syntheticgerbil

Was it the music constantly playing that made you nauseous or the colors on the screen and how everything moved? I don't remember feeling sick in Brutal Legend, but I'm sometimes prone to it. I felt sick in a few instance in Psychonauts just because I constantly felt I was trying to take in so much in a 4:3 screen. Widescreen has really helped 3D games for me. I do remember getting routinely angry trying to manuever that stupid car around in some areas, but a lot of that was my fault for being way too thorough and a lazy jackass who refuses to get out of their car to get closer to anything. NO I MUST DRIVE UP TO IT. So I just ended up getting stuck between things way too often and inching my way out of tight spots as well as falling off various cliffs at routine rates. You're on 360, right Thunderpeel? I'm guessing the fatal bug in the PS3 version still hasn't been patched.

I agree, it is the time, and hello!

Nice podcast! I like the Al Lowe mention. Weird, since I was kind of saying he was the best Sierra designer in the Telltale King's Quest thread recently. The guy must have tried out four different ideas for adventure game design within the same series as well as parodying his past designs in Larry 7. Anyway, maybe another podcast can happen during the next in person gathering?

Thanks for the write up Lobotomy. I'm not completely interested in this game, and somehow I feel like it'll be mediocre, but I'm still wanting to play it soon. When I have money to burn, I'm probably going to order the UK boxed version.

Also I just went to this one! I love these! When I worked at Kinko's years ago, one of the girls I worked with would routinely leave horribly spelled notes taped three times over to various machines and desks in hopes anyone would care about her weird concerns. Also my manager tended to communicate with me directly over certain rules or problems by posting similar notes address "to all employees" in the break room or safe room where I did the money count in the morning. Come to think of it, I think everyone at that job eventually just started leaving passive aggressive notes glued/taped to anything everywhere to the point where it all started addressing customers at every point at the outside of the employee area (which corporate later forced them to take down). What a nuthouse that job was. Maybe Kinko's is fine to work at in most location, because it's a really simple job in all actuality, but the bastards I was stuck with seemed needlessly over the top. Anyway, the thought process on this one is genuinely amazing to me: Too bad no one wrote like that at Kinko's.

There's a ton of early Ricky Gervais Shows that were on Xfm available for free here. It's an easy way to pass the time. http://www.pilkipedia.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Download:Xfm Also, I try to catch most This American Lifes. I wish most of the hosts didn't talk with some kind of speech impediment with a lisp or like they have way too much saliva in their mouth, but I guess that somehow makes independent radio authentic? I don't know, they should have better voices for radio, but at least one out of the three stories on the shows is always good, but most of the time, all three are very compelling listens. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives This is some weird local computer show I used to love catching in Houston when I lived there. Just technology news type stuff plus it's a call in show about computer problems the last hour. I doubt this sounds very interesting, but once you get into the dynamic of this group of people, it's also endlessly hilarious: www.geekradio.com

Also it's neat that it allows other at the company to become lead designers, writers, or directors, when they may have not been able to once before in their whole life. Many companies tend to use the same leads and positions game to game and moving people around probably creates a nice breath of fresh air. This is sort of lifting from Lee Petty talking on that recent podcast though, heh.

I figured that was going to happen since it is a 3D animated film starring celebrity voices as talking animals, but at the very least it does look much nicer than almost all of the talking animal films from the last 10 years or so.

Hahahaa, now that it's mentioned, a big part of being a pirate is theft, but game piracy isn't exactly theft by definition as you guys say. Maybe piracy has been the wrong word for it the whole time. I mean, it's cool to call yourself a pirate and all, but maybe Hamburglars or something would have been better? But then on the flipside, can you still be a pirate if you just like sailing ships, murdering, swordfighting, sleeping with whores, and drinking large amounts of alcohol but totally don't get involved with that whole stealing thing?

Haha, sorry, I posted before reading the whole thread and had just finished the first page before asking questions. Dumb of me. But I did see Vimes put up Brad Muir's name on page 2, but thank you as well! The original link didn't say. Also I understand now why it's Xbox only, because of the whole MGS publisher thing. That makes sense. My question is now, is there any reason a Microsoft Game Studio Published game cannot make it to PC? Maybe they might announce it down the line? I don't really know the history of MGS published games for Xbox also having a PC release. On the arguing on page two, I think everyone here is right to some degree on all of the variables and possible disappointment a singular platform game can bring on, although I don't know if some of you have to get at eachother's throats about it, but I'm going to quickly go down the line I guess: See you say this, but I don't think Psychonauts sales were really that poor. To me it just seems like they didn't sell as much as hoped, which I figure most games do. Majesco apparently changed their course after Psychonauts, but reading about it seems like Majesco wasn't fit to publish games and they had made some other gambles as well. And then you say this: Which seems to happen too often with games, very unfortunate. It seems really idiotic and unfair the game sale system is like this now when it doesn't seem like it was this way 15 years ago. I mean, I'm just super fucking annoyed that the wikipedia page for failures in commercial games has every big budget Double Fine game so far:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_failures_in_video_gaming I'm not about to get into some back and forth argument with the one wiki dude that watches this page like a hawk and made it his own since I don't have any evidence, but it seems to me that if a game falls short of sales, it's obviously not some commercial failure. The fact that Double Fine is not dead after one (or two) commercial failures seems reason enough that neither Psychonauts or Brutal Legend would be considered a failure. Surely nothing they've done is on the scale of most of the blunders on this wiki list. Also since Grim Fandango is on here as well, I get the feeling that someone who wrote a lot of this page just hates Tim Schafer. Not really saying you're wrong, I'm just curious if you can provide evidence of this. I agree, almost all success stories seem to involve a dire risk being taken at some point. Also with more smaller games coming out, it seems Double Fine can afford to be more risky. I also feel Majesco did somewhat of a poor job marketing Psychonauts. I don't remember much going on in the way of getting the games name out besides a very stylish website. On the other hand, I feel EA did a great job with Brutal Legend, so it's unfortunate that game didn't meet their expectations. I would think that overall, the most obvious way to release a game would be to put it on every platform available. I have no idea what kind of cost goes into that sort of thing, but someone might end up being surprised of the sales, especially on PC, which everyone owns anyway. I think you're joking, but it's really annoying to say that. Although a lot of the earliest members here (and myself as well) are into that stuff, I think almost everyone here tends to safely branch out and are not just stuck playing one archaic type of game or style. I still love that stuff, except RTS, but I think if not for Idlethumbs in 2004, I probably would not have branched out as much as I have or targeted my career path towards games. How have you not seen this? The only time I'm ever logged out when the console is on is when a system update has been forced upon me and I can use no online services at all on the console until I download and install the update.

Ah I just noticed you posted this. I love this video. It's really cool that the makers of Sesame Street are comfortable enough with their brand to throw outtakes like this up on Youtube for older people to laugh at.

Wow, this last game was unexpected. I think it looks like a lot of fun and I'm really happy with how many different games from one company are being released from the same company. I really like the art style on this, it's like the generic browness but with splatches of color scattered around. Also chunky, heavy robots are my favorite kind of robots. Sucks it's Xbox only, as there doesn't seem to be any reason it should be. If it's a publisher issue like said, isn't it still THQ right now who put all games out so far for both HD consoles? Oh well, I suppose I'm still getting a 360 somewhere down the line, so no difference. Wonder who's heading up the design on this one? I'm guessing it's not Ron Gilbert then. That makes me think the Gilbert game might be longer with a little bit more development time, just for hype's sake going off of Deathspank. Haha, that's exactly what I saw. I got a major Starship Troopers vibe from it. I don't think this will be a generic mech game, but it might play like regular mech games. Honestly, I have no idea what mech games even play like, so I don't know whether I'm fit to do any comparing. Some of the soldiers do look exaggerated from far away, but the main character shown is disappointingly bland. I don't know if regular human proportions go with the environment and style of robots here, I agree. I think it's kind of weird to pigeonhole them where every game Tim Schafer or his company is involved in must have a bunch of unrelated elements meshed together or be completely weird. I mean, Costume Quest wasn't insane, and I'm sure the Sesame Street game won't be either. It's not like all games they put out should be on that extreme. Just sayin' at least, a little change can be a good thing.

Yeah that might be it. I forgot sex is a very scary thing here.

Haha you were ALMOST real, but then you were advertising male sex toys. For shame.

I don't think this is working out exactly the same way RapeLay did. Possibly We Dare was never scheduled for a US release, but I'm getting the feeling Ubisoft has become too humiliated to DARE to put it out here. Is anyone else getting this feeling?

Ah, now I see. I agree fully with this.

It seems like your message was way more urgent SuperDouche when originally posted, but I'll try my shot. I would say get back together in most cases since just because most these days seem to say to split up almost over anything as advice. Relationships with anyone you are close to will always talk worth and it usually will end up worth it. That could just be optimistic spew, I don't know. I just really don't agree with Gwardinen's train of thought that her unhappiness has nothing to do with you. Just as much as you can make someone miserable they ever entered a relationship with you, you also have the ability to make someone glad they did. Maybe it sucks for people to hear that, but I find it's true and reflecting on yourself and how much is your fault and how much isn't is inevitable and important. No offense meant towards you in any of this, Gwardinen. BUT what happened in this case is that in this case s that you broke up with her, so she did not have a choice. You didn't state any of the reasons you broke up with her, but if you still feel that way after her wanting to get back with you a week later, then whatever reasons you have seem sound and not tied to emotional reaction. So yeah, she probably does want to take her life to some extent and some probably more underlies as a controlling function to get you back, but I'd say the former is probably the most at front. Getting people back by suicide threats is just as useless as dating someone who seriously no longer wants to be with you. I hope you had called the equivalent to 911 in the UK basically. Also in general, I think never talking to or seeing someone again after a break up is easier on both parties, so I'd discontinue that. If she's really that stuck on you, it's impossible for her to move on if she keeps seeing you. Even if she's asking and you are obliging out of kindness, I'd still stay away.

I think you're supposed to be plugging things you created not stuff you want to hock.

That's awesome since most video games with signs in other languages seem to only want to write gibberish from what I understand.

All Incredible Machines.

Move to Austin, Texas, Kroms. Just try not to light any 3 year olds on fire.

The Snooglebum album? Neato!

The Wii graphics and how different they are from what the video is protraying continuously make me think of Costume Quest. Then I just feel all dirty inside.

That and there's nothing like watching two girls eat an apple on their knees simultaneously! Apparently this also involves hitting the apple with your forehead multiple times as both girls demonstrated.

Now that makes sense, the game wasn't originally a licensed title but fashioned that way later. Interesting.