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Yet the writers I've met when covering events such as SXSW or GDC Online have been more than generous with time, advice, and yeah encouragement. I'm fairly certain most people aren't necessarily going to be that open, but that's any business. But you gravitate toward to people that actually show an sincere interest in seeing you grow and do well. I don't expect anything of any of those relationships but I value anything I learn from them.
The rejection letters, yeah, that gets weighty after a while. I don't care how much of a front anyone puts up about it here or anywhere else, nobody can hit continual roadblocks for something they want and not get frustrated. That said, sometimes you have to just keep at it. Hell, the last pitch I had get picked up felt like it happened somewhat by accident. I happened across a random press release from my old university of some local devs speaking, tossed a pitch out to Gamasutra thinking maybe it'd be something to fill content for an afternoon not really expecting anything of it. For Gamasutra it didn't, but I also on a 'what the hell' whim cc'd the thing to Game Developer Magazine and I've an article in this month's magazine I wasn't expecting anyone to run.
Would I love to do this full-time and not crunch numbers in a consulting office? Yes. But I also can't stay out of a hospital more than three months at a time. I've enough issues staying healthy enough to do my day job, let alone this at all on the side. We all have our obstacles and something in the way. But here's the thing that keeps me from getting too jaded. When I hadn't written anything for 6 month relearning to walk, some industry heavyweights were warm and more than welcoming at lunch to have this local guy with none of their credentials and background sit and speak the business with them. When I was living in a Salvation Army shelter, Richard Garriott gave me an hour of his time after the screening of his documentary. I might be the luckiest guy in the world for the opportunities I've been allotted if not for some of the circumstances in which I had them.
No matter how low I've spot I've been, when I've just kept trying, something has always opened up. I don't know if it'll ever be a career for me. Maybe it isn't. But whenever I've been able to show up, there's always been a seat at the table for me. Maybe this is me taking my rare dip into idealism, but I'd like to think that's just in part because I continue to make the effort to show up at the table."
When I made that closing comment above, it was in reference to all the people that moan and complain about being censored when they say or do something they know full well is going to be inflammatory and offensive. Whether it stuff like this, someone pulling a Don Imus, or some politician getting themselves in hot water, or just flat out some of the people I've seen here or elsewhere trying to advocate "absolute free speech; they are usually in truth advocating freedom from consequence and being called out on their B.S. Hence while so often in discussions similiar to this, that side of it pulls out the First Ammedment even though 90% of the time they aren't talking about a situation in which the it actually applies; government suppression of speech. They are often just grasping at any excuse they can pull find to not be called racists, sexists, bigots or some other variation of asshole."
Yeah and bear in mind, considering the typical subject matter and characters in GTA, I'm not sure if you're supposed to want to live in the world's Rockstar creates. Well at least in the pockets of those cities Rockstar let's us explore. GTA wouldn't be GTA if it were all just Brentwood and Orange Co. The grime is part of what makes Liberty City and will make Los Santos work. The criminal underworld isn't all mansions and caged tigers.
I never said her wanting to destroy time for the sake of power wasn't selfish. I just said it was selfishness I could endorse. Remember, you're doing a series on villians here. For the most part, even when the motives are understandable they are going to take to unlikable means to acheive their goals.
Maybe it's because I fnd both Rinoa and Squall profoundingly annoying, but her jonesing for that solder-boy doesn't inspire my inner Chris Rock to say "I'm not saying she should have done it, but I understand." This isn't a misunderstanding of her motives according to the theory. I' was reading up on this theory ten years ago and I like it applied to the game. I just don't think that theory makes her any more likeable.
Maybe you find that romantic. but selfish and having no regard for the lives and existence of almost everyone else that's existed is still evil to me. I don't care if that's for money, power, romance, or trying to save baby pandas. I consider evil some combination of a dangerous disregard for others either through hatred of others an extreme selfishness. I think Rinoa/Ulimecia qualifies in spades."
That said, that chick is evil. If for no other reason I can at least get behind all of the destruction and destroy timelines and history in the name of power. Presumeably in one's reality, there's only on universe and it's history to conquey and dominate. Doing it in the name of chasing a romance novel moments? You just take a weekend to go to down on a bottle of Bicardi, a tub of ice cream and move on the next one. Naw, that's just selfishness I can't endorse. That's not just evil, that's insulting to anything that's ever existied in that world. :)
@Layton The S.I.D. thing is totally new to me. Thanks for sharing that on"
I'm always for revisiting a game for more discussion as Rob says. If there's anything I've not cared for it's how quickly games fall out of regular discourse after release because of the preview heavy nature games coverage has always seemed. Heck for as horrendously overrated as I felt Heavy Rain and Alan Wake, I'm not so great it was a good thing that nearly a month or so after the reviews hit, some people seemed to forget they ever came out unti; year end award discussion hit in December last year. Whicb surprised me considering how much critics talked up their siginificance leading to and at release. Sure it's a good excuse to revisit patches and what issues may have been fixed, but frankly I think it's healthy every once in a while just to let a game simmer for a few months and revisit our initial reactions and reassess our in the moment thoughts of them for a multitude of reasons."
And with all due respect to the above reference to Tony Hawk, story modes were less a cause of the fall of that franchise than a symptom of the problem of trying to find hooks to justify a yearly release. THUG was five games in at that pace and even if that was the point the franchise started "reaching in the eyes of some it wasn't until American Wasteland that any significant dip in critical reception start. In an industry perhaps at times overly concerned at customization for its own sake at times, I'd argue that created skater career mode might have been as if not more welcomed than seen as detrimental at the time.
I still trust Harmonix at this stage to still crank out a good dance game regardless of how ridiculous this story mode seems. I'm much more concerned with their potential to wear out their welcome in a few years a la the plastic instruments bubble than this. I just find this goofy in a manner I already find the notion of pop-locking in front of a Kinect in the first place. "