Visual Purple -
July 27, 2001 - 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.
Why doesn't anyone put nacho cheese on corn on the cob?
Don't say we didn't warn you.
A bit more feedback on the PS2 Linux kit: bossman Vestal pointed out that one big advantage of the kit would be getting the individual components as a bundle cheaper than you might get them individually, while others pointed out the many interesting things that could be done with a PS2 VGA adaptor. I'm still not convinced I'd get one, but the entire package does sound a bit more interesting now.
And something I just now found out: Nich has selflessly, awesomely covered me by updating the last few months of archives. My laziness and shame know no bounds, his coolness rules all. Thanks much, dude.
Onward.
| Blowing off some steam |
|
Well, I just wanted to voice my opinion here (even though It's probably off topic), as I think it conflicts with the popular opinion, and hopefully, I'll manage to piss some people off.
Just like you to know, that with every single FFX update the GIA gives, the game looks worse and worse to me. What a goddamn disgrace. As a matter of fact, I think it's gonna suck so bad, this is going to be the FIRST Final Fantasy game that I will not buy.
I hated FF8, but I loved FF9. All FF10 does is take the very worst aspects of FF8, the ones that made it suck so hard, and amplify so they suck even more. This whole "sphere board" is completely ridiculous. Any system where characters can learn any ability like that is completely and totally horrible and out of place. It renders all the character faceless, and you might as well have a bunch of wooden blocks for your characters, they're all the same anyway.
"Tidus" is the most unlikeable hero I've ever seen. He's some stupid sports player who wears overalls. There's a reall formula for success.
I know this probably conflicts with the opinions of most readers, and possibly yours as well, but FF10 sucks ass. Plain and simple. I refuse to buy it. FF8 was a sorely disappointing experience for me, but it did teach me to see a shit game behind a bunch of hype, and now I'm going to save the 50 bucks that I should have saved 2 years ago.
I'm not even going to go into the disgrace that is FF11. Let's just say, all hope rests on twelve.
-RV
Ok with PSO ver. 2 only costing $5 an month(and I'm hoping Square will
follow this example) I was considering paying to play FF11 for awhile,
but from the trailers the game has none of the Final Fantasy looks.
Latley even Square's relistic style has has something of an Anime look
to it, while the tailers for FF11 show somthing totally medievil. The
dragon in one of the trailers doesn't even have the crazy look to it
that you'd expect from FF monsters. The whole game looks like sombody's
bad Everquest clone and I can only hope it doesn't play like that. I
was hoping that I could play as a four or five foot tall Moogle(as these
cute but deadly guys are one of the FF races) or some crazy looking
theif. Totally medevil in total realism just doesn't appeal to me.
Forget elves...I wana be a Moogle!
Shadowcat
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I've been getting a lot of grumblings about FFX and XI lately, so I thought I'd print these as sort of an emergency escape valve, to head off more people sending in the same in the future.
That said, neither of these letters makes much headway with me. Yeah, FFX is cut from much the same cloth as VIII - deal with it. A lot of people didn't like that game, but I loved it, and accusations that it "sucked so much" don't do much to change my mind. Actually, given that your primary purpose behind the letter seems to be to piss people off, I'm kinda regretting printing it in the first place. But here it is; you've had your chance to grandstand and decry the evil that is FFX. Meanwhile, the reviews and sales have been excellent, and I loved what I saw at E3, so you'll have to excuse the rest of us if we don't stick around to simmer in the same pool of bile that you're mired in.
As for FFXI, nope, what we've seen so far isn't what I was expecting either, and given what I imagined/hoped the game would be, it's not surprising that I'm a bit disappointed with what we've been shown. Still, nobody really knows all that much about this game, and nobody will for a while. And no matter what it looks like ahead of time, I'm not going to totally give up on it until I've had a chance to check it out first hand, so bitching about the game ahead of time isn't going to do anybody any good.
| Now this guy has reason to complain |
|
Greetings Mr. Jones.
Since you deign today as Free Topic Day, I would like
to just speak my mind of what has become of my most
beloved of all games: Phantasy Star Online.
I will get this right out of the way: I love PSO. It
is not a simple game for me, but a place that I have
met many dear friends. Sure, the game itself is
nothing mind shattering. After all, all one does is go
and kill enemies, mostly. It is simply the fact that
one can join and game with people all over the world
at any given time. It still amazes me even today.
Back when I first purchased PSO in the beginning of
February, I had no idea that I would have such an
experience. Little did I know... The game was so
addictive. I could meet so many new faces and people.
Just join an open game and let the quests begin.
Then the Accursed GameShark came into play... I first
noticed this blasted device being used near the end of
February. Users would use it to duplicate Rare items
and tweak the stats of others. I thought: "Oh well, I
will just be wary of which items I accept from other
users."
Then the PlayerKilling commenced...
Now, I have only been PK'd around 2 times. But of
those times, It has been an awful feeling. Apparently
the GS reverses the effect of the healing spell. In
effect, killing the users rather than reccuperating.
It is such a helpless feeling. My only recourse was to
play only with my friends in password-locked games.
Which was fine...
Until Last Friday night...
The damn GS code website has released a code where GS
users can go into any pass locked game now.
...
No one is safe anymore. We are at the mercy of little
punks that just kill or Freeze your game screen,
Delete your card list, corrupt your character file or
just plain invade your games and steal from you.
Sega has done NOTHING. I suppose with PSOV2's release
that they consider PSOV1 a lost cause. Let me tell
you... If I am paying money to play V2 online, Sega
had BETTER put some sort of policing or enforce their
hollow threats this time... (Apparently, the GS cannot
be used in V2, a VERY good thing.)
But for how long will even V2 be free of the GS
scourge? Already, many items have been banned by Sega
due to users abusing and somehow copying them...
Chris... I do not want to leave PSO... I have too many
dear friends on there. Why wont these bastards just
leave us players alone?
Yuji Naka must weep at night... For his creative
vision to have been tarnished and ruptured so... It
sickens me.
That is all...
-Erdrick (Who he, and Akiko, still miss Leslee,
dearly... Please come back to PSO... and us.)
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Not knowing that much about PSO, there's not much directly I can say about your situation, except that since last Friday really isn't that long, and it's still possible Sega will step in with some kind of fix. On the other hand, with PSOv2 so close, there may not be much impetus for them to do so... bummer, dude.
On the other hand, this is exactly what I'm worried about with FFXI, based on horror stories like the one above, and memories of the early days of Ultima Online. Everybody says they want the ability to do anything in an online RPG, but the problem with giving people the power to do so is that they will do anything, including actions that hurt the game world and tear the community apart. I've always loved the epic quality of RPGs, but dealing with punk teenagers isn't my idea of fun, and I'm curious to see how the next wave of online RPGs will handle this problem in the States.
| The adventure of defending Link |
| Previously, you mentioned in the letters (when someone was complaining about
the "Fat" Link in the Oracles games) "Do you really want to return to the
non-fat 'adult' Link in Zelda II? Didn't think so." What, may I ask was wrong
with the "adult" Link in Zelda II? I thought the design kicked ass!
Furthermore, I contest to this day that Zelda II was the best in the series
(well, not counting TOoT). It was goddamn HARD, and it was fun, and it was
full of secrets, and you could actually level up! Zelda II kicked some major
ass and still does. Anyone disagree/agree? Let's get a discussion going here!
-Hans Otterson
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Well, obviously I kinda disagree. I was largely just yanking some chains with the Link comment, but Zelda 2's still the weakest entry in the series for a couple of reasons. First off, it was not "full of secrets" - compared to any other game in the series, the size of the game world and the number of hidden items was tragically low. There was a grand total of four heart containers, each in a relatively obvious "remote" location, and the magic spells you could learn weren't a patch on the items you got in the first and third games. For the time, the combat and graphics were pretty good, and I'll always respect the game for being a pioneer action RPG. Still, I thought the gradual pseudo-levelling up of all the other games through new swords and more heart containers was preferable to the forced experience building Z2 required.
And if that didn't get across my feelings about the game, perhaps this will. Nearly any of the Zeldas, including the original, have good enough gameplay so that they can still be picked up and enjoyed fresh, even years later. But I've never felt the need to go dig up an old copy of The Adventure of Link, and likely never will.
| Sell, sell, sell |
| "Only Nintendo's seemingly happy to just sell a games machine..."
Erm, when? Ever since the NES began selling in droves, Nintendo has been hard
to avoid. Cereals, trading cards, cartoons, movies, comics, clothes,
Halloween costumes...and all before Pikachu. I'm not ignoring or even
excusing their competitors' tactics for exposure (U2 concerts and MTV gigs
included), but have you ever had Crash Bandi-o's first thing in the morning?
Furthermore, enough with the myth that Nintendo's games represent some
faultless purity of gameplay over gloss. They're as guilty of
'graphic-whoring' as much as anybody. Regardless of the games' actual
quality, what did they sell Starfox, Donkey Kong Country, and Killer Instinct
on? If I'd heard "SGI Workstations" one more time in 1995, I'd have jumped
off the fourth floor. As for the axiom that gamers can't be coerced into
buying accessories, just look what Majora's Mask did for the Expansion Pak.
I suppose gamers eternally grateful for the works of Miyamoto would gut their
own grandmothers before criticizing the Almighty N, but let's remember that
Nintendo is a business, and just as petty and cutthroat as Sony and/or
Microsoft in the battle for the gamer's wallet.
SonicPanda
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Come on, that's an obvious misrepresentation of what I was talking about yesterday. Yes, Nintendo's been into merchandising everything under the sun, but their principal focus has always been games. My point wasn't to portray them as some monastic order of gameplay purists, but even when they've been merciless profit hounds, they've done it by making and marketing interactive entertainment first and foremost.
I don't think they ended up making a ton of money of Expansion Packs - that was more along the lines of a technical fix to correct the limited amount of RAM the N64 shipped with back in '96. And it's interesting to note that while Sony and Microsoft appear to be eyeing the set-top box market (half console, half PC) Nintendo's actually stepped away from that strategy. The original Famicom had more than a few other things it could do besides games, but the N64, Gamecube, and GBA aren't much more than home arcade systems, and darn good ones at that.
| The fight for equality rages on |
| I was reading the lastest column about next generation console systems for
the future, and I thought, "Hey! How about seeing more games in the future
that appeal not only to guys but to girls as well?" Clearly, the gaming
industry right now is focused mainly on the male market. Just check out the
number of games (and game magazines) which feature females with breasts so
big that they can't even stand up without back problems, let alone fight
around in tights and save the day.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not bitter or even offended by the way females are
portrayed in games; I've already been too desensitized by movies and
magazines to be offended. Instead, we laugh and crack jokes when we see
these females, and that's because we view them as a means to satisfy the
raging testosterone in adolescent boys. You may argue that is not the case
(which I'd agree), but to girls who have never played video/PC games, it
doesn't matter. Image is everything, especially when it comes to trying new
things, and the image presented to girls right now is unattractive. It makes
them feel that games aren't "meant" for them. Trying to get them to play
video games is kinda like trying to get them to go to a Hooters restaurant.
No, I'm not suggesting that reducing the females' breast to realistic sizes
will all of a sudden ignite girls' interest in video/PC games. And no, I'm
defintely not suggesting that we should have more pathetic Cosmopolitan
games in which the oh-so-exciting object is to trace the model's lips with a
lip liner on the monitor. These games don't interest us. They are insulting
to the entire sex. I'm suggesting that we should have more games that appeal
to both sexes, like The Sims, the Myst series, the Mario series, Tetris.
Part of the reason why, I believe, these gender neutral games sold so well
is that they appeal to the mainly untapped female market. And I'm sure that
everyone, male and female alike, won't mind seeing more games of such high
caliber.
Why am I bringing this up? It's just that I've heard some people on this
forum complain about how games are not recognized as a form of entertainment
just as acceptable as movies and music. Well, maybe that's because while
both the movie and music industry address the female market with their
Shakespeare in Love and Christina Aguilera, the game industry in general
hasn't.
Another reason why I'm bringing this up is that, frankly as a girl, I'm sick
of not being able to share my interest in video games with my girlfriends
(why else am I on this forum?). They just smile and think of it as a cute
little quirk, as if I'm still into Sailor Moon, which means that I can only
talk about games for like 30 seconds before it gets annoying. And so for all
those guys who feel sorry for themselves because their girlfriend doesn't
share their gaming interest, just know that gaming girls like me have it
worse.
Paris
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Scott McCloud would agree with you, I'm sure - he's been pushing for more diversity in comics for a while now, and games will do themselves a big favor if they can avoid the boys' club attitude of most mainstream American comics. There's a good amount of potential in games to bring more women in, that's for sure - prettyboys like Sephiroth seem to be nearly as big a draw for some women as Tifa is to guys. I've known plenty of girls who devoured all forms of fantasy they could get their hands on, and RPGs provide that romantic/escapist hook in abundance.
The thing is, if I may indulge in a broad generalization for just a moment: girls in general seem more inclined to pay attention to "real life" than guys. Not in some dumbass Nora Ephron "women go shopping and talk relationships, guys go to sports games and drink a lot of beer" sense, but when most of the guys in my 5th grade class were still talking Nintendo and Transformers, most of the girls were already thinking about what they'd wear on their first dates. The irony that Madonna or Britney Spears is just as much a manufactured fantasy as Star Wars went right over their heads - you'd never see them staring at a game screen for hours on end when they could talk on the telephone and read fashion magazines for hours. It's probably just a cultural thing that won't be changing anytime soon; even as the bell curve flattens out a bit, games will primarily be the domain of young males for some time to come.
| Not that real, not that quick |
| In response to those expecting photorealistic graphics: relax.
Imagine: More than a hundred people working for years to make the
Final Fantasy Movie. The finest artists in the world, a ton of time,
and a large budget, but they still came up short on the photo scale.
Now imagine a dozen people, with less than 2 years and no unlimited
expense account. Even if the hardware technology arrives ahead of
schedule, there is still a long period of catch-up work needed to make
the tools to actually come up with the materials.
Art itself is not a science, which, incidentally, might explain why I
think Soul Blade (PSX) still has the best intro yet created.
Richard "KZ" Knight
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But I think you're forgetting that the FF Movie itself already created some of the tools you speak of - Square started work on the movie way back when dedicated graphics workstations were still churning out cartooney models like the FF7 FMV characters, and look at how close (relatively speaking) the film ended up to real. What happens when they take what they've learned from making the film and turn that knowledge loose on a room full of PS2 graphics processors?
I agree that the process has a way to go; as with a lot of technical accomplishments, it takes more and more effort to get that last tiny remaining piece of the puzzle. Graphics may be totally realistic except for skin tone, and then totally realistic except in natural lighting conditions, and then totally realistic except for certain filming conditions that only an expert cinematographer would really be able to explain. But considering where CG was 10 years ago, and where it is now, I don't find it unreasonable to suggest the PS4, if not the PS3, will be able to show anything it wants to on screen.
| Your daily recommended dose of Amano trivia |
| Hello,
Hey did you know that Amano Yoshitaka was in a movie a couple years ago? It
was New Rose Motel, and it starred Christopher Walken and Willem Dafoe. And
there's not much better you can get than those two for your acting debut
right? The problem is that the movie sucked, Dafoe and Walken seemed to be
pretending they were in a more interesting movie. And Amano didn't even have
a speaking part. We just see him on a tv, doing stuff like looking tired and
then at the end, dying. And then DaFoe and Walken look all worried and upset
and stuff. The plot had something to do with the two leads sending DaFoes
girlfriend to have sex with Amano so he'll give up some secret to them or
something. I reccomend watching it for the novelty of seeing Amano in a
movie, and because Walken and DaFoe are never intolerable to watch, but as a
movie it just fails on every level. Also of note, Walken produced it, so I'm
asuming that he's a fan and/or friend of Amanos. Which wouldn't totally
surprise me. On two seperate related topics- Why do I love that video Walken
did with Spike Jonez so much? and- Why have I seen so much Amano work for
FF10 and zero Tetsuya work?
Gilbert
|
The only reason I know the name New Rose Motel is because it's a short story from William Gibson's Burning Chrome anthology, but indeed, the IMDB lists it as a film version of that same story... and does list the Amano in the film as being the same guy behind FF. Gibson's not listed as being involved with anything in the film beyond the original short story, but he's been a fairly knowledgeable Nipponophile in the past, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had something to do with getting Amano in the film... who knows?
And Amano's artwork is always a big promotional push for a FF game, regardless of who did the character designs, but the characters in the actual game are Nomura to the core... what more do you want?
| Yet another chance to pontificate about online RPGs |
| Heyas CJ
First off, does Dragoon/Monk work? I thought jump dammage only doubled with spears. I'd be a necromancer/ninja if possible, or a sorcerrer/ninja...
Speaking of which, with regards to FFIX, it seems like it has the capabilites to be a MMOFFT, but do you think it will? I mean FFT was one of the greatest games ever IMO, but would it be successful? Is it what the thronging masses really want?
Which brings me to a point, we know what we want, the more hardcore-ish gamers, but what the casual gamers wants is generally what sells. Like it or not, game companies need to/want to make whatever sells the most, and not necessarily whatever is the best...sure its never going to be perfect, but is there a happy medium? FFVII is the closest I can think of, and it did extremely well, but what direction as a collective can we gamers hope to go down? I mean a fully 2D tiled MMOFFT would be preordered and paid in cash by me the moment it was announced, but the 2D aspect alone (which would make the game significantly easier to do) would turn off a lot of the more casual gamers who want to play a movie. We've talked which way the industry is going, but what way will gamers go? Food for thought.
Efrate |
Generally I dislike anything that promotes "hardcore" gamers over anybody else - everybody started out as an inexperienced newbie gamer at one point, and I've never thought you had to be one of an elite few to properly appreciate the nuances of an RPG. Still, I think there's a lot to be said about an online RPG that tends to attract more committed gamers over the long term. My idea from yesterday's just a pipe dream, but consider the problems that Erdrick had with PSO above - people come in to the shared world, don't respect it, don't respect each other, and end up doing something that makes the place unlivable. Sega would probably make more money in the long term if they could keep people like that out, especially since really committed gamers have been known to play online RPGs for hundreds or thousands of hours.
Now, I'm not under the impression that hard core RPG fans are any more intelligent or polite or respectful than anybody else (far from it, usually) but they do genuinely love the games, and if they were given the chance to build their own communities, I'd think (and hope) that they'd end up more stable than not.
| Some more advantages to PS2 Linux and accesories |
| You know what I want out of my PS2 internet connection and hard
drive? I want the programs that Sony would never make but could enhance
the experience of the PS2. You'll never see a licensed SNES emulator for
the PS2, but if people tool around with the hardware, it will probably
be made (there is already one for the DC). I want to see a home brewed
DVD frontend that allows for any region encoded disc (it would have to
ignore the hardware drivers). I want to see the programmers on the
internet create a PSX emulator that ups resolution. There will probably
be an MP3 player and software that makes the USB ports compatible with
CD burners, and therefore able to burn music CDs. Man I can't wait for
the PS2 to open up a bit.
--
BeerGoggles_FromMARS
Daniel Kaszor
|
Interesting points... I have my doubts on who (and why) would build that kind of software for the PS2, but that argument sounds like a good one to offload on Nich tomorrow.
Closing Comments:
For tomorrow, tell Nich who'd win in a bar fight between Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Frank Miller and Alan Moore. Alternatively, if you don't know who any of those people are, tell Nich about what you think of the various accessories and add-ons that the PS2 will have: are they useful, interesting expansions, or wastes of money? See you Monday.
-Chris Jones, listening to that soft, slow mandolin rain
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