Those writing the press releases sound---intentionally or not, ironically or not---like military recruiters. One could argue that, by lauding the joys of killing and the pleasures of Mama San (how racist-sounding can you get?), Eidos is starting the immersion before you even begin playing the game.
All movies about the horror of war have to deal with this problem in one way or another. How do you simultaneously:
accurately portray the mindset of warriors trained to kill without thought,
get the audience to identify with the characters and become involved in the film,
without desensitizing the audience to the horrors they are seeing?
One way to do this is to go ahead and let the audience get desensitized. Then, when they are high on blood and ammo, punch them in the gut with something they didn't get desensitized enough for. To some extent, that's what happened in the last part of Full Metal Jacket. The problem with this approach is that individuals have widely differing responses to the tactic. A substantial part of the audience will be over-desensitized and miss the point entirely; others will remain sensitive throughout, and think of the film as glorifying violence even when the intent is quite the opposite. I suspect something similar will happen with this game. The additional interactivity only makes identification happen that much faster.
So now pornography advertisers have a state-sponsored list of potential customers. Sure, it would probably be illegal for them to use the registry like that, but some of the pornography I'm thinking about is illegal anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
Those writing the press releases sound---intentionally or not, ironically or not---like military recruiters. One could argue that, by lauding the joys of killing and the pleasures of Mama San (how racist-sounding can you get?), Eidos is starting the immersion before you even begin playing the game.
All movies about the horror of war have to deal with this problem in one way or another. How do you simultaneously:
One way to do this is to go ahead and let the audience get desensitized. Then, when they are high on blood and ammo, punch them in the gut with something they didn't get desensitized enough for. To some extent, that's what happened in the last part of Full Metal Jacket. The problem with this approach is that individuals have widely differing responses to the tactic. A substantial part of the audience will be over-desensitized and miss the point entirely; others will remain sensitive throughout, and think of the film as glorifying violence even when the intent is quite the opposite. I suspect something similar will happen with this game. The additional interactivity only makes identification happen that much faster.
In general, each side pays its own legal costs unless there is a contract directing otherwise or the suit is judged to be frivolous.
Other that that minor squibble, nice letter. I hope you send it.
So now pornography advertisers have a state-sponsored list of potential customers. Sure, it would probably be illegal for them to use the registry like that, but some of the pornography I'm thinking about is illegal anyway.
``Behold the world that I've been shaping