Rodin

Wow. I finally got a chance to read through the entire thread... I didn't think anything could top the Remixanator for pure April Fool's funny, but the responses in the thread are pure win! Also, for something that was put together in three days, I'm really impressed. It really was possible to net some startlingly groove-worthy tunes out of the Remixanator.

I'm really digging the Ice Cap Zone/Piano Solo/Orchestral Elements combo. Has a nice epic feel to it. Also the Schala/Jazz/Female Vocals is pretty rocking. Any other cool combos?

Depends how you look at it. Is someone that spends $50 on a Gunbound costume neccessarily stupider than someone who spends $50 of World of Warcraft monthly fees grinding instances to get a Tier 6 armor set? Both are, when you get right down to it, "shinies". Meaningless bits of data that look cool. Anyway, I wasn't really trying to separate out between casual and hardcore. I'm in full agreement that there's no such thing. I was really trying to address the difference between games that have an inherent "buy stuff!" portion and games that do not, and how while the psychological trick is the same, how it is used is significantly different. World of Warcraft is one of the worst offenders, and you don't get much more "hardcore" than the guys that lock themselves in a basement with the expansion and grind to max level in under a week.

I would say the difference is not in the techniques used, but in the end result. Peggle is just as addictive as World of Warcraft - I've sunk dozens of hours into Peggle and still get a thrill when I beat a challenge or get a full clear. However, my total investment into Peggle is about $60. $20 for Peggle, $20 for Peggle Nights a couple years later, and a further $20-$30 for Peggle DS. The cost sunk into World of Warcraft though....ooogh. One provides entertainment and keeps me playing by using the psychological tricks, and gets me to buy the sequel. The other uses the tricks to keep you playing and extracts money from you constantly while you're playing. There is a fee associated with playing WoW or any other MMO, and many of these supposedly "free" online games use those same tricks to get you to buy shiny armor or a pretty hat. That was the concept behind shareware games, and it's how many so-called casual games make up their revenue streams. An iconic example of this is Gunbound, which ran for years and made a bundle of cash despite being totally free. The number of people I saw with $50-$100 worth of costume jewelry (that didn't even affect the gameplay of the zone I was in) always amazed me. I can only assume the "avatar bonuses ON" zone was even worse in this regard.

I've generally found that you can avoid a large percentage of the youngsters simply by picking which games you play online carefully. Turn-based strategy games in particular tend to weed out most of the really immature folks, because they don't have the patience for it. Additonally, a lot of older people play that sort of game because it fits the demographic a lot better, and as such a lot more respect is shown. Of course, you still get the nutjobs just like in any game, but the ones that are actually persistent enough to stick with a turn-based game while being immature get known around the community pretty quickly, and can be safely ignored. The massed 12-year-olds in online FPS games is why I no longer even bother. The ratio of douche:normal is just too high.

A recent one for me. Playing Dragon Age, I'm on the final boss of the Dwarven deep roads. I've been getting my ass handed to me all day long, and I finally, FINALLY manage to win the battle through a large amount of luck and extreme effort. As the cutscene begins after defeating the boss...BOOM. BSOD. Reason #148345 why nobody should use Vista, ever.

And 6 years later, it's still friggin' hilarious, even if you've already read it 10 times. I loved that RPG cliche list - first time I've seen that one.

I was kinda dissapointed in the tinfoil hat, since it was either mistakenly or intentionally leaked a couple weeks ago. If you moused over one of the dried rations in the rewards page, it brought up the tinfoil hat.

When I first checked the thread out I thought it was real, since I hadn't noticed the Recapitated on the front page. Once I figured out what everyone was talking about and actually went and checked it out, I laughed my ass off.

I second Shonen Bushido and Euphoria as two of the best AMVs ever made.

Anyone else on the quality of the movie? Going to see it tomorrow possibly.

In the same vein as the dark Mario pics, here's a Futurama one.

Heh, it's all a matter of opinion I suppose. I have in fact seen all those others previously, and the one I posted is still my favorite. I stand by my opinion.* *Opinion held by this poster is his own and in no way reflects the opinions of you, your mother, your mother's cat, or any other conceivable being. Do not take opinion with with any other drugs. Your results may vary.

About the best piece of Warcraft fanart ever.

BM with Bestial Wrath/TBW eats locks for breakfast.