djpretzel

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I would like to say happy birthday to willrock!

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I personally think it's great that this thread has changed anyone's opinion It's been rather clear to me that folks tend to mentally allow for only two sides - you're either in agreement with everything she's saying, or you're against everything she's saying. In trying to articulate my own viewpoint that doesn't fall squarely into either category, I think I've at least convinced Andy that some of what he was describing as being logical & self-evident really wasn't either; that doesn't make those opinions worthless, it just changes the dynamic a bit. Unwavering certitude is actually a pretty BAD thing to have when it comes to interpreting art or postulating its effects upon audiences, in my opinion. I don't want to neuter or reduce the role of cultural critics to helpless bystanders, but when they speak in absolutes and extend their domain well into the field of psychology without batting an eyelash, you know something's gone wrong. It's not "cultural criticism" anymore, it's just someone ranting on the Internet. Peach remains in character... shocker.

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Given the history, I'm obligated to point out that the previous incarnation of Dragon Army involved users' passwords being compromised. So long as the new DA doesn't involve passwords of any kind, that particular risk is eliminated. Obviously Sam is awesome and I support anything he does that results in more music, just had to chime in with that word of caution!

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Because FF13 epitomizes all aspects of Japanese culture? Your theory here is all sorts of weird, as if the later FF installments could somehow encapsulate an entire people. I wouldn't presume to speak knowingly about what a Japanese person would or would not bat an eyelash at - or an American person, for that matter. For my money, I'd summarize the problem with two bullet points: The FF universe has not survived the move to voice acting all that well; what once was text dialogue that the reader could imbue with emotion & gravitas now leaves less to the imagination, and suffers from it. I'd rather SE spent HALF of their CG budget on A/B testing different voice actors & voice acting directors, & writers that understand the difference between written dialogue and spoken dialogue. At this point, if that's not possible, I'd prefer they just switch back to text. I actually like the system that Fire Emblem: Awakening uses, with little mini-phrases & expressions substituting for the full text of what's being said, augmenting it. OR just make it ALL in some gibberish made up language. ANYTHING is preferable to what we've been getting. There seems to be a general, fundamental mistake that MORE ELABORATE = BETTER. It's easy to confuse intricacy with quality; I'm not saying that as FF games develop they shouldn't alter the formula a bit, but it feels like there's this false pressure to make most changes additive, when I think stripping away & making subtractive (or even regressive) changes makes a ton of sense, based on the story you're trying to tell. I really TRIED to play FF13, but for the life of me, everything felt so elaborate but simultaneously so devoid of soul that I simply couldn't proceed. Storytelling has been at the heart of the series & is what I feel it has excelled at in most of its cherished installments. It makes no sense to attribute bad storytelling & pacing to Japanese culture when they've gotten it right so many times in the past.