mrspoon

The stuff you call Jazzstep (Sonic/Clannad vids) sounds to me like the stuff Bukem would play from around '95 onwards, some people called it 'Intelligent' or 'Atmospheric' drum & bass, some even tried to get 'Artcore' to catch but those actually making and listening to it rejected all that. These days I mostly only keep up with Drumfunk, but I still try to check what's going on in other genres of dnb with the Noisia podcast.

If any of these interest you, copy the names and record labels, click a few recommendations, then go down a deep discogs hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKnqzXYSByo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1N-59zxdbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gngU2K8yMs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufRj7KuPcXM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S50hqLcmcng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8ilaPZbKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS9T_RjzI9c&list=PL31qrMYf8xN26ALjQr1eW60AikNZ08bzu

@Brodehouse said:

Golf is the clear example of being a noun and verb, because you can golf, and play golf. Just like games.
That's English.

To golf is the exception, not the rule for all English. As for the verb to game, as language changes, maybe it's fine that term is applied to video games as well as gambling, but the problem most people have is the connotations it brings. How many times have you heard the crew put on their XXXtreme gamerz voices on the Bombcast/Hotspot? In mainstream media, video games are often seen as a kids thing or a hardcore nerd thing.

I agree with mshaw006, it would be good to get away from labels but the trouble is, it's a lot easier to say "Brad is gay" rather than "Brad has a propensity towards loving men." Even now, it's hard not to be influenced by words like 'gay' even though we are all aware that someone being attracted to a certain gender or lack of gender doesn't tell you anything about that person. The same goes for any noun used to describe people, which is the whole problem.

I'm not a straight junglist gamer. I like women, I like Drumfunk and I like playing games but none of those tell you who I am.

@YI_Orange said:

Someone who raps is a rapper, someone who golfs is a golfer, someone who boxes is a boxer...I don't see the problem.

The problem is people who rap are not songers or trackers, people who play golf are not holers and people who box are not matchers. Though grammar is only half of the problem, terms like avid reader or film buff are accepted but 'Gamer' has been connoted and co-opted so much that it doesn't serve the average player. Have you ever heard of 'Reader Grub'

I thought that title of 'famers' was some sort of internet-speak about celebs or wannabe celebs and was going to mention Farmer Jeff. He gets a lot of stick these days, but back when a lot of games were clones of other games (usually home versions of coin-ops) Minter at least put some thought into his clones: His 'Camels series was apparently based on The Empire Strikes Back, and you can spot the heritage in Hover Bovver and Sheep in Space but rather like the mobile/social/PlayStation minis market now, a lot of clones were cash grabs with a few sprite changes but people such as Jeff Minter cared about their games.

I still have fond memories of his more original C64 output such as Iridis Alpha and Ancipital, even though I didn't 100% understand all the mechanics.

@JerichoBlyth said:

Borderlands 2 is a complete Bro-Op - expect to see more games incorporate memes because they are too lazy to come up with their own material. Not that comedy is essential in videogames.

I personally cringe everytime a meme is mentioned in a published work that you have to pay for. The internet has lower standards of humor because it's free of charge and spontaneous...most memes are mocked up for quick giggles...most of which are only relevant for short periods of time.

My sentiments exactly (or in lazy internet meme-speak "^^ this") Jim Sterling has been saying Borderlands 2's writing is very familiar to him as lead writer and ex-Dtoider Anthony Burch. Considering he was most well known on Destructoid for his anti-bro pro-Passage rants, it's unfortunate if the writing really is that brodaisical.

Reminds me of Richard Herring saying that now one can see all the obvious jokes on twitter (e.g. when Jacko died) comedians have to be more inventive. Lazy comics and writers are more conspicuous in the internet age.

@haggis said:

Sorry, I'm unconvinced. Smart TVs are still pretty dumb: clunky features, difficult to upgrade, and not nearly as flexible as what is offered on phones and tablets (and consoles, for that matter). Truth is, to be a real media hub you need processing power and storage--and no TV I know of can handle that yet.....

I take your point about lack of processing power, and current Smart TVs being clunky. The browser on my Bravia is useless, and adding RSS or twitter feeds means manually typing the URLs, but updating is easy on mine and no doubt things will improve. Having Lovefim, iplayer etc and online/USB playback without needing a second device on is handy, also, since my laptop overheats if I try to watch video while playing a game, I always watch the Quick Looks via youtube, or rather than digging out my old vinyl and mixtapes, I'll turn the amp on and the screen off. Yesterday I listened back to a bunch of Ratty and Top Buzz sets from '92.

I really think the onus is on Microsoft for the next generation, it's highly unlikely Sony will start charging for online, and I think the current situation regarding online gaming on consoles is untenable. I don't want to sound like a fanboy but Microsoft charge for features you already pay for in Hulu, Netflix etc, or trying to charge for BBC content which is already paid for by UK taxpayers (I won't go into the licence fee rant now suffice to say I'm not forced to pay for Sky/Virgin.) In the case of online gaming, many games are being charged for thrice over, by the XBL Gold fee, by the premium on new games (which before now was always enough to fund server costs for a game's lifespan) and by online passes. Activision have never complained about haemorrhaging money via CoD server costs

For far too long Bathroom guys, gals demons and aliens have been murdered unceremoniously, bringing shame on their families, from Johnny Sasaki in MGS to countless poor souls in the Hitman and Splinter Cell series to this innocent alien from Duke 3D (left) just tyring to drop the kids off at the pool.

For pitys sake, David cage even made a whole game based on the murder of a bathroom guy. (concept page anyone?)

This is why in the vein of Jeff's FRD shirt, we at Ba'GUYS (Bathroom Guy Unclean Yelp Society) demand equal sartorial rights and submit this:

As long as you don't have Hepatitis or HIV, there's no reason to leave a space, though some do still see it as taboo, hence why a period is called a 'Full Stop' in the UK. As for sentence spacing, I remember being taught two spaces (English Spacing) while learning MS Word, Excel etc. But I just realised I never do now, it's largely irrelevant with modern typefaces according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_spacing

I realise localisation is much bigger than changing a few Z's to S's but I go back and forth on how much American spelling matters to me in games sold to UK customers and if it's bad for English kids to not use English words and spellings in favour of American equivalents (how many British GB users would have 'corrected' the first 3 words I wrote with Z's according to GB's Parchment?) As long as Kirby is localised to keep his fanny in his pants, I guess the spelling is moot.

I heard French radio stations have to play a certain amount of French language tracks, and this could be a good thing if the government fear French might be marginalised like Gaelic and Welsh, on the other hand, in the 21st century national pride might be irrelevant, and in regards to games, fewer more consistent localisations is better than names and plot points changing. Translations and interpretations of religious texts have led to much suffering, but I'm not sure if one universal tongue would be best. An example of multiple languages being good might be that in some languages the word 'theory' as used to explain scientific principles and laws may have only one word and is never confused with the word 'theory' as in speculation or practice. Learning an all encompassing language with minimal heteronyms and other confusions would be a massive undertaking and I don't even know what circumlocution means, then again I'm not Jewish.

While a tool like this is probably useful for any company even if only to gauge interest, with Valve having the final say, I can't help feeling that that if too much emphasis or reliance is placed on plebians to decide on releases it would be detrimental to the industry, especially for more controversial or niche titles. Look at how much of a Steam success Binding of Isaac was, and imagine if those with objections hijacked this process.

Maybe interactive mediums where the player isn't just passive and can better infer or conclude for themselves could handle rape/paedophile stories better than a book or a Jodie Foster or Kevin Bacon film, but would you (and your online ID) express a prior interest? Last time I caught Weekend confirmed, I believe Garnett Lee suggested the recent Lara Croft thing was a U-Turn due to public outcry rather than correcting a mistaken quote and I'm inclined to agree, Jeff also said something about the cliched face-licking creep seen in films but the only game I can think of with a rapist, two if you count Pyramid Head, is Silent Hill 2 (not that you could or should compare it to the above films.)