DanJW

The Movies? Getting to the point where you can make a decent movie in that game is incredibly long and sometimes frustrating. But then you make a movie. Is it worth it? I'm not sure yet.

You know us too well

That is entirely awsome. Thankyou. Please let me know when it is done to any degree. KotOR2 could have been the game of the decade, if it wasn't given such a premature cesarian. In the meantime I must give the game to Spaff so he might play it

I think you just answered you own question.

Did you only read half my post, or are you deliberately trying to wind me up? ¬¬ I can see his point. If you view the Sims as an actual simulation of modern life, then you come to the conclusion that the main aspects of modern life are buying stuff for your house, and leveling up your reputation with neighbours. It is difficult to see how such a simulation could be made without just a little bit of satire involved. the point is that as good as these games are, they are just the tip of what could be done. We don't want it to stop there, and then have more ico's etc, we want to go further. He's talking about how from a scientific or philosophic point of view, anything that humans invest this much time in must be beneficial to them in the long term in some way. ALthough it might just be that our unconcious mind thinks that we might be required at some point to shoot/drive/puzzle/craft/roll a giant ball/talk our way out of trouble, and need some practice.

A novel is for entertainment also, but the best novels have strong themes that are worked into the plot in an artful manner. Why not the same for games? There is no reason. Should every game be like this? definately not. Probably 1 in every 100 or less. And where did this term "enlightened" come from? No-one expects to learn something completely and utterly life-changingly new from any fiction, except maybe once or twice in a lifetime; but that doesn't mean you can't be shown old things in a new way that feels rewarding. Some books are considered worth reading through for everyone. Shakespeare is not to everyone's taste but most people agree that it is important enough to force upon schoolchildren, and that everyone ought to read some at some point in their life. The same could be true of some "interactive digital media" or whatever term you want to use. edit: thought spaffs first post was replying to mine. Well, there you go - games where you actually notice the "lesson" are those where the lesson is poorly implemented. What we want is more instances of good design that make the whole thing feel natural and right.

OK, I want both types of games. Games for pure gameplay and joy (katamari damacy) and games with a meaningful story. The first is fairly easy to find, the second is not. This is why some people try to come up with a new name for the second kind, be it "interactive stories" or whatever. Because they are not really a game, they are a new way of experiencing a narrative, just as novels once were - whereas once the only way to experience a story was from oral tradition, at some point in became a personal and private thing via written word. Now we can interact with the story and it becomes even more personal and private, perhaps. But this new method is, as mentioned, immature and has yet to find truly satisfactory methods for conveying the deep seated human truths that are at the heart of all great stories (in any medium). It's this potential that interests me most about games; but of course a lot of the time I just want to shoot stuff, stack things or roll a giant ball around.

Crying is mentioned so often because it is the most difficult emotional response to illicit. But Marek is right, no media or art form will benefit from treating the end emotional response as the starting point of development. A worthy subject is most important, and if that is conveyed truthfully then the emotions will follow.

Marek doesn't have a tan, Spaff is just really really really pale.

Captain Scarlet is by far my favourite Gerry Anderson show. Enigmatic and sinister bad guys, sexy female fighter pilots, and people dying. Even the hero died in every episode. It was much more gritty and cool

Why didn't I listen to the Sarge? The whole police net was fried but I came to check out this mansion anyway, because some neighbour from over the hill said she could hear dogs barking, and I like dogs. Now I'm stuck in some kind of laboratory without a working radio. I should have headed back out as soon as I could. I'm going to have to sit here and wait. I'm glad I brought my diary with me though. It's two hours later. Can't believe that Murphy and Jonesy haven't found me yet. They said they were going to pick up some donuts then meet me here. Those bastards. I hope the dogs get them too. I don't like dogs any more, not after the ones I just got bitten by. I like... food. God I'm hungry. A nice rare steak, that'd do the trick. Diffclt to rite now. hans shakin. Too hungr. Stashd my standrd issue grnades in the toilt cystern. the code to open it is 752823. I forget why I did that. Still have my pistol though. Good. need pistol. Need food. Fod. Flesh. Mmmm. I thin I hear murphy coming. I hop he bring food.

It's late, but many happy returns Liv! Come back and visit us in Brighton some time

There's a shop in Brighton called Penetration. I met the owner. He looks like a pirate.

Hmm, Gandalf's trickery with the trolls might actually work very well in a Façade type engine. Me ponders.

So I played this. I'm a little disappointed. For a start it runs like glue. The physics and graphics look a bit out of date. Also the environments are pretty boring so far And it was a mistake to make it so abundantly clear that the little girl is a) evil and a ghost or otherwise supernaturally insubstantial. Demos are becoming notorious for making the game look shittier than it actually is though. Good thing though: on the hardest difficulty, the AI is actually pretty damn good

As mentioned earlier, actual words are a pretty good way of communicating with men. Little cues may be fun, but they are essentially non-commital and ambiguous. Let me demonstrate. Woman: *sigh* Man: is something wrong? Woman: No Now, what the woman actually meant was "yes", but the automatic reaction is to become defensive and say "no". The man is supposed to know from the original sigh that the answer would be inaccurate, and so immediately guess the nature of the problem based on the wave modulation of her voice. My advice: Join a Buddhist nunnery. All this love and reproduction crap gets in the way of Nirbhana.

I'm sorry, they arrived here right before you did.

But surely, zombies have a Hunger. A Hunger for Brains. Such a Hunger implies a digestive system... or else, yeah, their stomach would just pop. Although you do see a ot of zombies with distended stomaches or intestines hanging out. Maybe that's why. Hmmm. Tough one.

Hmm, from what I remember the best way is to use a bow. I don't think it matters too much about companions, as long as they distract the other trow for long enough, although the healer is probably a good idea.

Check out Dizzee Rascal or The Streets...

UK version...?

Hmm, somehow this had escaped me. It is an interesting idea though. Plus I like the motto on the Bullowrth Academy crest: "Canus canum edu" Or, if you can't read latin "dog eat dog".

Oh, god I'm sorry Steve, I tried to quote your post and accidentally edited it. I am a bad moderator I meant to say: Round here we call those stockings. And that I wish our office had coffee machine, but first I would like them to filter the sulphur out of the tap water. I wish that was a joke.

I fear they may having been yanking your crank, yes

OMG banned! Which Discworld novels did you read, scabb? His style has developed over time. While it's fair that you personally may not like Pratchett's writing, on purely objective level it's fairly easy to see that he is a far, far better wordsmith than Rowling. His use of the English language and subversion of fantasy cliché (rather than mere exploitation of it) is just plainly superiior. Then again, if you prefer something simpler aimed at a younger readership, pick up The Amazing Maurice, Wee Free Men, or Hatful of Sky, or indeed any of the other Pratchett books for children.