Opinions, Rants, Reviews, and Such

I've probably seen more pointless flames, more childish bickering, and more boundless "facts" in the PS2/XBox/Gamecube console wars than any other happening in the world of video games ever. Hell, I've have taken part in such arguements a few times, and I feel pretty stupid about it too. All of the systems now have good games, all have their good and bad points, and yet, the arguements continue without slowing. Go home, play your system(s) of choice, and stop harrassing people who are just trying to enjoy their own favorite console. ... I'd make this longer, but anyone who knows what I'm talking about doesn't need example arguments, and I don't have anything more to say on the subject.
Besides, technically, the "console wars" refer to the sales of the systems themselves, and of nothing else. Why are gamers even talking about this? Do not concern yourself with how many PS2s Sony is selling, it doesn't matter. Are you making a profit from it? Probably not. Do yourselves a favor and leave the sales figures to the accountants.

Another thing that there shouldn't even be discussion about. NES and other older system games can, under NO circumstances, be judged by the same standards as today's games. Everything about games was simpler then, story, sound, gameplay, graphics, etc. The only thing that can be similar is how much fun you had playing them. So you had more fun back then. Maybe the reason is because you're older now and are nostalgic, or maybe because you "grew out" of videogames, that matters not one bit. Just because you have fonder memories of Mario than of Dante doesn't mean that all new games suck. Similarly, just because you played Dragon Warrior for the first time AFTER you already tasted full 3D games and you didn't enjoy it as much does not mean that all old games suck. Like I said, different standards apply.

Yeah, maybe to you. Don't forget that that is your opinion, and may not be true of others. Just because someone likes something you hate or vice versa is no reason to take it personally. The same holds true for consoles, as well as many other things, from genre to style elements. Besides, flaming based on someone's opinion alone does nothing for you, other than expose a massive inferiority complex.

I've noticed something more often recently then I have in the past. More people complain about perfectly decent games than ever before. I'm not talking about a matter of taste here, I mean in general. Many people have very few games on any system that they actually like, and many will insult the games that they don't like (or simply haven't played) mindlessly. Realize that not every game is platinum quality, and just because something isn't great, doesn't automatically mean that it's crap. Whatever happened to "average"? Also, don't let one element of a game spoil the rest of it for you. There are people who can't stand Metal Gear Solid 2 just because you play as a different character in the second part of the game. Please... if your enjoyment of any game is affected that much by such a little thing, sell your game console and games right now, and never speak of videogames again.

Recently, I had the "pleasure" (no, wait... that's not the word I was looking for, what was it again? ... ... oh yeah, "incredible torture") of being part of a forum RPG, I hadn't done it yet, so I figured I'd try. ... What I found were less like RPGs and more like overacted movie scripts (specifically, a script for a low-budget production with a director who couldn't decide which talentless actor to get rid of, keeping all of them). Why do I bash the forum RPG so? Simply put, it removes most of the elements that make an RPG worth playing. Firstly, in most forum RPGs, there is little to no character interaction, each player controls the action at the time of his/her post, thus being able to guide the story in whatever direction they choose. Not only is this horribly impersonal, it also leads to a potential problem: any random fool could ruin a perfectly good (well, as good as a forum RPG can get, anway) thread with a few minutes effort. There is yet another problem caused by this form of control (or lack thereof, as it were), and that is that actions can't be interrupted, only responded to. This fault is also seen in instant message RPGs, but to a much lower degree since the messages are usually kept short. (Well, you can interrupt, but be prepared to be bitched at.)

Normally, an RPG depends on the capability of the DM to be creative. The forum format relies on everybody to be creative, and that doesn't happen often. It may just be my inexperience with this talking, but in all forums I've been to, the vast majority of people insist on playing existing characters from anime/movies/comics/games or whatever, there is very little originality present. That would be fine, if there player could accurately portray the character in question. More often than not, you come out with a badly broken story, and a poor idea of that the character should be like. Also, the die rolls are taken away, which is not a horribly bad thing, but combined with everything else, it sinks the concept completely, for me anyway.

So I ask myself... where is the enjoyment here? The story is rarely a good one, if it's even comprehensible in the first place, so that's not the draw. The action takes place very slowly, most often with each person responding no more than three times a day, that's obviously not it. There is NO suspense whatsoever, due to the absence of randomness (anyone who thinks that there's plently of suspense, I suggest you go outside, get some fresh air, and find a new hobby NOW, preferably something with a high risk of injury). Gathering together with people of a similar interest? Could be, but that only goes on in discussion boards, so it isn't the RPG itself that's gathering people. What then? Forgive me if you like this kinda thing, but for me, it is not roleplaying, it's just many people who can't agree on the right way to tell the same story.

Now, for the bomb diffusal... I am not trying to insult any single person here, nor am I trying to alienate those who enjoy forum RPGing or asking them to stop. What I AM trying to do is make you ask yourself why it is you do participate in forum RPGs, and to show the disadvantages to those who haven't done it yet. I'd give advantages too, but, in all honesty, I don't see any. For me, this format ignores most of the reasons most people roleplay in the first place.

Alternatives, you probably know already. Either do it in person, if you can, but if you need to use the internet, for the love of all that is chaotic, use an instant messaging program. I use AOL Instant Messenger myself, but there are a number of other programs out there that do the same thing. (for the few of you who RP via AIM but haven't discovered this yet, AIM has an internal die roller. Simply type in "//roll-diceX-sidesY", where X is the number of dice, and Y is the number of sides on each (leave out the quotes, of course...). It is also worth noting that just typing in "//roll" rolls two six-sided dice.)

Shikyo - He's got lots of points... though I think the stories by the people who initally start it are good, though like WeaverKin stated, any moron could ruin a good RP in a matter of a minute.

There is also the problem of no character limit. As in things can easily get out of hand from too MANY people (though I doubt that any Forum RP would live to see that point).

Many people are character possesive, even if they aren't involved in the RP you wanna use that character in. Like, say in some El Hazard RP, some guy is using Mr. Fujisawa. You go find a crossover RP that the guy expressed NO interest in, and you like Fujisawa, and want to play him in THAT RP...the guy playing Fujisawa in the other RP hears about this, then starts yelling and pissing that Fujisawa is his character. Even though he's not even in THAT RP you're in. If it was an original character, I could understand, but it isn't, so the guy had no reason to be pissy with you. *coughs* Can you tell I dealt with that at some point?

Honestly, I CAN see reasons for Forum RP, cause it involves some degree of intelligence to work correctly, and requires that the player try and be fair to the others by not making 'super' characters, though there are so many morons in the world, that a well planned, thought out RP can crash and burn in a matter of seconds.