James

[quote name='Sandy']I find nothing wrong with your sign-up, James. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]:animeswea :animesigh Sweet relief. I was actually worried for a moment there! I was waiting for the page to load, wondering if there would be many things I'd need to change or just a few... Haha, I'm definitely not as confident with RPGs as people think. :catgirl: By the way, do you know when this might start? Seems like there's been a huge amount of sign-ups in a pretty short time.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]There's really nothing I want this Christmas. At the end of the year I'm travelling to Sydney to spend some time with other members of my family, so that'll be fun. The holiday itself will probably be enough I think.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yep, as Dagger pointed out, we'll be keeping OB Standard as a selectable skin. In Edit Options you can choose to use OB Standard as your default all the time, so that you don't have to change to it each time you visit OB. [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Sorry for the lack of posting; I am having trouble finding a way to effectively introduce my character. I think a big part of it is having no idea about the motivations in the game they play - that is, it's a game but there's no in-game direction as such. It's almost as though the game itself needs its own sub-plot or something. I'll try though; hopefully I can think of a good way to make the introduction.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Okay, my sign-up is ready. I hope it's acceptable. I've tried to incorporate what information I can without giving too much away; I want the chance to explore my character's history during the RPG. As his nation of origin is probably almost as important as the character himself, I've included a little bit of background there too, so that you have a context for how he exists within the game. As I mentioned earlier I had huge trouble finding the appropriate portrait...so I hope this is okay. I have a version that also includes Raiha's character in it (a marriage portrait), which I'd like to use in the RPG as well.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Geisha will be getting a much-needed makeover soon, I think. It will probably see some slightly more significant changes to table colours and stuff (as well as some image redesigns).[/font]

[font=georgia][b]Name:[/b]Vincent Achard (formerly Vincent Achard-Almagest) [b]Age:[/b] 40 [b]Family Position:[/b] Former husband of Macey Ellen Almagest [b]Portrait:[/b] [center][img]http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3629/rpgcharmh4.jpg[/img][/center] [b]Occupation:[/b] Upon moving to High Czenoble to marry his former wife, Vincent began working at the prestigeous Magitech Corporation as General Manager. However, when Vincent and Macey Ellen divorced, the family's patriarch insisted that Vincent work elsewhere; it would be impossible to employ a foreigner within his own company in such a high position without him being linked to the family in some form. Vincent remained in High Czenoble and made a life for himself. He utilised the military experience he had acquired in his home country to begin working in the Royal Police Guard. Presently, Vincent is the Assistant Commander of the Guard. He answers directly to Gaul Rosier. [b]Story:[/b] Vincent was born in the small nation of Anova, which borders Czenovia to its north-west. Anova is culturally very different from Czenovia, but at one point in history it was considered to be a province of its larger neighbour. Eventually Anova was granted independence, largely thanks to several influential families in the region who controlled the country's highly-specialised industries. The Achard family has a similar position in Anova as the Almagests in Czenovia. During the early years of Vincent's life, Anova was undergoing something of a rivalry with Czenovia. This rivalry was so intense that some Anovans were afraid of a potential military conflict between the two countries. In an effort to settle any potential disputes, Anova's Prime Minister at the time (Laurent Asaud) invited several of Czenovia and Anova's most prominent public figures to a lavish banquet at his home - this included the rich and powerful Leonhart Almagest and Vincent's father, Olivier Achard. Olivier and Leonhart became good friends and it was decided that one of Leonhart's daughters should marry one of Olivier's sons as a gesture of friendship between the two countries (as was not uncommon in the cultures of both nations). Vincent was much older than Macey Ellen, but this was considered a positive attribute, as he had held a senior position at this father's company and was a decorated ex-Anova Special Security Officer; it was believed that he could provide well for Macey Ellen. The pair hyphenated their surnames, as a way of symbolising the enduring friendship between Czenovia and Anova. The pair moved back to High Czenoble and lived happily for several years, although the marriage quickly dissolved for reasons unknown to the public. Several journalists still speculate to this day about "the greatest scandal of recent times". Vincent resigned from his position at the Magitech Corporation and took another role at the Royal Police Guard. Within a relatively short time - only a matter of years - Vincent managed to prove himself within the Guard and rise to the senior ranks of the organisation.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I also just wanted to mention that I've kept the post backgrounds the same shade of off-white that they are on all other skins. The reason for this is functional; in RPGs and other types of posts, members often use that background colour to create transparencies in their images and such. So I think we will probably keep that same off-white background in all future themes. This also makes it much easier to view font colours. When we experimented with darker backgrounds, we found that there were many font colours that displayed incorrectly or were impossible to read. I thought I'd point that out just in case anyone is wondering why that aspect wasn't changed.[/font]

[quote]A short, terse, curse-laden post is neither trolling nor junk, especially when it's ****ing obvious that it's referring to an actual part of the game. [/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]The point is, I view short, terse, curse-laden posts as [i]both[/i] trolling [i]and[/i] junk. And that's what matters, because you're on my site. If I were on yours and you had different rules, that'd be cool. Anyway, no more admin-related stuff in this thread. Back to regular SMG discussion now, please. I have one question for everyone here who has played this game: where do you think Mario should go next? Super Mario Galaxy adds a significant new innovation to the Mario series by virtue of its spherical worlds; I wonder what Nintendo can do next to keep Mario "fresh". Do you think Nintendo should do another space or spherical-centric Mario game...or something different again? I'm curious to see what people think about this. Most people could never have predicted that Mario would utilise spherical worlds after Super Mario Sunshine - many people wondered how you could wow people after already going to 3D so successfully with Super Mario 64. It makes me wonder if people have ideas about the next "big thing" for a Mario game. [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]As I said earlier, an opinion is not trolling. But posting small snippets of junk definitely is. I think that's a pretty clear distinction. It's cool that you don't like Super Mario Galaxy; that's a legitimate point of view. It seems that for you, the camera is an absolute deal-breaker. And I can understand that, because I've wanted to return quite a few games due to the camera being a massive problem. So yeah, it's a reasonable point of view. But as I said before, it's just that - a point of view. And that's fine. lol[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I will have my sign-up posted this weekend. I've been having trouble finding pictures of the appropriate standard, but I've collected a few and I just have to choose which one I want to use.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]As long as everyone keeps their posts to the point, it's all good. Nobody's ever been banned for having an opinion, so don't think for a second that having a point of view is a problem. The only problem we've had is the way in which an opinion is presented - that is to say, if someone's attacking other members personally or if they are trolling the site in general, that's obviously not acceptable. So yeah. You can hold whatever opinion you like, whether or not people agree with you. But if you don't behave with respect toward other members, there'll be a problem. I know that what I say isn't likely to be acknowledged, but I think it's worth pointing out for the benefit of members in general. As for the game itself - and without actually getting into the current debate, because I haven't yet played the game - one thing I was hoping for with SMG was greater linearity (as has been said, something that brings us back to the 2D games). I liked the open worlds in Mario 64, but by the time SMS came around, they became somewhat tired. A combination of more open and more linear levels is a good idea, in my opinion (note the last part of that sentence). At the very least, it's what I personally have been hoping to see. I think the end point - and something that should be acknowledged - is that although one can argue what a game [i]is[/i], people can have different interpretations. For instance, you can say that the game is segmented. Some people will have a personal preference for this, others will not. Those that don't should not be in the business of convincing the other side that they are wrong - they are not wrong, they just have a different preference. So I think pretty much everyone would agree that the game is more linear and segmented than previous Mario games. Whether or not this is a good thing is a separate question - and it's a question that brings value judgements into play. Trying to convince someone that their value judgement is wrong is like trying to tell someone that their favourite colour is ugly; ultimately it's a wasted exercise. Better to discuss the objective points of the game in a way that doesn't outright involve one person being wrong, but that simply discussed people's different theories. In any case, I'm reading this debate with interest because I will be able to compare what I've read here to my own gameplay impressions. And that's always interesting.[/font]

[quote]I'm trolling? *laughs* That's funny. I never thought that pointing out something that obviously had just happened in-game could ever be considered trolling. [/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]As per usual, there is a reasonable way to present your views. A post full of little else but ranting/swearing not only insults your own intelligence, but it adds nothing to the thread. Your subsequent posts are fine. Let's keep it that way. As I said before, anything else that amounts to trolling will simply be removed - it's nothing but an eyesore and doesn't add anything of value to the discussion. I'm tired of delivering these obvious warnings to people who should know better. So this will be the last one. And now, back to the thread. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I think it's pretty clear that any endangered species should have some protections in place. I don't know whether or not the dolphin population is [i]generally[/i] endangered (I imagine not), but for me that really gets to the core of the issue. I really have no problem with the farming of just about any animal as long as it's regulated and done in a way that is sustainable. I mean, we're okay with killing chickens...and that's probably largely because we farm them and they are in no danger of becoming extinct. I would have thought this would be the major test for any form of farming - sustainability.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]My character will be well over 30, but not linked by blood to the family (as I've discussed with Sandy and Shy). I was waiting for Raiha's sign-up though because I wanted to know more about her character, given the relationship with mine. I've also got to find a suitable picture. I'm having trouble finding solid resources for the style I want, heheh. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]There's no such thing as whoring when it comes to the Graphic Worm! :catgirl: I'll do another at some point, when I see an image that isn't too hard to follow anyway. Heheh[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm really happy to read all of the positive things about this game in general - I was waiting for some OB feedback too. November 24th can't come fast enough! I'll be interested to see what I think about the camera issues when I get this game. Reasonable reviews seem to suggest that the camera mostly works pretty well, but that the lack of total control can be difficult. 100% manual control wouldn't be workable though, so I guess they've tried to strike a compromise. In any case when I get the game on the weekend I'll post my own thoughts. In the meantime, how far is everyone? Are you finding the game to be too easy or difficult? And has anyone decided to play thoroughly the first time through? (i.e. avoid finishing too soon and wait for 120 stars?)[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Wow, that's awesome Hybrid. Very very cool piece of art. I might have to make another cell soon. But I'll wait a few spots I think, heheh.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Okay, here's my entry. I hope it synchs up! [center] [img]http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/208/30daysofnightwormbl9.jpg[/img][/center][/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I guess the main element that's missing is both the film noir and dystopia aspects; both are pretty crucial to the cyberpunk style. Anyway I will definitely give some of these suggestions a try. I've seen a little of Cowboy Bebop when it aired here...and it didn't really grab me, but admittedly I never watched it from the beginning.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm not sure if I'd call Cowboy Bebop cyberpunk at all, but I'm pretty familiar with it - it's one of the regular series here. Dagger: Yep, I think most of the cyberpunk stuff is 80's/90's era. Something like Akira would probably be the definitive cyberpunk anime, I guess. Anime is fairly prevalent in Australia so most of these things won't be hard to find. I'll just have to make the effort to go to the city to buy the less popular stuff.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'd look up cyberpunk on Wikipedia if you're not sure exactly what it is. But basically if you think about anime that have a similar sensibility to Ghost in the Shell or The Matrix - in other words, they'd generally be set in the near future and would have a distinctly film noir/dystopian quality. But it's not just being set in the future that creates a cyberpunk theme - there's usually some element of resistance or some kind of underground movement...there's also often a conspiracy element (usually government or corporate-based). Anyway it sounds like there are some good suggestions here. I actually just bought the first DVD for Stand Alone Complex yesterday (I'd seen later episodes but I hadn't started at the beginning), so we'll see how that goes. I'll look out for these other recommendations as well.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Sounds good. I'm still thinking about characters, but hopefully I'll have something ready. I think this is going to be a great RPG.[/font] :catgirl:

[font=franklin gothic medium]I should start this thread by saying that, more than anything else, I'm actually looking for recommendations from anime fans. I was thinking about this recently; many of the anime (and films) that I like would generally fall into this style of storytelling. In terms of anime, one of my favourite films is definitely Ghost in the Shell. I haven't really pursued this series as much as I'd like (for instance, I've only seen a few episodes of Stand Alone Complex and I haven't seen Innocence yet). One of my favourite films is The Matrix and I love the way that it shares several core concepts with Ghost in the Shell (not to mention that GitS is absolutely gorgeous - I love the almost film noir atmosphere). So I wanted to ask the learned anime fans of OtakuBoards a simple question: what anime (film or TV series) do you consider to be the best example of cyberpunk? And if you're a fan of cyberpunk yourself, which anime would you recommend to an anime lightweight like myself? While I am a fan of certain anime I know there's a great deal more out there to sample. And I'm particularly interested in the cyberpunk genre, so I thought I'd see what you guys have to say about it.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Hm, anything I do will pale in comparison to Jigglyness's piece, for sure. :catgirl: Thank you for not making it too difficult for me to follow on! I will post my piece shortly. [/font]