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m0ds: I read Captain Blood as "Commander Blood" and was expecting a reference to the really weird game of that name. As it is, I expect there's a reference to the poopy old pirate book instead.

I'll keep my peeled eyes open for the MI reference when I go see it...

Turning history into a comic book?

The Cartoon History of the Universe is absolutly the BEST example of this. Volume 1 is the greatest, volume 2 is cool and I'm going to buy volume 3 RIGHT NOW.

I've never learned so much about history!!!

It's not a "religious text" though. So I think it probably is allowed to count.

It's tricky, since you have to distinguish between fantasy as the dictionary would define it, and Fantasy as in the genre people asociate with the word. If only people would bother to make new words when they make new genres, as it gets pretty darn confusing when you have to take into account the popularly accepted meaning of a word as seperate but equally widly used as it's REAL meaning!!

I suspect that films catagorised fantasy are less selected on the basis of their Fantasy connections, and more for their being a bit wacky.

It's pretty obvious that this thread is about Fantasy clichés though, and with a view to that, I'd ask:

Can anybody here (seeing as this is a reasonably creative society in theory) come up with a Fantasy premice/story that DOESN'T feel clichéd?

The problem is that any story told in that Fantasy setting imediatly starts to feel clichéd, and in fact, whenever I read one where they're trying to break with convention, I react baddly and toss the book aside out of the train window. Also, if the story centers on characters and literary type issues (y'know what I mean, broken homes, depression, head lice etc) people expecting a fantasy novel will be let down, and people who would read that sort of thing wouldn't even pick it up, because of the setting... I'd like to know how anyone would suggest the Fantasy genre is able to progress without losing it's audience, or feeling clichéd...

GAH! Origin of the Species!!! Why didn't I think of that!

That's GOT to be the most influnential book ever. It's utterly 100% changed the way we think about ourselves as part of the world (although it's hard to really grasp how massive a chance in idiology this was, because we weren't around when there was only creationism)

The communist mannifesto is totally NOT the most important book ever. Not least because the principals put forward in it have totally failed to gain wide spread agreement. Sure, it was used to spark a few revolutions under false pretenses, and sure there are a handful of commie places left in the world (although none of them really conforming to the mannifesto) but it's presumptions and assertions will never achieve the blind faith following, and World View shattering re-think that Darwin's ramblings have managed. (Perhps because they're even more deeply flawed... But that's just me being honest.)

I think more needs to be said. As I've never heard of either of these books, and simply because you've told me that nothing more needs to be said, I'm feeling a little dumb, so I'm ascociating these books with feeling bad, which means these books are rubbish. Set me right!

ALSO:
My Mohammad book is DEFINATLY a massivly influential and not TECHNICALLY religious book. I don't know if I made it's not-a-religious-text fature clear enough before, but it isn't, and yet it has a massive effect on a religion (it's not Islamic law to follow the prophet's example, but everyone does anyway, so it's got a huge audience)

I read the picture of Dorian Grey just recently, and I can happily say it probably wasn't worth it. Sure, it's nice to know the story (it's definatly a good story) but the way Oscar Wild writes is excruciating! None of the characters are at all sympathetic, and they all speak in exactly the same way!!! ARRRG!!!!

Interestingly, I only really read it to warm myself up for Will Self's recent re-working of the story, and the parallels between Wild and Self are un-missable. They BOTH are un-able to write dialogue in a way that isn't EXACTLY the same way as they speak (I'm only guessing about the way Wild spoke, but you definatly get the impression he spoke like that. And will Self DEFINATLY talks the way he writes). They both manage to often lose the interesting and exciting part of the story under a quagmire of irritating and dull meandering. I won't go on.

But whilst I'm on Will Self, does "Great Apes" count as Fantasy? Or do we only include goblin fantasy etc?

Oh oh oh, STARDUST by Niel Gaimen is definatly fantasy, and that's bill (althogh it DOES have a strong element of go-someplace-to-get-something and seriese-of-unconnected-dangerous-events to it...)

it was the screen shots that gave me doubts!!! Pretty, yes, but totally not what Broken Sword has looked like before, so will it feel like a Broken Sword game?!?!?!?!?!!?!??!?!?! I JUST DON'T KNOW!!!

HA HA HA
OF COURSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A
"homosexual zionist plot"
HA HA HA
WHAT AN IDEA! FAHSHAR AND SNORT! HO HO, THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY!

(aims at oranges with sniper rifle)



PS:
Sniper rifle reference not meant it an offencive topical way (if it had been, I'd have mentioned that Naranjas was at a gas station at night... But I didn't! And I'm not making light of the killings in Virginia!)

wow, I bet you just mentioned talking to shop owners to set you up with a GENIOUS "giving head" gag later in the thread. You're wild man! WILD!

Listen son, you should be in your pijamas when you're watching the simpsons, and be under the covers before the credits are over. That's the northern way!

Also: What changes in priority have there been (from the story telling perspective) since the last 2 games?

thanks for the hints and thinkings, I may have to take this over to the technical forum now though (otherwise I'll get in trouble for talking technical in an announcement zone!!)

That's beautiful. Although I'd be careful using that style for all the characters in the game. What makes this pirate so marvelous is the fact that it's so unique. I think hat having a lot of characters with such minimalist facial features could prevent any one character becoming really memorable. It's just an idea, but I am often concerned by games that take radicle (and gorgeous) visual styles like this, but because of the stylised aproach to drawing people, characters become a little interchangable!

But that's me just looking for bad news to give. I didn't mind the foot-swap in the animation, it just makes it a little more cute (like the guy isn't really sure on his feet, and a but shuffly-stumbly even when making big sweeping motions like that spin).

The talking animation is crazy-cool!

the first guy is cool (although alarmingly lacking gentiles!)

The second guy looks like his hips are glued on at the wrong angle!! It'd be alarming if I wasn't so used to seeing it. I should probably get someone without a lazy eye to help me straighten mine out...

YOUR PICTURES ARE COOL!

EDIT:
I really love the thought of being able to get amateur games sold in shops (although probably not games shops, as they're often quite snooty). Just the idea of LOCAL computer games tickles me.

m0ds, you're a UK boy aren't you?! What are you doing posting at this time of night!!?!?! It's almost 12:00!

oh man, I just realised I was giving advice when Bruised said she didn't want it! I'm such a dick! Sorry.

Ok, here's my post re-edited to avoid advice giving:

[off topic section]

Come on luv, buck up! It's not as bad as all that! You're just in a bit of a rut, it'll pass!






EDIT:
Who's melia?

ooooh, I forget it's name, but the book about Mohammad that isn't the Qur'an, and is all about the prophet's example and things.

I think it counts because it's not strictly a religious text (so it's not dis-counted by the rules of the thread) and yet it plays a whopping part in modling the behavior and social workings of the fasted growing religion on the planet (and has been doing so for WAAAAAY longer than the communist mannifesto has even existed!)

I don't think there's a Christian equivalent, as all the Jesus stuff was put in the Bible... Maybe there's something of matching impact in China and Bhuddist countries, but I've never heard of it.



EDIT:
scrap all that.
It's actually "Where the Wild things are".
Closly followed by the atlas.

you know I once went to an exhibit about artwork in children's books, and there was no reference to WTWTA at all!! I almost complained to the curator!

I still like you m0ds! I like most people round here, particularly Squinky, who made my half-assed re-hash of my puzzle game look cool and feel fresh! (Although I know he's gonna get best the non-adventure-game award for his damn mittens shooter game because the people who were at mittens will vote for it, and zombies are cooler than vegetables! GAH! What you people don't know is that I only made VPXT because I thought that non-adventures was the only catagory where to competition was weak enough for me to be in with a chance!)

Anyway, as for suicidal tendancies, I had a friend who knocked them out of the window by learning C++. Only he wasn't expecting C++ to help, it just suddenly grabbed his attention, and gave him something to be passionate about.

It might sound like an odd suggestion, but try taking up lots and lots of new activities, then filtering out the ones you don't end up thinking are cool. If nothing else it'll keep you too busy to have time to worry about general alienation and depression (which, if you keep your fingers crossed REALLY tight, could end up having been a faze all along, and go away without expencive therapy and electrical shock treatment, which causes memory loss anyway).

And if it's not a phase, get hypnotherapy. If nothing else it looks cool on your CV!

I think it's interesting that I have complete patience with hidious clichés in fantasy literature, but can't read even half of a pot-boiler derivative sci-fi novel.

I just treat Fantasy as mills-and-boon for nerds (and I include myself in the nerd-grouping. I AM on a computing degree course...) and it makes for an easy choice for what to take on long train journeys.

This is something I think that Terry Pratchett (spelled wrong sorry) isn't given enough credit for. I know lots of people say his books are stupid, his voice as an auther is irritating and so on, and while I don't agree, I can see their point. But every singe Diskworld book is full of excellent and well balanced satires and attacks on Fantasy cliché (obviously, considerably more overtly in the earlyer books). I can't get enough of the Diskworld books, and I don't care who knows it. They ain't works of literary genious, but then I read too many of those!

As for clichés, how about "WE MUST GO TO A DANGEROUS FAR AWAY PLACE AS A GROUP TO COLLECT AN ITEM! AND IN DOING SO WE WILL FACE UN-CONNECTED YET DANGEROUS EVENT AFTER UN-CONNECTED YET DANGEROUS EVENT!!!"

That one dates back to the ancient greeks and beyond!

Every now and then, people reference my letter in PCG, and pass comment on it.

I'm afraid to say, that I had a few printed, so I regularly have no idea which letter people are referencing, and as such I don't know if you're laughing at me, or with me. I suspect at me. But I guess I can cope with it.   :'(

EDIT: The exult thing looks cool! Maybe I'll be able to go back and wup those pirates in the face after all. That'll teach them to laugh at my glass sword (and the fact I could do diddly poop with the spell book I found on the castle roof...)

Did you ever find the magic carpet? That was the coolest bit in the game!