IntenseDebate - Allronix

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - U.S. retail sales of v... · 1 reply · +1 points

I used the wrong term. My bad. I still take games apart with modding kits, tools, and decompilers, and build them via things like AGS and Story Harp. I used to code in assembly WAY back when, but I haven't a lot of time for that anymore. Even the X-Box programmers I used to work way back when for used toolkits and the like not too dissimilar from what modders use.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - U.S. retail sales of v... · 3 replies · +1 points

Heh.You aren't familiar with modding, are you? Games aren't made in assembly, and haven't been for ages. Even someone with modest technical know-how can tinker with their games with a little instruction. People have made home-brew maps for FPS games and flight simulators since the 90's!

Bioware has always encouraged modders since the days of Baulder's Gate and sets up a good-sized chunk of their forums to the tips and tricks of modifying your game. Some of their game files, like character appearances and speeds, can be modified with an Excel spreadsheet and a converter. And Lionshead (Fable, Black and White) actually use text files to construct their maps. You can make the levels harder or easier by using Notepad. And then here's that guilty pleasure known as The Sims - there's no part of that game that can't be tinkered with in some fashion. Mods, decompilers, toolkits, and all sorts of toys are floating around the internet to help you take apart, rebuild, and extend the life of your games.

And if that's not enough, go look at Adventure Game Studio (for 90's Sierra or LucasArts type games) or Story Harp (interactive fiction ala Zork) is you REALLY want to build from the ground up.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - U.S. retail sales of v... · 5 replies · 0 points

Expensive, but I prefer PC games so that I can tamper with the source code and modify the games that I already have, so that they can have new levels, new storylines, and new options. There aren't a lot of games that catch my attention, so I extend the life of the ones I have.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - U.S. retail sales of v... · 0 replies · +3 points

You're out of it. My sister and her husband are big-time gamers. I'm female, grew up with games from the time I was a wee one, and would rather play Mass Effect than throw in a chick flick. I even go to a gaming-themed pub in Everett or hop a bus to Gameworks every few months and blow a few hours' pay.

My issue is finding time to play. Swing shifts mean I'm running errands, exercising, and getting ready for work during the day, commute by bus, work my shifts, and get home in time to fall in the rack and start it all over again. During the weekend? Well, I'm out with family or my boyfriend and there's too much to explore in the limited time I have. The computer games I favor are ones you have to reserve a few hours at a time for and chew slowly to appreciate the plot (Bioware epics, Squaresoft's mind-bending RPGs, fan-made interactive fiction and adventure games).

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Sixth grade teacher ch... · 0 replies · +1 points

Actually, you could probably sell it to the Teacher's Union if you approached it as a safety issue. It's not unheard of for teachers or other students to be physically assaulted in classrooms, and some of the bullies might think twice when they realize they're on candid camera. Big fight in the hall, someone trying to shove a smaller kid in the locker? All they'd have to do is pull the tape and no more of this "he said, she said" when it comes to which brat threw the first punch.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Ballmer, Gates show su... · 0 replies · +4 points

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_... - Well here's University of California Davis's psychology department with an article explaining the difference. Another is from a Christian-based site trying to debunk some of the hysteria: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_chil.htm.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Sixth grade teacher ch... · 1 reply · +10 points

Simple. There are some malicious brats out there who know they can get a teacher they don't like fired on the basis of a rumor mill and the "right" rumor. My brother in law (happily married) was put under investigation when a female student accused him of groping. Turns out, she just didn't like him taking her cell phone away and wanted to punish him.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Seattle\'s plastic bag... · 0 replies · +3 points

Merchants can use up the stash they have, just not restock. And I guess I'm in the minority opinion - I won't miss those annoying bags at all!

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Ballmer, Gates show su... · 3 replies · +6 points

Funny, I thought Sandusky idetntified as "straight." He's been married for a few decades, and his wife tried to cover for him on the stand. And the "homosexual recruitment" paranoia has been proven bunk. Most molesters identify as straight.

12 years ago @ KOMO - Seattle, WA - Seattle\'s plastic bag... · 1 reply · -33 points

Switched to cloth bags ages ago, and won't miss the plastic bags at all. I hated seeing them festooning the tree branches, clogging the storm drains, jamming the gears at the recycling plants and street sweepers, floating in the water, and getting tangled up in car axles. True, you can recycle them (I've used them for the cat box), and good on those who do, but most of them don't get recycled and end up causing headaches.

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