Selfsurprise

One of the fundamental problems that faces the question of vigilantism is the hoary old problem of differentiating morals from ethics, as the two are often confused for one another by less discerning contributors to the argument. A vigilante's actions typically stems from a moral stance informed by their own personal and communal ideas of right and wrong, i.e. "I think this person deserves to die/go to jail/be punished/etc", though conversely an ethical vigilante may justify an identical action according to a studied application of principles, i.e. "this person is accountable for their conduct, they ought to die/go to jail/be punished/etc". There is a reason that ethics are often called the "science of morality". We almost mustn't confuse vigilantism with outright assassination as the outcome of the former is nebulously defined until it's undertaken, whereas the latter's intention (regardless of outcome) is unequivocal.

Great idea for a topic Helio! :3 Physical pain is a fascinating phenomena. Under most circumstances the sudden sensation of pain is emotionally and cognitively overriding, it absolutely refuses to be ignored as a tactile feeling. Yet despite this we can often take physical pain entirely for granted, not often subjecting it to the kind of intellectual rigour or literary criticism that psychological and spiritual pain is encumbered with. Partly the reason for this, I venture, is because when discussing pain it's somewhat more natural to fixate upon emotional pain out of human empathy and/or analytical curiosity. These are things that are harder to define and objectify than physical pain, but because it is intrinsically related to human self-awareness and language we seem to be able to talk about it more naturally and subjectively. As an example think of how rich and multifaceted our terminology describing the nuances of sadness are - generally people grasp the difference between wistful nostalgia, romantic melancholy, heartfelt sympathy, and outright accidie and nihilistic depression. Destructive anhedonia is a world apart from a fleeting feeling of tragedy, but their relationship is abstractedly understood by cultural consensus. More importantly it's nigh on impossible to engage higher faculties of self-criticism when we are in literal bodily pain, your attention and mindset is temporarily altered by the sensation, a very animal and prepersonal need to stop the source or cause of the pain. There is the peculiar duality to consider between what I dare reason is good and bad pain. The aforementioned unthinking pain I previously alluded to typically falls into the bad category. Examples of the good pain I'm referring to could include cracking your knuckles and joints to alleviate stiffness, putting antiseptic cream on cracked lips that stings satisfyingly, stretching painfully compressed muscles in your legs whilst in bed, etc. It probably has something to do with the intentionality of the action, even if the methods are less than medically desirable, some irascible bias in one's mind trusts these individualistic means of self-medication over someone else's assertions almost to the point of delusion. Different from but not entirely related to the notion of good pain is the pain endured for some transcendent higher ideal, most often in the name of art and expression. Some examples that spring most readily to my knowledge is the health-and-safety worrying work by certain early performance artists like Chris Burden and Marina Abramović. One of the formers more infamous performances meant to demonstrate taking art to its extreme logical conclusion was Shoot (1971) in which he had a collaborator quite literally shoot him in the arm with a rifle. The latter artists more esoteric body of work often relate to her troubled relationship with her parents and nstionality, conveniently tying the two planes of physical and mental anguish into highly disturbing and memorable actions; notable of which is her Thomas Lips (1975) performance whose details I'll leave for the discerning reader to discover for themselves. It involves nudity, broken glass and whipping, and yet somehow isn't even remotely kinky - more bloodily ritualistic. Not that simulated mutilation and evoking of pain can't be just as effective as the real thing, often it can be worse because it can expose an audience to an unbearably exaggerated ordeal. One of the most shocking I've ever stumbled upon is Mike Parr's Cathartic Action: Social Gestus No. 5 (1977) in which the artist seemingly hacked off one of his own arms with an axe. The contemporary audience of this piece largely wasn't aware that Parr possessed a deformed left arm, and that he was actually hacking off a prosthetic filled with meat. Parr often conceived of performances that would allow him to alleviate his frustrations with his own physical disabilities and what he felt to be social isolation and discrimination because of it. It certainly isn't a world apart from the face-cutting gestures utilized in a later decade by the frontman Kevin Ogilvie (alias Nivek Ogre) of the industrial band Skinny Puppy. GTtzB17SKwQ ^ Viewers sensitive to the sight of blood and self-harm might want to stop watching this at the 6:50 mark. You might still the enjoy this slab of gnarly old school industrial music though!

Anybody here a fan of Jim Sterling? I thought it might be worthwhile to have some variety of "response" thread for his channel because the guy tends to engender a lot of discussion, given that he isn't one to shy away from controversial topics, call out the gaming industry for it's oft cretinous behaviour and laugh in the big stupid face of the gaming communities more toxic demographics wherever and whenever they leer up from under their bridges. That, and I'd much rather chat about his videos with you fine upstanding people than the fetid abhumans that populate YouTube comments. [ : FRIENDLY NOTICE : Needless to say if you haven't watched the videos that will invariably be featured here, there might be spoilers contained herein. If you have seen them already or you don't mind having certain details unveiled to you, read on.] XSb_wfDHuOY What do you think about his lineup of winning titles this year? Whilst the perversely crass knee-jerk reactionary in me looks forward to his "Shittiest Games of the Year" videos much more, I can't find any fault with his particular selections in this round. I was really glad and not in-the-least-bit-surprised that the new Doom took pride of place in it. I loved his surmisation of Doom Guy's appeal ( ) earlier in the year, that the faceless mute and more-or-less anonymous Doom Guy had more personality and charisma than the sad majority of full-voiced, flesh-out and individual characters that marrs the medium. I'm also really pleased that Pony Island got a mention for it's smart and darkly humorous meta premise, it's one I've actually played myself recently and the only downside I can see to the title is that it's innovative approach will surely inspire a slew of horrible try-hards trying to cash-in on it's originality. Finally, I wasn't aware the creators of Limbo had created a new game in the same platforming vein as that title, I'd really like to give Inside a go. The Cornflakes Homunculus makes me want to cry...

Just a fun and more throwaway thread that I wanted to post after writing up my Adapting Books Into Games thread which ended up being more cumbersome and sizeable than I originally intended - I had a lot of time to tinker with it whilst my internet access was down... ;p Have you ever wondered about living within the confines of a fictional setting? Whether it's an entirely imaginary realm or some radical alternative Earth, despite if you would want to actually live there or not, if you happened to exist within the context of that place who or what would you be? Feel free to unshackle your-good-selves from the restraints of humanity and become entirely different species. I personally think a more interesting angle to tackle the question would be to give two answers: the first answer being what you would you love to be in any given setting according to your most unashamed geeky fantasies, and the second answer being what (in all honestly) you would most likely be doing in that world - assuming they aren't one and the same thing! Also, though I'm aware this thread is in the gaming subforum, feel free to venture outside of computer gaming and into tabletop, TV, literary and wargame fantasy/sci-fi settings. I've been playing Skyrim a huge amount for the past two weeks and there is something about the rather Lovecraftian seekers that appeals to my inordinate fondness for tentacled alien horrors from another plane of existence. Being some sort of unspeakable eldritch servitor of Hermaeus Mora composed of tentacles and eyes would suit me just fine. But in all likelihood I'd actually be some inadequate suburban orc living with Breton's who is afraid of his own kind, who is either working his bollocks off in a storehouse or market somewhere or reading alone - and I have a pet mud crab called Mr. Snips. Actually, my second answer doesn't sound like such a terrible life after all... :3 Some helpful examples if you can't think of any worlds off the top of your head 2000 AD comics and spinoffs BioShock Dark Souls Dr. Who Dragon Quest Dungeons & Dragons (thats a lot of settings right there!) The Elder Scrolls games Fallout series Any of the Final Fantasy games Anything H.P. Lovecraft (or otherwise Mythos) related Mass Effect Metal Gear Solid Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Warhammer (and Warhammer 40,000) The Witcher games

Have you ever read a book and felt that the story is rich with game adaptation potential? If your bag is non-fiction, have you read of some idea or concept that might make a compelling theme or unique game mechanic? If so, then this thread was made for your literary fantasies in mind. I’ve added a poll simply to garner some activity on this topic, because not everyone here is going to be a bookworm and I want them to feel welcome to wade in on the subject. I'll try my utmost not to overdo the descriptions for the opening post and thus aid anyone not especially interested in the topic in picking one of the ten examples provided in the above poll. Otherwise feel free to ignore the poll altogether and post your own books (both old favourites and newly discovered material) that you reckon could make for a great video game franchise.

Don't make me post a twenty paragraph riposte to this Ninja. ;p (sorry)

"I'm not a coconut!"

Status ailments or effects that don't really announce themselves too dramatically. As much as I absolutely want to bum Skyrim for the rest of my natural life, I sometimes fail to notice that I've contracted diseases during very intense fights or encounters that haven't gone quite to plan. I arrived in Ivarstead after finishing a quest involving Treva's Watch only to find those Miraak cultists and some random Redguard who wanted to challenge me. Whilst I was busy trying not to die in a spell/melee fight as the weedly little stealth-build character that I am, out of seemingly nowhere I was attacked by a pair of vampires and a bunch of their death hounds. Nearly two hours later whilst fannying about in some dungeon, my vision went red and the game informed me that the sun had risen and I was feeling weakened. I didn't even know I'd contracted vampirism.

STOP BEING SLOW COMPUTER. PLEASE.

A channel I've never heard of until now. In as many words as possible: can you describe what a hamster is?

Working a lot, sadly.

^ Name: Uroalka Ghost-jaw Race: Orc Age: 23 Class: Incarnate (characters that are a living manifestation of an alignment [source: Magic of Icarnum) Alignment: NG Deity: Gwynharwyf (CG celestial paragon of the Eladrins) Next portrait... Thats fair enough. I wasn't exactly happy with what I settled on either. Also I apologize that it's taken me so long to respond to you Helio, I haven't been able to get on the internet this week. It's a shame these threads don't get the kind of traffic they deserve. Hopefully the picture I provided for the next character has a little more personality for you! ;3

BLESSED KYNARETH I'M BACK ONLINE. Thanks to an unholy alliance betwixt TalkTalk (i.e. the world's most incompetent internet provider) and this plane of existences most malignant OS whose name we hardly dare pronounce (if by some freak chance you don't know what I'm referring to, I'm naturally talking about Windows 10) I've been without any kind of internet access for the last nine days. Bare in mind I haven't done anything different to my computer prior to that, I didn't willingly update anything, receive any viruses, changed providers or modems or anything like that. If I didn't spend so much time looking after my little cousins or consoling myself with Skyrim I might of been rendered irretrievably insane. Something has happened in my brain to turn utterly biased against Windows 10. I cannot conceive of or accept any kind of reasonable criticism or adaptation to it. I don't even feel especially angry about the OS. It's obviously not meant to be witnessed or utilized by human beings. For all I know Windows 10 might actually be an amazing OS. But because I'm not a sapient mass of tentacles from the Far Realms, I get the feeling that a simple hominid like me isn't it's intended user. I'm sorry everyone. Once I've calmed down I'll try to post something less tumour-inducing. I have some ideas for threads I've been somewhat desperate to post for your perusal. I should have some time in the week to do those, assuming my computer doesn't simplt decide to become a chitinous eyeball monster and devour me whilst I sleep.

I think now that he'll be using the Reddit voting system for questions, I suppose my own questions would probably be overlooked if I posted them there. I don't really blame you for trying to throw all your eggs in one basket before the avenues close

This might just be the best thread anyone has ever come up with, ever, in the whole history of foruming... :3 Hyperbole aside I hope this thread gets some legitimate responses and proves to be as fun for everyone as it will for me. I'll do my utmost to provide titles for the books and supplements I've sourced some the less core material from. Your half-elf fellow certainly sounds like BoVD party material, excellent usage of Cas in his bio. I hope my following character based on the image provided would make for a suitable companion for Syron/Re'vialis, though I concede your guy has a better backstory than this dude. Just out of curiosity would you have any issues if I posted pictures of monster races or other non-PHB races? I'd stick with D&D stuff obviously, I don't want to spoil your thread with my own taste for the aberrant. ^ Name: Rjusttoy The Repulsive Race: Dwarf Age: 92 Class: Divine Mind (a psionic class where the user derives their psychic abilities from the worship of a God [source: Complete Psionic]) Alignment: TN Deity: Khostren (NE Demigod of Vermin [source: Ghostwalk]) Quotes: "My fellow dwarves believe I resent them, despise them even. Truth is I feel little different towards my kith and kin than I do the rest of the so-called 'higher-born races'. My fellow humanoids are belaboured with the delusion that they are predestined for triumph by the merit of their self-awareness alone. Forgive me my pathos, but I can't help feeling sorry for them." "I've always felt sympathy towards insects, creatures so casually stamped-out of existence by my clumsy brethren's boots. They do not indulge the trivialities like honour or agenda. Khostren showed me to whom I truly owe my empathy." Bio: Next portrait... ^ She's somewhat generic I'll admit. I thought i'd give the thread a chance before I really let rip the weirdness in me.

"Why are my eyes so big? Well you see, my species evolved from a creature similiar to your planet's Bush Babies..."

"Lock up your sons. And daughters. I'm not fussy..."

I'm going to watch it and then send inscrutable clues to you so you can try to guess why Helio is internet famous. Clues so devious and cunning that they'll tax the sinews of your erudition and insight. ;p (if you like I'll let you know when I know, I'll post a timestamp or something)

Update #1: dead laptop. Not much to cry over, it was a Lenovo. Still, a major hindrance. That's less of an update and more of a snag, but I appreciate the comitment to your audience.

Michael James Delligatti, Creator of the Big Mac, Dies at 98 That's it. 2016 is now objectively and officially terrible.

By the way, "Freeman University" is coincidental and refers to Morgan Freeman, since, you know, films. There's not going to be as much gunplay as in Half-Life, it's more like Strife. But still, there will be a couple weapons: revolver, MP5 (modified so that it has a 30 round magazine and shoots in bursts), and shotgun. Plus, your friend Rodney will be a permanent ally (at least, as long as you don't let him die, and trust me he can die) and will have the ability to upgrade himself with most weapons left on the ground. I'm still working on the other game as well, but I've moved laptop recently and lost a lot of the files. Still, I wasn't that far into development, so it should be pretty easy to catch up. I do hope you keep us updated about this Mr. -liveprose, but at the same time I know how these projects are, no so pressure! Your synopsis definitely hints at some sort of Shadow Over Innsmouth vibe.

This is actually a really good idea for a thread Helio. Especially for a forumite like me who is almost useless at keeping tabs on sales and clearances.

There is definitely a Patrick McGoohan-esque The Prisoner vibe within that game.

^ I know some of us of said similar things before, but you a Saint ScumCoder. I just felt I should express my thanks for all the effort you put into these timestamps.

Potty Pigeon: Essentially a homage to the infamous Jerry Jackson flash toons, but each episode is twenty-five minutes long and centre on the unremitting dialogue from the pigeon protagonist. Is rapidly banned from terrestrial TV for being extraordinarily offensive and downright weird. The Chosen - Well of Souls: A low budget amateurish attempt at nudging into Game of Thrones market that becomes inexplicably popular.