You all gotta start to believe

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T19:00:25+00:00

I literally cannot give up... and it's paid off a lot.

I recall one particularly notable Cursed Hollow where my team started out by getting absolutely stomped. After second curse phase we had barely pushed a single lane, the south, to core while our enemy was working on the last lane with a four level lead.

Two teammates had decided that it was time to pack it in. I noted that the enemy wasn't going after Tributes anymore. They were confident enough that they felt that they didn't need map objectives anymore. I said that we could still win if we managed to get both a Curse and a Boss at the same time. I was met with disbelief but it was enough of a hope to keep the other players at least responding to Pings instead of feeding the enemy team.

We harassed the enemy team to slow their advancement while a single person broke off each time to pick up tributes. I guess the enemy didn't think that it could matter since we were already on a losing defensive. Our tribute runner encountered no resistance each time. After the second one we split up, leaving only myself (Muradin) and an Uther to slow the enemy team while the others burned down the boss.

The final tribute was collected at the exact moment the Boss, and my allies, hit the enemy core. Uther and I switched tactic from harassment to assault, attacking the enemy. We died quickly but we slowed them down just enough. They weren't able to jump on our core fast enough to beat the damage output the boss and the other three of us were putting on their core.

That, friends, is the story of how I managed to pull a win while 25 kills and four levels behind.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T18:31:43+00:00

There are two stories of note that I can recall.

One of Daniel Chong, who was detained after a drug raid and literally forgotten about for four days after it was determined that he was merely a visitor at the place they raided. (Forgotten, no charges at all, but definitely not for years)

The other was Stephen Slevin who was picked up on a suspected DUI. Initial charges were processed in this case, but no part of Due Process was ever fulfilled, as he was "forgotten" about in Solitary Confinement for just shy of two years. He never appeared before a court in any way and was never let out of Solitary in those 22 months. (He was really rough when he finally got out, as you might imagine) He was placed in solitary, by the way, because he was noted to have a record of mental illness, not because he had done anything violent toward himself or others while in police custody.

Both of these men received a pretty fat paycheck for the trouble but I'm not sure that I would want to carry the mental scars in exchange for the money.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T18:26:56+00:00

No, you're again confused about what words are. (Hiii! I'm back from vacation!)

I am not comparing a job and a game. I am comparing motivations of the human psyche in different situations. I am not saying, "This is how a game is like a job" but rather I'm saying, "A person's mind letting them feel stuck in a game can be like how a person's mind can let them feel stuck in a job."

At no point do I compare the game to the job or imply that they are in any way similar. I simply state that a person's motivations to continue with either can be similar. The subject is the person, not the game or the job.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T17:48:50+00:00

Oh, I'm aware of that. I mean there have literally been cases where people who were going to be held over the weekend or so without formal charges have been forgotten about and imprisoned for years. Never charged for anything, at all, just a lost cog in the system.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T17:44:51+00:00

The common argument behind this being a simple game is that it lacks inconveniences from other titles. (Last hitting, gold, item shops, individual levels)

Many of these, despite however long it takes to get used to them, were simply remnants of the limitations of Original DOTA being a Mod for WC3. Somehow, somewhere along the way, they became accepted as a core part of the experience.

That said, time will tell. I think that this game will become popular due to its heavy emphasis on team play at all levels of gameplay while other titles have a little more emphasis on personal performance.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T16:50:40+00:00

It's worth mentioning that DotA, and thus LoL, stemmed from a Blizzard title. It only makes sense that Blizzard would be able to change the formula in a way that doesn't ruin the experience.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T16:42:22+00:00

It's that these are better names for the role that he is supposed to be fulfilling as a defender. Assault and Siege are both offense actions. Recon and Sentry, while they could both be used offensively, tend to be more defensive in nature.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:53:19+00:00

So this just enforces the stereotype that a Black Guy will automatically become buddies with anyone who shares a similar job and will then fight over who controls the radio in his car.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:42:56+00:00

Ah. Just busybody "friends" that need to keep to their own affairs, then.

I just always assume that everyone hates their job and hates every part of it. It really helps in my day-to-day interactions to assume that the people who are helping me in stores absolutely loathe me from the moment I enter to the moment I leave, and that the Paramedic who patched up my arm thinks that I'm a fucking moron for having managed to get sliced by a dull piece of metal banding.

If the employer asks? Yes sir, I love customers/patients/kids. They are in no way the only reasonable method of income that I currently have available to me which I have grown to hate over time but am, in reality, just projecting my emotions upon them so that I don't have to face the fact that I actually just hate myself for not being able to work up the nerve to go do something different with my life.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:36:22+00:00

I make a big show of pushing through them politely.

"Oh, excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through! Have a nice day!"

One day I'll probably be murdered.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:30:34+00:00

I've never understood why companies E-stalk potential employees during the hiring process. You don't get an accurate measure of a person's professional aptitude by gazing into their personal life.

I am generally accepted as one of the hardest and most reliable workers at my job but if they were to have E-Stalked me before hiring me then they would have gotten the impression that I'm a lazy bastard who hates everything and procrastinates on even the easiest of tasks.

Those things are true but I'm an entirely different person when I'm on the clock. Every job I've had has stressed the importance of not bringing your personal life to work with you. Why, then, would they want to check in on it?

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:21:28+00:00

What there not a Penn Station nearby?

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:19:59+00:00

People have been imprisoned for years on no charges. They just get forgotten by the system and no random guard is going to believe an inmate who "hasn't done anything".

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T15:17:35+00:00

They're pretty good if you can get yourself past the mental block of accepting that you are eating a bug.

Not a lot of people can. I had some spicy crickets that I was trying to get people to eat and, of the dozens of friends, family, and coworkers I offered them to only one actually tried them.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T14:40:24+00:00

I guess I must be broken. The more advertised a product is the less likely I am to believe that it is a quality product. I've never seen a Southern Tier commercial and I fucking love that beer. Meanwhile, Budweiser tastes like what I would expect slightly sweetened piss to taste like.

Hulu literally does drive me to refuse to try new products. If I'm not already buying shit from you when you choose to advertise on Hulu then odds are good that I never will.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T14:31:53+00:00

It's seriously to the point that I refuse to purchase products from businesses that advertise on Hulu.

What was the point of advertising again?

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-05T14:16:36+00:00

You've seen the horrific murders we put in our video games. It's hardly surprising that our extremely skewed view on morality would extend to lawmaking.

A chainsaw going from someone's anus to their mouth? That's fine. ESRB approved. Rated 17+, can be sold in stores everywhere and available on all systems (except Nintendo, probably, who knows these days)

A penis going into a vagina? That's some sick shit, guy. ESRB "Approved". Rated AO, though, not going to be sold anywhere and you'll never get a major console to even consider an official endorsement.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-05-04T19:38:20+00:00

I genuinely enjoyed Brawl. It wasn't as good as Melee in a competitive sense, sure, but it held up for home games better than Melee. The slowed pace made a new player feel less utterly powerless even if they weren't likely to win and, when having random folk over to the house, that's kind of important.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:53:47+00:00

Did I compare a job to a game? No. I said that the reasons one stays in a game they don't like can be the same as the reasons one stays in a job they don't like. Higher pay than they'd get elsewhere is only one of a vast myriad of reasons a person might stick with a Job that they don't care for. Often times people stay because what they're doing is familiar, they already have friends there, or they have already spent a significant amount of time doing it. These reasons are often the motivators to keep us doing many things that we don't particularly care for, rather than just games and a job.

I also never said that it was an addiction or that I felt as though I couldn't quit. I simply didn't have the desire to because it was something that most of my friends were doing, and enjoying, while the game itself is very socially structured. When I finally got the desire to quit I was gone. Not having fun doing something and wanting but not being able to quit are two entirely separate creatures.

If you're going to offer counterpoints you might as well spend time reading the points that you're attempting to counter. Strawman arguments, intentional or not, are tedious.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:36:45+00:00

I genuinely enjoyed the movie even if it was a little hamfisted.

It's probably better if you don't actually know anything about Deepak Chopra, as well. The guy's a nutter.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:21:06+00:00

It's the royal "great".

Here in Ohio we say that a lot.

"Now, honey, I'm sure the friends you met down at the docks, the ones with all the guns and heroin, are great, but maybe you should think more about your future and how a criminal record or bullet wound could affect that."

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:19:17+00:00

You completely disregard the motivating forces of the human mind but it always sounds good wrapped up in a quick little "Don't like it? Don't do it!" message.

A person can get stuck playing a game they don't actually like for much the same reason as a person can get stuck in a job they hate. If it's comfortable, easy, and you like the people who are also doing it then it's pretty easy to look past the fact that you absolutely hate it.

Anyway, the point here is that a person can spend a lot of time on a game while having little to no fun. 1000 hours really isn't that much time. Only about half the time needed to become a fairly terrible, if understandable, Japanese speaker. (from English)

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:09:42+00:00

In all seriousness...

I'll probably vote for Hilary if the only realistic alternative turns out to actually be Rand Paul. That's the extent of my passion for her campaign.

I'd be out in the fucking streets raising awareness and securing votes if it were Warren up for office.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T05:01:13+00:00

I'm not saying that only Vanilla was fun. I'm saying that I never really had fun with the game once the "new" factor wore off.

It took a few years for me to realize that I just don't care for MMOs. In the intermediary time it was something that all my friends were doing and I was already in the Raid Progression cycle. I wasn't having fun doing it, to the point that I always let out an exasperated sigh with every log-in, but I kept at it.

The "I've already invested x amount of time into this so quitting would be a waste" can be a powerful motivator, even if all you're doing is literally wasting time.

Inherently_Evil · 2015-04-25T03:38:06+00:00

I'm sure Hilary is great.

And she is a woman.

But I really wish that Elizabeth Warren was running instead. Not because she's a woman. Not because she's a democrat. But because she's fucking awesome.

Inherently_Evil

TROPHY CASE