Sinister System

Some of you know what a big ARG nerd I am. Well, I've been following the nascent campaign surrounding JJA's upcoming alien flick, "Super 8".

Weeks ago we players found an in-game newspaper ad/coupon for "Rocket Poppeteers", an astronaut club surrounding an imaginary brand of Rocket Pops desserts, and we all sent them to the address, along with our desired "astronaut name".

Today, the long awaited reply came.

Interestingly when I sent my astronaut name in it was "SGT. Starborn" (I couldn't fit the whole thing.) My letter (hand addressed) came back to "Sergeant Starborn". If these are meant to be log ins, I wonder which I'll have to use?

Also, sergeant being spelled correctly (as opposed to someone else who got their letter misspelled, when they had spelled it correctly) and the vastly different handwriting proves that multiple abused Paramount interns had to work on this project!

Hoping the arrival of these letters kicks off some interesting in-game interaction

Click for larger



ETA: Well, it turns out it did use it as a login, and it was as confusing as I predicted. SGT. allcaps with period.

David:




Mordax




I didn't really believe it, so I ran several of our pieces of writing each through the thing. The results were 100% for David, and mostly consistent for me (I tend to vary my style a bit).

-Mordax

Shamefully, I haven't actually read any of Palahniuk's work.

-D

Two weeks ago I played a game called Alan Wake that had pretty much just come out. I've spent the last weeks kinda chewing it over in my mind and deciding what to say about it.

Firstly, I'd like to make it clear that I wasn't one of those people who'd been following the game's development for years. I'd probably heard about it somewhere along the line, but it wasn't on my radar until Yahtzee ripped the game a new on on Zero Punctuation. Wading through all of his vitriol, it actually seemed like a game I'd like, so I wend and looked up some info about it. It became clear that I NEEDED that game. I had it that evening.

I don't usually play games in one sitting. Alan Wake I powered through in 2 days in which I did 2 things; play Alan Wake and sleep.

There was nothing about the game that didn't utterly entrance me. Unlike Silent Hill, it didn't utterly terrify me, but the atmosphere was suffused with this creepy *weirdness* that I just thoroughly enjoyed. Yahtzee was right about one thing; the game really does preform pretty vigorous fellatio on Stephen King. But I *liked that*. XD Probably because King is probably my most admired author.

The recaps that Yahtzee had a problem with are because the game is deliberately structured as a TV miniseries; it hits the notes exactly rigtht. Its like you're watching it on the Sci-Fi network. (Since its a miniseries, not a made for TV movie, this is meant as a compliment.)

Yes, the game is linear, and I understand how that disappoints people who'd been following the development and looked forward to it as a sandbox game. However, it *works* in its linearity. Not only does it help the narrative stay coherent and tight, but it also means no wandering around for three hours trying to figure out what you're supposed to be doing to progress. I SUCK at video games (especially ones involving shooting) and I didn't once have to consult an FAQ on how to continue.

They managed to make the gunplay fun and intuitive to me, which means any veteran FPS player will probably find it childishly simple, but I don't care, because I found it so refreshingly fun to play. Yeah, I still died quite a few times, on the easiest setting, but never so many times in one spot that I got pissed off or wanted to stop playing.

The story however, is the real gem. I can't say too much about it without spoiling it, but it's pitch-perfect. It's extremely meta and mind-screwy. And awesome. I mean seriously, you play as a writer in a nightmare little Maine town, finding manuscript pages that you don't remember writing, that describe what's happening to you. And it GETS WEIRDER. Even if the gameplay sucked (which it doesn't) I would recommend this to any fan of the genre, (or any fan of writing) simply on merit of the story alone.

Speaking of things I would recommend Alan Wake soley on the merits of; the soundtrack. Seriously. Talk about pitch perfect.

Look... just. Just play this game, okay? Or watch a let's play, or something. I'm serious. Its like 15 hours if you suck at it. That's not a waste, that's an *investment*.



-David

PS: Oh, and if you're one of those people who won't play a game unless its graphics give you a blow job, THIS GAME'S GRAPHICS GAVE ME A BLOW JOB, OKAY? Just PLAY IT.

I am tired, tired, TIRED of people imagining the blackest, most obscene horrors they can come up with and justifying them under the flimsy premise that the darker something is the closer it is to reality.

-D

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Well, neither of us usually answers these questions, but this one seemed to be too good to pass up,

Our birth name "Greer" is the name we've both had to answer to since childhood, obviously. As such, while it applies to both of us, neither really "owns" it. We've come to think of "Greer" as a gestalt entity; the two of us functioning together. The person that those who know us as one person see.

As a person who is male, but female-bodied, I very much appreciate the androgyny inherent in the name. I'm sure people who see it written down without meeting me have no idea what gender to expect. On the otherhand, as above, it's not really *my* name. I did, a number of years ago, go searching for a name to call my own. I tried on a few, but I ended up with David, which I really think expresses my inner self. Traditional, solid, unassuming, etc. A lot of trasgendered guys that I'm familiar with pick very 'trendy' and modern names, which I suppose is nice, but it feels a biut cliche and "not me". I'm not an Aidan or a Cameron. Maybe an Arthur or a James, but really, I think I settled on my ideal name long ago.

-David

I like names. I collect them like old ladies with Precious Moments statues. I have a ton; and Im not particularly fond of "Greer" its just so plain and unimpressive. But I already talked about my name a while ago here

-Mordax

I CANNOT DEAL WITH IT ANY MORE. I NEED TO GET RID OF THIS FUCKING LONG HAIR.

CAPSLOCK OF PISSED.

Saban has purchased Power Rangers back from Disney.

Clearly Linkara must be responsible.

The good news? More Power Rangers with the feel of the old series.

The ban news? No Power Rangers appearances in Kingdom Hearts. ;)

-David

Hi guys. Thank you for all the love and support, it really helps.

I'm told she's awake now, but on life support. Unfortunately, since she's across the US from us, all of our info is filtered through multiple relatives in a heinous game of telephone. But what I'm hear is she's stable for the moment.

Thanks again, everyone.

-D

Finally found a place that delivers that actually makes subs I like! YEAH! Bacon=necessary ingredient of any sub.

-D

A long time ago I was one of the main authors in a shared fanfiction universe for the Matrix.

I left my characters in a really dire situation when I quit, and its haunted me for quite some time.

I finally went back, and gave them an ending.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5937905/1/

-D

Ooh, ohh! Now I can say it! THIS Vincent!

-Vincent

ETA: *facepalm* I accidentally uploaded it onto the wrong account initially,. *sigh* I'm an idiot.

-D