The "whatever's on your mind" thread

[GuruGuru214]

Originally Posted by JedExodus

Well, here's a picture of an absolutely awful birthday cake that was floating around the office one day, just to make everyone even angrier.

I know I have a joke cake coming in a week, and I have no idea what to expect. I've already planned my retaliation cake. "Happy Birthday Jessica, and a picture of a princess". All text.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

Dude. Stop taking everything so personally. Seriously, why do you care if other people think the stuff you like sucks?

It's natural. You start thinking people don't get your taste. Or think that universal criticism could be responsible for less products of the same kind being made. It's personal!

Originally Posted by Secret Fawful

So I'm used to getting angry and having it be made personal, just like the time Tope and Dashing ganged up on me for hating Citizen Kane

That was brilliant indeed. If I recall the situation correctly, you didn't even "hate" Citizen Kane. I think you gave it a 5/10. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. It's been at least a year.

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I want a good RTS to come out.

Ohhhhh... contradictio in adiecto!

Seriously, I had hopes for Hero-U to at least satisfy my need for an old Final Fantasy-style RPG with higher res graphics. Now it looks like the kickstarter's never going to reach its goal.

Originally Posted by Secret Fawful

Like how I ruined my relationship with my parents tonight for good.That was great. Now I have to look for a new place to live.I really regret this whole weekend and nothing can ever make it better. And the worst part is...the girl I love is going to blame herself...meaning that might be over too.If I have to work full time I'll have to give up Ravenwood meaning my dream will die too, and it happened all in one day just because the girland I both couldn't keep our mouths shut and just had to go off on our parents.

What... was... the TOPIC...
...and why don't you TALK to your parents and your girlfriend?!

[RetroVortex]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Story...2640259&sr=1-1

Ok. So I got tipped off on another forum about this book and I thought I'd share it with you guys.

It makes a pretty good read, (well so far...).

Could even help when it comes to designing video games as well, (afterall, video games are a media like film, but of course with some key differences, but its closest to film and I should imagine a lot of techniques discussed could be adapted or put into video games as well (at least in terms of storytelling)

Just incase that link doesn't work I'll put the title down:

Visual Storytelling (Screenwriting Blue Books)

EDIT: A little warning though, it analyses the films "The Artist" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" so there could be some spoilers there.
(I personally have stopped at The Artist because I want to watch that movie first. I might buy it on Blu Ray since its supposed to be a good film anyway)

EDIT 2: In hindsight. Looking back on what I've read but also on what egoraptor was saying in his Megaman Sequalitis and the recent Demons' Souls Game Grumps video, I wonder if I should design a game thats more intuitive.

One that has very simple core mechanics, ones that you could figure out visually, but also have a good level of challenge and hidden depth like Demon's Souls/ Dark Souls have as well.

I guess its the influence of oldschool games. I've been playing those alot lately.
Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Contra, Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man

But also stuff like Mario and Zelda, and Little Samson.

It must be hard to get that balance between challenge and cheapness, but I think I got the secret.
Its visual cues and clues!

Even Rare, when they made Battletoads, a game thats so hard it makes grown men cry like they've just come back from an onion festival, made that game beatable. Lets take than infamous cycle level into account for a moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L1Qp6hupX8

That sequence is ALL about timing and skill, and patterns.

It could be even harder than what it is if you take away that clue, (and even more evil, if the pattern was randomised! >;D). Those obstacles flashing on the screen to tell you where they are going to be.

You don't get an explanation for that because even for a kid at that point its pretty obvious, (plus you know, if you die you only lose a life. Its a good exchange of value there. A life for that information that you need to dodge those).

Plus look again at those patterns. They don't change too much, its either up, down, jump, or ramp.

You get the hang of those, then another visual cue, a short wall that blue and higher up. Basically, don't jump.

And then another, blue ramp.
(What is dickish there is that they put it straight after the don't jump, but again its only a life that you lose there. Life for lesson)

Then it introduces other cues, again, all blue meaning Avoid, (except for the ramp which has already been established you jump into).
The exclamation mark warns you that there are no ramps and you need to jump!

What ultimately makes the sequence unfair, is the last sequence. It goes so fast and pushes your timing and positioning to its extreme, that many people, even when they know HOW to do it, just can't.

Now you see, thats where there needs to be a bit of balance. Which is why I like the idea of branching games. Different tiers of reward for those with more skill.

If you fail that kind sequence in a modern game, I think it would be better if, instead of death, you either drop onto a lower skill tier path, or you have to spend some extra time on an easier but longer section to get to the next part, (but with the cost of losing a item/time/achievement that gets you a better reward/ending (then that encourages you to go back when your skills have improved and try to get that collectable)).

See, that still encourages people to play to the end, (which a lot of people still don't do, even now when games are fairer) but it rewards those that can do it, with something they would value.

[Iryon]

Originally Posted by Giant Tope

What the heck is that silver pole sticking up from that corner?

I guess it's a candle


... or a badly misused vibrator.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

Ohhhhh... contradictio in adiecto!

Seriously, I had hopes for Hero-U to at least satisfy my need for an old Final Fantasy-style RPG with higher res graphics. Now it looks like the kickstarter's never going to reach its goal.

Hero-U might end up being a fun RPG, but it's not an RTS. I want something like this:



This is what I think about when I think about hand-drawn animations for games.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

Hero-U might end up being a fun RPG, but it's not an RTS.

DUH, I know what the difference between an RTS and a JstyleRPG is.
Thanks for the heads up though.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

DUH, I know what the difference between an RTS and a JstyleRPG is.
Thanks for the heads up though.

Sorry, I'm sick and grumpy. And when I was a kid and I was sick and grumpy, I'd go play an RTS and miraculously feel better.

Now, the only ones that get made are way easy and called Starcraft.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

Sorry, I'm sick and grumpy.

I've been sick this last week... and not entirely healthy for work tomorrow. That's the THIRD cold in a little over two months. Something is really wrong. But I fought this last one down to an agreeable state way faster than those last two colds.

Get well soon!

[Secret Fawful]

Mom forgave me, and my girlfriend lives with us, but I'm still seriously considering moving out. Enough that I'm going to be planning it to see what I would need to do to make it happen. I'm tired of blowing up atmy family and I'm thinking maybe I need space and some time in the world to make me grow up. I'd also like to point out that Dashing and Tope apologized to me months ago for the Kane thing and neither of them have gone after me like that since. I just tend to hold on to these things, looking for a time to get someone back years later. This was my time to rant about it. It's a bad thing. And I'm not going to yell at anybody who hates Sticker Star. I was just venting about the state of gamers today.

[coolsome]

If I lived in japan I'd own this!



But I don't

[TomPravetz]

I like your hat.

[RetroVortex]

Originally Posted by coolsome

If I lived in japan I'd own this!



But I don't

D'awww.... I wish you could get your monkeys man.
I know it would make you so happy!

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Secret Fawful

Mom forgave me, and my girlfriend lives with us, but I'm still seriously considering moving out. Enough that I'm going to be planning it to see what I would need to do to make it happen. I'm tired of blowing up atmy family and I'm thinking maybe I need space and some time in the world to make me grow up. I'd also like to point out that Dashing and Tope apologized to me months ago for the Kane thing and neither of them have gone after me like that since. I just tend to hold on to these things, looking for a time to get someone back years later. This was my time to rant about it. It's a bad thing. And I'm not going to yell at anybody who hates Sticker Star. I was just venting about the state of gamers today.

I'm glad everything worked out all right. And if you're starting to feel that need to move out, perhaps that's what you should work towards doing. Sometimes having a little space and independence goes a long way towards having better relationships with the people you love.

[RetroVortex]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I'm glad everything worked out all right. And if you're starting to feel that need to move out, perhaps that's what you should work towards doing. Sometimes having a little space and independence goes a long way towards having better relationships with the people you love.

Sounds like words of wisdom to me, though even if I could move out I think I'd be reluctant to since I'm not sure my family could stick together without me.

Then again to me, it sounds like exactly what you might need Fawful. A chance to maybe prove some value to yourself and get a little extra one to one with that lovely lady of yours. ;D

It sounds like you are the kind of guy that's very passionate about the things he likes and takes conflict a little too personally.

(Kind of like my older brother except he's a true asshole. He spent the ENTIRE day pestering me to let him play games on my laptop because he's bored and he has no money. Umm.... No. I'm not letting that self-entitled douche have any kindness from me because he's horrible to me all the time and does nothing for anyone, except whine and cause fights. You don't see me complaining when I have to give money towards shopping, infact the other day I gave my mum my club card vouchers (about £36 worth which I could have got a free game with) to help out with shopping despite already having contributed before. Ultimately I care and love my family, maybe to my own detriment, but to see them happy makes me happy (hell I'm taking my little brother to see James Bond next Wednesday. I hate James Bond but I'm going with him anyway because I love him. Do you seey brother do anything like that? No because he only lives for himself, and that ladies and gentlemen, is why he's a total asshole!)

Thing is man, you have friends, and you have a nice gal there so you must be doing something right. Don't let yourself go too off the rails and spoil what you already have.
I gave up on my older brother because he will never change. He will never grow up. He is 23 years old and acts like he's 5. Actually no. That would be an insult to 5 year olds. He's more like a rampaging toddler, except worse. XD

Sorry for the wall of text again, but I can't help it sometimes! XD

[Secret Fawful]

I don't know if I'm doing anything right. My girl is a lot like me. She gets shit on all the time for being independent and speaking her mind, she takes things way too seriously, she has severe anxiety, and she tries to do good and just gets flack for everything she does. A friend of hers shit on me real good last night without all the facts, and no matter what explanations I gave she had a new insult every time. I'm telling this because it's just an example of what I'm sick of....people doing everything they can to make me feel like shit and the worst part is I couldn't argue with her so I just decided she was right. My
girl stayed out of it because she didn't need anymore fire in her direction.

[GaryCXJk]

Jesus Crunchy Christ, I thought I was fucked up.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by GaryCXJk

Jesus Crunchy Christ, I thought I was fucked up.

I think everyone is fucked up. The only differences are whether you realize it and how much you hide it from the rest of the world.

So none of you will EVER know how fucked up I really am! MUAHAHAHAHA!

[RetroVortex]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I think everyone is fucked up. The only differences are whether you realize it and how much you hide it from the rest of the world.

So none of you will EVER know how fucked up I really am! MUAHAHAHAHA!

I don't know. You sometimes sound like a crazy scientist kinapped you and replace parts of your head with computer chips, but he decided to put them all in random places because he wanted to use your brain as a dart board before operating and decided that where the darts landed, the chips were going. (Though to be fair with the damage a dart could do to brain tissue there wasn't much choice where to put the crazy expensive computer chips anyway! XD)

[Noname215]

Originally Posted by coolsome

Do leprechauns get leprosy?

Yes.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by RetroVortex

I don't know. You sometimes sound like a crazy scientist kinapped you and replace parts of your head with computer chips, but he decided to put them all in random places because he wanted to use your brain as a dart board before operating and decided that where the darts landed, the chips were going. (Though to be fair with the damage a dart could do to brain tissue there wasn't much choice where to put the crazy expensive computer chips anyway! XD)

Does it count if the crazy scientist... IS ME?