Intrepid Homoludens

But Chep, baby, it costs nothing to be bitten to death by a crypt rat.

My real name is Beiddie, and I'm the oldest one here, at 37. But don't let that fool you, I'm insanely yet humanistically far removed from whatever age and societal and cultural obligations age may force upon people (i.e., I still don't have a cell phone, and I hate SUVs). I possess the curiousity of a nine-year-old, the vulnerability of someone in his early twenties, and the wisdom of someone older who's gone through some horrible experiences in his life. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (design, illustration, art history - Zurbaran, Giotto, and El Greco rock!), worked in the fashion industry for over 12 years, but abandoned it because it didn't fulfill me spiritually. Instead, I've been using writing (short fiction, essays) as my main avenue for self affirmation and expression. I maintain a website for some of my work. I eventually want to buy a lighthouse on the northeastern coast to turn into a loft, studio, and sanctuary for all my friends who need a rest. I plan on doing volunteer work (an AIDS organization or helping the homeless) this summer, and I feel professionally that's where I want to go. I described myself to Screwtape as 'anomalous'. Screwtape rocks! He understands me and I think I've found yet another guest for my lighthouse. Anyone else wanna come over? As far as gaming? I discovered it as an adult through my niece several years ago. Again my views on it mirror my anomaly, many gamers see gaming as an escape from reality. I see it as enriching my reality. I believe, as James here does, that a game can transcend mere pixels and button mashing and eventually touch someone's soul, and my involvement in game design must strive towards that. It has to, it's merely part of the human experience.

If you want, you can view the big E3 movie here (streaming or downloaded). Just watched the sequence of walking through City 17 for the first time. I gotta hand it to Valve, they are the masters of the scripted yet interactive in-game experience. Again, as in that famous tram ride that elegantly introduces you to the original Half-Life, this scene of walking into City 17 is positively peerless.

Becaaaaause....it's actually a frontpack?

Looks like it's still a kitten. Probably was originally swaddled in that blanket.

Ridicule Although I haven't played it myself ... I'd love a remake of Versailles 1685, or a new game based on it and Patrice Leconte's Ridicule (1996), that uses a top notch 3D graphics engine (Unreal, LithTech Jupiter, etc.) as well as a robust A.I. to recreate a jawdroping 17th century French court in real time 3D - imagine walking amongst lavishly dressed courtiers and using their gossips, your status, and the king's favours to accomplish your mission. It would function far more organically that the original game precisely because of the A.I., which makes the gameplay less predictable, and the real time setup that allows you to explore the 17th centure palace and grounds as if you really were there. ...your main 'inventory' would consist of language, wit, and historically and socially correct gestures of etiquette and body language that you must remember to use in the right situations. For example, if you forget to bow to a countess you'll upset her and she'll remember that; later on in the game you may discover that she has vital information pertaining to a possible scandal, information you must have. But now that you're on her ignore list it'll be much harder to get her to talk and divulge to you. Every single thing you do is under scrutiny in the king's court - the game's Artificial Intelligence at work.

Although I haven't yet played it, I would LOVE to remake Versailles. Please read this.

It was called Majestic, and it involved government conspiracies, UFOs, and whatnots. Got quite mixed reviews, but you couldn't deny how innovative the concept was. You were able to control how pervasive the game was - if you didn't like phone calls at 3 in the morning you could turn that feature off, etc. There is also another game coming that debuted in Europe, with a similar approach, but it seems more successful in execution. It's called Missing. Here's the news blurb I wrote for it at Adventure Gamers: If your curiosity is piqued and you have an hour to spare, why not download the demo? And here's the official site. It's really good, I want to get it when it comes out. The atmosphere's really creepy and macabre, and though it has no typical game graphics (3D engine, etc.) it uses other media and the Internet to pull you in, in a choke hold as it were.

You're welcome. Yeah, I'm a big NPR whore, actually. But these days I listen to them online, that way I can pick and choose which stories to hear. They do sometimes cover computer and video game related news and stories. Odyssey, a talk show imbedded in NPR's daily broadcasts, always has some great topics. A few times they've also covered recent issues in games and gaming. Gretchen Heflrich is marvelous, I love her!

You mean the French version had real interactivity and lots of it?

Well, if we're gonna talk about remakes, I'd love to do one of Gabriel Knight 3 using the latest Unreal engine. Imagine the south of France like that. Mmmph!

*GASP* That's not fair! Don't take my word for it. Don't. And you can always uninstall RP afterwards, baby. Ah well. Your loss.

Screw her, I want that pussy!!

I do look forward to manipulating those antlions in HL2. T'would be nice having some beasties fighting alongside me for a change.

I wanted one as a pet, though. Still do. I imagine taking it for a walk on a leash up and down Broadway in Uptown. The homeless people have no idea, soon you'll be seeing faceless yuppies walking around groping their way to the el stop, blood all over the sidewalks.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Serves you right! I loved that moment in the Surface Tension chapter in Half-Life where you're climbing up the cliffside and start heading into that big pipe..... .......[teenage suburban girl voice] I was, like, you total bitch!! And, like, totally quickloaded the game and, like beat the shit out of that headcrab! Totally not kewt. [/teenage suburban girl voice]

I thought it was The Longest Gurney. Set in a futuristic hospital in a city where all the people are descendants of nano-experimented humans engineered to be extremely tall, and the game's only resolution setting is 50369x724.

Alright, she's horrible. But I LOVED her and her husband. Snicker material. My biggest complaint was that there was practically NO interactivity other than the puzzles. Kate was never allowed to comment her views and observations on anything. It was so fascist! I ended up projecting imaginary attitudes onto her because she was never given a chance to develop her own.

Is your mind wandering?

I take it you're not a hardcore tight-assed adventure gamer. My man, I do believe we have some use for you.

The first time Chesire Cat appeared and smiled in American McGee's Alice.

Although not even ALL the cleaning ladies, janitors, and Streets & Sanitation Departments in the entire U.S. combined would go anywhere near that country.

You're all so cruel!! I think she's beautiful! You're just jealous 'cause she's got her very own adventure game series in which she stars and you don't!

Damn you, bitch. Gimme some.

I don't think my monitor goes for me. It has the hots for my desklamp, though.