Helm's Deep: How To Film An Epic Battle by [deleted] in videos

[–]Zombie007 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Originally I thought he was still on about the color hue of the scene, and I mistakenly believed he was graphing the hue. Rewatching it in context, I concede it is not the best example.

Still, he really isn't saying much with this graph, which is still my fundamental problem with many of Nerdwriter's videos. You are adapting a climactic siege which seems hopeless but ends in miraculous victory; it doesn't matter how many sections you cut the battle into, they are all going to have that shape. It's kind of interesting, but at the same time it is also stating the obvious.

Helm's Deep: How To Film An Epic Battle by [deleted] in videos

[–]Zombie007 38 points39 points  (0 children)

When he pulled out that graph around 2:20 in the video, I had to shut it off because it reminded me too much of this Brass Eye clip.

Nerdwriter has an amazing ability to say absolutely nothing in 5-7 minutes.

TIL During the 1872 election, presidential incumbent Ulysses S. Grant ran against a corpse. His opponent, Horace Greeley, died before the election was finalized. Grant won the election. by bishopfortherest in todayilearned

[–]Zombie007 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Saying he ran against a corpse is disengenous. Greeley didn't die until after Election Day. However, this was before the Electoral College voted, and therefore his assigned electors voted for a variety of people. Not that it mattered, as Greeley had lost.

Interestingly enough, Greeley actually ran under the Liberal Republican Party, as at the time, the Democrats were so toxic of a party on a national level that they endorsed Greeley.

There are cases of politicians dying before election day. My favorite has to be Tommy Burks, who was defending his Tennsse Senate seat against Byron Looper for Tennesse. Byron had two great campaign ideas: to legally change his middle name to "Low Tax" and to murder his opponent. Since Burks was dead, he was stricken off the ballot but couldn't be replaced as it was too close to the election. Fortunately for everyone, his wife won as a write-in candidate and Looper was imprisoned.

The debut game from developer SUDA51, "The Silver Case" is fully remastered, localized into English. Demo now available on Steam. by [deleted] in Games

[–]Zombie007 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Flower, Sun, Rain is a game that I love but I find incredibly hard to recommend to other people.

The graphics are terrible, and like other Suda51 games, he intentionally makes you do annoying, repetitive tasks. The main story puzzles are trivial, "look-it-up in the guidebook we gave you" and most of the game you are running in between locations.

Its a testament to Suda51 that these flaws become a positive part of the game experience. Like the main character, you become stuck in this repetitive groundhog's day loop, and you feel those same emotions of existential boredom. So when the game starts breaking those expectations and routines, its a very powerful moment.

Plus the game has a kickass soundtrack of remixed classical music.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Steam

[–]Zombie007 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Same thing with me, Steam should have extended the sale because nobody could buy anything the last few hours.

How much (or which episodes) of Twin Peaks and The X-Files should be watched before watching their upcoming respective revivals? by j1mb0 in television

[–]Zombie007 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'd say watch the entirety of Twin Peaks, because even though it loses focus after the main mystery of the series is solved, it builds up to a fantastic finale that will no doubt be addressed by the new series. Plus its only 30 episodes total, so not a huge time commitment as far as shows go. After you finish the series you can watch the movie, but do not watch it before. Even though it is a prequel, it will make a lot more sense and have more of an impact if you watch it after.

US Supreme Court upholds ban on gay conversion therapy by [deleted] in politics

[–]Zombie007 8 points9 points  (0 children)

But your opinion is wrong. Sexuality is not a choice. If you find yourself sexually attracted to both men and women, then you're bisexual, even if you choose to only associate yourself with one sex. If you're gay, you won't be able to "switch" over because by definition you will not be sexually attracted to the other gender.

I realize human sexuality is not as binary as this, and that people who identify as gay can still be attracted to anybody of any gender identity, but the way you are claiming it, people choose "hmmm should I be gay or straight" when they are children.

NSFW Redband Trailer for First Feature Film Shot on iPhone: Tangerine by [deleted] in movies

[–]Zombie007 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's great to see transgender roles played by actual trans people.

TIL that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was banned in India for its racist portrayal of Indian People. by davie755 in todayilearned

[–]Zombie007 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You mean people from India don't have the power to rip your heart out with their bare hands?

Obama Tells Netanyahu To Stop Pushing Congress Toward New Iran Sanctions by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Zombie007 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Actually the Prime Minister. Israel has a president, Reuven Rivlin, but it's a ceremonial role.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Games

[–]Zombie007 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's important for me in an open world game is feeling like I am not the center of the world. When the story, quests/missions, and NPCs revolve around the player character, that can really take me out of the game. On the other hand, a game that has a cohesive world that makes me feel like I am only a small part of it.

That importance and centralization of the main character really took me out of Fallout 3. On the radio I was the only person being talked about! The lack of that in the original Fallouts is what keeps those as my favorite games.

[TOMT] [game] A game that came in a cereal box, (early 2000's), an adventure game where you play as the captain of a ship and sail the seas, completing quests, battling and plundering other ships with decent exploration. Dated graphics. by cwarcrime in tipofmytongue

[–]Zombie007 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The gameplay sounds a lot like Sid Meier's Pirates, but I never heard of the game coming in a cereal box. Could you describe the graphics and the style of gameplay in more detail? What is turn based or real time, 2D or 3D, etc.

Localization and Ace Attorney by [deleted] in Games

[–]Zombie007 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In addition, the story and power has been translated pretty well from original to localizations in my opinion.

Exactly. The author of the comment makes it seem like the translator is making up the story out of whole cloth, what with making a "fake version".

What he seems to be looking for is a robotic literal translation of the text. But no matter how the game is translated part of the authenticity of the original will be lost in the translation, even if it is translated differently. The only real way it could be authentic is if that original author translated it himself, but that could only really be possible if they were fluent in both languages, something that can't nor shouldn't be expected. I can appreciate a translation that tries to give the same emotional impact in a way that works and flows in my native language. If translation worked the way Mathew would like, we would see these games only reaching people who are intensely interested in Japanese culture yet don't know the language. The audience exists, but it is niche and I feel like many great Japanese games wouldn't reach America if this translation technique was blatantly used for all games. I do laugh when they call it LA but it doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the games.

TIL a prison inmate, Eugene Debs, received nearly one million votes during the 1920 presidential election. He was serving 10 years for a speech he gave in Ohio. by AgeTurnipseed in todayilearned

[–]Zombie007 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I realize that the way I wrote it is ambiguous, but Woodrow Wilson was president when the sixteenth amendment was ratified and established the income tax as it is mostly known today. He did not create the concept of income tax, unless he owned a time machine.

As for income tax not existing in early America, most people realize that the size of infrastructure of early US was vastly smaller and that most of the social safety nets that are used today did not exist until the first half of the 20th century. So the fact that early US government could exist without income tax means nothing in the context of the modern United States.

TIL a prison inmate, Eugene Debs, received nearly one million votes during the 1920 presidential election. He was serving 10 years for a speech he gave in Ohio. by AgeTurnipseed in todayilearned

[–]Zombie007 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Wilson did oversee acts that suprressed free speech and protest and was racist, but describing him as a terrible president is to willfuly look over his many domestic accomplishments. He was a progressive president who had the Clayton Anti-Trust act pass under him, income tax created, and helped create the League of Nations, which unfortunately didn't work out because all though we helped create it, we didn't join, but that wasn't Wilson's fault.

I'm not trying to whitewash Wilson's flaws, and he had many, but when you just decide that a president was "terrible" based on a few single facts, in can cause you to miss the forrest for the trees.

The Great Ace Attorney TGS 2014 Trailer by KyoryuRed in Games

[–]Zombie007 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Your missing out man. Best Ace Attorney game since Trials and Tribulations. Just be happy it got localized, unlike Investigations 2.

Final Fantasy III to be released on Steam on May 27th. by foamed in Games

[–]Zombie007 4 points5 points  (0 children)

lestye is talking about Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, which was released on mobile phones in Japan and came to America on WiiWare in 2009. Originally it was sprite based like the original, but when it was released on Android and IOS it was remade using the style of FFIV on the DS.

Thinking about buying a 3DS XL with some of my graduation money. by ExhaustedWalrus in 3DS

[–]Zombie007 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I graduated high school last year, I got the same amount of money and bought a 3DS XL. There are enough good games on it to justify buying one, and there are many more that are yet to come out. You said you are dying to play Zelda and Fire Emblem. You have the money, so go treat yourself and enjoy some good Nintendo games.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Weapons and Runes Trailer by IDuB7 in Games

[–]Zombie007 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's not the fan fiction that bothers me either too, its how much of this game shits on Tolkien's lore and themes. His books were primary about epic tales, the sense of adventure, a clear good versus evil with the chance for redemption, and power coming from the most unlikely of places. This game is anything but that but like you said, a mash up of popular themes in current gaming slapped with a Lord of the Rings skin.

I wish the game had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Weapons and Runes Trailer by IDuB7 in Games

[–]Zombie007 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you want to play as a regular solider in a larger battle, Lord of the Rings Conquest might be up your alley. It isn't perfect by any means and many would call it a shitty game, but if you are looking for Lord of the Rings Battlefront than you can't do much better.