tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post4138854185266252195..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Darklands: Heaven Help UsCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75725130326352705042021-04-15T01:04:56.014-04:002021-04-15T01:04:56.014-04:00I don't enjoy logic puzzles with truth-tellers...I don't enjoy logic puzzles with truth-tellers and liars, but I had fun trying to decipher the ROT13 explanations on the fly. :)Morgan Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11028920918400885408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15257540202825630982019-10-22T21:39:42.933-04:002019-10-22T21:39:42.933-04:00Ugh. And of course when I said "syllable coun...Ugh. And of course when I said "syllable count" above, I meant FOOT count. Can you tell I'm not an English teacher?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82608213074544917932019-10-22T21:37:01.022-04:002019-10-22T21:37:01.022-04:00No, of course you're right. When I was younger...No, of course you're right. When I was younger, I got it into my head that the syllable count was based on the entire couplet (up to the rhyme) and not the individual lines. Even though I know better now, I still screw it up occasionally.<br /><br />But as an English teacher, you also know that truncating or elongating the final foot is hardly an invention of this author. The problem with dactyls is that they end without stress, and I personally think it sounds better with more stress on the rhyming word. Plus, it works better with the song.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-25652382397477977222019-10-22T11:24:23.302-04:002019-10-22T11:24:23.302-04:00I trust that this, a note from one pedant to anoth...I trust that this, a note from one pedant to another, won't come across as offensive, but those lines aren't in dactylic octameter. Dactylic octameter would require *really* long lines (twenty-four syllables per line!). It would look like this:<br /><br />Chet, with his sword and his spear and his knowledge that shines through the dark of the night like a lamp burning.<br /><br />The lines the dwarf speaks are actually poor dactylic tetrameter. They're not perfect metrically because instead of a final dactyl, they swap in either a trochee or a single stressed syllable. Substituting a trochee for a dactyl is common in dactylic verse in English—itself pretty rare, because the natural cadences of English resist trochaic and dactylic meters more than iambic and anapestic ones, but the second, fourth, sixth, et cetera lines are really more dactylic trimeter than anything else.<br /><br />Can you tell I'm an English teacher?scholargipsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08831294131345746707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45565572239971201802019-08-10T14:31:41.778-04:002019-08-10T14:31:41.778-04:00But yes, your analysis does get into WHY the serpe...But yes, your analysis does get into WHY the serpent's encouragement goes against Christian ethics.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72919412626664340142019-08-10T14:31:03.436-04:002019-08-10T14:31:03.436-04:00The more serious problem with the line, which I di...The more serious problem with the line, which I didn't say explicitly when the conversation got a little derailed, is that it's a direct quote from Genesis 3:5, spoken by the serpent while tempting Eve. So you're obviously not "following scriptural sayings" by taking direction from the serpent. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22630335145404950602019-08-08T21:25:16.195-04:002019-08-08T21:25:16.195-04:00I think the theological problem is in the first ha...I think the theological problem is in the first half of the sentence: "You shall be like the gods". There are two errors from the Christian point of view: (1) there exists only One God; (2) the worst of the seven deadly sins is pride, that is believing you are as "good" as God in anything. This is what should alert the player about satanism, not the later text.Abacosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59078348600221747342019-07-23T13:40:30.268-04:002019-07-23T13:40:30.268-04:00I don't see any distinction between what GregT...I don't see any distinction between what GregT describes and Gnoman's first use of the word.<br /><br />It's just a word. It's been in the language for a long time before someone decided to write an article called "Everything is problematic" that people like to share everywhere. GregT's original point was that the <i>Darklands</i> approach, if taken to a logical extreme, could have ended up with some characterizations that would have reinforced damaging stereotypes. I don't think he was arguing that it actually DID that--at least, I certainly wouldn't argue such--but the it briefly amused me to think about what the creators might have considered and then cut.<br /><br />Since there's no "it" here--nothing that we're actually arguing IS "problematic"--there's no need to further this discussion.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-25651761135333235732019-07-23T03:55:44.899-04:002019-07-23T03:55:44.899-04:00The only ways I've seen it used are either as ...The only ways I've seen it used are either as a warning ("this work contains element x, which you might find problematic") or else as a condemnation ("This element of this work is problematic, so it and everything by the same creator MUST BE DESTROYED"). <br /><br />The neutral way you're suggesting is something that I have quite literally never come across.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73266939594960153812019-07-18T21:28:01.062-04:002019-07-18T21:28:01.062-04:00So “problematic” is problematic?So “problematic” is problematic?ThirtyNinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720392687278454430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24520729650572942592019-07-18T05:35:04.703-04:002019-07-18T05:35:04.703-04:00My question has always been: how could humans be p...My question has always been: how could humans be punished for disobeying anything when they had no concept of wrongness? Seems like they lacked the ability to make any moral decisions until it was too late.<br /><br />So yeah,I tend to like the evolutionary or agricultural interpretations. Mister Motleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05652834360061679595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56304091702970038742019-07-16T15:43:15.190-04:002019-07-16T15:43:15.190-04:00It's only natural that the first rule is '...It's only natural that the first rule is 'don't disobey the rules' :pTristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-78157364884603671582019-07-16T15:39:58.184-04:002019-07-16T15:39:58.184-04:00I'm with CB on this.
And while I avoid the w...I'm with CB on this. <br /><br />And while I avoid the word, because it grates on me, but at the same time, I understand why there are people out there who kinda feel that basically everything is 'problematic'.<br />Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79496312962502598192019-07-16T15:20:02.704-04:002019-07-16T15:20:02.704-04:00The big difference, of course, is that those are a...The big difference, of course, is that those are all current, relevant prejudices, while the ones in Darklands are not. The only element that still holds relevance today is witches, and the actual witch hunts of the era bear so little resemblance to the pop-culture version (for one thing, the vast majority of historical "witches" were male) as to be two entirely different things.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-3440454487420858192019-07-16T14:27:15.150-04:002019-07-16T14:27:15.150-04:00Creating a 20th-century game in which the characte...Creating a 20th-century game in which the characters are rewarded with virtue points for slaughtering "Moslems" and must defeat the evil machinations of a Jewish-Lutheran cabal would indeed be "problematic." The fact that the word is overly-used in some scenarios doesn't strip it of all meaning, nor does it make all uses invalid.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10619163511204297192019-07-16T14:02:35.361-04:002019-07-16T14:02:35.361-04:00It's axiomatic.
"Everything is Problemati...It's axiomatic.<br />"Everything is Problematic." <br />https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2014/11/everything-problematic/Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28737256099459040112019-07-16T13:33:56.967-04:002019-07-16T13:33:56.967-04:00I’m not sure I’m seeing what’s “problematic.”I’m not sure I’m seeing what’s “problematic.”ThirtyNinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720392687278454430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20023540761269955982019-07-16T07:11:35.212-04:002019-07-16T07:11:35.212-04:00My 2 cents:
There was only one rule in Eden: not t...My 2 cents:<br />There was only one rule in Eden: not to eat that particular fruit. When that rule was broken, of course there had to be consequences.<br /><br />Also, I think the phrase "to be like gods" is important: Adam and Eve tried to assume devine prerogative. Their sin was not only disobedience, but also hubris.<br /><br />I think that what sets mankind apart is free will. Because of free will, man _is capable_ of doing evil. That's necessary, because doing good is meaningless if doing evil is impossible. Of course man is not _supposed_ to do evil. Man is supposed to do good voluntarily. But to do good voluntarily, you need some notion of what is "good". I guess (and that is just my guess) is that in the original design, man was supposed to rely on God for that. Man was supposed to do what God asks of him, because Gods asks him to do it. The premise is that God is good. So, if God asks something of you, that is bound to be good. That should be enough. In that way, one can be good as well as innocent.<br /><br />Of course, for Adam and Eve that was not enough. By eating the fruit, they gained their own ethical judgement. By doing that, they could not be innocent anymore, and they could not be creatures of nature anymore.<br /><br />When the fruit was eaten, the damage was done and since then man has to rely on his own ethical judgement, aided by the Holy Ghost. That's why it is necessary to spread the Gospel over the world and to send out missionaries.theonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73762732029284785692019-07-16T01:35:44.510-04:002019-07-16T01:35:44.510-04:00The interpretation of the consumption of the fruit...The interpretation of the consumption of the fruit as evolution of the more advanced brain would have one major flaw: that would mean that humanity was _not_ supposed to grow into ethical decision making, and thus commit a sin by getting smarter. That would seem contrary to the fact that a) human was made "in God's image" - what with God being able to make ethics-based decisions and all; and b) that human was explicitly told to go subdue the Earth, and to take dominion over animals and plants (including "herb that bears seed", Gen 1:29).<br /><br />That being said, disobedience against the God's commandment is not _a_ sin, it is _the_ sin; thus it makes sense that the original sin is breaking the only "commandment" that was given the the humans at the time.<br /><br />Also, it is perfectly possible for a biblical story to have multiple meanings; it's just the fact that knowing good from evil, in particular, is very much _not_ a bad thing for Christians (or at least, Catholics; I can't speak for the craziness that is Protestantism). :) If it was, nobody would bother sending missionaries to other lands to teach other people how to discern between good and evil. ;)KarbonKittynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26426351505734710752019-07-15T19:30:47.653-04:002019-07-15T19:30:47.653-04:00I can imagine there's dark comedy gold in that...I can imagine there's dark comedy gold in that... :-)GregThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01532920274312703426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13705919618713566312019-07-15T12:37:15.924-04:002019-07-15T12:37:15.924-04:00Of course, that's just my modern interpretatio...Of course, that's just my modern interpretation of ancient bronze-age philosophy, and is probably about as on-point to the original intent as those Buzzfeed lists about interpreting Pac-Man as existential horror.Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84538361434036124082019-07-15T12:26:59.174-04:002019-07-15T12:26:59.174-04:00It's been proposed, as early as the second cen...It's been proposed, as early as the second century A.D., that the forbidden fruit was wheat. Setting aside the problems that wheat isn't a fruit and doesn't grow on trees, wheat seems like the perfect metaphor for agrarian society, and the end of hunter-gatherer times.Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131989140638867919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-53950641103369329912019-07-15T11:05:45.660-04:002019-07-15T11:05:45.660-04:00Your comment made me spend a good 15 minutes amusi...Your comment made me spend a good 15 minutes amusing myself with different offensive scenarios MicroProse could have developed if they'd gone whole-hog with the idea.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-42551028722959760032019-07-15T10:57:20.583-04:002019-07-15T10:57:20.583-04:00I'm no theologian, but it always seemed obviou...I'm no theologian, but it always seemed obvious to me that the consumption of the fruit was a metaphor for humankind's evolution of a brain capable of ethical decision-making. Animals exist in a state of innocence in which they hunt, fight, kill, reproduce, and simply survive based on instinct alone. Humans have the ability to make a choice about such issues--to think about their place in nature in a meta-cognitive sense. Thus, we can no longer live wholly WITHIN nature (i.e., the Garden of Eden). If theologians "generally agree" that no, it's just about disobeying a direct order, it seems to me that they're adopting the most boring, literal interpretation.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-81861146743796669202019-07-15T09:44:26.653-04:002019-07-15T09:44:26.653-04:00A note regarding Christian theology and the Tree o...A note regarding Christian theology and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: it is generally agreed that the ability to know good from evil wasn't the actual problem there; disobeying the direct order was. :) There is quite a lot of theology behind the Garden of Eden part (which is unsurprising), but that's probably not the time and place to discuss it...<br /><br />Keep up the good work!KarbonKittynoreply@blogger.com