(no subject)
Aug. 15th, 2005 01:59 pmI'm still working my way through System Shock 2 on and off. I cheat a lot for bullets and medkits and stuff; I'm much more interested in the story than the constant frustration of hunting for ammo and getting repeatedly killed when I have to resort to hand-to-hand weapons. It still makes me jump when something leaps out at me, but doesn't demand that I master its gameplay to proceed.
Every time Shodan tells me that I have "done well, for an insect", it's like a kiss. Hearing the wonderful voice samples is the reward for slogging through spaceship corridors. "Gooood... you've murdered their young (murdered their young! murdered their young!) and prevented their escape." The delight in her mad flurry of voices never fails to put a smile on my face. I see why some people have said they fell in love with Shodan; she's a really well-realized character, and chock full of Dangerous Feminine Power. She will use you for her own ends, and won't even bother to make you like it. I broadcast a little of the same attitude, I think; it's not something I'm entirely comfortable with.
I also took a look at the explosion of drama on Deviantart, prompted somewhat by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pseudomanitou expressing doubts about the new grouping/ranking?/class system?/networking features they're announcing, in very ambiguous and confusing language. Lots of weird stuff going on there, with the original programmer, Jark, being given the boot by the CEO, Spyed*. Screenshots of private forum threads, IRC and IM logs, there's a lot of stuff floating around about that, and neither of the principles are saying anything like the whole story - it's very obvious that there's a lot Jark isn't saying. I'm really not sure what to think of any of it. I have some sympathy for Jark; what I read between the lines sounds like some of what I went through at one point in my career. And I know I'm not gonna speak about that publicly, even several years on. I doubt anyone will ever see their story unless DA ends up big enough for tell-all books to come out.
There's a lot of violation of private space going on in some of what's being dug up and posted regarding this, too; I think one moral an outsider can take away is to remember that all your digital communications can be archived and reposted. More and more, it's all logged by default, there for someone to post when they feel like it.
But I've got my own fish to fry. Waiting to get my plane tickets for that interview, going down to New Orleans again. DA's never something I've considered myself "part of", though I bounce through the forums on and off.
*yeah, these are their usernames, I'm not invested enough in this to remember their real names.
[addition: Woohoo, all paid LJ users with the extra pics add-on now have space for 100 images!]
Every time Shodan tells me that I have "done well, for an insect", it's like a kiss. Hearing the wonderful voice samples is the reward for slogging through spaceship corridors. "Gooood... you've murdered their young (murdered their young! murdered their young!) and prevented their escape." The delight in her mad flurry of voices never fails to put a smile on my face. I see why some people have said they fell in love with Shodan; she's a really well-realized character, and chock full of Dangerous Feminine Power. She will use you for her own ends, and won't even bother to make you like it. I broadcast a little of the same attitude, I think; it's not something I'm entirely comfortable with.
I also took a look at the explosion of drama on Deviantart, prompted somewhat by
pseudomanitou expressing doubts about the new grouping/ranking?/class system?/networking features they're announcing, in very ambiguous and confusing language. Lots of weird stuff going on there, with the original programmer, Jark, being given the boot by the CEO, Spyed*. Screenshots of private forum threads, IRC and IM logs, there's a lot of stuff floating around about that, and neither of the principles are saying anything like the whole story - it's very obvious that there's a lot Jark isn't saying. I'm really not sure what to think of any of it. I have some sympathy for Jark; what I read between the lines sounds like some of what I went through at one point in my career. And I know I'm not gonna speak about that publicly, even several years on. I doubt anyone will ever see their story unless DA ends up big enough for tell-all books to come out.There's a lot of violation of private space going on in some of what's being dug up and posted regarding this, too; I think one moral an outsider can take away is to remember that all your digital communications can be archived and reposted. More and more, it's all logged by default, there for someone to post when they feel like it.
But I've got my own fish to fry. Waiting to get my plane tickets for that interview, going down to New Orleans again. DA's never something I've considered myself "part of", though I bounce through the forums on and off.
*yeah, these are their usernames, I'm not invested enough in this to remember their real names.
[addition: Woohoo, all paid LJ users with the extra pics add-on now have space for 100 images!]