AliasTheory

Hmm. I can't really recommend you anything since I don't know what you actually like. There are a lot of solid games out there, and I don't think you could have possibly seen everything there is to see. I wouldn't say gaming is alienating your age group; maybe you just aren't looking in the right places. If you are an avid gamer like I am who likes a lot of different games, try check out GameFAQ.com if you haven't. I'm biased, but maybe you should try fighting games? Bear in mind they aren't pick up and play games.

I would say it depends on what you like. I liked the moral ambiguity of the Pitt, but Point Lookout has that great exploration. PL is more of standard Fallout 3 gameplay...more of the same. But PL has junk loot compared to the Pitt, which has the Infiltrator and axe. The better idea if you really love Fallout 3: Save some money and get everything. All are high quality experiences. Just think: a movie ticket costs around 8 US dollars. Most don't last even three hours. You'll definitely get three hours well spent either way. :) (On the side note, personally, I really wouldn't have gotten Zeta.) My vote goes to the Pitt though. Liked the atmosphere more.

Not sure what the language policy is exactly after some inconsistencies, so I'll just post the URL to the image: http://myfacewhen.com/i/516.jpg I've got this under control. I win.

...man. I might forget about Borderlands by then! I'll be playing Reach and maybe even some Dead Rising 2. If I get the time, I'll definitely be in. Still, no matter the enemies and level cap...DOUBLE ANARCHY. ALL THE WAY. (Yay, bad joke.)

You get kudos for being the only person to comment here. And a cookie. Thanks for appreciating what I write. :) As mentioned...this is a slightly twisted version of Fallout 3's actual storyline. There are some consistencies such as Autumns "you liar" quote but a lot of the information one might already know is mixed around. FEV comes before Purity in this case, and the protagonist doesn't know what Project Purity is.

>:O

It's good to see you recognize your mistake. Not many people man-up to do what you've done here; most of the time we try to deny what we've done or blame it on someone else. You did the right thing. Keep in mind you are definitely not alone. I once made a terrible mistake. I would say my situation was far worse; like you, I had the opportunity to do this, but I couldn't. I lived with regrets for a few years as a result. It is mostly gone now, but I still feel a burden of guilt to this day just thinking about it. And the worst part is that the website I did this on is now gone. I'm stuck with this pain forever. The most I could do was change my username and try to put it in the past, and learn from it. If only all could admit their own failures. Some change and some don't. You have my respect.

Borderlands, huh. Well WHO CARES! I win. (Only kidding, I do care. :P)

I think you are absolutely right in regards to making this topic, Keanu. The heroes who died that day will have lost their lives for nothing if we are not reminded of their sacrifice. I'm feeling particularly nice today. Kudos to you. Oh, and yes. Edit button.

Ah, so it didn't go by unnoticed on this forum. I'll never forget waking up that morning and looking at the TV. Every channel...all the same. Those burning towers. It is one of the many scars I have and will always remain.

I was merely providing constructive criticism to try enhance your writing technique. But yes, by no means do you have to follow it. It was all just suggestions. I'm not trying to say that you're bad; I'm just trying to give my opinion. I could have easily just breezed by this topic, but I didn't. You can't expect to post something such as this and receive only positive feedback. Don't be rude about it.

Changed my information. Gamertag: TheAliasTheory Feel free to add. Won't be able to play Reach for a while though.

I stumbled across this tutorial the other day, and I found it useful in making a small edit. It is a realistic water-making tutorial. Very useful; water is a lot harder to create than one might think! It refracts light in all sorts of funny ways. The tutorial discusses about layer styles and eventually, I made my own "water." http://moesrealm.com/photoshop/tutorials/liquid-text-photoshop-tutorial/ Very simple and effective. And a home to many other fine tutorials.

Hey there calliton, been reading your little story here. :) I think you have a nice idea. I wouldn't say the most original, but I'd read it. Like Maharg67 said, the story could flow better. Your sentence structure could be more varied and as a result, would encourage readers to go on. There are also points where I would encourage more vivid vocabulary. The point where your character gets really angry and is fueled by your "hidden power" would be a great place for this. Also: "...sword in hand, he walked into the fray, slashing at every single foe." If you are filled with inhuman rage and you've just crushed a throat, do you WALK into a fray? Probably not, right? You charge in there in kick everyone's butt. Or you could keep the walk idea; slow things down a bit and go as far to describe how this hero looks as he walks forward, striking fear and intimidation into everyone around him. Perhaps an aura of power surrounds him, and even appears to glow with a mystical, godly light in his rage. Paint a "you're next in line to die" scene. Use metaphors too; they allow us to relate to things and make the picture clearer. I liked your one in particular: "they were like wheat before a scythe." Because your story is also very driven around one character and basically nobody else, I personally would have written this in first person. It becomes less telling and more showing us what is going on; writing in such a manner would allow you to explore personal thoughts inside your character (the inhuman rage!) There would be a lot more detail to add if you did so, and would obviously create a deeper protagonist. There is just so much more you can do. For example, maybe instead of just saying soldiers, you could describe them as people with no conscience - what the main character might be thinking of them. Also realize the awesome power of the semicolon; I even read once that a person's written portion SAT score would actually increase dramatically when used. (I don't really believe that, but guess what? I just used one!) Here is a part where it should be used: "Calliton was nearly dead, no magic could help him. " No comma, semicolon. Two different but closely related ideas. And finally, like ranokoa said, your story is going to be a bit disorganized if you keep posting stories and comments in the same area. Everything gets mixed up. You could edit posts, and you could have also "reserved" spaces for extra content (not sure what the length limit is on these forums.) I'm no writer, but I'd like to see this improve! :D

A lot of people are. Nobody likes losing, and there is nothing to stop these people from being a-holes. You're talking over the Internet. Make a mistake, and it is easy as a few clicks to assume a new identity and put such things in the past. It sucks, and is the biggest downside of online gaming. I wish it could just go away, and you're right about it. Oh, and I've never played those. I heard they were bad and as a result, never played them. Ever. Superman 64 is already a huge joke and is basically the first thing that comes to mind when people think "bad games." But yes, everyone had to start somewhere. :) @MetalDragon: Yep, very helpful. Most helpful when you need to take down overshields. Let's just not judge games based on the communities they have; we should be pointing at the developers and the mistakes they made. Devs now days can't really help who plays their games. To me, a good or bad video game topic isn't analogous to a recommendation topic.

To me, this game is what would happen if Fallout 3 and Borderlands had a baby. It would have basically the better part of both worlds: Fallout 3 has amazing atmosphere and exploration and Borderlands has better shooter mechanics. Saw this when the video footage first surface. I want it now. :)

100% avoid? Do you have NO friends? Go make some. Enter a party chat and ignore everyone else. But yes, unfortunately, that is the crappy thing about Microsoft's reputation system. You are expected to be good. People will only go over to your reputation profile if you do something bad, or if they just feel plain mean. You'd have to do something amazingly good to make strangers put a "like" on your profile. Or prefer. Whatever. As far as community behavior in-game goes, Bungie basically has no control of that. Obviously, it is impossible for them to monitor each and every little game people play. It is simply impractical. Over a million games of Halo 3 (as I last checked) are played a day. But Bungie has done something at least for those without a sense of justice; after all, the Bungie guys are the most fun-loving, caring video game company I know. While Bungie can't ban people from playing LIVE period (it is Microsoft's job to ban people from LIVE itself), Bungie only bans people from matchmaking for: -Manipulating network conditions to give yourself an advantage, or to the detriment of the experience for other players. -Modifying your Xbox 360 hardware or Bungie software and services in any way. -Skill or EXP Boosting, deleveling, cheating, habitual quitting or any other type of unsociable and unsportsmanlike behavior. -Impersonating a Bungie employee on Xbox LIVE with intent to defraud or cause harm to other players. Taken from Bungie.net's info on the "Banhammer." Again, impractical to find and hunt down every person that acts like a jerk. Impossible. But there are a bunch of Microsoft employees who regularly play games and ban such users. And no, the "your voice needs to be this low" voice filterer will never cut it. But if you and your science fiction knowledge go far and beyond to create a voice recognition system that works in 16 player lobbies where everyone is hollering and screaming sprinkled with a bit of random gun fire...well, I'll bow down to you.

Okay. I seriously LOLed at your #1 because of all the exclamation marks and caps. Never expected that from someone such as yourself. [EDIT] And now it is PINK! lol again. You also forgot terrible VAing for Just Cause 2. I don't know how you overlooked that when talking about Mass Effect. Just Cause 2's voice acting is downright offending and incredibly forced. But I still played 'till a perfect 1000 gamerpoints anyway. I'm going to have to argue against you for Halo multiplayer. There is no way you can beat everyone with only a plasma pistol and standard pistol. PP is only good for overcharge in Halo 3 and the magnum has extremely limited fire rate and no scope. This is not a game one can be a "one man army" in...Halo is an incredibly team oriented game where as of Halo 3, there is no #1 weapon. The BR allows one to defend him or herself at many ranges, but it is far from being the best in every situation. A strong sniper can take out a poor strafer and the shotgun or mauler will kill at point blank range. Dual Wielding is often seen as a joke by most hardcore players because you don't actually get double the power. It does some more damage (especially with the right combinations,) but even then against an assault rifle, you won't win by much. The only dual gun that can headshot is the magnum, and even with two I doubt you'll be able to last long with its limited clip and 5 shot killing power. Even if you kill the guy, you will need to basically land a perfect series of shots or reload and die. Also, is it fair that we classify a game as bad simply because the community is bad? The company basically has no control over who buys their product any more. Ratings do nothing.

That was nice to read. Interesting. Yeah, I totally understand what you have to say about Fallout 3 though. Many people don't like the look of the Capital Wasteland because it looks so dead. I take it though that by saying "unmodded," you do enjoy the games (Fallout and Oblivion) when they are so. That's the amazing thing about both to me; there is Bethesda's imagined world, and then there is the player's. The player's world can be as happy, grim, deep, simple (and even a bit pervy) as he/she chooses.\ I'm no real PC gamer and I lack a good gaming rig; don't know many PC games either. I'll be sure to check your share of praised games out.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1285697011.png This is narrative that goes alongside some images, and is a warped version of Fallout 3's storyline. There is an image every chapter (until 23) for your enjoyment and as an aid in understanding. Story sections are relatively short at first, fast-paced and divided; this can help those who like to read in multiple sittings keep track of things. This story contains some consistencies from Fallout 3 in some cases and others not. You'll see when you start reading immediately. As a reader and post-apocalyptic role-playing gamer, you can being to theorize what I've left intact, what I've changed and what I've added. My goal is keep you, the reader, guessing on what will happen based on what you already know. A prologue to the story here can be found on the images I-IV as labelled on my Fallout 3 Nexus imageshare. The bits are "entries" in the descriptions. NOTE: THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM FALLOUT 3'S MAIN QUEST (NO BROKEN STEEL SPOILERS.) If I decide to include content from Broken Steel, I'll be sure to make it clear. Thanks to UltraJet for asking and giving me the heads up. ------------------------------ PROLOGUE ------------------------------ This is all you need to really understand the story, but I recommend going back to visit the other three shots and their descriptions: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/image.php?id=17916 ------------------------------ INDEX ------------------------------ Chapter 1: A Misunderstanding Chapter 2: Blood, Sweat and Tears Chapter 3: Enclave Escape! Chapter 4: Reunion Chapter 5: Fireside Chat Chapter 6: Shock and Awe Chapter 7: Rebirth Chapter 8: On the Road Again Chapter 9: Company with a "T" Chapter 10: Home Away From Home Chapter 11: Loss and Discovery Chapter 12: And with Purpose Chapter 13: No More Souls Chapter 14: Crude Samaritan Chapter 15: Thoughts Aloft Chapter 16: A Two is Blue Chapter 17: To Take Down a Sky Chapter 18: A Blind Step Left Chapter 19: Teatime Chapter 20: Broadcast 31 Chapter 21: A Girl's Business Chapter 22: Worlds on a Side Chapter 23: Scout Chapter 24: Uphill, Both Ways Chapter 25: Ephemeral Memories Chapter 26: Roll Call Chapter 27: Bittersweet Chapter 28: Keep the Promise Chapter 29: Post Hoc Chapter 30: Ergo Propter Hoc -- Chapters 31 - 36 + Epilogue Synopses -- You may be asking, "Why the synopses?" Simply put, I'm planning to move on and not writing the rest. Am I lazy? Probably. I'm dissatisfied with what I have so far, hence my proposition. I need refinement. ============================ Chapter 1: A Misunderstanding ============================ Where am I? Fighting through the pain and darkness, I steadily rise to my feet. My hands are tied together and my legs feel almost unbearable to move…yet getting up was a bit easier than I thought. Why? I blindly feel around my waist and inside my pockets, and I realize that my combat knife and my backpack are missing. And so is my gun. I have nothing. Groaning in frustration, I fall back on onto my knees in pain. A powerful sting shoots up through my legs, and I can only come to the conclusion that I had been shot…but not fatally, of course. “Ah, you’re finally awake,” echoes a familiar voice. I hear a chair squeak and a chime of a mug as it hits a solid surface. “Hmm? That’s alright soldier, I won’t be needing any more coffee…” As my vision begins to return, a tall man with a dark trench coat fades into view. I begin to see his extremely fine, brown hair and his broad nose, almost appearing to be shimmering with warmness. The calm face is almost soothing to behold, but it isn’t before long when such clarity conjures waves of memories that would have best been forgotten. I subconsciously make a fist. The pain in my legs evaporates and disappears. “Autumn…AUTUMN…how...how! But you’re dead! Raven Rock…it can’t be still…” I struggle to find the words. I instinctively try to charge him, but a powerful, azure energy barrier puts my attempt to a complete halt; the barrier is as hard as a Mirelurk’s shell. He smirks as I try to cope with my pain. “Yes, I know. You and your friends here destroyed Raven Rock. Blew it into a million little pieces. Were you so naïve to think that by destroying it, the Enclave would simply…disappear?” http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1284192500.png I quickly glance around beyond the cell. This area looks exactly like Raven Rock; one couldn’t tell it apart simply from the inside. The architecture is identical; everything is dark, warm and metallic. Neon blue lights illuminate the serpentine halls outside, which are endlessly echoing with radio chatter. This is undoubtedly Enclave territory. Resuming control over myself, I deeply exhale as I turn my attention back to the Colonel. “Look, I’m not going to even ask how you knew where we were going, how you survived, or how you ambushed us. Or even where the h*** we are. But the FEV virus cannot exist! The entire wasteland will perish if it were unleashed! I thought a man of your stature would at least understand that.” “Oh no. I’m not here to talk about the virus,” he says lightheartedly. But if you need some assurance, it’s right here, in this room.” Reaching into his coat, Autumn pulls out a vial and swivels the appalling green concoction inside. “See, right here. No worries, boy,” he says, tucking it back inside. An inhuman rage flares up inside me. I want to explode. He’s taunting me. Teasing me. “There will be no talk of the FEV strain today. I’m here to talk about Project Purity. I know you have the code. Tell me now.” I glare at him quizzically. “I have not a f***ing clue what you are talking about.” Defying his own faction’s technology, Colonel Autumn hits me clean across the face straight through the energy barrier. “You LIAR!” he roars. His voice is so loud, it continues to resonate throughout the halls. To be honest, I have not a clue what Project Purity is. “I knew you would not comply,” he continues, dusting off his hands. “But I’m an impatient man. Why don’t you check under those shriveled prunes you call your feet while I get some company?” Autumn tranquilly walks out of the room, briefly stopping to pat the shoulder of the armed Enclave soldier at the door. The soldier nods in response and clicks a switch. The area suddenly becomes a tad warmer. Looking down, I can see flames beginning to lick at me beneath the rusty, grated floor. They are becoming more intense by the second. I need to escape now! An adrenaline rush jogs my memory as I cleverly recall the small knife hidden in my left boot. I can feel it. At least they didn’t take that away from me. I promptly remove my footwear and carefully cut the bands binding my hands together, being sure not to drop the blade into the hellfire below. The soldier at the door (who had been watching me the entire time) simply scoffs at me through his demonic helmet. It was really a futile attempt to escape; the devil-man doesn’t care at all. As I slip my boots back on, Colonel Autumn walks back in with a black-haired girl in a Vault 101 suit. He is pulling her by the earlobe, now bright with red. Turning to face me, he grunts as he quickly makes the girl follow his lead by jerking at her long ponytail. She collapses to her knees, but makes not even a whimper of pain. With a violent snapback of his hand, her graceful hair drifts away into the dark corner of the room. “A little personal motivation…the youngest of the group,” he says with a wry smile. With my eyes wide open, overflowing with a fusion of shock and anger, I pound away at the wall of energy. “Get away from her!” Autumn only laughs. He looks back at me and notices my untied hands, but it is only enough to make him raise an eyebrow. “Ah. I see Daddy did teach you something back in the Vault after all.” I never had a father. Hands behind her back, the Vault girl struggles to remain upright and is likely drugged. Her eyes are filled with sorrow and seem to say, “I’m sorry.” I cannot believe she’s too weak to even cry out in pain…more proof that the Enclave is without a soul or conscience. But that’s not important; what is important is that she is part of my four-man squad; all of us are from the Vault. Upon hearing my own thoughts, I swiftly turn to see that it is true: I am only accompanied by two of my fellow Vault members. Both of their mouths are taped shut in addition to having tied hands and legs. I had been so preoccupied that I failed to realize their presence…and I suppose the Colonel only has interest in what I have to say anyway. “Let’s take a walk, shall we…!” I swiftly look back outside in response. Autumn walks to the other end of the room, ear in firm grip, where the remaining three of us can be seen clearly. Still, no cries of pain are heard, and my mouth resumes being wide open in astonishment. The colonel places his dark, muddy boot on her back and whips out a rather large pistol. “Now,” he begins, “your little cell will begin to heat up to roughly 316 Kelvin in the next seven minutes. Tell me the code, and I’ll let all four of you free. Just like that. Try anything funny, and your friend dies. It’s that simple.” He smiles as ever calmly as before. “Your time starts now.” “I DON’T KNOW YOUR STUPID CODE!” I yell. Even my squad mates stare at me and tremble in the presence of my fury. “Wrong answer.” FORWARD ---->

Wouldn't you want someone who could actually aim? That's not me. I have a stigmatism in my left eye and can barely read sheet music without missing lines, and same with books. Heck, in every FPS out there, I am a drag-sniping maniac. That's the game aiming for me. I used two fingers anyway...pointer and middle. So I kind of cheated. Using a Razer 5 Button DeathAdder mouse if anyone cares. Got it a week ago and this is how I'm using it. How sad.

I'd say Mass Effect was basically made to be a Star Wars Episodes I-III: a soap opera in space with action in it. I never really enjoyed those movies for that style, outside the epic fights. I'm interested to what you've got to say about games such as Oblivion and Fallout 3, both which are still popular on these forums today. I personally never found Fallout 3 to be super dialog heavy and there was great freedom in choice. Would you classify either as a bad game or simply one you didn't care for?

Checked the article. Works fine, using Google Chrome. I always enjoy reading stuff like this. That's one cool (and hard thing) about writing anything science-fiction. Just got to remember Mass Effect IS a video game and it has gotten plenty of praise. As mentioned before, this game like every other is perfect for some and not so much for others. If we had stuck to what might have been realistic and took out such humanoid aliens for example, I'm sure for many other gamers this would have been a duller experience. From a financial standpoint, it would have obviously been the wrong choice now that we've seen the results. Mass Effect is just an interesting fantasy like Star Wars and Star Trek, the whole "what-if." Vindekarr, I'm guessing from your major points in your argument up there you must enjoy Bethesda's games very much. I just hate it when I'm clicking through a bunch of dialogue I've already heard and then whoops, there goes a head. Killing is just a bit too easy, haha. Good thing auto save is there.

Gah! Trying this again. So 4 tries and half a Powerade bottle later, I increased to 588 clicks a minute. I'm so done with this now.

Got 504 times per minute. HYESZ. Somehow entertaining! :D