Yep, had no idea he was even a Slashdot user. I've waded through a lot of bland geek-law newsposts but don't remember him. Maybe I just tune most of that content out.
I was just playing with semantics. It is a fact that there are no declarations of war. If he had said "in wartime" then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be snarky here. And obviously they've thought about situations even when there is a full declaration by Congress.
But you're right, I can't even imagine the peril our nation would be in if the military couldn't act without Congressional approval. I'd probably be dead, and my puppy dogs would be sold into slave labor camps. Plus, my wife would be forced to wear a burqa.
A few years ago I'd be right behind you, but now I'm a full-on skeptic.:|
Interesting list. I wonder why they didn't include Quake. Was there another game that popularized simple Internet gaming like that? Or did we just magically jump from Doom to Half-Life and Ultima Online? I remember having to get on a BBS to setup Doom games, or even call long distance to go against serious players. Quake was like a completely different world, and now we take that functionality for granted.
http://benheck.com/ Ben Heckendorn is the guy that made the Atari (and later other console) portables.
Apparently he got tired of making those and was asked by some readers/fans (I think one was an injured US soldier?) to develop some controllers that could be run with one hand. On his main page he has a Guitar Hero foot controller. Not sure if he has any others. Go check out the site if you're interested.
1. The three activation limit could take care of any public/warez keys. The only logical reason to phone home is to stick it to the jerk that made the key public and ensure that he can't play either.
2. They seem to be asking for sneakernet piracy among friends. The game does not require a DVD check, so I could give it to two of my friends, who could play forever for free.
I've got some questions to the Bioware staff about this on their community forums, but no one has responded yet. I must be missing something, otherwise it feels like no one has thought this through.
That's the problem though. These guys know as much about real issues such as individual rights, free markets, and constitutional law as they do about monitoring file sharing based on filenames. Nothing.
Few people remember that Donnelly failed to achieve profitability with his first bot program, pqGlider, for the adventure-RPG, Progress Quest. This was because the game's lead developer, Eric Fredricksen, won a lawsuit barring Donnelly from distributing his helper program. The whole story actually shook the indie development community at its core for years and now we're seeing the natural follow-up to that.
Well, it's his job to make long-term market predictions. That's why CEOs get paid hundreds of millions of dollars. If they're wrong, the company loses a hell of a lot more.
Golden parachutes when they screw up is an entirely different story, but probably more related to how contract terms run these days to attract good people.
Judging by the number of posts, you seem to really be into this discussion.
I actually didn't think the PC was the premiere delivery platform for games anymore now that Internet-based multiplayer has finally made it to consoles. Personally, though, I really haven't had an interest in consoles since the Super Nintendo. I can't explain why, I just don't care about them at all.
Playing NES ROMs on my HTPC -- Super Mario with the girlfriend! -- is a lot of fun, and I certainly enjoy my 2 or 3 console games a year when I'm visiting someone, but I can't explain why I've never felt compelled to buy a system.
Arnold should have applied the statement, "driven up the costs of compliance, particularly for small businesses," to the ridiculous, useless, and costly microstamping firearms law he signed in California.
Even if you're a hardcore anti-gun zealot, that bill was pretty silly.
I played KOTOR2 first and just finished KOTOR last night. I thought both of them were pretty bland in the beginning and middle, maybe KOTOR a little more. KOTOR2 had a variety of bad dudes that kept things somewhat interesting. The ending of the first game was a lot tighter; I thought the twist in KOTOR2 was interesting, but not well done, and the whole "what happened to Revan?" thing was confusing.
I may have to give KOTOR2 the nod though just because HK-47 was done better in that game! I played evil in the first one and was so disappointed by him.
Have these two "game journalism luminaries" played anything beyond a few console hits? I had to stop reading midway through the third article because they couldn't stop talking about Metal Gear Solid.
These articles seriously deserve some commentary from the designers to make them complete. I'd love to hear Ken Levine's response, although he'd probably rather see gamers work these things out on their own.
Slashdot Mirror
Haha, I had to click the 1 Reply just to see if someone made this joke.
I'm sure he meant from *this generation* but it's what I instantly thought of as well.
Yep, had no idea he was even a Slashdot user. I've waded through a lot of bland geek-law newsposts but don't remember him. Maybe I just tune most of that content out.
Do you have a reference on a website I could read about this? Just curious.
I was just playing with semantics. It is a fact that there are no declarations of war. If he had said "in wartime" then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to be snarky here. And obviously they've thought about situations even when there is a full declaration by Congress.
:|
But you're right, I can't even imagine the peril our nation would be in if the military couldn't act without Congressional approval. I'd probably be dead, and my puppy dogs would be sold into slave labor camps. Plus, my wife would be forced to wear a burqa.
A few years ago I'd be right behind you, but now I'm a full-on skeptic.
Thanks for actually linking to who this NYCL person is. The Slashdot editor failed to make a simple hyperlink to inform his readers.
Since war never gets declared anymore, I doubt they've even thought about your latter question.
Would you rather they artificially limit the graphics of the game so that "full" is what "medium" is now?
Oh no, vanity sizing for geeks has arrived.
Interesting list. I wonder why they didn't include Quake. Was there another game that popularized simple Internet gaming like that? Or did we just magically jump from Doom to Half-Life and Ultima Online? I remember having to get on a BBS to setup Doom games, or even call long distance to go against serious players. Quake was like a completely different world, and now we take that functionality for granted.
http://benheck.com/ Ben Heckendorn is the guy that made the Atari (and later other console) portables.
Apparently he got tired of making those and was asked by some readers/fans (I think one was an injured US soldier?) to develop some controllers that could be run with one hand. On his main page he has a Guitar Hero foot controller. Not sure if he has any others. Go check out the site if you're interested.
1. The three activation limit could take care of any public/warez keys. The only logical reason to phone home is to stick it to the jerk that made the key public and ensure that he can't play either.
2. They seem to be asking for sneakernet piracy among friends. The game does not require a DVD check, so I could give it to two of my friends, who could play forever for free.
I've got some questions to the Bioware staff about this on their community forums, but no one has responded yet. I must be missing something, otherwise it feels like no one has thought this through.
Actually, it really is pretty broken.
That's the problem though. These guys know as much about real issues such as individual rights, free markets, and constitutional law as they do about monitoring file sharing based on filenames. Nothing.
You'll need a few spare magazines if you want to take on the entire.. osphere.. of blogs.
Why didn't the damn nerds just stick with weblog instead of splitting the word??
Few people remember that Donnelly failed to achieve profitability with his first bot program, pqGlider, for the adventure-RPG, Progress Quest. This was because the game's lead developer, Eric Fredricksen, won a lawsuit barring Donnelly from distributing his helper program. The whole story actually shook the indie development community at its core for years and now we're seeing the natural follow-up to that.
The only explanation is that campus administrators are zombies. The cheating bastards want to make sure nothing stops them from eating more brains.
Well, it's his job to make long-term market predictions. That's why CEOs get paid hundreds of millions of dollars. If they're wrong, the company loses a hell of a lot more.
Golden parachutes when they screw up is an entirely different story, but probably more related to how contract terms run these days to attract good people.
Judging by the number of posts, you seem to really be into this discussion.
I actually didn't think the PC was the premiere delivery platform for games anymore now that Internet-based multiplayer has finally made it to consoles. Personally, though, I really haven't had an interest in consoles since the Super Nintendo. I can't explain why, I just don't care about them at all.
Playing NES ROMs on my HTPC -- Super Mario with the girlfriend! -- is a lot of fun, and I certainly enjoy my 2 or 3 console games a year when I'm visiting someone, but I can't explain why I've never felt compelled to buy a system.
Arnold should have applied the statement, "driven up the costs of compliance, particularly for small businesses," to the ridiculous, useless, and costly microstamping firearms law he signed in California.
Even if you're a hardcore anti-gun zealot, that bill was pretty silly.
Thank you, sir. One of my favorite ironic comebacks when people start lamenting about saving the children or wealth transfer to single parents.
I played KOTOR2 first and just finished KOTOR last night. I thought both of them were pretty bland in the beginning and middle, maybe KOTOR a little more. KOTOR2 had a variety of bad dudes that kept things somewhat interesting. The ending of the first game was a lot tighter; I thought the twist in KOTOR2 was interesting, but not well done, and the whole "what happened to Revan?" thing was confusing.
I may have to give KOTOR2 the nod though just because HK-47 was done better in that game! I played evil in the first one and was so disappointed by him.
Hey, thanks for that link on the background of the term. I really appreciate it.
Have these two "game journalism luminaries" played anything beyond a few console hits? I had to stop reading midway through the third article because they couldn't stop talking about Metal Gear Solid.
These articles seriously deserve some commentary from the designers to make them complete. I'd love to hear Ken Levine's response, although he'd probably rather see gamers work these things out on their own.
Don't forget the board game Go, either, Slashdotters.
Good Lord, the Go nuts have invaded Checkers posts too.
Thank you, sir.