The best example I can think of is a game I mentioned elsewhere: Ico. The focus of the story is the bond forged by the two main characters due to their shared 'journey'. The is done entirely through gameplay, with steps taken to remove the possibility of more meaningful interaction and development of their relationship in the cutscenes. The gameplay is the narrative, while the cutscenes merely hold you still at times when the story dictates the character is not supposed to be running around.
I think a good example for the PC is Half-Life and its successors. It is well known for blending the 'cutscenes' in with normal gameplay. Unlike Ico, the gameplay and the story are not one, but they are combined seamlessly and sometimes even overlap, with cutscenes/set pieces which allow you free movement.
These are both examples which are light on narrative. There are other games which attempt to break the barrier between narrative and gameplay while maintaining a more significant narrative, but these are limited is how seamless they are. An example which comes to mind are RPGs such as Morrowind/Oblivion. There is no cutting to cutscenes, no hard separation between narrative and gamplay, but at the same time you basically read the story off the screen in the form of dialogue, so I don't really think that counts for much. It's more a different kind of separation than a reduction of it.
However, there are types of games which don't even try. For instance, JRPGs. They really do take a story and just dump game mechanics on top, usually with a separate battle engine. Two games in one, or a game and a visual/text story. Compared to games like these, most genres are making at least some effort.
I think it is a balancing act. To combine the narrative with the gameplay using current technology requires compromises in both narrative and gameplay. This doesn't have to limit the quality of the game (again, see Ico), but it does limit the scope both of the individual story and of the potential stories which can be told. I find this interesting however, because while I am quite happy with games which are essentially a story which could be a book/movie put in game form instead with gameplay plonked on top, the games I find most interesting are the ones which tell stories which wouldn't work in any other medium, wouldn't work because what they are trying to express is best conveyed as gameplay of some kind, with interactivity of some kind. Since, after all, interactivity is the one thing games have to offer storytelling that is lacking in other media.
I could go on, but this had become a tangential ramble already.
In any game which is both attempting to tell a story and be an 'adult' (as in intellectual/emotional maturity, not 18+ content) game, the gameplay should be *part* of the narrative.
Games which have to put the narrative on pause are really just short stories laid on top of game mechanics that, as you say, would do just as well without.
Generally not held as 'games', referred to specifically as 'simulators'. Why? 'Games' refers explicitly to ones which are designed to entertain at least somewhat mindlessly. The 'more boring' variety of games the article asks for already exist, they are just referred to under other names. See also: 'Documentary' Vs. 'TV Show'.
Which isn't to say there aren't any out there that require an adult mind to appreciate which are nonetheless referred to as games. See also: ICO.
Wow. With your comment you sum up the real problem with IT depts. You assume you are even on the same level of importance with those you serve, let alone superior.
You are not there to "grant" the privledge of computing. You are there to "support" it. The people who do the actual work of the company are the ones who bring the money in. So if they want to open risky attachments, then fine. Harden your network to brace for that and be done with the issue.
Wow. With your comment you sum up the real problem with users. You assume you are even on the same level of importance with those whose computers you use, let alone superior.
You are not there to "grant" the privilege of being cleaned up after. You are there to do what you are told. The people in departments like these are the ones who keep everything working so you can do your job. If they tell you you can't open risky attachments on their computers, then fine. Get back to work and be done with the issue.
These restrictors look vaguely like XML, but lots of things look vaguely like XML.
<anytag can-anything-parse-this="no" did-i-just-pull-this-out-of-my-ass="yes" but-is-it-valid-xml="yes">Damn right they do!:-D</anytag> <explanationtag question="Why do so many things look like XML?" explanation="Because many things look like HTML and XML is pseudo-html" example="\<rant\>A rant\</rant\>">Why is there no useful text inside this tag? Who knows?</explanationtag>
And please compare PHP to ASP.NET, or vim/emacs/kdevelop to Visual Studio
I would like to compare these (not verbally, I mean actually run them and compare them). And I'm already running Windows (WAMP at the moment)! Where can I download IIS and Visual Studio?
Let me put it this way: When I see an eMule search result with a decent number of sources, I consider it as reliable as a HTTP or FTP link, and not much slower. Sometimes, if things do go slowly, you have to be patient. But I've never had a case where it's gotten stuck at 90% or whatever. YMMV
eDonkey/eMule take hours to download small files, and days/weeks to download big files
Then you are doing something wrong, even if it is just looking for unpopular files. I've seen eMule download popular ISOs in a day. And I have limited upstream.
Re:P2P Now and Then in a nutshell
on
P2P Now and Then
·
· Score: 1
Now: stealing stuff Then: stealing stuff
Let's not be silly! 1. The only way to 'steal' something over a computer network is to copy it and then delete the source. P2P does not have this facility. 2. Over P2P you copy the file from willing uploaders, do even if you judge that they 'stole' it, you are stealing yourself. Just like buying stolen DVDs from someone is not stealing, it is buying stolen goods. So your next sentenece should have read: Feel free to replace stealing with infringing if you want this post to make sense.
These, and later similar designs, will survive any future anti-satellite attacks (for longer) by America due to being harder to hit. Hitting a milk carton in orbit can't be that easy.
It's because there are more original games. Here's an example: Black & White was original when it came out. They are planning a total of five games. So the release of one original game will spawn anything up to 4 sequels. Most truly original games are worthy of sequels, so it's not a bad thing, but it means that the number of sequels released will continue to grow massively, as, in this example, Lionhead can move on to creating something else that is original (e.g. The Movies), while churning out sequels to B&W, then do the same again, and again, and end up with many sequels coming out alongside new games.
Are you serious? It creates a real-time view of the current consciousness of the entire human population (well, an enormous section of it, anyway)! That's something that has never been possible in the history of mankind.
This is a joke/troll, right? I mean, let's lay aside the arrogance of saying the 'entire human population' (or even most of it) are in the moronosphere when people are starving to death, getting bombed by imperialist first world countries, or just engaging in local wars that are centuries old, along with all the other generic world events that generate charities and protest marches. Lets instead the take the first world. Narrow it down to the people who are involved in the Internet even enough to be part of the moronosphere. That knocks out a lot, more in some places than others. Now narrow them down to a group of people who firstly think they have something important to say, but are either too stupid (or should I say moronic to be consistent?) or do not value their oh-so-important contribution enough to actually put work into it, and jump dump it into the moronosphere instead, thinking someone cares. Of these, we have a decent view of their current conciousness. A big empty echo chamber.
Blogs are in the same category as newsgroups and IRC channels which are the homes of 1337 d00dz, crackers, and various other breeds of low-lifes. But they can be credited with damaging the Internet more than othe groups.
Silent: I am a biker and I love bikes, I build bikes, I live bikes. But I hate the noise, so I'm trying to build a silent bike.
--or--
HTPC: I have a bicycle, but I need more than just a bicycle, so I got into the latest area of custom bike building: Building a nice new motorbike, which has been custom modded into a bicycle.
There is only one practical example of negative information I can think of: Quantum Physics Research Unless you happen to be well educated in the subject, the more you are told about it, the less you know.
For instance, now that negative information has been discovered, I now know even less that I did before about quantum physics, so this research is negative information.
Actually the results of this test depend completly on it's purpose. One version has it proving mutiple quantum universes thusly: Light through the slits diffracts, wave behaviour. One controls the light to the point where you are emitting single particles. Diffraction cannot occur, as there is only on particle. One records the finish point of particle after particle, and find they make the diffration pattern eventually anyway. The photons are obviously hitting photons from another universe in a probabilistic fashion. Other universes exist.
Also, it proves that light is a particle or a wave depending on the observer (and possibly the day of the week), proves that everything only probably exists as we see it (fortunatly it seems improbable that the Earth doesn't exist, as we are here, it would seem). It may also prove the moon is made of cheese. The result depends largely on the amount of negative information the observer has. Large amounts of negative information can even result in the denial of the possibility of the said results being true, and in this case the whole test ceases to exist - probably.;-)
Just for the record, some games also offer the option of PAL or NTSC output, on the PS2 at least. (Though I always thought consoles were limited in what standard they output). And most capture cards and video outputs on computers support many standards too.
There is no system in place to prevent this, you just have to know (remember) what the months are in the first two lines which provides no benefit over just remembering them anyway. Yes it does, as there is a rhyme there to help. The knuckle thing is more reliable (I hadn't heard of it until just now), but if you're talking in terms of just remembering them, a bad rhyme is better than none. Like the alphabet. The alphabet rhyme could have the letters rearranged, but I find it easier to remember a rhyme with 26 little words than to remember 26 little words in order with no structure at all! Anyway, I've always found I just have to remember the 'thirty days' and the rest comes naturally.
"games have been accepted by the young and largely rejected by the old" Bull Shit! My parents used to have 42 tournaments at their house when I was a child in the '70's. That is a game. My grandmother was the best dominoes player I ever met.
From TFA: The word "game" itself also confuses matters, since it evokes childish playthings.
Dominoes isn't exactly the sort of game they were talking about.
Slashdot Mirror
The best example I can think of is a game I mentioned elsewhere: Ico. The focus of the story is the bond forged by the two main characters due to their shared 'journey'. The is done entirely through gameplay, with steps taken to remove the possibility of more meaningful interaction and development of their relationship in the cutscenes. The gameplay is the narrative, while the cutscenes merely hold you still at times when the story dictates the character is not supposed to be running around.
I think a good example for the PC is Half-Life and its successors. It is well known for blending the 'cutscenes' in with normal gameplay. Unlike Ico, the gameplay and the story are not one, but they are combined seamlessly and sometimes even overlap, with cutscenes/set pieces which allow you free movement.
These are both examples which are light on narrative. There are other games which attempt to break the barrier between narrative and gameplay while maintaining a more significant narrative, but these are limited is how seamless they are. An example which comes to mind are RPGs such as Morrowind/Oblivion. There is no cutting to cutscenes, no hard separation between narrative and gamplay, but at the same time you basically read the story off the screen in the form of dialogue, so I don't really think that counts for much. It's more a different kind of separation than a reduction of it.
However, there are types of games which don't even try. For instance, JRPGs. They really do take a story and just dump game mechanics on top, usually with a separate battle engine. Two games in one, or a game and a visual/text story. Compared to games like these, most genres are making at least some effort.
I think it is a balancing act. To combine the narrative with the gameplay using current technology requires compromises in both narrative and gameplay. This doesn't have to limit the quality of the game (again, see Ico), but it does limit the scope both of the individual story and of the potential stories which can be told.
I find this interesting however, because while I am quite happy with games which are essentially a story which could be a book/movie put in game form instead with gameplay plonked on top, the games I find most interesting are the ones which tell stories which wouldn't work in any other medium, wouldn't work because what they are trying to express is best conveyed as gameplay of some kind, with interactivity of some kind. Since, after all, interactivity is the one thing games have to offer storytelling that is lacking in other media.
I could go on, but this had become a tangential ramble already.
In any game which is both attempting to tell a story and be an 'adult' (as in intellectual/emotional maturity, not 18+ content) game, the gameplay should be *part* of the narrative.
Games which have to put the narrative on pause are really just short stories laid on top of game mechanics that, as you say, would do just as well without.
Flight simulators.
Generally not held as 'games', referred to specifically as 'simulators'. Why? 'Games' refers explicitly to ones which are designed to entertain at least somewhat mindlessly. The 'more boring' variety of games the article asks for already exist, they are just referred to under other names.
See also: 'Documentary' Vs. 'TV Show'.
Which isn't to say there aren't any out there that require an adult mind to appreciate which are nonetheless referred to as games. See also: ICO.
Fortunately I can spell, and I find Apache's documentation just fine.
so stop your whining :-p
Nah, I have a full version of Apache. Whine Whine Whine.
I have XP Pro. Hmm, a crippled version, can't I get full IIS and/or the newer version for XP Pro from somewhere?
Wow. With your comment you sum up the real problem with IT depts. You assume you are even on the same level of importance with those you serve, let alone superior.
You are not there to "grant" the privledge of computing. You are there to "support" it. The people who do the actual work of the company are the ones who bring the money in. So if they want to open risky attachments, then fine. Harden your network to brace for that and be done with the issue.
Wow. With your comment you sum up the real problem with users. You assume you are even on the same level of importance with those whose computers you use, let alone superior.
You are not there to "grant" the privilege of being cleaned up after. You are there to do what you are told. The people in departments like these are the ones who keep everything working so you can do your job. If they tell you you can't open risky attachments on their computers, then fine. Get back to work and be done with the issue.
These restrictors look vaguely like XML, but lots of things look vaguely like XML.
:-D</anytag>
e -line-of-text="yes"
<anytag can-anything-parse-this="no" did-i-just-pull-this-out-of-my-ass="yes" but-is-it-valid-xml="yes">Damn right they do!
<explanationtag question="Why do so many things look like XML?" explanation="Because many things look like HTML and XML is pseudo-html" example="\<rant\>A rant\</rant\>">Why is there no useful text inside this tag? Who knows?</explanationtag>
<conffilesOTOH>
are-more-easily-read="ifyou'resane"
are-neater="definitely"
are-better-established="true"
have-attributes-in-a-nice-list-instead-of-a-singl
</conffilesOTOH>
This is where XML is nice. Its structured and formatted.
Whereas conf files are random text, unparsable by anything?
And please compare PHP to ASP.NET, or vim/emacs/kdevelop to Visual Studio
I would like to compare these (not verbally, I mean actually run them and compare them). And I'm already running Windows (WAMP at the moment)!
Where can I download IIS and Visual Studio?
Let me put it this way:
When I see an eMule search result with a decent number of sources, I consider it as reliable as a HTTP or FTP link, and not much slower.
Sometimes, if things do go slowly, you have to be patient. But I've never had a case where it's gotten stuck at 90% or whatever. YMMV
eDonkey/eMule take hours to download small files, and days/weeks to download big files
Then you are doing something wrong, even if it is just looking for unpopular files.
I've seen eMule download popular ISOs in a day. And I have limited upstream.
Now: stealing stuff
Then: stealing stuff
Let's not be silly!
1. The only way to 'steal' something over a computer network is to copy it and then delete the source. P2P does not have this facility.
2. Over P2P you copy the file from willing uploaders, do even if you judge that they 'stole' it, you are stealing yourself. Just like buying stolen DVDs from someone is not stealing, it is buying stolen goods.
So your next sentenece should have read:
Feel free to replace stealing with infringing if you want this post to make sense.
These, and later similar designs, will survive any future anti-satellite attacks (for longer) by America due to being harder to hit. Hitting a milk carton in orbit can't be that easy.
It's because there are more original games. Here's an example: Black & White was original when it came out. They are planning a total of five games. So the release of one original game will spawn anything up to 4 sequels. Most truly original games are worthy of sequels, so it's not a bad thing, but it means that the number of sequels released will continue to grow massively, as, in this example, Lionhead can move on to creating something else that is original (e.g. The Movies), while churning out sequels to B&W, then do the same again, and again, and end up with many sequels coming out alongside new games.
Are you serious? It creates a real-time view of the current consciousness of the entire human population (well, an enormous section of it, anyway)! That's something that has never been possible in the history of mankind.
This is a joke/troll, right?
I mean, let's lay aside the arrogance of saying the 'entire human population' (or even most of it) are in the moronosphere when people are starving to death, getting bombed by imperialist first world countries, or just engaging in local wars that are centuries old, along with all the other generic world events that generate charities and protest marches.
Lets instead the take the first world. Narrow it down to the people who are involved in the Internet even enough to be part of the moronosphere. That knocks out a lot, more in some places than others.
Now narrow them down to a group of people who firstly think they have something important to say, but are either too stupid (or should I say moronic to be consistent?) or do not value their oh-so-important contribution enough to actually put work into it, and jump dump it into the moronosphere instead, thinking someone cares. Of these, we have a decent view of their current conciousness. A big empty echo chamber.
Blogs are in the same category as newsgroups and IRC channels which are the homes of 1337 d00dz, crackers, and various other breeds of low-lifes. But they can be credited with damaging the Internet more than othe groups.
Silent:
I am a biker and I love bikes, I build bikes, I live bikes. But I hate the noise, so I'm trying to build a silent bike.
--or--
HTPC:
I have a bicycle, but I need more than just a bicycle, so I got into the latest area of custom bike building: Building a nice new motorbike, which has been custom modded into a bicycle.
But the advantage of proving it with quantum probabilities is that you can estimate what order of infinity universes also have a moon made of cheese.
There is only one practical example of negative information I can think of:
Quantum Physics Research
Unless you happen to be well educated in the subject, the more you are told about it, the less you know.
For instance, now that negative information has been discovered, I now know even less that I did before about quantum physics, so this research is negative information.
Actually the results of this test depend completly on it's purpose. One version has it proving mutiple quantum universes thusly:
;-)
Light through the slits diffracts, wave behaviour.
One controls the light to the point where you are emitting single particles. Diffraction cannot occur, as there is only on particle.
One records the finish point of particle after particle, and find they make the diffration pattern eventually anyway.
The photons are obviously hitting photons from another universe in a probabilistic fashion.
Other universes exist.
Also, it proves that light is a particle or a wave depending on the observer (and possibly the day of the week), proves that everything only probably exists as we see it (fortunatly it seems improbable that the Earth doesn't exist, as we are here, it would seem). It may also prove the moon is made of cheese.
The result depends largely on the amount of negative information the observer has. Large amounts of negative information can even result in the denial of the possibility of the said results being true, and in this case the whole test ceases to exist - probably.
Just for the record, some games also offer the option of PAL or NTSC output, on the PS2 at least. (Though I always thought consoles were limited in what standard they output).
And most capture cards and video outputs on computers support many standards too.
There is no system in place to prevent this, you just have to know (remember) what the months are in the first two lines which provides no benefit over just remembering them anyway.
Yes it does, as there is a rhyme there to help. The knuckle thing is more reliable (I hadn't heard of it until just now), but if you're talking in terms of just remembering them, a bad rhyme is better than none. Like the alphabet. The alphabet rhyme could have the letters rearranged, but I find it easier to remember a rhyme with 26 little words than to remember 26 little words in order with no structure at all!
Anyway, I've always found I just have to remember the 'thirty days' and the rest comes naturally.
30 days hath september
;-)
april, june, and november
if you simply can't remember
note the rhythm, it'll help ya!
Try not to forget february, it got the crap end of the rhyme.
IS IT a new medium on a par with film and music
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ico
"games have been accepted by the young and largely rejected by the old"
Bull Shit! My parents used to have 42 tournaments at their house when I was a child in the '70's. That is a game. My grandmother was the best dominoes player I ever met.
From TFA:
The word "game" itself also confuses matters, since it evokes childish playthings.
Dominoes isn't exactly the sort of game they were talking about.