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Hindus Criticize Smite For "Trivializing" Their Religion

June 30, 2012, 1:46 am
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Hindus Criticize Smite For "Trivializing" Their Religion

imageThe Universal Society of Hinduism wants its deities out of Smite.

The Universal Society of Hinduism is once again up in arms over a videogame, this time Smite, a multiplayer game that pits gods from various pantheons against one another in online arena combat. The game is currently in closed beta, with five gods - Artemis, Ra, Kali, Ymir and Sun WuKong - available for free, while others may be unlocked through gameplay or microtransactions. Developer Hi-Rez Studios says it plans to continue adding new gods to the game throughout the beta period and after release.

But Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, wants Hindu gods like Kali taken out of the game. He said that their inclusion in a videogame trivializes the deities and that controlling them with a gamepad or keyboard "denigrates" them and the faith of Hindus. Hindu gods are meant to be worshiped in temples and at shrines, he said, and not reduced to mere characters in games.

But it sounds like Zed is going to be disappointed. "Smite includes deities inspired from a diverse and ever expanding set of pantheons including Greek, Chinese, Egyptian, and Norse. Hinduism, being one of the world's oldest, largest and most diverse traditions, also provides inspiration toward deities in our game," said Hi-Rez Chief Operating Officer Todd Harris. "In fact, given Hinduism's concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations, one could validly interpret ALL the gods within Smite to be Hindu. And all gods outside of Smite as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward Smite will include even more deities, not fewer."

This isn't the first time the Universal Society of Hinduism has waded into the videogame fray. Zed made similar comments in March, when he criticized Asura's Wrath for "trivializing" Hindu gods and upsetting devotees. Then, and now, Zed invited the industry to "immerse" itself in Hinduism, but only if it did so "seriously and respectfully."

Source: Alpharetta-Milton Patch

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Poll: ME3 EC didn't fix anything

June 30, 2012, 5:37 am
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I saw EC endings on YouTube, and now I'm here to vent.

Endings didn't fix any of the major problems. Plot holes that retroactively destroy the trilogy are still there. These endings were designed to satisfy emotional players who wanted character closure and who don't give a flying fuck about logic behind it all. BECAUSE THERE IS NO LOGIC! It's still the same shit it was before. It's still A, B, C, and now D ending based around the assumptions that synthetics will eventually kill all organics even though I spent 3 games proving that little retard wrong.

Why are so many people happy with this? Did you all forget that the existence of starchild practically turns the entire plot of Mass Effect 1 into one giant plot hole? Why did Sovereign need Saren to fix the Citadel signal if starchild was always there? How did the protheans manage to sabotage the Citadel if the starchild has the ability to get into your head? Should we simply assume that a bunch of protheans were able to do all that and there was nothing the starchild could have done to stop them? We shouldn't assume that, because most people know by now what the original plot was supposed to be. And there was never any starchild in it.

Who created the starchild? Organics? Then why doesn't he simply protect the organics against the synthetics? Why don't the Reapers simply destroy the synthetics? Why are they waiting in dark space? Wouldn't it be easier for them to just roam around the galaxy making sure we don't create A.I.? Seems like an easier solution. And a more logical one.
What if synthetics created the Catalyst? That's even dumber. Synthetics created an A.I in order to protect the organics against the synthetics by killing organics.

What about the Crucible? It's still space magic. It still doesn't make any god damn sense.

Can't you see? As long as the starchild exists, the entire plot of Mass Effect makes no sense. And it's not like Bioware didn't have the easy way out. Jesus fuckin' Christ what a mess.

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The Big Picture: Tropes vs. MovieBob

June 29, 2012, 10:46 am
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The Dapper Gentlemen's League of Top Hatted Villainy. Now Recruiting!

June 28, 2012, 9:05 pm
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Who are we, what are we? Look at the door, now back at the computer, now back at the door, now back at the computer. Now click on the spoiler box!

Did you wait until I told you to click on the spoiler box? If you did, then goooooood, if not, then I ask that you kindly leave the room now sir.

Have you ever wondered why the Captchas seemed to have gained sentience?

Have you pondered why it seems every country on the planet has a pretentious Latin Motto?

Did it seem... Strange? When all mentions of Half-Life 3 just "disappeared"?

The Knights Templar, Freemasons, Illuminati, those were mere sects, branches that people have hunted down in a sort of superstitious fear of the unknown... All the while they have missed the terrible truth!

'Twas us all along! From the dawn of time, we have lived in the shadows! We are the Dapper Gentlemen's League of Top Hatted Villainy!

We are the well groomed, well mannered, well mustachioed men who shall defeat the Brovengers AND the Injustice League! We shall conquer Escapistia!

Now you may have a few questions, FEAR NOT! For I shall answer them all!

And who can forget our league's beloved founder?

image

Truly an influence to us all!

So don't delay! Join the League today!

Captcha: Writing Desk

HAHA! THE SENTIENCE PROGRAM WORKS! IT KNOWS WHAT I'M WRITING ON!

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Escape to the Movies: Ted

June 30, 2012, 2:33 am
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BioWare Did Right By Us

June 30, 2012, 5:40 am
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Do you drink coffee?

June 30, 2012, 5:53 am
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I cant stand it, Ive never finished a cup in my life and I've tried a lot of different brands. If I ever want an energy kick I'll go for an energy drink but im not that fond of them either

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Jimquisition: Rape vs. Murder

June 30, 2012, 5:51 am
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Rape vs. Murder

Why is it so much better to take a life than to rape somebody in fiction? Why can videogames allow us to get away with killing thousands of our fellow humans with swords and guns, yet a game like Rapelay drowns in scorn before finding its sales restricted? Is it hypocritical for games to approve murder and shun rape?

It's a topic that comes up with some frequency, and naturally The Jimquisition has all the correct answers ... even if they're probably terribly wrong.

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Gay Oreo Inspires Internet Outrage

June 30, 2012, 5:03 am
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Gay Oreo Inspires Internet Outrage

imageNot everyone is happy with Oreo's support for gay rights on Facebook.

Oreo did its thing for Pride Week yesterday, posting a Facebook status update with an image of a rainbow-colored Oreo cookie imposed over messages stating simply, "Proudly support love!" and "June 25/Pride." Nice, neat and to the point, and entirely unsurprisingly it attracted no small amount of publicity - some of it, sadly, rather less than complimentary.

Some of the negative comments claim to be frustrated by the politicization of the cookies, but most are a bit more straight-up anti-gay, like that of Janis Petron, who wrote, "You gay people make me sick, God made us to be man and women not gay or lesbian p.s. NO MORE OREOS." Or Cody Patterson, who said, "I can't support a business that supports gays." Aaron Foster described Oreo parent company Kraft as "Yet another liberal company destroying our religious values and teaching immorality," while Trevor Day pasted himself in the face with the Frying Pan of Unintentional Irony by stating, "Gays can all go kill them selves they are sinners and will burn in hell" while rocking a Neil Patrick Harris avatar. Mads Fjord pointed out the inevitable counter-campaign boycott, telling his Facebook followers, "Hate [homosexuals] so much. So many whose skulls I want to smash in with a hammer. I thank those who support this boycott and GOD BLESS AMERICA."

And yes, there is apparently some form of boycott going on, although the actual level of organization looks iffy at best - hardly a surprise to anyone who's seen the One Million Moms in action. Kraft, for its part, is unfazed, issuing a statement reiterating its support for gay rights.

"In recognition of Pride Month, Oreo created an ad depicting the Rainbow flag with different colors of Oreo crème. We are excited to illustrate what is making history today in a fun and playful way," the company said in a statement. "As a company, Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values. "

The cynic in me insists that there's no small amount of savvy marketing at work in this campaign. After all, as evidenced by Ellen Degeneres, not to mention more than 175,000 (and growing) "likes" on Facebook, nothing gooses public support like a sliver of vicious backlash from homophobe morons on the internet. But at the same time, even if it is getting something out of it, how can anyone be critical of Oreo for standing up for a good cause? Unless they're a homophobe moron on the internet, that is.

But the worst thing about it all? Kraft isn't actually going to sell this six-layer rainbow monstrosity; it was made exclusively in honor of Pride Week.

Sources: Mashable, Buzzfeed

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Poll: Do you play games with any girls?

June 30, 2012, 5:22 am
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As the general issue seems to be in the news a lot at the moment, I would just like to see whom out of us are lucky enough to play video games with the fairer sex.

I unfortunately do not. Sure, I've played Raving Rabbids at a party with girls or a bit of guitar hero, but I don't think I've ever had a female friend who plays video games with me on a regular basis.

How about you rabble?

(Ladies feel free to comment any way you wish.)

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Find Your Perfect Career by Choosing Colors

June 30, 2012, 5:42 am
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Find Your Perfect Career by Choosing Colors

imageForget puzzling over complicated career assessment questions - just pick your favorite color.

There's no shortage of quizzes, personality tests, and ill-tempered guidance counselors that will claim to predict your career-related future. The process usually involves answering a plethora of dull, confusing, or just plain bizarre questions about yourself. Instead of spending ages trying to decide what your best quality is or what one thing you'd give to the homeless, we at The Escapist have found a simpler solution. So just kick back, relax, and pick your favorite color.

While the Dewey Color System career test isn't exactly new, it's a laidback - and surprisingly savvy - personality assessment based on color science. Or voodoo, it's not really clear. But it doesn't cheat by sticking to vague feel-good qualities that anyone can be said to have, so that's a plus. Our quick-but-assuredly-super-scientific sampling showed that the test has surprisingly good accuracy, which is all the more impressive because, you know, colors.

There's a simplified version of the test you can take here if you're feeling especially lazy - it's literally just two questions. If you want to kill a bit more time, or don't think the short version really captures your complex and unique personality, the complete version is here. Both versions are a breeze, so give it a shot and let us know how you think it stacks up.

Source: AOL Jobs

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What is everyone doing for 4th of July?

June 30, 2012, 2:11 am
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Just curious. We have a big cul-da-sac party here, lined up grills and a giant waterslide and such I usually have friends over & we play uno for hours and sit inside after hours watching horror movies. We than proceed to light fireworks and try not to set ourselves on fire. Forgot to add gaming in there. Usually it's Dance Central or Resident Evil 5 co-op..'cause that's always fun.

What does everyone else do?

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EA and Valve are Pretty Similar

June 30, 2012, 5:33 am
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Friends! Romans! Fellow Escapists! Lend me your ear! Resist the temptation to type a rabid rebuttal without reading the OP, or you shall look like you have taken the insane root that takes reason prisoner.

Anyway, both Valve and EA rely (or are trying to rely) on a digital game distribution service to buffer the costs of their wildly inefficient development cycles. (Valve takes forever, EA only makes flashy-flashy bang-bang Michael Bay-gasms) The only difference (aside from game quality) is that EA can't compete with Steam's awesome prices, and therefore has to resort to *ahem* alternative means of revenue.

Anyway, without further ado, I presents to all of you ladies, and sirrahs the day in the offices of EA and Valve when Origin and Steam where thought of:

Valve's Story:

Valve Lackey: My lord, how goes the development of Half-Life 3?

Gabe Newell: Do not pester me with such trifles, as they signify nothing. As we both know, the next full moon approaches. I shall hunger for the flesh of humans when it arrives.

Valve Lackey: But my lord, your -er- transformations are costing the company too much to cover up. The massacre in Guangzhou alone costed $3 million in bribes and cover stories. We need a new revenue stream quickly if we want to stay afloat!

Gabe Newell: Forbade thy wicked cant, lest I select thee as my next dinner. I propose a program that can deliver games to gamers for ludicrously cheap prices. I shall give it a name, and I shall name it Steam. It shall have low, low prices, even better sales, and all who partake in it shall love it. Why? because nobody wants to pay full price for the new Assassin's Creed. The plot was terrible and the bomb-making was useless. Lackey! Go forth and see to it that this is done.

Valve Lackey: Your will be done, my wolfish lord.

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EA's Story:

EA Slave: Sir, we have encountered a major problem.

John Riccitiello: What is it?

EA Slave: You haven't fed any of us slaves in months.

John Ricccitiello: I see. What's the major problem, worm?

EA Slave: *Sigh* All of the companies we have bought have failed to make a return on our investment. If we don't do something, we may go under.

John Riccitiellno: Well, guess I'm going to have to sell children into the slave trade again, huh?

EA Slave: Sir, quite frankly, we're getting shitty PR from all of that. We should probably stop before the UN steps in.

John Riccitellall: A pity. I enjoyed seeing the anguish on their faces. Do you have any ideas on how to fix this mess?

EA Slave: We could try to create a game distribution service, similar to Steam. Maybe it could provide a continual flow of income.

John Riccithurbleburble: That's a fantastic idea, slave! We can totally beat out Valve's pathetic prices. What was their last sale for, anyway?

EA Slave: Well, I'm pretty sure they had Bad Company 2 on sale for $0.50, and the new Assassin's Creed for -$2.00.

John Ravioli: WHAT!? THAT LOW FOR BROTHERHOOD! It was the best game in the series! It had a freaking hookblade! It's a blade with a hook on it! Who couldn't love it?

EA Slave: Sir, nobody thought Brotherhood was good. It was average at best.

John Rorikstead: For your insolence, I shall drink the blood of your firstborn. Also, you're fired.

EA Slave: Sweet liberation!!! I mean, dammit.

John Rowrowrowyourboat: Anyway, it's clear we can't beat Steam's prices, so we at EA are going to have to use other methods to achieve our goal of subjugating the entire planet. We shall charging for every feature ever. Every game shall have available DLC on day one. Do you want your protagonist to have arms? Purchase the $5 Limbs Expansion Pack. Did you expect your campaign to have more than one mission? The Game Completion Pass is only $30 away. Every game we make will be priced at $60, unless I'm in a bad mood. In which case it will cost $70 and eight souls of the living. In the spirit of realism, every bullet you fire in Battlefield 3 will cost the same amount it does in the real world to resupply. Finally, I shall corrupt the ending of Mass Effect 3, in order to crush the spirits of all those who believe that good exists in humanity. I have spoken. Slave, begone, or face my demonic fury.

EA Slave: NO! No gamer should be put through such crap just to play a game! Every game will turn into the same boring shooter if you let this go on! Stop this madness, I beg of you!

John Rikitikitavi: No. If you want to see the future, picture a hand groping into a human wallet, forever!

EA Slave: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! *jumps out of window*

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On second thought, they are pretty different.

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The R Word

June 30, 2012, 4:31 am
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The Spoony One has been ejected from That Guy With the Glasses.

June 30, 2012, 5:50 am
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Do you like your name?

June 30, 2012, 5:46 am
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Salutations, fellow Escapists! I am incredibly bored today, so I could think of nothing better than asking random people on the Internet what their opinions on their given names are.

Personally, I like my name a lot. So, what about you? Do you think your name is the best name anyone could have ever given to anybody else in the history of forever? Or do you despise it with a burning passion?

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Mall Fight RP: ACT 3: This ain't Star Trek (Open)

June 30, 2012, 5:48 am
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We are presently aboard the Mall. Check the rules before jumping in.

Firearms: LOCKED
Explosives: UNLOCKED
Magic: LOCKED

Aitruis:
Please read before posting.

For longtime GameFAQs forum users, you may remember the titular Mall Fight, the slapstick forum user war inside the neverending mall. For those who have never heard of this, it's a lot of fun. That's why I'm bringing it to the Escapist.

All users are in a giant mall. The mall stretches on forever, and contains any and every store you can think of (with a few notable exceptions). The goal is simple: have fun while doing horrible, horrible things to your fellow users. There are only a couple rules that ensure everyone continues to have a good time.

1. No gun or knife stores, or stores that carry conventional weapons of any kind. If a store would have a weapon section, that section isn't there. It wouldn't be any fun if you could just go pick up a shotgun, now would it? However, going to the plumbing store and building a potato cannon that shoots bowling balls is an allowable, if uncreative, option.

2. No permanent player death. Kill other players in creative ways as much as you want, they don't stay dead. Thus people can keep playing.

3. No leaving the mall. The doors are locked, and the exterior walls are indestructible.

4. Players are still people. You cannot bend steel, throw people through brick walls, and so on and so forth.

Other than that, have fun.

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What is Obamacare?

June 30, 2012, 5:45 am
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I was on Failblog just now for my daily giggle and there were a lot of things on there relating to Obamacare but, being from the UK, I've not heard anything about it. It seems to be a subject of a lot of debate whether or not it is a good idea but...what is it?

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Tomb Raider Dev: Rape is Not in Our Vocabulary

June 30, 2012, 5:49 am
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Tomb Raider Dev: Rape is Not in Our Vocabulary

imageAccording to Crystal Dynamics, a little groping doesn't constitute sexual assault.

Crystal Dyanmics would like to make it clear that there's no rape in the upcoming Tomb Raider. None. Zero. Nilch. In fact, according to global brand director, Karl Stewart, the R-word isn't even part of the studio's vocabulary.

The studio is trying to distance itself from statements made by executive producer, Ron Rosenberg, who claimed that, as the game's trailer seems to imply, Lara would be the victim of attempted rape. He then went on to imply, perhaps accidentally, that the event would build Lara's character, whipping up a maelstrom of controversy in the process.

"He said something which is certainly a word that is not in our vocabulary and not in our communication," Stewart told Kotaku, when asked about Rosenberg's statements. "He did say it... It's his personal opinion and certainly... like I said, it's not something that we communicate."

It seems like Stewart is trying to address the numerous media and blog sources who've erroneously reported that the game features a "rape scene," which is fair enough, but he then goes on to argue that the scene depicted in the trailer doesn't depict or imply sexual assault. Instead, he labels it "close physical intimidation," and a "pathological situation" meant to invoke fear and intimidation.

Stewart remained adamant that the scene did not depict sexual assault, despite interviewer, Jason Schreier's insistence on the contrary. Eventually, a PR representative listening in on the call asked him to drop that line of questioning.

Stewart also added that Rosenberg's claim that players would want to "protect" Lara, was a reference to the reaction of focus groups the game has been tested on.

Source: Kotaku

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We Are Our Avatars III (CLOSED)

June 30, 2012, 5:47 am
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READ THIS!

The premise is simple.
Your character is your avatar.
They have the same powers, personality etc.

WE HAVE A TV TROPES PAGE! WOOH!

RULES!
You have to contribute to the plot in some way.
Either by adding to a conversation, fighting, or getting past obstacles (picking locks, hijacking cars etc).

You control your character ONLY.
You can't use other players' characters. UNLESS: the character is plot-necessary, but the player is unable to post (must act in character. If you are in this position, it would help if you asked another player beforehand to take over your character).

No Over-Powered Characters
-Characters can't instant-kill other characters (killing should be pre-decided)
-Characters should be weakened if they attack too often
-Characters shouldn't have too many different combat moves.
And please try to explain powers simply. You may be a genius on your character's universe, but other players mightn't have even HEARD of them before.

Certain players will have certain roles
Every game needs a villain. Therefore, we will need a villain. The villain needs to have a plot vaguely lined out, and should guide the other players (either by accidentally leaving clues, letting them spy on them or even pretending to be a good guy (I'm looking at you, Diablo1099).
Villains (and the good-guys) should be in-character. Jesus shouldn't be causing nuclear war (I don't think you should be RPing as Jesus anyway, but still...) and Freddie Krueger shouldn't be leading the charge against him.

No excessive posts
Just saying
"Dave opened the door and turned on his torch. He looked around and saw the desk, with the plans on it."
is good enough. We don't need a few paragraphs about his thoughts and feelings, and an accurate description of the room and plans.

Spoiler Tags!
One little note:

EXPECT SPOILERS!

This RP is probably going to contain at least minor spoilers from character universes, like references to who can live or die in Mass Effect or what happens in the most recent Bourne book or film. Please don't react negatively: it might affect the character in a big way, and you could end up confused as to why the character is acting 'out of character' from your perspective.
But that's not what I want to talk about. USE SPOILER TAGS FOR VIDEOS, PICTURES (Unless they're small) AND LARGE AMOUNTS OF TEXT!

Things you should know
-OOC means Out Of Character. Use this if you want to ask a question or make a suggestion.
-Use @[player name]: to address a character specifically.
OP means over-powered.
-Use italics for thoughts. [*i]text[*/i] without the *
-If a player missed a few pages, please give them a summary (a few lines explaining what you did since their last post).
-If you have to leave, either kill your character or put them On A Bus (give a valid reason for them to leave, ie they fell into a temporary wormhole).
-My word is law. If you think a character is OP, take it up with me. I will make a judgement. I may display bias to certain players; this will most likely be because they were around during We Are Our Avatars II, and I know about this character/player.
-You must ask me if you would like to start a Plot by PM'img me your idea for your plot, then wait for my aproval or rejection
Posts MUST Make Sense
-If it isn't from your character's universe, they don't know what it is.
-We're on Earth. Remember that.
-If you break this rule, the nonsensical post is retconned.

Have Fun Guys!

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