Triad Orion

I'll be there, up on the lawn. I'll be representing in an OCR shirt. Hope to see some of you there.

I'll be going this year as well, but I don't think I'll be able to make the BBQ. Looking forward to seeing people there.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. As a storytelling experience, it was absolutely miserable, but if you just completely shut your brain off, it was entertaining to watch everything explode. The only expectations I had were giant robots and explosions. This is Michael Bay, after all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRS90V8BQGo

"Buddha, Zeus, GOD! ONE OF YOU GUYS DO SOMETHING! Satan! YOU OWE ME!"

'Cause if there's one thing to make you feel alive? Thundercougarfalconbird!

One of his better reviews in awhile. Not necessarily the funniest, but it was actually more constructive than usual. His quips were amusing as usual, so right on with that. I actually agree with his view on moral choice systems in how they're typically executed. I like the concept of a moral choice system in theory, but, like Yahtzee, the lack of a middle ground and "slightly" good or "lesser" evil choices need to exist as well. Morality is a difficult thing to quantify, so such a system would be very difficult to implement well, I'll grant. But unless you can make "gray morality" a viable strategy, sometimes sacrificing the whole morality angle is worth it to make a better narrative.

My mistake. ...Yeah, those are the equivalent of Murlocs, then. Bloody annoying things. Only get worse when they're the ones that throw knives on top of it.

Murlocs would be insulted by that comparison. Even they aren't that numerous and don't cause petrification.

Well, I'd like to chime in here for a minute. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but Valve did say they were probably going to release a number of resources for Left 4 Dead. This includes an enhanced version of Hammer for the community to make their own Left 4 Dead campaigns. This is a huge deal and can potentially keep the life of the original going, even while 2 is released. Whenever they release the full set of tools for campaign development, I look forward to seeing what the community can come up with. While I'm not too keen on a new Left 4 Dead so soon, I'm not bothered by it either. My main concern is how much more taxing the new game might be on my computer. I'm technically *below* the listed minimum requirements for the original game, but I run it reasonably well. I'm more worried I won't be able to play the new game when it's released and I get left out in the cold.

Well, the characters are confirmed to be descendants, just now how far down the line Actually, I would argue that the girl looks a lot like Piers from the second game. The hair color is closer, for example. And for whatever little speculation is worth, she dresses more like Jenna than Mia (that short cape sticks out the most). Also note that it seems like the guy who looks like Garet is using Lightning, which is part of the Wind Adept's arsenal, not a Fire Adept. So it's possible our tank may actually be a Jupiter Adept instead of a squishy mage type. And... well, Isaac's kid looks almost like the same goddamn person. No speculation there. Hard to say what the deal is with these characters. We'll just have to wait and see. Still, it looks exciting.

At the same time, the blatant sequel hook is too obvious. Plus, it's just easier to think what happened happened and it's just a HAPPY ENDING. http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/goldensun/images/f/f6/Golden_Sun_DS_Poster.jpg Thought I'd throw this out there too.

Double dammit, I'm late! Happy belated birthday, Wes! ...Your present is I'll get on TF2 and eat a crit rocket from you again sometime soon. Just like old times!

I am *very* excited about this, being a fan of the series (my user icon should be indication enough of that). I liked seeing the summons animated in 3D, but I am curious how well it's going to transition over to the rest of the game. It looks okay in the trailer, but not astounding. I am a huge, huge fan of the story in the series and this excites me a great deal. I loved the characters and general tone of the story: there's a crisis, but the whole thing isn't overly dark or brooding either. Quite a good balance. I about flipped out when I heard this. Can't wait to see what this brings!

By that logic, you figure being a hyperactive ten year old is worse than being a thief and vanadalist? XD

Then there's the whole other bullcrap in the expanded universe with various Jedi constantly surviving Order 66 and the subsequent Jedi Purge. It all blows, but it is officially generally considered canon, which blows. But as far as I'm concerned, it was Luke Skywalker who ultimately brought balance to the Force. While Vader was the one to kill Emperor Palpatine, and he had been plotting to do so for a long time, Luke convinced Vader to let go of his hatred and return to the Light. Vader may have been the one to destroy Palpatine, but it was, as one interpretation said, only because of Luke and his attempts to redeem the good man within. In the case of bringing Balance to the Force, it was not simply destroying Palpatine, but defeating him without using the corrupting influence of the Dark Side. Of course, this good theory frequently gets thrown away because of much of the idiocy involving the Jedi and the Force in the Expanded Universe. ...This is why I only like the Zahn's work, the X-Wing series, and Republic Commando.

The Blood Elves themselves and them being in the Horde makes perfect sense. Given the utter betrayal of the High Elves by Garithos in WCIII: Frozen Throne, they were utterly abandoned by the Human Alliance for *no good reason.* Seeing as how the world is filled with angry things trying to kill EVERYTHING (Legion/Scourge/Non-Darkspear or Revantusk Trolls), the High Elves were left to fend for themselves. They weren't given much option in this situation. With Sylvanas helming the Forsaken, and with them as part of the Horde, they had a way in. They knew in part that they would need the Horde's protection to help survive, and more importantly, to reach Outland. It's a pretty freaking sound reason for them to change and join those they once opposed. Betrayal by their closest allies? Stuck alone and still rebuilding amidst a war far greater they could fight on their own? Yeah. They didn't have much choice, and given the political circumstances within the Horde, it was a good move for both sides. Moreover? All of this on top of fighting a dangerous addiction to arcane magic? I think the Blood Elves have perfect reason for existing within lore, and certainly better reason to exist than the playable, non-Lost or Broken One versions of the Draenei. And honestly, all-out war is a bad plan for every party involved. Think about it this way: in real life, if you're faced with a threat greater than the guy you've hated for a long time, are you going to wail on him and weaken both of yourselves so the greater threat can destroy you? Yeah. You're not going to do that. It's stupid. And the fact that both Garrosh and Wrynn want to slaughter the other side, they're just being idiotic. There's a reason why Thrall and Jaina are typically more well-liked as characters. Because they actually have *sense.* And as for the Forsaken wanting to cook up plagues to kill humans, most of them belong to the Royal Apothecary Society under the treacherous Varimathras. It's revealed that while the Forsaken generally dislike the living, not nearly all of them are willing to use the equivalent of biological weapons against the other side, especially considering doing such would jeopardize their own safety within the Horde. Survival is the main concern of the actual, loyal Forsaken. Again, the root of the problem lies with the *Legion* in this case, as Varimathras's loyalty always lied with them. So all out war between the two factions during World of WarCraft? Generally a very bad plan. I actually rather like the lore of the world where it is; very tense between the two protagonist factions. War is brewing, with little more than common sense holding it back. I don't know, I feel this is a good place for the lore to be; PVP is generally treated as border skirmishes, which works perfectly. Happened frequently in history.

I had to get on the bandwagon. XD Happy Birthday, Coop! May this year be awesome, and hope to continue to see you around the forums!

If I'm late, you have my apologies, Edge. Happy birthday, dude! Congrats on another year, and hope the next is great!

Sorry I've been lax in being around, guys. I'm in the new Steam Group, just give me a holler if anyone needs me.

It was nothing short of amazing in its time, and the fact that it has held up so well even today is testament of that. It's one of the few games that can objectively be considered something that has aged very, very well. Not many other games can claim that. Even other great games of generations past don't necessarily age well. For example, GoldenEye 007 for the N64 was an amazing game for its age, but time has really taken its toll on it. These days, it's a clunky and pretty clumsy shooter and while it still holds an important place in gaming history, most people are who play it do so out of nostalgia rather than because it's still a triple-A title for its genre. On the other hand, Chrono Trigger remains a top-notch RPG even today. Though it doesn't have the sprawling storylines and gorgeous graphics of say, Final Fantasy or the Tales series, its gameplay remains solid, its characters likable, its music memorable, and its story compelling. Though it is dated in technology today, despite of this, people still play it. And even those who don't have nostalgia for it try it and still at the very least appreciate the game. And almost fifteen years after its original release? That shows a real masterpiece of video gaming.

I'd second most of Coop's recommendations, but I'd like to extend one further. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. It's older and more primitive than AC5, but it's still fun to play. AC04 tells its story from a rather unique perspective and features likeable characters in a respectable, though not complex, way. If you can find it, it comes highly recommended from me and it is a pivotal tale for the entire AC mythos.

This. Just this. I love video game music, but I don't know the first thing *about* music, let alone composition and execution. Short of actually taking a class or being taught by someone else, I don't think all the online tutorials in the world would help me out here. It's why I've not attempted to mix anything at all. XD But for the overarching project, I think this is a really good plans. And might I say that I'm especially looking forward to seeing what Joker does with Gruntilda's theme from the Banjo series? That was one of my very favorite villain leitmotifs out there.

Congrats, Blad! I'm glad things have worked out for you so far, and I hope that they continue doing so. Hope to see you around more soon.

Also, in addition to everything else said so far? One important thing you must do as a writer, that I cannot stress enough: *Justification*. If you are creating a world, and you want that world to be believable and realistic, you have to justify why things are the way they are. For a fully fleshed out world, you need to consider histories, militaries, governments, laws, geographies, customs, culture, and more for a world. Make these notes alongside your plot outline. If you use Magic or some other supernatural force, use this opportunity to flesh out how it works, why it works, and who can use it and who can't. Just saying Magic works because it's "Magic" may be acceptable to a layman, but to an honest critic or editor, it won't hold water. This is your big chance to make the aspects of the world work with your plot. This is a difficult and time consuming process because you must think deeply about the world your characters are a part of. Remember that detail too. Your story world should not (except under very rare circumstances) revolve around the characters. Your characters, who are obviously the most important aspect of the story, are a *part* of this world. So while you will be doing the most work with your characters, remember that they are but a fraction of what the real world plays out to be. Bending the world's logic to suit the needs of the characters is a sign of weak writing. Obviously, as Halcyon stated, characters are in a constant state of flux. Despite my heavy-handedness with "JUSTIFY EVERYTHING", this is also important. Characters grow and change and sometimes take on a mind of their own. This is good. Make them flow and follow their own logic within the society and structure you've created. This will create a much more believable world and story in general. Also, talk to people about your idea. People you trust. Ask them their unbiased and tough opinions to edit your work and chew on your ideas. More input will help flesh out your world and be vigilant to plotholes. As for fanfiction writing, generally, remember this: CANON. Canon is *everything.* Short of writing an Alternate Universe, follow everything the canon sets into place. Canon will always trump fanon. So stick with that and build your story around what has already been established.

Fenrir, you lucky jerk. I must say, I was never too big into the arcade scene until I got older. When I was in college there was a miniature golf course with a pretty good arcade, and from then on I loved playing in arcades. I think I really fell for one of the Aerofighters Assault shooters on a multi-game arcade cabinet. Lots of good times... I really wish there was a decent arcade nearby here. Wouldn't mind going there every once and awhile.