IC Forum Archive

exodus · Posts: 385

http://www.insertcredit.com/features/virtualonslaught/

haven't done html in months, let me know if I fucked up.

kumar's new piece is next, goes up before I head to europe.

Quick Shot II Turbo · Posts: 468

Previous articles don't have that smarmy <br> tag at the beginning.

exodus · Posts: 385

op.

now with less smarm, thanks.

also noticed irregular spacing of game logos.

B coma · Posts: 1455

A little shorter than I had anticipated, but it was a definitely a good read.

I'm kind of astounded that I've had a Saturn and Dreamcast for about a year combined, and am still without one of these titles, since I poured unbelieveable amounts of quarters into the arcade version of the original VO in my hometown.

aderack · Posts: 5018

I think VOOT came out only in limited quantities. I tried to get a copy about six months after it was released, and it was getting... eBay prices. Gr.

Wilkes · Posts: 1603

I enjoyed it. It could have been longer, though it didn't need to be.

While you're cleaning things up, you might want to change the play-asia summer sale image on the front page. if that's something on your end.

Persona-sama · Posts: 1145

Whoa, Kataoki's sporting an interesting set of glasses on page 2.

I always figured the dude would equip a visor or something. Or at least something more mecha.

ReroRero · Posts: 2148

They are like robot glasses, that robots wear over their visors when they want to look cool at the beach.

Persona-sama · Posts: 1145

Double posting because it's healthy and exciting.

I liked that article. It was short and simple, bringing back memories of older IC write ups. The information was kind of threadbare though, like something a guy read off Wikipedia then added some of his own knowledge to scrape up into a nice little thing to help him get into E3 or something.

I want to know more though. I want the guy to get all VO-otaku on me. Can you do that for me, Mr. ollie barder? Can you get all Virtual-Ontaku??

Also, if someone made a visor that looked like Temjin or Fei-yen's, I'd totally wear that around. Not like the cosplayer up here, but like the real one.

ReroRero · Posts: 2148

Maybe they are glasses that are like the eyes of robots that are just two discs, because they couldn't get enough mechadosh to pay for human-looking eyes.

Beinh a robot is tough work in this cruel industrialized world.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

Persona-sama wrote:

Double posting because it's healthy and exciting.

I liked that article. It was short and simple, bringing back memories of older IC write ups. The information was kind of threadbare though, like something a guy read off Wikipedia then added some of his own knowledge to scrape up into a nice little thing to help him get into E3 or something.

I want to know more though. I want the guy to get all VO-otaku on me. Can you do that for me, Mr. ollie barder? Can you get all Virtual-Ontaku??

Getting all Virtual Ontaku is something I have to live with every day...

Talking of cosplay, these two gave a good stab at it.

Persona-sama · Posts: 1145

Also noting my previous avatar:

I lost the full image that was taken from. It was really nice in that it looked mecha as opposed to people wearing funny mecha-like props.

...actually, on second look, it could just as easily have been the girl I posted earlier with a face mask on. Hmm.

ReroRero · Posts: 2148

The one posing in front of the blurred cardboard cut-outs.

exodus · Posts: 385

yeah, I was originally hoping it'd be a bit more ridiculo-nerd, but it's interesting as-is, and has nice pictures.

I'm pretty sure he knows lots about VO, but was trying not to overload.

chazumaru* · Posts: 480

This is actually referring to another discussion on the general forum, but I do appreciate the increase of robot-themed posts.

nocturnedelight · Posts: 430

exodus wrote:

yeah, I was originally hoping it'd be a bit more ridiculo-nerd, but it's interesting as-is, and has nice pictures.

I'm pretty sure he knows lots about VO, but was trying not to overload.

I was kinda hoping for the same thing as well. But definetly still nice.

aerisdead · Posts: 556

I like Virtual On but I found that article pretty empty.

Sub · Posts: 696

Persona-sama wrote:

Whoa, Kataoki's sporting an interesting set of glasses on page 2.

I always figured the dude would equip a visor or something. Or at least something more mecha.

I remember that at some point it was a running joke to portray Katoki as a naked man whose head and crotch are those of the RX-78 Gundam. Somebody made a figure and everything.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

exodus wrote:

yeah, I was originally hoping it'd be a bit more ridiculo-nerd, but it's interesting as-is, and has nice pictures.

I'm pretty sure he knows lots about VO, but was trying not to overload.

Pretty much, it's meant as a general overview for the entire series thus far. An introduction of sorts really. I held back the ridiculo-nerd stuff for something more game specific, otherwise all that information at once would have been a bit too much to the unitiated.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

Sub wrote:

I remember that at some point it was a running joke to portray Katoki as a naked man whose head and crotch are those of the RX-78 Gundam. Somebody made a figure and everything.

Yep, Katoki was portrayed as a naked RX-78-2. That picture in the feature is quite old now, it was scanned from my copy of Virtual On Reference Schematic. He's a lot thinner now and looks generally worn out. I'm very much a fan of his work on Gundam Sentinel though.

He created a PC mouse a while back. I bought the black one and use it at work.

exodus · Posts: 385

Cacophanus wrote:

otherwise all that information at once would have been a bit too much to the unitiated.

aha! ok, I see the problem then - the point then would be to go incredibly in-depth such that the uninitiated would become, thereafter, quite initiated.

yes?

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

exodus wrote:

Cacophanus wrote:

otherwise all that information at once would have been a bit too much to the unitiated.

aha! ok, I see the problem then - the point then would be to go incredibly in-depth such that the uninitiated would become, thereafter, quite initiated.

yes?

Ideally, yes. Though I never intended it to be incredibly in-depth because to do so would mean each game would have to have a dedicated feature of their own, especially the original. The problem with that approach is that it leaves out the rest of the series, the relative context I suppose. I'd be happy to go back and do a ridiculo-nerd feature on the first game, down to the wiring of the arcade cabinet itself, but this time I wanted to cover the series in its entirety.

exodus · Posts: 385

I getcha.

yeah, we got them 75,000 word features on here, so I don't get concerned when something's long. At the same point, look how long it took me to get this one up :P

Persona-sama · Posts: 1145

I would definitely enjoying an obscene detailed write up of Virtual On.
Also, how do you manhandle these mice?

I'm not sure if what I'm looking at is the front or the bottom and what you're supposed to click is right or not. I'm assuming you grab it from the thin side and click on the bulbous head as if your hand was a little man riding a hammerhead shark and you were bashing its skull to right click.

Sub · Posts: 696

Persona-sama wrote:

I would definitely enjoying an obscene detailed write up of Virtual On.
Also, how do you manhandle these mice?

I'm not sure if what I'm looking at is the front or the bottom and what you're supposed to click is right or not. I'm assuming you grab it from the thin side and click on the bulbous head as if your hand was a little man riding a hammerhead shark and you were bashing its skull to right click.

I use one of these! You grab it with the thumb and pinky, and the three fingers in between handle the buttons. That's it.

Persona-sama · Posts: 1145

You guys are in on a secret VO society. It's like you have to flash the mouse to get into the meeting and then you have to defeat the councilmen at 4 rounds of VOOT to get initiated.

Then you all wear your visors and hoods and sing enchantments to your mecha gods as someone dances about holding those nice Kaiyodo toys as instruments. Afterwards you all drink some 10WD40 and sit back and talk about mecha h-doujin or something.

I'M ON TO YOU.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

The only arcade cab I would ever be insane enough to purchase is VO (I would totally rock an Outfoxies supergun though).

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

Sub wrote:

I use one of these! You grab it with the thumb and pinky, and the three fingers in between handle the buttons. That's it.

It's super-responsive too (I have the white Shirow one at home). I also use my Katoki mouse on a Virtual On mousepad. I should post a pic of my desk at work, it's a little...nuts.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

Persona-sama wrote:

You guys are in on a secret VO society. It's like you have to flash the mouse to get into the meeting and then you have to defeat the councilmen at 4 rounds of VOOT to get initiated.

Then you all wear your visors and hoods and sing enchantments to your mecha gods as someone dances about holding those nice Kaiyodo toys as instruments. Afterwards you all drink some 10WD40 and sit back and talk about mecha h-doujin or something.

I'M ON TO YOU.

There's a not-so-secret Virtual On society located here. As for the initiation, I used to make people beat Jaguarandi five times in a row (as in have them cock up the first stages and fight the beastie) in order to join LonVOC.

Failure was met with severe death.

There used to be a dedicated Virtual On arcade located in Shibuya, called Tangerine Spur. That's gone I think, but the basement in Shinjuku Sportsland 3 is still Virtual On-tastic.

IIOIOOIOO · Posts: 91

I learned more about Virtual On from the website that ollie just linked than I did from the article. An exemplary disappointment: the article mentions that the BIG NEW FEATURE in VO Force is that it is now 4-player... then fails to describe in any meaningful way what the new 4-player mechanic IS.

Love,
IIOIOOIOO

ReroRero · Posts: 2148

Persona-sama wrote:

You guys are in on a secret VO society. It's like you have to flash the mouse to get into the meeting and then you have to defeat the councilmen at 4 rounds of VOOT to get initiated.

Then you all wear your visors and hoods and sing enchantments to your mecha gods as someone dances about holding those nice Kaiyodo toys as instruments. Afterwards you all drink some 10WD40 and sit back and talk about mecha h-doujin or something.

I'M ON TO YOU.

That sounds like my kind of cult. Well, minus the h-doujins.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

IIOIOOIOO wrote:

I learned more about Virtual On from the website that ollie just linked than I did from the article. An exemplary disappointment: the article mentions that the BIG NEW FEATURE in VO Force is that it is now 4-player... then fails to describe in any meaningful way what the new 4-player mechanic IS.

The 4 player mechanic is hinged directly into the thrust vectoring from the previous games, but that doesn't work because you can avoid everything. The aspect of switching between players and the "leader" based two player teams (as in you destroy the leader to win), is superficial in comparison to the core gameplay that Virtual On is renowned for (something I explained in detail in the opening section).

IIOIOOIOO · Posts: 91

Yeah, I understand that now... from reading elsewhere.

But! You're missing it... If you're going to write an "all about the game" article, it's important to give people a really deep "feel" for the game to start off with and then use that as a base to provide very detailed understanding about how that game evolved over time. Otherwise yeah, it does end up feel like a wikipedia article that hasn't yet been fleshed out by the community.

I don't want to discourage you. It's nice to see a new feature on here. Please read the feedback that people are giving you and consider it carefully as opportunities to improve your work-product. Take your passion and enthusiasm for these games and translate those into an article that transmit those same feelings into your audience.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

IIOIOOIOO wrote:

Yeah, I understand that now... from reading elsewhere.

But! You're missing it... If you're going to write an "all about the game" article, it's important to give people a really deep "feel" for the game to start off with and then use that as a base to provide very detailed understanding about how that game evolved over time. Otherwise yeah, it does end up feel like a wikipedia article that hasn't yet been fleshed out by the community.

I don't want to discourage you. It's nice to see a new feature on here. Please read the feedback that people are giving you and consider it carefully as opportunities to improve your work-product. Take your passion and enthusiasm for these games and translate those into an article that transmit those same feelings into your audience.

Oh no, I'm definitely taking all this onboard. In some ways it's very refreshing that people want me to get more geeky about the whole thing (something that I've had to inhibit slightly in regards to my professional work).

The thing with this piece especially was that it was written quite a while ago, prior to me joining ic. Now that I've been participating a while I can see that what would be a normal introductory piece elsewhere is not really in-depth enough for a place like this.

I am by no means discouraged and it's nice that people care.

Mister Toups · Posts: 4943

The biggest problem with this article is that it doesn't explain what "mecha" is to began with. I assume it's a very specific term but to someone like me without much background on the subject I already start to feel kind of lost from the ouset.

It gets better when you start to describe the actual Virtual On games. Though I do wish you'd go into more detail at times, I worry that if you did, it would become unreadable; your writing style is already kind of fuddy duddy and your diction is kind of murky sometimes. It's hard to write for a more, uh... middlecore audience when you're so into something; you have to remember that most of us don't always know what it is you're talking about, and don't always find it inherently interesting. The challenge is to write about your subject matter in a way that shows off what's interesting about it instead of just expecting the audience to be interested simply because it's giant robots.

aerisdead · Posts: 556

Toups you said everything I wanted to say and struggled with in another thread far better and you use a mean semicolon ;_;

Sub · Posts: 696

Hi I'm a robot guy too sup.

I would say what everybody else is saying here too. Get really in-depth with it. You know a lot about VO, and about Japanese robots (they're vital aesthetic context!). Talk about them. Especially talk about the gameplay evolution (it's especially interesting that this series evolves, peaks, and devolves itself for the sake of accessibility), and I would even say, if you can simplify high-level VO (don't know, haven't played it to that extent), to talk about those little things.

Cacophanus · Posts: 28

Sub wrote:

Hi I'm a robot guy too sup.

I would say what everybody else is saying here too. Get really in-depth with it. You know a lot about VO, and about Japanese robots (they're vital aesthetic context!). Talk about them. Especially talk about the gameplay evolution (it's especially interesting that this series evolves, peaks, and devolves itself for the sake of accessibility), and I would even say, if you can simplify high-level VO (don't know, haven't played it to that extent), to talk about those little things.

You can explain high-level gameplay quite easily, as I did with rowing. The thing is that I didn't write the piece with that in mind (the segment on rowing was at brandon's request). As I keep on saying, it was always meant as a primer piece with the goal of following up with more game specific pieces.

I know now that some people here want further specifics, which I have no problem with (that's easy to do, it just takes time). The irony is that various people, from non-Virtual On literate to highly skilled players, all thought the piece did a very good job of introducing the series (which is all the piece was ever aimed to do).

My writing style though, that's borne out of not using the press as a personal pedestal. I can see why a few here might have a problem with that.

aerisdead · Posts: 556

Cacophanus wrote:

My writing style though, that's borne out of not using the press as a personal pedestal. I can see why a few here might have a problem with that.

handbags

James · Posts: 1735

Mecha? That's like, Optimus Prime, right?

I used to love Transformers.