Seriously, I can't believe some of the shit yall be talkin about. This system is my dream arriving. Praise to shaitand for dropping some data from the site.
_This_ is the ideal shit, baby! Where the hell its mirrors at? Does Vita Nouva gotta get more poetic on your ass or what?
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet (at least that I've seen). This game is gorgeously laid out, with a nice length (10-15 hours) and an awesome storyline and premise. It is the latest brainchild of the creator of Rayman. Incredibly artful, five-stars. All you should need to get you laid in deep is 5 minutes; wait and experience how the game opens, I think you will have trouble putting it down from there.
Now, this might seem crazy, and probably will never get read by anyone, but I really wanted to get it out. So here goes:
The idea of sovereignty over networks means that we may see a fundamental shift in the ways that nations define themselves. If you think about it, it's already bullsh*t that borders on land are _what_ defines a person's nationality. Now, if some group of people, say, with a common interest and a somewhat unified vision could petition for oversight of networks, should they end up with a substantial number of them. Imagine The Sundial Shifters, a band info-anarchists who believe all information should be free because by virtue it wants to be. So, who in the world gets to tell them what they can do on their networks? NO ONE! That's right. And who gets to tell you what _you_ can do on their networks? Your nation, Annunaki Initiates United (click here for their charter and the governing body (whatever implementation of that particular concept you think could be applied to a bunch of info-anarchists...;o). And wouldn't that suck, if you were, by ideology, an info-anarchist and at the same time, by nationality, an individual who is answerable to the horribly restrictive and oppressive laws that are forced upon you, by birth and a bunch of ass-holes who run everything. Which, by the way, strictly restrict access to any sort of external network, and where the mere mention of info-anarchy is punishable by something vile. Then you'd have to escape your nation if you wanted entrance to the Sundial Shifters network, a group of people who would more than likely welcome you into their ranks, a process that perhaps at times that could prove as simple as just setting up some private keys with another nation, ditch the old one, and get to some Free Land. Anyway, I digress, as I must before I write a whole cyberpunk epic here in this stupid comment box, but my main point for philosophical pondering comes down to this question:
In a world where nations determine networks, what's to stop the ones that provide network solutions from taking sides? And at what point, after this fragmentation of traditional concepts of nationality, would one nation be able to declare war on another nation?
This is truly interesting, and I am happy that the Information Age is already starting to take form. The problem though, at this crucial point, is making people realize that we have little to no reason to hold alliances with parties that do not have our own best interests in mind. Anyway, let's pray that capitalism prevails and we see a free market of nationalities, with democratic freedom of choice for all!
John Haltiwanger's Cyberform aka ab5tract
All ideas presented here are mine as per my cache of this webpage, 11.11.2003 (the Red Magnetic Dragon, for those of you in the know). Don't act like you haven't seen them before if you ever decide to use any of them, and we will be fine (stupid US-implemented network not giving me proper provisions to prove my own ideas are my own... let's get together and make one right, sometime, shall we?).
This is actually an argument I've been in numerous times, and each time it ended with both sides winning. How?
As everyone knows, Nintendo decided to use cartridges for the N64. I'm not sure what the average numbers for N64 cartridges are, but I can garuntee you they are counted in Mega-bits, just like cartridges for the SNES (remember Chrono Triggger and FF3? "32-Megabit cartridge! Biggest Game Ever!!@!"). So even if they ever managed to squeeze 650 Mb into one cartridge (and I'm rather sure that they never managed this), it would only have one _FOURTH_ of the storage capacity enjoyed by the PSone, with its 650 MB CD-ROM (which could have concievably increased to 700 MB towards the end of the PSone's lifecycle).
What this translated into for the PlayStation was a lot more room for a lot more varied textures, even if those textures weren't 'hi-res' or whatever buzz word Nintendo used to describe the capabilities of their system. So while the N64 had more "raw power" for displaying its worlds, it was hindered by the fact that the textures it had available for doing this were often crappier than those on the PSone simply because the developers had to skimp on the textures in order to save room for other aspects of the game.
Basically, the arguments concluded with "the N64 is better at 'cartoon-ish' style graphics" while "the PlayStation is better at 'realistic, gritty' graphics" (even though the N64 generally trumped the PSone in terms of jagged edges and overall smoothness).
Please, someone who can, mod parent up! I was about to ask this very question, because I really enjoy independent hiphop and there are artists who I not only wish to support, but who I cannot wait to see their releases appear!
However, I _do_ want to see the RIAA burn in hell. My biggest question is, why don't we ever hear anything from the artists? Wasn't there some coalition formed that included Willie Nelson and Sherly Crow or something? (I remember they put on a concert a while ago, probably circa 2001). But why haven't we heard anything yet? I want to see artists standing up for themselves, as they sure as hell get just as shafted by the RIAA as the consumers do! And then maybe those artists could form another organization, perhaps even a non-profit, to perform similar functions to that of the RIAA, and then those albums get released with a little "Not Associated with the RIAA" sticker on 'em. Now that would be cool!
Oh yeah, be sure to chec here for the full-list of affiliated labels!
Yes, this contrast is very interesting, and it isn't simply limited to comic books. Now, I don't know about live-action Japanese television, but many anime are concieved as a story, generally in 13 or 26 parts that are spread, gasp, across 13 or 26 episodes. Now why is it that American media is hardly ever (if ever? I'd love to hear some examples if this has actually ever occurred) thought out as a story spread across a finite number of episodes? Instead we have good money poured into cookie-cutter sitcoms that aren't expected to last a whole season, but hey, the time slot has to be filled with _something_!
Anyway, it sure would be refreshing if someone actually made a quality TV show for an American network that was only going to last a season, and sticks to that, meanwhile blowing all our bored, cynical little minds with tightnit and fastpaced storytelling.
There is little doubt that we are coming closer and closer to a "market correction" (and not just in the US, see the "What's Wrong with the Japanese Gaming Industry" series at tokyopia.com). The hows, whens, and whats of the issue, however, are really rather hard to predict. There are a few developments I predict for the future of the "gaming industry", which may or may not directly result from said market correction:
1) Shorter games at cheaper prices - This has already been brought up several times, but I think this will be one of the major themes in the future. If gamers truly are searching for "cinematic experiences", then why do many modern games promising to deliver on this account run 40 hours, when the average movie runs around 2? Shorter games will be the perfect forum for testing the new ways of telling stories that have yet to be developed (and which will most likely be pioneered from smaller and/or open-source independent development houses).
2) A resurgence of older games - Say a big industry powerhouse suddenly finds itself publishing games for a market that is no longer investing in the big-budget rehashes that said powerhouse has been investing, well, big-budgets in. It won't take too many $20 million dollar investments to flop before the company starts hemmorhaging. The answer? Tapping into the incredible backlogs of intellectual property that the company has at its fingertips, possibly stretching all the way back to the 8th bit generation. What better way to recoup on failed development investments than by re-releasing older products with little development investment required? This would mean that we finally see legal emulators released on new-generation consoles (what a major coup for Nintendo, if they were to suddenly to gain a huge chunk of Sony's marketshare simply by releasing an official SNES emulator and working with developers to ensure quality re-releases!)
3) Gaming will find its Voice - Maybe not directly related to the Crash, one development that is certain will be a rising interest in looking at video games from an "academic" perspective. Institutions such as the IGDA and publications such as Game Studies are heralding a new age of vdeo gaming discussion, criticism, and theory. And as we well know there have been several calls-to-arms among the video game journalism crowd (which the quality members of will also help to fuel the desire among gamers to get their hands on some of the older games through their nostalgic advocacy of previous classics). It is only a matter of time before a common language for game theory is developed. After that, the sky won't even be a limit!
4. Innovation based on older technologies - If you were thinking this category is just an excuse to throw out some links to Tenebrae screenshots, well, you were right (and stop reading my mind already!). Do yourself a favor and feast your eyes on some of these (Tenebrae) and these (Tenebrae2). These engines are based off the GPL'ed Quake 1 source, people! I mean, OMFG! T2 could be on par with Doom3 (in terms of capability, if not performance...yet), and it is _open-source_! Under the _GPL_! Which means it can only keep getting better! Alright, I better stop here or else I'll exceed my quota of exclamation points...
5) Convergence of Media - Check out this excellent article from gamesindustry.biz that contains speculations about Sony's long-term plans. Better believe the PSP will be my "Walkman" once it's released!
Okay, I think that is all I have to say for the moment. I am very excited fo
P.S. Sorry for the horrific formatting... I'd sure like to change it, but there doesn't seem to be an edit button. (Let it be known this is the first time I've deigned to login and post something in a considerably long time)
But see, I am inclined to say that these are all pretty stupid ideas for games. Or at least they will be in the future. Due to the current stage of technology, we have the ability to realistically render scenarios that depict "realistic" historical events, thus we have the ability to portray these events with a level of visual clarity that is ideally suited to,
a) get you just involved enough to have bio- and neurochemical responses to stuff occuring onscreen (this would be the source of that "fun" you freaks have been associating with "Vietnam" and "War") and, <br><br>b) keep you <i>just enough</i> detached from the said action that the *human* weight of what you are seeing is denied you. <br>Flash forward. You are now able to interface directly with your PlayStation 10 (probably be more like 5, but I'll avoid optimism here) through a link that basically muxes all your thoughts, emotions, reactions, etc. and a whole bunched of articifially created content into one bitstream that you view through your mind's eye. Now imagine what a war simulation (were it attempting any sort of "accuracy", historical or otherwise) would look like. Bullets that you can *feel* wizzing past you, along with the heat from the grenades detonating beneath your feet, the And screaming. Lots of screaming. This scenario would be an example of war that is <i>viscerally</i> accurate. While that might make for an excellent educational experience (and perhaps, Divinity willing, fewer wars), I know I would not be interested in it for anything resembling a "fun" experience. And if they just used this advanced technology for more mindless violence that has none of the qualities it would need to be considered accurate, well then I'd say shame on them. Just like I do now.
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously, I can't believe some of the shit yall be talkin about. This system is my dream arriving. Praise to shaitand for dropping some data from the site.
_This_ is the ideal shit, baby! Where the hell its mirrors at? Does Vita Nouva gotta get more poetic on your ass or what?
mod parent up ... regionalization _will_ rule the world!
whatever happened to keeping it real? where my mod points bitch!?
_*_
____/\/ --- \/\____ "slashdot, i don't give a fuck!"
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet (at least that I've seen). This game is gorgeously laid out, with a nice length (10-15 hours) and an awesome storyline and premise. It is the latest brainchild of the creator of Rayman. Incredibly artful, five-stars. All you should need to get you laid in deep is 5 minutes; wait and experience how the game opens, I think you will have trouble putting it down from there.
The idea of sovereignty over networks means that we may see a fundamental shift in the ways that nations define themselves. If you think about it, it's already bullsh*t that borders on land are _what_ defines a person's nationality. Now, if some group of people, say, with a common interest and a somewhat unified vision could petition for oversight of networks, should they end up with a substantial number of them. Imagine The Sundial Shifters, a band info-anarchists who believe all information should be free because by virtue it wants to be. So, who in the world gets to tell them what they can do on their networks? NO ONE! That's right. And who gets to tell you what _you_ can do on their networks? Your nation, Annunaki Initiates United (click here for their charter and the governing body (whatever implementation of that particular concept you think could be applied to a bunch of info-anarchists... ;o). And wouldn't that suck, if you were, by ideology, an info-anarchist and at the same time, by nationality, an individual who is answerable to the horribly restrictive and oppressive laws that are forced upon you, by birth and a bunch of ass-holes who run everything. Which, by the way, strictly restrict access to any sort of external network, and where the mere mention of info-anarchy is punishable by something vile. Then you'd have to escape your nation if you wanted entrance to the Sundial Shifters network, a group of people who would more than likely welcome you into their ranks, a process that perhaps at times that could prove as simple as just setting up some private keys with another nation, ditch the old one, and get to some Free Land. Anyway, I digress, as I must before I write a whole cyberpunk epic here in this stupid comment box, but my main point for philosophical pondering comes down to this question:
In a world where nations determine networks, what's to stop the ones that provide network solutions from taking sides? And at what point, after this fragmentation of traditional concepts of nationality, would one nation be able to declare war on another nation?
This is truly interesting, and I am happy that the Information Age is already starting to take form. The problem though, at this crucial point, is making people realize that we have little to no reason to hold alliances with parties that do not have our own best interests in mind. Anyway, let's pray that capitalism prevails and we see a free market of nationalities, with democratic freedom of choice for all!
John Haltiwanger's Cyberform aka ab5tract
All ideas presented here are mine as per my cache of this webpage, 11.11.2003 (the Red Magnetic Dragon, for those of you in the know). Don't act like you haven't seen them before if you ever decide to use any of them, and we will be fine (stupid US-implemented network not giving me proper provisions to prove my own ideas are my own... let's get together and make one right, sometime, shall we?).
This is actually an argument I've been in numerous times, and each time it ended with both sides winning. How? As everyone knows, Nintendo decided to use cartridges for the N64. I'm not sure what the average numbers for N64 cartridges are, but I can garuntee you they are counted in Mega-bits, just like cartridges for the SNES (remember Chrono Triggger and FF3? "32-Megabit cartridge! Biggest Game Ever!!@!"). So even if they ever managed to squeeze 650 Mb into one cartridge (and I'm rather sure that they never managed this), it would only have one _FOURTH_ of the storage capacity enjoyed by the PSone, with its 650 MB CD-ROM (which could have concievably increased to 700 MB towards the end of the PSone's lifecycle).
What this translated into for the PlayStation was a lot more room for a lot more varied textures, even if those textures weren't 'hi-res' or whatever buzz word Nintendo used to describe the capabilities of their system. So while the N64 had more "raw power" for displaying its worlds, it was hindered by the fact that the textures it had available for doing this were often crappier than those on the PSone simply because the developers had to skimp on the textures in order to save room for other aspects of the game.
Basically, the arguments concluded with "the N64 is better at 'cartoon-ish' style graphics" while "the PlayStation is better at 'realistic, gritty' graphics" (even though the N64 generally trumped the PSone in terms of jagged edges and overall smoothness).
Please, someone who can, mod parent up! I was about to ask this very question, because I really enjoy independent hiphop and there are artists who I not only wish to support, but who I cannot wait to see their releases appear!
However, I _do_ want to see the RIAA burn in hell. My biggest question is, why don't we ever hear anything from the artists? Wasn't there some coalition formed that included Willie Nelson and Sherly Crow or something? (I remember they put on a concert a while ago, probably circa 2001). But why haven't we heard anything yet? I want to see artists standing up for themselves, as they sure as hell get just as shafted by the RIAA as the consumers do! And then maybe those artists could form another organization, perhaps even a non-profit, to perform similar functions to that of the RIAA, and then those albums get released with a little "Not Associated with the RIAA" sticker on 'em. Now that would be cool!
Oh yeah, be sure to chec here for the full-list of affiliated labels!
Yes, this contrast is very interesting, and it isn't simply limited to comic books. Now, I don't know about live-action Japanese television, but many anime are concieved as a story, generally in 13 or 26 parts that are spread, gasp, across 13 or 26 episodes. Now why is it that American media is hardly ever (if ever? I'd love to hear some examples if this has actually ever occurred) thought out as a story spread across a finite number of episodes? Instead we have good money poured into cookie-cutter sitcoms that aren't expected to last a whole season, but hey, the time slot has to be filled with _something_!
Anyway, it sure would be refreshing if someone actually made a quality TV show for an American network that was only going to last a season, and sticks to that, meanwhile blowing all our bored, cynical little minds with tightnit and fastpaced storytelling.
There is little doubt that we are coming closer and closer to a "market correction" (and not just in the US, see the "What's Wrong with the Japanese Gaming Industry" series at tokyopia.com). The hows, whens, and whats of the issue, however, are really rather hard to predict. There are a few developments I predict for the future of the "gaming industry", which may or may not directly result from said market correction:
1) Shorter games at cheaper prices - This has already been brought up several times, but I think this will be one of the major themes in the future. If gamers truly are searching for "cinematic experiences", then why do many modern games promising to deliver on this account run 40 hours, when the average movie runs around 2? Shorter games will be the perfect forum for testing the new ways of telling stories that have yet to be developed (and which will most likely be pioneered from smaller and/or open-source independent development houses).
2) A resurgence of older games - Say a big industry powerhouse suddenly finds itself publishing games for a market that is no longer investing in the big-budget rehashes that said powerhouse has been investing, well, big-budgets in. It won't take too many $20 million dollar investments to flop before the company starts hemmorhaging. The answer? Tapping into the incredible backlogs of intellectual property that the company has at its fingertips, possibly stretching all the way back to the 8th bit generation. What better way to recoup on failed development investments than by re-releasing older products with little development investment required? This would mean that we finally see legal emulators released on new-generation consoles (what a major coup for Nintendo, if they were to suddenly to gain a huge chunk of Sony's marketshare simply by releasing an official SNES emulator and working with developers to ensure quality re-releases!)
3) Gaming will find its Voice - Maybe not directly related to the Crash, one development that is certain will be a rising interest in looking at video games from an "academic" perspective. Institutions such as the IGDA and publications such as Game Studies are heralding a new age of vdeo gaming discussion, criticism, and theory. And as we well know there have been several calls-to-arms among the video game journalism crowd (which the quality members of will also help to fuel the desire among gamers to get their hands on some of the older games through their nostalgic advocacy of previous classics). It is only a matter of time before a common language for game theory is developed. After that, the sky won't even be a limit!
4. Innovation based on older technologies - If you were thinking this category is just an excuse to throw out some links to Tenebrae screenshots, well, you were right (and stop reading my mind already!). Do yourself a favor and feast your eyes on some of these (Tenebrae) and these (Tenebrae2). These engines are based off the GPL'ed Quake 1 source, people! I mean, OMFG! T2 could be on par with Doom3 (in terms of capability, if not performance...yet), and it is _open-source_! Under the _GPL_! Which means it can only keep getting better! Alright, I better stop here or else I'll exceed my quota of exclamation points...
5) Convergence of Media - Check out this excellent article from gamesindustry.biz that contains speculations about Sony's long-term plans. Better believe the PSP will be my "Walkman" once it's released!
Okay, I think that is all I have to say for the moment. I am very excited fo
P.S. Sorry for the horrific formatting... I'd sure like to change it, but there doesn't seem to be an edit button. (Let it be known this is the first time I've deigned to login and post something in a considerably long time)
But see, I am inclined to say that these are all pretty stupid ideas for games. Or at least they will be in the future. Due to the current stage of technology, we have the ability to realistically render scenarios that depict "realistic" historical events, thus we have the ability to portray these events with a level of visual clarity that is ideally suited to,
a) get you just involved enough to have bio- and neurochemical responses to stuff occuring onscreen (this would be the source of that "fun" you freaks have been associating with "Vietnam" and "War") and, <br><br>b) keep you <i>just enough</i> detached from the said action that the *human* weight of what you are seeing is denied you. <br>Flash forward. You are now able to interface directly with your PlayStation 10 (probably be more like 5, but I'll avoid optimism here) through a link that basically muxes all your thoughts, emotions, reactions, etc. and a whole bunched of articifially created content into one bitstream that you view through your mind's eye. Now imagine what a war simulation (were it attempting any sort of "accuracy", historical or otherwise) would look like. Bullets that you can *feel* wizzing past you, along with the heat from the grenades detonating beneath your feet, the And screaming. Lots of screaming. This scenario would be an example of war that is <i>viscerally</i> accurate. While that might make for an excellent educational experience (and perhaps, Divinity willing, fewer wars), I know I would not be interested in it for anything resembling a "fun" experience.
And if they just used this advanced technology for more mindless violence that has none of the qualities it would need to be considered accurate, well then I'd say shame on them. Just like I do now.