Kenogu Labz

Hmm, I wouldn't really call it scary. It might catch you by surprise once in a while, but it's generally more of a spectacle than anything. What's blood-curdling isn't fear of some boogie-man or monster, it's the fact that the Splicers have twisted themselves to the point that they have no moral compass whatsoever. Not scary so much as creepy. Anyway, up to you. Might want to check some gameplay videos to see if it lines up with what you find scary or not.

I'm gonna jump on a totally different bandwagon and recommend Bioshock, if you haven't checked it out yet. I was hesitant for awhile, but I can say this: while it's not immediately apparent that the story is all that impressive, it all takes an incredible series of turns partway through. If nothing else, the game leaves you thinking, and did an incredible job of weaving in storytelling with gameplay.

Wait So you're saying fantasy is sunshine and rainbows? One of the fascinating things about fantasy in the first place is that you can plumb new depths of darkness, both in human nature and in otherworldly environments. How can you say fantasy shouldn't be dark with the token example of Lord of the Rings showing very clearly how dark a situation can become? The beauty in fantasy does not always come from the setting; it can also come from the people who stand against this darkness.

That was the case with Oblivion as well. It had one naaasty case of consolitis. Was hoping they'd learn and patch up their game but... oh well. :/

Could I trouble you for the Hair of the Dog, Lyrai? Account-name 'midanya', if you're up to it. Anything in return, perchance? Coordinated malicious internet behaviour is just getting more prevalent lately. If only the web's design had been planned more thoroughly, and with a little more security in mind, maybe we wouldn't have pigeon-holed ourselves into such an insecure platform. But I digress.

Ditto, heh. Doesn't help that I'm 11 stories up in a dorm, and tend to eat ice cream on Friday nights. XD

This! His new album's been a fav of mine for the last year.

Hah, that one took me a couple seconds to spot. Sneeeaky.

Yeah, there's only so much parameterization you can code into a game efficiently and effectively. Although this does make me curious if you could change a zone linear-algebra-style, as a kind of 'eigen-zone', wherein each zone has various parameters that can be tweaked independently (and speedily). It could be as much as the type of mobs you expect to find there. I'm kind of thinking about FF XII, where the plains early on would periodically be covered in rain, blocking off some quests, and allowing certain enemies to spawn. Something similar, but with more factors involved, could be used with little cost in an MMO, perhaps.

According to their own qualifications: I believe OCReMix has implicit permission to use the audio, but not necessarily to monetize it. Other than that, I suspect they'd be in the clear. Ethically (and legally), it would likely be okay if, as DJP said, they reroute the money back into the site.

I think we've found a common median here. Also, as a further point, don't invest too much of your time and money expecting to get a return on it. It would be horrible to destroy potential for the rest of your life by investing everything into this project. Even the work of your dreams must be supported properly; have a foundation under your feet before starting to build it. Even if it's just part-time jobs, and setting a little aside each month towards funding the project. Take time to make sure you can move on if you need to. 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket.'

But there's a line between a friendly lie and a bitter truth. One will only hurt later, when it's too late to make a difference. The other may seem harsh, but it can make a world of difference. TD has it right: the most serious problem, here, is that of having no previously-published authors in on the project. Even then, companies are incredibly touchy about their own intellectual property. They'd be far more likely to contact someone themselves if they wanted to have books written about their IP; someone they've already considered and would trust with the franchise. This isn't hate, or picking on people. While it's not a bad idea to hope this can happen, give it some time, and practice. Let the idea mature while you work on your own projects. Build a portfolio. Then, perhaps, you might have a shot at this. Best of luck!

Sooo they opened the troll's nest and posted toll booths at the newly-formed entrance? Maybe we should have a pyro troll-checking at the door...

Eep, yeah. Valve has probably opened the troll's nest with this; I foresee a sudden booming of phallic weaponry.

Educational? Not really. It's primarily a puzzler; chemistry is only borrowed from to provide a context. When it gets into bonding molecules, true chemists would weep at hydrogen atoms being triple-bonded. It's no more a chemistry game than their earlier 'Codex of Alchemical Engineering' was an alchemy game. It's all about mechanical, spatial and temporal thinking.

Don't want to cause any Strife, but Happy Birthday just the same!

Yes! I actually shared this on FB awhile back; one of my professors re-posted it, so hopefully you got some exposure (and paying customers) there.

Wait, this has SpaceChem now? I already have SpaceChem, and already got the bundle earlier, but this makes it fantastic for anyone who doesn't have either game. What are you waiting for?

Oftentimes, strong soundtracks tie musical motifs to in-game themes. This is what gives the music its memorability and strength. Modern soundtracks do sometimes eschew the use of motifs for a more grandiose feel, or simply for a set of standalone songs; while these techniques may be simpler, they don't always lead the relative emotional hooks gained through the solid use of motifs. Not saying modern soundtracks are worse or better, but it's worth noting that, as everyone's saying, nostalgia will act as inherent sample bias; your thesis is already pretty skewed towards a specific conclusion. Try to find sources among professional composers, if you can, as well as within other game communities, especially ones that aren't focused on music. Also try to tweak the thesis, and approach the paper from a neutral direction. Let your findings direct the paper's tone, not the other way around!

Never said I liked it; I was just noting that they pretty much did the whole 'setup at the beginning' before dropping it. Not a perfect simile, but close-ish.

No worse than SM64; in DarkeSword's words, the romance was 'caaaaaaaake'. And honestly, if 'Up' pulled that off and was called a runaway success, I don't see it being a huge issue here. Most Zelda games have set up some small hook for the story at the beginning, especially the low-fi ones: LttP, LA, the Oracles, WW... this really doesn't seem all that different. (Sooo gonna get slammed for the 'Up' comparison...)

I'd argue that the reason indie games have gained in popularity is not solely due to the fact that they are indie, nor because of the common lo-fi aesthetic that is associated with them (even though that's not always the case, either). I find indie games to be enjoyable much of the time because they are often more creative in their mechanics and story-telling techniques than big companies are willing to risk. They put their own personal time into the project, and are able to push the boundaries or think outside the box, a luxury big companies cannot (or are not willing to) afford in terms of sales loss. This documentary doesn't look like it'll be doing any favors, though. This just makes indie creators look like they're doing it for solely selfish reasons, or to go 'against the grain', when I'd again argue that that's not always the case.

Sounds more like a tie back to baroque or classical composition, rather than Final Fantasy. Nobuo did sometimes mimic or pattern some pieces directly after that era, but I don't hear any FF-specific leanings in that line. Any ideas on which song or game the line resembles? It'll help narrow the search quite a bit. EDIT: Drat. Double in-befor'd. Double EDIT: Wait, are you talking about the soft-synth section at around the 3-minute mark? Cuz I can hear a vague reminiscence to the line of one of the Final Fantasy V tracks, 'Pirates Ahoy!'

gplus.to/armstnp ...just in case.