James

[color=#606060]Well maybe part of the concept could involve people creating their own political parties. In Australia there are two primary parties as well as independents...but then there are another 14 or so minor parties. So perhaps part of the fun can involve the creation of new parties. *shrug* I like the idea of the format, personally. For the sake of the game each thread based around the RPG would need to be clearly labeled/tagged, though - partly so that everyone is aware that these threads are part of a competition of sorts but also so that you can keep track of where the campaigning is happening (therefore you can ensure people aren't making too many threads or using too much of their "funding", etc). As long as there are some basic rules to govern the election I think it could be interesting. It'd be interesting to see how people put together groups of supporters and such - especially if there are more than two candidates. The only question is, what would the President be the President of, exactly? lol Maybe this idea could relate to the fictional Otaku world that some have written about in those OB parody RPGs. Or something. I think it's all going in a good direction, in any case. It's certainly a unique idea.[/color]

[color=#606060]I think the term "Otaku" is used almost as a humorous self-deprication, lol. It's designed to be an exaggeration when used in the west - if you're an Otaku I'd say you're almost making light of your obsession with a particular subject. With a word like this, you can not be too literal. The word "Otaku" - as it is used in this network for instance - is intended to be viewed in the more modern, western interpretation. This is a valid interpretation based on what I mentioned above - don't forget that humor itself is generally quite different in the west compared to Japan as well. Even if a Japanese person took "Otaku" literally, they'd be missing the point in terms of how westerners interpret it - or how it's partially intended as a deliberate humorous/endearing exaggeration.[/color]

[color=#606060]I'm actually a big fan of The Sopranos. I own all six seasons (waiting for the season six DVD was a nightmare, haha). I should mention that I normally loathe gangster films. I never enjoyed the "classics" and I never really liked the whole concept of gangster-based stories. Something about The Sopranos is different - it's probably a combination of elements. Maybe it's the fact that there's a really strong mix of action, drama and comedy...or maybe it's just the characters. I can't really say for sure.[/color] [quote] think my main issue with it is that it just gets too boring at times, namely any scene that involves Dr. Melfi[/quote] [color=#606060]Ironically I generally like these scenes quite a lot. Some are useless, but quite a few are worthwhile. I'm often interested in delving beyond the mindless violence and looking at the motivations behind it - maybe this is why I also like Tarantino films. The only thing I don't like in Sorpanos is the episodes that are [i]entirely[/i] made up of dream sequences. The first two or three episodes in season six annoyed me greatly for this reason, lol. Yes, it was all very symbolic and so on...but it just kept going and going. I was far more interested in what was going on in the real world while Tony was in a coma - I didn't want to spend massive amounts of time in his mind, honestly.[/color]

[color=#606060]Yeah, I didn't find this movie scary as such...I actually found it to be a better version of The Exorcist in some respects, lol. I suppose The Exorcist was a bit more full on in terms of language and explicit content...but The Exorcism of Emily Rose almost seemed more plausible or more "real" (as real as demonic posession can get, anyway). I was pleasantly surprised by it though. I had never been very interested in seeing this film but when I did, I was pretty happy with it.[/color]

[color=#606060]It's funny people mention OB...pretty much everyone around me in real life knows about OB and nobody cares. Maybe it's a cultural difference. Either that or it's because I'm an adult and not in high school anymore, lol. I suppose the most embarassing thing I can think of is voice acting. I have always been really good at accents and mimmicking other people's voices - so much so that many people over the years have suggested that I either go for a career in radio or full-time voice acting. But I'm usually too embarassed to demonstrate it to people I don't know - although my family has heard the full range, lol. This embarassment is probably what's actually kept me from pursuing a career in that field, actually. A good friend of mine is a voice actor but for him it comes very naturally because he's a pretty outgoing person in real life anyway. So I suppose it isn't much of a leap for him to perform a voice - especially when he's been on stage and in front of a film camera before.[/color]

[color=#606060]I think something like 90% of Australians live near a coastline...so you can imagine what my response to this would be, haha. I can't imagine not having easy access to some sort of beach or coastline. Having lived in one suburb that was quite far from any water (in Queensland), I really had a feeling of isolation almost. I'm not sure how to describe it, but there is something almost liberating about being able to see the ocean. *shrug* Not to mention that Australia has thousands and thousands of miles of some of the world's best beaches. That helps too.[/color]

[color=#606060]I'm now using the maximum-sized banner possible so you can really see how much difference the new height and width makes. Thanks again to Des for setting everything up. This is a good example of how reasonable suggestions can make it through on OB.[/color]

[color=#606060]I just finished this book tonight. Deathly Hallows is the first Potter book I've ever bought on launch day - probably purely for the fact that it's the last book in the overall series. I remember that I began with this series as a way of reading to my younger siblings, actually. We read the first two novels together and then about half of the third. They stopped and I continued reading the series. I was never a really hardcore Potter fan but I only recently read Half-Blood Prince and I quite enjoyed it, so I thought it'd be well worth finishing the series. So much happened so it's hard to organise my thoughts into something more distinct, but a few things do come to mind: [spoiler]I really liked the way Snape was handled. The fact that Snape killed Dumbledore was, in my view, one of the greater plot twists/shocks of the series. And to then have that very concept twisted [i]again[/i] with such emotion and beauty was quite remarkable - it definitely demonstrated that you can never be entirely sure of your Potter theories until you read the final product. I wasn't sure if Harry was going to really die or not but I think I will always have that image of him walking through the forest with his parents in tow. When James told him that he was "almost there" and when his mother said that she was so proud of him...that was just so emotional. I can understand why J.K. Rowling cried after writing that; it was absolutely beautiful. One thing that really interested me was what happened when Harry "died". There was this sense of an afterlife...that his parents were never [i]really[/i] gone. Something about his interaction with Dumbledore at the station was incredbly satisfying, both due to the way the afterlife was portrayed (the non-finality of death) as well as the fact that Dumbledore was finally revealed to be a less-than-flawless individual. I liked - maybe most of all - that Dumbledore's honesty about his past caused Harry to love him even more. No, Dumbledore wasn't perfect. But he learned from his mistakes and he grew to become a great and wise man. I just thought that Harry's conversation with Dumbledore was wonderful. And as Shin said...when Mrs. Weasley went nuts at Lestrange...that was incredibly cool, haha. She'd always been so calm and sweet during the entire series, it was so [i]satisfying[/i] to see her go crazy on Lestrange. Great stuff.[/spoiler] All in all I'm happy with it. The final chapter probably did leave something to be desired (if only due to a lack of detail) but I understand J.K. Rowling's intentions there. And she's right. Hopefully she will indeed produce an encyclopedia for Harry Potter. I think that would be a nice way to wrap everything up for the hardcore fans. I hope she illustrates it, too. She is a wonderful artist. Edit: I wonder if the ending of the Harry Potter series will inspire any RPGs...[/color]

[color=#606060]These recommendations are great. I would also add Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. This game requires the bongo drum peripheral but that comes packed-in. If you like platformers and you want a game that gives you a glimpse of the upcoming brilliance of Super Mario Galaxy, then I'd definitely recommend DKJB. It has some of the best level design I've ever seen in a platformer. I've enjoyed it far more than I ever enjoyed Super Mario Sunshine (and I'm a big Mario fan myself). Other than that... I wouldn't ignore the GameCube Zeldas. If you do, you will be missing out. Wind Waker is worth playing for various reasons, even though it's somewhat on the easy side. I haven't played Twilight Princess on GCN (only on Wii), but the game itself is essentially a bigger, more visually complex version of OoT (with smoother controls and additional gameplay features to boot). If you'd already played OoT and passed it, TP would have less appeal...but if you haven't, you're probably better going for the newer TP rather than the older OoT. Other than that I don't really have much to add to the lists others have provided. Metroid Prime is a must (I haven't played MP2) and I also think Eternal Darkness is a must, even though it has some sections that can be a little too slow in nature.[/color]

[color=#606060]I haven't done anything in the Admin CP about this - I haven't had time. But yes, as far as I'm concerned, these new dimensions are fine. I think I still have to give Desbreko some software info though, but when the dimensions change I'll make an announcement. ^_^[/color]

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=#606060] [b]THE SEARCH[/b] Proteus had spent another hour hunting through piles of yellowed newspapers. Frustrated and having had little luck, he turned his attention to various office documents, many of which had either been partly incinerated by the missile strike or damaged by water as it ran down through the gaping holes in the building. Many of the papers were apparently of little importance; memos, procedural forms and diagrams seemed to make up the bulk of the paperwork. There were a few exceptions though; most notably a folder containing detailed information about Dr. Karman’s controversial cyborg research. Proteus scanned through several pieces of tattered paper and stored everything he read. He noted that Dr. Karman’s experiments had originally been centered around medical applications; stem-cell research was still a touchy area and Dr. Karman believed that authentic cybernetic implants were often better for sick or injured patients (in some cases she had firmly stated that synthetic organs were “stronger, better and longer-lasting” than their “unpredictable and frail” biological counterparts). This seemed logical to Proteus. At first he did not understand why the research had been regarded with such distain and suspicion; it seemed obvious that Dr. Karman was passionate about helping sick people, especially children. But as Proteus read through further documents he noticed that Dr. Karman’s research quickly became more invasive; the more the Angel Square board resisted her ideas, the further she pushed them, both in theory and in practical experiments. There were cases of palliative care patients in Angel Square dying several days earlier than expected; of those cadavers that were reserved for medical research, Dr. Karman’s department received some 90%. This not only seemed inordinate in and of itself, but other critical medical departments were deprived of much needed specimens (including, ironically, the stem cell research department – the very group which Dr. Karman accused of being slow and irrelevant). Somehow Dr. Karman managed to get away with it time and time again. She buried the board in paperwork and used her authority to approve various projects without their knowledge or consent. It wasn’t long, however, before her work became far too obvious to hide. Proteus read about a case of a child who had died of an undisclosed terminal illness (the illness was not in any records that he could find at any rate). Several days later, the boy had had a “miraculous” recovery with thanks to Dr. Karman’s cybernetic technology. The Angel Square board was privately furious but who could honestly attack Dr. Karman after such a result? For all intents and purposes, Dr. Karman and her team had managed to not only save a dying child…but quite literally bring him back from the dead. Over the following days and weeks, reporters and television cameras flooded Dr. Karman’s offices, eager to meet the “miracle child” and the doctor who made it all possible. Things began to unravel after several weeks when, late at night, an Angel Square orderly was doing her rounds in the recovery ward. The little boy who Dr. Karman’s team had miraculously healed had become aggressive; it was apparent that his many synthetic organs were not communicating properly with his brain. On that night the orderly was viciously attacked by the boy. The following morning, Dr. Karman’s cybernetics research had been indefinitely suspended. The question in Proteus’s mind was simple: where did he fit in to the equation? Dr. Karman had apparently invented ACM technology well before her cybernetics research began, yet there was no mention of any programs involving the creation of a finalized reploid. Proteus knew that there was something important missing here; there was a document or a folder containing the missing links he required to fill in the final piece of the puzzle. If he could learn more about his own creation, he might better understand the nature of the malfunctioning software in his mind. Given Dr. Karman’s precision and intelligence, it seemed unlikely that she would create software that was so obviously faulty – especially considering her hatred for the Maverick Hunters. If Proetus’s internal software was designed to motivate him to attack the Hunters, wouldn’t it stand to reason that Dr. Karman would have invested countless hours on developing and testing it? Wouldn’t she have made sure that everything functioned correctly? After all, she would have to assume that she had only one chance to infiltrate the organization. Proteus stood in the middle of the dilapidated office and looked around once more. It seemed unlikely that he would find more information here. The only place that seemed likely to have the information Proteus needed was Red Alert HQ itself. His experience last time was near-fatal; there was no way a single reploid could successfully infiltrate the facility, let alone snoop around undetected. What Proteus really needed were allies, but he considered that this was impossible given the present situation at Maverick Hunter HQ. It seemed to Proteus that as long as his internal software remained stable for the time being, the most pressing matter was that of Duke and the Maverick Hunter HQ. Proteus knew that his allies would need all the help they could get. So it was decided, he would head straight for the HQ. Perhaps, thought Proteus, there might be a way to at least quarantine the failing software from somewhere within the HQ. And for that matter, Proteus would at least be able to find (and take) a stock of ACM Cubes, which would increase his capabilities. Proteus hovered down to the lobby and walked out onto the street once more. It was dark overhead; Proteus had been inside Angel Square for several hours. Maverick Hunter HQ was due west of his current position but to get there in time, he’d need a vehicle.[/font][/color]

[color=#606060]On bigger images: Yes, I do think we can increase the banner size limits before we launch a new version of the site. They will go up but not to the extent that they cause any issues with the site template/layout. Is everyone in agreement that 550 x 120 for banenrs would be a fair increase? ^_^ On bigger avatars: This is unlikely for now. But it's something I'm looking at for the new site. On multiple signature images: This is something I would like to do but it depends how we can handle it in software. If we can allow this (but maintain some sort of overall size limitation) then it's something I'd like to do. I will investigate and we'll see what we can come up with.[/color]

[color=#606060]Well I think the thing is, in the past, Newbie Lounge really had no structure. One thought that occurred to me is that people always like to do surveys and talk about themselves - what if a new introduction forum included a list of questions that new members could answer? (Stuff like favourite colour, favourite TV shows, top five songs, etc). This way they are creating some non-spammy introduction threads and we are all simultaneously learning a lot about our new members at a glance. The added benefit would be that by answering these questions, new members would be creating points of discussion for their intro threads - if you liked the same band or style of music, for instance, it would give you something to comment on (rather than just "Hi and welcome!" type stuff). Although some past ideas were not successful I think they have to be taken in context as well. Newbie Lounge was really just a place to dump intro threads of all kinds - there was nothing interesting or innovative about it. If it were given some basic structure and turned into a kind of game...I think that could make a difference.[/color]

[color=#606060]Goodbye topics aren't spam. Sorry for the confusion, Konata; there's nothing in our rules forbidding either goodbye threads or introduction threads. Having said that, we would encourage people to "say goodbye" using their signatures. It's a bit neater that way (and there's probably more chance of people seeing it, honestly). As for your suggestion, it isn't without merit. OtakuBoards did have a Newbie Lounge (as has been stated) but it became horribly spammy. However, it wasn't regulated at all...I can't really remember if it even had a Moderator. There is room to consider a specific place for introductions in the future, definitely. We'll see how it goes. Just because an idea didn't work one time doesn't mean it should always be avoided in the future! Thanks again for your suggestion, Konata. Nobody should be afraid to submit ideas - I am always on the look out for them, when it comes to OB! Hope you enjoy your stay here.[/color] :catgirl:

[color=#606060]I'm having trouble opening the initial ones (not your fault, it's my computer at the moment) so I'll just comment on the signatures. I don't mind the first one; the filter or whatever you're using there seems appropriate. And the images seem to be blended well. It's not my favourite of all three though. The second one I don't really understand...but I might be missing something obvious there. The editing is nice although the right-hand side is so light that it seems a bit washed out. The third is definitely my favourite. Great photo and I think the font is ideal for this image - it's light but it isn't too washed out. Good job. Keep up the good work! You should join in on the Graphic Worm if you haven't already. ~_^[/color]

[color=#606060]I think it just depends on your expectation. If you expected Microsoft to show something radically new, you'd probably be disappointed. But then again, this would be the case for all three shows - it's the nature of this year's E3. And in some ways I'm sort of glad about that. Generally we weren't shown anything new from any company (save maybe Wii Fit). It was more about what's coming this year and early next year - it wasn't about "we're unveiling this game that's coming out in 2010". This is good because it takes pressure off developers, I think. I don't really think anyone "won"; in fact it was all largely as I expected. Nintendo was probably only an exception in the sense that they focused primarily on first party stuff (almost totally excluding third party content). Whereas Sony and Microsoft emphasized the full range of upcoming portfolio. Nintendo's stuff was a bit more all over the place in that sense - you had to go looking for relevant third party content (of which there was a decent amount). IGN wasn't terribly impressed with MS's actual conference - they were happier with the post-conference stuff. I think that's pretty reasonable. This E3 really afforded more real hands-on time with specific games rather than lots of rhetoric.[/color]

[quote name='Break']When it's part of a culture it's a little harder to get rid of, lol.[/QUOTE] [color=#606060]Oh yeah, I don't doubt it. I just mean this from my own perspective. I'm sure that for others, superstition is not as simple a matter.[/color]

[color=#606060]Not bad, not bad. On the one hand I sort of feel I need a classical font...but I want fairly bold/easily defined letters. I mean the style could go anywhere. This RPG is set in the future, despite the fact that the fashion will have hints of 19th century design. Some key words that might help with font decisions: Excitement, reality television, futuristic, dystopia, violence, frenzy. [/color]

[color=#606060]I thought I'd make use of this forum for some suggestions. I am currently thinking about a new RPG and I want to make a logo for it but I'm not happy with my current font. At this stage I have few fonts on my computer (as I just got a new one recently and haven't really added any new fonts). Here is the current work in progress: [center][img]http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/965/ladiesoflondonfl7.jpg[/img][/center] I want to retain the black and white style and the image of the woman (who is the main character in the story). But I really need a new logo. I want to keep "Ladies of" small on the top and "London" in much bigger letters underneath. But beyond that, I'm really not sure what font to go with. I thought I'd open it up for suggestions. So please feel free to edit this with your own ideas - it might trigger some inspiration![/color]

[color=#606060]Wow, I should make use of this forum more often...I just had to jump in and mention how gorgeous all the artwork is in this thread. Sandy's going to have a tough time choosing a final design. :catgirl:[/color]

[color=#606060]I'm not superstitious...I think all of this stuff is based on perception more than anything else. I mean I think that if you start the day genuinely believing that you'll have bad luck...you probably will. And vice versa. You can go through horrible things in a day and end up reflecting that the day was positive overall. It comes down to a self-fulfilling prophecy much of the time. It's amazing what a difference attitude can make.[/color]

[quote name='The Boss'][color=darkred][size=1] When I say creative, I mean somehow fitting in curse words in a regular post but in ways that get them by. Like combinding one word with another or the whole color change mid-word thing.[/color][/size][/QUOTE] [color=#606060]Oh ok, I see what you mean. I thought you meant creativity in general. There wouldn't be any need to bypass the censor in regular posts I don't think - I think you can probably get your point across without swearing. Even though I know we have users of all ages...I'd say the vast majority still want to have some kind of standard when it comes to language use. Still, we have censors disabled in AA because that's a whole other thing. I'm just glad that people don't have to go back and change all their posts - luckily it was all automatic.[/color]

[color=#606060]I think people are generally underestimating Wii Fit. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being one of the more popular gaming-related products of 2008 - and for good reason. I can understand that Nintendo's constant reiteration of its principles/philosophy is annoying, but really, every company does it. And in Nintendo's case - especially in the face of criticism - I think they have reason to say "We said we wanted to expand the market and we actually are, despite what some say". They don't really say it as concisely as that, but you know, I think it's fair for them to want to present the actual results to the media at large. It really does justify their strategy. I've only seen Nintendo's conference and I've read the items from Microsoft's. Haven't yet seen Sony's, so I can't comment on that. I really think all the conferences were somewhat underwhelming to many of the hardcore gamers out there, but that's largely because of the nature of the new E3. Due to the time of year as well, a lot of companies don't want to pull development team members away from their projects to produce demos of titles that are in the midst of development. Also just as an additional note to that, it's worth remembering that these press conferences are primarily designed for the [i]press[/i] and not the general fans. Sales figures, market expansion and "business-related" information is highly relevant to press outlets. It's just not so exciting to gamers, which is understandable. I know for a fact that Nintendo had a lot more they could have shown at their conference - but I suspect much of that will be shown separately. This conference was all about emphasizing a few key points and focusing on the really big releases of 2007. I think they were successful with that, in terms of what they intended to do. There are a few games I'm looking forward to, but my most-wanted game is undoubtedly Super Mario Galaxy. I'm a Mario fan and I'd buy any Mario game...but Super Mario Galaxy is really the next true evolution of the franchise. Nintendo said that they believe SMG will set new standards, not just for Mario games but for games in general. I'm inclined to believe this. I also think Super Mario Galaxy will set a new standard for the platform genre particularly. Other than that, there are a few games that come to mind. Mario Kart, Wii Fit (as mentioned), Assassin's Creed, Phantom Hourglass, Call of Duty 4, Metal Gear Solid 4...there are quite a few, some of which just aren't coming to mind at the moment. And of course I'm looking forward to Spore - no new gameplay to show but at least there's a new trailer showing the game's massively updated visuals...which is great. [/color]

[quote name='The Boss'][color=darkred][size=1] But then again, we would get in deep dookie if we were creative.[/color][/size][/QUOTE] [color=#606060]How so? You'd probably be worse off if you [i]weren't[/i] creative, lol. Swearing and creativity don't really go hand-in-hand though. Swearing may or may not be there...but creativity is something else.[/color]

[color=#606060]How are you going to keep track of all this? Sounds like you'd need a lot of gamemasters. Also how would battles play out? Just in the general thread? It might get difficult to wade through (unless you used an alternative thread view, perhaps). This does seem like a good idea though - I'm all for ambitious experiments. This MMORPG might really be benefited by the use of HTML to keep track of things.[/color]