ThunderPeel2001

Oh man, if Patters is right, then it's a teeny tiny change.

Note to the guys who run Gog.com. Read Joshua Porter's writings on how to talk to your users, and don't do it again. (Also, you may still insist that anyone who didn't "get it" should loosen up... but there's a reason why you guys are running a download website and not writing sitcom scripts for a living. Capiche?) Also, good job on getting Planescape: Torment. *grumble grumble* Don't forget my Planescape: Torment Ultimate Mod Guide, folks!

It's a Halloween game... and I'm looking forward to it!

I had exactly the same thought. I love the fact that "Tim hires Ron" is all that needs to be said. I can't think of any other developers that would work for. Lovely.

Yeah, not sure where this stuff has come from? I haven't noticed anything missing, only changed. Certainly nothing has been removed to the game's detriment, to my knowledge.

I've been playing this myself. It's still really wonderful. The atmosphere, as you say, is really something else. I also love the dialogue and humour. It's very subtle and, I guess, British. For its time Broken Sword was probably the most sophisticated and mature adventure game around and, to be honest, I'm not sure if anything has overtaken it. It was serious without being stuffy, and funny without being puerile. And neither the seriousness or the comedy compromised the characters, ever. I really can't think of another adventure game that managed that so well. (The Last Express, maybe?) It was also great how it mixed in historical facts about The Templars long before the Da Vinci Code made it cool to do such things. I do love those old Revolution games. *sigh* French policeman: [Pulls a gun] Freeze! Hold it right there! George Stobbart: Don't shoot! I'm innocent! I'm an American! French policeman: Can't make up your mind, eh? Classic. Everyone should give themselves a treat and check it out: Broken Sword: Director's Cut

Happy Poo Poo!

Yes, it is one of our own memes. I hold it dear to my heart. *sniff*

Yes, a very nice little twist. Heh!

What is this? Where's the link to it? Is it free or what?

This looks pretty interesting... a new Panorama documentary about Scientology. http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_9032000/9032278.stm

All that and we've not even discussed his girlfriend(!):

I've been thinking about what you mean about satire, and I then looked up Roger Ebert's review and he mentioned it, too. I'm not sure what to make of that. I don't think the film had that many satirical elements, I think it just showed the world the way it is. So yes, I think the film has something to say about "fame" and idolatry, but it only shows it how it is: Superficial, easily manipulated, and only really existing in the mind of the fan. I just don't know if that counts as satire... hmm. Ultimately I think the film was humanist in its message. Every character was flawed in their own way, and that includes the "heroes" and the "villains" (whoever you think that may be). Nobody comes away clean. This point is kind of hammered home a little too hard when but it only illustrates the overall message of the film: Fame and success are things in themselves, not necessarily bad things, but certainly superficial, unimportant and not worth pursuing for the sake of them. We've all got issues, nobody is perfect, but if we can push aside the superficial then we can learn to see who people really are, and then focus on what's truly important. At least, that's what I took away from it. An interesting discussion, for sure

Just got back from World's Greatest Dad (the latest movie from Bobcat Goldthwait -- yes, that's right, this guy from Police Academy). Here's my review... (yes, a proper obnoxious review, sorry -- I felt like writing something, and I didn't want to do a full on blog post. I hope someone enjoys it!). ---- World's Greatest Dad is a very unique movie. It's premise is more shocking than your typical "shock" comedy, but unlike one of them it doesn't play just for the shocks. This film has quite a heart and a message, despite how many people it might upset. I'll leave the specifics of the premise for those who want to see this film to discover for themselves, but, as you might guess, it's on the dark side... You almost feel dirty for laughing at some of the things you find yourself giggling at, but you'll also feel sad and moved when the film wants you to. Robin Williams plays the single father of a difficult teenage son, and before sirens go off in your head, let me just say that he is absolutely pitch-perfect. There's none of his OTT schtik that people have tired of so much. Here is just a really great, solid performance. In fact it's possibly the best I've ever seen him do, which is just as well considering how many subtle layers his character has to convey. He plays a man with a lot of broken hopes and dreams, who just doesn't seem to be able to catch the break he wants. If this character sounds like familiar (and boring) territory, let me re-assure you that, in Bob Goldthwait's hands, it's most definitely not. Aside from the shocks, there's actually quite a bit of depth, and Williams's character feels very real. I also was very pleased, even as a young single male with no kids, to discover a film where the lead character is a parent. Not only that, but a middle-aged parent, in an everyday life. On top of this, the film wonderfully makes no apologies for this fact, nor attempts to pander to a what it thinks a "younger" audience might want to see. The older lead character with a difficult teenage character might make you think of Cyrus, but this is actually very different. For a start, unlike that film, Williams's character is very much the focal point throughout the whole story, with other characters dipping an in and out of his (lonely) life. As I've said, I found this utterly refreshing, but it's not the only reason I found the film so refreshing... Beyond the shocking premise lies real warmth, and I came out of the theater feeling like my priorities had been somewhat straightened out. Yes, there's some horrible things in this film, yes, it makes you laugh at some really dark stuff, but in the end, the things that are genuinely important are what the film focuses on. The sad moments are sad, the shocking moments, shocking. There were little to no cheap laughs. The overall message almost felt like a slap in the face; "Yep, life is fucked up. Yes, the average person is fucked up. But so what, there's more important things than the superficial ones we tend to focus on. Things that really matter." In order to convey this message, I wonder if Goldthwait felt he had to take the story so far, in order to cleanse the audience's palate to make way for the main course. Either way, it was this ultimately positive message that I think the film succeeded at most, and why I found it so refreshing. The film does have its flaws, though. For example, I was concerned during the film's first jokey "shock" moment, that the cinematography and direction was going to undercut the unique writing (thankfully they didn't in the end), and some of the minor parts had some wooden acting (although, again, not enough to damage the film). I also felt that Williams's character's failings as a father were never really acknowledged, but then again, maybe they were just so blatantly apparent that to state them would have been too much. Goldthwait also seems to feel the need to mention race quite a lot, and for no discernible reason. Not sure why this was, but thankfully characters, and not caricatures, come to the forefront by the end of the film. In all, I heartily enjoyed this film and recommend it you, my fellow Thumb. It may not be a five star film, there's probably too many rough edges for that, but it's certainly something different, provocative, and, I think, worth your time. If I've whet your appetite, here's the trailer (the film is better than the trailer makes it look): npikifRBREc

So basically this is two halves of the same game, according to Ron. I'm really quite interested in getting to see the "whole arc" that he talks about really kicking in in Part 2. It's also interesting to note that the game's original message being reflected in the game's production with "biting irony". What could that mean? Regardless of how Mr. Chris Remo insists I'm looking for something that isn't there, I'm still convinced Gilbert left Hothead for a (yet undisclosed) reason.

Cleared!

I admit that haven't read your entire post, Ossk, I'm in a bit of a hurry, but I notice the discussion is about to turn into "what is art" and I wanted to say: I don't think I expect games to be art, I just want them to be first class entertainment, no aping second rate movies. Of course, if they did (or have) transcend(ed) into art then that's good, too. I'll respond properly when I'm not in a hurry (apologies for the bad form).

I think it's uniquely London, to be fair. I know that was a criticism levelled at Nathan Barley.

Shit! So this is out and it's FREE. Very nice. Downloading now...

The video just named them dickheads, it's not a term used elsewhere. The video doesn't put much of an argument up as to why they should be called that, other than how they look and the supposedly pretentious stuff they say at the end. There are certainly some real assholes who fall into this sort of "trendy" category though; A TV show called Nathan Barley did a great job of lampooning the Vice Magazine crowd that so sickened me when I first arrived here, but that seems to have died down a bit now.

I know that side of London so well. I've been to my fair share of warehouse parties and, well, everyone I've met has been genuinely nice and unpretentious... even the ones with silly taches. Several of my closest friends could easily been featured in that video, but they're all honest-to-god lovely, smart, friendly people. I don't know, maybe being a dickhead IS cool (Or maybe I've been lucky enough to only meet the "nice" ones?)

I've been thinking about this more and I think Ossk is right (hi, Ossk!), I'm not necessarily tired of video games, I'm tired what's available at the moment. There's nothing (I've seen recently, please point me in a direction if I'm missing something) that's really challenged me or done something I've truly never seen before. Not that every game is bad, just that I think I want more than they're able to give at the moment. I want something profound, or at least unlike anything I've ever played... and I think after 30 years of video games, we're all owed that. The last thing that really blew my mind was Braid, I think. Something truly different. I do really want to play Batman: Arkham Asylum and Red Dead Redemption, and I know I'll enjoy them, but I don't know if I'll complete them. I just saw the new Bioshock Infinit3 gameplay trailer and yeah, it looks really impressive. The game wants me to be immersed in this amazing world. Ok, it's not as immediately compelling as Rapture (I loved that underwater art-deco feel) but it certainly look somewhat like something I've never seen before. And yet all the way through the trailer, all I could think is: Why is she wearing that dress? Odd thing to notice, but I'm sick and tired of teenage wet dreams. I want a game with some real substance. Some real meat. Not, "our game's only female character needs to look sexy and sport a bustier with plenty of cleavage". It's embarrassing, and the dialogue wasn't much better. It's all second-rate film dialogue... So, I think, that's my beef. Does this sound right, or am I just talking utter ?

Awesome

I just gone on from The Hobbit to The Denial of Death. I like to keep it varied

Saw Scott Pilgrim and it's now my favourite film of the year. Great fun (although certainly not for everyone). I also just got a Cineworld yearly pass, if anyone London film-lover is looking for a cinema-going buddy. Shame they're not showing the new Metropolis though (grumble grumble).