When I was a boy - August 2, 2001 - Andrea Hartmann and Tamzen Marie Baker
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. We support the lovely relationship between Yuna, Lulu, and Lulu's daggers. Don't say we didn't warn you. Andrea: Well, hey. I've never done this column thing before, but I'm the only GIA staffer who hasn't, so I suppose it's about time, hmm? Then again, I suspect there's several very good reasons why I haven't done this, but we were in a bit of a tight spot. Fortunately, I was able to grab Tami and force her to do this with me, as she's done letters before - which, as I recall, resulted in this little bit of madness. Also, unlike me, as you may have noticed from reading our respective sections, she actually has a personality. Or several. Tami: This is so cool! ^____^ I'm so excited to be hosting Double Agent again! ^^;;;
*/Selphie*
Bastian: *points to the column* ahem.
Tami: Oh, right! I wonder...if someone had told Andrea and I when we met on the message boards three years ago that we'd someday be co-hosting an RPG letters column...if we would have believed them. Somehow I don't think so. All the same, somehow you ended up with us for the day(s). I'll make my apologies now. | Definitely the kawaii bishonens | | I've racked my brain, trying to think of a good, valid letter to send in to you, my fellow sisters in gaming...but this was the best I could come up with. I apolgize in advance. It has always seemed as if the males were the primary gaming majority out there, both in RPG-playing and otherwise. However, when I look at things such as fanart and fanfiction (especially fanart, it seems) the main bulk of the artists appears to be female. How do you explain this phenomenon? Is it because women are more artistically inclined? Or is it just because they wanna "draw some kawaii bishonens!" ? Discuss. -Negative Creep | Andrea: I've wondered that myself... I think if you look around the net as a whole, you'll find that the ratio of male and female artists is pretty equal, but I suspect that females feel a bit safer sending fan art of, as you put it, "kawaii bishonens!" to places like the GIA which have a female in charge of the content posted. But if you look at other archive sites, you'll find a majority of male contributors, and if you look at still others, you find them pretty evenly divided. Of course, that doesn't account for the higher proportion of female to male fan artists than female to male gamers... Perhaps it does have something to do with art often being considered a more female pursuit than male, though I don't think either gender has a more inherent talent for it. Tami: I have to agree with Andrea that the ratio of writers and artists seems to be about equal male and female. However, if you consider that the majority of the gaming public is male, you're getting a higher ratio of female gamers that also write/draw, whereas there are many more male gamers that don't write/draw. I think this probably has a lot to do with the types of games people play. There are always exceptions to any rule, but the vast majority of female gamers play more RPGs/Puzzles/Simulations than they do Sports/Fighting/Racing types of games. A lot of the games that I think attract a mostly male population aren't the type to encourage fanfics and fanart. Thus, we're merely discounting that part of the male percentage and gaming world, leaving us back with a more equal reatio when just considering RPGs. So the entire answer to this is pointless, in a way.
I do see slightly more female writers and artists out there, but again, society still leans towards the arts being female dominated in many ways. I have greater admiration for the male poets and painters of the world, because I think it takes a lot more guts to show that sensitive side of yourself when you're male then when you're female. At the same time, the girls that can whoop ass at the aforementioned sports and racing games deserve a nod to.
We're breaking down the barriers of male and female every day, aren't we? After all, on the Internet, you can be androgenous if you really want to be! Like AK!
| It just keeps going and going... | | Hi Andrea and Tami! So whadda you think about all these next-gen consoles coming out? I think I'll wait until their prices drop, and then buy one. In the meantime, I'll be catching up on all the PSX RPG's that I've missed out on over the years, like Vagrant Story, Legened of Mana, Valkyrie Profile, Dewprism, and Lunar. I'm also looking forwards to Hoshigami, Saiyuki, and Tales of Destiny 2. Do either of you have a PS2? What do you think of it? My friend has one, and I think the best part about it is its backwards compatibility. Anyway, I'll probably wait until I can get a PS2 or an X-Box for $99. See ya,
Forcas | Andrea: I'm thinking pretty much the same way - I didn't buy my SNES until the price dropped to $120, and I bought my PSX refurbished, well after its release, for roughly the same. I didn't get a Genesis of my own until last year, when I found one at a garage sale for $20. Until I did get these systems, I simply rented them and a game or two at the video store once a week for a couple bucks. Partially this was due to a lack of money as I was growing up, but partially this has to do with my being the cheapest cheapskate that ever lived. Sadly, as a result, I'm still catching up on getting my own copies of my favorite games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, let alone the following generations. (Anyone out there selling the SNES Shadowrun really cheap? As in, under $5? No? Didn't think so.)
However, I'm enough of a lame Square RPG fangirl that if I have enough money, I'll be snatching up a PS2 as soon as FFX is released. I've also got tons of PSX, DC, and N64 games I'd love to get, but... I'd swear that Square's found a way to emit vapors of nicotine or some other addictive substance from the consoles while the FF games are being played.
...Okay, and also I hear that Sydney looks even more sexy on PS2 than PSX, and that's a good enough reason for me to buy one. And hey, maybe that smoothing effect would help me to figure out what the heck is up with Hardin's pants. Screw FFX and the other next gen games - I want the PS2 for its effects on Vagrant Story. Tami: Oh, if I only had the money to buy all the games and systems I'd like to play. I've been too busy shelling out money for a higher education, which will supposedly serve me well in the end. I haven't decided if I believe this line yet. I've heard a lot of opinions about the next generation of systems, and I know I'll eventually have to shell out the money for a PS2 to play FFX. The PS2 is sure to have other RPGS as well, so the question then becomes whether or not I'll shell out the money for a second console. Seeing as how my brand new $99 Dreamcast is still sitting in its box, that seems highly unlikely at the moment. Then again, a year down the road when I have a real job and prices have dropped, I would consider it. For me, it always comes down to how outstanding the system's games are, and how pricey everything is. Really, this early on I'm content to sit back and observe the feedback before I make a decision I might regret. | Speaking of consoles... | | Ok, this is unclear. PSOne refer to the new Playstation models out, or the ones the came out years ago? AUGH, MAKE IT CLEAR, PEOPLE! -- Shawn K. | Andrea: According to our news guys, PSone is the name Sony uses to refer to any first-gen Playstation system - so if it's not a PS2, it's a PSone. At least until we get a PS3 or whatever. Hope that's clear enough. | HELP I'M STUCK IN THE MIST CAVE AND ITS FULL OF MIST | | I'm writing to ask a question and express my opinion. My question is; What do you at the GIA think of the abundance of faq/walkthrough sites like Gamefaqs.com? I personally have a love/hate relationship with them. The good is that they are legendary resources for information on video games of all types. They can bring so much together for game systems and offer a lot for people to explore. The bad is that they can take absolutely all of the challenge out of game. A person can go to one and be lead by the hand through hundreds of games. I just can't see the developers appreciating it when after only a day or two of release their game is completely exposed. I can't decide which aspects are more dominant in their nature, so I thought I'd write and get your opinions. Blackmoxa | Andrea: Can't speak for the entire staff, but I appreciate the existance of FAQ/walkthrough sites, since sometimes, well... you just get stuck, and you need a hand. I personally never use a walkthrough the first time through a game unless I've been hung up on some problem for several hours, and even then I prefer to simply ask someone I know, but if no one can answer my question, it's good to be able to know exactly where I can go to have the question answered. I can't have much respect, though, for people who go through the entire game for the first time by letting the walkthrough think for them, and then say they beat the game. Just a little pet peeve of mine.
As for the game developers, I don't imagine they mind overly much in most cases; the majority of people who play games do play through on their own, and the experience the developers intended is not lost. I suppose the people who manufacture and publish the official guides might be vaguely bothered - particularly when, as I've seen done before, some random kid copies the official game guide word for word and then uploads it to one of these sites, often claiming it as their own work. Plagiarism is despicable. But most of the time, FAQs and walkthroughs created by gamers are a labor of love, with no malicious or selfish intent. Just as most companies are okay with fanfics and fan art, I don't think any offense is usually taken by a fan FAQ. Tami: Gamefaqs.com is a wonderful source of information. Yes, plagiarism is bad. Yes, some people would rather read the faq than play the game. In the end though, it's your decision whether or not to play the game and figure it out yourself. Wherever you find the joy, that's the way to go. Unless you want all 108 characters in Suikoden. Then, I'd print a copy of the FAQ. Right now. I've got mine already. Andrea: ...I'm playing Suikoden for the first time right now, and I don't. Ah well, I know I'll be playing it again, because I'm loving it. Tami: SUIKODEN ROCKS! BOOYAKA! | I just don't want to think about this | | "Fact of the matter is, I can't imagine what Lunar would be like without a Working Designs translation; undoubtedly there are a lot of Japanese-only Game Arts fans who'd tell me the game is brilliant, superb, etc., but I can't help but think there wouldn't be all that much left to Lunar without heartfelt (if somewhat over the top) English performances and a lot of translation riffs. Take the Working Designs out of Lunar, and you're left with... Grandia. The first one." I just want to ask Chris how the hell he'd feel if WD had translated Vagrant Story and filled _that_ with references to Wheaties and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? What if WD had given Sydney a flatulence problem like they gave Myght the inventor in Lunar: SSSC? Also, Grandia was a top-notch game, so I don't get why Chris is referencing it in what appears to be a negative light. Admittedly the US PSX release was an average port with poor voice acting, but it still stands as one of the best 32-bit RPGs ever. | Andrea: Well, if you want to ask Chris, you'll have to wait until he gets back. Between this and the fact that I've not played Lunar or Grandia (blame two and a half years with no income), I'm not sure why I posted this, except that the idea of someone giving Sydney a flatulence problem either scares the crap out of me or greatly amuses me.
However, not even having played Lunar, I'd have to point out that Lunar is a generally light-hearted game by every account I've heard, and I'm assuming that Myght the inventor was not intended to be a particularly tragic or frightening character, so there's not so much of a parallel to that specific example. Even if WD may go a bit too far for some people's preferences, I can't imagine they go so far as to completely rape a character of their basic personality traits. Though I suppose I could be wrong... and I'm sure that if I am, a dozen people will write in tomorrow to tell me.
The issue with WD translations seems to be more a matter of personal taste (or lack of taste, depending on your point of view) than a matter of inconsideration for the source material. Some people love the pop culture references and somewhat immature humor, as it's a change from the more serious nature of most RPGs being released these days. Personally, I suspect they'd irritate me - pop culture already does that on its own, quite frankly. Having more of it shoved in my face during a normally pleasant diversion, such as playing an RPG, doesn't appeal to me much. But hey, gotta play devil's advocate here. Tami: I love WD. I'm also a sucker for lame humour and pop culture references. In a world that takes itself way too seriously, I don't mind the cheesy light-heartedness. Is it overkill sometimes? Sure. But I'm sure we could find something in the opposite extreme if we wanted to. | ...though we choose between reality and madness... | | Hello guest host(s), Recently I took an involuntary total break from video games for a whole five months. I got into the real world and into a relationship with an alcoholic who was too old for me, then the steering locked on my families car and I drove through a barbed wire fence, and to top it off, some jerk stumbled out of a bar and tried to pick a fight with me for no reason. Real life is too nihilistic, chaotic, nonsensical and just plain silly for me, back to my games with their existentialism, interesting people and inconsequential injuries. I don't need real beligerant drunks and car accidents when I have Seaman, Street Fighter 3 and Crazy Taxi on me Dreamcast. Disgruntled Gilbert, like Mad Max get it? | Andrea: I dunno... if only real life was more like the interesting universes that exist inside my consoles, I might actually leave my house now and then.
Hmm... but then, I wouldn't want a meteor falling on my head, or people trying to force me to drink poisoned tea, or giant robots stepping on my house or whatnot. Yeah, you're right - let's keep the game situations where they belong after all. Tami: We all know that the so-called real world is not always a very happy or fair place. Part of the enchantment of gaming, especially with RPGs, is the fantasy and escapism of living in another world for a little while. It gives us something to be involved in that doesn't have to affect the outcome of the rest of our lives. I can obsess over Flik, writing him love poetry and drawing sexy pictures of him, without ever having to worry if he's going to reject me, slap me or run from me screaming. I think gaming also gives us a way of relating to other people. RPGs give us a chance to stand in someone else's shoes and watch *them* do idiotic things. Of course, when they get to blow stuff up and ride around in airships, I sometimes wish reality was a little closer to the fantasy. But in the world of gaming, it's ok to share Flik! Somehow I don't think he'd be too happy about having a fan club in real life. Nina's more than enough. Andrea: I agree wholeheartedly. Except that I obsess over Sydney and Hardin. But anyway... | Male bonding | | Dear Andrea and/or Tami, The subject of the ast few letter columns has been gaming, and what it means to someone-- and also what it would mean to someone in the future. All this talk of introspection and the future has made me think recently abou the past, and how video games played an important part in not just my life... but in my relationship with my father as well. ^_^ My dad had been a video game fan back in the days of Pong, and one of my early childhood memories involves a trip to a pizza parlor where I stood on top of two stacked milk crates while he helped me play Arkanoid. Then, of course, came the NES. My dad made the purchase of an NES with Power Pad (wish it still worked-- that olympic game was fun and a good workout) for me on my ninth birthday, and it was then I cut my teeth on real gaming. But gaming was a real family activity. My dad, my little brother and I would play together or against each other all the time. He got a subscription to Nintendo Power soon after, and as a compromise he would let me read game stragies to him (as I had the bad habit of opening and readng through the issue that arrived in the mail before him.) And the longer, complex games drew us closer togethr, even if was the bond of competition. The first game we competed against each other to beat first was Metal Gear. And, er, well, so he did beat it before me. But he had an unfair advantage-- he din't have a set bedtime. ^_~ Our first RPG encounter was Dragon Warrior. I got it when Nintendo Power was giving away a free copy of the game with each subscription (and dad finally caved in and got me my own subscription). And I was instanly hooked on RPGs from then on (My dad would have beat it before me, as we were neck and neck, but before the final battle, when the evil Dragonlord asked if he'd join him, Dad said "yes", so the Dragonlord laughed and then Dad's character died. Heh heh heh!). But the game that cemented my fondness for the RPG genre was Final Fantasy, which we actually ended up getting by a freak chance. See, I had saved my shekels for a Game Genie-- y'know that device that would snap onto the end of a game cartridge, and allow you to hack the game parameters if you had the right codes-- but the first one I got didn't work. So, I traded it in for a new one. Still didn't work with the NES, even after I got a professional cleaning and everything. So, we decided to take store credit. We walked by the aisles and then pointed it out to me: Final Fantasy. I had read about it in the huge multi-page spreads in Ninteno Power magazine. Hmm, knights, wizards, and an epic quest. "Hey Dad, I bet I can beat THIS one before you!" He laughed, and the race was on (For the record, he actually beat it before me. And, um, I've never actually beaten the first FF, which will undoubted earn me a scarlet letter amongst the series' die hard fans. ^_^;;). We used up reams of notebook paper taking down passwords, notes, sketched maps for various games... And when we purchased a SNES a few years later, we still played games fairly often, if not so much together, at least in tandem. Sometimes it would be me watching him play, sometimes, it would be him watching me play (though he could be a bit of a back seat gamer, especially during boss fights in the SNES Zelda game-- "Shawn, you had him in a pattern! You should stick to that, and not move unless you have to!"), but no matter what father-son differences we had, we always had a common ground. One of my funniest Xmas memories relates to Dad and gaming... It was my turn that year to stay with my Mom and little brother for Xmas that year. We each could open one present on Xmas eve. I picked one that felt kinda heavy, tore off the wrapping, and gasp! It was Secret Of Mana! The game I had wanted but couldn't save up for! Hurrieddly, I open the box... ...and two 'D' batteries roll out onto the floor. Confused, I peer inside, and see a note resting on top of a green square of felt. It read: "Dear Shawn-- Merry Christmas. I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist. Felt heavy enough, right? I do have the game-- but this time, I'm getting to play it first. It'll be waiting for you when you get home. After all, I _need_ the head start. Love Dad. PS: Look under the square of cloth, there's 20 bucks for you." A few years later, my father and I didn't get along at all. In fact, after I moved out, there was a time where we didn't even speak to each other at all. And when we had finally made peace, and had come a lot closer together than we had in a long while, I invited him over to my place. We talked, caught up on life, talked about a ot of things... ...and he played Tenchu on my PSX for a half hour, with me beng a back seat gamer ("Dad! No, you'l alert the guard. Use the ninja stars!"). I guess the more things change, the more thay stay the same. Sincerely,
Shawn David Struck
www.saucybard.com/shawn | Andrea: I find it incredibly cool that you have a father who can appreciate gaming as you do. My dad's not interested in them except for the hardware, and my mother... well, I guess Tetris and Dr. Mario lightened her up, because she just asked me the other day if I or my oldest brother had the NES currently; she wanted to teach my five year old brother to play Super Mario Bros.
Seriously, that's a great story, and I'm glad for you. And man, the nostalgia trip this letter gave me... Actually it reminds me of my own gaming origins: the family effort at arcade Moon Patrol. Mom manned the jump button and my oldest little brother (three years old at the time) just pressed the shoot button as fast as he could... until we were spending so much money that the parents caved and got us an Atari 2600. Mmmm, Atari. Well, I'll save that rambling for the next letter... Tami: Although my dad participated in drawing maps for The Legend of Zelda, and introduced me to Atari, I can't say gaming was as much a family event as it was in your house. However, my brother and I, who are two years apart in age, were inseparable gaming partners for years. We blew through all the SNES RPGs together, obsessively raced each other in Mario Kart and F-Zero, and kicked each other's butss as Ryu and Chun-Li. It's funny that he started out the bigger gamer of us two, but after all was said and done, I ended up being the bigger gamer in the end. Gaming was part of our bonding experience as kids, and I truly believe it's one of the thigns that built the bond we still have today. Every time we go home, we make a little time to jam on the piano and play a few old games. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything - gaming has definitely bonded me to other people in mroe ways than I could possibly count. Andrea: And your dad's right, by the way - stay in the pattern. ;) | Nostalgialicious! | | Hey Andrea, big fan of your Fanfic collumn! It got me started on reading those little gems! [Andrea: Actually, fanfics are Tami's department, and I run fan art... but glad you like her work!] Now, on to buisness... When I heard Free-Topic day, one game smacked me in the side of the head and wouldn't get off until I threatened to bring out the dogs... Faxanadu....... Does anyone even remember this little game anymore? It was never a big seller I don't think, but for my money it was a lot better of an Adventure/Action RPG typed game than Castlevania 2 or the others of the time. Faxanadu did have what could have been the worst use of our language of all time (yes, including Zelda, Zelda 2, hell even Burgertime) but I really enjoyed the story. Nothing was thrown at you, and although the linearity of the game was quite apparent, it did nothing but add to the fun-level. Finding the 3 Springs had me stumped for quite a while until I found that Guru (they called him a Guri, I know) in the Tower of Fortress. That door was well-hidden, and many a gamer would say that that was bad game engineering, but it was just a clever use of the pallette to hide the door from view. Now, enough gloating of my beating of an age-old game, the point is: What happened to Hudson Soft? What happened to this game? Where did those old Nintendo developers (SunSoft and the like) go? All of those great old games (the original Batman and the aforementioned title are just two of many) had companies with vision, so where did they go during the 16-bit or 32-bit days? The answer? They were smart enough to realize that video games were going the way of the movie industry: More money, more time spent on games, more fancy artwork, huige music studios, more years in translation SQAREANDWORKINGDESINGS *ahem, sorry* and at what result? Has gameplay gotten better? Now, that's an argument that can only be decided by the amount of FUN we have playing these games. Would you rather play Final Fantasy 15 meets Megaman 23 starring the Cast of Street Fighter versus Marvel comics wearing Chocobo suits (in full surround sound theatre quality resolution and stereo where available) or would you rather pop in Zelda and play a while? Do we need Resident Evil, the Code Veronica Director's Cut 7 Gold Version, or would you rather face Mike Tyson on Punchout? I don't know about you, but fighting Ultimecia on FF8 just never gave me the fear I got when I finally faced Chaos on Final Fantasy 1 or when the DragonLord turned into the massive Dragon on DW1. Fighting Nick Bruiser just wasn't as chilling as fighting Mike Tyson. Am I old fashioned? Possibly. Do I enjoy 3D games? Depends on the game, same with 2D games. I adored Croc and Mario64, and I despised crap like Astyanax and Time Lord on NES, so gameplay is still the main factor, not fondness for old games. But I'll say this: If ever a better multiplayer game then Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade game ever comes out (yes Smash Brothers, your hand is raised, and no I'm not calling on you), please give me a ring. Good Day fair maiden. -JooLooPoo Manarkis's Wife, or is it his Wog? Or am I Paul D. Godgets? Could I even be Doby Gillis? OK, coming mom... | Andrea: Oddly enough, there was a big discussion about Faxanadu on my usual IRC channel the other night. I barely remember anything about the game, though, except a tree. Seriously. A tree. However, I'm a child of the late 70s to early 80s, so I have my similar old-school fetishes, just on the Atari 2600 instead of the NES. Mmmm, Atari. Haunted House. River Raid. Combat. And my all-time favorite was this one called H.E.R.O. that I borrowed from a friend, and never saw anywhere after I returned it to her. H.E.R.O. involved a little dude with a jetpack, which he used to navigate tunnels and avoid touching giant bug-like things and super-heated walls and so on. Man, I've missed that game for years.
And I wholeheartedly agree with the TMNT2 comment, though at that point I'd have snapped up anything with the TMNT logo on it - people at school called me "Turtle Girl" because of it. Fortunately, it was in fact a great game.
As for the companies you named, Nich reminds me that Hudson Soft just released a game two weeks ago - Bomberman Tournament - so they're doing just fine. As for Sunsoft, he says, and I quote, "Sunsoft is doing less well, I think, possibly because PEYMAN no longer works there." Apparently their last game was Eternal Eyes, and... no one on staff can figure out if it was actually released or not. I guess that tells you something. Tami: TMNT Arcade!! I used to play that in the actual arcade with my brother and two of our family friends. One summer we went to Disney World, and the four of us called each other by turtle names for the weekend. I was Donatello, partly because of the purple, and partly because he was the smart one with all the big ideas and inventions. What I find incredibly funny is that I loved his bo, and later became a flag twirler. I can handle a 6 foot flagpole with ease, baby. Hmm, maybe that's why people are always comparing me to Aeris... *whack! | Nobuo, Yasunori, and Thurston? | | how about real bands scoring video games? It's feasible. Radiohead or Sigur Ros scoring a futuristic RPG, for example; their song Worrywort would fit perfectly in any Zelda game. Zack Elle | Andrea: I'm all for that. Of course there are games out there whose scores were composed by real bands, but it's more a matter of licensing songs that were already recorded. Not that that's a bad thing - if Guitar Vader hadn't had a couple of tracks in Jet Grind Radio, I doubt I'd ever have heard of them, and now they're right up there with the Beatles, They Might Be Giants, and Starflyer 59 as far as my favorite bands go. But yes, a game soundtrack scored by real bands specifically for the game would be great. My personal choices for video game scores would be Sonic Youth - I've always thought that an instrumental version of "Tunic (Song for Karen)" would make an incredible RPG battle theme - and Pink Floyd. Except that these days, Pink Floyd brings to mind thoughts of Vagrant Story for me... oh, wait. Everything brings to mind thoughts of Vagrant Story. Perhaps Tami has something less obsessive to say...? Tami: Music is so important to my life that it's obvious to anyone who knows me that a game's soundtrack plays a key role in my evaluation of any title. I've had games where I hated the music and liked other parts of it, and games where I've loved the music and hated almost everything else. I'm a classically trained pianist and music educator, so I have a real appreciation for the work that goes into soundtracks. On the other hand, I grew up on rock and roll, and would thrill to the idea of a game with that kind of sound. To tangent a bit, I know of several people besides myself that have MP3 playlists that remind them of various games. Music inspires a lot of fanfics and fanart - think about how often you read "songfics" or see lyrics scrawled across the top of a fanart? The most important thing is not what kind of music it is, but whether it fits the mood of the game. I can't imagine Nine Inch Nails accompanying a Lunar game, nor could I see someone like Sarah McLachlan attached to something like Metal Gear. Maybe some people could! Either way, I would not be surprised, especially with the trend of including pop songs in ending credits, if the industry started to turn more towards using popular music in games. I think we will always have room for our orchestrated masterpieces no matter what new directions take rise. Some things are too good to do away with completely for the sake of innovation. Closing Comments: Andrea: Why do we always come here?
Tami: I guess we'll never know...
Andrea & Tami: It's like a kind of torture, to have to watch the show! Andrea: ...Actually, it wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. And so we'll be back tomorrow. As for a topic, Zack's letter brings up an interesting point, which Tami and I both find interesting... do other people have favorite bands or artists that they identify with certain games? I know I do, and after joining a VS fanfic mailing list, I found that I wasn't alone... Tami: So mail us and state why certain songs/bands are just perfect for certain games. Until tomorrow, Silcarbomonroniradonium! -Andrea & Tami, GIA token females |
