zircon

OK, but again, the point she's making is that when women are portrayed as being totally helpless and in need of rescue, it reinforces a negative cultural stereotype. In a perfect ideal world where women don't have to deal with very real sexism IRL then yes, it wouldn't matter one way or the other whether it was a man, dog, woman, etc... but now we're going in circles and retreading the same exact stuff that has been stated and argued for the last 50+ pages. If you don't believe that the use of the trope contributes to cultural attitudes, then of course you're not going to agree with any of the underlying points in the videos. You're over-thinking or reading too much into the sentence. People in this thread (and elsewhere) have defended new retro-style games with a very generic plot device like the damsel in distress as being throwbacks, so therefore it's OK. Anita's point, which I agree with, is that you don't HAVE to have a damsel in distress to have a throwback game. This is really not a controversial idea. You can have a game with sweet 8bit graphics, music, and retro gameplay without the princess being kidnapped.

Her point was that all things being equal, a man saving a woman and a woman saving a man would be no different. But one of those reinforces a cultural stereotype and the other doesn't. Anita's point is that the context matters. For example, look at the Italian prime minister, a black woman who at a recent conference had bananas thrown at her. This was obviously a racial jab and many people obviously found it extremely racist and offensive. If people were throwing bananas at a white person instead, because there is no cultural stereotype of white people being or looking like monkeys, it wouldn't be nearly as offensive. Or the more obvious example, the use of the "n-word" ranges from outrageously racist to acceptable depending on whom is talking to whom. Same exact word, so in theory it should mean the same thing, but in reality it obviously doesn't due to cultural context. Honestly I think a lot of the critics here should find the conclusions of the video agreeable. It's OK if women need rescuing sometimes, or if they lose control, or get hurt, or whatever. She's just suggesting that there are many creative ways to incorporate these things into a plot or setup that twists or subverts the trope, rather than lazily re-using it or simply swapping genders. Even looking to simple retro-style games, she points out some excellent and critically-praised games like Fez that evoke nostalgia without using the trope. It's simply not necessary anymore.

New video -

We're ALMOST THERE! This game is hella fun even right now in pre-alpha state, so just imagine how awesome the full game will be If you can't back the project, tell your friends, get the word out! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/56637190/dungeonmans-the-heroic-adventure-roguelike p.s. You can listen to and downloda 5 tracks I wrote for the game RIGHT HERE: http://impactsoundworks.com/zircon_Dungeonmans_OST_Preview.zip

Sure, I agree she acknowledge the people that recorded the videos, and/or talk to them beforehand, even if it isn't a legal requirement. But even if she didn't, it doesn't qualify as plagiarism or dishonesty.. more on that in a bit. Yeah again in terms of permission & credit, that's certainly preferable. Sure. I can see Bleck's point that one COULD critique a game without playing it, i.e. by watching someone else play it. Most of us could watch any game for 30 minutes and come up with a pretty detailed opinion. But I agree that in this case at least, she has given people the impression that she bought games and would be playing them for research. I would thus have expected her to have played the games. So, I'm with you on that.

It's not plagiarism or dishonest to use footage other people recorded, because the footage itself isn't her argument (as Bleck said). Game footage is not an idea or a thought. All of the content of her videos thus far could be presented in text or audio format; the footage is just reference material. It doesn't matter whether she recorded it or not.

Streaming the game LIVE on Twitch in one hour: http://twitch.tv/zirconmusic We've also sweetened the pot: for $25, you now get the full version of Dungeonmans, plus TWO of my soundtrack albums PLUS the Dungeonmans full OST. Madness!

Of course! Everything will be on the physicals, and more.

My latest virtual instrument project is now available! This was a ton of fun and I got to collaborate with incredible sound designers like Mick Gordon (N-Jekted on OCR, and an amazing game composer) and Jordan Fehr (sound designer for Hotline Miami, Binding of Isaac, DKC Returns, etc.)

This is really really awesome. First game arrangement CD I've purchased in awhile. Amazing musicianship, and I love the styles. Reminds me of Django Reinhardt at times, mixed with Acoustic Alchemy's mellower stuff. Amazing.

Totally 100% my mistake, no excuses. I batch added gaps to every track forgetting that these were supposed to be gapless. We should be able to update the torrent and correct; I still have the original files of course.

Got Kontakt? Check out the ISW Modern Composers Bundle! http://isworks.bundledragon.com/moderncomposer We're drastically discounting a collection of our libraries. Get 3 for $75 ( discount of 50%+) or EIGHT ( 8 ) libraries for $150 - they normally sell for $400!

Ah yes, Juggernaut is very close to release indeed... should be available by end of raffle.

Gonna be doing another livestream and probably some kind of public music update next week. In the meantime, we're a little over the halfway point in funding and a little under in days remaining: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/56637190/dungeonmans-the-heroic-adventure-roguelike It's gonna be a close one. If you like the concept, please support it even if you don't back by sharing, liking, tweeting, etc!

Well the sad thing is that there is some sizable contingent of people that doesn't like how we tag our artist field with actual artists and instead wants us to just put OC ReMix there. Balancing site promo vs. artist promo is certainly something that Dave & Larry are constantly trying to figure out. I know the next version of the site will be placing more emphasis on individual artist social media for example and making it even easier for people to get more info about the mixers.

We did do the backers-only first CD before the actual album came out, which was received positively by everyone. The backer response in general has been glowing but I think people would have been upset if they didn't get to hear the album until August at the earliest, simply because we wanted to wait for physicals to be ready. The idea of us sitting on the finished project for that long was not an option on the table.

Like I mentioned, we're working on getting the CDs printed now. They should start shipping in early August. We didn't think it made sense to make everyone - including backers - wait for the music until that point.

I noticed that too, but I think it's more that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are more popular (by far) than they were in 2007. People are sharing thoughts and leaving comments there too and don't feel the need to post on the forums.

If anyone is waiting for Rogue's Legacy... why not just buy it straight from the devs? It's $12, that's pocket change but at least the devs will get more of it.

If you've ever liked JRPGs in your lifetime it is worth playing Ni No Kuni. Very very good JRPG with beautiful art, music, and a charming story. Pretty challenging too.

Pikmin 3 a system seller? Really? I checked wikipedia and afaik the first Pikmin didn't even sell 1m lifetime. I doubt Pikmin 2 did much better. It's a niche game series.

Silver IV now. http://www.lolking.net/summoner/na/23994172 Dat rating rise! Gold here I come!

DUNGEONMANS: Now on Steam Early Access! Crush monsters and get loot in a persistent world full of gorgeous 2D sprite work with a sweeping throwback soundtrack. Dungeonmans on Steam! Dungeonmans is an old-school roguelike with deep gameplay, a lighthearted tone, thrilling combat, lots of character customization, and of course, endless replayability and great challenge. The gameplay flow will be instantly recognizable to fans of classics like Nethack, Crawl, or Castle of the Winds, as well as newer entries in the genre like Dungeons of Dredmor or even the Diablo series. The player crafts the character of their liking from scratch, and develops their own playing style by leveling up, learning new masteries and skills, finding equipment, and (most likely) dying a lot. The developer is Jim Shepard (Adventurepro Games), a former programmer for numerous AAA projects including Star Wars: The Old Republic. He's been working on Dungeonmans for years and documenting the process thoroughly on the game's website. I met Jim late last year on the internets and was given the opportunity to create the game's music & SFX, which has been an absolute blast. We opted for a very 16bit style reminiscent of classic PC RPGs or PS1 games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Suikoden II, so I'm seriously channeling Hitoshi Sakimoto among others! After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Dungeonmans has been growing rapidly. The latest version of the game includes more music (by yours truly), a brand-new UI, tons of overhauled graphics, new classes, items, skills, and much more. And this is still the ALPHA! As a huge fan of roguelikes and dungeon crawlers myself, Dungeonmans is a dream come true. From the lovely 2D sprite work to the lighthearted tone and modern gameplay additions like an extensive skill list and slick animations, it's just a lot of fun. Get the game on Steam now! http://steamcommunity.com/app/288120/

I am a turbo feeder in aram with non APs.