Roxanne Status: Online

The one issue I have with SE and most other companies is that most of what we do just seems to be only there to fill in time between cutscenes - most of what we do isn't important, and we only rush to the next cinematic to see what happens next. Our actions don't seem to really add up to anything, except that we perhaps can stand a few more hits from this boss, or we have a cooler sword.

Games that push interactive storytelling to that next level, and have what we do be of paramount importance, are the games I'm looking for now. The likes of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are perhaps the best examples of what I'm talking about. Ico, whilst having only a few scenes that interrupt the gameplay and containing no more than 20 lines of dialogue, struck a chord with me some time ago. I've already talked of those games enough on these boards, though. If you really want to know what I think of them, check out that ridiculously long post I made in Lasci's "what do you look for in a game" topic

*Catches bottle of caramel.*

This bottle was only just opened, we can still use it =[!

Baby come back, you can blame it all on meee!~

Nosrsly ;_;.

I've wondered why certain songs can have that affect on me, especially when such songs tend to be completely different from each other in practically every way. I guess that, for some things, you just can't find a rational, logical reason behind it. If we could, we wouldn't be the crazy, interesting species we are. Not everything can be easily explained in such ways.

I just realized how dramatically I changed the topic. D= I remain amazed by how far the medium has come - video games, I mean. Within a decade, it went from a way to enjoyably pass the time to a form of art and storytelling that can capture some truly magnificent themes and emotions, made even more powerful by its interactive nature.

Do you sometimes stumble upon a piece of music that just sweeps your mind clean of everything else, leaving you awestruck and utterly breathless?

I really have no idea why, but that melody did that to me about an hour ago. Now I find that I can't stop listening to it.

Speaking of blown minds, have a listen at this...

When someone linked me to that a little while ago, I doubt she expected the reaction she got. "Oh, here's a pretty nice melody."

Ha. Quite an understatement.

Not at all - I wasn't familiar with it until playing the MGS titles. Crazy that a video game can introduce me to something like that. XD

Y'know, if you keep doing that and bringing up so many things, I'm really going to have trouble with the character limits of VMs and find chatting here frustrating. D=

I suppose you've heard of the "gene, meme, scene" theory. Strangely, searching it on Google yields mostly Metal Gear related stuff. =/ But, essentially, the idea is that our genetic lineage, along with the ideas present within our culture (the first of which usually come from our parents), and the things we personally see and experience all come together to shape us, build us, and create the people we are today, were yesterday, and will be tomorrow. Ultimately, choice has very little to do with it, as the choices we can even make are largely dependent on what we are aware of, which is the entirety of what others have told us and what we learn ourselves.

Nature vs. Nurture seems to largely suggest that it's one or the other, when in reality it's a little of both. In all cases.

I have often wondered that as well. We are the products of our experiences and our.... I lost the word I was looking for. Has that ever happened to you?

I've sometimes wondered how I would be if I were born in a different period of time, as well. I know I couldn't be interested in a lot of the things I'm interested in today if I were born a hundred years ago. What would be my passions, then? Would I be a better person, or would I have been remembered as someone truly awful?

And yet, even if who we are is largely based on where we come from (even the choices we consider are largely based off of what we know - few people ever truly venture out of the 'bubble' they were born in), we are the only instance of ourselves that will ever appear in the entire universe. Our individuality is assured, even if a lot of what makes us us is a product of where we are and our life experience.

I wonder if I'd like pickles if I were from another part of the world...

I'm sure I got some of the details wrong, but that was the idea. I was just absolutely astounded. I'm sure I read that article at least three times. :3