7456
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Occupy
« on: March 19, 2012, 02:22:31 am »
First impressions are EVERYTHING.
News:
Yeah, fuckface! Get ready to be beaten down. Grrr! Internet ain't so safe now is it motherfucker! Shit just got real! Bam!
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
7457
Techmology and Scientism / Why your favourite video game sucks, Game mechanics and other stuff
« on: March 19, 2012, 01:28:43 am »
This is(will) be a lot longer than my previous posts. It may(will) be disjointed, raise more questions than answers will my Layman(total belming fool) take on some things. I'll try and shove in a few funnies. Remember to laugh politely at the appropriate times.
(If this is in the wrong place or would suit another section better, please move it or take it up with someone who can.)
(There will also be parenthesis) (There's a TL;DR if you are now thinking "Fuck you") (Fuck you too)
Disclaimer over, Lets get into this.
Firstly, Relevant background. I have played A LOT of games. I probably have saved games older than some of you. I could tell you scary amounts of detail about more than a few dozen. What I'm saying here is I've broken my share of Mice, Keyboards, consoles, gamepads, joysticks and any other gear that you'd care to name. I also haven't really bothered playing any for a fair few years.
The reason is, pretty much all of them fucking sucked.
Harsh conclusion, and I came to this by learning a great deal more about Game theory. No, we're not talking about PUA bullshit, we can snigger about that later. I'm thinking more along the lines of this
(Educational break, this is about an hour, but does cover the subject pretty well so at least we're all kind of thinking about the same Kinda thing here. Or look around and read up on wikipedia or something if this stuff means nothing to you.) (I told you there would be brackets)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXdfU2DoF8o&feature=BFa&list=PLD03FB084B11A0454&lf=plcp
That's the more technical side. When you start to break down the games you play directly in terms of the mechanics, they seem to become a totally different experience. Take Diablo 2. I FUCKING LOVED D2. I played that game a horrendous amount. Don't even try and say you did worse, I've probably got the saves somewhere to prove it. When you view it as an exercise in the skinner box mechanic applied to my psyche(And judging from the size of the player base it had and WOW has,) it's an incredible achievement. Never got Sucked into WOW thank gods, I was self aware enough to know that if I even touched that I may as well go and buy a big sack o' crack.
Anyway, point being, look at your favourite game, in terms of pure mechanics. What are you actually doing and WHY does it give you enjoyment? Why do we not consider our entertainment more frequently? As I understand it, to tackle our reality properly, do we not have to examine these things as critically if not moreso than political/social phenomena? I would place it at a similar importance as we choose to consume these media of our own volition. No one made me play any of these games. If you've never had the "I'll go to bed in a minute" then play for 3 more hours, say "fuck it" then playing for another few days" moment or similar then you're probably more interested in the next thing.
Another reason that pretty much all of these games sucked, would be for the same reason a lot of films or books sucked. There's just no emotional engagement.
Other thing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnCpSMlUEpo
Lots of good points in here again. Take the Zombie game he came up with. 2 Parents, 2 kids, each has a specific strength, a relatively easy to manage praeto frontier. If you kept the difficulty options open and allowed people to dick about with what the characters look like, this would sell millions.
Out of all the games I've played, I can narrow down the ones that actually had something that touched me on an emotional level down to about a dozen. While I would argue any of those to be amazing games, is this not an unusually low number compared to how many pieces of music/art/film/etc would be considered to be emotionally moving?
Look at the motherfucking adverts for the New Deus Ex. Those adverts have asked better questions about transhumanism than the vast majority of blogs devoted to the subject. For a term that is only likely to be more widespread and relevant over the next few hundred years, why not push the boundaries in terms of plot? With video games now protected by the 1st amendment, should and/or could this then not become a pseudo political platform? It seems possible to engineer a game towards a mindset that would allow the player to empathise more with a presented choice. Consider the potential that this is already the case with the spate of FPS derivates.
Marine Vs (ethnic minority here) in (get the idea?)
I recall hearing something along the lines of similar reflexes being shared between helicopter pilots and top fps players. I doubt the fitness level matches, but a way to utilise that same basic reflex... Drones? They've been getting popular.
Final point before the wonderful TL;DR
Have a final video for getting down here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM&feature=related
20 mins. Made me chuckle.
If you've got this far, then blessings on your hide my child. May the sun gods wake you gently. For everyone else......
TL:DR
1- Look at your favourite game/s. Identify the key mechanic/s. What does this say about you? If it's something like farmville consider thy life. Does this information/perspective change your feeling toward the game?
2 - Emotional engagement in games, Have you had any and should this be pursued? Why the fuck are people not more interested in this? A way to create genuinely unique experiences could be the potential here?
3 - People are stupid part MMDII part 16c. Modern games spoonfed people.
4-Make what you want of that, Just wanted to get a few ideas out of my head and see if they clicked with anyone.
(If this is in the wrong place or would suit another section better, please move it or take it up with someone who can.)
(There will also be parenthesis) (There's a TL;DR if you are now thinking "Fuck you") (Fuck you too)
Disclaimer over, Lets get into this.
Firstly, Relevant background. I have played A LOT of games. I probably have saved games older than some of you. I could tell you scary amounts of detail about more than a few dozen. What I'm saying here is I've broken my share of Mice, Keyboards, consoles, gamepads, joysticks and any other gear that you'd care to name. I also haven't really bothered playing any for a fair few years.
The reason is, pretty much all of them fucking sucked.
Harsh conclusion, and I came to this by learning a great deal more about Game theory. No, we're not talking about PUA bullshit, we can snigger about that later. I'm thinking more along the lines of this
(Educational break, this is about an hour, but does cover the subject pretty well so at least we're all kind of thinking about the same Kinda thing here. Or look around and read up on wikipedia or something if this stuff means nothing to you.) (I told you there would be brackets)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXdfU2DoF8o&feature=BFa&list=PLD03FB084B11A0454&lf=plcp
That's the more technical side. When you start to break down the games you play directly in terms of the mechanics, they seem to become a totally different experience. Take Diablo 2. I FUCKING LOVED D2. I played that game a horrendous amount. Don't even try and say you did worse, I've probably got the saves somewhere to prove it. When you view it as an exercise in the skinner box mechanic applied to my psyche(And judging from the size of the player base it had and WOW has,) it's an incredible achievement. Never got Sucked into WOW thank gods, I was self aware enough to know that if I even touched that I may as well go and buy a big sack o' crack.
Anyway, point being, look at your favourite game, in terms of pure mechanics. What are you actually doing and WHY does it give you enjoyment? Why do we not consider our entertainment more frequently? As I understand it, to tackle our reality properly, do we not have to examine these things as critically if not moreso than political/social phenomena? I would place it at a similar importance as we choose to consume these media of our own volition. No one made me play any of these games. If you've never had the "I'll go to bed in a minute" then play for 3 more hours, say "fuck it" then playing for another few days" moment or similar then you're probably more interested in the next thing.
Another reason that pretty much all of these games sucked, would be for the same reason a lot of films or books sucked. There's just no emotional engagement.
Other thing,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnCpSMlUEpo
Lots of good points in here again. Take the Zombie game he came up with. 2 Parents, 2 kids, each has a specific strength, a relatively easy to manage praeto frontier. If you kept the difficulty options open and allowed people to dick about with what the characters look like, this would sell millions.
Out of all the games I've played, I can narrow down the ones that actually had something that touched me on an emotional level down to about a dozen. While I would argue any of those to be amazing games, is this not an unusually low number compared to how many pieces of music/art/film/etc would be considered to be emotionally moving?
Look at the motherfucking adverts for the New Deus Ex. Those adverts have asked better questions about transhumanism than the vast majority of blogs devoted to the subject. For a term that is only likely to be more widespread and relevant over the next few hundred years, why not push the boundaries in terms of plot? With video games now protected by the 1st amendment, should and/or could this then not become a pseudo political platform? It seems possible to engineer a game towards a mindset that would allow the player to empathise more with a presented choice. Consider the potential that this is already the case with the spate of FPS derivates.
Marine Vs (ethnic minority here) in (get the idea?)
I recall hearing something along the lines of similar reflexes being shared between helicopter pilots and top fps players. I doubt the fitness level matches, but a way to utilise that same basic reflex... Drones? They've been getting popular.
Final point before the wonderful TL;DR
Have a final video for getting down here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM&feature=related
20 mins. Made me chuckle.
If you've got this far, then blessings on your hide my child. May the sun gods wake you gently. For everyone else......
TL:DR
1- Look at your favourite game/s. Identify the key mechanic/s. What does this say about you? If it's something like farmville consider thy life. Does this information/perspective change your feeling toward the game?
2 - Emotional engagement in games, Have you had any and should this be pursued? Why the fuck are people not more interested in this? A way to create genuinely unique experiences could be the potential here?
3 - People are stupid part MMDII part 16c. Modern games spoonfed people.
4-Make what you want of that, Just wanted to get a few ideas out of my head and see if they clicked with anyone.
7458
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Random News Stories
« on: March 18, 2012, 11:22:02 pm »
Ah. This clarifies a couple of things. Me being backward, I assumed "Recent spate of thefts" to refer to recently. Obviously "recently" means "has happened in previous years"
Given the remarks in the article in regard to CCTV, I have to find this somewhat strange. I walk past multiple cameras every day and I am not in an area that either needs or warrants them. I seem to have made the age old mistake of assuming buildings in need of good security would have basic security.
Further than this, considering laptops have recently been stolen over a number of years... is anyone going to pick up the phone and arrange for this to be rectified? I'm being silly again.
I suspect Cain may be right in regards to the target not being inconspicuous Ed. The perpetrator having full clearance seems blindingly obvious, as seems to be the desire to ignore it as hard as possible. The chances of it being the same person being involved in all offences must be above average.
My question is this: Why not just use a good old fashioned bribe? Vaz shares all the new labour trappings, including a suggestibility to sleaze. The only reason I can see to rob him is that his price was a little too high. Which also makes no sense as surely he'd have a fairly good idea of who the thief works for.
It's a bad day when a briefcase full of used notes looks like the classy option.
Given the remarks in the article in regard to CCTV, I have to find this somewhat strange. I walk past multiple cameras every day and I am not in an area that either needs or warrants them. I seem to have made the age old mistake of assuming buildings in need of good security would have basic security.
Further than this, considering laptops have recently been stolen over a number of years... is anyone going to pick up the phone and arrange for this to be rectified? I'm being silly again.
I suspect Cain may be right in regards to the target not being inconspicuous Ed. The perpetrator having full clearance seems blindingly obvious, as seems to be the desire to ignore it as hard as possible. The chances of it being the same person being involved in all offences must be above average.
My question is this: Why not just use a good old fashioned bribe? Vaz shares all the new labour trappings, including a suggestibility to sleaze. The only reason I can see to rob him is that his price was a little too high. Which also makes no sense as surely he'd have a fairly good idea of who the thief works for.
It's a bad day when a briefcase full of used notes looks like the classy option.
7459
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Confused reporting on Khanadar massacre
« on: March 18, 2012, 01:54:28 am »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17411009
15 people? Apparently not! One chap on his third tour, injured by an IUD previously in Iraq. So there's at least a motive. To the extent of "nasty brown people"
I have no idea what's going on here. Someone is full of shit and everyone has a reason to lie.
This could probably be turned into some sort of German board game.
15 people? Apparently not! One chap on his third tour, injured by an IUD previously in Iraq. So there's at least a motive. To the extent of "nasty brown people"
Quote
Speaking in Seattle on Thursday, where Sgt Bales is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, John Henry Browne said his new client was a "mild-mannered" man who bore no antipathy towards Muslims.
He described him as "a decorated soldier" who had an exemplary record before the shooting.
The lawyer also suggested the soldier, who began his first deployment to Afghanistan in December, was not fit to serve because of injuries he had suffered on previous tours of duty.
Mr Browne said that a car accident caused by a roadside bomb in Iraq had given the soldier a concussive head injury. Part of his foot had also been removed in surgery because of a battle-related wound, he added.
"I think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record, a decorated soldier who was injured in Iraq, to his brain and to his body and then despite that was sent back," he said.
Mr Browne, who has represented a number of high-profile clients including serial killer Ted Bundy and a teenage thief known as the Barefoot Bandit, said his client was a happily married man with two children, aged three and four.
I have no idea what's going on here. Someone is full of shit and everyone has a reason to lie.
This could probably be turned into some sort of German board game.
7460
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Random News Stories
« on: March 17, 2012, 03:02:55 pm »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17413777
1- If it's an attempted break in, this implies it was aborted. How is it then possible to make a determination on who was or was not the target? Why would someone target a less important figure if you can easily target the more important figure?
2-This is the first I've heard about multiple thefts. Who else has been a victim? Given the massive breaches in data security just from leaving laptops on trains and the like, this would surely warrant serious investigation? Is it possible none of these laptops had any sensitive information whatsoever? Possibly, though I would say unlikely.
3- The attempt was at around 7pm. In London. Sounds smart, I'm sure everyone round that way is in bed by then. This does not suggest Oceans 11 style cunning and forethought. It sounds more like opportunism or total confidence that they would not be caught. Given as they haven't been caught.....
4-There is a pretty solid CCTV coverage around this area. Just think it's worth noting this.
This stinks more than a kettle of boiling piss. Behold as nothing comes from it.
Quote
Police investigate attempted break-in at Parliament
Quote
The attempted break-in took place in the Norman Shaw Buildings where Ed Miliband's office is.
But it was not the Labour Party leader's suite which was targeted, sources have told the BBC.
Quote
Sources have told the BBC that the door of an office used by Labour staff was forced, and that it follows a spate of laptop thefts around the House of Commons.
1- If it's an attempted break in, this implies it was aborted. How is it then possible to make a determination on who was or was not the target? Why would someone target a less important figure if you can easily target the more important figure?
2-This is the first I've heard about multiple thefts. Who else has been a victim? Given the massive breaches in data security just from leaving laptops on trains and the like, this would surely warrant serious investigation? Is it possible none of these laptops had any sensitive information whatsoever? Possibly, though I would say unlikely.
3- The attempt was at around 7pm. In London. Sounds smart, I'm sure everyone round that way is in bed by then. This does not suggest Oceans 11 style cunning and forethought. It sounds more like opportunism or total confidence that they would not be caught. Given as they haven't been caught.....
4-There is a pretty solid CCTV coverage around this area. Just think it's worth noting this.
This stinks more than a kettle of boiling piss. Behold as nothing comes from it.
7461
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Just in case anyone still hasn't gotten the memo...
« on: March 17, 2012, 02:30:20 pm »
I think it may be more than just selective memory. Humans seem to have a tendency to romanticise the past. Consider for example the decade in which you spent your teen years. Music was just better then right? No. A lot of it sucked. You just happen to have a lot of positive memories associated with it so it takes a higher value in your mind. I would suggest this is almost exactly why you get the elderly "Back in my day" clichés.
5 years ago Bush was still knocking about with a smile and fucked up quote. At the time many expected him to bring the apocalypse any day.
10 years ago the War against terror was gearing up. We were going to go there and fix shit.
News becomes olds. It becomes a new normal which you measure future events. The new crazy is stranger and scarier than the old crazy.
Somewhat rambling now. I guess I'm trying to say that people aren't that much different, but your ability to notice fucked up things constantly improves so the "now" always seems worse than "then"
Also, huge boom in social media and civilian reporting gets the crazy to you faster with less dilution.
5 years ago Bush was still knocking about with a smile and fucked up quote. At the time many expected him to bring the apocalypse any day.
10 years ago the War against terror was gearing up. We were going to go there and fix shit.
News becomes olds. It becomes a new normal which you measure future events. The new crazy is stranger and scarier than the old crazy.
Somewhat rambling now. I guess I'm trying to say that people aren't that much different, but your ability to notice fucked up things constantly improves so the "now" always seems worse than "then"
Also, huge boom in social media and civilian reporting gets the crazy to you faster with less dilution.
7462
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Invisible Wanker
« on: March 17, 2012, 02:10:47 pm »
12 seconds long, I'd be amazed if there isn't a longer clip. Mainly because 12 seconds is an incredible response time for authorities.
Considering exhausted people tend to be a bit, shall we say lethargic, it looked pretty manic.
But yeah. Definitely never seen people on crack do things like this. Not once. Ever.
Given the public nudity laws in the US how likely is it that he'll end up on some kind of sex offenders list? Pretty sure if I did that round here I would be.
I do live near a school though.
Considering exhausted people tend to be a bit, shall we say lethargic, it looked pretty manic.
But yeah. Definitely never seen people on crack do things like this. Not once. Ever.
Given the public nudity laws in the US how likely is it that he'll end up on some kind of sex offenders list? Pretty sure if I did that round here I would be.
I do live near a school though.
7463
Apple Talk / Re: In honor of the day...
« on: March 17, 2012, 01:01:42 am »
Cross posting, mainly as this guy seems to have got started early
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,31939.0.html
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,31939.0.html
7464
Aneristic Illusions / Invisible Wanker
« on: March 16, 2012, 11:33:08 pm »
More Kony bullshit, but this time worth noting.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jason-russell-san-diego-invisible-children-kony-2012-142970255.html
So.... yeah.
Unfortunate incident. Exhaustion. Not crack at all.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/jason-russell-san-diego-invisible-children-kony-2012-142970255.html
Quote
Jason Russell, 33, was allegedly found masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and possibly under the influence of something, according to the SDPD
Quote
Invisible Children's CEO Ben Keesey released a statement after 1:40 p.m. on Friday saying:
“Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”
So.... yeah.
Unfortunate incident. Exhaustion. Not crack at all.
7465
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Too much coke.../ colagasm?
« on: March 15, 2012, 02:36:11 pm »New product: Coke GLOW.
Oh that's gold. The marketing slogans write themselves.
7466
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Too much coke.../ colagasm?
« on: March 15, 2012, 05:37:00 am »
Polonium. Refreshing taste and a real money saver on haircuts.
7467
Aneristic Illusions / Re: I know there's an "ARIZONA" thread, but this deserves its own topic
« on: March 14, 2012, 10:34:29 pm »Quote
Basically, republicans are going to let your employer look for tiny communists in your vagina
They're everywhere!
7468
Aneristic Illusions / Re: I know there's an "ARIZONA" thread, but this deserves its own topic
« on: March 14, 2012, 03:50:34 pm »
But of course. A good boss would already have a bucket in place saving valuable company time and resources.
7469
Aneristic Illusions / Re: Odds on a war with Iran before 2013?
« on: March 14, 2012, 03:49:38 pm »
In regards to the idea that covert action has been in the work for some time...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17365416
Nothing particularly new and exciting. I was more taken by the change of tack. No mention at all about nukes, much more emphasis on the "cyber army" and claims regarding VPN's are no longer secure.
Guessing there's more to this than the obvious: "Control information within your borders as far as possible"
When will Iran learn from the west? You need to deny and condemn these things if you want to carry on doing them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17365416
Nothing particularly new and exciting. I was more taken by the change of tack. No mention at all about nukes, much more emphasis on the "cyber army" and claims regarding VPN's are no longer secure.
Guessing there's more to this than the obvious: "Control information within your borders as far as possible"
When will Iran learn from the west? You need to deny and condemn these things if you want to carry on doing them.
7470
Aneristic Illusions / Re: I know there's an "ARIZONA" thread, but this deserves its own topic
« on: March 14, 2012, 03:05:32 pm »
I can't wait to see the guides on how to act in an interview get updated to deal with this bullshit