Who would ever think one will maintain the intrest to play one game 4 years in a row. 4 years down the road here we are. Wow. Many things have changed game-wise to keep it intresting, but what survives the most is; friendships made over the years. I think that's the key for the prolonged fun. Also faithfully devoted to a game? Tell me about it....
moonscream Blog
On-line Games Played
by moonscream on Comments
1.) What on-line games have u played?
2.) What on-line games are you still playing?
3.) How would you rate them?
Back to Guild Wars
by moonscream on Comments
After a little break I'm back to playing Guild Wars. Being the leader of Illuminati Elite [iE] guild (Kurzick) calls for responsibilities towards my guild and alliance. Recently we joined the AoL (Army of Lightness) Alliance. Since then it has been nothing than a lot of action and communing in an relaxed atmosphere.
Our guild [iE] is always looking for mature and active players that will help us grow in any aspect of the game. We like to do it all; pve, pvp, titles, farming. We have a friendly and relaxed core of people that, already 2 years playing together, form the main backbone of the guild. Hope to see you sometimes on-line...8)
Guild Wars character name: Chyld Of Moonshade
Guild name: Illuminati Elite
Guild Tag: [iE]
Alliance: Army of Lightness [AoL]
Winter Holidays
by moonscream on Comments
Finaly Winter Holidays are near. I'll be flying to Croatia; first to Split then Zagreb. It was 12 years ago the last time I was in Zagreb. So I figured it's time.:) I'm returning 4th of January. I guess the imagesection will be flooded again. :idea:
C ya - don't wanna be ya! ;)
Nightmare on My Street
by moonscream on Comments
It has been a century I woke from a nightmare finding myself in soaked sheets. A week ago I did and how! If I remember correctly, when I used to dream or have a nightmare it contained the following points;
1. it's in color and sound
2. the speed of the dream is normal play
3. the actual dream is big in story and involves often many locations
This time it was totally the opposite. The only line that was unchanged was nr. 1. Yeah, it was in color and sound. But the dream was in slow motion and the so called POV was from the same angle as in anticipation from what was to come. This is the part I hated about it. It stayed for days in my head, keeping my mind busy and wondering every now and then. So let's describe it...
When I logged in in my dream I was in our family's old house where we used to live when I was a kid. The location was the living room and as it seemed I looked outside from where I was sitting through the half open curtains. The room had a dim light and I couldn't see anything outside because of the dark. Strangely enough, as I was watching outside, a great tension was building up as if I knew something very very odd, strange or rather evil is approaching. It seemed time changed into glue and seconds seemed minutes. My breath grew heavier and heavier and my heart was pounding crazy in my chest. I figured it was gonna jump out of my chest any second now. It was indisputable something was approaching. I remembered how I asked myself during the dream how the heck I knew that, hating and cursing the fact I had to live through that moment. Until suddenly something appeared between the curtains. First it was a blurr, so there was no chance I could make something out of it. Then a blurry face of something best described as a whitch with long black hair that reached to the floor floated through the air, through the window towards me. It was just a whitches head (face white as snow) with long hair and no body and dark holes where eyes were! God this totally freaked me out. So that floating towards me took for ages in my opinion, giving me almost an heart attack. I woke, jumped up, leaning om my hands, breathing heavy. I can laugh about it now, but it was no joke when I woke up. Believe me.
Geez. It really has been a long time I dreamt something weird like that. Being a fan of the horror genre a lot passes my iris, but very rarely something scares me to that extent as it did in this nightmare. When was your last nightmare you can remember that freaked you out?
Digital Disgust
by moonscream on Comments
I hope that this digital era, that didn't show that much at all, just bits and pieces with scarce movies like Vidoq and some few fantasy movies (I don't even wanna go there to mention Toy Story and such), goes a lil' further with that motion capture thing. I remember rubbing my hands years ago when Vidoq was announced when they said all that stuff about digital technology and how far they have gone with it. Being a big fan of the horror and fantasy genre I eagerly awaited what was to come. So when eventually Vidoq came out I saw it in the cinema twice and bought the 2 disc DVD special edition. Then I waited again. I reassured myself with: "Nah, Toy Story is not going to be the only thing coming out". It proved I was wrong because the only digital masterpiece I had to enjoy for quite some time was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. At least a good step in the right direction for my tastes.
I'm not referring to digital technology used in a movie as such, no, I'm talking about movies that are made digitally in its entirety. Somehow I imagined a comic I used to read when I was a kid; Storm (pics included), come to life in this digital era. Remember that one? Not movies based on comics that would rape the hero status of your favorite comic idol of all time. A good example of this is Spiderman. Man that one had hit me hard. Spiderman was one my biggest heroes when I was a kid. Read since the first issue there ever was. And what did Sam Raimi (another disappointment, because he too was my herowho has made Evil Dead) managed to do? He casts a totally wrong Peter Parker and Mary Jane. God I think she's ugly. :) No matter, the Spiderman movies are lame. Humph, almost 40 years of stories and artwork and that's what they came up with. Disgusting.
We will see how long it will take 'till this so called digital evolution really evolves. You may have seen the trailers of Beowulf, where they motion captured those actors. Angelina Jolie looked hot. But why is it that projects like that are so many years apart from one another. We don't have just 3 or 4 movie companies in the world spending big money, so where are these epic 3D stories and saga's. I'm wondering. Take the science fiction series that are showing around the world right now. Don't get me wrong here, I like a lot of 'em. But they are too cheaply made (again not all of 'em) and dramatized Santa Barbara wise Geez. Was Gene Roddenberry the last respected guy that could manage to bring something like Earth: The Final Conflict and having the cojones to risk something, no matter how remote the subject is. Ok ok, Eureka and a scarce few of em is trying and so on, really making an effort to be totally different.
The point I wanna make is, if you are telling me that we live in an digital era, then I wanna see that result. Not only in how cool my cell phone or mp4 player can be. Where is that capability and capacity that shows not only in hardware or software, but also in many forms of art too? Remember, many 3D art is not considered art.
Don't you find it interesting that the only thing that they are doing now in the movie business (last 10 years or so) is remaking old stuff and making movies out of comics, reaching out to the past, to stories or movies that influenced a lot of people? This way they have a so called insurance that that project would make money. Commercial, commercial, commercial. In this we loose soul in everything. Don't you find it striking that there are no more "iconic" creations, like Pinhead, Freddy Krueger, Clint Eastwood in his spaghetti westerns to go a lil' back in time. Don't tell me the story that we don't have enough material or books. We have more than enough to create what wasn't possible to create before.
ICONIC HEROES ONLY IN COMICS AND GAMES
I know it's the game and comics industry's work to create heroes, villains and what not, but they managed to stay so strong and even get a cult status rivaling all the other industries. I know we live in a different era and almost every household has a PC, DVD, TV, (widescreen, almost to be HDTV everywhere and surround sound), stereo and at least 1 of the game consoles, while some 30/40 years ago not every household had a TV. I know we have something called pop culture and everything that goes with it. I know we have internet, touch screen technology and satellite TV. But it seems we lack imagination. Still, how is it that the game and comics industry slowly surpassed with their "iconic" presentation of characters?
Well, as a big fan of movies, I like to see the quality coming back instead of quantity. In between, I'll stick with the movies made by; David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alex Projas, Lasse Hallström, Alex de la Iglesia, Quentin Tarrantino, Robert Rodriguez, Danny Boyle, Takeshi Kitano, Alejandro Amenábar, Mathieu Kassovitz, Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, Mikael Håfström, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David Fincher. Just to name a few. ;) I know these guys will deliver every single time. Just had to say this.
How come people like to be scared?
by moonscream on Comments
Having seen so many horror movies over the years, having read so many horror stories and having played so many horror games, I came to wonder about some things. Why do people like to be scared? And when they are scared, as you may have had the same situation with your partner / girlfriend / whatever when watching a horror flick late at night and she squeezes your arm it almost turns blue kinda thing, they don't like the fact that they are scared. I began digging on the net and diving into this subject. Let's explore here a bit.
Thanks for this fun and interesting question.
In order to answer it, though, let's look first at the way in which people like to be scared. As you mentioned, some folks like scary movies and stories, some people like amusement park thrill rides, and a substantial segment of the population actually likes engaging in challenges to their physical safety - like endurance tests and extreme sports. Some persons choose relationships and behaviours which have the potential to cause great destruction, and still others love the threat of financial disaster (and success) that financial ventures, like the stock market, present. In other words, people have a whole lot of ways they "like to be scared."
The hormonal reaction we humans get from responding to a threat or crisis is what motivates us to "like to be scared". This is the same "fight or flight" syndrome which guaranteed our survival in more primitive times. At the moment we are threatened, we have increased strength, power, heightened senses and intuition. This increase in mental and physical capacity is commonly referred as an "adrenaline rush." It is named after the primary hormone involved.
Basically, you can get this feeling defending yourself against a lion in the jungle or sitting in a theatre showing a horror flick. We, as humans, appear to be "hard-wired" to be drawn to this feeling. It is older than we are as a species, and is tied to our survival; without it, we would have perished and died out long ago.
With something so compelling, is it any wonder that many people like to get this sensation within the comfort, security and complete resolution a ninety minute scary movie or a two-minute thrill ride provide?
These pastimes give us the chance to have our evolutionary "cake and eat it, too." Leaving the theatre, or turning off theDVD after we have been thoroughly terrified by a film director's imagery, we connect - just a bit- with our ancestors who had to overcome nature's savagery. We - like they- get to feel victorious, triumphant, and, perhaps, most importantly, sorely tested. It is a feeling as old as mankind itself.
As you enter the stage in your life which will be (probably) the most challenge-filled (independent young adulthood), you might be connecting with your own need to survive and conquer on an ever deeper psychological level than older film goers. Maybe - just maybe - that's why the typical horror movie audience seems to be primarily teenagers and young adults. Perhaps they are (unconsciously) readying themselves for the survival tasks of adulthood.
The fact that you do not make time right now to go see the scary movies you enjoy might mean that you are engaging in other challenges in life which meet this need more directly, but that's just a guess.
Sincerely,
Margaret "Peg" Burr , MA, MFT
This question was answered by Margaret "Peg" Burr . She is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC34374) with a private practice in Santa Clarita (near Los Angeles). She performs psychodynamic psychotherapy with individual adult clients as well as couples, teens, and families. She also runs groups for adults and adolescents. Her specialty area is Object Relations Systems Theory. This branch of psychodynamic psychotherapy uses a client's interpersonal relationships as windows into his or her intrapsychic structure.
There is no person on earth that hasn't been afraid. But being afraid isn't always a bad thing. I remember reading in a book that being afraid or fear is a second form of intelligence. Well, I wouldn't disagree. When I was still a kiddo (now I'm 1,92m and don't have that problem at all) I would get butterflies in my stomach when I would see a particular bully passing by. A claustrophobic reaction when I had to report in front of the cl@ss on a subject that was chosen incidentally. Being afraid for a particular test made me study harder for it. My heart would pound and beat 4 times faster when the thunder and lightning was close by. Being afraid of getting hit by a car made me look better when crossing the street. Being afraid of burning myself made me back off from the stove or heater. And I remember clearly how every of these occasions made me alert, sharper and quick. To retain or relive these tensions or rushes, I read all the Stephen King's and Clive Barker's books and watched countless flicks about the subject. Was this the reason? Was this the motivation? Or is it just the taste for the genre that developed over the years?
To quote Alfred Hitchcock (1960s);
"People enjoy it more then anything else. If you go, what they call, a midway of a fairground, you will find places on each side of you where people pay money to be scared. Whether is the rollercoaster or a switchback or a haunted house or the whip. People go on these things, you see, to enjoy fear.
You see, it all starts with a baby with the age of six months and the mother says: "Boo!" It scares the hell out of the baby and gives it hiccups. Then the baby giggles. There is the baby's first moment of fear. Later on, it's on a swing, getting higher and higher and catching its breath when it goes too high. And so it goes. We all enjoy, shall we say, putting our toe in the cold water of fear.
I have always said that actors are cattle, actually. But, ehm, at least the birds do as they are told. Especially crows, we had some wonderful crows. One was named Corvus, what was I think latin for crow. Corvus would act on cue beautifully every time we wanted him to do something."
Then the reporter asked if he expected such a reaction on the subject birds from critics on his movie Birds, he replied: "Well, I don't think so. Birds are very useful animals. They make awfully good dinner."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e5fCwRh1VQ&mode=related&search=
A short presentation where Alfred Hitchcock gives a cure for insomnia;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Zsd858KQs&mode=related&search=
Now see the following two parts of an interview in 1964, part 1/2;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydvU64L758c
Alfred Hitchcock 1964 interview part 2/2;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtWi3-eLQqY&mode=related&search=
Alfred Hitchcock continues;
"People like to be scared when they feel safe." Horror movies, when they're done right, can make you jump, look nervously behind, move faster, and leave on the closet light. They can also be a lot of fun. It's fun to feel your heart beat faster, to gasp, to have a girl clutch your arm in fear. Fear is primal, it's natural, and it brings people closer together. While it's not for everybody (some people HATE to be scared, they hate the sight of fake blood, and despise eerie music), but a lot of people get great enjoyment out of things that go bump in the night."
...I never found joy in scaring other people, well maybe as a kid. Still, that ended soon enough. I like to have a good scare myself once in a while, therefore I have given myself a lot of sleepless nights growing up. One of the sleepless nights was sleeping with my leg sticking out of my bed at one side, convincing myself there are no witches under my bed nor do they crawl at night under kid's beds.:lol: Part of my personal hardening.
Geez, I have seen so many horror movies, I have lost the count. Many of them gave me the goose bumps or chills down my spine. But I have seen many bad ones too. Looking back and remembering, a lot of them were poor, very poor and even stupid really. I thought they were cool and everybody should see them. But the fact, that if I would have not seen them, I would not know what I know now. After a while, you can see through plots, see patterns, recognize stereotypes from a mile away and figure out what the overall outcome would be. Who is going to live and who is bound to die. So every now and then, a movie comes along and makes it up for all the bad ones I have seen. Thank God. And to me, it's kinda cool and interesting at the same time, the process you have to go through to realize some of these things. Also, how much of these processes does a person need to come to a certain conclusion? What does it take? This is one of the main reasons why it interests me so much what scares other people and what makes them look the other way. The facts and the psychology of it. I'm just a curious being, therefore I am.
Let's face it. We either love or hate the horror genre. When we love it, we tend to share it with as much people as possible. Because it's no fun to be scared alone (ehm, personally I do ;)) and one of the most important things is to have fun. Again, rather with as much people as possible. So, dear soul, why do you like or don't like to be scared? And how did the horror genre grow on you? Grab that flashlight and enlighten the path for me if you will.
"Boo!"
What is Horror to you?
by moonscream on Comments
HORROR and TERROR
Horror is the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a hideous revelation. Terror by contrast is usually described as the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience. In other words, horror is more related to being shocked or scared (being horrified), while terror is more related to being anxious or fearful (being terrified) (Varma: 1966). Horror has also been defined as a combination of terror and revulsion.
The distinction between terror and horror was first characterized by the Gothic horror writer Ann Radcliffe. Terror is characterized by 'obscurity' or indeterminacy in its treatment of potentially horrible events - it is this indeterminacy which leads to the sublime. She says in the essay that it 'expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life'. Horror in contrast, 'freezes and nearly annihilates them' with its unambiguous displays of atrocity. She goes on 'I apprehend that neither Shakespeare nor Milton by their fictions, nor Mr. Burke by his reasoning, anywhere looked to positive horror as a source of the sublime, though they all agree that terror is a very high one; and where lies the great difference between horror and terror, but in uncertainty and obscurity, that accompany the first, respecting the dreader evil' (Radcliffe: 1826).
According to Devendra Varma in The Gothic Flame (1966): The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference between awful apprehension and sickening realization: between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse.
Horror is also a genre of film and fiction that relies on horrifying images or situations to tell stories and prompt reactions in their audiences. In these films the moment of horrifying revelation is usually preceded by a terrifying build up, often using the medium of scary music.
Having read the above (the text is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), what is horror for you or to you? What kind of horror freaks you out? And what is the limit that you can take?
Played a Horror game worth playing? Tell me!
by moonscream on Comments
I have played so many RPG's and horror games and find myself a bit angry how so few out there are really good. The games I have played and are amazing in the horror genre are: Fatal Frame series, Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica and Silent Hill 3. The games that did not deliver were FEAR, The Suffering, other Silent Hill parts, Man Hunt. Either the playability ruined it, or the story did not bring that creepy atmosphere to the end, instead, they were creepy only a few moments throughout the games.
So have you played a horror game that is worth playing, and does deliver that creepy, sinister and obscure feeling? Please post me a message. Thanks all in advance.
PS3 better/cooler than XBox 360?
by moonscream on Comments
Do you have a clear view on the difference of the game consoles PS3 and XBox 360? Than please do message me your view or opinion. Make me feel good that I purchased the PS3. 8)
Will PS3 surpass the XBox 360 soon?
And the last question; is it just me finding PlayStation games (since creation of PS1) till now more entertaining and more imaginative than the XBox games? Is Japan more creative in making games than US till now? Really curious what your views are...
Log in to comment