Due to boredom at work, I took the risk of upgrading to the latest (major) release of WordPress without taking backup measures. Ill-advised, and I should know better, but everything seems to be ok. All the plugins seem intact, but if you see something not behaving properly, let me know in the comments.
I’ve stayed generally clear of commenting on my democratically elected government’s plan to slow down censor the internet. After all, the majority of the Australian voting population put their ballots in and chose them for the next four (if not eight) years. They must want their already substandard broadband connections further choked by mandatory filters put in place and regulated by the lowest common denominator standards that already govern books, movies, music, and video games.
Fine, I guess. They are idiots, but I’m all for rule of the people, and that’s what they want.
But now they’re planning to scan P2P sharing as well. I’m aware that the majority of consumer internet traffic is P2P, and that the majority of P2P traffic is illegal, but this really says to me that my government – which is supposed to uphold rights and freedoms like Privacy – is more interested in monitoring every little thing I do on the internet for illegal activity. It’s like I’m presumed guilty and have to prove my innocence. If a government agency wants to monitor who I talk to on the phone or intercept my mail, they have to apply for a warrant. Why should it be any different?
Also, if this is being done “to protect the children”, then who gets to make that call? I agree that there are things out there that children should not have access to. In some ways, I’m more conservative than most, but I still assert that it is the parent’s responsibility to be actively involved. There are plenty of good commercial filters available for installation on your home PC. But you shouldn’t leave it up to automation. Go out, do some research, talk to your kids about what is and isn’t acceptable, and why.
If adults want to abdicate their responsibilities as parents, then perhaps they should ask themselves why they are parents in the first place. But that’s for another rant, and not for this blog.
Anyway, I realise that this sort of debate is often quite polarising. Can you think of a rational reason why state-sponsored censorship would be a good thing?
I finally got round to finishing my second play-through of Mass Effect. I got a couple of the achievements I had been chasing, but not all, and this has reminded me of why I’m not really a completionist.
Mass Effect, like many RPGs encourages the player to talk to every character, explore every planet and complete every sidequest. You only get rewarded (via Renegade/Paragon points) for taking part in quests, even when inaction would leave far more impact on the game world. On top of that, there are specific sidequests that require you to explore every last nook and cranny of the galaxy hunting down this widget or that ore seam. All of this I did on my first play-through.
The game, however, dangles the carrot of Xbox Achievements (and in some cases, enticing character improvements) for you to re-do a lot of these tedious paper chases in subsequent runs through the game. I can understand that; RPGs tend to be single-player games, and without the fun of multi-player deathmatch, replayability becomes a strong indicator for “getting your money’s worth”.
Unfortunately, the main thing holding me back from yet another go at Mass Effect is its lack of variability. Even if I didn’t remember where everything was (I don’t, but it’s not hard to figure out), all the planets, buildings and quests are so similar they blend into each other. There are no surprises, and the outcomes for your character choices don’t really impact the game in ways that force you to wonder how it might have gone if you’d done something different.
Why would I want to go through all of that so I can get a little badge that tells me:
Sure, some of them come with a little bonus for building my next character, but that doesn’t eliminate any of the drudgery. Tech powers and biotics have the same activation mechanic, and very similar visuals. The three weapon classes are very similar. By the time you’re level 45, you’re nearly unstoppable, regardless of your character class, choice of companions, or established battle tactics.
At least in Fable 2, the landscape around you changes as you make choices. Whole towns develop along different lines and prosper or suffer under the consequences of your actions. This is more likely to impact your willingness to replay the game.
For me, the pinnacle of replayability in a proper RPG is still Planescape: Torment. Even though the bad old Infinity Engine doesn’t produce awesomely immersive 3D worlds, I still return to Torment for a different swing at things. You can take completely different approaches to the game, have wildly differing experiences, come out with amazingly different plotpaths, and still have as much fun as the next guy.
Maybe I’m not well-versed enough in video games, but I can’t think of a narrative-based game that allows for such a rich experience. Can you name any?
Being the unrelentant D&D nerd that I am, I frequent a number of webcomics, of which Order of the Stick is one of my favourites.
For the last I can’t remember how long, there hasn’t been a decent amount of action. The occasional fight here, and the mediocre chuckle there, but nothing has stood out as freaking awesome since the fall of Azure City.
That is, until Haley gets attacked by some old buddies she left behind. Even so, it seemed like things were going to be less than stellar until Belkar got in on the action. That halfling makes this comic.
If you’ve wandered away from OOTS lately because it just isn’t the same, then I suggest you start with the latest scene, or if you’re really impatient, jump to the really awesome bits 🙂
Auditorium is doing the rounds at the moment, and I figure I’d jump on the bandwagon. It’s being compared to a number of previously innovative Flash games, but I don’t think it matches any of them except in its luminescent visual aesthetic.
I love these kinds of games. They challenge us to rethink what we think a good game is. There’s an elegance to the bare-bones approach that Auditorium and flOw that force you to think solely about the gameplay. I won’t deny that I enjoy exploring an immersive gameworld, but there’s something even more addictive about being presented with a simple situation, a mechanic that allows you freedom to explore your own solution, and being left to your own devices.
Maybe that’s because I view a lot of games as puzzles first and interactions second. Whatever – I like ’em and think you should too. I’ll fork out for Auditorium either on XBL or iPod Touch.