The Game (a rant)
I feel that it is necessary to point out that most people who play games don’t have the same experiences with them that I do. It started during high school and escalated insanely into my college years, when it became clear that I had friends that were very “special”. [Read the rest of this article]
Somewhere, Over the Rainbow
In a day that will live in infamy, Idoicy has struck a terrific blow of ignorance to Reason and Intellect. The Kansas State Board of Education voted 6-4 to allow science students in public schools to hear materials critical of evolution in biology classes.
That’s bad enough. Hemmoraging these poor kids’ futures for some dumbass doctrinal viewpoint is one thing. No one in their right mind is going to be putting a technologically advanced business in Kansas now, they’re laughingstocks the world over (as they SHOULD be!), and the state is likely to enter a spiraling economic decay in the future.
But there is one point of their decision which is simply jaw-droppingly horrifying. No, that’s not it… it’s more than jaw-dropping. It’s… Lovecraftian in stupidity. It’s so stupid as to be mind-shatteringly moronic; no one sane could peer into the face of this incalcuable abyssal horror of stupidity and remain unchanged. It’s so idiotic as to be completely alien to any reasonable, sensible mind and no such mind could possibly look upon the visage without going insane, at least temporarily.
Sony's Comedy of Errors
“If you think things can’t get worse it’s probably only because you lack sufficient imagination.”
Oh, the Sony mess just keeps getting better and better. Not only does the DRM check up on you to make sure you’re making nice through the use of a Rootkit. Not only can the Sony DRM be used to cheat at World of Warcraft. Now the Sony DRM boondoggle has been discovered to phone home!
Twilight Imperium Review: Smaller, Less Detailed, and More Postive
I bought Twilight Imperium based on my love of big epic games, such as Game of Thrones (also from Fantasy Flight) and a desire to buy a game as a form of escapism from my mind-numbing, short-lived experience in sales hell. I’ve since played it twice, and enjoyed both experiences, but there is something about that doesn’t quite sit right. I enjoy the multiplayer madness, the back-stabbing, the carefully planned attacks, and even a healthy duration to such a game. So, how do I reconcile my enjoyment and the uneasiness my enjoyment and sour feelings? [Read the rest of this article]
The Twilight of the Imperium 3rd Edition: Dave's Derisive Take
Twilight Imperium 3rd edition was released this year, updating a Fantasy Flight Games classic to adapt some more modern ideas in board gaming. I own the second edition, and played it twice, but it hasn’t really left the shelf in many years, due to time and complexity involved. I have now played the 3rd edition twice (16+ hours of gameplay) and have to say that if I had bought it, it would probably remain on my shelf or be headed for Ebay. (Warning: the following review has a number of crudely shot cameraphone pics of the game being played) [Read the rest of this article]
Big Blizzard is Watching
Those who play World of Warcraft probably know about the little service it runs called The Warden. The Warden is a program that runs statistical analysis on a player’s system to make sure that no cheating programs are being used.
What Blizzard failed to mention, of course, was that the program also does some pretty damned insidious things while searching for cheating programs. For instance, it also looks through all open windows on the system and reads text information. Text information that could contain e-mail addresses, credit card numbers, or anything of that sort. And it does this every fifteen seconds to every person who plays.
Teamwork (An Umberhulk Riding a Bullette)
(Edit from the future: this post references an old theme we used, and is entirely based upon a header we had that featured editted images of Umberhulks riding Bullettes…those were the days. ~Bart)
At this point I feel it is necessary to provide an explanation of one of our title blocks for the site. Many of you, particularly outside of a specific group of people with which we associate, may be quite confused and simply take little note of it. The truth is that that banner represents the deepest fear and utter disparity for many of my friends. [Read the rest of this article]
Virus Music – Sony Gets Down With the Sickness
So. Sony has gone to using rootkits as a method of providing Digital Restrictions Management.
For those who aren’t aware, here’s a quick rundown on what a rootkit and what DRM is: A root kit is a set of tools used by an intruder after cracking a computer system. These tools can help the attacker maintain his or her access to the system and use it for malicious purposes. In other words, they change the underlining OS so that it works against you, rather than for you.
DRM (short for Digital “Rights” Management a.k.a. Digital Restrictions Management) is the name applied to malware that stops you, the user, from doing what you want with the data you’ve bought and paid for. Typically, DRM is employed by paranoid pointy-haired bosses in the entertainment industry who are terrified that you might not have to pay their exorbitant prices for terrible content. Even worse, you might be able to change your media without having to fork over money to do so! The Horror!!
Into the Abyss
I like to think that I’m a pretty mentally with it. I mean, I might freak out if I saw Cthulhu or something, but it still takes a lot to actually shake me. I can look at those terrible medical photos on Snopes and not bat an eye. Horrific visions of apocalyptic scenes don’t faze me. But I have been to something which shook me to the core.
I went to a Bible study group.
[Read the rest of this article]
Realworld of Warcraft
I’m sure it seemed to make perfect sense at first, but in practice the idea turned out to bring nothing but the apocalypse. In the development of every Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game people must have thought about it thoroughly. I mean, after all, it IS a game of playing roles. So how could such an innocent, completely logical idea turn into the harbinger of pain, death and destruction? [Read the rest of this article]
