Messages

Now, this looks magnificent! It is a splendid recreation of the sets and characters. There is a lot of possibilities, too. A surgery mini-game, perhaps? Spot-the-shrapnel!

M*A*S*H was a splendid show, which I am quite fond of. Why, I can hear the titles tune now.

[does not]

I don't see how posting on a forum is any different to tweeting from an account with relatively few followers to very little engagement. Even if the teachers had behaved irresponsibly (they haven't), digging up the tweets of people with no profile and publishing them in a national newspaper can be ethically troubling even when the content of the tweets is genuinely disturbing.

To be clear, the Odyssey could have a place in any literature class, but it definitely does not have a place on lots of curriculums. This is an absurd and calculated overreaction from anti-intellectual conservatives.

I represent Homer, and as the ancient greek saying goes: "every non-greek is a barbarian" 

Seriously, though, as the above poster also said, you can't be a teacher of literature and say nonsense like "I'd rather die before teaching Homer again" & "hahahaha, I finally managed to take Homer out!" - you clearly lack the skills for the job. If kids don't get it, your job is to teach them what of value is there; if you don't see anything of value, it'd be fine if you weren't teaching literature but not fine as things are.

Oh, indeed. Of course, all pre-faced by the fact that it is my opinion on the matter. I consider it entirely correct, but it is reasonable to disagree.

To re-iterate, however, such a hideous attitude towards Homer and their very profession - IF it is TRUE - is still not reason for inviting an internet hate barrage. Very poor form. A veil of anonymity would have been the decent thing to do, in this article. Truly, if I ever do write articles myself, I shall remember this principle.

(As for the barbarian question - it is an amusing quote! But with the vast influence of the greeks upon the world that came after them, could it not be said that everyone is greek? :3 )

Can you truly blame, Cassiebsg? Goodness, all children's programs look entirely the same nowadays. Still, a clever trick!

[does not]

Truly, articles such as these are built for people like I to read, and go wild over. However, that same reason also means that I am particularly distrustful to such articles. This seems too outrageous to be entirely true. As the likely intended fish for this bait, I find it mediocre, odious and irresponsible.

Although I will concede that I think that if you, an English teacher, consider the Odyssey 'trash', then I jolly well think you have no blasted business what-ever in that field. Most children will likely find it quite boring, but it is their inheritance. Withholding it, even if they do not care for it, is frankly abominable. This matters. It is not but a past-time. It is a legacy, and such things are invaluable, no matter how ugly or stodgy. That is, if someone did say that. It seems unclear. This is a slanderous thing to say, if they have not. And even if they did say so, it does not warrant what this article has done.
I am particularly distressed that someone who, allegedly, said so, is presented with a full name but without context. It is simply not done. Particularly if the veracity of that claim is doubtful. Pundits and political figures, entities in 'the great game', can be 'called out'. What is effectively a civilian cannot.

I am sufficiently irritated by the very idea that Homer is outdated 'trash', and that anyone who professes to teach language seems to hold pride in the idea of getting those works scratched off the curriculum, that I would very much like to give them a piece of my mind â€" but I will not. What good would it do? None for me, none for them, what-ever. What good has this done, but given some very unpleasant people a place to pour bile? Particularly if it is not even quite true.
If that 'service' is intended for me, to give me something to shout at, then I decline it. Even if I do care, even if I will not take one step back on the question of Homer, this trial by pillory is utterly unworthy. Frankly, I find it irresponsible. Much more so than the individuals quoted.

Cancel culture is an odious and abominable phenomenon, but the best way to keep it in check is to not participate in it. This irresponsible article does, and it is most unimpressive. It is just about tempting people to succumb to poor form. Taking the necessary but also quite destructive need to speak your mind and turning it into a cudgel.

Now, more generally, curriculum and school literature is always a fine line. Indeed, some would wonder what is the use of teaching literature in the first place. What to teach, and why? What can a child read without damage? What to replace it with? And what is the good and proper thing to read now, at this time?
Of course, that will always be changing. As will the curriculum and the tolerable books. Is the point of teaching literature to give the children an idea of its history, of their legacy? Is the point to give them a certain outlook on life and literature? Is it about giving them a joy of reading, an appreciation of the written word's beauty? All? None?

It is an impossible equation, and yet we bungle on with it all the time. Much like schooling in general, I suppose, but it does mostly work. Agree or disagree on the particulars â€" I cannot imagine that anyone would not wish to give children their legacy, the knowledge that they are owed, the possibilities within that knowledge, and a glimpse of the beauty of all things.


The school library, however, is a different question.

I am forever hearing that tablets and reading devices are the future, since they can hold theoretically infinite books. Where they (or an economic substitute) are available and feasible, they could be a great boon for the school library.
Space is not an object â€" only the devices and the infrastructure, both of which seems to rapidly become a necessity for a 21st century school anyway.
If age appropriate content is an issue, then the pupils could, theoretically, unlock access to more problematic works with age. They could come with warnings, disclaimers, a switch between sanitised and original text. They could come with context, or additional information.
All of which would take work, but it would be work well spent â€" more so than thrashing out which books to bin and which to keep every other year.
With electric books available, and armed with some sort of ratings and warning system, I believe a vast cornucopia of books can be provided to all pupils who seeks them. It does not solve the question of curriculum, but it helps.

I don't see how posting on a forum is any different to tweeting from an account with relatively few followers to very little engagement. Even if the teachers had behaved irresponsibly (they haven't), digging up the tweets of people with no profile and publishing them in a national newspaper can be ethically troubling even when the content of the tweets is genuinely disturbing.

To be clear, the Odyssey could have a place in any literature class, but it definitely does not have a place on lots of curriculums. This is an absurd and calculated overreaction from anti-intellectual conservatives.

I disagree. I think that it is a vital part of a curriculum in the west. However, using the internet outrage phenomenon as a weapon simply because I disagree with you or someone else on this matter would be beastly, that is a certainty. That I do agree with you; that it is quite simply not good tone to mark out civilians as targets on the internet â€" not now, not at this time, not now that the internet has become what it is.

Hap....No, scratch that.  Crappy New Year everone. (I'm sure it will be  )

We do not know yet, after all. 'Have a little faith, baby, have a little faith'. It might be lovely! Or at least enlightening.

On the matter at hand, I am still baffled by the whole proceedings. That it happened - HOW it happened - and what is about to happen now. Particularly that it carries such a stupid name. Danzvare is right. It does sound like a weetabix breakfast. And o! how fitting! The worst of two worlds! Dreary, dry and crunchy, the way to start the day for someone who have no care for it.

Happy new year, all the same! Things may be looking up.

Hark! It is a ghost! The ghost of Polands past! A late arrival, but a welcome one.

[imgzoom]https://s2.imagebanana.com/file/201112/tLd8RfZu.png[/imgzoom]

He seems quite jolly for a forlorn spirit. He brings us vodka.

A fortunate conclusion, at long last.

One should not discount the elderly. Youth does not need to hamper a leader, but neither needs age. Mr Biden has been in this line of work for years, and seventy seven is not the age it used to be. I do believe that death will pass him by for some time. He may die on his post, but then, so might his vice president before him, or anyone else. That mournful angel defies expectations, as Mr Biden could attest. We cannot know.

Nonetheless, onwards for Groggy Joe! Hurrah! Hurrah! It will be a pleasant thing to have such a thing as decency and calm at the top of the tree again.

I wonder, however, what manner of devilry Mr Trump may get up to, for these following three months. He is apparently at one of his golf courses, at time of writing. They would be wise to change the lock to the white house while they can. Not to mention, things will be rather messy from now on, no matter what. Political dead-lock is just the start of it.

If I may be briefly partisan, mr Trump's chief talent as a political entity has been to short-circuit ordinarly political business and diplomacy by sheer force of nastiness and blazing egotism. No trick too knavish, no target too low, no knot too thick to cut. This sheer, childlike method of rule by bullying is the true danger, and I can only hope that it is going out with its main proponent. That governing by semi-concious tweeting is a method found wanting and abolished. Only hope. Without that malign influence, there may be a chance to restore a political apparatus that work, and a household divided that can at least stand one another's presence.

Unless, of course, someone else pick up the very same method.

Another idea is to extend the margin of the picture so that you have some extra space, and then put a sprite for your character down. Then, you can simply move it about the picture to check the scale.

You could do the same by making the character a separate layer that you can move and disable and so forth.

Another idea is to make sure your character sprites are even, memorable numbers. Such as 50 pixels high and 25 wide, like the sample sprite in the Sierra plug-in. Then, you know roughly how big everything relating to the character needs to be.

I don't know why some people make fun of this topic... This is more important than you know...

I can only speak for myself, but humour is one of those things that makes our burdens lighter. This is jolly important, hence why it is of vital importance that you should be prepared to laugh at it.

Because truly, what else is there to do but laugh? This is a farce, and we are all in the boxes together and I imagine that I am not alone in feeling that it is rather dragging on by now and I want a change in scenery. It is, of course, a very important farce that will influence fates and decisions across the world, but a serious matter can stand some jeering and cackling. Frankly, it never deserved being too important to not be taken lightly. It was ridiculous five years ago, it remains so now, only the laughter comes with a more wry and bitter tone now than it did then.

But then, was it ever different? Some things are quite timeless.

Spoiler

[close]

(I do hope these words are enough to post a little picture in between)

To be frank and stern for a moment, I do hope this will be the end of it. I cannot say that Mr Biden strikes me as a particularly exciting candidate, but as long as he is the man to sweep up the china after the elephant bull, it will be quite alright. Meanwhile, Mr Trump may cultivate a less dangerous hobby, perhaps. Like television. We shall see. Lord willing, he will lose interest. The election is not over yet, of course, but I think we can allow ourselves to hope that it will not be as violent and disorderly as it was feared. Maybe.

The Godfather (well, one of them), perchance?

This has been a solace and a refuge these weeks. I am very fond of it, but I must say that the English version is splendid, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOdlhd0CCOw

Gustavus Adolphus Day is coming up on Friday, so I play it quite often this time of year nonetheless, but the hymn is particularly soothing this frightful and dreary year, particularly these bloodied last weeks. Do stay safe.

As an aside, it is always amusing to leaf through the examples in this thread - you never know what you will find!

My liege I thank thee for thine honour bestowed upon me and my fellow knights and I shall gladly take up the mantle of Bearer of the Aurum Aegis with honor

Sire I will gladly take up the quest of hosting the next Sprite Jam Contest.

Also in my normal way of writing, Hurray I'm so happy that I won

Very happy to hear it! Indeed, I really fell for your brave little man. I wish you the best of luck for your leg of the competition!

If you have any questions, you have but to ask!

Sinitrena

An excellent little piece â€" in an odd style I find rather endearing. It looks like a stuffed toy, which brings a lot of amusing possibilities.

Not what I was thinking of, but I can see it.


Congratulations guyNullVal, and welcome to the forums as well!

I do hope I did not entirely mis-interpret the piece - it simply looked cuddly and lovely as well as ferocious. A splendid dragon! I am very fond of the style.

["Witness your DOOM!"]

_{Så förshrekligt.}

I am always happy for good news, but I do believe there is a time and place for anything. Charlie's got the spirit, certainly, but it is a rather wild stab in the dark. If he could have tied the verse selections to Shrek, it would have been quite impressive.

Then again, I cannot say that I am very familiar with Shrek. Charlie may know something that I do not.

Now, a story.
A few odd years ago, a hot air balloon belonging to the city amusement park was caught by high winds and blown out of course, and eventually out to sea. Blown clean over the Kattegat, they made the decision to make an emergency landing on a street in Denmark, lest they would have to spend the night over the North Sea. This resulted in an amusing photograph and, I imagine, a lot of frightened children.

Spoiler

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"Witness your DOOM!"

They do not ordinarily look this menacing, I shall add. That rather makes it worse.

[Sinitrena]

First, my royal apologies. It has been a long week. But here are the results! And more importantly, your prices!

Of course, a word on each piece - in order of appearance.

Sinitrena

An excellent little piece â€" in an odd style I find rather endearing. It looks like a stuffed toy, which brings a lot of amusing possibilities. Say, a brave knightly toy battling evil cursed teddies determined to bring darkness to the nursery. It is simply adorable.

It strikes me as ideal to one of those games where you fly along a level and dodge projectiles. While lancing the enemies, of course. Well done!

Creamy

A pleasing piece, with a complementing selection of colours. It is a solid, matte style, and it would no doubt look excellent in motion.
He looks like a harrowed fellow â€" a sort of anti-knight. Someone less interested in composing love poetry in the cloister, and more about garrotting the black knight in his sleep, if that is what it takes. A Knight Noir, as it were. Sir No-Name de Ardboyld, sent to crack the case with the missing princess and clean up the castle. Jolly good work!

Misj'

It is a very fascinating style, one that almost seem computer rendered. His personality comes through very well indeed, and I like how well his gear complement his silhouette.

While he is a few limbs short of a body, his steely resolve is evident. Indeed, I imagine it could be a game mechanic â€" sacrificing limbs and other delicates at the right puzzles to advance.

The stylised proportions and shape would be excellent for gameplay purposes, as his motions and actions would stand out well, and carry personality. Most excellent work!

guyNullVal

I am very, very fond of this one. It is a splendid little character sprite, and I can already see so many possibilities. Why, his adventures are writing themselves before me as I speak. He has not sword or steed, but he is plucky and adventury, and is not that the most important qualification?

It is the amusing posture, I think, and the silly moustache. It is like a good caricature. The character is clear, distinct and have an excellent personality to it. Moreover, it is very 'practical', as it were. It would be quite simple to complete his different sprite cycles and send him forth. It is very well designed.

I imagine that the Sierra death screens all say 'Ay-ay-ay..!' in the background.

50 copper pieces and a royal commission has been dispatched by letter pigeon. Let us hope he reads the message before he eats it. Well done!

Now truly, all entries were splendid, and took some time to sort through. However, I have managed to list them (it was most difficult), and here are the prizes! It is time for you to be knighted. Please kneel.

Arise, Sir guyNullVal! Bearer of the Aurum Aegis!



All hail Sir Juan Gonzo!
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/SNv0QkV.png[/imgzoom]

Arise, Sir Misj'! Bearer of the Silver Shield!



All hail Sir Amputeux!


Arise, Lady Sinitrena! Bearer of the Bronzen Bulwark!



All hail Sir Richtofen, and Puff the Magic Dragon!
[imgzoom]https://s2.imagebanana.com/file/201004/BVtNM6KD.png[/imgzoom]


Arise, Sir Creamy! Bearer of the Ferrum Fortitude!




All hail Sir Ardboyld!



Long live the Knights of the Blue Cup! Go forth, and may God guide your steps on your great quest, brave knights! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

So! I hereby declare guyNullVal the winner! Your quest, should you accept it, is now to continue the Sprite Jam contest, and make another one of these competitions. Base it upon any word you like.

What say you?

As for the other entrants, I say excellent work! It was a hard choice, and I could not be more pleased with my knights. Excellent work, and thank you for coming!

Heroes of Aegeeseria! The bell has tolled, and I hereby declare the Fellowship of the Blue Cup!

Once again, an excellent selection. I shall retire to compare and judge them, for a few days. Do discuss them. I think they are splendid. I particularly like the vast range of styles.

Expect your rewards then, stout warriors!

A nice bunch of tin cans 

I just realized that the pictures hosted on my blog appear on Mozilla Firefox but not on Google Chrome 

I see it; it is jolly good!

So...my last post to AGS was three years ago. But who can resist drawing a knight? - I can't.

Ha! An excellent return, and a splendid knight, too!

Ha! Ha! Excellent! Excellent, stout Aegeeserians! A splendid selection of knights before me! I am sure they will be valiant and hearty warriors of the blue cup. A wide array of styles and methods. Truly, you have made me worried. Picking between them will be difficult.

I am very fond of them all, and shall sit down to judge them soon.

However, the more the merrier. Is there anyone else with a knight in the wings who need an extention to finish it?

I fear that I shall have to withdraw. My project will simply not do, certainly not this side of Christmas. It was rather more to chew than I would have expected.

Best of luck, however, to everyone still at work!

For interest, my idea was based upon an ancient, ancient game, called B1: Nuclear Bomber. It has not aged well at all, but it is a curiosity. A sort of text parser game, set inside the cockpit of a strategic bomber.

I might try this again, at some point.

Fascinating entries, by the by! Well done!

[Sprite Jam - Bring Me Champions]

Sprite Jam - Bring Me Champions

Goode morrows, ye valiant ladies and gentlemen of Aegeeseria! Welcome to this round of the most fun Sprite Jam competition!

I, your king, require brave and bold knights to quest for the ancient blue cup, that mystical elder artefact of Aegeeseria. Therefore, I ask of you to provide me with:

Knights of the Blue Cup.

You shall make a sprite of a Knight, and submit a picture of it in this thread. You have 3 weeks to complete it, although the crown is prepared to provide an extension, if needed.

As I am the king, I shall judge the submitted entries and dub the winner. I do, however, encourage you to discuss them. I also encourage you to provide a little description of your sprite.

I will judge them based on their look, their usefulness as a game sprite, and how well they use the theme. Do not hesitate to experiment with the concept. A knight of the night flying a kite, for instance.
Concept art and rendered models (even photographs of sculptured plants) are also allowed, although I shall consider their future use as a sprite when I judge the entries.

There are no restrictions of size and colour.

You have until the 22nd of October to make and post your Knight in the thread.

If you require an extension, do not hesitate to ask. It can be arranged, within reason. So, grab your lance, mount your charger and sally forth and bring me a knight!

Summary:

Make a sprite based on the word Knight.

Post it in this thread.

The Deadline is 22nd of October, Year of our Lord 2020.

Do not hesitate to ask, if you have questions.

My word! I am happy to see that my troupe made such an impression! Thank you kindly for this award, and thank you to all participants!

Truly, I am pleased that the concept sketch worked as well as I had hoped. I have been teaching myself how to draw and sketch more reliably recently, and it is pleasing to see that it seems to be working.

For the other entries, I shall say that I find them very intriguing. Jack's neon balette danceresse is splendid - flowing and plunging in one simple motion. I also find Creamy's piece quite compelling in its peculiar oddity. It is fascinating, and strangely ancient.
I am also very amused by Cassiebsg's piece, in all its blocky delight. It is almost cubistic in nature. Most amusing - most Danish. Silly, in a quite pleasing manner.

Now, once I have installed my trophy on the mantel-piece, I shall start the next leg of the competition shortly. Keep an eye out, and keep those pencils handy.

I am unsure if this is a permissible entry, as it is not a 'spritey-sprite', but rather a concept sheet. Do take a look, and see if it fits the conditions.

Spoiler

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'The Blade-Dancers of Xamokolos are the sacred dancers of the Alabaster court. These priestesses are all skilled summoners, and formidable at the art of binding and summoning weapons from the void.
They defend the kings of Bal Cilorn with their lives, slaying all would-be assassins that penetrate the palace, and they delight the king and his court with their dances and magnificent sword-play. However, the king's captivating dancers are also the greatest peril of his life, for he knows that if he were to lose his divine mandate, his silken guardians that love him so will cut him down and quarter him without hesitation.

Experienced priestesses summon and hold a dagger above their heads at all times as a symbol of their skill and their high rank.