James

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Good to see you back! It's great to see that some of the oldies are still hanging around. ;)[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Thanks for doing that, Des. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone - I will harass Adam and try to get this sorted out as soon as possible.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I think there will be some convergence, but I don't think game consoles will outright replace PCs. Instead, I think game consoles could replace set-top boxes (or the other way 'round). Consoles just aren't good for a lot of the tasks that PCs can do very well (like word processing, or editing graphics, or more "heavy" use of the Internet outside social networking). It's true that we're seeing more Internet-related stuff on consoles, but remember that we're seeing more Internet-related stuff [i]everywhere[/i]. Phones are a great example. The Internet is becoming ubiquitous, but not every device is becoming a PC as a result. [/font]

[quote name='Nerdsy' timestamp='1294713521' post='703782'] [color=deeppink]My back is so messed up that I am desperately trying to turn everything into my room into some sort of back massager. Nothing is working. Even now I'm eyeing my bed considering how I might put it on top of me.[/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]You need someone to stand on your back. One of my friends did that to another friend once...just watching it made my back ache, but apparently it helped. Haha. :P[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I really can't say that 2010 was disappointing in terms of games at all - at least for me. When I think back over the year, there were some real gems. Super Mario Galaxy 2 arrived and was absolutely sublime. Not only is it likely to be one of the better games of this current console generation, but in my view, it absolutely represents the pinnacle of 3D platformer design up to this point. Then there's Metroid: Other M, which had generally very positive responses (with some mixed thoughts about some of the details). It seems to me that most of the issues related to the portrayal of Samus herself. At any rate, I loved the game and felt that, in gameplay terms, it lived up to its predecessors. It was also incredibly well-presented and I think that it really keeps the benchmark high for Wii titles in the future. There's also Sonic Colors, which was just so overdue. Hopefully we can now consider the corner well and truly turned, in regard to Sonic's rocky history with 3D adventures. Sonic Colors is a great game in its own right, but it's also a game that Sonic fans absolutely need to own. Hopefully the trend continues. What else was there? Um...it's hard for me to remember everything from this year. I bought Civilization V (which I adore), Dead Nation (brilliant experience - surprisingly awesome for an isometric perspective game), Limbo (you won't find a more artistic game from 2010), Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (I got addicted to it this year), Red Dead Redemption (a new franchise to rival GTA in terms of expert design) and...uh, right now I'm forgetting what else I bought. But there was definitely more. I was going to include Final Fantasy XIII on that list. Yes, it's good - in some respects, very good - but the plot is as flat as Final Fantasy X's and, for me, that really hurts the game a lot. But yeah, I have to say...2010 was not at all disappointing for me. There were a ton of great releases, both big and small. Some of the most fun I've had over the last year has actually been with downloadable games - I can see myself buying more of those in the future, I think. [b]Edit:[/b] Oh yes, of course...I knew I'd forgotten something - Halo: Reach. I played the campaign mode non-stop until I was finished, which I can't say for very many games.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]This is a really interesting question and it's something I've had to think about quite a bit, for a few reasons. The biggest reason that I can think of is related to an old friend of mine from University. After we finished studying, we only saw each other once every year or so - but we always had heaps of fun together. Last year she saw me on my birthday and promised to come and visit my house; we had decided to see each other more regularly. But then she got sick and went to hospital. At the time we texted back and forth on our phones...and she kept saying "I just have some kind of infection, I'll probably be out in a couple of days and then I'll come over." A bit of time went past without us talking and I just forgot about it. Then, a few months later, I found out through [i]another[/i] friend that she had died in hospital - it turned out that she had cancer and by the time it was detected, she literally had a very short time left. You know how my friend found out? Through her Facebook! One day, she was updating on there like normal. The next day, condolence messages started appearing. Apart from the fact that I learned about this through another distant friend, I just wonder...what if those two hadn't been on Facebook together? My other friend would not have known. We didn't really know her family or anything. She would literally have "disappeared" and we'd have no idea really. Probably I'd be trying to text her and maybe someone would answer, but yeah...you never know. It's just really weird and painful for somebody to find out that kind of news via a Facebook page. There's something really surreal about that. Anyway, to answer your questions... I am pretty aware of my Internet activities, at least, as much as anyone can be I guess. I've relaxed a bit more recently when it comes to sharing personal information and stuff - I think that I had become so closed before that it was just going too far. So I think things are a bit more even-handed now. As for whether my presence on the 'net is a good representation of me...I really have no idea! People who know me only through OtakuBoards probably know me reasonably well and some people probably know many sides of me, but I think that unless you know me "in real life"...then you're always missing something important. It's very easy to misjudge someone when you only know them online - and especially if you know each other via a place that is moderated and controlled to some degree (I mean, I can't make any of my really awesome and completely disgusting adult jokes here, for instance...:P) I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here - I guess I'm just saying that even if you only know me from my posts on OB, then you probably have a fairly good idea about me, especially if you read my thoughts about lots of different subjects. But by the same token, you aren't getting the real "intuitive" experience as you would if you talked to me in person. I think sometimes this comes out on the OB Podcast quite a bit...you build up an idea of someone and when you finally hear them talk casually, they somehow feel more tangible and human. I don't know if a lot of people think that way, or if only I do. Haha. In terms of the Internet histories of dead people, well, I think practicality plays a big role there. I mean, it's physically impossible to do very much with someone's Internet history, given how varied and widespread it is likely to be. Sometimes your Internet history can be bittersweet. For example, knowing that my friend Hayley's Facebook page is still active is kind of comforting in some ways, in that people can go through it and look at the old photos and have some memories. But there's something oddly surreal and almost haunting about it, too. I am kind of glad that I don't have any link with it, because for me...I think it would be too much. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Lyndy, I think I might know what this is. We've run into a problem with our email system due to the newsletter overloading our allowance for that account. I think that all OB-based emails may run into an issue now. I am working with Adam to resolve that, so hopefully we'll have a solution soon. I'll let everyone know. :) Sorry for the inconvenience - I know it must be very annoying.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I want to go to North Korea. I've done a lot of research on how to go about it - see [b]Koryo Tours[/b]. I am seriously thinking about that.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I'm not sure if this is upgrade-related or if it happened before the upgrade, but I've noticed that when you come close to the character limit in profile comments...OB cuts off part of the text (even though you're still under the character limit). It's kind of weird and confusing.[/font]

[quote name='Lyndy' timestamp='1294116152' post='703616'] [color="#556B2F"][font="Times New Roman"]I never really believed any of the predictions, but it always made me think about some stuff. I wish that stuff wouldn't get to me, but I'm a worrisome person. But I'm not worrisome enough to whine and whine about it and actually believe it. It just makes me want to live life to the fullest whenever I can. But yeah, the world could end whenever without giving us a warning.[/font][/color] [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]The thing is, it doesn't need to be some major astrophysical event - it could be that you walk across the street and get hit by a bus tomorrow. You know? Human beings have this way of thinking that the Earth (let alone the actual Universe) is somehow geared to us or somehow has us in mind. There's a great deal of ego involved there, which I find pretty incredible. But my example above kind of demonstrates that we don't see the forest for the trees. There are a billion more likely events that will kill you than the world ending. If you're going to worry about your death, then I'd be more inclined to worry about those fairly mundane (and largely chance) events. You are right though, Lyndy - we should definitely try to live life to the fullest, because it is very fleeting and time goes by very quickly. Plus, you never know what will happen. I don't think about these things much, personally. My attitude towards death goes something like this: I was dead for billions of years before I was born and it didn't work out too badly for me. At least, that's what I do think of when thoughts of my own mortality come into question/discussion. :)[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I agree with Sangome. No mere primate on this planet actually knows when the Earth will end. It could happen tomorrow due to some unforeseen disaster or it could happen in another few billion years when the sun envelopes the Earth. Nobody knows. One thing's for sure - absolutely no ancient text is going to come anywhere close to telling us anything useful or relevant about such things. Just consider the number of failed predictions, as Selene pointed out. Apparently NASA has received a deluge of calls and emails from people who are actually scared about 2012. That just amazes me. People are obviously [i]that[/i] stupid. I wish people would stop predicting the end of the world and focus on actually living for today and tomorrow; enjoying life, in other words, rather than relishing (or worrying about) the apparently-impending demise of our planet.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]So, Halo: Reach is my latest obsession. Yesterday I finished the campaign mode on standard difficulty and I've started again on Heroic (I'm not yet game to try Legendary, especially considering how tough I found the game on regular at certain points). I know I've said this before, but I was never really a huge Halo fan. At least, I wasn't a huge fan of the original game, but I've found that the series has improved with age. Halo 3 was a blast and I'm finding Reach to be significantly better again. At this point I'm not very well-versed in the Halo plot, in part because I've kind of haphazardly played through the series and in part because I've never really found the story to be terribly interesting in general. What I like about Reach, though, is the broad concept that you're fighting a losing battle - that you keep falling back again and again, only to come up against increasingly staggering odds and more and more desperate situations. I like the idea that a lone space marine can't just mow down an entire alien invasion. It also helps that the gameplay is really sublime. You can tell that Bungie perfected the Halo formula with Reach. Control is about as tight as it can get on a console controller (and it helps that the Xbox 360 controller is, in my view, the best "traditional" controller available). The ebb and flow of charge and retreat is beautifully handled and the addition of armor items is a really cool idea (not to mention the fact that the items included in the game are all really useful and each can play a vital role in combat). So far I've played some multiplayer (mostly Team Slayer) and I'm loving it, except that it takes me forever to find players initially via matchmaking. I suspect this is due to a dodgy Internet connection though. Having said that, once I've found players...things move along very smoothly. The matchmaking and custom game features almost deserve their own topic, such is their awesomeness. Since I've played through the campaign solo already, would anyone be interested in forming a party and playing the campaign cooperatively? I'm thinking Heroic difficulty and higher. That would make it worth re-playing for me.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I think I pretty much always stayed up until midnight for NYE. Or at least, I did from a very young age. Anyway, my NYE activities vary a lot. I've had some years where I just sit at home and do nothing, although more often than not, there's a NYE gathering at a family member's house and we have our own little party. Last year I braved the more-than-a-million-strong-crowd at Sydney Harbour to see the fireworks. And I'll [i]never[/i] do that again. It was painful, haha. Hotel or boat next time. :P This last NYE I went to an Armin Van Buuren thing at Etihad Stadium here in Melbourne. It was...[i]okay[/i]. I'm not really a fan of his stuff and while his set started out pretty good, it went really crazily trancey and weird later on. Not for me, thanks. So we ended up leaving early and going to my friend's house, where we sat back and watched a couple of weird Adult Swim shows. *shrug* Overall it was a fun night though. I will definitely not brave the crowds on the street ever again, I think.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Okay, so, I [i]finally[/i] got my GamerTag fixed. Sorry to be a pain in the butt for constantly changing names, but it took me a while to port all my old data over to the new Xbox. So, I've updated the front page and my GamerTag is [b]Morphic Monkey[/b]. Feel free to add me - especially anyone who plays Halo: Reach! I'm addicted to that game at the moment and I haven't played online yet. :)[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I just got Halo: Reach the other day. So far, I'm really loving it. It's by far the best Halo so far. Really beautiful graphics, fantastic sound and really tight gameplay. I can't wait to jump into this one on Xbox Live, even though I'll probably die frequently. Haha[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]How much of Halo 3 have you played? If you like what you've played so far, then I'd probably recommend Halo: Reach. I haven't played Reach yet, but from what I understand, it seems to be considered the last word as far as the entire Halo franchise goes, at least in the sense that it kind of exemplifies all the best bits of the previous games. I really enjoyed Halo 3, although I'm now having to play through it again because my old Xbox died. Hm... I also agree with the Gears of War recommendation. I haven't played GoW 2 so I can't really comment on that, but certainly, Gears of War is a great idea especially for cooperative campaigns. My Xbox 360 game library isn't very large, so there isn't much more I can recommend really. I just recently purchased Rez HD and Limbo, both of which are utterly brilliant, but they aren't exactly "aggressive" action games. One game that's worth giving a shot, though - admittedly it doesn't really seem to fit within your taste - is Mirror's Edge. It's very clever, very beautiful and it's certainly not devoid of action. However, there are not many moments where you actually fire a weapon or anything; the weapon-based segments are quite short. Frankly, you spend most of your time running from the enemy. I just mention this one because it has a similar feeling of freedom as Assassin's Creed, in that you can pretty much go anywhere and perform all kinds of awesome stunts. Mirror's Edge just has a great feel; it's really exhilarating and there isn't anything else like it really. Good luck on your choices - you'll have to let us know what you end up buying![/font]

[quote] Why would I want to do that? If I'm gonna 'fantasize' about someone (and I don't plan on it) he'll be closer to my own age. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Gee, buzzkill! No need to be so serious, people. It's all in good fun. :) In any case, the less fangirls for Shin, the better I'd say...after all, I'm pretty sure Des can't even leave home without the dark glasses and the hoodie. You just never know where a fangirl will jump out from![/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Shinconnery! I [i]finally[/i] got around to listening to this episode. I'm starting to think we should open an OB recording studio...these productions are getting more and more elaborate, haha. Awesome job everyone, this one was really fun to listen to. :) And Boo...I don't know how you kept up that Santa voice for so long. I get tired after only a few ho's. ...[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Yeah, I agree. Okay, so for now we'll scrap the existing characters completely - maybe we should start by examining the things that underpin the plot. The most basic element that drives everything else in Evangelion is really Second Impact (and by extension, First and Third Impacts). If we want to re-interpret the plot (even moreso than the Rebuilds do), then maybe we need to consider those big events. My thinking is that we don't scrap them as such, but that we make some changes to them. The series did not really go into very much detail to explain those historical events (especially First Impact) and I get a strong sense that the creators employed some poetic license in order to make things work. I wouldn't mind solidifying those events and maybe simplifying them as well, if only to give us a good basis from which to work from. [b]Edit:[/b] I have some ideas about an alternative timeline (pre year 2000), so I might try to put that together and post it here for you guys to look at. Maybe that'll give us a basis to start. :) Okay, so...I sat down today and started to write my own Evangelion timeline. A lot of this stuff is identical to the TV series, some things are changed slightly and some things are completely different. The timeline isn't finished, but I figured I'd just post the start bit to give you an idea of where my mind is going. So far I'm up to 2004 - my intention is to bring the timeline up to around 2015 or 2020 - that would be where our RPG starts and where the first Angel attacks. So, here it is. Let me know what you think. ---------------------------------- [b][u]Pre-History[/u][/b] [b]4.5 Billion Years Ago:[/b] Earth's formation is largely complete, having attained approximately 40% of its present mass (due to the process of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_(astrophysics)"]accretion[/url]). Elements of the remaining nebula surrounding the Earth continue to fall over a period of 20 million years, eventually constituting its present mantle. Contained within the orbiting solar nebula is an object known as the [b]White Stone[/b]. The White Stone contains a prebiotic entity (now known as [b]Adam[/b], the progenitor of [b]waveform life[/b]). Under normal circumstances, the prebiotic entity known as "Adam" should have birthed a type of waveform life (now referred to as an [b]Angel[/b]). However, when the White Stone falls from low Earth orbit, it lands at the south pole and becames lodged deep inside the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennick_Glacier"][b]Rennick Glacier[/b][/url]. Temperatures below minus fifty degrees celsius prevent the prebiotic Adam from generating a sufficient [b]Wave Field[/b] with which to replicate. The White Stone lays dormant within the glacier. [b]4 Billion Years Ago:[/b] As the solar system begins to take shape and the planets grow larger through accretion, large clusters of matter form between them. The largest such cluster forms between Earth and Mars and is named [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theia"][b]Theia[/b][/url]. As Theia's mass increases, it begins to move closer to Earth (Earth's still-increasing size extends its gravitational influence over Theia, drawing the two bodies closer). Eventually, the two bodies collide. At the moment of collision, a significant portion of Theia's mantle is ejected into orbit around the Earth, thus forming the [b]Moon[/b]. The remainder of Theia's mantle explodes into thousands of pieces, each of which becomes embedded in the Earth's crust across much of its northern hemisphere. One of these pieces contains an object known as the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stone"][b]Black Stone[/b][/url]. The Black Stone contains a prebiotic entity (now known as [b]Eve[/b], the progenitor of [b]carbon-based life[/b]). This event is known as [b]First Impact[/b] - the general public are aware of the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis"][b]Giant Impact Hypothesis[/b][/url], but are unaware of the existence of the Black Stone. Due to favourable climate conditions in the northern hemisphere, Eve is able to begin cell replication, which triggers [b]Genesis on Earth[/b]. [b][u]20th Century[/u][/b] [b]1946 - 1956:[/b] The [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_sea_scrolls"][b]Dead Sea Scrolls[/b][/url] are discovered in the ruins of the ancient settlement of Qumran. The scrolls are originally housed in the Rockefeller Museum, where they undergo translation and analysis. However, after the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War"][b]Six Day War[/b][/url], all of the scrolls (except two) are moved to the Israel Museum. The two remaining scrolls were removed from the Rockefeller Museum by Jordanian authorities several days before the war began. The public are unaware of the existence of these two scrolls, which are named [b]The Gospel of Adam[/b] and [b]The Gospel of Eve[/b] by their Jordanian translation team. [b]1957:[/b] Translation efforts are abruptly called to a halt by the Jordanian government. The scrolls are confiscated from the research team and are transported to an unknown overseas location. [b]1965:[/b] The U.N.-backed [url="http://www.wmo.int/pages/about/index_en.html"][b]World Meteorological Organization[/b][/url] commences extensive geological research in Japan and, by the late 1970's, they begin to focus their research efforts on the area surrounding Hakone, Japan. [b]1997:[/b] The WMO establishes a new research station at the south pole, near the Rennick Glacier. Large drilling machines are transported from the United States to the Antartic station. [b]1999:[/b] The [b]WMO Climate Change Committee[/b] is formed to oversee the research projects in Japan and Antarctica. The twelve member committee manages the activities of the organization and also allocate its largely-classified budget. [b]2000:[/b] The [b]WMO Antarctic Research Group[/b] discovers an enormous stone deep underneath the Rennick Glacier. It takes two months to drill into the center of the stone, where a hollow cavern is found. [b]Adam[/b], the first waveform being and progenitor of the [b]Angels[/b], is discovered inside the cavern (which itself is filled with ice). The research group inserts several hollow metal probes into the White Stone's icy core. The probes are filled with boiling water and, through convection, the White Stone's core melts and is heated to approximately fifteen degrees celsius. At this stage a large needle, attached to a hydraulic arm, is inserted into Adam and a sample (presumably a blood sample, although this is unknown) is taken. Just minutes later, the sample is packed onto a U.N. helicopter, which heads out to sea. Within half an hour - while the heating rods are withdrawn from the core - Adam awakes and generates a powerful [b]anti-Wave Field[/b]. The resulting explosion completely destroys Antarctica, melting all of its glaciers simultaneously. The powerful explosion causes a shift in the Earth's axis and triggers enormous tsunamis, which decimate much of the southern hemisphere. This event is known as [b]Second Impact[/b]. A United Nations released an [url="http://images.wikia.com/evangelion/images/f/f1/Secondimpact.png"]official version of the events[/url]. The general public are unaware of the true nature of the Second Impact. [b]2000 - Two Days After Second Impact:[/b] More than two billion people in the southern hemisphere perish as a result of the tsunamis generated from Second Impact. Severe climate change also ensues, resulting in a [b]perpetual summer[/b]. [b]2000 - One Month After Second Impact:[/b] Many coastal cities in the northern hemisphere are either destroyed or severely damaged due to rising sea levels. Some major cities are abandoned as a result (Tokyo, Los Angeles and Hong Kong are the first three to be evacuated). [b]2000 - Six Months After Second Impact:[/b] The Third World War breaks out due to scarce food and resources. Nuclear weapons are deployed by several nations, causing widespread death and severe environmental damage. [b]2001:[/b] World War Three ends after only a few months. Casualties are so high that the war can no longer be fought by most powers. The Valentine Ceasefire is signed on February 14th, 2001. At the end of the war, approximately 50% of the Earth's remaining human population remains. [b]2003:[/b] Construction on [b]Tokyo-2[/b] is completed and it becomes Japan's new temporary capital. It is located at the site of the former Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture. In the same year, the WMO Japan Research Group resume operations (having had their activities placed on haitus due to the war). They commence widespread drilling around Hakone, Japan. [b]2004:[/b] The WMO Japan Research Group discovers the [b]Black Stone[/b] underneath Hakone, Japan. The stone is significantly larger than the White Stone, which had been found in Antarctica years earlier. In addition, it is discovered to be completely hollow; its outer mantle is only four meters thick. Researchers estimate that the Black Stone has a circumference of more than 50 kilometers. [b]2007:[/b] Researchers investigate the Black Stone for three years. The enormous core is so large that significant time is needed to move personnel and machinery from the opening at the "top" to the mantle on the opposite side. The mantle at the bottom ("lower mantle") is discovered to be many times thicker than the mantle at the top ("upper mantle"). The WMO Japan Research Group commences excavations at the lower mantle and uncovers [b]Eve[/b], the proginitor of all [b]carbon-based life[/b] on Earth. [b]2008:[/b] The Japanese government designates Hakone, Japan as the site for Tokyo-3, the intended new permanent capital of Japan. The decision is heavily influenced by prominent members of the WMO, who exert significant political power given the state of the Earth's fragile new climate conditions. While the Japanese government thinks it is simply choosing a new site for a permanent capital city, senior members of the WMO Climate Change Committee intend for Tokyo-3 to be used as a first line of defense against predicated Angel attacks. [b]2015:[/b] Construction on Tokyo-3 is completed. The World Meteorological Organization is mostly dissolved; many of its staff join a new organization, called the U.N. Global Climate Administration. Some remaining WMO staff, however, establish a completely different organization: [b]NERV[/b]. NERV is initially founded in secret, funded in part by the United Nations and in part by private donors from around the world. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Speaking of New Year's, what are you guys planning? Anything special? I don't normally plan much. Last year I was at Sydney Harbour for NYE so I could watch the fireworks (never doing that again, by the way...we had to arrive at the spot by 11am to get a place for midnight! Ouch!) This year I'm going with a group of people to Etihad Stadium here in Melbourne. We got tickets to an Armin Van Buuren show, which is apparently a 9 hour set. I'm not really that familiar with his stuff, but it should still be fun and hopefully not [i]too[/i] crowded. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Sounds great so far. So, if we think Rebuild...then I agree we should basically tell the story our way. My thinking is that we either ditch (most) of the existing characters [i]or[/i] change them entirely. Or we could change their roles or something. Maybe the Angels could be a kind of mini-game in the RPG. When it's time for a new Angel to appear, we could maybe have the participants come up with an idea each about what form the Angel will take...then the participants can vote. That way we aren't pre-planning things too much and it'll force all the writers to adapt their writing as we go, because we won't know what Angel we're dealing with until the votes are in.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Kei, I think any new story would need to focus on cerebral and inter-character relationships, but one major feature of the series was Shinji's frequent self-reflection. While I think a certain amount of that is reasonable, I also think we should avoid being that close to the original series (that is to say, I wouldn't want to create another character who is just like Shinji - if only to avoid that "pale remake syndrome"). If there were to be a sequel or prequel, I think it would necessarily demand changing some elements of the original story anyway (particularly if we create a sequel). Think of it a bit like End of Evangelion, where the last couple of episodes were re-imagined. Also... I love your Angel gene idea. That's really clever. And it also sort of fits in with Shy's idea of Angels being quite different in how they present themselves in our story. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Awesome, it's good to know that there's some interest! I agree with you 100%, Josh. I have read so many articles about how NERVE works, how the Evas actually operate and how it all ties together. Even the mythology surrounding the "black and white eggs" mistakenly landing on the same planet (thus giving rise to the Angels eventually) is incredibly interesting. One thing I'd also forgotten is how varied the Angels are. Remember that one of them manifests within Unit 03 itself? And another is literally like a virus that adapts to changing environments and can only be fought using the MAGI and some clever programming? (I think that may actually be the Ritsuko part you're talking about). In terms of a [i]new[/i] story, there are so many ways to approach it. For example, we could look at: [list] [*]Our own "Rebuild of Evangelion" - that is to say, our own "version" of the original series (and we can make it as different as we want); [*]A direct sequel (I don't remember the ending lending itself much to a sequel, but perhaps we could change the ending...or just avoid it entirely and allow the story to continue in our own way?); [*]A prequel - more difficult to do, in part because there's probably not a lot to write about pre-Second Impact (at least, not in terms of the Evas and the pilots); [*]A sequel in a time period very far removed from the series - that is to say, not a direct sequel...but perhaps one that occurs hundreds of years later. If Adam and Lilith are still on Earth after the human race has been eliminated, perhaps the same cycle will repeat (maybe they find remnants of NERVE and the Evas as part of archeological digs?); [/list] I had a couple of ideas about the "very distant sequel" pathway, in terms of how they might build Evas in a time period far later than the main series. The alternative to the above is to create an RPG that is maybe in an alternate universe and is actually not "Evangelion" as such - but rather, something loosely based on it (a bit like the relationship between Kill Adam and Kill Bill). None of these are really fleshed out ideas or anything, but I hope they prompt some more brainstorming. If we can start building some really broad strokes that might bring out even more ideas. :)[/font]