"I went to big state school, and it didn't make me more intellectual."
Let's also not forget being an intellectual doesn't mean you have to have a college degree or even like school. i.e. not all people who have intellectual talent use it towards what are considered traditional intellectual pursuits. Many intellectual understand that the rat race is a life of constant stress and find rewards in less traveled paths of life.
"By you're reasoning any modification of copyright rules/laws is worthless, because it simply won't be adhered to... Is doesn't affect the idea of extensions specifically. I'm not sure I get your point?"
You can't change the rules unless you change the system from having corporations having a seat at the table. Laws should not be passed by lobbyists, now in other countries changing the law is feasible but at least if we are talking about the US it is unlikely given that the US is THE haven for corporate rule. Lets not also mention the ignorance of the electorate.
"Tacking motion control onto other games is a waste of time."
Your words... motion controls were "tacked on" to metroid prime trilogy, the first and second did not have them. Thank you for your poor literacy skills.
Extension is just a bad idea because the RULES always get over-turned by lobbyists, I can't believe how mind numbingly stupid some people are. If you think those 'rules' will hold you're clueless, any rule that goes against corporate power will just mean corporations poor money into transforming it or eliminating it.
"Waving your hands to play a game sounds cool but sucks in reality."
Depends on the game, Metroid prime is definitely a better game with the wand. Few games use the game controller to it's strength is the real issue. I agree though that the regular controller didn't need re-inventing BUT... I hate how most Wii games do not support Wii classic controller, it was my biggest pet peeve buying a Wii Nintendo did not ensure that you could use a regular controller over the wand with most (all?) first party games and it ticked me off.
Problem is the era of gameplay is over, one can see this in MMO's where there is pracitcally zero participation (it's all automated) and you have yuck yucks signing up in the millions (For world of warcraft).
I agree gameplay > graphics but the last generation graphics has started to overtake gameplay, you can especially see this in many JRPG's that have horrible battle systems. All the money is being sucked up by the graphics, I hated FF12 because they practically gutted the game of any 'gameplay' to speak of, when you tick on autobattle and hit "forward' to navigate, while your bot does the rest... at that point we've stopped gaming and have moved into the story/watcher era, where the vast majority prefer watching passive movie content to playing games.... FF12 is absolute proof that this is going on whether we like it or not.
... one of the real issues is risk aversion and title stagnation. Every modern game has to cater to the lowest common denominator due to game budgets, in a way the lust for pretty graphics has caused game developers to reduce the game aspect of games and simplify games to such an extent they become little more then stale worlds of aesthetically pleasing art. It's been a long time since I've seen game (not a movie or movie game as I like to call them) based on _just_ the idea of the game rather then going for the special fx and bling. Take the latest L.A. Noire, the more graphical horsepower has increased the less the focus is traditional games and more on cinematic experiences and IMHO that is a negative thing since the more passive games become the less interested I am.
It's one of the reason I can't stand modern "RPG's" there is barely any participation left because the action gaming mechanics have been ripped out of them to make sure people who don't like participating in their games can watch and run through the content. This is bad because it alienates what many of us got into gaming for in the first place - to participate rather then be pushed through content on a conveyor belt of automated-combat. FF12 takes the cake in what I consider the devolution of games where all you have to do is navigate once you set your auto-battle. At that point why even bother "gaming"? Why not just a walkthrough on youtube of someone else playing and get the same experience for $0 money down?
"Being a theist does not equal being a creationist."
But most theists believe in things which they derived from writings of men, the mistakes therein which science shows are demonstrably not true. The source of most peoples theistic beliefs are not credible at all.
Theism is derived from the writings of ancient ignorant peoples. The idea that we can take seriously people's theism the majority of which is based on writings of ancient human beings in pre-scientific and pre-literate times is still ludicrous.
" We are not willing to pay a fair price for a product built by happy people earning a decent wage. You can blame Apple, Microsoft, Google or whichever company you choose but the blame rests squarely on our shoulders. Flame suit on."
The opposite is true, in a capitalist society, capitalism is a race to the bottom. If you're not exploiting someone some other company will move in and do everything you are not to squeeze out every last cent. The competition between companies ensures that good companies are penalized, the idea that people are rational agents and choose is the greatest farce of free-market theory. It assumes way too much about how humans think or behave, they do not behave in moral ways they behave in accordance with the logic of the capitalist system.
i.e. the way our society is set up is that it rewards it's most irresponsible members whether it be dumping garbage illegally or dumping waste into the environment. These are fundamental to capitalist mode of society.
"that's like saying calculus is easy just because you know how to do it,"
No it's not, many things are so easy already. I have grandparents that use their old age as an excuse not to learn new things. I really don't buy that old people are incompetent, when it comes to their own interests and things they like they sure do put in the effort.
"You're not playing your legacy DOS stuff now, you won't tomorrow,"
That's a bunch of garbage, many of us pick up games YEARS after or play many old games semi-regularly (once or twice a year). The whole emulation scene is predicated on people picking up and playing old games. Many older games had a pickup and play aspect to them that you can jump into and get out of, especially now with emulators save-state function.
I also play freespace 2 from once a year to every other year and thanks to open source I can do so with updated graphics bug fixed, and the like. I've often had the itch to go back and play Mechwarrior 2 3dfx edition, problem is I can't be bothered to to spend the time to screw around to attempt to get such an ancient game working because of Mech 2's reliance on a very early direct x version. Many of us have a hankering to boot up old games from time to time, sure we may not marathon like when we first got them but that doesn't mean we still don't want to play them when we get the itch or find the time.
Say what you like but the real issue is that the licensing of games and locking away of source-code for PC games prevent fans from carrying the torch to the next generation and saving gaming history.
"One of the nice things about slashdot is actually the fact that the readers are not segregated politically."
Yes slashdot is segregated politically at least when it comes to mods. Most of them have american viewpoints (i.e. pro capitalist, pro free market, pro libertarian, anti-left). Slashdot is heavily weighted towards americanized views of things.
The worst part is the developers have no idea what made those games good. I was hoping when they re-released and updated the art in the earlier final fantasies they'd you know re-imagine it and make what was already there 10x better. Instead they end up copying the games almost verbatim and it kind of sucks because it just proved to me that the devs have no imagination. The updated art is great but why oh why do they not take what is already there to the next level and add to it? The early final fantasies were so sparse (FF1 especially) that they could really do a lot with it in terms of gameplay/items/loot/story and characters.
"The technology, as it's exists now, is incapable of the level of analysis described. The data is flow is massive and only summation for billing is viable..."
For now... given what the intelligence agencies have planned for facebook/google it won't be long before the average company will have similar tools as costs are driven down and tech becomes more accessible.
"You can't get away from that anywhere humans are involved, but Slashdot really does work better than most sites in that regard. I mean try expressing even a slightly conservative opinion on reddit."
And just try expressing an anti capitalist or critical of capitalism/libertarian/market opinion on slashdot. Slashdot is a bastion of free marketeers, libertarians and virulent 'anti left'.
The real problem is that language of a population tends to constrain it's thoughts to where the majority of it's population comes from, and most Slashdotters easily come from the US, the most hyper capitalist nation on earth.
Just look at need for speed world. Not a bad game at all but and it's free to play but the whole point is when EA wants it gone it's their right to just shut it down. That on the whole is bad for gaming. Older PS2 games which had multiplayer shut down their multiplayer services, when you buy a game it should in theory never break and never become unavailable to you. This is the thing I hate about MMO's the most. MMO's mean revenue for game companies but it means no one gets to own the game and that sucks, especially if games keep putting online components in them which companies can simply disable or stop supporting.
Problem is they are rookies, lets not forget many triple AAA games suffer from the first game being rough (mass effect 1 vs mass effect 2, Assassins creed 1 vs AC2) lots of games are developed where they are not finished and buggy on release and some bugs never get fixed
For $9 (if you didn't pirate it), give your complaints a break. These people were not expecting such a huge success the thought they would sell 3000 copies over the ENTIRE LIFETIME of the game, instead they got a HUGE SUCCESS despite the games flaws. It speaks to how fun the game is given the game industries AAA rehashes every year. Magicka was a giant breath of fresh air - a return to gameplay finally.
You do know they are planning to dismantle healthcare by stealth right? Conservative government = end of public healthcare through purposeful neglect and not enforcing the canada health act.
"If Layton said he would introduce a constitutional amendment that all votes in Parliament (house and senate) were to be truly free votes, then I would vote for him"
And that will lead to american style politics. Any change we make will be countered over time by finding ways around it. The only real good solution is citizens having the ability and/or fire those who stop representing their interests IMHO.
"Damn you pesky citizens of a sovereign nation, getting in the way of our plans for your country..."
Mulroney sold us out a long time ago, NAFTA gives corporations special rights and all parties since the 1980's have been furthering the american corporate-state agenda.
Slashdot Mirror
"I went to big state school, and it didn't make me more intellectual."
Let's also not forget being an intellectual doesn't mean you have to have a college degree or even like school. i.e. not all people who have intellectual talent use it towards what are considered traditional intellectual pursuits. Many intellectual understand that the rat race is a life of constant stress and find rewards in less traveled paths of life.
"By you're reasoning any modification of copyright rules/laws is worthless, because it simply won't be adhered to... Is doesn't affect the idea of extensions specifically. I'm not sure I get your point?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act
You can't change the rules unless you change the system from having corporations having a seat at the table. Laws should not be passed by lobbyists, now in other countries changing the law is feasible but at least if we are talking about the US it is unlikely given that the US is THE haven for corporate rule. Lets not also mention the ignorance of the electorate.
"Tacking motion control onto other games is a waste of time."
Your words... motion controls were "tacked on" to metroid prime trilogy, the first and second did not have them. Thank you for your poor literacy skills.
Extension is just a bad idea because the RULES always get over-turned by lobbyists, I can't believe how mind numbingly stupid some people are. If you think those 'rules' will hold you're clueless, any rule that goes against corporate power will just mean corporations poor money into transforming it or eliminating it.
"Waving your hands to play a game sounds cool but sucks in reality."
Depends on the game, Metroid prime is definitely a better game with the wand. Few games use the game controller to it's strength is the real issue. I agree though that the regular controller didn't need re-inventing BUT... I hate how most Wii games do not support Wii classic controller, it was my biggest pet peeve buying a Wii Nintendo did not ensure that you could use a regular controller over the wand with most (all?) first party games and it ticked me off.
Problem is the era of gameplay is over, one can see this in MMO's where there is pracitcally zero participation (it's all automated) and you have yuck yucks signing up in the millions (For world of warcraft).
I agree gameplay > graphics but the last generation graphics has started to overtake gameplay, you can especially see this in many JRPG's that have horrible battle systems. All the money is being sucked up by the graphics, I hated FF12 because they practically gutted the game of any 'gameplay' to speak of, when you tick on autobattle and hit "forward' to navigate, while your bot does the rest... at that point we've stopped gaming and have moved into the story/watcher era, where the vast majority prefer watching passive movie content to playing games.... FF12 is absolute proof that this is going on whether we like it or not.
... one of the real issues is risk aversion and title stagnation. Every modern game has to cater to the lowest common denominator due to game budgets, in a way the lust for pretty graphics has caused game developers to reduce the game aspect of games and simplify games to such an extent they become little more then stale worlds of aesthetically pleasing art. It's been a long time since I've seen game (not a movie or movie game as I like to call them) based on _just_ the idea of the game rather then going for the special fx and bling. Take the latest L.A. Noire, the more graphical horsepower has increased the less the focus is traditional games and more on cinematic experiences and IMHO that is a negative thing since the more passive games become the less interested I am.
It's one of the reason I can't stand modern "RPG's" there is barely any participation left because the action gaming mechanics have been ripped out of them to make sure people who don't like participating in their games can watch and run through the content. This is bad because it alienates what many of us got into gaming for in the first place - to participate rather then be pushed through content on a conveyor belt of automated-combat. FF12 takes the cake in what I consider the devolution of games where all you have to do is navigate once you set your auto-battle. At that point why even bother "gaming"? Why not just a walkthrough on youtube of someone else playing and get the same experience for $0 money down?
"Being a theist does not equal being a creationist."
But most theists believe in things which they derived from writings of men, the mistakes therein which science shows are demonstrably not true. The source of most peoples theistic beliefs are not credible at all.
Theism is derived from the writings of ancient ignorant peoples. The idea that we can take seriously people's theism the majority of which is based on writings of ancient human beings in pre-scientific and pre-literate times is still ludicrous.
" We are not willing to pay a fair price for a product built by happy people earning a decent wage. You can blame Apple, Microsoft, Google or whichever company you choose but the blame rests squarely on our shoulders. Flame suit on."
The opposite is true, in a capitalist society, capitalism is a race to the bottom. If you're not exploiting someone some other company will move in and do everything you are not to squeeze out every last cent. The competition between companies ensures that good companies are penalized, the idea that people are rational agents and choose is the greatest farce of free-market theory. It assumes way too much about how humans think or behave, they do not behave in moral ways they behave in accordance with the logic of the capitalist system.
i.e. the way our society is set up is that it rewards it's most irresponsible members whether it be dumping garbage illegally or dumping waste into the environment. These are fundamental to capitalist mode of society.
"that's like saying calculus is easy just because you know how to do it,"
No it's not, many things are so easy already. I have grandparents that use their old age as an excuse not to learn new things. I really don't buy that old people are incompetent, when it comes to their own interests and things they like they sure do put in the effort.
"You have an anecdote, they have data. There is a difference."
I imagine it depends on the game you are playing IMHO.
"You're not playing your legacy DOS stuff now, you won't tomorrow,"
That's a bunch of garbage, many of us pick up games YEARS after or play many old games semi-regularly (once or twice a year). The whole emulation scene is predicated on people picking up and playing old games. Many older games had a pickup and play aspect to them that you can jump into and get out of, especially now with emulators save-state function.
I also play freespace 2 from once a year to every other year and thanks to open source I can do so with updated graphics bug fixed, and the like. I've often had the itch to go back and play Mechwarrior 2 3dfx edition, problem is I can't be bothered to to spend the time to screw around to attempt to get such an ancient game working because of Mech 2's reliance on a very early direct x version. Many of us have a hankering to boot up old games from time to time, sure we may not marathon like when we first got them but that doesn't mean we still don't want to play them when we get the itch or find the time.
Say what you like but the real issue is that the licensing of games and locking away of source-code for PC games prevent fans from carrying the torch to the next generation and saving gaming history.
Freespace 2 scp
http://scp.indiegames.us/
"Have you somehow managed to miss every article slashdot has ever posted about the RIAA?"
Copyright is protectionism by another name, and hence NOT capitalist.
"One of the nice things about slashdot is actually the fact that the readers are not segregated politically."
Yes slashdot is segregated politically at least when it comes to mods. Most of them have american viewpoints (i.e. pro capitalist, pro free market, pro libertarian, anti-left). Slashdot is heavily weighted towards americanized views of things.
The worst part is the developers have no idea what made those games good. I was hoping when they re-released and updated the art in the earlier final fantasies they'd you know re-imagine it and make what was already there 10x better. Instead they end up copying the games almost verbatim and it kind of sucks because it just proved to me that the devs have no imagination. The updated art is great but why oh why do they not take what is already there to the next level and add to it? The early final fantasies were so sparse (FF1 especially) that they could really do a lot with it in terms of gameplay/items/loot/story and characters.
"The technology, as it's exists now, is incapable of the level of analysis described. The data is flow is massive and only summation for billing is viable..."
For now... given what the intelligence agencies have planned for facebook/google it won't be long before the average company will have similar tools as costs are driven down and tech becomes more accessible.
"You can't get away from that anywhere humans are involved, but Slashdot really does work better than most sites in that regard. I mean try expressing even a slightly conservative opinion on reddit."
And just try expressing an anti capitalist or critical of capitalism/libertarian/market opinion on slashdot. Slashdot is a bastion of free marketeers, libertarians and virulent 'anti left'.
The real problem is that language of a population tends to constrain it's thoughts to where the majority of it's population comes from, and most Slashdotters easily come from the US, the most hyper capitalist nation on earth.
Agreed.
Just look at need for speed world. Not a bad game at all but and it's free to play but the whole point is when EA wants it gone it's their right to just shut it down. That on the whole is bad for gaming. Older PS2 games which had multiplayer shut down their multiplayer services, when you buy a game it should in theory never break and never become unavailable to you. This is the thing I hate about MMO's the most. MMO's mean revenue for game companies but it means no one gets to own the game and that sucks, especially if games keep putting online components in them which companies can simply disable or stop supporting.
Problem is they are rookies, lets not forget many triple AAA games suffer from the first game being rough (mass effect 1 vs mass effect 2, Assassins creed 1 vs AC2) lots of games are developed where they are not finished and buggy on release and some bugs never get fixed
For $9 (if you didn't pirate it), give your complaints a break. These people were not expecting such a huge success the thought they would sell 3000 copies over the ENTIRE LIFETIME of the game, instead they got a HUGE SUCCESS despite the games flaws. It speaks to how fun the game is given the game industries AAA rehashes every year. Magicka was a giant breath of fresh air - a return to gameplay finally.
Car analogy FTW! :D
You do know they are planning to dismantle healthcare by stealth right? Conservative government = end of public healthcare through purposeful neglect and not enforcing the canada health act.
"The fact that they're able to do so screams market failure/monopoly to me."
Definitely evidence of information asymmetry (in this case the general publics ignorance).
"If Layton said he would introduce a constitutional amendment that all votes in Parliament (house and senate) were to be truly free votes, then I would vote for him"
And that will lead to american style politics. Any change we make will be countered over time by finding ways around it. The only real good solution is citizens having the ability and/or fire those who stop representing their interests IMHO.
"Damn you pesky citizens of a sovereign nation, getting in the way of our plans for your country..."
Mulroney sold us out a long time ago, NAFTA gives corporations special rights and all parties since the 1980's have been furthering the american corporate-state agenda.
Turner vs. Mulroney debate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyYjRmM7RDY
The only thing they didn't plan on was the emergence of the internet to increase public investment and awareness of these issues.