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I agree ethical consistency is a good goal to strive for. But the foundations of the various ethical schools themselves, be them utilitarian or some more absolute systems, are not logical or consistent with anything else as they're axiomatic and based on someone's arbiterate idea about what is 'good to do'.

Choosing a particular idea about what is "good to do" is not inherently illogical. What little I know of Peter Singer's utilitarianism suggests to me that it is logical and consistent. Like other ethical systems, it just isn't necessarily right about what is "good and bad".

Toefur wasn't saying that the acts were analogous, but that the arguments he gave in defence of them were comparable with yours.

This is really my main beef with PETA:

In the context, "my main nut cutlet" would have been more diplomatic.

Our digestive system is preppaired to be omnivorous, so... we can eat meat, IMO.

That's a compelling argument, but the same logic could be used to justify cannibalism.

It is this thing that ALWAYS gets out of hand...

What you describe as something getting "out of hand" is the taking of an argument to its logical conclusion, which is crucial to rational investigation.

You're right about soya milk though!

This is a really cute character, though the standing frame leans over to screen-left a little. It looks quite natural though, children do slump. It might be nice to have an idle animation where he shifts to leaning screen-right.

Also, when he rotates, he spins around a point below his backpack. I think it would look better if he rotated around a point between his feet. As another small, point, the size of the bag straps changes a little as he spins. Aside from that it looks supergood.

The only other thing I'd suggest would be that you ignore this advice:

dude, make him a little bit slimmer, taller, and shrink his head 1/2 the size and make it in more of an egg shape, not a bowling ball.

"As God As My Witness..." is something I hear a lot in U.S. television and films, but it makes no sense.

Are you sure you're not just mishearing "As God is my witness"?

You're right, I was probably hearing "GodÃ,  IS" for "God AS" a lot of the time. But I'm not the only idiot person who's been confused, and others have gone on to write and say "God AS". This is obviously not as widespread as I thought, but it happens. It's similar to people hearing "Could've" and going on to write and say "Could of". That's probably far more common that this God-witness business!

It's a natural consequence of the human tendency towards hyperbole. We dilute a metaphor through over-use, and then add "literally" in order to raise its impact above the casual use of the phrase.

I see your point, and I hadn't thought about that. I don't agree that "literally" rejuvinates a metaphor though. Adding "literally" is the dilution. It undermines the metaphor because metaphors aren't understood literally.

If I say "I could LITERALLY eat the contents of Generic Fat Man's fridge," there's a conflict between what I mean to say and the way I say it. I think adding "literally" clouds the clarity of a metaphor.

I should have mentioned that I wasn't certain which version of the phrase Gone With The Wind used. I had presumed it to be "As God As" before I'd heard "As God Is".

I'm convinced that people say "As God As" but I thought it was implicit in my first post that I also believed it to be a corruption of "As God Is". Perhaps I wasn't very clear!

Google[/url] recognises 'As .. is' even more than 'As .. as'.

AGA says the opposite. I'm currently trying to avoid using Google, so I can't check.

why we Brits frequently use "literally" when we mean "virtually".

I've also never heard this.

Really? If you listen carefully during the current heatwave I'm sure you'll hear someone exclaim "I'm literally melting in here!" This happens a lot, I'm sure I've read it mentioned in a dictionary.

Perhaps I just talk to more idiots than the rest of you guys!

This conversation reminded me of George Orwell's essay "The Politics and the English Language" in which he discusses dying metaphors and other problems in English writing.

I'd never read that, many thanks for drawing my attention to it Mash. It is interesting that the extract from the Communist pamphlet sounded far less tired to me than it did to Orwell. That sort of language may have been worn out in 1946 but a lot of modern social commentary lacks even borrowed fervour.

The first game I played all the way through was Pleurghburg, and mighty good it was too!

7 Days a Skeptic. The first time my sheets needed to be cleaned since I was five.

So your sheets have only been cleaned once since you were five?

"With Steve as my wheel-man, we'll pull off this bank robbery without a hitch."

That makes perfect sense (presuming Steve is a good driver), but "As Steve as my wheel-man..." does not.

I am mildly pleased that you described my petty ramblings as a hub-bub, though.

[EDIT]

Didn't you just answer your own question?

I didn't really have a question. I was just interested in any other examples people might have. The "frog in your throat" thing is great. It reminded me of another great phrase:

"Sweet FA" meant sweet Fanny Adams (I'm not sure of the spelling of her surname). She was an American woman who was murdered and dismembered. Her name became a crude nickname for the cheap meat eaten by the U.S. Navy, and finally came to mean "something inconsequential".

Which is quite sad really.

EDIT: I don't know why I thought Fanny Adams was American, the Wikipedia article seems pretty well researched. Curse my memory! I know that Sweet FA is used as an alternative to swearing, I just like the way its origins are so circuitous.

[Gone With the Wind]

"As God As My Witness..." is something I hear a lot in U.S. television and films, but it makes no sense.

It has long baffled me that an incoherent phrase could be so popular simply because it sounds like it means something. As far as I could tell the most famous example of it is the end of Gone With the Wind but that didn't help explain it.

I though that the phrase must have originally been "With God as My Witness", but in the film Elizabeth a character insists that he is telling the truth "As God is my Witness".

That's a far more powerful statement. "With God as my Witness" just means God can see you. "As God is my Witness" means that the statement you make is true to the same extent that God is your witness.

Sorry for this boresome post, perhaps everyone already new this, or think the origins of odd phrases is dull.

I'd be interested if anyone knows the origins of odd modes of expression. I can't see why Americans (again) are so keen on saying "I could care less" for "couldn't care less", or why we Brits frequently use "literally" when we mean "virtually".

I only like them insofar as they relate to the Mighty Boosh, who used them as sound insulation I believe.

The sequel had a few good ideas. The first had a few more, but they were both somewhat flat. The best idea was the underdeveloped East India Company's plot for domination of the seas.

I would have had more about that, and less water-wheel fights and seemingly endless scenes in which characters wait before shooting barrels of rum. Just shoot them! Stop looking at the rum and shoot it! I've been waiting what feels like an hour... Captain Jack's back. Perhaps he'll shoot the rum? Thanks you.

I loved this game but I hate myself for only getting 345 points and not getting the girl.

Please continue making more games in this style. It's like adventure gaming concentrated: low-res, high-puzzle.

One tiny thing that bothered though me:

Spoiler

Finding a gun in Scotland Yard, and when you 'use' the desk officer Piet says something about her carrying a gun. British police don't carry guns as a marrer of course. This is entirely unimportant though, I don't think realism matters too much in a game like this!

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Thanks again, sorry for my mini-gripe.

I think the problem you will find is that any alternative to operate will, in the mind of the adventure gamer, be synonymous with 'Use'. I would suggest you go with MrCollossal's suggestion of 'Interact', it's certainly more flexible than 'Operate'.

I'd also that you replace 'Use' with something like 'Use Inv' or 'Use Item' so that players don't forget that it only relates to inventory items. Another possibility would be to allow users to pick up inventory items by left-clicking and make 'Use Inv' unneccessary.

A reasonable adventure called Teen Agent:
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_t_z/teen_agent.html

You have to pay to download from that link. What a dispicable site.

Now that's UNreasonable...

UNreasonable meaning UNawesome!

From the Makers of Broken Sword and BASS, Lure of the Temptress:
http://www.gamershell.com/download_1769.shtml

A reasonable adventure called Teen Agent:
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_t_z/teen_agent.html

And here's a link to some of the best AGS games, but there are lots of good ones besides these:

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=102

I love the idea of a monochrome game, and the 50s concept suits that perfectly. The screenshot is nice and the bookcase is particularly good.

The lighting is a bit of a problem though. You seem to have a spotlight casting a shadow on the wall, and a soft-fill light illuminating most of the room. The trouble is that your soft fill-light casts no shadows, so the near side of the desk is very dar, but the floor beneath it is well lit.

I would suggest turning shadows on for your soft light. I'd also suggest you think about faking GI in the render rather than in post. Add a gentle soft-light with no shadow on the far side of the back wall to simulate the reflected light.

Also, if you want areas of the room to be in murky shadow, set up a negative light to keep the corners of the room dark and mysterious.

Hope that's helpful,

-Ali

I'm really enjoying this game, and not just for it's nostalgic value. It has captured something of the charming simplicity of older puzzle/adventures that prioritised exploration and atmosphere over character and narrative. It's a refreshing change and a lot of fun. Thanks Mordalles!

While I'm posting I might as well mention a couple of bugs:

Spoiler

Both in medieval world:

The squirrel appears in bizzare positions on interiors - in the middle of the black border.

On the first screen of the world, if I stand far to the left and talk to the merchant on the far right, Piet walks off the little ramp and levitates right across the screen to the merchant. He goes back to ground-level after the conversation, so it's not a big problem!

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Thanks again!