James

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]Please note that I am not trying to suggest that anyone should "agree" with incest. I personally don't have any interest in it at all. However, if two people are in that kind of relationship, I don't think I have the right to be able to call the cops on them. You know? I'm not even talking about marriage or legal rights or anything. Just relationships. Even if I don't like or disagree with what someone does in the bedroom (I'm sure there are plenty of sexual things that I wouldn't personally like, lol), I think it's wrong and extreme to make things like that illegal. However, if we are talking about rape or pedophilia...then yes, it should be illegal. Why? Because in both cases you are talking about an unwilling participant. In those cases you are really talking about a violent crime, versus a consentual adult relationship. [/color][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]I think this is one of those situations where people just shouldn't bother. I mean, really, what are we going to do? Put police in people's bedrooms to ensure that siblings aren't having sex? C'mon. In all seriousness, I don't think we should legislate people's relationships whatsoever. Obviously there are exceptions (ie: when one person is unwillingly forced into something or something along those lines). But among consenting adults, there isn't much the law can do anyway. I would personally never engage in incest, but that's my choice. If other people want to do that, it's really none of my business. I am continually perplexed at those who want to police the bedroom. If you follow it to its logical conslusion, it seems alarmingly close to some kind of Orwellian nightmare to me. What next? The Ministry of Love? The Federal Department of Flirting? The Courtship Council? Seriously, there are more important things that people should be worrying about. lol[/color][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]Thank you for the compliment. I like to think that our level of "strictness" actually helps to block out the less intelligent stuff. At the very least, we like to foster an environment that encourages higher quality posting. So it's nice to know that there are people out there who appreciate what we try to offer. ^_^[/color][/font]

[QUOTE=Gravy Train]Playstation was 32 bit? Did you mean to say Sega Saturn, because I thought the Playstation had around the same capabilities as the N64, for better or worse? [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]PlayStation and Saturn were 32-bit, Nintendo 64 was 64-bit. PlayStation's capabilities sat somewhere between Saturn and Nintendo 64. The "bits" of a console don't really make a tremendous amount of difference these days, because of the way the hardware is designed. All current generation systems are regarded as "128-bit", but I think that number actually changes depending on what you take into consideration. It matters not, though, because current systems are all designed pretty differently on the inside (especially in the case of PS2).[/color][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]Well, what you are suggesting is what we used to do. Our staff are all sourced from the membership. Our site is a very specific kind of place. Anyone can go and read regular anime news, anyone can go and access episode summaries. Other people provide that. We provide something more unique - a blank canvas for people to create various works to share. That also includes articles. It might be possible to allow people to mass-submit things like summaries in the future (think GameFAQs and how they have multiple entries for one subject - ie: multiple reviews for one game). That kind of thing might be possible. But I don't think we'll go back to the old way of doing things. Our site is designed to be built by every member, so that is why we have as few actual "staff" as possible on the core site.[/color][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#808080]I am not hot tempered at all. In fact, I'm not sure what would actually drive me to breaking point in terms of anger - maybe if a building collapsed on me or something. Short of something highly catastrophic, nothing really makes me very angry. There are many reasons for this, but primarily I'm just a very calm person in general. I am more likely to stress out from worry than from anger, I think. Also, having done martial arts for a few years...that only served to enable me to handle anger a lot more effectively. There are so many ways that I can vent without actually being hostile to anyone. In particular, if I'm angry, it's a good drive for creativity. For example, if people try to attack OB with spam or something of that nature...my immediate reaction isn't to be upset and get revenge or whatever. Instead, my "revenge" is to make OB better so that it becomes more popular. In that way, I think success is the best revenge. ~_^ [/color][/font]

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium][color=#808080]I tend to think that each generation builds upon the last. Mostly, companies are happy to make incremental improvements - there are often a select few companies who create something totally revolutionary. However I must say, this generation has been far more experimental than the previous one. Consider everything from Jet Set Radio and Rez to Katamari Damacy and Viewtiful Joe. In some respects, I almost view this generation as a bit of a creative renaissance - if you think about it, most developers were just trying to grapple with the shift to 3D in the previous generation. In this generation, 3D has finally become established. Now developers are mostly in the business of refining graphics and improving 3D-based gameplay. Where we had Super Mario 64 as a great first step in the last generation, we now have games like Super Mario Sunshine, Jak & Daxter and others to push that established framework even further. These games don't reinvent the wheel, but they take the foundation and build on it in various effective ways. This generation has also played host to plenty of revolutionary games - games that are revolutionary for a number of reasons. The first 3D GTA game was introduced in this generation, for example. As individual elements, it invented nothing particularly new. But as a whole it was a revelation and created an unquestionable revolution in terms of consumer expecations and trends. Each company has played host to some sort of revolution though, I think. PS2 served to make gaming even more mainstream than its predecessor. Xbox introduced the first truly viable online gaming network for home consoles. And GameCube played host to some of the most innovative titles in the generation; Metroid Prime alone is reason enough to own the system, as far as I'm concerned. I consider it to be a revolution in various ways - it totally bucks trends and it completely goes against conventional wisdom. But it does so flawlessly. I also think that we are now reaching a point where visual realism isn't as important as it was. It's still important in some respects, but the impact has lessened. If you look at games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joe and upcoming titles like Okami, I think what you see are games that are actually experimenting with different kinds of realism. Zelda is very "realistic" not because it has photo-like images, but because everything in the world is completely consistent. The [i]behaviors[/i] of objects and people are such that the world is very convincing. It's a strong argument for behavior-driven realism versus image-driven realism (an image might "look" real, but if it behaves like cardboard, there is no suspension of disbelief). Games like Okami also demonstrate that 3D graphics can be more than pure realistic representation. Okami truly looks like a living ink painting - it's quite remarkable. That kind of world is a really attractive thing; it's a place I'd like to visit. And I'm sure a lot of others will agree with that. In terms of game length, there are a few factors to consider. Firstly, I don't necessarily believe that games have become shorter by default. Some games have and there are certain trends that exist right now - I think there's a lot of demand for unique games that are very replayable, but not necessarily very long. This demand possibly comes from a more mainstream audience. However, there are still plenty of long games. I'm not sure if there are more than in the previous generation, but there are probably enough - probably more than one person could afford, anyway. In addition, making really long games with advanced graphics represents a huge cost factor. It's not to say that we won't see any long games in future, but we [i]may[/i] see less of them, at least until somebody finds a way to keep costs under control (and the industry certainly isn't moving in that direction). In terms of people describing it as an era of flash...well, I suppose that's true. But this same argument can be made at any point in history. You can look at the previous generation and say that it was all about flash, because of FMV and 3D images. But you could also say the same about the 16-bit generation, because of scrolling backgrounds and simplistic 3D. Really, if you are comparing the current generation to the last, you're [i]always[/i] going to be talking about the current generation being graphically superior. So of course, more "flash" is just a given as far as I'm concerned. But I view that as irrelevant, because it's just a natural progression. Nobody expects games to look worse as time goes on, I'd think. What matters is whether or not that visual improvement is matched by an improvement in other areas - mechanics, A.I., concepts/ideas, etc... My feeling is that this has (and is continuing to be) achieved in the current generation. Again, you can look at games like Metroid Prime or GTA or Resident Evil 4 to see how companies are further refining movement and interaction in a 3D space - and combining that with some pretty cool and new ideas/concepts. How does this generation rate overall? Well, it's hard to compare because of nostalgia. It wasn't as exciting as the last generation for me, but that's because last time we went from 2D to 3D. That's a massive, massive leap. We won't see that leap again - at least, not with graphics. But I think we will see that leap with other areas, it's just that it'll be more progressive. Things like voice recognition and touch control (of various kinds) are the sorts of things that we can look forward to, in ways that haven't been seen before (and that haven't been expressed as well). At the same time, I think we can look forward to much better online connectivity and such. So, I think this generation has achieved plenty. And I think the next generation will bring about similar excitement, but in different ways. So there's plenty to look forward to and lots to enjoy currently.[/color][/font]

[color=#D6A204]We aren't going to supply all of that stuff in the future. To be specific, theOtaku.com is no longer a site where visitors read what we write, as such. Instead, theOtaku.com is community-based. In the past we provided the articles, you read them. Now, the community provides all of its own content. In that way, theOtaku.com is like a big hub for a broad community of anime fans - it's a place where people can share and discuss their own work. That includes articles too - you can upload your own and share them. In this way, we are able to provide access to a lot more content than we would if we were doing it on our own. It also means that people have a great deal of direct involvement in the network - the community are responsible for making their own content, so it's all a community driven thing. I don't think we will ever go back to the old way of doing things. There are times where we will provide things (like Panda's interviews and various other things in the future), but mostly we are providing a framework for the community to entertain itself. That's what makes us different from a regular anime news site, for example.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]Wow, Annie. That's most cool. ^_^ I love it, though I'd be interested to see the unmodified drawing too. But the way it is, I like it. The colouring looks great and the gesture is most cool. Proportions look good and I think that the use of colour is pretty appropriate (as in, the choice of colour). He seems oddly familiar. ~_^[/color]

[color=#D6A204]It's only partly true that toilets are in seperate rooms to bathrooms in Australia. It's probably 50/50. In some houses, toilets are in the same room as the shower and/or bath. I know I've seen that plenty of times. But in other houses, there is a seperate small room specifically for the toilet. In the houses I've lived in, most of them have been this way. I think it's logical though. What if someone wants to have a shower while someone is using the toilet? It seems illogical to put the two in the same room, especially because there is a lack of privacy as well. So having them seperate is highly convenient. ~_^ Oh, and driving on the left is common in most countries as far as I know. [/color]

[color=#D6A204]The suggestion has been made before. But I really don't want to open skin design up to the public. There are a few reasons for this, but primarily, designing skins for OB isn't the same as for regular forums, because we use a lot of custom graphics (perhaps a lot more than you may first think). So it would also require me to write up a tutorial, which is more time consuming. Secondly, the next iteration of OB will have even [i]more[/i] graphics, because we will be changing and adding components of the site. I don't want to release a graphic pack on that version now, because that would be a major spoiler. Perhaps it will be a possibility in the future. A couple of key people were going to do OB skins for me as a kind of job, but they kind of dropped off the face of the earth. So that hasn't really helped. But having said that, I may directly recruit one or two staff to specifically develop skins for OB. Before this can be done though, we need to re-establish our OB mule (a private duplicate/twin of OB, which is used to test new graphics and functions). So that in itself will take a bit of time.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]It's a difficult situation. I don't think it's healthy to be constantly angry at Japan - the past is the past. But at the same time, Japan has to be responsible and ensure that young people over there actually learn the [b]truth[/b] about what Japan did during WWII. I would hazard a guess that few if any Japanese young people know that Japan visciously attacked both Darwin and Sydney in WWII. Or that they killed thousands of Australians and tortured others, along with Chinese, Koreans and many others in this part of the world. It's ironic that Australia's closest/biggest trading partner is now Japan (moreso than the United States or the UK), considering the past. And generally, in my country, there is a warm relationship with the Japanese. However, I do think that people here would acknowledge that the status quo has to change - if Japan faces up to the past and is honest, it would ease a great deal of tension.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]It's natural to get tired of a particular style after long enough. This skin has existed as the default on OB for more than a year. And believe me, I'm the first in line who wants to see a big change in terms of skin. The problem is simply time. Not only am I heavily involved in freelance work (paid work, which always has priority), but I'm also involved in projects for theOtaku network which also have higher priority (new myO backroom, Premium, v3, etc etc). Unfortunately this tends to mean that OB is perpetually sitting on the backburner. I can only tell you that new stuff for OB [b]is[/b] coming. I just don't want to promise a date, because even I don't quite know how my schedule will pan out in the coming months. [/color]

[quote name='O-tako-sama][CENTER][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]I, personally, think this is a great idea. Now if only the major console companies had this much sense. The gaming world would be so much better.[/SIZE][/COLOR'][/CENTER][/quote] [color=#D6A204]I don't know what the result will be with retailers, but let me tell you, if all of the console makers merged, gaming would suck. Lack of competition isn't good.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]If it were possible to allow people to delete threads that only contain their own post, then that's something we could definitely do. But that's really up to Justin - if it can be done, though, then I think that would be a good solution.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]This is a great idea, but I think the cost would probably be too prohibitive for our little network. At the moment we are all over the place, working furiously behind the scenes on new projects and the broader future. However, I do know that several members have met at different times. These meetings have taken place at pre-existing anime conventions. So it may be a good idea to find out about local conventions and to try to get a group of people together for a visit. One day, though, it may be possible to hold our own summit or public event. I just think it's a bit prohibitive to do all by ourselves, at least for the time being. But it's very cool to see people meeting up at anime conventions - the pictures are always great. ^_^[/color]

[color=#D6A204]I am not going this year, but I should mention that E3 not only requires you to be 18 and over...it also requires you to be a member of the industry (developer, publisher, retail, media). And you have to provide proof that you fit into one of these categories (including a business card). So yeah, it's not a public event.[/color]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#D6A204]But I think that makes a large assumption. It assumes that casual gamers as a whole do not pay any attention to story or character development. How you determine that with any accuracy, I don't know. I don't even know exactly how you define casual gamers or how you know whether someone who is talking is a casual gamer. If someone is offering you detailed advice about a character, or if they are talking about a story with some obvious knowledge, are they still a casual gamer? I just tend to think that the whole thing is a bit silly. There are people who get really into their games and people who don't. And most people are somewhere in between that. [/color][/font]

[color=#D6A204]The beautiful people are controlled by the ugly-yet-rich executives.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]Very true. But people will find ways to justify anything, won't they? It's free, it's easy, so god forbid that we have some guilt when it comes to downloading music or whatever. The whole argument that "I can't afford it so I [b]need[/b] an alternative route" is ridiculous, I think. I can't afford a Ferrari. But I really need one! I mean, I just have to have that red sports car. I can't live without it. So I'll go steal it. Seriously, nobody requires any of these things to live. You aren't going to collapse and die if you don't have certain music (though this is arguable in some cases, lol). So really, that isn't an excuse at all. There are plenty of things I want that I can't afford, but stealing them isn't an option for a whole variety of reasons.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]I will have to do that, Tony. Of the videos on the DVD...only Beautiful People really appeals to me. The other two tracks don't, although obviously, there's a lot more to the album. In regard to Personal Jesus, I think the main reason people like it is simply because it sounds wonderful. lol I mean, his voice is simply perfect for it...and the music is as good as you'd expect it to be. It's just very rhythmic and appealing, I think. I have to admit that I like it more than any of Manson's other covers (although Sweet Dreams would probably come a close second). Lest We Forget is great, in the sense that it really delivers a few tracks that I've wanted but don't actually own. And of course, having the videos is always going to be a good thing - I was really impressed with the attention to detail on the DVD. And the Personal Jesus video is pretty cool, primarily because it seems the only video that fits within the "Lest We Forget era" (ie: post-Golden Age era). Do you know anything about the next album, Tony? I've heard nothing about it all, though perhaps it's too early to be asking.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]Hm, I'm not sure how I can sum it up better than Tony. Tony and I have had a few discussions about Manson in the past (including most recently due to my RPG and stuff). But I've always known that Tony was the one person I could discuss Manson with on a deeper level - a bit like Matrix, there don't seem to be a lot of fans around that really have a deep appreciation. At least, that's been my experience. My first experience with Manson was with the Antichrist Superstar album, but at that time I wasn't very fond of the sound. However, Beautiful People was pretty appealing - and it still is, really. I really decided that I liked the band when Mechanical Animals was released. It was the first Manson album that I bought. I really liked both the sound and the image. As Tony accurately suggests, Marilyn Manson is really such a great fusion of visual art and sound - I love the fact that the visual image [i]isn't[/i] arbitrary. I love the fact that each of Manson's eras relates directly to the type of music being produced by the band at the time. Everything from Mechanical Animals onwards has really impressed me, honestly. Holy Wood and Golden Age of the Grotesque are uniquely different in and of themselves, but nevertheless, I love both albums. I also purchased Lest We Forget and that prompted me to go back in time and look at some of the older stuff that I'd missed. Tony helped me with this, by sending me some stuff from Portrait of an American Family. Dope Hat is now one of my all-time favourite Manson tracks, lol. Such brilliant lyrics, such a fun and twisted little song. So yeah. I don't know what else can be said, really. The more I discover, the more I adore the band. If you have an interest in learning about the deeper aspects of Marilyn Manson, you should [url="http://www.nachtkabarett.com/"]visit The Nachtbarett[/url]. I haven't seen a better resource anywhere online when it comes to discussions of symbolism and the meanings behind Marilyn Manson's art. If that resource doesn't help you to appreciate his art, nothing will. ~_^[/color]

[quote name='Akari_Demon]I don't really see a problem with it, if the artist are truly losing money over this than a lot of artist would have already been out, yet i have never heard a case of any music artist or any artist company going out of buisness. There is nothing wrong with stealing of the internet (hacker side of me) if it is on the internet it is whoever can get to it first.[b'] It is the internet, technically it does not exist.[/b][/quote] [color=#D6A204]It doesn't exist? So the design that someone spent dozens of hours on is worthless because it exists only on the Internet? This only shows that you are unfamiliar with the law (and common sense). Something like an image or a logo can be considered intellectual property. Why is it called "intellectual property"? Because it's not a tangible object. Things like brands and franchises are all important intellecutal property. Companies would not exist without them. This is why some companies pay millions of dollars to purchase a brand name or a corporate name (for example, when Infogrames bought Atari and began using their name). The name and logo - the intellecutal property - is a massive, massive part of that. It's tremendously important. So, stealing such things is not only illegal, but highly insensitive. If you spent hundreds of hours making a site and I simply stole it and claimed it as my own, how would you feel?[/color]

[color=#D6A204]Okay then. I won't offer critiques this time, I'll just include a list of people who are in. [b]Mimmi[/b] (Charlie Bucket) [b]Bio[/b] (Mike Teevee) [b]Annie[/b] (Violet Beauregarde) [b]Aiyisha[/b] (Veruca Salt) [b]Sean[/b] (Augustus Gloop) [b]Corey[/b] (Nosey Rollingstone Reporter) [b]James[/b] ([i]Willy Wonka[/i]) So there you have it. This RPG should begin soon. I may make an Underground thread about it, so that people can ask questions and so on. But for the time being, please use my [J] @ The Arena thread to discuss the RPG.[/color]

[color=#D6A204]O-Ren, this really isn't the right thread for that question. This thread is only about Kill Adam. Please use the [J] @ The Arena thread for other questions/discussions about my RPGs and stuff. I'll discuss it there, okay? I don't want to get off-topic here. Malkav, I will probably finish this chapter myself.[/color]