A funny little story of real life has occured overseas on the big continent called America concerning the never-ending war of videogames vs. bad journalism - with a victory on our side, the gamers.
Read the following text if you're interested in how an author who spoke on Fox News Television admitted in front of millions of watchers and therefore gamers how she claims that Mass Effect is a pornographic game not advisable for children without ever having played the game at all. And how the gamers "punished" her. [...] (show me)(don't show me)
A poorly sourced earlier web article called 'The "Sex-Box" Race for President' by Kevin McCullough proceeds this story which is removed from the website by now, unfortunately.
<< Author Faults a Game, and Gamers Flame Back
A scene from Mass Effect.
By SETH SCHIESEL Published: January 26, 2008 The Internet hath no fury like a gamer scorned.
That’s the lesson Fox News and a self-help author learned this week after a program on that channel featured a discussion of the sexual content of the hit video game Mass Effect.
Bound by global message boards, blogs, chat rooms and of course the games themselves, gamers are perhaps the single most intense subculture on the Internet — fiercely protective of their pastime and at ease with the byways of cyberspace.
So the game world has been ablaze with indignation since the Fox News program “The Live Desk With Martha MacCallum” said on Monday that Mass Effect, one of the most critically praised games of 2007, contains frontal nudity and explicit depictions of sexual activity. The assertions of virtual lasciviousness first appeared earlier this month among conservative bloggers incensed by brief YouTube clips excerpted from the 30- to 40-hour game.
Mass Effect, a science fiction game, includes a complicated romantic subplot that is no more risqué in its plot or graphic in its depiction than evening network television.
To exact their revenge, gamers have turned their vitriol on Cooper Lawrence, an author who appeared to mischaracterize the game when she said: “Here’s how they’re seeing women: They’re seeing them as these objects of desire, as these, you know, hot bodies. They don’t show women as being valued for anything other than their sexuality. And it’s a man in this game deciding how many women he wants to be with.”
In fact Mass Effect allows users to play as either a man or a woman, and the few suggestions of intimate contact occur in the context of a detailed interpersonal story line. Asked on the air by Geoff Keighley of Spike TV whether she had ever played the game, Ms. Lawrence laughed and said, “No.”
Irate gamers have flooded the page on Amazon.com selling Ms. Lawrence’s most recent book, “The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever,” sending its user-generated rating into oblivion.
By Friday afternoon 412 of the book’s 472 user reviews were the lowest possible rating, one star. Another 48 ratings were for two stars. Only 12 of the ratings were for three stars or higher. In addition, 929 Amazon users had tagged the book with the keyword “ignorant.” Tied for second place with 744 tags were “garbage” and “hypocrisy,” while “hack” and “hypocrite” tied for fourth place with 710 votes. Gamers have also attacked the book on the Barnes & Noble Web site.
Many of the reviewers admit that they have not read Ms. Lawrence’s book.
As one Amazon user put it: “I know all about this book but have never fully read it. Why? Due to the overwhelming backlash, I have no choice but to agree with the 1 star ratings. The rumors are rampant that this book was poorly written and poorly researched. So without verifying the contents myself — I give it a 1 star. Good thing video games aren’t judged in this manner — whew!!!”
On Friday “The Cult of Perfection” was ranked the 346,106th best-selling book on Amazon. Mass Effect, by contrast, has been a hit, selling more than 1.6 million copies since November. An Amazon spokeswoman said the site would soon begin to remove reviews written by users who had clearly not read the book.
In an interview on Friday, Ms. Lawrence said that since the controversy over her remarks erupted she had watched someone play the game for about two and a half hours. “I recognize that I misspoke,” she said. “I really regret saying that, and now that I’ve seen the game and seen the sex scenes it’s kind of a joke.
“Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it’s like pornography,” she added. “But it’s not like pornography. I’ve seen episodes of ‘Lost’ that are more sexually explicit.”
Electronic Arts, the giant publisher that owns Mass Effect, has asked Fox News for a correction. A Fox News spokesman would say only that Electronic Arts had been offered a chance to appear on the channel. An Electronic Arts spokesman said the company had not yet decided whether to accept the offer.
By telephone from Edmonton, Alberta, Ray Muzyka, the medical doctor who is chief executive of BioWare, the Electronic Arts studio that made Mass Effect, said: “We’re hurt. We believe in video games as an art form, and on behalf of the 120 people who poured their blood and tears into this game over three years, we’re just really hurt that someone would misrepresent the game without even playing it. All we can hope for is that people who actually play our games will see the truth.” >> # top # | Q: NY Times.com
Here's the short video dialog that was aired on Fox News and which triggered this whole "sex affair" thing featuring Cooper Lawrence and Geoff Keighley ...
Look what I just found by accident: a Neuromancer-movie is in the making. That's an adaptation of my favourite book. It brought me closer to William Gibson who also wrote other good cyberpunk-novels. 2oo9 is supposed to be the year of its release. Hayden Christensen is supposed to play the lead role. Joseph Kahn is supposed to be its director. His debut movie, Torque is rated with 3.4 at IMDB and besides that he only made music clips. Great (-.-' )
Wikipedia says this piece of news is over 6 months old (<< On May 18th, 2007 Comingsoon.net reported a Neuromancer film is in the works [...] >>). I expect nothing great - but will continue observing.
Ich habe das Buch zwar nicht gelesen aber Cyberpunk schau ich immer gern. Allerdings mag ich den Hayden Christensen so gar net leiden. In Star Wars fand ich ihn mehr als schlimm. :/ Egal erst mal warten, ob's überhaupt was wird.
Just a little something. Videos that I gathered during the last month and which are too simple and unfunny to psot individually.
And yet! All in one set, You will not regret, To watch 'em, I'll bet! Aayyy! [...] (show me)(don't show me)
[..]: A german grandma someone's trying to interview on the street is giving a short but hilarious one-sentence-statement ;^D [click] [o.o9] sent by aDwarf
[.·]: Playing a duet on a single guitar. Not played very flawlessly - also a tiny little bit gay ;^) - but still awesome (^^ ) who's guessing the melody? ;^) [click] [1.36] sent by Daemon
[·.]: A funny little kid playing a great videogame, a funny dog joining for company, a funny thing the dog is doing with the funny little kid and most of all: a funny cameraman/-woman letting it all happen and taping it x^D
Kid Playing Call Of Duty Gets Buttsexed by dog
sent by THE_EYE
[··]: Domino with 1500 Xbox HDDs. These are the things that you can do if you have enough hard disk drives to play with. And a lot of free time ;^) [click] [2.18] sent by mlx # top #
Well, it's not that funny but moderately funny enough to psot here.
About a confused schedule in a conservative small town in England. With lots of nudity and flickering erotic. Well, textual nudity that is ... [...] (show me)(don't show me)
<< 21. Januar 2008 EINE MELDUNG UND IHRE GESCHICHTE Oops Von Ralf Hoppe Warum eine Polizistin vor einer Schulklasse strippte
Nottingham ist nett; aber viel los ist dort nicht. Und wenn wirklich mal was Schräges geschieht?
"Nein, darüber möchte ich nicht sprechen", sagt die Frau, die alles angezettelt hat, sie ist die Mutter, heißt Saphia C., alleinerziehend, brünett, rundes Gesicht, ein freundliches Lächeln.
"Nein, darüber möchte ich nicht sprechen", sagt der Mann, der alles ausbaden muss, er ist der Schuldirektor, heißt Robin F., rosig, jovial.
"Dabei spricht halb Nottingham über nichts anderes", sagt Vivianne W., sie ist beim County Council, das den Vorfall untersuchen muss, "es ist wohl auch ein eher unkonventionelles Geschehen, oder nicht?"
Und so schweigen alle; jedenfalls fast alle.
Nottingham, in England, 286.000 Einwohner, etwa 33 190 Schüler, einer von ihnen ist Danny C., Saphias Sohn. Am 7. November 2007, um kurz vor acht Uhr morgens, grauer Himmel, verlässt Danny das Reihenhaus in Heddington Gardens und macht sich auf den Schulweg, wie jeden Morgen. Dabei ist heute ein besonderer Tag: Dannys 16. Geburtstag.
Am White Heart Pub überquert er die Mansfield Road, hält sich links. Seine Schule, die Arnold Hill School, liegt an der Gedling Road, hügelan. Danny rekapituliert seine Geschenke. Sie waren okay, nicht überraschend, aber im Großen und Ganzen das, was er wollte. Auch seine Mum ist okay; nein, eigentlich ist sie super.
Was Danny nicht weiß: dass auf ihn noch ein Geschenk wartet.
Danny ist ein freundlicher, höflicher Junge, blass, ernsthaft, vielleicht sogar ein bisschen zu introvertiert, findet seine Mutter, etwas wilder dürfte er sein. Vielleicht wird er mal studieren, irgendwas mit Natur, er interessiert sich für Tiere und den WWF, Wale, Gorillas.
Die letzte Schulstunde vor der Mittagspause bricht an. Danny sitzt in einer Klasse, in der Theaterstücke besprochen werden, als die Tür aufgeht. Eine Polizistin tritt ein. Jung, drall. Blaue Uniform, blaues Hütchen.
Eine kleine Abweichung vom Lernstoff, sagt die Lehrerin, lächelt und nickt der Polizistin zu. Und holt eine Videokamera hervor, richtet sie auf Danny.
Die Polizistin steht jetzt an der Tafel.
Einer von euch, sagt die Polizistin, ist ein gewisser - Danny? Das Geburtstagskind?
Danny, zögernd, meldet sich.
Ah! Fein! Dann komm mal her!
Danny errötet leicht, das Schicksal der Hellhäutigen.
Die Polizistin hat inzwischen eine Reitgerte hervorgeholt, und weil Danny, so sagt sie, bisher ein böser, böser Junge war, soll er sich bücken, und dann gibt sie ihm für jedes Jahr, da er böse war, einen leichten Schlag auf den Po. 16 Schläge. Patsch, patsch, patsch.
Die Schüler glotzen. Die Lehrerin filmt, ist aber womöglich in Schockstarre. Was in Danny vorgeht, darüber sollte man besser nicht spekulieren.
Aber unser Danny, sagt die Polizistin jetzt, war ja auch ein braver Junge, und deshalb - well, hier die Belohnung! Zuckersüßes Lächeln, angelt einen CD-Player aus ihrer Tasche.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ...
Es ist Britney Spears' "Oops! ... I Did It Again". Die Polizistin tanzt ein bisschen, legt ihr Hütchen ab, zieht Bluse, Rock, Strümpfe aus, tanzend, bis sie in Büstenhalter und Slip vor Danny steht, gleichmäßig gebräunt und sehr ausladend, locker BH-Körbchengröße D, werden einige Schüler später berichten, obwohl man hier ihre pubertäre Begeisterung (und den Mangel an Erfahrung) in Anschlag bringen muss.
Oops! I did it again ... singt Britney.
Die Polizistin schmiert sich Creme auf den Po. Das Geburtstagskind, sagt sie, darf mich eincremen - na los!
Sie lächelt, sie wackelt, der Po des Gesetzes - Autorität, Angst, Sex, alles in einem einzigen, einem irren Moment zusammengepresst.
Die Lehrerin lässt die Kamera sinken.
In den späten neunziger Jahren waren sie beliebt, die sogenannten stripograms und gorillagrams, ein sehr britisches Vergnügen, in Nottingham gab es massenweise sogenannte Agenturen, bei denen man jemanden buchen konnte, der aus einer Torte sprang, strippte oder im Gorillakostüm grunzend eine Party auflockerte. Der Trend ist abgeflaut, aber drei größere Event-Agenturen gibt es noch; bei einer hatte Dannys Mutter einen Gorilla bestellt, weil Danny Tiere liebt, und alles mit der Lehrerin besprochen, und die hatte versprochen, den kleinen Spaß zu filmen. Was Dannys Mutter nicht bestellt hatte, war eine strippende Polizistin - bei der Agentur hatte jemand die Termine verwechselt.
Moooment!, ruft jetzt die Lehrerin. Ich bin nicht sicher, sagt sie, dass wir so fortfahren sollten, und sie winkt die Polizistin streng mit sich raus aus dem Raum, und zurück bleiben die Schüler, stumm, und Geburtstagskind Danny.
Der Direktor und die Theater-Lehrerin beschworen die Schüler, gegenüber den Medien dichtzuhalten; aber die Story war einfach zu erzählenswert. Einige Eltern zeigen sich über den Vorfall absolut not amused, das Council untersucht nun, wer Schuld hat, die Mutter, die Schule, die Agentur oder alle zusammen. Danny aber, beschenkt mit einer Geschichte fürs Leben, fand die Show im Nachhinein okay oder sogar super. >> # top # | Q: Spiegel.de sent by Chinanski
I've played a lot of videogames this year. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption [Wii], Assassin's Creed [PS3], The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass [NDS], God Of War 2 [PS2], Kingdom Hearts 2 [PS2], Runaway 2: The Dream Of The Turtle [PC], .skate [PS3], Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare [PS3], Sam & Max: Season One [PC], Counter-Strike: Source [PC], Super Mario Galaxy [Wii], Final Fantasy XII [PS2], plus several demos. Hmm, actually, when I see this list, I did play few videogames this year ... nevertheless these were the most important ones - I hope I didn't miss any. But of all these games which one could bewitch me the best with its unique charm? Which one made me gasp or swallow hard? Which one got me most taken aback? Which one did I want to share with my girlfriend the most if I only had any? What was my personal Videogame Moment of the Year 2oo7? [...] (show me)(don't show me)
I like to think of Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time [PS2] in this context. This is a game that I finished within "only" 24 hrs., yes ... but those were good 24 hrs, no doubt. But what I liked most about this game, what makes me think back with heart-warming reactions and what fascinated me most about Sands Of Time was not the gameplay. It was also neither the story nor the timewise thrilling combat. It was the moment, somewhere in the last fifth or so, when I climbed up the upper part of this huge castle, the depths of Persia beneath me where death awaited, the inevitable conclusion of the game about a dozen of monsters and mortal traps ahead - when I saw the yellow burning sun raising from the orange blurred horizon and covering the shape of the arabian castle in glistening shimmering flames ... for me that was probably the most wonderful moment of videogaming of that year, 2oo3 or when it was released. Yes, 2oo3.
So, thinking about this year's games there were certainly few, if not none, of those moments that I can easily think of. Most of these games I just "played" without emotional happenings. That's why I had to do some dangerous expeditions into the depths of my fading memories but I think the most heart-warming moment would have to be when I started Kingdom Hearts 2 only to be welcomed by the - although re-arranged still familiar - title music of "Dearly Beloved" by Yôko Shimomura, a touching piano tune that almost made me cry instantly, accompanied by a beautiful piece of artwork showing .. was it Sora or Roxas, who I didn't know yet when I first put in the disc? I don't know. But it was most certainly memorable. How it brought back the joy I've had with the first part. The fun, the sadness, the depression - all at once. *sigh*
All the more I was disappointed by the game itself. Somehow it didn't pack me like its predecessor. That's why I have to decided to stop wasting my time with it - I rebelled against my instincts and didn't finish it. And I probably won't finish it anymore either. Have I grown up too much? Or is it really that different? I can't tell. The combat was the best of part two and the story was the best of part one. Maybe the storytelling of part two was too slow for me. It sure was regarding to the two to three hrs. of tutorial ... but nevertheless, this brief moment when I didn't want to start the game but listen to the wonderful music instead, I felt the mixed feelings of happiness on the one hand, the happiness that surrounds you when you explore a new Hyrule with a little elf boy in green clothes, and melancholy on the other hand, the melancholy that confronts you when you slaughter a coloss.
Those are the moments I play videogames for. Those are the reasons why I am a Gamer. # top #
There are a few little things I'd like to present today, all of them being of rather small importance, yet I feel it'd be nice to mention them anyway instead of secretly making them happen. Or whatever to call it. [...] (show me)(don't show me)
Firstly, there have been over 6oo blog psotings here, so ... yay! The blog views and visits for the last one hundred or two hundred psotings have reduced significantly but that's understandable as they are too boring for you to read for sure. Sad but .. well, what can I say? I'm boring and that's life.
To further demonstrate my boring and nutty life I've created a flickr-account where I can upload all my boring pictures that I've taken with my birthday present, a Samsung S85 DigiCam. Only the nude-free ones, of course ;^p - just those pictures I could show my parents. The other ones are all kept hidden in a secret place until I die. ... And when I think about it probably even longer as they don't pop up and dance in front of everybody the moment I snap out. But that's just unsignificant nerd-talk. Long story short: go visit me at flickr here.
And on a little side note: check out my URL-Repairer. If you don't understand its purpose even after reading its explanation and/or testing it then you probably won't need it at all. But if you own an account at Web.de and often use the browser to read your mails instead of an eMail client like Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird then you may know what pain in the ass it can be to open URLs contained in your eMails. Especially those of eMails that are formatted in HTML where the links are often described as smaller words (like "click here" or "open this link"). If you can use it feel free to do so and do it often. I certainly am glad that I finally programmed this code that I've thought about very often.
Furthermore there are new icons. They are not very beautiful but nevertheless ... pay attention to them! ;^p
Oh, and I'm moving again into a new yet unencountered apartment but maybe later more on that ... # top #
*lol* How stupid can you be? A remote for the PSP?!
The docking station is quite okay. I can imagine myself putting my PSP - given I'd own one - on a docking station and placing it next to my keyboard to watch a movie while programming or surfing or doing whatever on the PC. But a remote?! You can't put the docking station on the far end of the room to watch a movie comfortably lying on the couch. The display is too small for that. At least they should sell this package with a pair of binoculars next to the remote. Then it would make more sense again ... [...] (show me)(don't show me)
Did you ever wonder how a game like the Sci-Fi-first-person-shooter Halo would look like if it was turned into a 2D side-scrolling-jump'n'run like the original Mario titles for the Gameboy™, NES™ and SNES™? Me neither. But here is a guy wo did and he created a Mario spin-off where the plumber has to fight the enemies from the Covenant universe.
Some people do have too much time. And when I see that I tend to believe that I'm not that abnormal because of my excessive pr0n consumption than I used to think. Neh ... (.. ) [...] (show me)(don't show me)
Mario World Halo January 8, 2008
A comment on this by a guy called Level 9: << That… Is a horrible HORRIBLE idea!…
If you tend to see lewd scenes and vulgar body parts in other people's drawings then have a look at this. These drawings by Maurício Ricardo show how everything lies in the eye of the viewer ;^) [click] ([3.o3]) sent by Jtranz
Why do all those great fighting-based action-packed Animes and Mangas, like Naruto, One Piece, Dragonball Z, Bleach and whatnot, have to be reduced to the mere brawling when converted to a videogame?! They either become Beat 'em Ups or Hack'n'Slay-Games. If the game has some story in it then surely it's hidden in the booklet or presented fancifully in non-interactive cutscenes. Or in the worst case in form of text dialogues with character stills. Tons of text dialogues ... This is bullshit. [...] (show me)(don't show me)
Why not make Action Adventures out of those? This genre is so much more efficient to transfer the stories of these franchises. After all, it is the story that makes these franchises readable, watchable and worth continuing. The story - not the fighting. The fighting's good, too, and mostly thrilling, but still! There's travelling and treasure hunting in One Piece, intrigues and learning the arts of Ninja in Naruto, hiding and space travelling in Dragonball Z - well, okay, there isn't as much "storyful" story in DBZ as in the earlier episodes - and Bleach has this complex universe and rich character set. But no, let's just make it a "Defeat the enemy to reach the goal"-realization of these events.
Besides, as if there wouldn't be any good beaters out there already! Just look at Tekken, Dead Or Alive, Street Fighter, Soul Calibur and Virtua Fighter. And come to think of it: I didn't name single Beat 'em Ups here but whole series again. In my humble opinion a clear sign that the market is pretty much satisfied. Btw, what happened to the great Clayfighter series ...? (^^ ) Hehe, so awesome ...
Anyway, it's okay for those series to be incremented by one new game every five years or so, but why the hell add more than one new beater per anime/manga franchise to the pile? It's ridiculous if you ask me.
I mean, as I'm a fan of Click'n'Point-Adventures I tend to long for great new modern games of this genre, so maybe I'm pushing it too hard, but so many games for one series? Why isn't one enough? Here's a quick list to show you what I mean:
On a side note: while doing the Information Retrieval for this list, I thought how senseless it is to make this incomplete list - but actually that's the whole point of my psoting: there's just so fuckin' much! They are named differently implying that they are different videogame series and still they are so much alike that there's no big chance of telling a difference. Where's the sense in developing so much cloned games? It's even more than "one different game for each videogame system".
Oh my, oh boy, oh my, oh boy. Have you seen the latest installment of the Street Fighter franchise, Street Fighter IV, yet? There's a great trailer at GT.com (non-HD), and because it's so cryptical it comes with a handy trailer analysis! (non-HD). Isn't this nice? I'm thoroughly excited.
Although, the first three screenshots don't look that good to me ... :^/ More like Chubby Fighters. But let's better wait and see. I have to learn that. To wait and see, to not judge from early presentations. Like with Killzone 2 ...
Talking about Street Fighter, some guys at CollegeHumor.com made these funny short clips called Street Fighter - The Later Years. Download or simply watch the first three parts here and check out SF:TLY.com for additional footage - like the Making Of Pt. 2 - Visual Effects. More of that! ;^)
Here's a short excerpt from a swiss newspaper article where a peculiar phenomenon is explained quite naturally. What's so macho about that? ;^p [click] (29 KB, german)
Funnily I can't find it on NZZ.com. I guess, the printed news can't be looked up online. Could it be that this is true for every newspaper? I've never thought about it ... sent by Mika77
Belated christmas greetings and celebrations are better than no christmas greetings and celebrations at all and therefore I'd like to show you the latest greetings of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his puppet friend Achmed the Dead Terrorist crystallized in the song Jingle Bombs. [...] (show me)(don't show me)
Jeff Dunham with Achmed the Dead Terrorist - Jingle Bombs
oh, btw: this is my 6oo th psoting. Maybe I'll celebrate retroactively ... # top # sent by f2k
I don't care whether you consider these couples geeky or not, those couples who chose to celebrate their most precious day in unison in the environment and atmosphere they appreciate most - for me they are as normal as sexual dreams of bananas!
That’s the lesson Fox News and a self-help author learned this week after a program on that channel featured a discussion of the sexual content of the hit video game Mass Effect.
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