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When I was very little I read (I think in the National Geographic or similar) about a woman from perhaps some Amazonian tribe (or similar) who was taken, taught to speak english and educated, then spoke about her experience and the differences between cultures etc. I've tried searching for this for some time without success, anybody have any idea of where to find this story or maybe it rings a bell to you? I remember finding it fascinating but unfortunately cant' remember enough key details to track it down...

Glastonbury

Really gutted that Blur and Prodigy are apparently clashing on Sunday night

Want to go to Bestival too but my funds are low. There's also a festival in Brighton that sounds pretty neat and within cycleable distance. Man, so many festivals, so little time

Those who 'get' twitter do, and they use it. Those who don't, don't. And that's fine. There's no need to convince either side of the other side's POV. Hence why I'm disregarding the inevitable discussion.

I'm @rockvoh and I'll be adding some of yous.

Also, the 'paying' comment Biz Stone made referred to 'pro' accounts, whatever that means other than implied additional functionality. Regular twitter accounts, he said, would always be free.

Nope, no need to convince anyone of anything, however it would be unfortunate if people didn't use a great free service just because they don't understand it or assume it's something other than it is. A lot of people misunderstand what Twitter is about. I assumed it was just like facebook status updates until I actually did some research and discovered the way in which it could be used, and I'm glad that I did.

Twitter is very useful as a source of news/information. I follow people who post interesting news items and share interesting bits and pieces from the internet. When I check my twitter once a day, I have about 20 posts to read, and usually they are all links to interesting articles or videos etc., with a short description as to what they are. I can provide instant feedback to news items or comments that others post, or vice versa. It is very useful and interesting when used right. I find that most people who dislike Twitter simply don't understand how best to use it, or haven't used it at all and assume it's just a simplified version of facebook.

There are people who update 20 times a day to say that they're eating a sandwich, but you just stop following them, problem solved.

Twitter is very useful and I think it's here to stay in one form or another. Maybe some other micro-blogging service will replace Twitter, but the idea behind it should stay, I think.

It's a gen-y narcacissitic flogometer to make you feel like your worthless lives are worth telling the world about. They are not.

It can be used in that way, yup. I have stopped following a few people who although I like them in real life, on Twitter they seem to think that everyone wants to know every mundane details of their lives. But as I said, when used right it's actually a very useful tool for keeping up-to-date with everything from political news to gaming news, or even just reading someones live-blogging of a GDC talk. When used in such a way, Twitter becomes awesome.

Pssht pshht. I can see this is upsetting you. Go and do some research or something useful with your time, perhaps? I can't be arsed to explain simple things to you, it's not hard to figure it out yourself if you want to, but I can see you're very set on your viewpoint and aren't going to change it no matter what I say. So it might be best for you to focus your attention on something that doesn't wind you up quite so much, and that you know more about.

Didn't want to get into an argument on this thread but when someone starts talking bollocks, it's hard to resist. I'm going to stop now - hudders I doubt you're going to, but please research a little before making such statements on this thread. I'm going to stop posting now as otherwise I'm going to get involved in a retarded youtube-comments-style argument loop with you in which neither of us will win.

It's about a bit more than hoping she now gets a fair trial in Laos after everything that has currently happened to her. Evidence is strongly pointing towards her having been raped in jail. The jail is known for the violence that happens within its walls, including beatings, water torture and fake executions carried out to terrify the prisoners. Some prisoners have had their genitals burned. Laos has kept her away from lawyers and did not inform the UK that she had been arrested for months - breaking international consular agreements - with the excuse that they did not have access to a fax machine. They brought her trial forward by a year, which although it has since been delayed, was initially brought forward to a time before any representatives or lawyers had been allowed to see her... despite her having been in prison for already around 8 months.

Even if she did get a "fair" trial in Laos now, there are questions to be answered. And quite frankly I don't think simply having a fair trial at this point - after everything - is going to cut it.

I'm not going to respond to any people who have the "she deserves to die" attitude because it would be a waste of time. But, Hudders, you are completely incorrect to say that letters will have no effect. Why would you say this, as though you absolutely know for a fact? Particularly as there is a long history of such things working quite effectively - you just need to spend a little time reading and researching to find that out. In fact, it commonly works. So please feel free to oppose it as an action for whatever reason, but don't talk utter bollocks.

Good show, Eggie! The facebook group will help spread the word so to speak, but the real help will come from people emailing her local MP to pressure people into taking action quickly. Even if only ten people do it, it's better than nothing. So thanks!

[If you want to help, please do the following:]

Hey all,

If you could spare a moment, perhaps you could check out the story of Samantha Orobator: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8031587.stm

She is currently being held in Phonthong prison in Laos, where she has been since last August after being arrested for having heroin in her luggage.

Phonthong prison is reknowned for violence and human rights violations that occur within its walls, and british prisoners have died there before. After a few months of being detained there, Samantha "fell pregnant", despite that it is a women-only prison.

Her trial has been brought forward by a year to start tomorrow, which the legal charity Reprieve believe is an attempt to get her trial over and done with before she can speak to a lawyer and the story gains the wider attention of the press. If convicted, she faces a firing squad.

Whether or not she was intentionally smuggling the drugs, the fact is that she's just 20 years old - three years younger than me, not more than a young girl from a deprived background. Maybe someone put the drugs in her luggage, maybe someone convinced her it was easy and a quick way of earning a bit of cash without letting her know the dangers she was getting herself into. Maybe she knew exactly what she was doing. But nobody deserves what she is going through; she deserves a second chance. We all make mistakes, and when you're a young girl from a deprived background and a not-so-great area of London, those traps can be a lot easier to fall into.

Because this is the AGS forum, I'm sure there'll be some level of discussion and debate and people flaming and arguing. But I'm asking those of you who want to help to, to read on. I contacted Reprieve and asked how we can help to make a difference. If you want to help, please do the following:

1. Join this facebook group and invite everyone on your list to join and take action (this is the kind of thing FB groups were invented for, not "I secretly want to punch slow walking people in the back of the head!): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74873457534 . This will help spread awareness. Remember that every little helps right now.

2. Email Samantha's local MP and Gordon Brown, detailing your concerns for Samantha and demanding action to be taken ASAP, before it is too late. Details below:

Harriet Harman: harmanh@parliament.uk / Tel: 0207 219 4218
Gordon Brown: https://email.number10.gov.uk/Contact.aspx

Was made redundant last year, still haven't found anything. Even though the games industry is apparently recession proof!

Andail, are you still living in Brighton?

Putzig putzig liebe liebe?

Du hasst eine putzige nase!

Mein Spatz, Mein Liebling!

Guess where I learned my German.

PS. Haben Sie Atomsprengköpfe?

The only thing you need to know is:

Putzig Putzig Liebe Liebe.

If you say it earnestly enough, most German people will instantly take a liking to you because of it.

Also leo.org is useful.

Hey all,

I long ago lost all the files used to create my AGS game so I only have the finished game left. I need to rip the sprites/backgrounds from this game quite urgently. Anybody got any advice on how I could go about this?

I tried searching the forums for similar questions but can't find anything, even though I'm sure someone must have asked this before....

What a fucker that guy is! It would be funny except that I am somewhat retarded and don't see the joke.

If I was him I would have packed my own dinner to take on the plane, probably consisting of some kind of sandwich and a flask of tea. I don't feel sorry for this man at all; in fact I think he should have been forced to eat his food AND some of Richard Branson's excrement by one of the flight attendants. Then he'd have something to complain about. Meanwhile, children in Africa are starving to death and this man is writing a "comedic" complaint about food. What is the world coming to? A child in Zimbabwee would probably literally explode if he ate that cookie. I can't even express my rage adequately. I'm going to go downstairs, sit in my armchair and pretend to understand things so that I can write about them on internet forums.

So did brighton!

If you don't want to work in the games industry then GET OUT!!!! Go on, GET OUT!!!! I'm super cereal.

I'm going to pass over the "I'm not going to enter this competition because of whatever reason!" comments because if you don't wanna be in the games industry or whatever, that's cool, but not what this thread is for.

To all that are interested: as someone who has been working in the games industry for a number of years, I can say that having such a thing on  your CV is definitely an advantage for getting work in the games industry. This game, however small the dev team may be or whatever else, is going to be a commercially released game (I believe the release date is March). Having things like this on your CV shows dedication. Even if you're only applying for production roles, or publishing studio roles, it will still look good on your CV. The games industry wants people who show love and excitement for what they do, who prove that they are creative and passionate and want to work in the industry. Entering (not just winning - keep your design in your portfolio!) this competition will be a show of that and help those of you with no experience to stand out in the plethora of games industry wannabes who apply for jobs every day.

Sorry for the terribly written paragraph above, I'm in a hurry but you get the gist.

Except it's not, it's a real dev studio based in london and you have the chance to put it on your CV/portfolio if you win, which will give you extra credit if you're trying to break into design in the games industry.

Honestly I fucking despair at this forum. It is a game making forum right? You do make games from time to time? Do any of you actually want to be in the games industry or have any clue how to go about it??

I think it's a little unreasonable to expect them to give everyone free use of the engine they've developed so you can knock about in it yourself, no?

I'm sure it will still be fun, you'll just have to sketch out the level you've designed. Which is not all that abnormal in the games industry anyway.

Hello all,

I thought you might all be interested in this level design competition run by the developers of Plain Sight.

Plain Sight is a fun multiplayer game created by a small dev studio based in London. They're all very cool guys, and you could be too... if you win this competition

More info here: http://www.plainsightgame.com/node/3673

Ahhh Reading is not comparable to Glastonbury. Really! Glastonbury is something else it has everything from standup comedy and circuses, to art installations and ... oh, also music of course. And fabulous food!