be easy to master, but need some sort of logic.
And guess where all the now illegal guns would go. Not disappear into a puff of green smoke, but probably sold/given/stolen into the hands of criminals. So now they've got even more guns and the "good guys" have none. I don't think making the possession of firearms illegal over night is going to solve anything, nor do I believe that owning a gun should be a right, not a earned privelege. The Canadians seem to have found the right balance, but how to get there from here...
These seems to be some problems with playing multi-player with cartridges that are from different regions, though. I've heard this of Mario Kart and the Pokémon games.
Why? I'm 39 and I still play my GBA everywhere. Do you know of a better way to spend three hours in an airport waiting for the flight, then ten hours flying, then time waiting for the luggage? I don't. (Also the reason I won't get a SP, no place to recharge!). Besides it's the most interactive my SO and I can do in public without being arrested.:-)
Slashdot Mirror
Childish is a negative comment. It implies that you are doing something sub-standard when you should really know better. The word you're looking for is "childlike", which is neutral and implies that the action is normal. Such as playing games no matter what age you are. :-)
Minor pet-peeve vented, I shall now return to lurking.
I remember playing those. Was always the last back to the PL/1-course after breaks as I was playing Star Trek at every opportunity. :-)
Not nerd, possibly dinosaur?
I'd be more surprised if the "*Entertainment Software* Association" found us to be PC-potato troglodytes. In their best interests not to, really.
It's the fluff that makes it easy for newbies to pick up the system and create characters and/or worlds that will have them coming back for more, though. Those of us with years of experience can easily do without, but if you've never role-played before it is much easier to see what can be done if you're given some colourful pictures and pre-made characters to play with. After that, most people will have a concept of what they'd like to change, but it's taking that first step that needs padding, and the more people hooked on RPG:s the better IMHO. And even after yonks of systems, I still find it interesting to read other designer's thoughts and ideas.
Not sure five seconds of a game will tell you anything about how "safe" it is for your child. The article has a point in that if the rules for a rating were consistent, you could make a ball-park guess whether to buy/rent it. And then, of course, check in on your offspring at regular intervals to make sure that it still seems to be agreeing with your ideas of "suitable".
OT:ish - My Dad used to play the PC (and later console) games *with* us, part of both parents ideas that bringing us up was a joint venture and one best done by parents and not TV, teachers nor other outsiders. I'm very glad they were that oldfashioned.
Another aspect would be: how much time do you want to spend in one go with the game? If it's to fill a gap here and there (lunch-breaks spring to mind), then a completely developed story will be wasted, or even get in the way of the quick-fix game. How much do you remember of a detailed story, where the slightest detail matters, a week later? Perhaps not as much as you would need to fully enjoy a chromatic game. For the dedicated all-nighters and RPG-addicts, a fully developed story with believable, though-out and -through characters and as many choices as possible is a no-brainer. Of course we'd like unlimited choice and NPC:s who matter to us!
Would that not depend on the kind of game you play? For RPG:s multi-shade characters would work very well, and I would appreciate the variation (not just grey, bring on the whole colour-spectrum!), but for shoot-em-ups, isn't part of the premise that the characters you are shooting by the dozen are totally evil? War-games would be different again, "enemies" in that sense are also just people, but there is a war on. I'm talking your average kill-everything-in-sight game where you would not necessarily be wanting to justify your actions other than by "but they're *evil*".
And wouldn't this not-ugly female (quasi-)geek already be earning fistfulls of cash working in IT (and possibly a good, paying customer), rather than "aspiring" to be a glorified waitress? I think you'd do better to take very good care of the female gamers you have, and do your best to advertise your place to all and sundry so that ignorance of its existance isn't what keeps good people (of any gender) away. Hire female staff by all means, all extra qualifications they need are to be unintimidated by the geekhood and computer literate - must be less difficult to find. On the job training will sort the rest.
And how much weight will this add to the helmet? Can't say I'd be pleased to increase the chance of the helmet breaking my neck... or the extra force needed to survive on a naked bike.
Ten-hour flights; Either I chose to play games on my GBA (not SP for obvious reasons...), or I bring a phone (hypothetic, I don't own one and am deliberately staying clear of them) and die of boredom half way through. And I can link up to my fiance for some good fights on the GBA:s - best way to relieve airport-related stress. :-)
My vote is for picking the best tool for the job. That this feeds my gadget-greed is purely incidental.
Cy.
Surely we need both? I play "simple" games (such as "Wario Ware"), or games with a good save-function for those spare ten minutes waiting for the bus, or for a break from work. When I happen to have a spare weekend, I like something more complex that will draw me in Friday evening and not spit me out until Monday morning. Yes, the "just one more go" type game could do that, but something slightly less repetetive is more fun in the long run. I *like* a good story and a huge and strange world to explore (and/or conquer). Then again, my game-tastes and I don't fit into any demographic aimed for by games-producers. :-) I can understand that the majority may cherish simplicity as a feature. Most people probably don't play games to be challenged, thus it is more profitable to make that sort of game. I just hope that enough game-makers find the time and the finances to produce the occasional quirky and fun game.
I do agree that the controls shouldn't be the complex bit, they don't have to be easy to master, but need some sort of logic.
And guess where all the now illegal guns would go. Not disappear into a puff of green smoke, but probably sold/given/stolen into the hands of criminals. So now they've got even more guns and the "good guys" have none. I don't think making the possession of firearms illegal over night is going to solve anything, nor do I believe that owning a gun should be a right, not a earned privelege. The Canadians seem to have found the right balance, but how to get there from here...
These seems to be some problems with playing multi-player with cartridges that are from different regions, though. I've heard this of Mario Kart and the Pokémon games.
Why? I'm 39 and I still play my GBA everywhere. Do you know of a better way to spend three hours in an airport waiting for the flight, then ten hours flying, then time waiting for the luggage? I don't. (Also the reason I won't get a SP, no place to recharge!). Besides it's the most interactive my SO and I can do in public without being arrested.