DanJW

A talk? There needs to be a whole conference called 'What Is Game?'. Or maybe more of an installation.

I'd take a trip into her uncanny valley. ... I really just wanted to make an uncanny valley joke. Sorry.

Heh, or how about to play Cooking Mama for you, because that is their place, oh and they must complete level 3 by the time you get home from work? Yes it's sexist, but so is the entire concept of the business.

They get rated on gaming skill, looks and 'flirtatiousness' But yes it might well be possible to be a middle-middle-man, get a load of gamer girls that we know and act as their pimp manager.

As usual, the winner's list is utterly boring, for the most part. Better than some previous years though. Action - Uncharted 2 Gameplay - Batman: Arkham Asylum Family and Social - Wii Sports Resort Sports - Fifa 10 Story and Character - Uncharted 2 Strategy - Empire: Total War Best use of Audio - Uncharted 2 New Talent - Shrunk Multiplayer - Left 4 Dead 2 Original Score - Uncharted 2 Handheld - LittleBigPlanet Artistic Achievement - Flower Best Game - Batman: Arkham Asylum Use of Online - Fifa 10 Oh and a well deserved 'Lifetime Achievement' type Fellowship Award to Shigeru Miyamoto Official website.

Not necessarily the same topic exactly, but B0b linked me to this earlier: Would You Pay a Girl to Play Halo With You? (GameCrush)

I think we are talking about a Classic Romeroan case of ghoulishness, yes? That seems to be the default. The Max Brooks books define that type around a virus, 'Solanum'. I had no idea his was son of Mel Brooks; that is doubly awesome!

I think it's more than he tends to get quite aggressive in his argument strategy so that his voice is heard. He worries a little bit about people thinking he's an asshole for this type of thing, but he worries more about not fighting for what he thinks is the right decision (he faces the same thing at work). I haven't spoken to him about it since the winners were announced. I wouldn't be surprised if he backed Flower; I shall ask him when I get a chance.

You wouldn't survive? Awww Brkl, we'll rescue you

Heh, I've been reading the Zombie Survival Guide recently, but not picked up World War Z yet. Brighton has a large pier that would make a good defensible position, but since it is so well known it could easily get swamped by survivors. We're pretty close to the countryside, so I would probably head out to one of the big manner houses. There is Arundel castle nearby and a couple of smaller ruined castles even closer, so I would head to one of them. Maybe Lewes as a first stop, then on to Arundel once the situation is assessed. But first, I know where there is an army cadet arms depot within the city. I'd pick up some ration packs, some survival gear and some choice defence items from there and train my team in their use. My folks live nearby and they have a sturdy wood axe that could well help us get there and get in. That first dash would be the most dangerous though. If the streets were no-go, then I guess I'd knock out my stairs and retreat to the attic, as recommended in the guide. Although... I live right next to a hospital... so yeah not a safe area. Yeah, I've thought about this a bit too much.

Not off topic, this sort of observation is why I started the thread. Almost all video game entertainment awards annoy me with the exception of those at GDC, but the BAFTAs are the worst off the bunch and really fucking tick me off sometimes. Exactly. The BAFTAs always give the impression that they are awarded by a bunch of people voting for whatever names they recognise because they percolated into mainstream press now and again. I know someone involved in the committee voting process; he said he has to risk social ostrification in order to shout loud enough to even get more worthy titles a consideration.

You know you can turn it off, right? Anyway, I don't see that being as much of a problem in RDR. From the vulture-shooting thing I'm guessing various actions will launch optional minigames. Finding them could be a fun easter-egg type hunting game in itself.

Nothing much there that I don't like. Really looking forward to this. The horse animation looks great, and I particularly like the idea of stealing a horse because of its excellent handling (not being sarcastic, I really do like that idea). I kind of hope that the riding mechanics are similar to Shadow of the Colossus, with the horse having a little bit of a mind of its own and non-instant reactions to input. I want to ride, not drive. But I know a lot of people found it difficult to get the hang of that system.

Best. Cufflinks. Ever.

Well I finally got this. I enjoyed it a lot... but it didn't replace MGS3 as my favourite in the series (I know people's tastes differ on this). TO me Snake Eater is just more grounded, less histrionic in its characterisation and plotting and maybe even has slightly better dialogue. For example, while I like the Otakon character, his episodes of blubbing just make me roll my eyes. The third game had me caring for the characters and I even shed a tear at the end - while I find modern Solid Snake and co interesting I'm not nearly as invested in them emotionally ( ) I also don't think 'Guns' explored its sub-theme of war as well as the previous games did (from memory... MGS1 = war's effect on progress and technology, 2 = war's effect on psychology and perceptions, 3 = war's effect on and use in politics, 4 = war's effect on economy and the world as a whole? Or as others have noted; gene, meme, scene and sense, respectively). As a whole, I'd say the series was mainly about the long term effects of war on the people caught up in it. "The private lives of war heroes", if you like. That the games, individually and as a series, even have a strong themes that you can tease out and ruminate on is something that makes them stand out from most others. Even if it occasionally gets heavy handed with it, the most powerful moments do exist more subtly. Still a pretty good end to the series; I'm kind of glad they answered so many mysteries. The end boss fight was suitably epic (not to mention the 70 minute ending cutscenes... ugh). I'm on my second playthrough now, so a more detailed consideration may follow.

I saw Alice in Wonderland. It was fine, I guess. Lovely visuals and character design, obviously. But even for what is essentially a sequel to an adaptation, it felt... derivative. There are no surprises here. The couple of half hearted 'twists' don't really deserve the term. The characters are all one-dimensional too. Alice's journey of self-belief is played as close to cliché as you have ever seen. I did however like the Mad Hatter's mean, Scottish personality and the violently deranged March Hare. They injected a dash of much needed astringency into proceedings. On the whole though, the plot is just an excuse to cameo all the well known Lewis Carol entities one by one. Probably one for the kids, shame it couldn't manage a bit more.

Perhaps the original one of these (after Rube Goldberg) - and the one on which many imitators are based - was The Way Things Go by Swiss artists Fischli and Weiss: GXrRC3pfLnE But the OK Go one above is pretty awesome.

Hmm, well... Stay in constant contact with your acts. Speak to them the day before at least, and earlier the same day for the headliner. Keep the acts happy - meet them before the show, get them a drink of water or whatever they need. Pace the line-up carefully. Start strong, to put the audience at ease. Then vary the levels of experience and energy throughout the night, but with a gradual overall crescendo - to many high energy acts in a row will exhaust the audience. Too many deadpans will let them cool down. If you have a risky act (who some audiences just don't 'get') follow them with a safer one. This balancing act in the line-up is an art in itself. I would suggest watching someone's set before you give them a slot. Network incessantly, get to know comics and their reputations. Get a mix of people you know can deliver and people who deserve a break. Sometimes, mostly because you are booked up, you will have to turn people down. It feels bad, but be polite and just do it, but hang on to their details. Doing a regular gig is going to put a big strain on your ability to provide fresh acts every time. The better people know you, the more will come to you before you have to go to them. Get the word out amongst the comedy community about your gig and why it is an awesome gig to play. Make sure the venue, seating, mic and sound etc are all sorted in good time. Also work out how each comic is going to get to and from the stage, where they will pass the compere, where the mic can be moved to if it needs to be moved. It's an impossible task, but you need to try and plan out every footstep and every minute of the show ahead of time. Talk to the venue staff - if they have a sound and light tech, stage manager etc then make friends with them and ask them how best to do the stuff you want to do, but let them take charge and do their job when they need to. Help with as much of the heavy lifting as you can. Make friends with the bar staff too. During the show, keep a clipboard to make notes and juggle the line-up at the last minute. Sods law says you will need to. Keep the compere and other comics informed of everything they need to know, but don't worry them and distract them too much. They are concentrating on their set. Find time to welcome various punters as they arrive - but make it clear that you are busy and put the show first. If you have to be an asshole and break off a conversation to do something else, so be it. Promote! Promote more. Get a small budget for flyers, posters, ads etc. Use facebook, twitter, everything you possibly can to recruit punters. Go to other comedy nights and gush about your line-up when chatting to people. Beg, buy, threaten and cajole everyone you know into coming. ... Man that was more hard work than I realised, more than it seemed at the time. Mostly I just did what needed doing at any moment. I would happily do this for a living though.

I just threw a comedy gig in my local theatre and it turned out a massive success. My first time booking/promoting. So much great feedback; I haven't blushed that much in ages when I got a thundering 'thankyou' round of applause at the end. I had amazing support in setting it up though. Awww that's lovely to hear. Also: ooh another tabletop gamer; check the "non-video games" thread for sure!

That's just concept art though. The actual in-game model at least has a hat, although it looks a bit dark lord-ish. It's worth noting that in their background material for Diablo 3, Blizzard have pretty much swapped the traditional meanings of Sorceror and Wizard. In English, wizard means 'wise-man', whereas sorcerer inferred an evil magician who gained their power from commanding demons. In Diablo-world Sorcerers are strict and wise whereas The Wizard is dangerous and foolhardy. This bugs me a little on an intimately geeky level. WIZZZAAAAARD!

Dammit I forgot what this thread was about and for a moment I hoped it was Limbo of the Lost...

How about a 60's gangland version: Mod of War

Heh yeah that occurred to me too. But then I thought; it is pretty much impossible to explore issues in a high fidelity virtual world these days without being compared to The Matrix. I watched The Plan recently too. I wasn't disgusted by it or anything, but it felt very anticlimactic, like a series of deleted scenes and out-takes the like of which might appear as an extra on a DVD. Caprica I am starting to really enjoy though. It is very different to BSG (as expected focussing more on family drama, less action). But that's OK. Things I like: Sense of time and place and society - being at the same time futuristic and 'historical', with a distinct look that isn't quite 1930's, but evokes the same sense of nostalgia. It's really subtle but really well done, mixing elements from almost every decade of the last 100 years of Western society plus good guesses about our near future. It feels really grounded. Likewise the racial stuff. The Taurons are a wonderful blend of Jewish, Native American and Sicilian Mafia. I can't remember the last time I saw such a convincing fictional culture on screen. Spotting precursors (or rather reinventions) of cylon technology. Holobands = 'projecting'. Zoé copy = resurrection tech. It could all derail horribly, but so far so good.

Haha different Nick, but yes happy birthday! (He is my brother)

God of War got in pretty early on that trend. And there's a sense that it doesn't take itself so seriously that is lacking in imitators like, say, Danté's Inferno. The boss executions in God of War 2 in particular are so brutal as to be actually hilarious.