Profile for The Immortal
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | The Immortal |
| Member number | 4 |
| Title | BANNED |
| Postcount | 6936 |
| Homepage | http://www.geocities.com/terrorsmartyr/ |
| Registered | Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| How do you say it? in Nethergate | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Saturday, October 30 2004 20:30
Profile
Homepage
Just wondering, but where do these come from, Alec? -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| SW corner of Sweetgrove in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Saturday, October 30 2004 18:14
Profile
Homepage
Walk around its side. There's just enough room for you to squeeze in. Not that there's anything there- just 10 coins, other assorted trash, and two Ghouls. Heck, the EXP from those two is worth more than the "treasure" therein. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| 1st scenario healing scepter/pants o power in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Saturday, October 30 2004 16:33
Profile
Homepage
Not even close. Experiment halls, SE. (It's the northwesternmost quad in the area.) -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| BoA Graphics Entries and Judging Details in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Saturday, October 30 2004 14:01
Profile
Homepage
Tonight at 8PM, the next category's scores will be due. I'll catch up with both categories at that time. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Does anyone know how to do this? in Geneforge Series | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 20:57
Profile
Homepage
Can't speak for PCers, but on the Mac version, AppleDraw is used to give shading to pods, serviles, creations, etc. (That's why you dont' see a pink Roamer in the graphics files.) The glowing effect is, alas, also a byproduct of AppleDraw. You could make your own sort of glow, but it wouldn't be easy. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Does anyone know how to do this? in Geneforge 2 | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 20:57
Profile
Homepage
Can't speak for PCers, but on the Mac version, AppleDraw is used to give shading to pods, serviles, creations, etc. (That's why you dont' see a pink Roamer in the graphics files.) The glowing effect is, alas, also a byproduct of AppleDraw. You could make your own sort of glow, but it wouldn't be easy. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 19:04
Profile
Homepage
(OOC: For reference, Mahl couldn't have heard the conversation taking place between Cavern Knight and Mug- he wasn't even close to the cave, but rather, he was in Darixen's arms. Just for clarification.) The black-clothed man of white complexion lept out from the bushes and soared straight into the neck of one of the hydra's heads. Lightning-fast punches caused the the hydra to flail about helplessly as its bones began to crack. The man sunk to the ground and smirked as he crept into a crouching position. The head fell to the ground after its sound beating, but was dead long before gravity took its effect. Nobody in the group saw this. What they saw instead was an old man emerging from the bushes. The old man appeared to them as waving his hands feverishly at the hydra as its body was being pulverized. The group stopped in amazement, and the hydra was equally as shocked. "Back, you vile fiend!" shouted the old man. The hydra hissed at him and stomped his way, but the old man smiled as if he were seemingly unconcerned. The hydra sent another head at the old man, but when the man snapped his fingers, a large blow struck the side of the head, sending the whole hydra stumbling back a few yards. Darixen chose to capitalize upon this opportunity. Climbing on the head of another hydra after rigamortis had only just set in, Darixen smashed yet another head of the hydra. Meteus Rogue, being virtually the only other member of the party equipped to fight, set his unique weapon ablaze, and yet it was not consumed. The projectile was thrown at the thoroughly distracted hydra, burning through its innards and incapacitating it. The hydra bit and snapped some more, but Darixen was able to beat the heads off individually without placing himself in the way of danger. Meanwhile, the old man had disappeared in thin air, though all were too busy being distracted by the hydra's defeat to have noticed. Meanwhile, a cloaked man in a skin-tight, black outfit smirked and chuckled silently to himself before silently soaring back into the canopy and towards Kyeinoss' Cave. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 11:37
Profile
Homepage
You know what Fick means? Roger means the same thing. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Beta-Call for Canopy in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 11:30
Profile
Homepage
Sorry for the delay on Canopy, I've been assaulted by a flurry of homework as of late (some of which being stuff I've put behind me in order to keep up my rate of work), and I've been mowed down. This weekend will be a fun one for me, rest assured. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 29 2004 05:28
Profile
Homepage
Mugwump was pleased to have procured the dragon's horde. This is why he was not pleased to find a paler-than-parchment woman dressed in black obstructing his path. "Human woman, how and why did you enter here?" said the troll in irritated surprise. He did not want to have to eat the woman or somesuch similar since it would be too unchivalrous for even him to swallow, but he did not want to be delayed lest the dragon discover his robbery. The woman slowly walked up to him. Mugwump dropped the bad and produced a mithral blade, mostly ornamental but still potently dangerous, and pointed it at her. "Woman," said he, "don't make me cut you!" She giggled gently and glared at him with a cynical smirk on her face. Mugwump stepped back in confusion, but did not have enough time to put his rear foot on the ground when the woman had already appeared behind him. Then, magic happened. The woman's right hand turned black and molded itself into a conical spike- her favorite form to transmutate into. She make a piercing, diamond-tipped strike into the troll's chest from the rear, hoping to surgically kill him in one blow. Indeed, the troll ceased moving, dead before he had hit the ground. The woman's hand morphed back into its frail, lithe and almost human form. The woman giggled lightly as she strolled away from the bleeding heap, taking the sack with her. Mugwump smirked in a puddle of his own blood. Indeed, he was grievously injured, but she had not smote his heart- troll anatomy, after all, was not the same as humans. As quietly as he could, Mugwump got up and held onto his mithril blade which she had not taken with her. He was still alive, and the blade itself would fetch many pounds of gold. It was a heavy loss, but indeed, his life would be heavier. Now if only he knew where the woman was, as to avoid her... -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Thursday, October 28 2004 15:23
Profile
Homepage
(OOC: The dragon's a she.) The group had not been interrupted by much on its journey. Unfortunately, the smell that wafted before them told them exactly what had happened before they reached their destination. "Phew! What died here?" said Phiz in a stereotypically irreverant tone. Some among the group were offended, but most were too apprehensive about what awaited them to have acknowledged his comment. A peasant ran up to the group with a bleeding woman in his arms, covered in burn marks. Tears flowed down his face and his cheeks were hollow with shock and grief. "Warriors!" cried the man out of desparation. "Warriors, please help this man in sorrow," said he. "Whom did this?" asked Darixen, mustering up the ironclad resolve of a warrior to ward off the gruesome image being towed his way. The man laid his beloved wife on the ground. "The dragon did this, she did," said he. "Flew in from the caves down the road, brast mine hut and smote my beloved, she did," said he. He began sobbing. "The dragon will die," said Darixen. Meteus Rogue sharpened his boomerang with a grin on his face. "Now, mayhap, I will be able to perfect my technique," said the otherwise silent fighter. The peasant nodded and said, "Pray that you use it on the vicious Kyeinoss, whom the eyes of justice do watch with abhorrence." Phiz looked at Darixen with noticable shock and whispered to him, "Are you saying that you actually will slay the dragon?" Darixen shook his head. "It's only right... Besides, isn't it what we planned?" remarked the warrior in riposte. Phiz shook his head and uttered, "You almost sound like you care... But as long as we get our gold..." Darixen and the others moved out. The peasant watched them go. When they were out of sight, the woman disappeared into thin air and the man walked behind a thick tree. In a sudden flash of red, he turned into a pale man with a chizeled physique wearing a skin-tight wife-beater and a similarly fitting pair of boxers. He chuckled under his breath and ran into the forest swiftly and soundlessly. [ Thursday, October 28, 2004 19:12: Message edited by: Kurojutsu the Vampire ] -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Whats ur favorte Scenario? in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Thursday, October 28 2004 14:57
Profile
Homepage
You're forgetting 6 or so. The best is A Perfect Forest, although only because of the piddlingly low quality of everything else. Honestly, no truly good scenarios have sprouted up yet. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| So are we really dying now? in Blades of Exile | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Thursday, October 28 2004 14:56
Profile
Homepage
It ain't slowing immediately- but scenario development has crawled to a standstill in recent years. There are two things that I really see as hurting BoE- namely, Stareye and (forgive me for saying) myself making the switch. I'll agree that BoE wasn't dying before- hell, a rennaisance occured shortly after I arrived. But with BoA, I'm not so sure anymore. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Wednesday, October 27 2004 12:34
Profile
Homepage
(OOC: Honestly, Zephyr. The heinously trite writing does you no good at all. Oh yeah, and Cavern Knight most definitely won't be joining the party at any time.) "What the hell kind of weapon could do this?" asked captain of the guard, incredulous and befuddled by the scene and unsurprisingly so, considering that most men don't die from giant holes in their heads not caused by magic, and such holes are rarely conical or exacting. "I'm quite sure it isn't magic, and it doesn't look like it was caused by any sort of sword. The blow is a blunt one, and nothing was carved out," said a guard with a penchant for stating the obvious. One of the ladies hovering in the corner with a hackneyed mix-match of prefect-style blankets and shreds of clothing given to her by her pimp slowly stood up and said, "I saw her. She had blood running down her arm, but she was frail and beautiful." The guards all turned to her in amusement. "A woman did this, you say?" said the captain of the guard. Others chuckled. The whore scrunched her face in disgust, anger and embarassment. "She touched me with a hand that had no blood on it before she left, and yet... Here, have you a look," said she. She pulled down her rags revealing a red mark appearing to be blood above her bosom. "It doesn't come out as much as I try," said she. The guards were mildly confused, but payed it no heed. "Woman, that's a sick momento, but I'm not here to here your fairy tales. Women are daughters, wives and mothers, but certainly not fighters, especially not capable enough to do this amount of damage," said the captain of the guard. The whore stomped her foot on the ground and pushed her way out of the bordello. ---- A pale woman in a two-piece black outfit stood by the road as a menagerie of warriors of a unique ilk with equipment of equally dubious quality strolled on by. They had not yet noticed her, so she reached behind her back and produced a white robe from the rear of her chestpiece and cloaked herself as to obscure her features and age. The majority of the warriors passed by her, most of them paying her no heed. Suddenly, she saw an herbalist, or at least one who had to be on account of her garb and odor. Suddenly, Penny felt a hand grasp her swiftly on her elbow. In surprise, she uttered, "Who are you?" "None of your concern. Tell me, why are you traveling in this direction, and why do you accompany this rag-tag band?" "Well, we're going to the dragon cave. The others want the reptile's horde, I'm just interested in some herbs." "The dragon? You mean to say Kyeinoss? But what did she do to them...?" "She...?" "Thank you for your time. Now hurry up, or you'll miss your group." The white-robed lady slipped behind a tree. At that point, she tossed her robes into the sky, but they did not land. The lady leaped into the sky as well, and silently clung to a branch. Penny thought that she saw the old lady disappear out of thin air, but she blamed it on her poor eyesight and hastened her pace until she had rejoined the group. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Tuesday, October 26 2004 18:09
Profile
Homepage
(OOC: This gal ain't a vampire. It's reasonable that she would be mistaken as one, but she ain't.) Dusk comes to pass. The moon is high in the sky, although it cannot be seen in the wooden-walled basement of a highly illegal and well-concealed brothel. "You WHAT?" declared the pimp, in his forceful tone. "I want... I want out," said a weeping woman whose only garments pretecting her genitalia were infected rags. "Listen here, you rotten bitch, you are MINE. I won't stand for your lip, do you fucking understand me?" "But you have so many, and I am but one who wants freedom!" said the whore in her last defense. A fist struck her soundly in the cheek, sending her barreling into a wall. She looked up with tears in her eyes and blood on her face expecting to die. Suddenly, the door openned and in stepped an impossibly pale woman clad in black. The pimp turned around, but suddenly a black spike shot forth from the back of his skull. As his form sank slowly to the ground, the spike seemed to disappear. But that's impossible, or so believed the whore. Nevertheless, she was grateful to an extreme. "You... What is your name?" she beckoned. The white woman in black paused and looked at her with pity as blood ran down her arm. "Call me the Cavern Knight. Get out of here, and tell the other mistresses of this bordello that they are free." The woman strode out of the building and out of its back exit into the city once more and once more into obscurity. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| To Slay A Dragon. (RP) in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Tuesday, October 26 2004 12:58
Profile
Homepage
Towards the tavern's exit strode a voluptuous vixen of particularly pale complexion with a slew of hapless drunkards following her dainty footsteps in pursuit of her more tender parts, only barely concealed by a revealing two-piece outfit of black. She giggled lightly as they followed her out of the door, purposely ignoring the drool flowing down the tunics of her surveyors. The small flock of sheep left the tavern, closing the door behind them. She could be seen wandering around the rear of the tavern through the windows, idle glances stayed on her bosom until she passed behind the wall and into obscurity. Drinking went on as normal for a few moments, until a loud thud intermingled with the sound of twigs snapping interrupted the carousing. Nobody thought much of it. Meanwhile, the twitching corpses of drunkards writhed about with gaping puncture wounds in their jugulars. The woman was nowhere to be seen. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| So are we really dying now? in Blades of Exile | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 18:58
Profile
Homepage
June, 2005. Honestly, there are plenty of quality entrants entering the 7th Contest- Tomorrow, NTH, Magician's Choice, Areni, etc. It'll be much better competition than the 6th Contest. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 18:56
Profile
Homepage
If you don't talk with people, life becomes very uninteresting very quickly. (Everything you enjoy is the product of people coming together, including your birth.) I don't empathize, but I don't alienate. I suppose what prompted me to post in this thread was outrage that people are teaching classes about a goddamned overrated trilogy of movies about sci-fi kung-fu. (Of course, I don't get it. Of course.) -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Golden Country in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 18:48
Profile
Homepage
For this story, I'm gonna use abbreviations like 1P, 1S- this means first paragraph, first sentence. Without further delay... (First observation is that you don't double-space your sentences: I've asked my English teachers before, none of them have ever told me otherwise.) 1P, 1S- You don't need the comma after day. 1P, 2S- Like wading a river how? The connection between leaves and water is a bit vague. 1P, 3S- If you say serene, you don't need calm. Which movies are you referring to? Why is saying this important? 1P, 4S- The "or so" typically goes after the months. By the way, you have a list, and lists only have one and. The drumbeats are, not is. (Your first line break, which I will call paragraph 1.5, is only one sentence. Paragraphs, however, are not one sentence. Also, this quasi-paragraph is virtually meaningless.) 2P, 2S- The bell had rung, not ringed. (Just a general observation, you seem to have a certain affinity to making sentences with commas followed by "and" and a subsequent clause. This is not a bad sentence structure, but try not to use it too often.) 2P, 4S- Plenty of things you could and should cut off here- great and main stick out poignantly. 2P, 5-6S- Totally meaningless, trite, and pretentious. Axe these two sentences. 3P, 1S- Congratulations! You've stumbled onto the most obscure use of the semicolon. The way this sentence could read is thus: Some of the adolescents waited for the bus to pick them up; others walked to their cars, jittery to get home, or to a friend’s house. (Semicolons can be used to separate items in a list when modifiers are used on some of the items therein.) 3P, 3S- The crowd you speak of is obscured- are you describing the crowd in the football or the crowd before the steps? This should probably be the first sentence of your paragraph, and thus you should remove the also. Axe the "social classes, if you will," and use "cliques." Also, after that, you should use a semicolon to begin your list. (Your fourth paragraph seems to be a continuation of what should have been the first sentence of your previous paragraph. Why not make two paragraphs; one to describe the people who are there, and one to describe what they do when they leave?) 4P, 3S- (This is the sentence after the paranthetical one.) Again, even in a two-item list, you should use the semicolon to differentiate list items with modifiers. This sentence badly needs semicolons. 4P, 5S- There were, not there was. 5P, 1-3S- These two sentences, unlike some of your more loquacious ones, would fare better in amalgam. 5P, 3S- You should use "protagonist" in lieu of "main character". 5P, 4S- This sentence is totally meaningless. Plus, if both paragraphs are merely describing the protagonist, why do you need to start a new one? 6P, 1S- You don't need "For a quick physical description". 6P, 2S- This story takes place in the past anyway, no need to abstract it with "If she were here, she would..." You'll do just fine with "She called herself..." 6P, 3S- The ellipse is unnecessary and pretentious. If you want to achieve the same nuance, say "to say the least" or something to that effect. 6P, 4S- For greater rhetorical aptitude, put the just after wore. I'm not sure that the "also" is necessary here either. "as she usually does" should be "as she usually did"- avoid tense confusion. 7P, 1S- You've clearly established Kayla as a unique character in the preceding paragraph, there is no need for you to repeat yourself. To open a new paragraph, outline what new ways this paragraph will describe her unique personality. 7P, 2S- "held a jealousy and admiration" makes no sense. "was jealous and admiring" is much better. 7P, 3S- Nothing wrong with buff per se, but buffed is more common. "In their beds" seems unnecessary. 7P, 4S- This seems to be redundant. If you are saying something you didn't in your third sentence, then clarify it better. 7P, 5-6S- Sentence 5 is extremely short, and no sentence should EVER begin with the word "but". Try combining the two. 7P, 8-10S- She had trouble figuring WHAT out? The first sentence is very vague and meaningless, whereas the latter two sentences are just meaningless. 7P, 11S- "and her place in the world" needs a what after and and a was after world. Plus, they aren't one question. There's no asking in the first part of the sentence, so saying "just what any teenager would ask" is confusing. Try something like "just as they were for any other teenager" or somesuch similar. 7P, 12S- Either remove the Though or place a she in lieu of the but. 7P, 13S- "Mental masturbation" isn't exactly a metaphor that explains itself- either choose one that's more opaque or explain this so that the reader knows what you intend with it. 7P, 14S- This sentence is totally meaningless. Axe it. ... That's it for the first seven paragraphs. Let me know if you're interested in more. (And don't think I'm above some of this either- I've had English teachers axe my work before.) -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Pants of Power in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 17:11
Profile
Homepage
The ones from VotDT average a whopping 4.5 average damage blocked. The ones from the editor average 2 average damage blocked and also deflect all sorts of nasty stuff hurled your way. The choice is obvious. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Cyber Culture/ What is real? in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 17:09
Profile
Homepage
I care little if at all about anyone here. This is not surprising, however- I care little if at all about anyone in real life. Nothing personal. -------------------- 人 た ち を 燃 え る た め に 俺 は か れ ら に 火 を 上 げ る か ら 死 ん だ Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Favorite Rare Item in the first scenario in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Monday, October 25 2004 14:47
Profile
Homepage
ur mom lol -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Beta-Call for Canopy in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Sunday, October 24 2004 18:33
Profile
Homepage
Homework. Lame excuse, I know, but blame the teachers. Meanwhile, please stop fagging my thread. Thanks! ^.^ -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| What makes a good quest? in General | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Sunday, October 24 2004 11:26
Profile
Homepage
I'd like to consider myself sufficiently experienced enough to make a few comments on this issue: It's easy, when posed with the mounting problem of innovation in a roleplaying setting, to question how one can be innovative. This, of course, is an over-generalization that itself asks a few questions which I will address in turn: What comprises an "old" RPG? Technically, the oldest RPGs are Dungeons and Dragons. Unfortunately, this type of game is impossible in the vaccuum of this discussion. For example, I give you Realmz: It is essentially D&D in a computer setting, and the nuances of D&D are lost therein- the plotline is fixed. True, it's very open ended: But essentially, the story has already been laid out for the characters. Who, for instance, has led a conversation with a character in any computer game? The computer does not have the ability to anticipate a player's every response as a DM would. Likewise, neither does a computer game have the ability to facilitate every possible thing a player can do. Try as it may, this type of game is patently impossible. Thus, an old RPG is a type of game wherein it tries futilely to act like D&D. This is not a possibility, and it is this enlightenment which produces better RPGs in a computer setting when embraced. What comprises a "new" RPG? As covered earlier, truly open-ended RPGs are a feat of impossibility. This poses a dillema, then: There are comparatively "linear" RPGs, such as Final Fantasy or the majority of better BoE scenarios; there are comparatively "open-ended" RPGs, such as Fallout or Morrowind. (Not that the examples given are even near being similar in terms of quality, mind you.) There are definitely successes on both ends of the spectrum. Let us, then, examine the successes and failures of each individually: What makes a successful "open-ended" game? Fallout is perhaps the best "open-ended" RPG I have thus seen, with the sole exception of its prodigy. What portions of it make it so successful, then? Since so much of that game is successful, it would serve us better to examine the antipathy: Fallout is least successful when one immediately leaves Vault 13 and when one needs to deal with the mutants. In Fallout, one is provided with ample leads and a story that does not let up on any of its tiers- neither the local interactions nor the overreaching plot are ever stale, and the player always knows where to go in order to be a part of either. (Fallout 2, on the other hand, has no portions of gameplay where the player is disenchanted or lost. This makes it a poor example to use in this discussion, but an excellent game, and massively undercharged at a whopping 20$.) What makes a successful "linear" RPG? A Final Fantasy product is rife with problems beyond the paradigm it has selected. Putting those aside, then, it is still a worthwhile exercise to examine a FF game for its more successful moments. FF7's Midgar City is one of the best moments of the franchise's history up to and beyond this individual game's conception. What makes it a success is also an engrossing plot, as well as an element of conscious control. There is no straying from the path in FF7 in any of its moments, which is why I think one of the most masochistic design choices in making this game is including such a slew of hidden "gems" that take the player off of his/her path which the plot has provided. In Midgar, this type of nonsense exists in moderation, but does not exist so far as there are individual dungeons whose only reasons to exist are nooks and crannies to pick up new materia. (Such arguments work marvelously against its final dungeon as well, which is a genuine tragedy, but the player has been so completely disenchanted by this point that the game they expected to play two days ago at its apex has descended into its nadir so rapidly thereafter that the player is no longer surprised by such incompetence.) In Midgar as well as any well-executed linear plotline, then, there are critical elements which culminate in success: Focus, Engrossment, and Control. The lattermost of this list is optional, but the difference between control and its lack thereof is the difference of success and mediocrity, whereas the difference between the former two and their lacks thereof is the difference between success and total failure. What unites "new" RPGs, regardless of paradigm, and how is this achieved? This is the trickiest horse to tackle, and will remain nebulous after Spiderweb Software has collapsed. Herein lies the element of innovation. How does one invent new ways keep a player interested? In the old days, a castle was a castle and a dragon was a dragon. By now, however, a player has seen so many castles that yet another castle means nothing and a dragon means noting but 5000 gil and 1000 EXP or roundabouts. The Blades of Exile scenario An Apology sits proudly at the top of Comprehensive Scenario Reviews. It is considered to be innovative- in the genre of Blades of Exile, it said something important about control, but even beyond that, it made a story that involved the player. In Of Good and Evil, one makes an important choice that alters the world around them, the only disadvantage of such a choice being its opacity. Fallout doesn't have any control, nor does it have choices beyond those on the local level. What makes these games so high-end, then, is character involvement. By effectively resonating with a player, an RPG can be controlled by a player or control the player however it wishes depending on its paradigm and be quality. Dungeons and Dragons too involves the players, it is the ideal of a world which the players can control and is open to their collective imaginations, and in doing so makes them a part of the game. Innovation in modernized and computerized RPGs, then, is reclaiming what they lost with their conception. The more a player feels like he or she is in the boots of the role he or she is playing, the better the RPG becomes. Essentially, while the means of achieving this have changed by necessity, the key to a Roleplaying Game is Role Playing. -------------------- 私のバラドですそしてころしたいいらればころす Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
| Beta-Call for Canopy in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Friday, October 22 2004 12:22
Profile
Homepage
This is embarassing. I was writing a small outdoors script based off of an older one and accidentally wiped the older one off. I have a large backlog of work to get through tonight, and by large, I mean really large. Sorry, folks. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |