PREXUS'S PROFILE

author=VideoWizard link=topic=636.msg8373#msg8373 date=1201860088
The great thing about episodic content is
-it won't feel like a 320 hour game. Some of the great shows of all time had 100s of episodes. If you could play any one at any time, without having to go through all the ones before it, it'd be great.
-you can add special episodes at any time. This includes side quests at the end of the game. Or the end of the entire project in this case.

Say you liked The Simpsons episode 75. Notice that you didn't have to watch episodes 1-74 to get to that point, whereas you would in an epic RPG. 20 minutes an episode (remember, commercials) times 74 episodes is 1480 minutes, or about 25 hours.

If I had to watch the equivalent of 74 episodes of The Simpsons before I got to the part I wanted to see, I'd give up. By the way: a 320 hour game comes out to 960 20 min. episodes- more than The Simpsons has produced. This is also why most RPGs have minimal replay value.

There have been 400 episodes, which at 20 min. each is about 133 hours (about as long as Dragon Quest VII). For a 40 hour RPG, that is the equivalent of 120 episodes (six seasons, or roughly the "good" part of The Simpsons- to me, it went downhill after about 1996). Even a 20 hour RPG is "only" 60 episodes (about three seasons' worth!)

author=rcholbert link=topic=628.msg8263#msg8263 date=1201756931
1. The Bible

I'm sure most of you liberal naysayers would cheerfully relegate the Bible to fiction, but I am not one of those. I read the Bible daily with scheduled readings from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. I don't believe it to be error free, though. Inspired by God, written by Man. And Man is pretty stupid.

2. The Assault on Reason by former Vice-President Al Gore

The book reasserted my love for Gore. After he "lost" the Presidential elections in 2000, I thought he grew a beard and hid in a cave. Well, he did. But when he returned he had a kickass book, an award winning documentary and a Nobel Peace prize.

3. Giving by former President Bill Clinton

This book has really inspired me to participate with non-profit organizations. I've actually been loaning money to Kiva.org because of it, and have created a policy of writting off hosting payments due to me if the client loans money to Kiva.

4. The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns

Abraham Lincoln is easily the best president in U.S. history, and this book shows why he kicked ass and chewed bubblegum... and he's all out of bubblegum because it hadn't been invented yet. Honest Abe's sheer will to keep the country together is why America is one nation today (though sometimes I wish I didn't have to claim the other half).

5. The Audacity of Hope by Senator Barack Obama.

I just started reading this recently, but it's already shot way up my list. Barack is an inspirational writer and I hope he does well on Super Tuesday - I'm rooting for him (and voting for him, and going door to door in negative temperatures for him).

6. Commentaries on the Civil War by ancient Roman dictator Julius Caesar.

Part history lesson, part propaganda, Caesar's memoirs are very fascinating for me. The Roman civil war that followed the collapse of the Triumvirate was one of the most crucial junctions in history.

7. Commentaries on the Gallic War by ancient Roman dictator Julius Caesar.

See above. Same deal, but this one is about how Caesar, as pro-consul, made Western Europe his playground. Also, he used the plunders from this war to fund his later war! Oh, the wit.

8.Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.

It's quite outdated, but something about the book's passionate appeal to a strong sovereign tingles my spider-sense. It inspired a lot of our early political mechanisms, but not as much as it should have.


9. The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

I'm a sucker for military strategies and also for ancient China. This one mixes the two nicely. It's got a lot of cool one-line quotations for those of you who couldn't stomach the whole thing.

10. Made in America by Sam Walton.

Despite whatever my feelings towards Wal-Mart may be, Sam's autobiography is a interesting look at how the place got started and what it used to be about. You could learn a lot about retail from this book -- I sure did.


And, the list of shame..


Bottom of the list - If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans (or any other book) by Ann Coulter.

If Ann had any brains, she'd quit writing all sorts of anti-Democratic propaganda as a substitute for having no talent and a very small claim to fame. She's easily the most disgusting person I've ever had the not-pleasure of reading.