21 years ago today, the original Phantasy Star was released for the Sega Master System. It was considered a pioneer in some ways, but probably the feature I most wish later console RPGs had copied was the ability to save anywhere, anytime (except in combat or conversation). But last I checked this feature was notoriously scarce in the genre.
This gives me the perfect excuse to shelve the heart-warming tribute you were probably expecting in favor of a quick little rant.
Let me emphasize this: Phantasy Star is twenty-one years old. People have gone from birth to college graduation in that time. Technology has advanced to the point where pocket-sized systems make the Sega Master System look like an abacus, so it can’t be a hardware limitation. Yet, somehow, the simple idea of letting players save where they please in console RPGs seems like the Garden of Eden - a utopian ideal forever condemned to remain in the mists of a distant past.
So why is it that such a great idea that was achievable with the technology of over two decades ago is nigh universally rejected these days? Is this mandated by publishers or console-producing companies for some reason? Has the pubblik skuul sistim cranked out an entire generation of game designers who think that cutting major convenience features from games is somehow a good idea? Are the younger games just rebelling against their elders after one too many “back on my console system” rants?
Game Giveaway of the Day is giving free registration for SAGA, a MMO RTS. And there’s no monthly fees once you’re signed up, so this sounds like a free-for-life deal. I’m not interested in MMOs myself and can’t comment on whether the game is good, but if you’re into that sort of thing it costs you nothing to try this one out.
This one is apparently a bigger deal than usual, because this giveaway is lasting all weekend instead of the customary 24 hours. Here’s the link: http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/saga/
A while back I commented on Mirror’s Edge. Well, it’s out now and from what I’m hearing it’s not all it was cracked up to be. But there’s still one good thing to come out of this that I want to share: I’ve discovered that the lovely theme music is actually a remix of a song called “Still Alive” by one Lisa Miskovsky.
And the original is even better than the game’s version:
We all know how torture goes in children’s cartoons: you get tickled with a feather rather than poked with a hot iron. We can’t show our little tykes real torture methods - no matter how much they have it coming - so instead we give them something more akin to Mel Brooks singing about the Inquisition than the Inquisition itself. But you’ve always thought “it doesn’t happen in real life,” right?
Think again. Via Michelle Malkin, I learn that Fort Lupton Municipal Judge Paul Sacco deals with noise ordinance violators by making them listen to sounds they don’t like. That’s right, get too loud on Mr. Sacco’s turf and he’ll sentence you to listen to Barry Manilow. For real. Apparently he doesn’t get many repeat offenders, but oh dear God: So. Many. 8th Amendment. Jokes.
We have got to get this judge into the Supreme Court. I will donate money to this cause. And I will read Vogon poetry to anyone who opposes me.
It’s become obvious to me that I’m not going to be able to remain silent on politics. But this isn’t the place for it. So I’m doing what I probably should have done a while ago and starting a new blog for discussion of more serious matters: The Poison Keyboard. Go there if you want my POV on the heavy stuff.
As for this place, I’ll be back to inflicting this thing I refer to as ”wit” on you soon. Be afraid.
Happy Halloween, in-in-in-insects. Enjoy what time you have left… left… leftleftleftlef - time you have left before I cruussshhh yyyyyooooouuuuuuu aaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllq53qlrGQL%!%^%LYQGERGQI#$T!Y!@#%@$TGERG#^%^!#%#$^
Well folks, I threatened said that I might have more to say about the presidential race before it’s over, and sure enough there’s some more I want to bring up for those of you who don’t follow the political news. Don’t worry, I’ll show you some of the humorous side of it all at the end.
But let’s not go into all that. There are two issues that I think take the cake here, and I’ll stick to those this time around.
First, the economy. More specifically, how Obama’s “spread the wealth around” policies will affect it. Read “Barstool Economics” for a nice, quick layman’s primer on how our tax system works, and how soaking and punishing the rich can come back to bite you. Did you know that when polled about how much the rich pay in taxes and how much they thought the rich should be paying, the answers many gave to both questions were far below what the rich are actually paying already?
As for how much Obama himself knows - he’s talked about giving 95% percent of America a federal income tax break, which is going to be rather tricky to pull off since only about 70% are paying federal income taxes in the first place. Forget whether the man is qualified to run the country; with math skills like that, I’m wondering if he’s qualified to run a cash register. Via some Rush Limbaugh transcripts (which I won’t bother with links to because I believe they’ll expire soon anyway) I learn that businesses are already going into survival mode - making layoffs and such - just based on the possibility of an Obama win. Yes, the man who’s supposed to heal the land and cure our ills is actually hurting us just by coming near the White House with his talk of spreading other people’s wealth around. The markets are terrified of this guy.
What’s even better, however, is what his running mate Joe Biden said back on the 19th. Biden is apparently the kind of guy who just can’t keep his mouth shut when he knows something you don’t, and not long after a foreign policy briefing to the POTUS and VP candidates he guaranteed the public that America’s enemies would create a major international crisis within a few months of Obama becoming president:
So… Yeah. Obama’s own VP candidate, shortly after receiving some classified information regarding foreign policy, just repeatedly swore to us that if we elect Obama the bad guys are going to come and @#$% with us in a big way almost immediately. Sort of makes you wonder exactly what form such a crisis will take. Sort of makes me wonder why we need to elect them at all if it’s just going to make this country a lightning rod for trouble.
I’m not a big fan of McCain, and I have my doubts that he’ll leave America any better off than before. But it’s looking more and more like an Obama presidency would be nothing less than a gut-shot to this country.
Still, things are looking up. Much of Obama’s popularity has come from the mainstream press covering for him, but this is finally starting to catch up to them. Not only are they suffering major backlash from the public over destroying Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher’s life, but they’re starting to fracture from within as the honest journalists among them begin to break ranks and call their fellows out.
Moreover, the polls have shifted greatly in McCain’s favor. Even assuming the polls were accurate to begin with - some suspect they were weighted in Obama’s favor to influence voters and due to the Bradley Effect - McCain has come from behind and is now running neck-and-neck. If this continues McCain will be ahead before long. Obama doesn’t seem to handle pressure or criticism well, so I’m expecting a full-blown Messiah Meltdown if McCain gets a clear lead.
And the fact that I’m sharing the mental image of Obama losing it means that we’ve arrived at the “humorous side” portion of this post that I promised you at the top. I’ll keep this short but sweet.
First off, some light reading. Biden follows up on his crisis prediction, and scandal follows Sarah Palin everywhere she goes. Meanwhile, the brutally even-handed Iowahawk launches the counter to the “I Am Joe” movement that he himself started. Neither Jim Treacher nor David Burge will ever read this backwater little blog, but I’ll throw out a “keep up the good work, gents” on principle anyway.
Next, this is for all of you who ever tried that divine combination of chocolate and peanut butter and said, “you know what else would go great together? Political debate and lightsaber duels.” The farce is strong with this one:
And finally, I finish this with a message of hope and inspiration. Never forget the power of one person - or more specifically, one person’s apathy and laziness - to change the world. I will, of course, be hunted down and killed for this:
Iowahawk is a humor-oriented blog, much like mine. Well, except that Iowahawk’s humor is more political. And more prolific. And - let’s be honest here - more entertaining. But one other thing we now have in common is that, as I once did, Iowahawk has momentarily put aside the humor to discuss something seriously - he’s called for a Sparticus-style show of support for Joe Wurzelbacher.
For those of you not following the political news, Joe Wurzelbacher is a plumber who was playing football with his son a few days ago when Barack “don’t-call-me-Hussein” Obama approached him to fish for sound bites. Joe questioned Obama about how he would be affected by Obama’s tax plan, and The Messiah let slip a devastating admission:
“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
(emphasis mine)
“Spread the wealth around.” In other words, socialism. In his own words, Obama basically admitted to being a socialist and people have taken note.
Now, you’d think that this is something the mainstream media would pounce on. Instead, most (though thankfully not quite all) of them have pounced on Joe. They’ve torn into him over his taxes, his qualifications to be a plumber and even his going by his middle name (Joseph) instead of his first (Samuel). They’ve camped on his lawn and destroyed his ability to work:
And what have these same people had to say about what came out of Obama’s mouth and the implications for this country’s future if he’s elected?
Even if Joe had come after Obama instead of the other way around, the important thing here would still be what Obama said. Hell, even if you proved that Joe was a mass murderer it still wouldn’t change the fact that Obama basically admitted to being a socialist. And yet Joe’s the target in their eyes.
And it’s not just the media. Obama and his running mate Biden have personally mocked Joe themselves, getting their facts wrong in the process. Watch this, and note that Joe never said he already makes $250,000 a year (only that he wants to buy a plumbing company and build it up to that point):
Joe did nothing except happen to be outside playing with his kid at the wrong time, and ask a politician about what concerned him when prompted. But just for that, Joe’s life is being destroyed. Do they think that ruining Joe will somehow invalidate Obama’s words? Are they trying to intimidate anyone else who might dare to question The Chosen One?
Regardless, this is disgusting to me and I agree with Iowahawk’s call for a show of solidarity. I may or may not have more to say about this election before getting back to the funny, but for now I’ll just say:
However, it did tickle a memory. Back when my shameful cowardice and I were fleeing before the wrath of Hurricane Gustav, we drove through quite a bit of countryside. I’m the sort of guy who likes my weather cold and overcast (try not to pass out from the shock), and as the storm wasn’t too far behind me the skies certainly obliged me on the “overcast” part. And in the gray evening light some of that countryside just looked damned lovely. It’s too bad I was driving and couldn’t spare more attention for it, because I don’t get outdoors much.
What I appreciated most of all, however, was the amazingly high resolution and the killer framerate. I simply must know what hardware this “outside” is running on, and Google tells me nothing. Does anyone know?
EDIT: Just in case linking to the Erfworld forums isn’t enough, I should state that the artwork I used in the demotivational poster above is from the Erfworld webcomic, and is not mine.
