T w e n t y S i d e d
A reader was kind enough to send along a link to the webcomic Extra Life, and this comic in particular. The first two panels aren’t even all that far-fetched. BioShock requires online registration and Steam requires positive ID before you can play.
Of course, every time they add a layer of DRM some ninny will appear in the forums crowing that, “This is only a little more hassle than previous DRM schemes.” Which is true. But reasonable people like me are not comparing this year’s DRM burden with last year’s. We’re comparing this year’s DRM burden to the burden we deserve as paying customers. Which is zero.
No, I’m not letting this subject rest. Writing on this blog has now become some sort of personal challenge, wherein I try to twist every subject into a rant against BioShock and the evil retarded pedophilic inbred cannibal Nazi liars at 2kGames. I will not be satisfied until the company is driven out of business and the involved parties are all conscripted into forced labor working in a malaria-infested South American turd mine. The company headquarters should then be burned to the ground and the ashes gathered up and disposed of in the same manner as depleted rods from a nuclear power plant. The building site will forever after remain a barren scar on the face of the world, since no life could hope to grow where…
Oh geeze. Where was I? Oh right. Webcomic. Yeah. Here is another good one, simply infused with the truth. Extra Life. Funny comic.
Where’s my medicine?
Trekrospective
A look back at Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abrams Reboot.
Grand Theft Auto Retrospective
This series began as a cheap little 2D overhead game and grew into the most profitable entertainment product ever made. I have a love / hate relationship with the series.
Pixel City Dev Blog
An attempt to make a good looking cityscape with nothing but simple tricks and a few rectangles of light.
The Strange Evolution of OpenGL
Sometimes software is engineered. Sometimes it grows organically. And sometimes it's thrown together seemingly at random over two decades.
How I Plan To Rule This Dumb Industry
Here is how I'd conquer the game-publishing business. (Hint: NOT by copying EA, 2K, Activision, Take-Two, or Ubisoft.)
You don’t need meds Shamus. Well, not that I know of anyway. 2kGames might need some though. Lots.
And lots.
A
the law has proven true once again. as arguements continue, the overall chance for a nazi reference reaches one. the nazi reference has finally been made.
besides that bit of business, keep us updated on the shitshow that is 2k games. you’re my one bit of reliable geek news on the subject, to be honest.
G’day. I bought a second hand game the other day and thought of your rants against bioshock. If I remember right you said you wouldn’t download it illegally because you’re not a theif (good for you) and you wouldn’t buy it and download a hack for the DRM because you don’t want any money to go to 2k (good for you) but this meant you couldn’t play a game you’d been looking forwards to (not so good for you)
Could you go and buy a second hand copy and download something to get around the DRM? That way you can play it the way you like, but you won’t have given anything to 2k games and you’ll still have paid a fair price for it. I’m not sure if shops would stock it second hand but there’s a few copies kicking about on ebay.
You were doing great till you added South America as an undesirable destination.
While I completely agree with your fight against DRM, I resent being told that my place of residence is undesirable.
Shamus,
The worst part about this whole situation is that you simply *must* play Bioshock. I just started it this week and it is insanely good.
I would like to offer a counter to Jadawin and say that it is not all that great. Have you played System Shock 2? I think I remember you saying you have. Well, then you’ve already played Bioshock. Same game, except instead of having crappy graphics for its time it now has awesome graphics and runs like crap.
Jadawin – I think you underestimate the iron will of Shamus.
You’re right, by the way. This issue doesn’t get enough attention. It deserves more attention. Also, outcry.
Will you shut u…err…. wait, wrong blog. I am kind of enjoying the “ranting” (not so much, more like movie critics) about SecuROM so this isn’t scaring me away yet. The comics are real fun though :)
Uh.. Jadawin.. you’d better duck..
It’s not that South America is such a bad place, but those malaria-infested turd mines sure as hell are!
gedece: you live in “a malaria-infested South American turd mine”? Wow. And you like it there?
Seamus: Send them to where I live, it’s shitty enough. I don’t like it and you may slag it off.
The WoW comic above was actually a guest strip, which pointed me to the Good Ship Chronicles, which features some very, very cool B&W art.
http://www.goodshipchronicles.com/index.php
The building site will forever after remain a barren scar on the face of the world, since no life could hope to grow where…
Minas Morgul? Then(to follow the thing to it’s end) Who’s the Witch-King? For that matter, what counts as Gondor?
NOOOOO! More web comics… My life is over!!!
Redhillian, no, I only live in South America, but the point is that by saying “a malaria-infested turd mine” the effect is achieved, and adding the other part implies that malaria-infested turd mine are worst in South America because it’s South America than in the rest of the world.
If you check in http://www.anothertravel.com/health/malaria.html you’ll see that there’s malaria all over the world, so I don’t see the need to localize it in such a derogative way.
Wow, you really hold a grudge, Shamus. Remind me to never get on your bad side or I’ll cop the worst ear bashing of my life XD
#3 Greg: Shamus is making a sacrifice for what he believes in. There’s nothing wrong with that whether you agree with his actions or not. It isn’t hurting anybody else, after all.
I wonder why South America was the target of ire in that rant…maybe Antarctica would have been a better target since nobody* really lives there and the conditions would be rather harsh.
*I’m generalising.
I didn’t know one could mine turds.
You live, you learn.
ArchU, I’m all for paying whatever price it takes for what you believe in – I just don’t want to see anyone pay a higher price than they have to (especially when I agree with them). Not buying it because you don’t want to give a company that treats you like criminals any money is a fair and noble sacrafice. Not downloading it beacuse you don’t want to be that criminal is the same. I just don’t understand the rationale behind not playing it if doing so doesn’t benefit the company or involve stealing the game. What point is made by that sacrafice?
South American turd mining: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano
From the article: “The War of the Pacific between the Peru-Bolivia alliance and Chile was primarily based upon Bolivia’s attempt to tax Chilean guano harvesters.”
In that the same article it says that several islands in the pacific ocean area, some in locations not belonging to South America, are areas where guano is harvested. Still I fail to see why South America had to go into that sentence.
I think he said South America because South America is where several Nazi leaders were rumored to have fled to after The end of World War 2. With the previous mention of Nazis and all, it was probably on his mind.
Still no words about it from Shamus, it’s weird, he’s known from answering this kind of things, correcting the posts, or providing a decent explanation. I highly appreciate his inteligence, that’s why it hurts so much to hear something like that coming from him.
I chose South America because it is one place known for having lots of dense rainforest. Rainforests are brutal places for human beings to inhabit, and thus a turd mine in South America would be worse than (say) the same thing in the south of France.
I could have chosen Central America as well, or even a specific country, but geeze… it was a tossed off joke and I didn’t think it was worth agonizing over.
Funny, I always thought that having a lot of rainforest was really good, and that it helped balance the human impact on the enviroment. But well, I’m known for weird points of view. Thanks for claryfiying, Shamus.
@Greg:
The thing is that even if he buys it second-hand, someone will have given 2kGames some money, and that’s just not on.
I totally approve your cruzade, Shamus. It’s nonsense that people who pay money have a worst treatment than people who don’t.