How offensive toward the makers of Braid, and to intelligent black people. I can't believe you would post something so offensive.

OK, so I'll make a list now, and then read everybody elses and see if it reminds me of other books that really stick with me

1 Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas Hofstadter
2 1984 - George Orwell
3 A Deepness In The Sky - Vernor Vinge
4 Interview With A Vampire - Ann Rice
5 Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - Katie Hafner and John Markoff
6 The Tuning of The World - R. Murray Schafer
7 The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
8 National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe - Roy A. Gallant and Margaret Sedeen
9 The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine - Rudolph Chelminski
10 The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan

OK, read others' and realize that I should have put Dune, for sure. I'm glad to see I'm not the only Hofstadter fan, and thrilled to see another Vinge on the list.

I feel kind of weird to have 1984 and Interview with a Vampire on my list. 1984, just because it really did stick and resonate, and well... I've probably read IwaV a few dozen times. Back in junior high I read it almost monthly.

I actually was considering putting The Star Wars Sourcebook by Bill Slavicsek & Curtis Smith on my list. That book blew my mind when I was young, and it definitely will always have a special place in my heart. Now that I look at a picture of the cover on Amazon, I wish that I had. Such an awesome book.

"Thus, having headed deep into space, the colonists reached the Sirius system. There, they began to compose a weapon of terrible, terrible vengence. Having dicovered how to manipulate the very foundations of the Universe -- Strings -- they wove a long, braided cord of many thousands of strings. To deliver this weapon, a weapon no human could survive the effects of, the feline pet of one of the colonists was trained to push a button at the precise time, thus detonating the bundled Strings and score victory in the name of the system they'd escaped to:

Yes, this are Sirius Cat and this are a Sirius thread!"

1. Dead Space - This game didn't get it's due. Excellent production and easily the scariest game I've ever played. This is a game to be played at night with the lights off.

2. Fallout 3 - See my screenname. Beautiful environments, plenty to explore and Bethesda actually figured out how to make combat fun.

3. GTA4 - All around great game. Not sure why so many bashed it. Sure, your cousin calls too much, but the game only requires you to take a couple of the man-date missions.

4. Braid - A mini masterpiece with a bunch of fresh and sophisticated ideas. We need more games like this.

5. Little Big Planet - The game that keeps on giving. The level editor is massive, powerfull and intimidating. If I ever finish a level, I'll post the details here.

Honorable Mention:
No More Heroes - Avant garde games are rare. This is a good one.
Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village - Cool story/animation and fun logic puzzles.
Gears of War 2 - Great game with much variety. They pulled out all the stops.
Left 4 Dead - Great multiplayer fun, but a bit skimpy on levels.

Not to mention the high profile games that I haven't played yet (Mirror's Edge, World of Goo, Far Cry 2, BanjoKazooee, Prince of Persia, MGS4, Spore).

Looking forward to in Q1-2 of 2009 (PC): Prototype, Braid, Velvet Assassin, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Trine, Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Burnout Paradise, Borderlands, Bionic Commando, Dragon Age: Origins, Tom Clancy's HAWX.
The better part of these really ought to arrive in 2009, even if delayed. Some have solid release dates set for Feb, as far as I can remember.

HAPPY COMMENT #8:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot,
Sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Hear Hear! I've dabbled with hard core gaming for years, and once I stop playing for any amount of time (like when I have a new born) I can't get back into the franchises/genres that I like. The game industries recent solution to this has been shorter and/or easier games, but I've found those unsatisfying. I don't want to grind in a MMORPG, I want fast paced, skill based game play that doesn't provide so much negative feedback.

I haven't played the new Prince of Persia, and probably never will because of the price tag and the short game play, but I did play Braid, and it was an amazing experience. The puzzles were incredibly tough, but the in-exhaustible time reversal kept the focus on ONE obstacle at a time. Oh, and unlike Yahtzee I LOVED the story(s).

Games like Burn Out are also on the right track (no pun intended), minimizing the set backs and making failure, and therefore risk taking, fun.

I tried the latest Tomb Raider demo. I love the franchise, but after missing that jump from the sliding ramp for the 4th time, I decided it wasn't worth the effort to climb that rock face again (despite the much improved models and animation).

I have hig hopes for Brütal Legend. It's made by the same developer that did Psychonauts, which unfortunately I haven't played but almost everybody that has say it's one of the best games ever. So Brütal Legend must be good right?

As for World of Goo, that video you linked to just got me interested in that game. I think I'll download the demo too.

It looks like there are many "small" games coming out these days that look really interesting. If anybody has an Xbox 360 I recommend that you check out Braid on xbox live arcade, it's a really good game. The official site of the game says there is a PC version planned but there is no release date on it yet.
Yesterday I saw a trailer for a game called Trine which also looks interesting.

>> ^quantumushroom:
OBAMA WINS.
FREEDOM: FATALITY.


So when are you guys getting a "crying like a little girl with a skinned knee" support group together? You can braid each others hair and close your eyes really tight when you jerk each other off over how unfair a democratic election could possibly be...

X D

Keep on railing against it QM, it's kinda funny.

I've actually never had a hangover, for some reason. I guess I'm just lucky so far, but I'm sure that in time I'll start to get them; I know several friends that didn't start getting them until about their third year of college, lol.

That sounds pretty neat! I mean, you are an architect, if I remember right, so that sounds like a relaxed way to put your skills to good use. I'm majoring in East Asian Studies, but realizing that I have to write a bunch of papers and that I have no clue what I'll do for a living when I graduate in another two years kind of makes me wish I had decided to go for Molecular Biology after all, haha.

I could never get TOO into real punk stuff, but every now and then I listen to something on the hard side. Mostly I go for stuff with moving melodies/harmonies. I guess as of late I've been back on a huge Death Cab for Cutie and the Smiths kick, sort of rediscovering how much I love both of those bands.

In reply to this comment by gorgonheap:
Lately I've been really into 88 Fingers Louie, and discovered The Casualties. Mostly just reintroducing myself to midwest punk. College eh, what are you studying? My side business is doing a lot of design consultant work. Basically if people need an interior designer, carpenter, blueprints, or would like a remodel, my company is there. They can also hire me to do estimates, teach do-it-yourself classes, and submit construction permits.

It's mostly residential work which is a nice break from a lot of the commercial and institutional work I do with my other job.

Don't party too hard, you gotta remember how much fun you had in the morning.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Nothing new that's been super impressive to me, though there have been a few good ones here and there. One of my favorite bands, Plus-Minus, dropped a new album on October 21st though, and I was very impressed with that. Other than that, I've gotten a bit more into stuff like Braid and Hey Mercedes. Pretty busy with school, but somehow I still make time to party harder than I should each weekend.

What sort of business is it? Doing two jobs sounds pretty exhausting.

In reply to this comment by gorgonheap:
Pretty good, how about you? I started my own company a couple months ago but kept my old job so I haven't had a whole lot of time to sift lately. Discover any kickass bands lately?

Lately I've been really into 88 Fingers Louie, and discovered The Casualties. Mostly just reintroducing myself to midwest punk. College eh, what are you studying? My side business is doing a lot of design consultant work. Basically if people need an interior designer, carpenter, blueprints, or would like a remodel, my company is there. They can also hire me to do estimates, teach do-it-yourself classes, and submit construction permits.

It's mostly residential work which is a nice break from a lot of the commercial and institutional work I do with my other job.

Don't party too hard, you gotta remember how much fun you had in the morning.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Nothing new that's been super impressive to me, though there have been a few good ones here and there. One of my favorite bands, Plus-Minus, dropped a new album on October 21st though, and I was very impressed with that. Other than that, I've gotten a bit more into stuff like Braid and Hey Mercedes. Pretty busy with school, but somehow I still make time to party harder than I should each weekend.

What sort of business is it? Doing two jobs sounds pretty exhausting.

In reply to this comment by gorgonheap:
Pretty good, how about you? I started my own company a couple months ago but kept my old job so I haven't had a whole lot of time to sift lately. Discover any kickass bands lately?

Nothing new that's been super impressive to me, though there have been a few good ones here and there. One of my favorite bands, Plus-Minus, dropped a new album on October 21st though, and I was very impressed with that. Other than that, I've gotten a bit more into stuff like Braid and Hey Mercedes. Pretty busy with school, but somehow I still make time to party harder than I should each weekend.

What sort of business is it? Doing two jobs sounds pretty exhausting.

In reply to this comment by gorgonheap:
Pretty good, how about you? I started my own company a couple months ago but kept my old job so I haven't had a whole lot of time to sift lately. Discover any kickass bands lately?

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Hey man, how's it going?

Braid and Hey Mercedes are two of my favorite bands.

Whoops!

In reply to this comment by ChosenOne:
Hehe, thanks for the response but I should have been more specific. I meant the stars and their significance pertaining to the game braid. Supposedly you can collect stars in the game but they seem to do nothing except make a slightly different ending.

In reply to this comment by nibiyabi:
Basically, we rely on group moderation here. The more videos you submit that reach 10 votes, the greater your understanding of quality (and what should be going on here in general) likely becomes. The star system allows you to gain more moderating power as you submit more videos, as it's assumed you can be trusted with more responsibility as your experience here increases.

In reply to this comment by ChosenOne:
Anyone care to explain the stars and their significance? I looked them up and see they exist but for what reason?

Hehe, thanks for the response but I should have been more specific. I meant the stars and their significance pertaining to the game braid. Supposedly you can collect stars in the game but they seem to do nothing except make a slightly different ending.

In reply to this comment by nibiyabi:
Basically, we rely on group moderation here. The more videos you submit that reach 10 votes, the greater your understanding of quality (and what should be going on here in general) likely becomes. The star system allows you to gain more moderating power as you submit more videos, as it's assumed you can be trusted with more responsibility as your experience here increases.

In reply to this comment by ChosenOne:
Anyone care to explain the stars and their significance? I looked them up and see they exist but for what reason?