Messages

876

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 10:22:29 PM »

Specifically in terms of looks, I'm just saying that the main characters of 'Beyond Good and Evil' and 'Mirror's Edge' still have perfect complexion, facial features and physique. This is a type of idealizing that occurs with both women and men in visual media; developers still try to make characters look good.

"Sexualizing" here becomes a matter of how much this inherent idealization is highlighted by how revealing the character's clothes are. Or otherwise put: how much form the graphic artists decided to display.  You're right that they do that way too much. But our opinions on a character's personality and development shouldn't be influenced by that. Just like we should ignore the matter of gender; if a character is good, it's good. If a character is bad, it's bad. 

Translating back to Samus; Nintendo always showed her with an idealized appearance.  Team Ninja just happened to show it in more than just the game endings. Really, let developers sexualize characters if that's their things and just ignore it if it bugs you. But judge characters for what they are, not for that they appear.

First of all, that sounds incredibly and ridiculous stupid.

Okay, let's see... "perfect" complexion, facial features, and physique? Jade from Beyond Good & Evil has a very normal, natural face. She isn't specially pretty, she's simply normally attractive. And as for Faith from Mirror's Edge... do you not remember the shitstorm that went on because all the [tornado fang]ing japanese weeaboos thought she wasn't good-looking enough? There was actually a guy who "improved her" by photoshopping her figure in order for her boobs to be bigger, cher eyes anime-ish, and her whole figure to be more sexualized.



Something the developers said "No, she's supposed to be normal-looking." What the [tornado fang] do you think is a normal-looking woman? A distinctly ugly one? Because Faith actually looks quite average. She doesn't have a very attractive body according to the usual male ideal, and she's more of an athlete. Put her among other women athletes and she looks just... normal. Her face is stereotypically asian, and she wears a tank top and track pants! Regular exercise clothes. None of the characters are showing off their bodies more than any other woman would do so in a daily basis. Heck, the only reason Kate Walker is wearing such warm clothes, it's because she's in Syberia. Take her to a warmer climate, and she'd wear clothes just as revealing as the other two. Why? Because THAT'S WHAT WOMEN ACTUALLY WEAR. We're not talking about Bloodrayne or DOA, which are completely sexist. We're talking about games that portray their women is a very average and normal way. Jade doesn't have a typical average face because she's a cartoon character, but she's pretty damn average, nothing sexualizing her in any way, no camera angles emphasizing her butt of breasts, nothing.

And I can give male examples as well! What do you make of Frank West, for example?

I'll tell you what I make of him. An averagely unnatractive male. Broad face. Fat features. Potato nose. You think this unmoralist journalist out to get the scoop of his life is handsome?

Let's take on a more popular example. Niko Bellic.

This guy isn't pretty. He's normal. He's pretty ugly, even. And not even idealized in any way.
Heck, look at Marcus from Gears of War.

He's got an ugly face. If not for the bulky muscles which EVERYONE in the Gears universe seems to have, he'd just be another dude.
What about John Marston from Red Dead Redemption? I look at him and I see "ugly man" all over him.

These guys aren't idealized in the slightest. They're dudes with lifes filled with mistakes and bullshit. So are the girls. So, no. In terms of looks or otherwise, they do NOT have perfect complexion or looks or whatever. And their clothes, are normal, typical, everyday outfits you or I would wear in their situations. Do you even know what women wear in their everyday lives, or do you just suspect the ones who are wearing a burka are the only non-sluts? Take a look at what it means to be a normal, everyday human being. Then tell me if you end up agreeing with me, or coming to the conclusion that 80% of the human race is portrayed in a sexual manner.


Also, Samus has always been portrayed as a whore who undresses more depending on how many items you get in her games. I never argued that. I will argue that this was the first time they had to present her personality, and they chose to portray her as an insipid dominated bimbo in a very bad narrative.

877

Gaming / Re: Okamiden

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:28:58 PM »

So, is it any good?

878

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:28:48 PM »

I haven't read any of the threads here either. All I was thinking about was some good, light-hearted fun. Everyone gives imput for a good, creative story, we try and fend off the overactive clichés, and stuff follows normally.

879

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:47:25 PM »

I don't believe in too many rules. I am a follower of common sence and logic. If you can't use those than don't bother entering a RP...I've learned it the hard way >.>
Also..anything goes as long as it makes for a good reading experience

Rules are only there for people who do not have sense and logic.

In order to stop [parasitic bomb] like "I am suddenly filled with the power of my grandfather's sword which is obviously the most powerful thing in the universe and have killed the final boss with a single strike. Look at how cool I am."

880

Gaming / Re: The "Open Your Mind" Gaming Challenge!

« on: March 21, 2011, 02:40:30 PM »

Well, hope you enjoy Abe's games. Be sure to post your experience!

881

Gaming / Re: The "Open Your Mind" Gaming Challenge!

« on: March 21, 2011, 01:19:58 PM »

I usually don't care too much about the music as long as it isn't ear-seeringly terrible. Formulatic DJMax songs, typical DDR Eurotrash, overly cheerful Japanese pop, as long as it has a beat I'm good.

Taiko no Tatsujin is good because it has a variety of songs. Like originals, game music, anime music, pop songs, traditional songs, and classical music.
Classical music is my fave.

I like games like PaRappa, Gitaroo Man and Space Channel 5 because they feel like actual musicals story's not much, but they pump you up regardless. That, and they're pretty easy. But most rythm games just seem like a game of Simon over and over and over again. That, and I am a music elitist. If any game had my favoured 11-minute songs, people would burst into flames playing them.

Also, does your Oddpack contain Stranger's Wrath? Because EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THAT.

882

Gaming / Re: Duke Nukem Forever (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

« on: March 21, 2011, 12:43:39 PM »

So I go away, and Duke thread goes under? You people have no respect for legends.



BALLS OF STEEL EDITION

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8FD0lV5M9c&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

NEW GAMEPLAY VIDEO WITH DILDOS AND LESBIANS

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS BET ON DUKE.

883

Gaming / Re: The Mario Kart Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 11:41:20 AM »

Oh, I hate Double Dash with a passion. It's what started the downfall, IMO. Granted, I'm a bit biased because MK64 is my 2nd favorite game of all time, but even fairly reviewing that game, I hate it. It's where the item balancing issues I mentioned up above first started, I was not fond of the "specials" because it makes certain characters better than others (and made Koopa Troopa the worst character in the game), I thought the handling was absolute [parasitic bomb] (that could've been because of how extremely loose the GC Thumbstick was, but something was definitely off from MK64).

To boil it all down, Double Dash was the start of the imbalance, both in terms of weapons & characters/karts. In Mario Kart 64 & even the original Super Mario Kart, every single character had an equal chance to win, both in terms of what items they got and how their characters handled. The handling, speed, and acceleration was different, but flawlessly balanced to a point of fairness in which no one character had an advantage over another. Double Dash changed all of that, with specials, with different stylized Karts, with how items were distributed as well as how some items were overpowered and others gimped. Plus, the overall racing also felt slower, as MK64 was very fast paced. I mean, if I were to get picky, even the music pales in comparison to MK64, and I thought the levels weren't as awesome either (the levels in Double Dash weren't bad though. That's probably just the MK64 bias talking). Double Dash essentially transformed Mario Kart from maintaining a fun & awesome level of racing skill, 4 player party awesomeness, and pure friend douchebaggery to being more and more about just having cool looking and unbalanced karts/bikes and how to punish a person for being in first place. Racing skill is almost gone, 1 vs 1 matches are completely lost, item balancing and distribution is awful, and we won't even get into how royally they [tornado fang]'d up Battle Mode in MKWii.

IMO, the best Mario Kart since 64 is MKDS. If Mario Kart 3DS is as good as MKDS, I'll be happy, especially if I can once again make 8-Bit Blues my avatar!

I honestly just hated it because it touted cooperative play, and the guy in the back did absolutely nothing. I can't even make any sense of the "forcing two players into one cart" logic. It felt slower-paced, yeah. And heck, I could more than forgive that if they had something interesting, but it seemed to me like it was too few tracks, and you could only access them through Grand Prix. No free play, just tournament play. What the hell? I mean, even Super Circuit (one of the best out of the Mario Kart franchise, IMO) had more options. The graphics also felt short than they could be, and hell, it just wasn't any FUN. When Mario Kart games stop being fun, you know there's a problem.

I'm honestly done with the Mario Kart franchise. I'll go back to MK64 anytime, but I seriously prefer stuff like Modnation Racers, Sega All-Star and Crash Team Racing. Hell, get Naughty Dog to make Mario Kart. They'll make it interesting again.

884

Gaming / Re: The "Open Your Mind" Gaming Challenge!

« on: March 21, 2011, 11:37:41 AM »

I just snuck onto steam and grabbed a copy of the Oddworld pack that was on sale Hmm.

My DS is busy catering to my needs atm so I'll start on Super Robot Wars later. Looks like Endless Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga is the only translated one. No gundams or zoids </3

Also as a music game fan I'd recommend games such as Taiko no Tatsujin (Jp, but seriously, do you need to understand what they're saying in order to hit notes?)  and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! or the Elite Beat Agents series. Taiko is good because instead of trying to hit between 5 different kinds of notes you only have two. And it still sounds good (Probably better since you can play better) and it somehow still poses a challenge.
Ouendan/EBA is good because I own at it it isn't all about pressing buttons, and such. Harder to get into but lots of fun once you learn how it works.
I'm not too big a fan of games like Audiosurf as it doesn't really follow the music that well. Nor does it really require you to listen. If course, if you hate music games because you hate music then...

It's all a question of music taste. I can just play hacked versions of music games because I can never stand any of the songs.

885

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 11:34:58 AM »

It's just a case of making the story in an anti-Mary Sue way and adding a few restrictions so that people don't have access to narrating characters that aren't theirs.

886

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 11:30:53 AM »

It was a little loose, but it worked. It was fluid enough, and I adjusted fairly quickly. The aiming was sometimes a little wonky, but I never had any trouble finishing a fight. Ducking around and crawling through vents seemed pretty natural and flowed well. Overall I liked it a lot. One of the best damn games of this console generation to be frank.

Oh and thank god they had enough sense to give you unlimited ammo.

The only wonky part of the aiming was the depth part, which was made automatic and you sometimes had to re-aim at an enemy for it to be aimed straight at him. I honestly think the depth part was brilliant in several ways, but it caused those slight aiming problems. A future title would have the option to aim freely in depth as well as height. The grenade engine and explosions in general felt brilliant, and so did the machine design.

The melee attacks also felt kinda overpowered at times, seeing as whenever you did one, you'd automatically kill almost any enemy in a scene where all other enemies simply disappeared from a level. But it felt pretty cool, and it wasn't any issue. I still consider this game to be the best way to make a third-person Metroid.

887

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:43:42 AM »

You learn and get used to it. It's not something you automatically get.

888

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:42:09 AM »

Alright, attempt to launch a halfway decent line of debate here...

How do you guys stand on Shadow Complex's gameplay?

889

Gaming / Re: The Mario Kart Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:38:49 AM »

LoL, Blue Shells aren't the problem at all. Granted, I so much prefer the original Spike Shell of MK64, but Spiny Shells aren't the main problem. The main problem is the fact that only 4th place or lower get them. This is where the primary primary problem of the game exists, in the sense that it is no longer a game meant for 1 on 1 racing, or even a 4 player free for all. It's only meant for a greater level of multiplayer, and it shows in the item balancing, and is so clearly evident in Mario Kart Wii. Essentially, they've made a game in which 2nd and 3rd place cannot get into 1st place without the item help of 4th place or higher, because 2nd & 3rd place no longer get the items to stop 1st place. The most powerful weapon it gets is primarily 3 spinning red shells, which wouldn't be a problem if the Red Shells weren't so gimped, but mainly if 1st place didn't get everything to stop it with, including the now bullshit 3 Banana Peel. The 5 Banana Peel in MK64 was much more fair because they would all drop if you hit them with a shell, whereas the 3 Banana Peel provided three shell blockers in a row, along with another Banana Peel/Green Shell to block another one.

I could go into so many more items based reasons why the MK games after 64 pale in comparison to it. Hell, Cloud AIDS in itself is a prime example!

(Insert MK = Mortal Kombat joke here)

By the way, how do we stand on Double Dash?

890

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:37:11 AM »

The setting and plot is meant to make Mary-Sue characters useless, really. And to discourage making Mary-Sues in the first place. To progress, you require creative imput.

891

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:15:28 AM »

Huh, funny how in the current one we have my Character has been in the multiverse and traveled to many places.
Of course, before that he made Time Travel. Don't ask how, I made my character like a.... Super-Genius or something.

Sorry for saying, but it sounds scaringly like a Mary-Sue.

892

Gaming / Re: The Mario Kart Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:02:41 AM »

I don't care about the other argument, but I'll just say this:

Snaking wouldn't be a [tornado fang]ing problem if the items were balanced. Bikes would also not be a [tornado fang]ing problem if the items were balanced. It wasn't a problem in MK64, and if it was, you just plain sucked. This is why every Mario Kart after MK64 has progressively gotten worse, because of how poorly the items are balanced. This is why no Mario Kart game will ever be as good as MK64, because they'll never go back to that item system again.

Yep. Join us in the Sega All-Star Racing brotherhood! We lack blue shells! =P

893

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 04:01:23 AM »

Aight then. How about this. Multiverse is discovered on every world at the same time. Representatives of each universe come together in the center of the cosmic inbalance, in order to share culture, promote their own views and be subjected by constant advertising in the one shared city that lies in the center of the dimensional cosmic rift at the end of every universe. [parasitic bomb] ends up happening, and the inactive rift, re-activated through terrorist vandalism, causes a break off the timeline, ruining alot of crap in several of the different universes, which makes an investigation necessary.

Complete freedom of choice of character, environment, way to speak and act, and whatever more. Plot added in many different ways, not to form a stable universe, but in order to make things interesting, ala Doctor Who. Overpowered or unstable characters will essencially not matter within the context of forces in motion.

Any takers?

894

Gaming / Re: Metroid Discussion Thread

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:49:48 AM »

Can we get back to how Other M's story is horrible, guys?

895

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:36:16 AM »

Well, Busier World was looking hopeful until RPMVania was spun-off from it. RPMVania became the popular one and Busier World just had a recent resurgence. However BW has like, 4-6 big players. I dunno how many RPMVania has, but I can assume plenty.

And on the sight of a new RP, it'd depend on the Theme, if any (Busy/Busier World was just OC's and random things of amusement, also incidents like End of the World and [parasitic bomb] like that. It lost a lot of big players (DWII, Borock, Archer after a while, Taiyo after a while, Lucky Star, etc.) after the original got locked.)

We just need more people thats all, Its becoming an endless stream of posts from me, Gaia, and Blackhook.We keep making odd plot advances and Retcons, so its becoming painful to read (Mainly because I can't write fiction for [parasitic bomb], I'm trying to get better.)

I'm a published writer, but I honestly think you guys would hate the stuff I write for plot. =P Anybody got any good ideas for a setting?

896

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:22:55 AM »

So if anyone started a new RP, would anyone here be willing to participate?

897

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:13:37 AM »

I kinda miss RPing. Haven't done it in years. Anybody gonna start a new one or something?

898

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:09:17 AM »

But dat intro.

It's basically an intro about the best of times. That time between the 80's and the 90's where everything was always SO COLOURED. Palm trees and Beverly Hills were in every cartoon adaptation and everything was so awesome.

I wish time stopped around then. ;_;

899

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 03:05:21 AM »

Never watched it. But the intro is 90'S AWESOME.

900

Forum Games / Re: "What Are You Thinking Now?"

« on: March 21, 2011, 02:57:33 AM »

Currently watching some old Donkey Kong Country episodes.

...can anyone tell me WHY they thought this was a good idea?