Thrik

I agree that the torture scene was perhaps a bit unnecessary, but at the same time if that's the story the game's writers wanted to tell then should they not have the freedom to do that in the same way as in any other medium? The interactive aspect certainly does make it feel very conflicting — much like I felt a bit weird when performing the shower and sex scenes in a certain David Cage game — but I see that as a unique opportunity that games have to challenge us in this regard. After all, it's easy to dust aside horrifying behaviour when reading a book or watching a film, but when you're physically pushing things forward it takes on a whole new level of meaning. Indeed, I think that a really interesting area that Rockstar has (to varying success) touched upon is the difference between liking someone such as Tony Soprano who you've seen do disgusting things, and liking someone such as Trevor who you've done disgusting things as. I would say that the result is that some people are able to distance themselves in the same way, whereas others are morally sickened by it and the interactive element is too much. I don't know, I'm not saying that I want every game to include a character like Trevor, but I certainly see the value in exploring such psychotic mindsets in an interactive way that not only doesn't take the easy option of making them a truly contemptible side-character, but makes them a front-and-centre main character that you end up rooting for (which you can easily find yourself doing in GTA5). As I said, film and TV have done this for years and to this day I don't know whether to cheer for or lament the fate of Joe Pesci's character in Casino. Ultimately, it's the overall story arc and the overall journey of a character in a piece of fiction that really matters. I guess I'll find out when I complete the game what Rockstar does with Trevor in the end, but I know where most characters of this kind end up: dead.

I honestly don't see the issue with Trevor. Sure he's a sicko, but I think that's kind of the point: there's enough charm in him for you to actually like him as a character, which many people do — despite them completely disapproving of what he does. To re-use my earlier example, it's a lot like characters found in things like Scarface, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos: they are truly arse holes, yet you like them. GTA5 takes that a step further by having you play as such a person, which Rockstar delights in making as conflicting on the soul as possible. I like it. There's none of the pathetic attempt to make the protagonist seem like a good guy, much like there isn't in the aforementioned films and TV shows. The fiction revels in them being bad people, yet still makes you side with them. Fiction that can do that is good. Unless you just hate the character, I guess. But that's what makes some people unable to enjoy things like The Sopranos too. How many people hated to admit they liked Richie and Tony despite some of the truly horrifying things they did during the show? I guess if you're just unable to separate the interactive aspect from the morality and feel like it's somehow a reflection on your beliefs as a person to play as such a character, it really isn't for you. I personally don't think that the interaction of games separates them from film and TV as much as some (especially those who blame games for social violence) do.

I've had a fair number of fairly good keyboards over the years, including what was at the time Logitech's top keyboard for £100 or so. My experience is that not a single one was truly worth it, and despite having tried every key mechanism imaginable I still find that I can get the most satisfactory performance out of a simple ~£15 Cherry or Logitech. If you like something that looks good — and let's face it, that's what drives most expensive keyboard purchases — then by all means indulge yourself. But remember that keyboards are highly subjective in terms of feel, so it's best to try them out first. While one guy might say an IBM keyboard delivers a sensational typing experience, I'd respectfully disagree. I prefer softer, quieter keyboards and have a pretty boss WPM without needing a keyboard with the symbols missing or a clunk loud enough to make everyone in the room jump with every key press.

Maybe it's because I'm only partway through (just did a mission where you have the military attacking you after raiding a bank) but it doesn't seem that bad to me. Certainly nothing worse than I've seen in countless mob/gangster movies. Trevor is just like a dirtier Joe Pesci.

Oh yeah, I did get this in the end. It's amazing. I've put tens of hours into it and I have far more to do (my percentage is about 46%), as in traditional fashion I'm indulging in side-shit throughout the experience rather than burning through the story. I'd forgotten how much this series can immerse you — I almost get nostalgic when I remember my earlier days in the game, and that was only a few months ago! The addition of an actual soundtrack is really great. As I continue to play, I continue to appreciate how much this series missed some quality non-radio music before. Not that the radio music is any less awesome than ever, and the ability to 'Shazam' tag your stuff for later enjoyment is appreciated. Also, the in-game camera is fun. Even better is that it stores the locations of the photos on your GPS, making them a very visual way of waypointing cool places.

Yeah. It really just means that we have absolutely no idea when it's even estimated to come out, and will only do so when it's likely weeks from release.

Just yes.

If I go through this and find no real HL3 questions... you die.

The article is definitely more about social anxiety than introversion, because I too can cope just fine with social situations and such but do need quite some time to recuperate from them (i.e. one big night out is me done for a few days). Still, I'm sure a lot of people can relate to the stuff in there and it doesn't strike me as intended to be an awfully serious article. This though, oh god so me:

Yeah, I tried to be clear that people who end up causing offence are incorrectly identifying where the line is. What I was really getting at is that perhaps it isn't so much a case of there being a 'sexual harassment' problem as it is a 'there are lots of assholes in the world who are so cocky that every attempt at flirting comes across as being a filthy bastard' problem. Without full-on doing away with the whole idea of courting, there's always going to be incidents like this — and alcohol increases those odds tremendously, with bars and clubs being the archetypal home of such behaviour. Incidentally, my own experience of marketing and PR types across all sectors is that they tend to be complete arse holes. Maybe it's the toxic combination of alcohol and those personalities that leads to these kinds of things. In which case, it's less of a games industry problem and more a problem with having these fucks able to have successful careers in any industry. Sadly that 'gift of the gab' does seem to help get sales, too. I am making no worthwhile points here. I'm sorry.

What I find most unsettling about all this business is the suggestion that Eidos Montreal is putting out a game that isn't monumentally tremendous like DX:HR, because the idea of a worthy follow-up to that game leaves me wet. Hope it's a case of all the best guys are working on that right now.

That sounds shitty, although it does seem like a situation that could happen in virtually any alcohol-fuelled environment. I've had comments that are more than a little suggestive thrown at me in various bars over the years, not to mention uninvited dancing/attempted grinding by people who actively repel me. Not that I'm excusing such behaviour and I really hope that I won't be labelled as part of the problem for even suggesting this, but is this a problem with the games industry — as opposed to just Western society in general? Do you go out to many non-industry occasions where alcohol and strangers are everywhere subbes? If so, I'd be interested to hear whether or not you encounter similar behaviour there. This then poses an interesting question: when is it appropriate to go up to strangers that you find attractive and be suggestive, try to get close to them, etc? If nobody ever did it then we'd all be dying alone, so there's a line here somewhere that a lot of people are clearly not getting right. Of course, this doesn't have any relevance to day-to-day sexual harassment in the workplace. I don't know the scope of that problem in the games industry or indeed any other industry for that matter, including my own (web app development). It's a much dicier area, but then my current colleague courted and is now marrying a girl he worked with. How often is perceived sexual harassment flirting that was taken the wrong way, I wonder? In any case, people should be held accountable when they do overstep the boundaries. If you feel safe doing so, confronting him about it might bring you some closure. If this whole line of discussion is something you find deeply distasteful then I'll drop it, it just got me thinking about all this really.

I think the best endings are definitely the ones that ease off and just let you enjoy the story's wrap-up. Either a game throws an incredibly difficult final challenge at you then completely removes challenge with a cutscene, or the whole final segment of gameplay is practically a slightly interactive cutscene — so there's still a slight element of challenge. The latter works better IMO. Incidentally, strictly within the scope of 'builder' games, I think that Black & White 2 got that totally down. You could entire cities with curved roads and everything, had to worry about feeding and resources, military defence was a concern, etc. But there was also the threat of another god or city doing the same, and as the game progressed you would clash. Ultimately one of you had to go down, leading to a satisfying finale and then moving onto a new island/level. Now I think about it, Banished does seem a lot like a crappy Black & White.

Indeed, The G9(x) is by far the most comfortable shape Logitech has produced and I'm very surprised they've mostly gone back to the same shape seen in the OP (which has more or less been around for 10+ years now). Perhaps other Logitech mice are more suitable. Whatever the case, Logitech equals quality and that's why opinions invariably lean towards it. I haven't been impressed by the build quality by basically any other mouse in comparison — especially Microsoft ones.

Four of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite chill-out electronica artists. These albums are more journeys than music, man. :stonedface:

Name and shame, please. Even if it's anonymous.

All I can is that every Logitech mouse I've ever owned has delighted me. My current G9 has been going since 2009 and been subjected to obscene amounts of gameplay (500 hours in TF2 alone). It's only just starting to go a bit funny when moving the cursor around slowly, and aesthetically it's practically as new.

Bizarrely, it does sound like most of the things that made Thief so distinct — and that Dishonored was pretty much built upon, leading to a lot of its success — aren't present in Thief 4.

What a god damn rendition.

Is there some incentive to not build things further apart so fire doesn't ravage it all so much? Also can houses eventually be built of something that doesn't burn like a piece of paper?

Keep an eye on that because some fairly horrifying things have happened to people as a result of cat scratches. It seems that they carry a lot of bacteria around that can lead to septicaemia and such if it hits your blood stream. Don't ignore it if you start feeling weird in the next week! Swelling around the scratch or 'flu' means go to hospital.

Sounds to me like nomads exist specifically to fuck yo' shit up.

This looks good, although as always I'll wait for a later release. Still, it's developed a lot more than I was expecting — I initially thought it was a small indie project that'd never go beyond 'tech demo' status. It does seem to be less of a city simulator and more of a town simulator, though. Or at least, a city quite some time back rather than a modern one with all of things I'd expect from such a place. The modern and borderline futuristic nature of SimCity is certainly only of the big draws for me.

All of your authentication details and such are passed through it too, not to mention any private messages and password-protected channels. If you're OK with that then that's fine, but I've personally discussed some fairly private things on IRC over the years, not to mention have at times had privileged access to channels and servers. I dunno, to me it's like using some web-based thing for Skype or something: not a problem for some, huge problem for others — it depends on what you use it for. Just be aware of it.

These web-based IRC clients seem like a great way for someone to log and harvest vast amounts of conversation and network logins, for what inevitably nefarious purpose I cannot imagine. I wouldn't use them, personally.