Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Should I have microwave pizza or salami sandwiches for dinner? Decisions, decisions. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Concert last night was good, if a bit formulaic. But I suppose that's to be expected from a band that's been touring, on and off, for over a quarter of a century. The Boss still rocks tho.

Not a lot more to say at the moment. Onward.

I don't know, but in lieu of hard facts, I'll give you some half-assed speculation. That's almost as good, right?

Since Cid wasn't in the lineup of revealed characters, I'm gonna go ahead and say he's not playable, which leaves us with the traditional Cid roles of crusty old scientist or organizational head. The only organization I've heard of so far in the game is the floating opera house, so perhaps he'll be the conductor or the business manager. And while I'm at it, why don't we stick Biggs and Wedge in there as well, as supporting chorus members or something? Whenever you have a big cool floating building, you've got to destroy it, so I think we'll see the opera house come crashing down late in Disc 1 or early in Disc 3, which will also mean the demise of Biggs and Wedge.

The cool thing about it is, if those answers are wrong, I can just claim I was spouting off total drivel. And if they're right, I can claim it as an example of my omniscience, and demand you worship me as a god. I love this job.

I do have a few Square OSTs, although I'm not what you'd call a hard core collector. I basically collect what sounds good to me - FF8, FFT, Xenogears OST, Xenogears Creid, Parasite Eve, and Chrono Cross. FFT and Chrono Cross still get a good listening, the rest are collecting dust.

For me, there are two big problems with current OSTs. First off, while there are some really stunning tracks on each of the soundtracks I have, only FFT and CC really stand up when you look at the works as a whole. Opening and closing themes are generally pretty good, and you can count on at least one boss theme and one battle theme being very listenable. As for the rest, I can take it or leave it. The other main problem I have is the quality of the reproduction. Generally the PSX can do a credible job of simulating instruments, but every once in a while there's a real misstep. I can't stand the synth opera voice in Parasite Eve, I'd far rather hear the opera in FF6.

I suppose the fact that I'm not willing to put up with mediocre midis and the full range of an Uematsu score is just one more reason to brand me as an insufficiently old school gamer. All I can say is, bring it on, punks.

Well, I'm glad someone enjoyed my weekend, even if it wasn't me. On a related note, I'm driving back to New Orleans (home) this weekend. If you'd like, I can run my car off the side of the Mississippi River bridge and flap my arms in a pathetic attempt to soften the impact. Anything I can do, just let me know.

Also, it occurred to me last night why I got so much hostility (not that much, actually) about liking Springsteen. It's not just that your teachers like him, but if the last demographics I saw on the GIA's readership are still accurate, a solid majority of you have parents that like Springsteen. Hell, there's a good chance a lot of you were conceived to The River, and that's not a pleasant thought for anyone. So I'll drop it.  

I don't think it's unlikely that people will try to make RPGs with their own storylines, despite the input method. I do think once people start to try and write up some text they'll start editing themselves - why say "Halt, brigand! I am Stephen Amontilliado, Captian of the Guards for her Highness Princess Ashley!" when you can say "Stop, thief!"?

This in itself might not be that bad, though. One of the main problems with most fanfic is the lack of editing. Wannabe writers want to describe every nuance and detail of the world that they see in their heads, and don't realize that sometimes "Stop, thief!" is the right thing to say. If there really is a future Sakaguchi out there, perhaps they'll be dedicated enough to type the whole thing in, letter by letter, but also smart enough to limit their own excess.

You've got some points, but I think you're putting too much emphasis on having a hard drive and not enough on the value of a standardized platform. PC game software can be problematic to test because it has to be developed to work with a variety of processor speeds, memory, and graphics cards. This isn't the case with a console system, and that makes running through a test matrix a lot easier.

The main disadvantage of a hard drive, at least with the random access model a PC has, is that program data can be overwritten or otherwise corrupted. Even so, a hard drive is only a potential problem if the actual program microcode is stored on it, as opposed to save data or other files. If the code is kept on a static CD or DVD, I doubt there'll be much difference between the X-Box and the PSX.

I'm generally not a Microsoft basher, but if there is any problem with the X-Box it's likely to be the Microsoft standard of software testing leaking out into the console world. Even Microsoft's staunchest supporters generally admit PCs don't quite have the same standard of robustness the UNIX-variant world does. Anybody who remembers the "must crash gracefully" requirement for developing on Windows knows what I'm talking about. The good news is that since Microsoft doesn't have the stranglehold on consoles that it does on operating systems, if software for the X-Box is buggy, or slow, or unfun to play, it won't sell. Free markets are nifty.

I also enjoy hot dogs and nachos, but they're far too expensive at a ballpark for me to enjoy them. The wall in Grandia does indeed end, I remember going through it in one not-so-long sitting. Chances are if you've been playing at all since you mailed me you're past it. And Uematsu has been confirmed for FF9, so rest easy.

I have a very good job making excellent money, thanks. This is just a side hobby with me, so regardless of if I ever see a cent or not (none of your damn business, by the way) I can still keep working on it. So we'll never, ever be separated, aren't you happy?

While Nintendo did make some dumb decisions as far as controller design, I've never had a problem with the N64 controllers. I frankly prefer the N64 controller with Turok-style controls for FPS over anything I've seen on the PSX. If you have problems holding the controller for ergonomic reasons, I can't speak to that, but I've always found it comfortable enough. I'm fairly indifferent to having the rumble pack as an add-on, but not powering the pack through the controller is the worst feature of the N64, in my opinion. While the Dual Shock stick is more comfortable, I like the fact that the N64 stick is stiffer and a little more accurate. I guess I just don't see controllers as having a distinct advantage one way or the other. But I even like the Dreamcast controllers, so what do I know?

I've got a sister of my own, so I took pity on this fool. And fool he is, if he thinks his sister's gonna be impressed with a mere birthday email. But for what it's worth: Margaret, happy birthday, best wishes from DA, etc.

Closing Comments:

Ok, we're back on track. I considered having yet another argument as to the value of the upcoming Dragon Warrior I & II releases, but I'd like to go in the other direction for a while. For now I'm more interested in the upcoming uber-consoles, specifically this question: given that the PS2 and X-Box look to have hard drives, Internet access, and more processing power than any sane person really needs, is there really any need for the generic home PC anymore? I'm not talking about systems used by coders, or graphic design people, or anyone else who does technical things with computers, I'm talking about the standard family system you might use to surf the web or write a term paper on. Regular PCs, dying breed or domestic stalwart? Enlighten me.

-Chris Jones, going with the pizza