I am not sure who said it but I must make a correction to a letter from the past week or so. The letter was discussing the little eye alarm robots in FFIVj and the Magus Sisters in the Tower of Zot, and said the eye robots where in that tower.

They were NOT! The alarm guys were in the Tower and Giant of Babel. That tower was 8 floors and was underground primarily. Zot was only 6 floors and floating in the sky somewhere near the city which housed the Earth Crystal, on the upper world not underground! They were not in the same dungeon!

Also, a note on dungeons and gaming in general: the little touches make it seem so much better. I remeber Mega Man in Mega Man X, when he was in the snow stage, his breath was frosty, and he started limping like when he was low on health. That rocks! That really stood out to me and is the thing I remember most about that game today. Stuff like that needs to happen more often in games.

Efrate, Golbez's other brother, still searching for the elusive pink puff tail.

I'm not normally one to count chickens before their proverbial hatching, but doesn't it seem like Nintendo and Microsoft are extremely screwed with their upcoming consoles?  The PS2 has a user base of 10 million people already, with about 6 months before the release of the next console, the X-box.   Considering the lackluster impression Gates made in Japan, I can't imagine those flying off the shelves overseas.  By then, the PS2 could likely be around the $250 mark (by Christmas at the latest), meaning that people may just want to buy what has better game support.  MS needs to either start running promotions for it now, or make it known what huge franchises will be on their machine (FF, MGS), otherwise, they'd just as well stop now.

As for Nintendo, we'd better see some actual games at E3, or else I fear this'll turn into another N64, something released too late without enough technical power to gain enough ground.  They seem to be doing some stupid things already, such as the minidisc which holds a whole lot less than a DVD...there has to be a better way.

Even though I'll probably get a Game Cube eventually, they'd better start releasing some actual images or movies of the games if anyone is going to care.  And Microsoft should try spending money on their buggy software before entering the console race...Three's a crowd.

--The Steve, avid X-Box hater (just because MS pisses me off)

I think I can clarify a few lingering points regarding GIA news/company support and maybe give readers some insight into the process. It would not be "a lot more trouble" to get news we source to IGN or Gamespot, but we aren't the same kind of site they are, and as such don't hurt ourselves by sourcing them - the exact same reason IGN will source us but never sources Gamespot. So long as we remain a professional one-stop shop for the areas we cover, then we're succeeding.

Before I discuss company support, let me say that there has been one consistent and comprehensive source over the years for the GIA: our readers. Reader support has outweighed any amount of betas or interviews a company can give, and doing your readers a service by running the best site you can is how you get the best stories. We're always thankful for tips, whether they're ones we can use or just somebody trying to help.

As for companies, they do not send press releases only to "two or three well-known readers" and let them trickle down, as you suggested yesterday. Press releases are the lowest common denominator as far as company support goes; virtually any site can get press releases from any company. Even getting reviewable copies isn't terribly difficult, depending on the company. The true test is whether you get them before the retail launch of the game.

Overall company support means talking with them about a range of issues and stories. Sites only interested in free games are obvious and usually short-lived. You were dead-on when you cited "established relationships." The longer you work with a company, the more open they are to going the extra mile for you, and the GIA has seen a steady and strong rise in support over the past 2 1/2 years to the point where we've got some great exclusive content lined up for E3.

Thanks for the time!

-Ed M.
GIA Agent

Rowan Lord of Squid

But at the same time, I hate it. I want to litterally destroy the disc. The story was enthralling, the graphics were breathtaking, the dungeons were...well, just not fun. I remember finally getting out of the Wine Cellar and reaching Lea Monde. I thought to myself "Light, beautiful yet horrible in it's insanity!" Ten minutes later after a needlessly annoying boss fight, it's DUNGEON TIME AGAIN. Oh, yes, but this one's different. It's not in a wine cellar with undead city guards, oh no no, this one is in a mine with Goblins!

This wouldn't be nearly as annoying if it weren't for three factors:
A) Bosses every 7-10 rooms. And usually you had no idea what you were in for and just had to hope this next boss was right after a save point.
B) The rooms all shared an eerily similarity. Yes, I know. Maps and all that. Plus, real mines/wine cellers/forests/sewer systems all do look the same in real life. However, is it really necessary to have them be so confusing in a game where camera angles switched freely, so left and right were indefinite when you were in a room full of zombies you just defeated?
C) Enemies come back after you leave the room. It wasn't annoying enough that these goblins cast paralyze like it's a bodily function and that you're only chance to survive was to master a defense ability that is pretty much "all or nothing", but you have to face them again because you just entered the room that's locked with a key you haven't gotten yet. Oops!

All this was done well with Zelda (the easiest to compare Vagrant Story to). You're immediately put in the dungeon and you can see where the boss waits for you right from the start, you just need to open up a passageway to get there. No two rooms are exactly the same, so you always have a good idea if you;ve been there or not. Now, that's not to say you won't be heading back to the same room again, of course you will, and monsters will be there waiting for you. But they require no defense ability, just previous knowledge of how to beat them. Then, you get to the boss, fully prepared from having used the master key to enter his room.

Zelda did it well. Vagrant Story didn't. However, I still love Vagrant Story. I wonder why that is?

-- Shawn K.

Also, I have no need for a message after my name to explain my letter, as post scripts are generally dumb and pointless and tend to go on and on without reaching any sort of balence or basis in reality. That said, I bid you adieu, Mr. Jones.

Look, this is getting to be enough. It seems the readers of DA are getting more and more jaded by the month, and each seems to expect the impossible.

Aye, dungeons will always be there (why not add "fields" to your seven "dungeon" types, like in Grandia II.) There is no way to get around it. You have to explore somewhere, and those eight types cover about everything but 3D fields like outer space, which would make nine. Not all of these have been explored entirely, but they will be one day- no doubts there.

As for how dungeons are made, look at how designers can make paths. They can be linear, with only a path or two scattered about. They can be made with branching paths that have spoils, enemies, or dead-ends at the end. They can be mazes, with criss-crossing paths that confuse the player (like that tomb in FF8, but that just took looking at the map and understanding how the whole thing worked.) They can be puzzles, like Lufia II. I can think of a few others, but they border on action/adventure game styles.

And random encounters.... This is a huge can of worms. If characters didn't level up or increase in power, there is no way to keep the game from being a purely strategy game; you must do what you can with what you have rather than getting more or training skills or whatever. A "no random encounters" mode could be implemented, but it would be like people playing different games (nobody goes through the same trials in this style. Battling your way through dungeons to beat a hard boss is quite different from breazing your way through dungeons to beat a hard boss, no?) FF8 also attempted to do this, but that game required almost no level-upping, so it didn't really have a major impact.

If people want truly brilliant battles, play pen and paper RPGs. I'm in a group, and many times I've beaten stronger opponents and my stronger playing companions not through strength but through intelligence and strategy.

In the end, play all the games. Some have dungeon designs that are fun (like Sonic Adventure, for instance. No real battles: pure speed, pure fun.) Some have challenging dungeon crawls (like Wizardy.) Some have awesome and intelligent battles (like the muds and strategy games.) There is one for everyone. For those who don't have the time, DO RESEARCH! ASK! FIGURE OUT WHAT'S FOR YOU! DON'T EXPECT THEM TO BE THE SAME!

Ya' know, I'm actually not ranting. I just think the other side of the coin needs to be expressed. But then again, I'm only 17 and I haven't played as long (although I did play back in the NES days.) Most certainly do I hope you take this as constructive.

-James "Chuckman" Thorne