Transcendental Blues - June 9, 2000 - Chris Jones
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. Legend of Mana's promo CD
sounds great when it's raining outside, not sure why. Don't say we didn't warn you.
It's time once again for me to use this space to talk about something only of interest to
myself, but you should be used to it by now. Specifically, I think it's worth mentioning
that Steve Earle has a new CD out this week, Transcendental Blues. (By a great
coincidence, that's also the title of today's column! What are the odds?)
I'd like to be up front in saying that very few readers of this column are liable to
like this CD. In fact, it's nearly the complete opposite of the Legend of Mana tunes that
I'm sure many of you are listening to at the moment - rough instead of polished, ponderous
instead of agile, noisy instead of melodic. Heck, not even I like all of Earle's music,
and I'm a fan.
But at the same time, I have to admire Earle, because his stuff is strong in all the
ways that music should be. It's solidly put together, it's smart, it's got real feeling
behind it, and it's about stuff that matters. To be sure, Steve's not the best role model
in the world, but he seems to have picked up some honest-to-goodness wisdom on his
travels. And besides, the son of a bitch can write. For example,
TB's liner notes:
"I have spent most of my life (like most people) avoiding transcendence at all
costs, mainly because the shit hurts. Merely defining transcendence can sometimes be
painful. I once heard that "Transcendence is the act of going through
something". Ouch. I see plate glass windows and divorces. Someone else told me that
it was "rising above whatever one encountered in one's path" but at this point
in my life that smacks of avoidance as well as elitism of some sort. I am compelled to
look back on years of going through, above, as well as around my life looking for
loopholes to redefine everything including any and all of the ideas that I have held close
to my heart along the way - Art - Freedom - Justice - Revolution - Love (a big one) -
Growth - Passion - Parenting (a really big one) - and I find that for me, for now,
transcendence is about being still enough long enough to know when it's time to move on.
Fuck me."
—Steve Earle (Chicago, January 2000)
Onward.
| The return of Eddie Bauer |
| Chris Jones, Chris, you tooooooooooootally misinterpereted what I was
saying. Yeesh.
I was simply saying that I know many people who far prefer polygons and FMV over
sprites and watercolor and so-forth. I like a bit of both. Polygons are great, but the
backgrounds and character designs for LoM are great. I was simply saying that a lot of
people won't appreciate the sprites and watercolor, based on the opinions of people I
know.
As for the comment about lots of dialogue, I suppose I should have been more clear. I
like Xenogears. Hell, Xenogears is a god among RPGs. It's just that not all games have to
be the same. Based from what I have played of LoM (I bought it yesterday), it seems more
gameplay than story-oriented. It's just sort of refreshing to have that in a game.
I hope that clears up what I was trying to say. Let the record show that I certainly
was not being snobby. I probably should have elaborated on what I was saying a bit more.
-Edward Bauer, who is miaouing |
What can I say, I'm a master of misrepresenting things. Perhaps it's simply the case
that I hear from so many vocal old school 2D people, but I've never really encountered
this mythic band of polygon-only gamers so often mentioned. It could be the case that only
a small minority will appreciate SoM's graphics, tho based on what I've seen that seems
unlikely.
This probably is simply a misunderstanding. From my perspective, RPG fans often forget
that most games are about great gameplay, and it's only our genre (for the most part) that
places story ahead of more traditional gaming virtues. On the other hand, it could be that
standard RPG combat and exploration are catnip to most "real" players, and it's
me who's the freak for putting up with seemingly anemic gameplay for the sake of story.
Who knows?
| Yep, it's discrimination all right |
| Chris, you boogerhead! Why do you always post Jennifer Diane Reitz's URL
and not mine? Is this some sort of sex discrimination? Oh, and the statue of SRV in
Austin isn't THAT big a deal. I hail from Lubbock, which has had a statue of Buddy Holly
for as long as I can remember, and you don't have to pay to see that one either. Of
course, considering that Buddy Holly is the only good thing ever to come from Lubbock
(besides myself, of course, and even that's a debatable point), I guess there is a certain
desperate scramble for cultural credibility involved in the Buddy Holly Memorial.
And to add an infusion of videogame content here, there really were jumps in Super
Mario Bros. - particularly World 8-2 and 8-3 - that required running jumps to cross chasms
as wide as the screen, making the "I beat the game without running" claim a wee
bit suspect. I know this for a fact because I never made it past those yawning gulfs of
vertiginous death, and I *did* know how to run with Button B. Yes, my secret shame during
the NES days (when I used to break games wide open with my Wizard-like MAD SKEEELZ) was
that I could beat Battletoads without warping, or conquer Castlevania on a single life,
but I could never get to the end of Super Mario Bros. Nor could I do that infinite-life
turtle trick. Nor could I find the Negative World. Forgive me, Chris, for it has been 6
months since my last confessional...
J. Parish
www.playboy.com |
I generally post most people's sigs, with the exception of huge long quotes and their
email addresses. In this case you always had your email address between your name and your
web address, so I was lazy and ended the letter there. But now, of course, everyone can
see what Mr. Parish is all about. And the world rejoices!
Seriously, I generally don't have a problem with posting sites people are associated
with. (Which would actually be the very entertaining ToastyFrog.com in Mr. Parish's case.)
What I don't do is put up links to the sites in question, for the most part. The way I
figure it, printing an associated website is similar to someone signing themselves as
being associated with an organization in the real world - John Smith, Senior Physicist at
MIT, that kind of thing. But before you put your site name after your signed name,
consider that it cuts both ways. If your site is a bunch of crappy 8-bit midis and a long,
rambling description of why Mystic Quest was the best Final Fantasy ever, then you've just
done the equivalent of signing yourself Mortimer Dipstick, Head of the Institute for Flat
Earth Research.
I was ignorant of the Buddy Holly statue, although I'd say that makes Lubbock slightly
cooler, rather than making Austin slightly less cool. Many people agree with you on the
world 8 SMB jumps, so I'll take your word on it. And few indeed are those who could do the
turtle trick (although I did do it once by accident) so we're all equally damned.
| It's pretty obvious, isn't it? |
| "I wonder how many layers of scrolling those hills take."? You're
on crack.
SC |
Well, duh!
| Cynics on parade |
| CJ, *Laughs hysterically*
Microsoft actually splitting up? Despite the monopoly verdict, you have to take into
account our wonderful judicial system. If OJ hasn't convinced you yet, I don't know what
will. Microsoft has money. Lots of money. In law, that's all you need. They will appeal
their verdict for the next ten years if they have to. All that time, newer versions of
Windows will still be coming out. Nah, they won't split, not unless the appeal court is
headed by Judge Judy.
Your indifference to PS2 is starting to rub off on me. I was just reading up on E3 from
a gaming magazine (news is a month old, but at least it has nice pictures) and heard that
PS2 didn't do very well at the show. I've also seen the screen-shots from PS2 games. Very
bad indeed. Is the absence of anti-aliasing a software or hardware problem? Hate to play
all my games with those jagged lines.
-Red Raven, whose b-day marks the beginning and ending of WW2, Sept. 1st |
You could indeed be right that Microsoft will be around forever. A change in the
presidency could make the entire case vanish. However, the appeal forever strategy is not
guaranteed - as I noted yesterday, the Justice Department will personally take the case
directly to the Supreme Court. This is possible through special clauses in the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act designed to prevent such a stalling action. If the Supremes agree to hear
the case and side with Judge Jackson then MS could be multiple entities in as little as a
year.
The PS2 does have anti-aliasing, but it's apparently not as easy to use as in other
consoles. I will, however, go on record as saying the PS2's anti-aliasing problems are
probably first generation software issues that are likely to be solved shortly, much like
the slowdown that plagued the first few SNES titles. Still, the shine does seem to have
worn off the PS2 when IGN's writing articles like this.
| Yet another example of Hideo's evil |
| Chris Konami's releasing the MGS2 trailer on DVD?!
Hot diggidy damn!!
Wait, it's only going to be released in Japan?
Ahhhhhhhh! HIDEOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
-Agent X "Japan isn't THAT far away..." |
Between the MGS2 trailer and the FFT playing cards, I may have to start planning a trip
to Japan, both to acquire the items in question and to smack some sense into the companies
involved for not bringing them out in the US.
| It begins... *Vagrant Story Spoilers* |
| Vagrant Story, IMHO, isn't about Christianity per se. I guess fewer
people that previously hinted at get Vagrant Story. I HAVE to sorta mention things that
are SPOILERS, so if you are yet to begin, or are not yet far into that journey, thread
carefully from this point forward... Granted, the world of Vagrant is cloaked in a
background that makes religion an identifiable force in the protagonists' daily lives.
Even so, Vagrant Story isn't about religion, but about the vagrant of Vagrant Story....
The message of this game seems to be that only a person who is not swayed by
institutions, an impartial observer, can clearly understand what is going on, and make the
right choices without being manipulated or adversely influenced. Let me explain.
Ashley is a loner from beginning to very end of Vagrant Story, I assume (I am, alas,
stuck at the final boss). Sure, he's trying to find out whether Callo Merlose is safe
throughout the game, but only because his mission is to protect her and back up her
investigation of the happenings at the manor. Sure he's a Riskbreaker, a government agent,
but he does not seem to care or take pride in the fact. The Lea Monde mission is one like
any other. He's an emotional vacuum, perhaps by choice (that dead family of his may have
something to do w/ it).
While this may very well work against him in another setting, it is an advantage in the
struggle he's thrown in: since he has no real emotional ties to any of the other actors,
he is free to make the right choices. He unconsciously refuses to become a pawn for either
side (he's willing to kill friends and foes alike). That is why Sydney wants to give him
the power of Lea Monde: he knows Ashley does not care for that power, but if he were
entrusted with it, he would not let it fall into the wrong hands, or any hands for that
matter. This is very clear when Sydney mocks Guilderstern's rhethoric about using force to
change the world into a better one, and Guilderstern's puzzlement as to why a vagrant such
as Ashley would be more fit in wielding the power of Lea Monde: Guilderstern is a pawn to
empty ideals of power and righteous rule of his church, while Ashley, who should be
representing the other institution seeking power (the Valendian Parliament) is unwilling
to be a pawn to anyone (Sydney tries to test if he can manipulate him through false
memories; Ashley figures it out).
While Merlose's hidden power is to see through people's actions to their real
intentions (their heart), and Sydney's is to see and create past memories, Ashley's is to
observe others, period. He is impartial to the end; that is his moral strength, and his
claim to the status of hero...
To say that Vagrant Story is merely a satire of Christianity is to overlook Ashley
Riot, and completely oversimplify his existence and story.
Let the flame wars begin...
Princess Jemmy, who isn't in a particularly decent mood, you might assume... |
I haven't finished the title yet, so it's difficult for me to say what the ultimate
theme of the game is. But I'd tend to agree with your analysis, if you simplified it a
bit:
Ashley Riot is one bad mofo who takes names and kicks ass. End of story.
Wait, that's not the same thing at all, is it?
| The true rulers of our society |
| First, I want to make a comment on your bit on an "elected"
government was pursuing this antitrust case: that really isn't completely true. The
Justice Department, who is prosecuting, is appointed by the Attorney General, who is
appointed by the President, who also appoints Supreme Court Justices, and, I would assume,
other federal court seats, like Judge Jackson. And, arguably, the President isn't even
elected, as you vote for votes in an electoral college instead of directly for the
President. I found, on cnet.news.com (yeah, I didn't want to read the lawyerspeak of
the actual ruling papers), a list of what would be in the OS company, and what would be in
the Software company. The Operating Systems for set-top boxes (WebTV and the XBox?) would
be made by the OS branch, but there's no mention of the hardware. Would WebTV and XBox be
made by the Software company? If it is, why would they want to buy the OS for them from
another company? Does Sony buy the PSX OS from Apple or Redhat? I don't think so...but, if
they do, correct me.
--Paco Cheezdom |
While all of what you say is technically correct, the actual case is much simpler. The
Attorney General acts in line with what an administration wishes done, for the most part,
so electing a President is in effect electing an Attorney General. Appointed judges are
generally supposed to be apolitical, and considering that two Reagan/Bush appointed
appeals judges recently ruled in favor of the DoJ in the Elian Gonzales case, a ruling
that was highly distasteful to many Republicans, the system seems to work pretty well.
Lastly, while the Electoral College does officially elect the President, I don't think the
past century's seen the EC go contrary to the popular vote, so it's something of a moot
point.
Am I the only one who took civics here, or what?
A console is essentially an API (Application Programmer's Interface) for a set of
hardware. Setting APIs is very much an OS designer's job, so presumably the OS arm of
Microsoft would get to control the X-Box, and merely contract out to a manufacturer to
actually build the system. As long as they didn't go build actual games for the system
(which would pretty clearly be the Application arm's job) this should be legit.
Nikkei Computer Graphics sells a Linux PS2 development environment, and Metrowerks
sells a PS2 IDE. The Dreamcast also runs on a modified Windows CE OS, which I presume
they're paying some amount of money to Microsoft for.
| A query |
| Would you happen to know the names of the artists who worked on SaGa
Frontier 2 and Legend of Mana? I'd like to see more of their work. --
Dwaine B. of Blarg and Diners Productions! |
Dunno, but I do know it wasn't the same artist on both games. Can I get an answer from
the audience?
| Speaking of music... |
| Chris, First, I wanted to mention that there are at least two jumps in
world 8 in SMB 1 that require a running leap; when you do so, you barely make it over the
gap. However, I don't believe the writer of the original letter ever said he beat Mario
before he learned how to jump.
As for Legend of Mana, I still haven't had a chance to play the game since my PSX is in
a box due to moving, but I have had a chance to listen to the promo music CD. Although
it's pretty short at only 19 minutes, I really liked it. The opening and ending themes are
great, and the other music on the CD is also good. I would have preferred a little more
music, but since it was free, I'm not going to complain. I look forward to the other CDs
Square will be giving out with its other summer games.
Brian Sebby |
I've been switching between the LoM promo CD and Steve Earle all day, and while the
cognitive dissonance between the two is pretty severe I'm enjoying the contrast. Most of
the music has an SNES feel I quite like, I think, and I'm really looking forward to the
game. But first Vagrant Story must be finished.
Closing Comments:
His AKness is up tomorrow, so write him whatever you like. Me, I'm gonna try and put a
serious dent in some RPGs now. See you Monday.
-Chris Jones, transcending the heck out of here |
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