TNSTAAFL Talk

Han lived in one, the whole crew of the SGU called one home, so have countless other icons of sci-fi. It's only fair that we, the loyal geeks who throw untold gobs of money at the industry get to do the same. WHAT!?! Crazy you say? BAH to you! It's not really that difficult to do, I don't mind that it being space worthy are none, it will just take some creative architects. Oh, and lots of cash too.

Come on now, sit and think about it. A house that looks like the Millennium Falcon, Ebon Hawk or what have you, completely to scale. Sure some of the insides “ might” be altered slightly to add much needed room, but the overlords have so many countless books and schematics and specs placed all over it would be a simple thing to get the majority of the ship home not only authentic, but completely functional.

Just Imagine the Falcon, sitting in a field resting atop it's landing struts “ which are part of the support for the house, but also house plumbing, electrical, or any other bit that needs to extend out beyond the house. The ships landing ramp actually raises and lowers before getting to a front airlock/door. This also serves as an epic security system. Can't break in when the door is 10 feet up and blocked by a half ton ramp that is closed up. The cockpit may be exactly as was in the film, but also double as an office of sorts. Computer screens and systems built into and hidden behind the replica console. I know I'm not going to see the scratch for that sort of custom job anytime soon, but I KNOW there are some out there who have the means and desires. Just think about the great pickup lines you can throw out!

I've been a gamer for a long time. Granted not as long as some, considering the first video games actually showed up in the late 60s. No, I'm of the last days before the gaming crash, before the birth of NES era. I've experienced first hand the abortion of a game that was E.T, and have not stopped. Sure visuals are great now, story can be amazing ( having a good story at all is impressive now that I look back at the golden era) yet the one thing I think is highly overlooked and taken for granted is music.

Kids today may find the old 8-bit bleeps of days past to be cool in a retro-hipster-ironic sorta way, but to me, someone who started when games had no music the bleeps do bring back some nostalgia, but are not the fondest memories. I still remember the day when we hooked up the first of the “ newer” gen consoles, that being the n64/ps1/Saturn days and being hit with full true soundtracks. Yes, there was a in-between phase where music was more “ true” but still was obviously synthetic computer sounds.

The first time I ever ripped a soundtrack from a game was War Craft 2, then Full throttle. Now my library houses soundtracks from countless games, more recently ME3 and Skyrim. Making that jump from bleeps to real (or realistic) composed scores added a depth nobody born into the next generation would really understand fully. As it stands now, in my mind, just like film, a good score can make or break a title. Imagine how bad Assassins creed would be if its score was done by Gwar.

Cosplay is a chance to go out and wear your fandom in pride. All levels of costuming skill or budget are welcome. It's a chance to really flaunt. Granted you may be flaunting your artistic skills, your body itself or your sense of humor. By that I mean you have zero artistic ability so you resort to cardboard boxes and the likes. Yes, Cosplay has something for everyone, and can be done by everyone.

I say that, but also add that it should not always be for everyone. People are people, we come in a myriad forms and that's just fine. I however have always been in the camp of “ you cosplay for your best fits." There are some legends in the game on all parts of the globe. Be it Commander Holly for her epic portrayal of a renegade femshep that has won over the hearts of Bioware itself, or Bella Chere as black queen or she hulk just to name a few off the top of my head. What helps them is that they can match up to their characters. It helps that they are both in shape, and have wonderful personalities to start with. Having that good heart and confidence is a vital skill, but trust me, a 400-pound individual with bad skin who has reached that point that gender is no longer really discernible dressed as a skimpy sailor scout just does not work. Nor the bald guy with a beer belly that nearly touches the floor dressed as John Carter...though fat vader may be sort of amusing.

I'm really not trying to drag them down...much... I give them props for having the passion and love of something behind them enough to venture out into the world as such. I just can't help but fall to traditional rules of style and fashion: when you exceed a certain bodily range- you accent it in a fitting way. You DON'T glue on bits of fur over naughty bits and 20 flesh aprons and go out more or less naked as Felecia. It really does not complement that individual's frame, and really is in poor taste as far as others looking on. Am I saying it's a beauty contest? Well in short yes, it actually is. Partly because that’s human nature, partly because it works for the character. Hell- I even say that someone with the exact body shape as Carrie Fisher in Jedi should not bother dressing as her unless they can actually resemble her. Now there is the option of “ based on” or “ similar too” or an “ AU” version. Though the rules will all apply the same in the end. Do what fits for you best, the results will always be better in the end.

  The uproar with ME3 is no secret now, and no I'm not going to really get into it right now, or my take on the ending, or why etc etc. I do however want to think about the fall out and what is coming of it. Bioware recently made note “ officially” on their forum that they will be opening up and talking about the ending and what is going to happen “ to a extent I assume”

Now, I'm not going to give spoilers or anything that would give anything away. I will say however that there are more questions than not. The endings ( as they are) really lack any variance and pose many, many problems lore and plot hole riddled. Many hints in the game suggest a certain theory that has built up a great deal of fans support, or is utterly trashed by others- though there is a fairly universal cry to fix it. Tweets, along with in game hints have suggested that perhaps this was the plan all along.

This is where I see a moral gray area. What this all more or less means is that EA/Bioware ' technically' shipped an unfinished game. True you can take the endings as is and just run with it and spin it to whatever you think it means, however for a “ trilogy ending' it does not give any closure. Is Bioware expecting people to buy the DLC that finishes it up? Were they just waiting on the meta data from save files before just popping out a “ending” they had been planning from the start?

Currently the situation is actually hurting the gaming giant. Not just with gamers trust, but on a financial level. If and when they do put out “ the ending” and it's a monster success and most is forgiven what then? What does this mean to rest of the industry? It bothers me to a degree, despite my interest and joy at seeing a real ending. If it's okay for Bioware to do this then that means it's okay for other companies to do the same too right? It's a nice way to get around time restrictions and deadlines. Need the game by late September to make the mid October launch? No problem, pick a chapter point near the end, package it, finish the game as is then send out the rest as DLC in November. How you you feel if companies started doing this?