[434] mapping the real

"mapping the real" July 11th, 2003 [434]

Panel 1:
Piro:
Nothing happened! I didn't... There was nothing...
Miho:
So tell me, Piro. Had you known I was a girl...
Also shown:
Largo
Panel 2:
Miho:
would you have been more receptive to my advances?
Panel 3:
Piro:
Eh? Uh... er I...
Panel 4:
Piro:
Look, that whole experience was really weird. You were trying to manipulate me. My 'Endgames' character is important to me, and you were trying to control her!
Miho:
Yet who manipulated who? Somehow you were able to make my character statistically 'care' about yours. And it led to my downfall.
Also shown:
Largo
Panel 5:
Miho:
Games are really about numbers. Numbers are given loose associations with things in the real world. Matching numbers to things like strength and stamina is easy. Mapping them to emotions is far more difficult. Take Ping, for example.
Ping:
Nani?
Panel 6:
Miho:
She's an input/output device for dating simulation games. These games tend to be unrealistic. They are male fantasies that use simple models to map emotions favorably towards lonely young men. Ping's emotional mapping is far more complex and realistic. I think she's designed to take these unrealistic games and make them more 'real'
Also shown:
Piro
Panel 7:
Miho:
Did you ever wonder how realistic Ping might actually be? Physically speaking?
Ping:
Nani, Miho-chan?

console

< Piro >

"re: megatokyo book 2"

Monday - July 7, 2003

First, I would like to apologize for the lack of information regarding the status of Megatokyo book 2. The response to the publication of the first book far exceeded anyone's expectations, and I know that many of you are eagerly awaiting the publication of the second volume. I have an announcement to make regarding this and future print volumes of Megatokyo.

I.C. Entertainment (formerly known as Studio Ironcat) will not be publishing Megatokyo volume 2 or any future volumes of Megatokyo material. If you have pre-ordered Megatokyo volume 2 from I.C. Entertainment, please contact them directly regarding the refunding of your preorder.

In addition, please note that IC Entertainment will not be publishing any future installments of 'warmth' in 'AmeriManga'. This does not mean that 'warmth' will not continue - it just means that I will more than likely offer it free to the web, in much the same way that Megatokyo is presented. I will provide more information about the status of 'warmth' in the near future.

The decision to no longer work with IC Entertainment was my decision and has been made for reasons which I will not get into at this time. I have been holding off on the announcement for well over a month, but I feel that any further delays are unfair to fans and loyal readers of Megatokyo.

Now, this does not mean that there will not be a Megatokyo book 2, it just means that IC Entertainment will not be publishing it. I have a lot of options. I could find a new publisher (a very strong possibility because MT readers helped make the first book a proven success), I could publish it myself (sort of like a doujinshi or self published work) or, who says it needs to be in print? The comic is all right here, and it's not like the lack of a print volume will deny any readers access to the story :) I feel that doing the books right is far more important than rushing to print, now or in the future. I will pursue the options that work best for Megatokyo and the future of my work.

I would like to thank all of you for your support and want to assure you that this announcement does not put the future of Megatokyo in any doubt - Megatokyo is going strong, and intend to keep it that way.

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< Dom >

"Back in the saddle"

Sunday - July 13, 2003

[Dom] - 23:00:00 - [link here]

So after going to a wedding and a farewell party on Saturday night/Sunday morning, I woke up around noon Sunday to the shocking realization that it was perhaps my first free day in about two and a half months. Ever since shortly before E3/ACen, I haven't really had a day to myself, and I celebrated today by doing a whole lot of nothing. It was glorious.

I watched Hero with friends, which was nice, not just for the movie (which is great from a cinematographic and artistic perspective) but for the fact that I was able to lie down and just shoot the breeze with people for a while. Especially during that ultra-phallic fight scene in the lake (Maggie Cheung lake water money shot, banzai!). It was also nice having a lotta Chinese people around to explain the other parts of the Warring States background. I may have to brush up on Warring States legends after that movie...

Then, I got around to what people have been telling me to do for a good three years--playing and finishing off Skies of Arcadia. I like the game, especially once the encounter rate goes down. But I'm sorely disappointed by the lack of a "Vyse the Pimp Daddy" title, because I honestly think it's a more appropriate title than Vyse, King of Rogues.

(note: I think I inherited some of Largo's Bioware-love when I inherited this space... so be warned) The next game on my "must play" list is Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic. When I saw it at E3, I fell in love immediately, because it was Star Wars video gaming the way it should be--a little cheesy, but with good camera angles, action, and nicely hokey/fun dialogue. A Bioware guy promised me a free copy when I was there, but I'm wondering if I should buy the game anyway and pad its sales numbers...

In other news, I didn't get around to playing my shiny new copy of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, because my friend pointed me out to Rimu Revolution, a Japanese webcomic. It's the heartwarming story of a magical(?) girl who wakes up and decides to take over the world, and I find it evil and wrong, which therefore means that I love it. Seeing that I had neglected my poor oop-ack and the Pretty Face translations for far too long, I decided that it'd be a nice, easy way to start translating something if I worked on Rimu Revolution, so... there it is, on oop-ack, the first new content in three months.

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, Hodge-Podge is putting up an MT/Webcomic Cosplay Archive on oop-ack, much like the MT fanart archive. You should e-mail him if there's anything you want to see, since we're sort of at a loss on how to organize it, since cosplay is much more naturally divided by date than subject.

So it turns out that I'll be arriving at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday or so, which makes me thankful because I miss much less work than I would have otherwise. Cons sure suck on the work schedule, except when they count as work, in which case they suck even more because you can't spend much time enjoying yourself.

But enough bellyaching! I'll be hanging out with Fred, Sarah and Greg at the booth on Saturday and Sunday, with maybe Friday if I can make it in time. I've never been to SDCC before, but I figure it won't be too different from everything I've seen so far... mostly because I'll be seeing most of it from behind a table. But who knows, right?