Sandy

But Goddess... The problem is that almost every thread in the Adventure Arena has the [M-SLV]-rating! It completely nullifies the desired effect of the rating system, making it useless and unnecessary! The rating system isn't "required" for anything, it's just a matter of preference. And as I pointed in my starting post, it really seems to cause more harm than benefit, now that I've watched how it works in practice for quite a while. I also agree with Boo, it really [I]seems[/I] that the ratings are there only so that the Arena mods have something to do - even though this is a pretty mean thing to say and it's not really true. But it sure [I]looks[/I] that way! The system really needs at least revising, although I honestly think we did pretty good without it in the past.

Yes, I know this subject has been discussed about previously, but I did a search on this forum and couldn't find a suitable thread that wasn't over half-an-year old, so I decided to create one. I'm slowly but steadily becoming the official forum whiner, but if I can't whine in this section then I don't know where else to express my concerns. So, the ratings in the OB Arena forums... I've accepted them by now, but I've also kept an eye on how they are used here, and I must say they are widely ineffective. In OB Anthology the ratings aren't a problem, because the person who posts his or her work there already knows if it's suitable for everybody or if there is any mature content included. But I'm baffled by the Adventure Arena and Inn - in case you haven't taken notice, the [M-LVS]-rating is in nearly [I]every single thread[/I] there! It seems to be a standard that people put into their games - no matter if their game has any mature content or not, and mostly it's the latter. I'm asking [B]what purpose do the ratings have anymore?[/B] They aren't mere guidelines that will direct the young and the sensitive to lighter games, as [I]there are no lighter games[/I]! Well, in truth there [I]are[/I] rpgs at the Arena that consist no violence, no swearing and no sexual content, but just take a guess what rating those games have? Yes, [M-LVS]! The ratings seem to have caused an inflation on the games, as people tend to think that their game needs to have the aforemention rating for it to be successful and "open to all possibilities". Not to mention that the quality of the games has decreased greatly, when people want to act all "mature" because of the ratings, when in fact they might have little idea what actual "mature" content includes - beyond exposed breasts and bloody guts. The rating is now overly inforced, people really don't think much about it so they just put the standard to be safe - and that goes against the whole reason the rating system was created in the first place! I'm very aware of the noble and smart reasons behind the rating system, but I'm very worried to see that it has much more bad effects than good. Please, Jamesy, Daggy, Dessy, everybody -[I] reconsider [/I]this rating system! I'm not necessarily saying you must throw it to the garbage bin, but it must change because of the reasons mentioned above. If you aren't convinced, just check the Adventure Arena and especially Adventure Inn, and count how many ratings other than [M-VLS] you see there! Then check some of the recruitment threads and see if the content really matches the rating. Honestly, I'm not whining just to whine, I'm truly concerned about the Arena! Lately, I haven't seen a single game there I'd want to join, when prior to the rating system there was always at least one...

Melinoë wasn't pleased when she heard that Unhate hadn't had any plans of actually using her. Obviously the man didn't know how her abilities actually worked. She figured that Unhate, as experienced a leader as he was, was used to commanding men and not women. Melinoë reckoned that she made her four male companions uneasy. Of course it might just be her appearance. She stood still next to Unhate and watched as Pygmalion and Joseph took off towards the temple, followed a little later by Augur. Finally Unhate gave a signal to follow him. Melinoë could feel how her diabolical weapon, the flaming whip Phlegethon, quivered in her hand, anticipating that it would taste blood again soon. When they reached the three other men, they talked about the infiltration process. Melinoë wasn't interested much, she could have entered the temple anytime she wanted, either without a sound or in a bloody frenzy. But she reasoned that her team-members wouldn't have appreciated that much. Those petty humans were all about "planning" and "strategy". She just wanted to get the mission over with as soon as possible. "Melinoë, did you copy that?" Unhate had interrupted her chain of thoughts. Melinoë was irritated. "What?" she asked with her chilliest tone of voice. "Pay attention! You'll hinder the enemy with Joseph while I, Augur and Pygmalion search for the leader." "But..." Melinoë resisted. "You will do as you're told! Look, you are obviously most useful at slicing and dicing whatever, so I can't risk having the leader decapitated." Melinoë's fury burst into flames within her. Her body began to shake, and the Phlegethon's curved blade rose into the air. But she knew she couldn't afford to lose her calm at this crucial moment, or her days in the Legionnaires would be over before they really started. She didn't know why she had joined in the first place, but now after few months of protecting the world, she realized that her life had gained a meaning. For the first time ever she felt useful, and that was worth clinging onto. So she closed her mismatching eyes, took a deep breath of the hot savannah air, and regained her frigid posture. "Very well, Unhate. You're the boss, I'm the mindless killer." She gained small pleasure from seeing the bulky, stone-skinned man shiver slightly from the tone of her voice. The right moment of entry came, and Melinoë followed the others inside, holding the Phlegethon ready.

My point [I]exactly[/I], Sara. Every person has different methods of calming down nerves, and none of them work for everybody, so it's up to oneself to figure out the best way. And don't get all snarky at me! ;P I was just trying to pin-point the problematic attitude that Your Mother seems to have if I've interpreted his post right. The best way to start a problem is to analyze what the reasons behind the problem are, and work on them. I'm sounding like I think I'm some kind of professional therapist now, am I... :/

Your problem is obviously that you predict your failure before it happens and you worry about your nerves, so [I]of course[/I] you get even more nervous! Unfortunately bad nerves is something that one has to solve oneself. It's a matter of lacking self-confidence and overly thinking about what others think. I've had bad nerves in the past, but my years of acting in theater and in school plays have given me loads of self-confidence when it comes to presenting things in front of others. Added to that, I actually went to a "high school" that focused on performing arts, so we actually [I]studied[/I] this issue there. So, my advice to you is that you must stop thinking negatively about performing, and figure out the best way for you to focus on relevant things yourself. There are no magic tricks that will help you here, it all starts from your own attitude. ;)

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1] Give me some of these 'countless cases' where some young upstart manages to claw his/her way to power, an drop his/her morals to fit in. I'm sure it's happened before, but not because the system is inherently corrupt. You think it's corrupt because the people operating within it have different ideas of what's 'right' and 'wrong.' You disagree with their stances on the issues. Let's be honest, if [pick your favorite president] were in office, would you be talking about how the system is so corrupt? I think not.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] I'm sorry, but as I'm not American, I can only speak from an outsiders point-of-view. And speaking objectively, the government of USA seems like a very rotten one at this moment. Of course it hasn't always been so, because "the system" isn't a living, breathing, thinking organism itself, but it is based on the people in charge. It's kind of a vicious cycle, where corruption encourages corruption, people become selfish because they are expected to do so etc. I'm not an anarchist, I don't support total revolution, but isn't it obvious, after the events following the hurricane, that things must change Stateside? If not for anything else, then for the good of the people living there.

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1] As for the government being rotten ... eh, I still stand in the same place. I definitely don't approve of [most of] Bush policy, but I'm not going to call the man rotten or facist. [/SIZE][/QUOTE] I just want to say that I like to believe that there is at least something good in every person. George W. Bush, for example, has some noble thoughts and principles, but a government isn't one person - not even in America. A government is a bureaucratic and politic system with it's own harsh realities and rules. Such systems tend to bring out the worst in individual persons, and when everybody are acting for their own personal benefit, things go rotten. So, I don't believe for a second that Bush didn't want to send help to New Orleans out of malice and racism, it's just that the system didn't allow it - and he knew it. There are countless cases of idealistic young politics who enter the governmental system and end up dropping their ideologies because of the corruption within the system. They either sell it for personal gain or just give up after seeing that they have very little influence on it. "Legally Blonde"-movies are a ditzy and humorous example, but if you look deep into them, you'll realize they have much truth in them. To summarize things, I wasn't saying that Bush is rotten to the core, but the whole system around him is.

[quote name='Retribution][SIZE=1]If there's a [B]city-wide manditory evacuation[/B'] being held, you know the Hurricane means business. To all those who decided to stick it out, to hunker down and see what would happen, you're retards. That's why the death toll is going to be so high. Yes, there are those who lacked the means of leaving the city. That doesn't mean you just sit at your house and let the sh_t hit the fan. Hitch-hike, use public transportation, whatever you can do to leave the area, do it.[/SIZE][/quote] It's useless to say "they should've done so" when the damage has already happen, Retri - it's quite cruel too. Now the U.S. government should concentrate on helping those people, and I'm truly sickened by the fact that some officials diminished the situation in New Orleans so that sufficient help arrived a week later thatn it was supposed to. What I, as a foreigner who has been [I]objectively[/I] followed the U.S. politics, would wish that this catastrophe would teach is that Bush has continuously shoved money and resources [I]outside[/I] the States, [I]away[/I] from the people that elected him. He simply doesn't seem to give a crap about his own people, it's just all about war and oil and economics! Capitalism at its worst! I really hope this horrible event will open the eyes of people of America, like the Afghanistan and Iraq wars opened the eyes of people here in Europe. Your government is rotten.

I'm sorry, but this whole poem was kind of lame... Poetry is something beyond words that rhyme, although it's the most basic form of it. You should also have rhythm and some consistency in the poem, not just phrases that end in a rhyming words put together. If I have to try to say something positive about this poem, I'd say it has a certain amusing irony in it. Sorry if I sound too hard, but I reckon you don't place this piece among the best poems of all times either...

Meh, I knew somebody would be offended by my remark... I'm trying my hardest not to generalize, but you must understand that to us foreigners America looks like a very hypocritical/double-standardized nation - on one thing it's all "freedom this" and "liberty that", while on another thing it is "ban this" and "censor that"! Of course many people don't think that way, but it's the current image USA is giving from itself to the other countries.

I still can't get over the fact that American government and officials - almost the whole society - thinks that nudity, homosexuality and pornography are something much more worse than violence, crime and guns! That's something so [I]absurd[/I]! The first three have never hurt anybody (if you don't count raping, pedophilia or S/M ;P ), while the latter three kill loads of people every day and ruin the lives of so many more! Yet little is done to them, while all sexual content is getting wiped out.

Actually, that's already taken care of Takuya, as "Cliché the Game" includes mysterious elemental crystal orbs that possess great magic powers (uh, haven't really thought it through yet). At this point of the development, I decided to ditch summoning and summons in order to make ithe game look less Final Fantastic and more generic. Of course, if DW wants them included, we'll figure out how to implement them to the story. But by all means, if you guys have any RPG clichés that weren't in the Grand List, please post them here so we can maybe snatch them to our own evil purposes (ie. the game). ;D

You couldn't get a debate over the age of becoming an adult, so you start a debate over [I]anything?[/I] This thread is going [I]majorly[/I] off-topic, you know? ;P I'd like to add to the discussion that in Finland people become full-aged at eighteen, but to many of the teenagers even [I]it[/I] seems too old. People get drunk here for the first time at the mature age of 15, losing virginity happens at that time as well, smoking is often started in the 6th grade, sixteen or seventeen years old get into car accidents where they were the driver etc. My point is that whatever the "legal" age of becoming adult is, many teenagers do all those "adult" stuff long time before that.

Umm, I'm sorry but I don't find these funny to the least (more like very immature)... And I can't say that I like the style either (I'm at a neverending war against stick figures)... I mean, you could give them at least [I]some[/I] effort before sending them here. But hey, that's just me. ;P If you want good advice Attimus, you should keep doing what you do, and you'll become better and better almost automatically. It's clearly visible if one compares the first comic to the last that progress is inevitable. ;D

[CENTER][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=3]Fear Me a River[/SIZE][/COLOR] - Rated Mature for Violence - [/CENTER] Her mother had brought her here, to this new city. It was no Quebec, she could see that from the first glance. She stood at one of the windows of the attic-room where her mother had carried her with her demonic powers. The nocturne streets of Chicago were full of bright lights and busy people, cars and busses and neon signs and noise. The attic was on top of an abandoned rental building. There were signs of renovating everywhere - plastic covers, rolls of wallpaper, ducktape - but it was obviously unfinished, probably due to lack of money. Everything was now covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. She had tried to clean up the room that was her home now, but ultimately she had seen it was pointless - the layer of dust would return soon anyway. It didn't really bother her, she was half demonic so no such trivial things could affect her! The room had little furniture: a metallic bed and a wooden chair next to it for the night-lamp - not that she did much reading anyway - and a cabinet for her few clothes and possessions. All three pieces were located in one corner of the rather spacious room, opposite to the wall with the door. There was a bathroom and a small kitchen that she used on the floor below. There were six windows in the room, three on both sides. Her favorite one was the one closest to the door on the right side - it had the best view. There was seven story drop to the streetlevel. Right below the specific window was a t-junction, so she could see far into the distance. She rarely ventured outside, mostly when accompanied by her mother. Part of her hated the outside world, part of her feared it. She resented the way people looked at her, like she was some kind of a freak. To be honest, she [I]was[/I] a freak. Nobody had the other side of the body black while the other was pale. Nobody had hair that was black on the right side and pure white on the left. Nobody had one blue eye and one flaming red eye. Nobody except her. More than anything outside the window, she hated herself. She had no bigger fear than herself. She could make others whimper and tremble in fear, but their eyes reflected her own fear of her twisted soul. She was so sunken into her thoughts that she nearly somersaulted when she heard a voice behind her. An all too familiar voice calling her name. "Melinoë." She turned to face the source of the voice. "Mother." Her mother, Nemesis. [I]The[/I] Nemesis. Nemesis the Vengeful, Nemesis the Merciless, Nemesis the Angel of Revenge. But she was no angel, she was a demon. Her skin was black as night, her incredibly long hair swirled around her naked body like mist. Her eyes burned like the funeral pyre, yet her voice was as freezing as the deadly dephts of the ocean. "I have a gift for you. For your birthday. It is a human custom to give gifts at birthdays, isn't it?" "It is my birthday? You have never brought me gifts before. How old am I, then." "You are eighteen, my daughter. Full-grown. An adult. This is your gift." Nemesis conjured a long burning whip out of thin air. "This is [I]Phlegethon[/I], a whip forged in the fiery river where it gets it's name from. Take it, it's yours now." Melinoë walked to her mother, and carefully grasped the handle of the whip. Despite it's look, it didn't burn her. On the contrary, it was ice-cold. She ran her fingers along the length of the spiked chain. At the other end was a curve blade, like the Reaper's scythe. "Thank you mother... Will you show me how to use this?" "No. It can control itself. It won't hit you, even if you tried, but it will seize your enemies like a boa. Give it a try." Melinoë lifted the handle, and noticed that the whip was very light, as if it moved by itself. Then she realized that it in fact [I]did[/I] move by itself. Melinoë did a lashing move, and the scythe lunged forwards, cutting the air. Then the blade returned, and the chain swirled around Melinoë. Melinoë was thrilled inside, but her face remained blank of emotions. "This is... magnificent!" "Yes. Come now, it is time to put everything I've taught you to a test." Melinoë had no time to ask questions as her mother grasped her by the shoulder, and the surroundings blurred. They had teleported to some windy rooftop, although they were still in Chicago. Nemesis pointed down at the street, where a dark-skinned youngster ran. He looked like he was running for his life. "There. Seize that boy. Make him regret what he has done!" "What has he done, then?" But as Melinoë turned to look at her mother, she was gone. Little did she know that it would be a decade before she saw her again. Melinoë turned her attention back to the young man, but he was already out of sight. She closed her eyes, and felt that the boy was running away from her, to the right. It was one of the skills that she had inherited from her mother. Melinoë leaped to another rooftop, and then to another. She was a huntress now, a merciless avenger. Soon she saw the young man, crouched on a dark alley, panting. Silently like a spider, Melinoë descended the fire escape, and jumped behind the boy. The young man jumped around, and like a raflex lifted his fist. Melinoë looked deep into his eyes that began to spread in horror. His fist began to shake, and he fell to his knees. "W-what are you?" Melinoë was slightly amused to see that the boy had wet his pants, but her face was still emotionless. The Phlegethon began to rise, and her hand rose with it. "N-no, p-please! I haven't done anything!! No, it wasn't me!! P-please, the others made me do i-it! I s-swear, I'll turn myself in, I didn't mean to -! His begging was cut off by the slicing blade of the Phlegethon. The young man's decapitated head rolled to Melinoë's feet. An overwhelming emotion struck Melinoë as she realized what had happened. She had killed somebody! She hadn't even known what the boy had done, but she had murdered him... because her mother had told her to. The Phlegethon dropped from her hand, falling to the growing pool of blood at her feet.

You're right Baron Samedi, there are [I]four[/I] people besides Shy who aren't in any teams - you, DDG, Solar Princess and Unborn Lord Xion (see, I [I]told[/I] you I can't count! ;P ) Oh, the Arbiter is up?! Gotta go check it out! ;D Oh, and a question: [B]is the Body Bag -thread(or threads) a poll, or do we have a panel of judges or something?[/B]

Eagles eat cats?!? 8/ This is the first time I've heard about [I]that[/I]! Oh, and to have a take on the subject, the cat I grew up with and I have this love/hate relationship. She knows me (she lives with my sister now) and she can come to my lap and purr, but suddenly she might scratch me or bite my petting hand or something. Then I know I should steer away from her... ;P But still, despite the various scratches - and even one scar I still have - I haven't ended up hating her. I hope I still get to see her before she dies, as she's quite old now...

I'm sorry if I offended you, Frankie... :( I didn't mean to imply that you cannot take care of your dogs, I was trying to say that if you have so much trouble with pets, maybe you shouldn't take them anymore - even if you can take care of them. But you are wrong in one thing: some parents DO need advice on how to raise their kids. Some people just don't know how to take care of others - including animals. I'm currently studying social care, so my future profession will probably involve quite a lot of giving advice to parents and caretakers.

Honestly, Frankie, maybe if you're having so much trouble with pets, you should stop taking them altogether. I believe it would be the best solution for both you and the pet. People [I]can[/I] live without animals, and especially if they lack the interest to take care of them or cannot provide sufficient environment for them (dogs need space, not half of a room), they should never take pets in the first place. With the fluffiness and cuteness and adorableness of the pet comes a great responsibility, you know.

[QUOTE=Petie][font=Verdana][color=blue]Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'd definitely play it, if not for the sole purpose of trying to notice every one of the cliches in the game.[/color][/font] [/QUOTE] Well, maybe some time in the future you'll have your chance, as I and Dragon Warrior have put our sexy heads together and undertaken a project called "Cliché" - a self-made rpg that has all those clichés in the list and more! ;D Check out the last pages of the Game Maker Thread at the PC/Mac-section to learn more... ;)

Err, Pygmalion doesn't have long hair in that picture... I can see now that you mentioned it that one could think so, but that's actually his beard connecting to his backhair. ;) Hmm, the colors? I just went with what I felt natural. [COLOR=DarkRed]For my character, Melinoë, I chose dark red because she has that color in her clothes, and it is also a demonic color.[/COLOR] [COLOR=Sienna]For Unhate the color was obviously brown because of his rock-skin and down-to-earth -personality.[/COLOR] [COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]For Joseph, the dirty green came from the army outfit he wore at Break's sign-up.[/COLOR] [COLOR=RoyalBlue]For Augur, I thought royal blue would match with his psychic abilities and calmness (or was he a calm personality, can't remember anymore...).[/COLOR] [COLOR=DarkOrange]And last but not least, Pygmalion's color is orange because it is the color of knowledge.[/COLOR] ;) Together, they even out each other: red and green are counter-colors, so are blue and orange, and brown is a mix of them all. ;D Gotta admit, I have a [I]thing[/I] with colors...

[quote name='Howlingvampire4']Does anyone know what exactly is in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children special edition pack?[/quote] Go to [url]http://www.adventchildren.net[/url] and see for yourself. ;) There's loads of info on that site about the movie, but also some spoilers, so you might want to steer clear from such sections as "story" and "screenshots"...

Corey is right about the corruption. Finland is to my memory the third least corrupted country [I]in the world[/I], and [I]still[/I] there is bribing, spying, hiding crucial information and all such things going on in our wee ickle government. Politics are a cruel game, I say.

Err, I wasn't actually using the "20+ players RPG" as an example, I was just trying to point out that I have experience on RPGs with several dozen players to those who doubted me. The problem of my game is that I had no restrictions what-so-ever. This game [I]at first[/I] felt to me that it was the opposite, overcontrolling. I don't see it that way anymore, but I honestly think that by dividing the players into five different threads AND choosing the players, the good quality and consistency are [I]already[/I] guaranteed! In that game of mine you used as an example, I had neither of those features. This game has those two, PLUS the post limit PLUS the posting order! It all just felt too overly controlled to me at first. But as said, I have come to terms with the fact that I'm not allowed to post as freely as I would've wanted [I]at this point of the event[/I], so there's no need to constantly try to prove me wrong anymore - let alone bash me! I thought I had earned at least some respect as a quality RPer (like Fallen pointed out) in the past, but apparently all that has slipped into oblivion, and people think I'm some sort of a newbie. Well, enough self-pity! Hey, [B]there's a whole new thread in the Event![/B] An unannounced surprise, Shy? Well, I'm glad you gave most of the players left outside the first four threads a chance to participate now. ;) Hmm, to my calculations (which are almost always incorrect) there are only [B]three players[/B] besides Shy who aren't signed up for a mission now. I'm feeling quite giddy about the future in this event. I mean imagine, after the first missions are over, characters are getting killed! Or am I mistaken, will the "killings" occur during the missions? Take that as a question, Shy! ;)

Just for the sake of getting you to do a piece about Melinoë, I'm going to review your char art of Aura. I really love the pose, it seems very dynamic and superheroic. There are few nitpicky parts, though. First is the navel: as you probably see it yourself, the navel seems to extend all the way across her stomach. Other part is that her other leg is somewhat thicker than the other - it might be the posture that's doing tricks to my eyes, but on the other hand, my char art has similar "flaws" constantly. It's all about the proportions, and despite the few flaws, I think you're better at them than me. ;) [I]Now[/I] can I have my Melinoë done by you? ;D