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Gobbeldygook posted:I'm working on a paper about V:tM and its transmedialization into Kindred: the Embraced (the TV show) and I'm hunting down sources. Quoting myself to say gently caress Kindred: the Embraced. I walked into the show charitably assuming the complaints about it were just the usual fan whining. "Waaah, they changed stuff!" I was confident I'd be able to suss out the reasoning behind most of the changes. For example, I knew before I started watching it that vampires in K:tE are able to walk during the day for production reasons. The writer/director commentary on the pilot pointed out some interesting details that I'd missed (e.g. Most of the vampires in the ensemble were embraced during California's gold rush, the amazingly blatant metaphor that I somehow missed of a woman pulled a loaded gun out of a guy's pants during a sex scene) and left me optimistic about the show's depth. I was wrong. K:tE completely discards the mythology, the themes, and world of V:tM. Vampires in K:tE are just immortal superhumans who occasionally need to drink blood. They still enjoy food, drink, and sex, are unaffected by the sun if they've fed in the past few days, have no problems staying awake during the day, and don't suffer from any form of frenzy. I could nitpick the changes to death (Why don't any of the clans have a weakness besides the Nosferatu? Why don't vampires turn to dust when killed? Why is a vampire staked by a metal rooftop antennae but another isn't affected by a bullet to the heart?) but there's no point. I found a "great" quote from the creator John Leekley. Bold are annotations by me: quote:Think of gangland New York in the 1930s and you may understand what Leekley is trying to do. "The five clans are very much like the five families of New York, with each pursuing its own field of power and warring with one another." Each has a strange name, but a familiar Mafia-like purpose. quote:For me, I wanted to twist the traditional notion of vampires and dracula from being this frightening, horrific thing going back to the Nosferatu movies of the 30s, Bram stoker, and all of the other dracula movies and so forth. I wanted to do the opposite. I wanted to do a world in which they are more alive than us, they're more loyal than us, more passionate than us, they're more human than human. quote:BRANNAGH: Aaron Spelling was a huge fan of vampires, and everything in that genre, and this was the second time he really pushed the network to get his own little baby made. He had done Blood Ties, some years back. He just really loved the entire subject of vampires and he was really passionate about it. If you really like the idea of this other world and the intricacies of it, because there were a lot of them, and once you’re hooked, it’s always something that’s a fascination to you. I like everything that has to do with ghosts. If I see it, I’m all over it. We all have our thing. Aaron Spelling kept trying to bring vampires about, and I feel badly that it happened so much later. He was ahead of his time, in that regard. The writing sucks, the special effects suck, the acting mostly sucks, and my paper would probably suck. So I'm picking a new topic. I bounced several straightforward paper topics off of my professor, but also tossed out the idea of examining how V:tM was adapted into Vampire: Bloodlines and got an unexpectedly positive response. He said he'd be very interested to read what I came up with paper because he is totally unfamiliar with both forms of media - table-top RPGs and video games - despite the growing importance of the latter as media. This is the first and probably last time I will be able to play video games and call it schoolwork, so I am seriously tempted to go for it.
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Mar 20, 2014 00:35
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Unless I'm mistaken, vampires don't necessarily turn to dust when they die, they just instantly have all the decomposing catch up. Up until a certain age they're just going to turn into seriously rotted corpses.
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Mar 20, 2014 01:01
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Do your paper on Bloodlines. No joke. Aside from the fact that it's a really good game (with it's share of issues, look into mods) it is also very VERY true to it's source material. As such it's become a classic, it came out in like...2003 and so 11 years later it has a fairly robust fanbase. Also it's pretty cheap on Steam.
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Mar 20, 2014 01:26
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You could probably get some mileage out of writing about the persistence of the fan-base and the community mods angle, too.
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Mar 20, 2014 01:51
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gently caress, you could easily get a good chunk of discussion just off the transfer of the Malkavian weakness in VTM into its representation in Bloodlines, and how deeply it permeates every aspect of a Malkavian character's playthrough. I don't think I'm making an uncommon statement when I say that was easily the most inspired bit of design in a (mostly) very tightly designed game.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:05
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Might not be too hard to get Brian Mitsoda to answer some questions, also.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:08
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As long as we're talking setpieces. The loving oceanside hotel. that fuckin level. the first time through there was the first time a video game ever I-poo poo-you-not scared me, and even now it's easily top 5 of the most genuinely spooky things I've seen in a game. Actually, the that's something this game did so shockingly well, it had pure atmosphere coming out of every pore in a way that I don't think many/or any video games have ever been able to top.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:14
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Error 404 posted:As long as we're talking setpieces. The loving oceanside hotel. that fuckin level. the first time through there was the first time a video game ever I-poo poo-you-not scared me, and even now it's easily top 5 of the most genuinely spooky things I've seen in a game. My only regret is that I died so many times my first playthrough because eventually, I was just like, "Oh hey, ghost of Michael Jackson. How's it hangin'?" Those vases made me jump outta my skin every time though. One of the aspects of vampirism the game captured really well (for me) was how being a vampire was a struggle - physically and mentally - without becoming a sadfest of "Everything sucks and you fail forever."
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Mar 20, 2014 02:22
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Hell yea upgraded to the Q- Prime edition on the Mage20 Kickstarter  Also yea, Bloodlines is a terrific game - maybe figure out what you wanna say though before committing to it for an academic paper? I would get stuck on "this poo poo is boss and you should play it"
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Mar 20, 2014 03:21
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Grim posted:I would get stuck on "this poo poo is boss and you should play it" In fairness everything does kind of boil down to that.
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Mar 20, 2014 03:24
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I'm not gonna lie, the lenticular idea does nothing for me. The prospect of reselling a lenticular cover to a fool five years from now at twice cost, however...
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Mar 20, 2014 03:28
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I think it's super rad, just not $375 rad.
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Mar 20, 2014 03:31
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Someone out there will think it's at least 500-rad in two years.
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Mar 20, 2014 03:31
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Error 404 posted:Do your paper on Bloodlines. No joke. Grim posted:Also yea, Bloodlines is a terrific game - maybe figure out what you wanna say though before committing to it for an academic paper? I would get stuck on "this poo poo is boss and you should play it"
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Mar 20, 2014 03:49
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If you're going to touch on male gaze, don't forget the cheat that does nothing but let you change how big breasts are (and, hilariously, anything else using the same physics rig - which sometimes means shirt-tails on male characters, hair, and IIRC werewolf tails!) since it's pretty relevant.
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Mar 20, 2014 04:18
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Jeanette alone could be three or four paragraphs about the game line's treatment of sexuality, and that's not getting into the ghouls, VV, the organ-eating woman in the basement...
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Mar 20, 2014 04:23
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Depending on what angle the paper's taking, there's full theses' worth of material on applying the aggressive-yet-feminine depiction of vampirism in popular culture outlined in Susan Bordo's "Hunger as Ideology," and how one of the central premises of both VtM and VtR is walking that line: you're playing a predator, but you're supposed to control the impulse; it's truer to your nature to drink deep instead of taking dainty sips, but it's also dangerous to your position in greater society and your sense of self, represented mechanically (degeneration rolls). Just as a for-instance.
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Mar 20, 2014 04:45
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ErichZahn posted:
What fresh unwashed hell is this?
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Mar 20, 2014 05:07
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I for one am hoping that Virtual Adepts are presented explicitly as a throwback to 90s hacker imagery, not updated to Web 2.0 in any way. e: Good thing Etherites specialize in Matter, she's gonna need it to get that outfit on 
Kellsterik fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Mar 20, 2014 |
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Mar 20, 2014 05:24
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In Mage20 all Virtual Adepts are Silicon Valley tech industry bros seeking to "disrupt" the Syndicate's business paradigms.
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Mar 20, 2014 05:44
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Pope Guilty posted:In Mage20 all Virtual Adepts are Silicon Valley tech industry bros seeking to "disrupt" the Syndicate's business paradigms.
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Mar 20, 2014 05:49
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Chernobyl Peace Prize posted:So in M20 every VA joins the Technocracy after they get some (any) xp? Yeah, but they think they're still part of the Traditions. CUTTING SOCIAL COMMENTARY
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Mar 20, 2014 05:53
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As long as the Verbena and Akashics remain the Stone Mountain, Georgia idea of Wicca and "eastern anything," it's still classic Mage in our hearts.
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Mar 20, 2014 05:55
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Chernobyl Peace Prize posted:So in M20 every VA joins the Technocracy after they get some (any) xp? Isn't that what VAs do anyway? I always pictured a revolving door between the VA and the Technocracy based on your ever-changing ratio of jaded idealist and desperate for funding/legitimacy.
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Mar 20, 2014 06:09
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Error 404 posted:As long as we're talking setpieces. The loving oceanside hotel. that fuckin level. the first time through there was the first time a video game ever I-poo poo-you-not scared me, and even now it's easily top 5 of the most genuinely spooky things I've seen in a game. In every discussion of Bloodlines I've seen online someone will inevitably bring up how the Oceanside hotel gave them the heeby-geebies. I just think it's so cool how so many gamers, of both video and table alike, agree on how well put together that dungeon was. I see it as a staple of good level/mission design, and often look to it when wondering how to gently caress with my players when I throw ghosts at them.
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Mar 20, 2014 06:47
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What's so hosed up about this is that Oceanside Hotel wasn't scary at all because a ghost just doesn't trump a vampire. I'm sorry, but it's true. Oh, noooo, a thrown vase or something, it's not like I can't laugh off a direct shotgun blast. Get out of here with this poo poo, Casper
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Mar 20, 2014 06:49
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Ferrinus posted:What's so hosed up about this is that Oceanside Hotel wasn't scary at all because a ghost just doesn't trump a vampire. I'm sorry, but it's true. Oh, noooo, a thrown vase or something, it's not like I can't laugh off a direct shotgun blast. Get out of here with this poo poo, Casper I'm pretty sure if VtM: Bloodlines had made you fight a ghost it would have been an indestructible geometric hazard that killed you on contact like the Angry Sun in Super Mario 3.
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Mar 20, 2014 06:52
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Yeah, while I agree that by-the-book ghosts can't poo poo on a Kindred that hard, Bloodline made those vases take off more health than anything else in that game so far. Well, unless you had fought the Kui-Jin in the warehouse by that point but I'm not too sure as it's been awhile since my last playthrough. Between this thread and this thread that is likely to change.
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Mar 20, 2014 07:04
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Ferrinus posted:What's so hosed up about this is that Oceanside Hotel wasn't scary at all because a ghost just doesn't trump a vampire. I'm sorry, but it's true. Oh, noooo, a thrown vase or something, it's not like I can't laugh off a direct shotgun blast. Get out of here with this poo poo, Casper You play Oceanside Hotel the first time and it's scary. Every time you play it thereafter it's just a pain in the rear end. You're getting little chunks of your health whittled off by random poo poo and staggering through a confusingly laid-out linear dungeon and hey did this lady seriously write in her diary while her husband was axing down the door?
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Mar 20, 2014 09:24
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Down With People posted:You play Oceanside Hotel the first time and it's scary. Maybe she was dictating.
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Mar 20, 2014 19:45
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Down With People posted:You play Oceanside Hotel the first time and it's scary.] Only if you have insufficient mastery of Halloween monster bossfight tier lists.
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Mar 20, 2014 20:21
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Ferrinus posted:Only if you have insufficient mastery of Halloween monster bossfight tier lists. broken-tier: Wizard pro-tier: Werewolf, Vampire, Frankenstein scrub-tier: ghost, mummy, gargoyle garbage-tier: fishman
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Mar 20, 2014 20:37
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A ghost that can manage to set a whole hotel on fire definitely has decent odds on a Vampire who was literally embraced hours ago.
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Mar 20, 2014 20:45
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A lone human can also set a hotel on fire but you're not gonna find a vampire all "g-g-g-guys I th-think there might be a m-m-mortal here!!" Incidentally the tier list goes: satan grim reaper demon vampire werewolf witch frankenstein's monster skeleton ghost zombie
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Mar 20, 2014 20:50
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Ferrinus posted:Incidentally the tier list goes:
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Mar 20, 2014 21:01
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I trust everyone here is as hyped as I am for Skeleton: the Chattering, a storytelling game of hiding in barrels.
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Mar 20, 2014 21:23
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Halloween Jack posted:I can't even tell which ones you made up. There actually was a fan game called Zombie: the Coil. Can't recall how stupid it was or not. And I'm STILL shouting angrily at clouds over that drat SoE picture. What part of that suggests "mad scientist" or "idealistic Utopian"?
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Mar 20, 2014 21:49
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Ferrinus posted:I trust everyone here is as hyped as I am for Skeleton: the Chattering, a storytelling game of hiding in barrels. The five groups could be: Skeleton with melee weapon Skeleton with bow and arrow Flaming Skeleton Big Skeleton Glow in the Dark Skeleton
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Mar 20, 2014 21:54
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Swagger Dagger posted:The five groups could be: Antagonist recommended-NPC-only skeletons with four arms, animal bones, etc.
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Mar 20, 2014 22:05
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Gerund posted:garbage-tier: fishman Don't you dare slander the name of the Deep Ones! 
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Mar 20, 2014 22:18
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