Now, I'm no proponent of Intelligent Design being taught in schools. Although the concept itself doesn't offend me - I have a very open mind to the idea of some form of intelligent power guiding evolution - it lacks any of the scientific justification that bolsters the argument for evolution. And the holes that do exist in the evolution theory are not a sufficient enough basis for putting forth an argument that is so insubstantial as to not even be capable of having holes.
That being said, I'd like to put forth an idea upon which your brains might chew. As most people know, the famous 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial" case overturned a law that made the teaching of evolution by John Scopes or any other Tennessee teacher a criminal offense. Though the Dover case once again featured a school district staunchly in the spiritual corner of the debate, the crux of the controversy was the antithesis of that in Scopes. It's interesting to note that just as the Tennessee legislature so confidently stated that creationism was a belief not to be questioned, the PA federal court that decided the Dover case has gone along way towards enshrining the theory of evolution in the same trappings of unquestionability. Just something to think about.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Saturday, December 17, 2005
WOW's Arificial Walls
Warcraft and I have reached an impasse. Or, more accurately, I have reached an impasse within the world of Azeroth. You see, I realize that, as a MMORPG gamer, I have an explorer's heart, rather than a grinder's (grinding being the activity of killing the same beasts over and over again merely to harvest the experience points needed to achieve the next level). I'm more interested in what's over the next hill than I am in what's available for my character at the next level.
Unfortunately, WOW doesn't really allow for this. Access to new areas is often conditioned on your character's ability to defeat the denizens of the region. Naturally, the ability to do so is directly related to the time you've spent grinding. Questing alone is an insufficient source of XPs. So, rather than immersing myself in the minutely detailed world, I'm forced to sprint back and forth between spawn spots, hoping that tonight I'll get the experience necessary to allow me to overcome the level 22 death chickens that live in the next valley. It's frustrating and boring.
While I've been more that happy to focus on character building in prior games - whether D&D or Diablo - I just haven't felt the same about WOW. Perhaps it's because I'm still new to the game, the options seem immense, and I'm not really sure what kind of character end-product I'm striving for.
I'm not advocating that the world shouldn't have at least some sort of level-based walls however. I understand the need to create incentives for players to want to achieve higher levels. Dungeons, ethereal realms and the mountain top aeries of dragons can all still remain the realms of the experienced. I'd just appreciate it if swimming across a river didn't equate a death sentence for my character.
Unfortunately, WOW doesn't really allow for this. Access to new areas is often conditioned on your character's ability to defeat the denizens of the region. Naturally, the ability to do so is directly related to the time you've spent grinding. Questing alone is an insufficient source of XPs. So, rather than immersing myself in the minutely detailed world, I'm forced to sprint back and forth between spawn spots, hoping that tonight I'll get the experience necessary to allow me to overcome the level 22 death chickens that live in the next valley. It's frustrating and boring.
While I've been more that happy to focus on character building in prior games - whether D&D or Diablo - I just haven't felt the same about WOW. Perhaps it's because I'm still new to the game, the options seem immense, and I'm not really sure what kind of character end-product I'm striving for.
I'm not advocating that the world shouldn't have at least some sort of level-based walls however. I understand the need to create incentives for players to want to achieve higher levels. Dungeons, ethereal realms and the mountain top aeries of dragons can all still remain the realms of the experienced. I'd just appreciate it if swimming across a river didn't equate a death sentence for my character.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Now, for something geeky
Hmm, nearly a month since my last post, and little to show of it. As I have a difficult time accepting that personal injury might be my ticket into the legal profession, I've got nothing to show for my job searches.
My digital avatar has been far more successful however, having recently attained 15th level. Yes, that's right, try as I might to fight the urge, I have gotten into WoW. Though I had dinked around with it on a friend's computer a year ago, full immersion has prompted the realization that, outside of Halo, this has been the most addicting gaming experience I've so far encountered. Though, as my Dad likes to point out everytime he walks past the screen, the game seems to entail an extraordinary amount of just running around the wilderness, the open nature of the world and its sheer expansiveness makes exploration far more appealing to me than embarking on any of the quests. I've lost count of the number of deaths I've suffered due to my character falling off the side of a cliff he was never supposed to find himself on or from drowning after exhaustion provides an abrupt end to my attempt to swim across the ocean.
In other geeky news, my post-graduation freedom to dig through my gaming collection, as well as a recent game of Warmachine at a friend's house, have sparked a renewed interest for me in miniatures gaming. Having been out of the hobby for my three years of law school, I had grown relatively disinterested in it and even considered purging my collection entirely. Instead, I find myself the proud owner of a mint-in-box Epic Space Marine Legion picked up on Ebay with a partially assembled Balrog and some primed warjacks on my desk. Yes, gaming's siren call has ensnared me again.
To that end, I hope to track some of my work via posts to this blog - both to generate content for this blog, as well as to prompt me to actually get some work done. Speaking of which, I've got a Balrog to attend to in the deep mines of my basement.
Until next time!
My digital avatar has been far more successful however, having recently attained 15th level. Yes, that's right, try as I might to fight the urge, I have gotten into WoW. Though I had dinked around with it on a friend's computer a year ago, full immersion has prompted the realization that, outside of Halo, this has been the most addicting gaming experience I've so far encountered. Though, as my Dad likes to point out everytime he walks past the screen, the game seems to entail an extraordinary amount of just running around the wilderness, the open nature of the world and its sheer expansiveness makes exploration far more appealing to me than embarking on any of the quests. I've lost count of the number of deaths I've suffered due to my character falling off the side of a cliff he was never supposed to find himself on or from drowning after exhaustion provides an abrupt end to my attempt to swim across the ocean.
In other geeky news, my post-graduation freedom to dig through my gaming collection, as well as a recent game of Warmachine at a friend's house, have sparked a renewed interest for me in miniatures gaming. Having been out of the hobby for my three years of law school, I had grown relatively disinterested in it and even considered purging my collection entirely. Instead, I find myself the proud owner of a mint-in-box Epic Space Marine Legion picked up on Ebay with a partially assembled Balrog and some primed warjacks on my desk. Yes, gaming's siren call has ensnared me again.
To that end, I hope to track some of my work via posts to this blog - both to generate content for this blog, as well as to prompt me to actually get some work done. Speaking of which, I've got a Balrog to attend to in the deep mines of my basement.
Until next time!
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