Saturday - September 02, 2000
[Piro] - 15:47:00 - [link here]
Before I start, a quick note of thanks. sempai.org, where megatokyoand fredart are hosted, has been hammered recently because of us, and just I wanted to say a big "thanks!" to Kevin and crew, and please don't strangle us. ^^;;)
I am totally blasted this weekend. I feel like several people have been beating on me with long cardboard tubes and large rocks. It's Saturday morning, and I am so very glad that I don't have a webcam anymore. The visage in the mirror is really scary.
Even if my webcam was still up, I suppose I could turn it off. That's the nice thing about the net. As much your privacy is gaffed on the net, you still have some control over your 'presence' - at least if youhave a little creativity. At a base level, one of the first things you get control is the selection of your nickname, or 'nick'
It's amazing how much time and effort we spend on nicks. Protecting it, nurturing it - people get reallypissed if they loose a nick on IRC. In this computerized world, a nick is almost as important if not more than your real name. With some people it's obvious where the nick came from - the name of a favorite character, a play on your real name, a revolting description of some bodily function, or just simply something that sounds fuming cool. But if nothing else, it says something about yourself. It's a way of adding some personal representation to yourself in what is still a pretty much text-based world.
You hear a lot of things about people hiding behind nicks, pretending to be someone else, etc. Yes, thisdoes happen - and a lot of people maintain a very 'fake' presence on the web, but for the most part, no matter how much you try not to, your personality is there, like it or not. And for those who are pretending to be someone else? Jeeze, doesn't THAT say somethin about them as well? :P
Oddly enough, in dating sims and visual novels, you often have to enter your name (usually this will be in Japanese) - and for the most part, people will use their real names. For games like Quake, people will use nicks much like they do on the net. Gal-games really are a single-player kind of thing, and I suppose there is something more personal about the interaction. A good reality check is if you start using your nick when you play dating sims. If that happens, it is wise to seek medical attention.
Oh, and the picture? Isn't Makoto-chan CUTE?^_^ Of course, she's a rather dangerous character in 'Kanon' (one of my favorite gal games). Isn't her kitty cute too? I'll let you guess the kitty's name...
Friday - September 01, 2000
[Largo] - 10:34:00 - [link here]
I am at the office... writing a rant without the aid of gin... This may be a problem...
Well today's strip is here, I have really wanted to do this episode for a long time. I'm just waiting for l33tspeak to evolve into it's own spoken language. As it stands now, all the h4x0r types would need to speak in subtitles to communicate in their native tongue.
Since I'm always short on inspiration I'm going to write about the only thing going on in my mind right now... Baldur's Gate II! I touched on this sweet title last week, but when a game is this cool - it deserves to be written about in greater detail! Either that - or I've run out of ideas on what to rant about today and I'm recycling old ones, you be the judge.
Baldur's Gate II is going to have something I absolutely worship, and that is Re-play value! BGII is going to have many nonlinear subplots that are directly related to what class you pick for you main character. Examples given have been if you are a fighter you will defend your own stronghold, a wizard may have a tower and need to train, and fix the mess's of his apprentices, a bard will run a playhouse and deal with the egos and other issues of their actors. BGII is going to be huge, the game is so huge, that you will have to play through it several times to do everything. For those of you who haven't been enlightened to the sheer coolness of this game, know that it will floor you, it will floor you in ways you didn't think you could be floored. Why will it do this? one word - "Canada" ... It's been proven now that there is something in the water in Canada that makes great game designers. This mystery liquid needs to be bottled up and sold in Dallas, TX - perhaps then our local game companies will produce something original.
The original Baldur's Gate was great fun for me, I liked so many of the characters in the game. Like most people, I loved Minsc's dialogue .. There is just something wholesome and right about "Butt-Kicking for Goodness!" But of all the characters, one is really standing out right now, and that's Imoen. Originally, I hated Imoen, in fact, the first couple times I played Balder's Gate, I ditched her the first moment I could. Then I finally played through with her to the end, and for some strange reason - I found her less annoying. I guess characters, even the annoying ones, will grow on you after awhile. What brings me to mention this is recently I took a look a screenshot that IGN had gotten of Imoen's new look for BGII. Taking a look at this girl now, she's hardly the over-the-top perky character I once knew, this to me - is a good thing. Granted even when I didn't mind having her in my party in BGI, I stilled couldn't stand her perpetual cheery attitude. There's something cool about Imoenin this new picture, I'm not sure what it is, but the character artist has done their job as I am now.. intrigued by her.
Space hamsters are always a good thing, especially if they are miniature. Having one can be a lot of fun, you can go to a party ask a girl if she wants to see your miniature giant space hamster. Unfortunately, I tried this once and got slapped, there's no justice in the world. Piro doesn't seem to understand my affliction for space hamsters, then again he does share my love of a anime called "Ebichu." Recently Gainax put out a really odd tv series called "Ebichu", simply put - it's about a hamster and her owner. I'd go into more detail but I may exceed MegaTokyo's MPAA R-rating.
Now if Bioware would just send me my Baldur's Gate II Collectors Edition ahead of time... I am suffering from boo-withdrawal...
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