mandude

@mezza: That's the part I have trouble understanding. Not that people would be upset over manufactured hype and deceptive marketing, but that they'd be absolutely incredulous about it.

Seconded. Some of my fondest memories of gaming are of Vandal Hearts.

Much of my school years were spent discussing D&D and the likes of Morrowind and Oblivion.

@ethanielrain: Aye, I feel like it would have been better received if it had just shown up in the game one day.

This is a very neat write-up. I wish I had something more constructive to say, but I felt I should comment anyway since I enjoyed it so much.

I remember finding the Ring of Leapfrog at some point, and just bounding around Vivec without the need for bridges. Then seeing the floating palace, and wondering what feat of magic would allow me to reach it. The sense of curiosity and awe has just been unmatched since.

If I saw a floating island in Skyrim, I would assume I can only reach it through some feat of cutscene.

@tanookisuit: Has to be mentioned. They ruined Bethesda for me.

@arbitrarywater: To be fair, DeviantArt was taking off around that time. I'm sure the writers were shocked too, when they realised who their fanbase was.

I mean, let's be honest. You're either a deranged weirdo and you like Sonic the Hedgehog, or else you don't like Sonic the Hedgehog. I don't think a lot of people fall outside those two categories.

Absolutely not. Unexcorcised ghosts are the most common cause of wi-fi interference.

And it is used to create great works of art, and it is used to protect cultures on the brink of annihilation. Should the Maori revival be swept aside because it's fueled by nationalism? Perhaps the Basque people should just settle for being Spanish. Obviously, I take for granted you don't think like that, but my point is, these movements would be dead if it weren't for nationalism.

Global solidarity is just an inversion of nationalism. Instead of 'blocking global progress to serve local interests', you'd just be serving global interests at the expense of local interests. And that might be very well for you, if you live in one of the large influential nations, but if you're on the fringes, it means cultural death.

But that's only if it's used poorly. I think global solidarity is important, but I think we have to be careful with it. Similarly, I don't see why the whole world should throw nationalism away, simply because some have been less than careful with it.