Willow: Something evil-crashed to earth in this. Then it broke out and slithered away to do badness. Giles: Well, in all fairness, we don't really know about the "slithered" part. Anya: No, no, I'm sure it frisked about like a fluffy lamb.

'Never Leave Me'


Gaming 1: You are likely to be eaten by a grue

A thread for the discussion of games: board, LARP, MMORPG, video, tabletop RPG, game theory etc. etc. and all attendant news, developments and ancillary subjects thereof, as well as coordinating/scheduling games either online or IRL. All are welcome to chime in, talk about their favorite games or learn about gaming of any sort.

PLEASE TO WHITEFONT SPOILERS for video games, RPG modules or anything for which foreknowledge of events might lessen one's enjoyment of whatever gaming experience.


Laga - Feb 19, 2009 10:05:34 am PST #1661 of 26133
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.

hee! I love it.


Kalshane - Feb 19, 2009 6:29:36 pm PST #1662 of 26133
GS: If you had to choose between kicking evil in the head or the behind, which would you choose, and why? Minsc: I'm not sure I understand the question. I have two feet, do I not? You do not take a small plate when the feast of evil welcomes seconds.

Is it weird to make miis of people you know?

My friends and I have a long tradition of making each other (as well as each other's memorable table-top RPG characters) in any games with create-a-character features. It used be assorted wrestling games, but lately it's been the Soul Calibur series.

So I'd say no.

Of course, considering I make people I know into characters and have them fight each other, I'm probably not the best judge of such things.


Laga - Feb 19, 2009 6:42:57 pm PST #1663 of 26133
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.

I've gone crazy and have started making my exes and giving them snarky names (e.g. Rain Cloud) but I cannot recall the hair of a guy I dated in high school. I know I ran my fingers through it but I can't remember it at all. Other parts of him are quite clear- I have utterly lost his hair. Oh well, I know it was short and brown.


Volans - Feb 20, 2009 10:07:41 am PST #1664 of 26133
move out and draw fire

I have to say that I'm kind of surprised that all my friends on Xbox have avatars that more or less look like themselves. Well, Sox may be the one exception, but even she's not too far off. Not a tall male monster or anything.

ETA: (Hi Sox!)

Even Mal recognizes our friends by their (incredibly mii-looking) Xbox avs "Hey Mom, there's Michael! He's sleeping!"


hippocampus - Feb 23, 2009 8:30:46 am PST #1665 of 26133
not your mom's socks.

Yeah I'm struck by how mii the xbox avs are. And my mii is a mii of Sox's past. though tall male monster is le tempting.

I've been in or around a couple discussions lately about 'personal avatars' vs. 'rp avatars' - ie ones that represent you (on wii, xbox, etc.) vs the characters you may play. To me, this doesn't seem so different from playing a board game in character but arguing about something else when you get up to get drinks. But it seems to skeeve others.

Any thoughts are welcome.


amych - Feb 23, 2009 8:37:27 am PST #1666 of 26133
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

I don't get the source of skeeve -- is it that there's something deceptive about an RP av? Or that there's something too personal and uncanny-valley about a self-like one? I guess I can see either side, but neither one to the point of actual upset.

PS: everyone please respond prolifically, as I'm off to a very boring meeting!

PPS: My avs are mostly female and they all mustmustmust wear glasses, but other than that they're not especially me.


Tom Scola - Feb 23, 2009 8:40:38 am PST #1667 of 26133
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500

I only have one Mii, which I tried to get to look like me.

My Mii parades are very sad.


Volans - Feb 23, 2009 11:06:37 am PST #1668 of 26133
move out and draw fire

I have historically had difficulty gender-bending with avs (including tabletop RPG characters). My current Rock Band av is one notable exception.

I maintain that it's easier to have an avatar that doesn't look like me when I am a) not "inhabiting" the avatar but "observing" it (like Rock Band) or b) need it to do things that are more correctly done by a not-me (like if I'm playing a soldier in WWII I'll use a male avatar).

Where do the skeeved place non-human avatars? You know I'm occasionally a moth or a griffin in Second Life; is that more or less acceptable than if I were a bald black guy?


Laga - Feb 23, 2009 1:13:59 pm PST #1669 of 26133
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.

My Rock Band avatar doesn't look like me at all but that's mostly because I found the controls that change her appearance to be too confusing to mess with for very long.


Laga - Feb 25, 2009 10:34:36 am PST #1670 of 26133
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.

I love that the wii has ranked me as an amateur at "Penguin Slide". This implies that somewhere there is a professional league of people who dress up in penguin costumes and slide on ice floes to catch fish in their mouths for the amusement of an all-penguin audience.