DanJW

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Posts posted by DanJW

  4. Posted

    I played it on the PS3, and I can tell you that it has reasonably interesting concepts, but the execution of them feels quite lacklustre.

    Human is just a bog-standard FPS campaign with a couple cool weapons and some clunky controls (or at least on the PS3 they were, I imagine they may be a bit smoother on PC)

    Alien is a slightly annoying free running/stealth thing. It's a nice idea, but you might get slightly frustrated at times.

    Predator allows you to play as a stealthy tank, that has to kill lots and lots of things.

    But you might like it more than me.

    Did you play the previous two AvP games? How does it hold up to them?

  5. Posted

    Well it finally happened... I'm old and small companies are still catoring to my depressing little nitch fantasies in a tiny corner booth at expos.

    http://www.shacknews.com/article/70278/syndicate-inspired-cartel-announced-by-paradox

    Next on my wishlist, a real diablo sequel (I am in no way dismissing diablo 3, I just want the dark version one day)

    Now if Cartel outperforms the new Syndicate... that would make me sooo happy. It's unlikely though, marketing dollars and all.

  6. Posted

    I agree that the article comes across more as a Bereznak apologist piece rather than anything serious about feminism, let alone anything useful to his hypothetical daughter.

    And yes, he then massively generalizes and degrades his audience, while intimating his superiority to them (much like Bereznak).

    The apparent crux of the justification - that geeks are bad for women because their obsession means they cannot commit, or something - is flawed anyway. 'Traditional' men exhibit exactly the same behaviour when it comes to prioritizing sport, or cars, or whatever else over their spouse.

    He does have a few good lines (and well done for laying out in clear terms that gendered insults are bad) but they tend to be wasted by the following paragraph. He comes close to saying something valuable and interesting but then doesn't. I did recognise some of the more pertinent observations in my younger self, but he squanders the opportunity there too. For instance, when it comes to socially ostracised young males coming to resent women: rather than attempting to heal this rift, the author actually seems to cement it, telling the audience of geeks how inadequate and deluded they are and that women are correct to avoid them. Way to fix the problem (this is sarcasm).

    So yes, I wasn't that impressed. I mark it down as a near miss.

  10. Posted

    yes, get some numbers to help make an estimate of takings. If you can, get some records off the guy selling the shop (going to be hard because obviously he wants to sell it). You could go as far as surveying the shopping district, noting how many pedestrians there are, even using a questionnaire - I'm sure there are resources on the net that can set you up for this. the way it's laid out on wikipedia, I recommend what it calls "Random Probability Sampling". Basically just collect evidence to support your assessment.

    You've got good retail experience so with a bit of effort put into a CV you should have a good shot at finding work elsewhere. I'm guessing that the job market is, like here, pretty dire at the moment, but it's always easier to get a job while you have a job.

  11. Posted

    Sigh.

    The reason people get pissed off with this constantly repeated pattern is not simple nostalgia. It goes right to the heart of "theme is not meaning".

    The gameplay of the original syndicate reinforced what the game was saying about the world it depicted (and by extension our own world): treating people as expendable resources; the supreme importance of economics; being able to see the big picture when things got hairy - this was what Syndicate was about.

    It's going to very, very hard to make it about those things when it is an FPS. There might be some clumsy attempt to touch on those themes in the badly written and badly expressed plotline, but that falls short badly.

  12. Posted

    I wonder if poetry is something you really have to learn to understand before you can appreciate it, not unlike classical music or arthouse films or opera? How much of it is (a lack of) upbringing or understanding?

    It's partly that, and partly general state of mind. I do think that people become receptive to poetry during different, sometimes transient, periods of their lives, dependant on all sorts of factors (my grandfather for instance, an ex biology professor, has suddenly become engrossed in it now that he's had to be less physically active following a heart attack).

    It might also be a matter of finding the right poet for you; like all art the range of styles and modes is immense. Just because you dislike all the poetry you have read so far does not mean that there isn't something out there that will really connect with you.

  14. Posted

    Tanukitsune, that sounds tough. Always a tricky situation when friends and family overlap with work.

    I've had experience with anxiety and panic attacks. In a somewhat similar situation, I found them particularly bad during the period I had to move back in with my parents. Although as you point out the culture differs, I can totally relate to that "always being watched" feeling. I definitely recommend you try to find your own space somewhere, probably out of the house - perhaps a café or the library, just somewhere quiet where you can be alone and not feel like someone is suddenly about to check on you.

    You are certainly doing the right thing seeing a therapist. For me the anxiety formed a feedback loop with depression, each feeding off the other. The most important thing is get out of those kind of vicious cycles (which you are starting to experience, being anxious about the anxiety).

    You say you have spoken to your parents about your doubts, which is good - communication is going to be really important here. Is there any way you can compromise with them? Maybe go halves on the investment? Perhaps do some solid market research, show them real numbers from the local businesses and the kinds of footfall and passing trade you can expect.

    As for the future - the one thing about life is that it is unpredictable. Meet new people, find out stuff and all sorts of unexpected opportunities can turn up.

    Anyway, you seem to have your head screwed on pretty straight. Have confidence in your own intelligence and creativity.

  16. Posted

    On another note, what is the consensus on poetry around here?

    I'm a big fan of W.B. Yeats.

    Having said that, I don't get the same buzz from reading poetry now as I used to ten years ago. It might be over-familiarity - discovering Yeats for the first time was a magical experience for me, but now there is very little of his writing that I haven't already read. Plus I just find it harder to concentrate on poetry at the moment; perhaps even on reading in general (and I have always preferred shorter verse). Hopefully that will change again in the future.

    I also own books of Seamus Heaney and William Blake. Both are OK in small doses, but I've yet to find anyone who touches me like Yeats.

    I have heard it said that your early twenties is the best time to discover poetry. Your brain is pretty much fully developed and you have some life experience, but you still have enough vibrancy and innocence to be carried away with it.

  19. Posted

    I think it's safe to say he is exaggerating for comic effect.

    edit: Also how does not being good at any type of game make one a loser? Ability at games bears no relation to one's worth. I'm pretty crap at a lot of game genres but I still enjoy them. It's exactly that "you suck" attitude that this strip was created in response to. Most people who suck, do not, in fact suck.

  20. Posted

    This is so depressing. George Lucas needs to fuck off. Make something new, George, instead of tinkering with and lessening movies that don't need it, never did and never will.

    Holy crap I thought at first it was a joke edit that someone had put together. But it's real? How is that possible? Does Lucasfilm not know the reaction the Episode III "Nooo" got?

  24. Posted

    As DM, I try to post every day; but sometimes I can't post for a couple of days and also at the moment it's spread out over several separate 'prologues'. Hopefully this will train me to a degree where I can post at high volume once the adventure party is all in one place.

    Thunderpeel, Epiclairs; post your character summaries here if you can so the other players can weigh in; they have good advice. Then once you've signed up to Obsidian Portal let me know I and I will invite you to the campaign. If there is time you get a prologue, otherwise you will join in at the first meeting of the party.

  25. Posted

    I'm off to watch the new Studio Ghibli movie, Arietty tomorrow.

    It's based on The Borrowers, my chief memory of which is the crappy BBC adaptation from years ago (they have another one coming up - the BBC like to adapt The Borrowers at least once a decade).

    Anyway, I'm going to try and forget that will let you know what this is like. Miyazaki Sr did not direct, but he did write the screenplay. I'm hoping for some Nausicaa homages re: tiny person vs giant insects.