I'm 29, and the first game I played was a platformer made up of ascii characters on the Kaypro computer. My family then owned several 2600s that I played but didn't worry about too much. That Kaypro though, I actually recall going to a science fare one time in elementary school for some animation I had programmed. Once my family got a Macintosh though, my computer programming skills came to a screeching halt... but that's another topic. I didn't really get into games until I learned of the miracle of arcades, circa 1987. I have posted the rest of my thoughts in my NES-SMS-TG16 comparison page on Gamepilgrimage, so I see no need to retype any of it. ;)
Technically I "grew up" playing a Genesis, as that is what I played the most extensively from puberty until I was about 21.
[QUOTE="SHEATH013"]Sounds good aspro. I'd just like to see this site do something, anything, to encourage game players to branch out more.waflerevolution
ya past GTA, FF and halo?
Naw, I just mean for people to buy the endless lines of sequels of these, Need for Speed and Madden. That way great companies like RSTAR and EA can stay in business with very little effort, while those foolish companies spending millions on R&D for brand new ideas go out of business. It's the way a good Industry should function, as long as there's plenty of sex and violence and rediculously bad physics in racing games.
Yeah, I just don't manage my work time well enough to have "guilt free" leisure time, and when I do play I don't really accomplish anything as a result. It should be one of those motivational things, I should look at the lacking quality in my leisure time and be more motivated to get my work done efficiently, but I seem to cascade in the opposite direction instead. I don't think I have a very stringent definition of "gamer", but I would think that actually completing games on some type of regular basis would be the bare minimum.
I had brought the issue of different collector emblems up in the Site Improvements thread long ago, but nothing came of it. Maybe now the time is right. I would personally like to see the cutoff for serious collector moved up to 500 games. I check out a lot of serious collector-emblem-having people, usually to find that they have 205. There's nothing wrong with that, but subdivision of the Collector emblem is smart from a clarity standpoint. Other numbers-based emblems have multiple levels like the Neighborly series, the Tagger series, and the Top Reviewer series, at least when they were still active. gmsnpr
As a recipient of the "serious collector" emblem, I agree completely. When I started I had maybe 215 games, and even though I now have 400 I recognize that I am just not even in the same league as game collectors. I barely qualify as a gamer anymore, but I still at least like to fool around with the idea that I still am. I don't know why they even have emblems if they're going to be poorly defined and inflexible.
Well, this is just an idea for those of you who are more involved with this site than I. I've just been reflecting upon my collection, and the inadequate representation it has received in icons like "serious collector" and that "old school" thing with the NES and Mario mushroom on it. That "hella-old school" icon with the 2600 on it isn't much better, this site is just too focused on main stream stuff. I am thinking that there should be more representative icons, and here are some ideas of mine.
Non-Mainstream / Bias Free Gamer: Received for: Owning at least 50 games on multiple consoles other than a Nintendo or Sony platform (not counting current gen). Icon: Pic of anything other than a mainstream console.
Retro-Gamer Elite: Received for: Meeting the Bias Free Gamer requirement plus writing over 10 reviews of games on non-Mainstream consoles. Icon: Arcade joystick, or a quality home joystick other than the NES advantage
I'm not sure of the logistics of that second one, but I think the first idea (or something like it) could easily be implemented. What I would like to see mostly is more representative icons for gamers who don't represent the mainstream and excluvisity to only the most popular consoles.
Rumors have been circulating (yes, that's passive voice and you'll like it) that the upcomming HD-DVD drive software update for the 360 would also upscale regular DVD to 720p. This appears to be impossible due to copy protection law, at least for Microsoft. However, apparently everything is "upscaled" to 1080p using the VGA connection, and this can be adapted to DVI.
Provided your HDTV accepts either VGA or DVI, I'd say that this is actually a problem solved. What do those of you with HD equipment think about this?
Posted Sep 23rd 2006 3:25PM by Ludwig Kietzmann Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360 Much like looking both ways before crossing the road, remembering to read the fine print is a valuable life skill that will inevitably save your existence at one point or another. Some even consider HD resolution to be a matter of life and death, especially when the money spent on a 1080p television could have been used to purchase New Zealand instead. When Microsoft announced earlier this week that an update would automagically enable 1080p resolution ("true" or "full" HD if you believe in such things) for the Xbox 360, they neglected to mention any specifics regarding component output and that pesky issue of copyright.
A Microsoft insider (with handle "amirm") provides some clarity on the AVS forums, explaining what types of content are allowed over a component connection. If you insist on watching your HD-DVDs at full resolution, it appears you'll have to invest in a VGA cable (and not an HDMI cable).
If your 360 is hooked up via component cables:
* Xbox 360 games can be upscaled to 1080p. Titles that run in 1080p natively (none of which currently exist) will also display without a problem. * HD-DVDs will display at 1080i maximum -- you can thank AACS for that. * Normal DVDs will play at 480p. CSS prevents anything higher (though some upscaling DVD players conveniently ignore it).
If your 360 is hooked up via VGA cable:
* HD-DVDs, Upscaled DVDs and games can all display at 1080p with no copyright hassles.
If your 360 is hooked up via RF Adapter:
* You have bigger problems.
In the discussion:
10. DVDs are already upscaled with a VGA cable. 2405WFP DVD goodness FTW!
Then down the list a bit...
14. Just so everybody can stop freaking out, you can buy VGA to DVI adapter, and yes, in that order
Yeah, I will do my best not to ruin any in the process, but since I've soldered various things on Genesis Main boards, I don't think I'll have a problem with this. I might need to buy one of those handy board holders before I start though.
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