Webcomics I Read

If you have used the internet and like games, you probably know Penny Arcade. It is fun, intelligent and well written and draw. The comic follows Gabe and Tycho as they talk about gaming in general, or just hurting each other both physical and emotional..

This one is not about videogames, but more about young adults life. It is funny, sometimes deep and talk about problems most of us have. Except the robots walking around talking about sex. If you have this kind of problem, you are either awesome or insane, better check it out.

Nerd gets two sexually active girl roommates. Hilarity ensues. Completely NSFW. Great stuff.

Basic Instructions. Life would be easier if it come with them.

Matter of Legends

  

Another re-run, but this time I gave this one a proper title.

But really, what is the matter with Square Enix to not make a remake? It is not like they would have that much of a job, since most of the FFVII models already have updated versions due to the sequels. prequels and spin-offs. It would not be that expensive nor that much work. They can even give tri-Ace to do the job.

What is really holding Squenix in this matter is that they know that a FFVII remake would generate lots of money, so they are waiting the right time to release it, meaning a time they really are in need of money. And considering their current state, it may be sooner than we think. Damn, I don't even doubt that they have the game almost done hidden somewhere!

Wait...What?

That robot designation is Arbalest. You got the joke if you saw Full Metal Panic. Great show.

What pisses me off here is not the existence o Ivy Valentine as a busty, scantily clad character. We have plenty of them, even in other Medias like cartoons, movies, comics and TV shows. What pisses me off here is how the game is being sold.

I bet there is boobies in this game.

See, Soul Calibur is not an unproven franchise by an untested developer to need to resort to cheap marketing tactics to sell the game. If it was, maybe I would accept them trying to sell the sex so people would buy it for the boobies and maybe discover a good game under the hood.

No, they are going straight for the sex appeal marketing. If it was Ivy fighting an adversary from the game I would accept it. Games are fantasy, and Soul Calibur never tried to be historical accurate in their depiction or to be realistic. They can go wild in female design, in my opinion.

What doesn’t sit right with me is their need to use the cleavage to sell their game. Damn, even Tecmo Koei in their DOA series is trying to tone down the sex in their games. And we are talking about the guys who made DOA Extreme Volleyball here!

This one says women can be beautiful AND badass too. And it come from Team Ninja. The end is nigh.

It is possible to be sexy and tasteful, I believe. Namco is not doing it in their poster.

Now another point. I said that I have no problem with Ivy looks. Why? She is not in a realistic game. If she was in a game trying to go for realism, like say Assassin’s Creed or Uncharted and dressed like that, it would be ridiculous. Elena, one of my favorite characters in Uncharted, is a news reporter and she dress in very practical, realistic attire.

Team Ninja toned down the sex in DOA. Why Namco felt the need to up theirs? Even Ayane is sensible dressed.

If she was using revealing clothes all the times I would be a little pissed, like that CIA agent in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Why? Because it is not how those professions dress in the real world! While Ninja Gaiden still can pull it off by being over the top, if Uncharted tried it, it would be not only stupid, but tasteless.

I said before that the videogame industry is more sexist than other media. But the main problem is that while other media have plenty of variety in the depiction of women, the predominant portrayal is the over sexy vixen. Alyx Vance from Half-Life, Jade from Beyond Good and Evil and Elena from Uncharted being rare exceptions.

What the industry needs is more variety in the portrayal of women. Not the juvenile depiction that we have today.


PS: Finnaly bought my own digital camera. It is a Sony DSC-W560. Pretty good, 14,1 M, 3 inch LCD Screen. Nice quality on the pics too. :)

Mirror, mirror

Yes, gamers are the main reason why the game industry is as it is today. In a business world, it is not the industries that decide what is OK to do and what it is not. It is the consumer. See, if I make a car with five wheels and no windshields, it is not me who will determine that all cars will be like that. It is the consumer.

Games lack originality? look at the games you own. How many of them are new IPs? How many are well known ones from well known studios? Nobody will put money in a game to lose it. And if you don't give new, different IPs a chance, why the industry should?

Any of your games has on-line passes? It does not matter if it is a sequel from a game you like or from a studio you support. If you bought it, you are part the reason on-line passes are becoming so common. The same goes for DLC. It does not matter if was just one game. The industry see the sell and consider it acceptable.

Oh, you refuse to buy any game from any company who practice something you consider unfair? Good. So, you aren't the 'problem'. It is everyone else, right? And of course you have made all efforts possible to explain to them why you think the practice is harmful, right? What? You posted an angry comment in a game site? That is... not really helping, you know?

Most game consumers are not the ones who goes to gaming site, even less to read the comment section. They usually base their decisions in local newspaper's articles, TV or recommendation from friends, family and the attendant at the local store. I saw this every time I go to a store to buy a new game.

Most gamers and gaming sites preaches to the choir. They tell a bunch of like-minded people that they agree with the group. It is not useful. It is the people who don't go to IGN, Kotaku, Gamesradar, Joystiq and other sites that need to know why certain practices are abusive. Not the guys who have being playing games since the NES.

But here is the problem. People hardly recognize themselves as part of a problem. When The Simpsons started, it was a critic to american families. Homer Simpson was supposed to be everything wrong with american society. Instead he became a hero. A fat, probably retarded, idiotic person became something that people admire. Why? Because people couldn't see that Homer was supposed to be a mirror reflection of Americans as a whole.

Gamers are like that. They refuse to see that they are part of a problem. They refuse to admit that because they keep buying the same games we have nothing really new. That by opening exceptions because they must have that DLC, that game with on-line pass, they are supporting it. After all, the problem is everyone else.

Except in the success. Them we have being there since the beginning and we are responsible for the success.

Anonymous: Terrorists in Disguise

SOPA, the Stop On-Line Piracy Act. I have very few knowledge about it, being not from USA and not being a lawyer. Hope the Wikipedia article help anyone in doubt to make their own, conscious opinion about it. I am particularly against it because it is vague and don't see to be very effective. It is not like USA can make something about foreigner sites. Again, I am no lawyer and can't help you guys much here.

I understand and support people creating non-physical content, like movies, photos, texts and programs to protect their intellectual property.  I would hate that some of my texts ended-up being used by someone to have a profit at my expenses without me receiving something for a thing that I spent my time creating. I just don't see SOPA being this mechanism.

That is why every site I visit and leave a comment about the matter I put myself against it. But one thing I am not trying to do is terrorism.

Who are they? Who give them permission and/or authority to make anything against the people supporting SOPA? Anon say they are fighting for free speech. And they are fighting for it by hurting (financially or morally) anyone who don't behave as they wish. You are pro-SOPA? No, you can't. They will find you and make everything their skills allow them to make you regret disagreeing with them.

Anonymous says they are fighting for people who aren't able to understand what is happening. Funny, I haven't see them trying anything in their power to enlighten people. They didn't created sites telling people why SOPA is bad. They didn't gone to TV, radio or newspaper saying why they are against. They even didn't hacked in the SOPA supporter's sites and put a manifesto there. No, they are outright going to cause any damage they can to the supporters until they give up and start to follow Anonymous own agenda to the letter.

It is not me who is stating this. It is them.

That is what terrorist do. They make people fear their reaction to the point that going against them become a risk. It does not matter the will of many. Their own agenda  is what matters. It does not matter if innocent bystanders are hurt in the process. They are just collateral damage, needed for the 'greater good'.

What their acts will accomplish? With luck, nothing.  With bad luck, something worst them SOPA. It happened before. When terrorists made the infamous 9/11, against the american imperialism, what happened? First, several liberties were taken in an attempt to stop them. Second, USA made two disastrous wars to fight them. Lots of 'collateral damage'. Did the terrorists gained anything? No.

That is what Anonymous acts will do to internet freedom. They will make everything worse for everyone. They will be the escape goat needed to approve more restricting laws in the internet. And everything because they cannot accept that people have the right to disagree with them.

So, Anonymous, what you will do? Will you try to attack me because I don't agree with you? Because who is going to stop you? Who is going to protect me if you decide to shut me up? In fact, who is going to protect anyone against Anonymous when they decide that what we believe is wrong?

They are Anonymous. They are terrorists. They don't care about your freedom as long as they have theirs.

Queer Drake and Elizabeth's Boobs

Ok, where to start...

People have suggested that Nathan Drake, Uncharted protagonist, would make a great homosexual character. First, I do understand why people would like to see a great homosexual character, who is as cool as all the hetero ones without being a stereotype. But I disagree with getting an existing character and making him this one. Why?

Drake have a relationship. Saying that he have trouble with them is a sign of homosexuality is oversimplifying people. Heterosexual people have the right to have trouble in finding a stable relation as much as homosexual people. The same can be said for homosexuals not having trouble in accepting who they are and finding a partner. I know they will have trouble being accepted in our current society, but this is not the point.

Drake does not need to be gay. It does not improve him as character neither make any kind of favor to the homosexual community. Being tricked in believing he is hetero then saying he was a homo all the time it is not the right way to do it. It will damage the character without making players accept homosexual people more or better.

Now making a cool gay character a main character in a game... That is what we really need. Diversification. Make a great game with a gay character. Let people know that gay people are cool. But changing the sexuality of an established character because you can will not make any favors to games, homosexuals or anyone. Except the guys proposing this, who would fell empowered as if they can steer the industry at their will.

And now for....

I like her style.

See. Levine, one of the game's creator, do not like how much talk her boobs have generated. They are not that big, to start, they are in fact being... what is the word.... smashed to give the impression of being bigger. And this was an effect that women tried to achieve. I am not sure if it is correct for the time frame where Bioshock Infinite is set, but that is not the damn point.

We don't know Elizabeth beyond her visuals. So, we have not much to talk beyond her looks. Another point is simple. After a whole day looking to common people, we don't want to look at them in or fiction. We want to escape reality when seeing movies, TV or playing games. And believe me, if they made her more caste or more commonly, people would complain.

Until the game comes out, I will reserve judgment about what kind of character she is. The way she looks is not and should never be the important thing to judge, be it a real or fictional person, but how she behave, how she thinks. One mistake people make is that pretty people does not do 'normal' jobs or worse, pretty people can't do the 'exciting' stuff either. They can't be cops, scientists or whatever is considered cool. They can and probably do. Not every single pretty person is an actor/actress or super model.

And again, gaming is escapism. Every media whose objective is entertainment is not about realism, but about making people having a good time. If they can give the good time and make people think, the better. But I will not condemn mindless fun either. There must exist space for both.

Nub, Nub, N00b... (rerun)

Yuki is playing this song. 

Now she is playing this song. 

The last one. 

 Apparently Nintendo is doing just fine now with the 3DS. i know no one who have one and the 3DS section on videogame stores here in my country doesn't seem full of interested buyers... But sales figures says otherwise, so maybe the 3DS really was not made for me.