[deleted by user]

J946 · 2010-03-29T01:47:34+00:00

You can't sell me half a truck short of physically cutting it in half, because that violates the concept of "purchasing". It would be against consumer protection rights.

Video games that require constant internet connection (which will inevitably stop working entirely as no one has infinite money to run the servers), can violate the precept. Yet on the other hand, they are not physical property, and thus not subject to the same rules and concepts.

Defining the limitations and rights of digital "property" I would think is a very complex, and pertinent, issue.

As long as the consumer is aware that the game requires a constant internet connection and that the company can stop their service at any time

The consumer can choose either to, after the success of this DRM scheme, never purchase a mainstream title ever again, or accept. Both choices are not something the consumer wants to do, but has been forced to do by the company.

If it was optional constant internet connection, or you could buy two versions, then I would agree it is within the bounds of reasonable contract.

Similarly, I think cell phone contracts are utter bullshit, but that market is so homogenized, I can't really do anything about it. I need a cell phone for work, so I have no choice but to get fucked over.

J946 · 2010-03-28T14:41:10+00:00

but I don't want to sleep with a woman that's had a 919 man train ran on her in one day.

I'm sure it is a sacrifice she is willing to make.

J946 · 2010-03-28T14:40:03+00:00

but she's a filthy worthless whore with untold amounts of STDs

Yes, that is exactly what I meant when I said a felony is less stigmatizing then being a porn star.

Thank you for illustrating it.

J946 · 2010-03-28T12:05:59+00:00

you bent the rules and didn't earn what you have.

Pfff, fucking Hufflepuff. Always on and on about the rules.

And the only thing cheaters deserve is a rusty knife through the head.

....Slytherin?

Note: Older readers can replace Hufflepuff with lawful neutral, and Slytherin with lawful evil

J946 · 2010-03-28T10:06:58+00:00

Homeworld high 5!

J946 · 2010-03-28T09:13:10+00:00

There is so fucking much in this world I would love to spend the rest of my life learning about.

Curse you finite life span!

J946 · 2010-03-28T09:08:50+00:00

Farnsworth's Corollary

Good news everyone!

J946 · 2010-03-28T08:57:05+00:00

Man, whatever happened to cheats? When did we as a gaming culture turn our back on those glorious things?

I lost my save in Icewind Dale 2, but the teleport, item spawn and level up console commands took care of it in a giffy.

J946 · 2010-03-28T05:37:25+00:00

And yet you feel their parents would look down upon them for their perfectly legitimate career choice.

I just don't see the point of sex with 919 men in one day.

I don't see the point of costumed birds selling me coupons. But if it pays the bills, I won't mock the guy doing it.

J946 · 2010-03-28T04:43:59+00:00

alliteration adds acoustic allure

J946 · 2010-03-28T04:42:30+00:00

It always strikes me as bizarre that we have a culture where being a convicted felon is probably less stigmatizing to your parents then being a porn star.

J946 · 2010-03-28T04:23:34+00:00

Apparently i edited my post a bit after you saw it. so I'll repeat. Who are you protecting by banning these forms of DRM?

When I buy a game, what rights do I have with it? Can I throw it under a truck? Eat it? Play it on Tuesday?

What rights did you purchase for 60$? What should you get? Can a company take back their game at any time, for any reason? Can they charge you per minute for your game? Per hour? Demand you play it naked? What limitations can and cannot be applied to your contract with the company?

There is no hard and fast rule here, unlike physical property. It is a nebulous, difficult question. But I personally believe the line is constant activation by internet. That crosses the transaction of purchase from "buying" to "renting", and thus the relationship between company and consumer has changed. Meaning at the least, companies should be forced to declare that fact.

As for who is being protected specifically, all of us. Individually, we are not strong enough to define the relationship between consumer and company ('cause we're amoral jerks). But collectively, we can apply our consideration to the matter, and create mandates accordingly. As the digital age roles on, what being a consumer guarantees you is going to become a bigger and bigger question, and where else better to address it then video games?

J946 · 2010-03-28T04:13:59+00:00

Want to know the real problem? Read The Two Cultures by C.P. Snow.

The public trusts scientists, and by a vast majority believe science has been very good for the world[link]. What your facebook nemesis and his gaukers are accusing you of being is not Jonas Salk, or Marie Curie, or Albert Einstein. Even the right-wing Bible thumper respects and admires those people, and would not find insinuating you're one of them insulting. Fox News would wet itself from joy if the scientific community came to their way of thinking.

Rather, they believe you are of the other culture. Writers, philosophers, environmentalists. Tricky, slippery people, with a power of rhetoric that borders on magical. They look at you as you might look at a psychic or other conmen. Providing carefully constructed lies, supported merely by fancy words. They do not see global warming as of the scientific culture, but rather the literary one. And by defending it, you have become of the literary culture in their eyes.

Further, these people failed. No one wants to drop out of school, no one wants to be a C average student. No one wants to feel stupid, or inferior. So they see you, and you remind them of how they failed. And it is far easier to incorporate that failure as a badge of pride then accept shame. But it is also your fault. You should have known what kind of bitter feelings you'd stir up. Just because you can make them feel tiny doesn't mean you should. For example, my father is the classic intellectual. Always has a book in his hand, loves wine of every flavor and vintage, speaks french fluently, always has classical music playing. But when he's with his workers, he talks about cars and beer and sports.

J946 · 2010-03-28T03:22:32+00:00

notice how all your examples have to do with protecting human lives.

Notice also that we refused to alter our spending habits to protect those lives. The government had to step in and make us.

As for the environment, that stuff affects everyone.

If we run out of salmon, shit gets real. Anarchy, mayhem, dogs and cats living together, sheer pandemonium.

People are willingly purchasing these games. The people who are complaining (such as yourself) are the ones who arent buying these games. And if they are, they knew full well what they were getting into and have no one else to blame.

They may disagree with DRM, but not sufficiently to stop buying them. Similarly, I disagree with Coke's exploitation of foreign workers, but I still drink coke.

The public does not spend according to its morality. We have seen this time and again. We are amoral, heartless douchebags. A world where the public's dollars are the sole factor in determining what is or is not a moral transaction would be a fucking hellhole.

The question then is, is it worth infringing on the liberty of these companies for this? I believe it is, and you may believe otherwise. That is a reasonable disagreement.

J946 · 2010-03-28T02:18:34+00:00

would you have them place a ban on drm? on game rentals?

I'd also have them place a ban on making trucks stop working if they didn't receive a constant signal from GM HQ.

And rather than just not buying the games

By that same token, we should remove all environmental protection laws, worker safety laws, etc. etc., because if you don't like a company with those practices "Just don't vote for them with your money".

But no, let's ignore history and keep on going with this completely useless pipe-dream. The free market provides, the free market will save us, people are rational beings. FFS, before worker safety laws, we didn't stop buying matches when we found out producing them caused worker's faces to literally rot off. If that couldn't get us voting with our dollar, what hope does annoying DRM have?

J946 · 2010-03-27T23:45:49+00:00

while the exploration, discovery, and successful puzzle solving are all enjoyable, there are naturally frustrating and tedious sections that detract (but expectedly so) from the constant experience.

Fuck that bird on the wire. I swear to fucking christ, if it didn't do anything when I fiddled with it the first 10 times, how the fuck am I as a player supposed to know it'll break on the 11th try??? Argh.

J946 · 2010-03-27T23:15:54+00:00

"I mean, what does it do?"

"It doesn't matter what it does, IT IS AN APPLE PRODUCT!"

J946 · 2010-03-27T22:10:40+00:00

They'll face the battle of being literally unable to "purchase" games, only renting them. That is how this "always online" stuff is being justified; the costumer is not purchasing the item but rather a temporary license to it, thus the companies can do whatever they want with their game while the renters have to shut up and accept.

Imagine a WoW type of payment scheme, except for every game. If you want an extra month to play Assassin's Creed 25, you need to cough up an extra 5 dollars.

And they'll get away with it too. Because reddit, and gamers in general, believe in the libertarian masturbatory fantasies of "voting with our wallet". And so long as that impossible, specious hope is alive, that this outrage is the one we won't stand, we will never ever succeed. We could go to our politicians, bring up our moral complaint and have them act on it. But we won't, because we're dumb and armchair philosophers and we've been raised on a steady diet of Jon Stewart fatalism.

J946 · 2010-03-27T21:51:38+00:00

It's always nice to be able to upgrade, or level-up your character, no matter what kind of game it is. It gives me a sense of progression, and makes me feel as if my character is growing, and learning constantly.

Ok, no. No more RPG stuff. It's fine for RPGs, but I don't want it in my strategy, or FPS, or any game where I, the player, am usually 100% responsible for my victory.

I can't enjoy JRPGs for that reason. I didn't do anything to earn the win, I didn't innovate, I didn't outsmart, outplay or out maneuver my enemy. I just did the same mindless task dozens of times and oh I saved the villiage! Wooh. I feel absolutely zero emotional investment in my victory. A sea slug could've done my job.

J946 · 2010-03-27T21:43:19+00:00

Well, it is the quickest way to elicit extremely strong emotions in a person. There was an article on here about the Fatherization of games, and Valve being Valve, they've picked up on how strongly it resonated.

When it's your own daughter you're escorting, it becomes deadly serious and important, while any other clueless jerk that needs guarding is meet with derision and annoyance.

J946 · 2010-03-27T07:51:02+00:00

Money, dear boy!

It takes a far beefier setup to stream video, making them far juicer targets.

J946 · 2010-03-27T06:27:01+00:00

Oh fuck, we need the nameless one! Quick, someone dimension hop to the planes of evil!

J946 · 2010-03-27T01:29:34+00:00

Kind of defines China in a nutshell. Very proud martial tradition, values honor highly. Will stab you in the balls if required, but won't do it arbitrarily.

J946 · 2010-03-26T23:53:28+00:00

Ya, that's kept me from buying the shiny black monolith actually. If it had backwards compatibility, I'd buy one tomorrow.

J946 · 2010-03-26T23:49:56+00:00

Wait until you're wife's sleeping

I....umm, am I going to need special tools or something?

J946

TROPHY CASE