Happy 4th of July! -
July 4, 2001 - Andrew Kaufmann
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. Come on.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Night two of my two night stand. This one promises to be like the last one,
only more so. More boring? Maybe. More fun? Maybe. But more? Yes. Well,
actually, just maybe.
| Trying to pick just one |
|
Free topic, eh? Ok, since all of us here are facing your problem of a
negligable amount of time here....Maybe you could do us all a big favor, root
around TheGIA staffa nd find one or two RPGs that are simply MUST plays. I
want to play a game, and I seem to have enought ime to get one or two done
during the summer, but I don't wanna end up wasting money on crap, cuz of
things like car insurance and the avoidance of reposession by paying on time.
So, any advice for all of us no time gamers would be way apprecieted.
As for the Priests daughter, although they will prolly go adopted for the
politicly correct route, some Popes have been the bastards of other Popes,
and many Priests have taken mistresses without getting excomunicated, just as
long as they don't commit the big sin of marriage. So an illegitimate child
wouldn't be a big surprise...
So in conclusion, I highly recommend that any who havn't go see Shrek, now.
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
I'm schizophreniec
And so am I
Peace
Stryker
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Great question! I went to GIA staff, and posed your question to them,
only to be met with resounding confusion. First of all, they didn't know whether
to tell you about current games, PSX games, PS2 games, N64 games, old games, or
whatever. So they gave a big variety of answers. The biggest votegetter was
Final Fantasy 8, but Vagrant Story was also up there. Castlevania: Symphony of the
Night and Metal Gear Solid also got votes. Final Fantasy 9, Paper Mario, Skies of
Arcadia, and Suikoden 2? Also got votes. And for new releases, the Final Fantasy 4
and Chrono Trigger package. So anyway, they had trouble picking just a few. There are
just too many to narrow it down. But with any of those games, you really can't go wrong.
Me? I'd go with Final Fantasy 9 and Final Fantasy 8.
| Voices |
|
My question is for you Andrew and for the readers. I recently read a rumor
that the English voices for FFX could be famous Hollywood actors. I think
this would be a terrible mistake, and it would partially ruin the game for
me. I really like that Square Japan is using unknowns so that you can
identify the voice with the character, and not someone else. How
heartbreaking would it be to find out that Tidus' voice is Freddie Prinze,
Jr? I guess my question is to you, is there any truth to this? And my
question for everyone is, would this bother you guys too, or am I just crazy?
Matt
I have no signature (or wait, do I...)
|
Don't worry, Matt, there's no truth to that rumor. But if it were true,
I think you'd be overreacting -- I wouldn't be bothered by it. Just another
voice. Now if they had a picture of Cameron Diaz in the corner every time
her character spoke a line... then that would be distracting. Just a voice,
though, wouldn't bother me. Even though I personally wouldn't budget a ton
of money to hire Hollywood actors for voiceovers -- there are a lot of average
folks with good voices that could do a great job at a cheaper cost. But that's
just my cheap side speaking.
| Just a nice guy? |
|
Now waitaminnit.
What's with all the shiny happiness going on in the column recently? "I'm
glad to be back, and it's good to see you guys"? Where's the sarcasm?
Where's the cynicism?
Make fun of me, or something. Before I completely lose faith.
-Eightball
|
Me? Sarcastic? Hmm. I thought I was generally a pretty nice guy. Drew Cosner was always the
sarcastic one. But I have a mean streak too, Eightball! By the way, does the "Eight" part in
your name denote your IQ? Or is it more of the beginning of an anecdote you often tell that
starts "well, I used to have only 2 testicles..."
That was out of line. I think. I apologize.
| Priests and game endings |
|
Dear AK,
In response to the Shadowhearts priest question and
whatnot, it is quite possible that the guy had
a daughter, then his wife died, and THEN he became a
priest.
Or, he could be one of those priests that discard the
council of Trent's ruling that holy men be chaste as
well as celibate. I know I would.
As an American, I feel that ambiguity in endings to
games and other media entertainment forms are a very
bad idea. I saw the end to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon," and I was thinking much, much more than I
should have been at the end of a movie.
I definitely appreciate something that spells out
everything for me, or at least where I know that
everybody's happy, like in Final Fantasy 6.
That being said, I also think that the Chrono Trigger
tradition of several different endings is good too,
because of the replay value. Still, in each ending,
a lot of unresolved questions there ain't.
|
Fair enough answer about the priest. I understand how you feel, though, about
wanting to be satisfied at the end of a movie or a game. It's just part of the
fact that games and movies are forms of entertainment -- and most people like
being satisfied while entertained. If they want steep emotional and intellectual
stimulation, then they won't be playing a game or watching a movie, generally. They're
more of an escape than a stimulant.
| How to Get Your Letter Printed 101 |
|
God, how are you AK?
I swear I'm you hugest fan and you've been quite an inspiration to me.I've
said it before and I'll say it again, you were on the same level as the
great Jay Boor but now have surpassed even him!
I remember you just left and all, I'm so happy you're back, even if it is
only for a few days.
I just wanted to tell you, that you rock the most out of anybody on the
planet.
Anyway my questions/comments were.....
I bought a PS2 last week and saw the update on the site about the hard drive
being sold in Japan for roughly $150. Isn't a bit much to ask the public to
shell out for a hard drive after already paying $300 for the console itself,
not to mention a memory card? I don't want to sound bitchy but I think the
Xbox or the Gamecube might have an edge as far as price and not having to
shell out for more hardware.
Also, what would you like to see another sequel of? I thought Vagrant Story
was very well done and one of the most original RPGs to date even though it
was basically a stat intensive dungeon crawl.
Well that's about it. Oh, and AK where you been man?
-Some people call me someone-
|
I love this guy! He compliments me AND talks about Jay Boor! What a pal. I appreciate
your kind sentiment in a major way.
I think Sony is asking a lot out of its customers to shell out that much money for
accessories, and I think it'll backfire if having a hard drive becomes required
to play certain games. Until then, it's a fun novelty that people with money will
get, but everyone else will kind of shrug off. That's my guess. For now, Sony is
charging a lot of money for a PS2, but I think the prices are going to start coming
down as soon as it has some real competitors. And I doubt the other systems will be
a complete package in the box -- I bet they'll have a line of accessories out as well.
As for what I've been up to since leaving the site -- I've been busy. I go to college
still (just finished up summer school), graduating in December. I'm also working in the
PR and marketing department of an international software company and working out at the
gym every day. Oh yeah, I'm still in a band -- we hit some major roadblocks but we're
starting to get rolling again. I'll be sure to let yall know when we have some mp3s ready
for public consumption. Besides that, and a busy social life, I also have various projects
that I muck with in my "free time" -- I'm making myself a personal web page, trying to learn
how to be a better graphics artist, designing a new and better form of H2O, etc. So I stay
hella busy.
| A pretty fine idea, if flawed |
|
Hi,
I just wanted to bitch about licensing. I read or heard somewhere that
Microsoft spent millions to "secure" the rights to make games based on
the A.I. movie, and unless you get to kill that little hick kid I
wouldn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole, especially after hearing
they are going to make genre games(racing, fighting) and just slap the
name on the package(sounds like microsoft)and that just pisses me
off,not that I'd actually get an xbox anyway.
So that's the bad side of licensing, and the good? Not much. Aside
from Goldeneye,most of the suck(superman 64). So my thought is why don't
companies make games based on older, cheaper, more easily adaptable
licenses instead of whatever is in the theaters? Why can't someone make
a goddamn G.I. Joe first person shooter? Or an original Transformers
rpg? These are cartoons that most young adults now watched religiously
as children, and if someone could them right(Rare, Square) they could be
huge. If not either of those could someone please make a GOOD Lord of
the Rings game, even if it is a TOTAL Zelda rip-off.
Achilleszero, robot in disguise, real American hero, and sworn enemy of
Haley Joel Osment
|
I really like your idea, Achilleszero, especially since the games you talk about would really
appeal to me. The problem is that as we get older, the target audience for video games
stays the same. The people that would get excited about a GI Joe video game are males
about 19 years old to 25 that are video game fans, which is a pretty limited market. On the
other hand, if you have a successful movie, you can piggyback that success into a larger
interested market and also ride on the positive public opinion and name recognition.
But man, this world really does need a quality Lord of the Rings game.
| Two nights with AK wouldn't be complete without an REM mention (small Skies of Arcadia spoilers) |
|
Wow AK its just like old times,
I don't have anything RPG related to talk about but seeing as how you're AK I do have something R.E.M. to talk about. I work at my local Best Buy and we have this crappy "Best Buy Radio" which plays a bunch of current "hits" (I swear if I have to hear anymore trance music I'll put my fist through a wall) and one of those "hits" is the new R.E.M. Now as a song I have nothing against whatever its called, its not as good as their old stuff but its not bad either. My problem lies in the "dj" of this "radio" he actually says that R.E.M. "single handedly created alternative rock."
WHAT!!! R.E.M. is great and all but they did not created alternative rock. That accomplishment belongs to the Pixies man!!
By the way my favorite ending for an RPG is Skies of Aracadia. The main story is wrapped up but the main characters still have their lives of adventure ahead of them and what can I say except that I lay awake dreaming of Skies of Aracadia 2...
-Figure Four
|
Quite honestly, I think it's impossible to say that any one band "created" alternative rock,
since it was a movement rather than an invention. It is my personal and biased opinion that
REM played one of the larger roles in instigation such a movement, especially in their sphere
of influence of college radio and the live audiences they reached during years of constant
touring. At the same time, I think the Pixies were important to the alternative rock movement,
as well. I'm not as familiar with the Pixies' history, but I do recall that they're important
in the movement. So, how's that for walking the fence?
Closing Comments:
Man, that was an incredibly fun couple of days interacting with you awesome guys once again.
It was just like old times. I might host the column again sometime in the vague future,
so keep your eye out for me. Until then, feel free to drop me a line and chat with me
that way. Tomorrow is Jeremy Steimel's turn to steer this wobbly ship, so treat him well! Take care!
-Andrew Kaufmann
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