So many posters in this thread either misattributing works of Grant Morrison to Gaiman, or simply mentioning Morrison's works as other favourites. Morrison and Gaiman are easily my two favourite writers today, comic or otherwise. If you like one, you'll like the other, but Morrison's style tends to be more abstractly philosophical, and often more disturbing. The three Animal Man graphic novels, which follow Morrison's 26-issue run, would be a good pick for Gaiman fans, though I recommend reading Crisis on Infinite Earths first for full enjoyment. And any in the Invisibiles series are a great choice.
That amuses me way more than it should, probably because it shows a remarkable load of cajones. I guess the departure of Ken Karl from Turbine (AC, AC2) will now be made storyline. "Birds sang in the trees, the tides calmed, and the sun shone just a little brightly, as a great evil left the world. But at what cost? Well, about 60k and some stock options."
Today we're comparing CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge to hockey star Todd Bertuzzi. Who'll come out ahead?
LOOKS
Mansbridge has the suave news-anchor good looks that keep him out of radio and on the telly. Bertuzzi has a rough, stubby look and excellent bridgework that would suit a movie star! However, a slight edge to smooth Mansbridge.
PETER 9 TODD 8
SPEECH
Todd Bertuzzi is an excellent post-game interview, and will always fill in the reporters on some in-depth details of the match. Mansbridge, on the other hand, is renowned throughout Canada as the best quality source of news. Especially in these turbulent times, Mansbridge gets the nodd.
PETER 10 TODD 9
POPULARITY
Certainly Bertuzzi is a very popular fellow all around the NHL and especially in Vancouver. However, we need to consider that folks in rival towns may not have the same opinion of Todd. Peter Mansbridge, though, is a well-respected and popular figure. Nobody's switching to CTV news away from this bloke!
PETER 9 TODD 7
GOAL-SCORING
Mansbridge was a shinny star in his Ontario youth, but his prime goal-scoring days are well behind him. But Bertuzzi's goal-scoring ability is beyond compare, with a league-leading 46 goals heading into the final few games, he could well hit the 50-goal mark. Todd's a star!
PETER 1 TODD 10
FINAL
Todd Bertuzzi shows that he's clearly better than Peter Mansbridge! Sorry, Peter, Todd's our man!
PETER 29! TODD 34!
Geeks are such suckers.
on
Google Hacks
·
· Score: 3, Funny
1. Take GOOGLE FOR DUMMIES.
2. Retitle it, adding a geek word (such as, oh, say, "hacks").
3. Profit!
No "?" step here.
Sorry, this must have changed since beta. In beta, when you went into one of the quest dungeons with the cutscenes at the end, it was for your fellowship only.
The point is usually that there is something broken about the existing game. In AC, the main broken thing are the allegiance chains, a sort of XP-pyramid-scheme that let groups of players get to high level in a shorter amount of time than they reasonably could. My thinking about this is: if players just want to level and experience the endgame, why stop them? I'm happy with my guys of various levels plonking about the land with my friends. Occasionally I'll see a group of the maxed level folks doing whatever it is maxed level people do, and run happily by, content to pursue my own, less-uber content. Choices.
Asheron's Call tends to be the most casual-player-friendly game. There are tons of low level quests, and the most complex or enjoyable adventures aren't necessarily the high level ones. Surely there are rewards for being high level, but it's not necessary. I currently have a level 90 character (high level) and a level 21 (very low) and I enjoy playing them both. Logging in for half an hour to do a quick quest or hunt some monsters is more doable in AC than in any other game -- the rest tend to require a lot of preparation, group finding, etc.
A huge reason for not making a MMORPG, especially on a shoestring, is that your game at release cannot possibly hope to compete with games that have been balancing and adding content for a year, or three, or more.
A good example of this is Asheron's Call 2 vs. the original Asheron's Call. AC2 is a beautiful game that you can run through and just appreciate, while AC1's graphics are merely functional. AC2 has brand spanking new crafting and town building systems, while AC1 has the same old ones. AC2 offers individualized dungeons so groups can go hunting and questing without running into packed "camped" dungeons, and AC1 does not.
Which game has more subscribers and active players? AC1, by a wide margin, despite never having received anything in the way of advertising from Microsoft (as opposed to AC2 which was widely and aggressively marketed). AC1 simply has more content -- more stuff to do. It may not be eye candy like AC2, but the eye candy effect wears off after a week or two anyway. To catch up to AC1's three years of monthly (free) expansions, AC2 would have to -- well, be out three years. Or hire a MUCH larger content team (the AC2 content team is basically the old AC1 content team).
EQ2 will face the same problem compared to EQ1. People are going to buy EQ2, go "ooh, ahh", log in, appreciate New Freeport's amenities, walk outside and fight a couple of rats, and go back to their level 65 guys in EQ. Why would they want to level up on rats again in a game with 1/10 the content of EQ?
Games without the brand recognition of AC and EQ have it even worse off. Dark Age of Camelot somewhat sidestepped this phenomenon because they were the first "next generation" MMORPG out of the gate (Anarchy Online was too buggy at release, so doesn't count;)), and got the disgruntled AC/EQ/UO players. The newer games, such as Shadowbane, have a LOT to live up to. Current MMORPG players will compare everything to their current game, and if the new game doesn't REALLY shine, they have no reason to leave. They have too much time invested in their characters. And The Sims Online's tepid sales show that the market isn't ready to expand much yet -- you're dealing with the same bundle of players that you have to lure away from their current addiction.
Dumber, my arse. I was squeaky clean and minty fresh in high school, and fun to talk to, thanks. I was for the most part ostracized because I looked like an utter geek (pics from back then make me wince =)) and because I was one of the roughly 3 or 4 people in the school who knew anything about those goshdarned computer machines.
Luckily, because I was minty fresh and fun to talk to, it was only the real attention whores who gave me grief. The athletes just ignored me or snickered at me, and the "popular" people would ask me what my answers were on the math test, get their response, and continue on their popular way.
I oddly had the same experience as the writer in that the only 2 girls who ever flirted with me in high school were (1) a nerd and (2) a stoner:).
All Final Fantasy games with the exception of the first have been the same. The difference is how pretty the cut scene looks. "Spoony Bard!" came from a cut scene, after all!
Turbine Games made and currently updates Asheron's Call, which is Microsoft's first MMORPG. Turbine is also developing Middle Earth Online. The publisher of Middle Earth Online is... Vivendi.
Gosh, gang! My uncle's got a barn! We could put on a play!
Court-assigned notebook
on
Ask Kevin Mitnick
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
You were given a notebook PC, with no net connection of course, by the court to work on during your Net-exile. What was on this PC? What OS was it running? And were you able to install any new software on it, or have software installed for you?
The follow-up question, of course, is "and how many nethack characters did you ascend?":)
Slashdot Mirror
So many posters in this thread either misattributing works of Grant Morrison to Gaiman, or simply mentioning Morrison's works as other favourites. Morrison and Gaiman are easily my two favourite writers today, comic or otherwise. If you like one, you'll like the other, but Morrison's style tends to be more abstractly philosophical, and often more disturbing. The three Animal Man graphic novels, which follow Morrison's 26-issue run, would be a good pick for Gaiman fans, though I recommend reading Crisis on Infinite Earths first for full enjoyment. And any in the Invisibiles series are a great choice.
That amuses me way more than it should, probably because it shows a remarkable load of cajones. I guess the departure of Ken Karl from Turbine (AC, AC2) will now be made storyline. "Birds sang in the trees, the tides calmed, and the sun shone just a little brightly, as a great evil left the world. But at what cost? Well, about 60k and some stock options."
0 posts visible at a mere +2. 26 replies beneath your current threshold. Behold the power of Microsoft.
You forgot "I like this book."
Pie in the sky, I know...
"News for nerds. Stuff that matters."
If it won't cook me an Ogg breakfast, I don't want it!
That works great for Wales, but what does the REST of the world do??
Today we're comparing CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge to hockey star Todd Bertuzzi. Who'll come out ahead? LOOKS Mansbridge has the suave news-anchor good looks that keep him out of radio and on the telly. Bertuzzi has a rough, stubby look and excellent bridgework that would suit a movie star! However, a slight edge to smooth Mansbridge. PETER 9 TODD 8 SPEECH Todd Bertuzzi is an excellent post-game interview, and will always fill in the reporters on some in-depth details of the match. Mansbridge, on the other hand, is renowned throughout Canada as the best quality source of news. Especially in these turbulent times, Mansbridge gets the nodd. PETER 10 TODD 9 POPULARITY Certainly Bertuzzi is a very popular fellow all around the NHL and especially in Vancouver. However, we need to consider that folks in rival towns may not have the same opinion of Todd. Peter Mansbridge, though, is a well-respected and popular figure. Nobody's switching to CTV news away from this bloke! PETER 9 TODD 7 GOAL-SCORING Mansbridge was a shinny star in his Ontario youth, but his prime goal-scoring days are well behind him. But Bertuzzi's goal-scoring ability is beyond compare, with a league-leading 46 goals heading into the final few games, he could well hit the 50-goal mark. Todd's a star! PETER 1 TODD 10 FINAL Todd Bertuzzi shows that he's clearly better than Peter Mansbridge! Sorry, Peter, Todd's our man! PETER 29! TODD 34!
1. Take GOOGLE FOR DUMMIES. 2. Retitle it, adding a geek word (such as, oh, say, "hacks"). 3. Profit! No "?" step here.
Sorry, this must have changed since beta. In beta, when you went into one of the quest dungeons with the cutscenes at the end, it was for your fellowship only.
The point is usually that there is something broken about the existing game. In AC, the main broken thing are the allegiance chains, a sort of XP-pyramid-scheme that let groups of players get to high level in a shorter amount of time than they reasonably could. My thinking about this is: if players just want to level and experience the endgame, why stop them? I'm happy with my guys of various levels plonking about the land with my friends. Occasionally I'll see a group of the maxed level folks doing whatever it is maxed level people do, and run happily by, content to pursue my own, less-uber content. Choices.
Asheron's Call tends to be the most casual-player-friendly game. There are tons of low level quests, and the most complex or enjoyable adventures aren't necessarily the high level ones. Surely there are rewards for being high level, but it's not necessary. I currently have a level 90 character (high level) and a level 21 (very low) and I enjoy playing them both. Logging in for half an hour to do a quick quest or hunt some monsters is more doable in AC than in any other game -- the rest tend to require a lot of preparation, group finding, etc.
A good example of this is Asheron's Call 2 vs. the original Asheron's Call. AC2 is a beautiful game that you can run through and just appreciate, while AC1's graphics are merely functional. AC2 has brand spanking new crafting and town building systems, while AC1 has the same old ones. AC2 offers individualized dungeons so groups can go hunting and questing without running into packed "camped" dungeons, and AC1 does not.
Which game has more subscribers and active players? AC1, by a wide margin, despite never having received anything in the way of advertising from Microsoft (as opposed to AC2 which was widely and aggressively marketed). AC1 simply has more content -- more stuff to do. It may not be eye candy like AC2, but the eye candy effect wears off after a week or two anyway. To catch up to AC1's three years of monthly (free) expansions, AC2 would have to -- well, be out three years. Or hire a MUCH larger content team (the AC2 content team is basically the old AC1 content team).
EQ2 will face the same problem compared to EQ1. People are going to buy EQ2, go "ooh, ahh", log in, appreciate New Freeport's amenities, walk outside and fight a couple of rats, and go back to their level 65 guys in EQ. Why would they want to level up on rats again in a game with 1/10 the content of EQ?
Games without the brand recognition of AC and EQ have it even worse off. Dark Age of Camelot somewhat sidestepped this phenomenon because they were the first "next generation" MMORPG out of the gate (Anarchy Online was too buggy at release, so doesn't count ;)), and got the disgruntled AC/EQ/UO players. The newer games, such as Shadowbane, have a LOT to live up to. Current MMORPG players will compare everything to their current game, and if the new game doesn't REALLY shine, they have no reason to leave. They have too much time invested in their characters. And The Sims Online's tepid sales show that the market isn't ready to expand much yet -- you're dealing with the same bundle of players that you have to lure away from their current addiction.
If only tobacco companies would be as obliging!
Wouldn't there be a ton of 'o's and a bunch of '@'s?
A possibly less slashdotted version of the TeleZapper article can be found at http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030225/1553220. shtml.
Two words. "Hit It". Seriously, would have made my high school and college years much more fun and carefree :).
Dumber, my arse. I was squeaky clean and minty fresh in high school, and fun to talk to, thanks. I was for the most part ostracized because I looked like an utter geek (pics from back then make me wince =)) and because I was one of the roughly 3 or 4 people in the school who knew anything about those goshdarned computer machines. Luckily, because I was minty fresh and fun to talk to, it was only the real attention whores who gave me grief. The athletes just ignored me or snickered at me, and the "popular" people would ask me what my answers were on the math test, get their response, and continue on their popular way. I oddly had the same experience as the writer in that the only 2 girls who ever flirted with me in high school were (1) a nerd and (2) a stoner :).
All Final Fantasy games with the exception of the first have been the same. The difference is how pretty the cut scene looks. "Spoony Bard!" came from a cut scene, after all!
You spent $1300 at a place that said "all sales final"? You should read up on a nice man named P.T. Barnum.
Hmmm!
Gosh, gang! My uncle's got a barn! We could put on a play!
You were given a notebook PC, with no net connection of course, by the court to work on during your Net-exile. What was on this PC? What OS was it running? And were you able to install any new software on it, or have software installed for you? The follow-up question, of course, is "and how many nethack characters did you ascend?" :)
He's going to invade Iraq to save us from all this piracy!