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Something about the way you said that made me giggle. Burger King is a treat, harumph. Misty is a big girl, she eats reasonable portions.

Where MAKING THIS HAPEN.

Wow I'm REALLY glad I'm not alone there. FFVII looked pretty but good gravy did it have navigation troubles.

Rory is one of my favorite names for kings. Pretty sure it straight-up means "red king." Does sound kinda old-fashioned though.

I AM NOT TRYING TO IGNORE YOU. MSN LITERALLY WON'T LET ME TALK. D: I thought I was over this problem. Really sorryyyy

I'd hit it

Yeahhhh Toonami's back!

...Except it's just like Adult Swim's pre-existing Saturday night line-up only without FLCL!

*goes back to watching Aftermath.*

*raises hand.*

Please do not abuse language to sound smart. It gives me ulcers.

Swap the V with a G.

@spiderman

Flashloop version!

Hey, I could beat somebody 20 levels higher than me. :v

Seriously though, proper application of the system can make exploration more engaging, because it's almost like giving the player living, breathing walls. Instead of obstacles you simply cannot cross, like, say, tiny shrubs in Pokemon, you get barriers that can be fought (if you're insane) and even crossed early (if you're that good). Dark Souls is actually a good example: there is less of an emphasis on levels and more of an emphasis on hard damage/health limits and the exact maneuvers bosses employ, such that the entire game can feasibly be beaten at Lv1 if you practice enough. I would not, however, call Fallout a good example, for the reason you mentioned: indicators aren't clear enough, and there are few reliable ways to defeat higher-level enemies.

The only problem with level scaling is that it gives you a little too much freedom. Let the player go anywhere and they'll probably either go everywhere, get all the best gear early and cruise through the rest of the game; or go nowhere due to indecision and indifference and just kinda ignore the exploration aspect.

I like the idea of mixing and matching, making certain monsters scale within a certain margin so as to provide a buffer against powergrinding players. Of course it depends on the experience you want to deliver. There are also games like Disgaea, which set hard limits that are meant to be too powerful for you, as a challenge for you to either grind your bones 'til they crackle or find one of the myriad ways to break the game.

As for DD, I'm ok with no level scaling as long as they didn't do the Fallout thing.

Uh, I can shoot down that initial point pretty simply, in several ways:

(1) If you wanna talk semantics, "art" can be anything from "anything that evokes a reaction" to "a skill that can be trained or taught," both of which games fulfill. They evoke various reactions ranging from enjoyment to disgust, and the technical skill required to excel at a game can certainly be practiced, even if it is heavily luck-based.

(2) Ceremonial martial arts are considered an art form. Hell, it's built into the phrase! Depending on their purpose they may be closer or farther from "pure" art, but the basics are the same: one or more persons exhibiting combat skills. In many ways, fighting games find their roots in that sacred practice, and their performance by high-level competitors is a sight to behold.

All video games are art. I find it absurd to argue against this notion, especially at this stage, where many games look and sound almost as good as films. They even have their own niche in eliciting emotional response from the player: atmosphere. Immersion is easier to achieve when the person partaking of the art has a stake in it, and no more simply is that achieved than by having them control the outcome--even if the extent of their control is "succeed or fail." Especially so, perhaps. The happy ending hinges on the player's skill.

This is why games that are too easy or too hard are disliked; because if a person is not immersed in the game, they are not enjoying it. I can't think of anything else that accounts for both extremes. By the same token, other art forms such as literature and film are attempting to reach out to the viewer, to leave them with something or evoke something in them. Works that fail to do this will not be as highly regarded as others, no matter the quality of craft or technical skill involved in making them. Immersion is a factor, though in the case of video games it is both a larger factor and a somewhat less controllable one.

Some games are made solely to be played and enjoyed, and not to make some grand statement, but some other works of fiction are geared towards the same purpose. Unless you want to look me in the eyes and tell me Dragonball Z has serious artistic merit. Point being, when determining the conditions for art, it is difficult to discretely eliminate video games as eligible without excluding other forms of entertainment media.

At any rate, if anyone's seen the demo video Kara for Quantic Dream's new game engine, video games might be about to prove themselves in a big way and silence a whole slew of the remaining naysayers. Keep your fingers crossed.

"Could you survive the zombie apocalypse" is a question better worded as "Could you take your immediate family in a fight"

to which I will answer, yes. Decidedly yes. In fact, I live upstairs, so I even have the high ground!

If my friends were over though I'd be screwed, they actually spar regularly. Unless the "push them down the stairs repeatedly" trick worked once again.

Musta korppi meille laulaa
Synkkiä lauluja manan mailta...
Musta korppi meille laulaa
Synkkiä lauluja manan mailta...

Someone keeps sayin' I'm insane to complain about a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt.

...Christ in a handbasket the Japanese will put boobs on anything.

I would weigh in on that but I held it together for the deaths of Kamina and the Companion Cube too.

...Oh god is this going to be his next running theme.

Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D.

Lost it at time management.

HE FITS FIVE HOURS INTO FIVE MINUTES.

Also god yes sign me up for theology.