Ask the Man in Red

[ManInRed]

The problem with post inquires on a forum is that you get far too many answers. How can anyone be bothered to search through all the babble and find the sparkling gem of a meaningful answer? The answer is not to look for truth in words of anonymous strangers, instead turn to me, an anonymous man in red.

Ask me any question. It can be informational, opinionated, paradoxical, or rhetorical. No topic is taboo. I will try to answer any question asked, especially the rhetorical ones, however long it takes, with the same seriousness presented in the inquirer.

For the sake of esthetical conformity to the genre of this website, I suggest picking questions on the subjects of games or game design. And while I plan to continue the facade of being all knowing, I ask that you assist me in this illusion in the manner in which you phrase your questions, by assuming I have not played every single game in existence. Though I can assure you, I have in fact played every game in existence, except for that one game you were thinking about specifically asking I give my opinions about. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but the fact that I know that ahead of time should be proof enough of my vast and improbable wealth of knowledge I wish to share.

 

[LobsterFeng]

Why won't the videos on the escapist load for me? The ads run just fine without any lag or anything, but when the ad ends, the video won't load. I checked the help forum several times, and this problem doesn't seem to be addressed at all. And I don't think it's my internet connection, because other video players on other sites run just fine.

 

[MPerce]

Hm...this is a fun idea for a thread. Lemme think up a question real quick.
...........got it.

I have always been a big fan of the traditional JRPG. Specifically, I've been a pretty rabid fan of the Golden Sun series on GBA/DS. But while I thoroughly enjoyed the latest installment, it had luke-warm or straight up negative critical reception.

So, the question, oh mighty Man in Red: in your opinion, what is the future of the JRPG and its fans?

 

[Draconalis]

At what temperature is H2O at its most dense

 

[Quigglebert]

what is the responsability of nato to its member states in the outbreak of nuclear war?

 

[ManInRed]

Why won't the videos on the escapist load for me?

There is nothing I can say or do that can help your plight. I am sorry, I'm so sorry. Whether the problem is on the Escapist servers or your computer, I do not have access to or want the responsibility of trouble shooting a possible network problem. The videos load fine for me when I try, though a busy server can have its problem fixed by trying to load videos at different times of the day. If your machine has tons of free memory/pages and cpu, then it sounds like a network problem you likely have no course of action that can directly address it. Direct complaints to the Escapist or your internet provider, if an on going problem is occurring, the more of these complaints they receive, the quicker they'll respond to fix the issue.

Most streaming videos run ads with no lag and then fail or lag when playing the actual video you wish to watch. Being cynical, this makes perfect sense to me, but I too find it frustrating. Is more bandwidth provided to ads, because someone paid to have it? Still, this doesn't frustrate me as much as ads that blast the volume really high compared to the video's volume (which I hope is seen as a violation of The Calm Act in the States), or the pop-up ad that covers up the video I am trying to watch.

 

[ManInRed]

At what temperature is H2O at its most dense

Assuming pressure is constant, H2O will be most dense at 39.16 °F or 3.98 °C. Water expands when frozen, which is why ice floats.

 

[ManInRed]

what is the responsability of nato to its member states in the outbreak of nuclear war?

To not nuke each other. That is the prime responsibility of an alliance, beyond the threat of working together. History has proven the leader of each nation will do what is in the best interest of their nation (in theory), regardless of any previous made agreements. That is after all their primary job.

 

[robotichunter]

Mister Man in Red, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

 

[Draconalis]

At what temperature is H2O at its most dense

Assuming pressure is constant, H2O will be most dense at 39.16 °F or 3.98 °C. Water expands when frozen, which is why ice floats.

Correct

Tell him what he wins Jim!

Jim: A slightly used hair pin!
Just come on down and pick it up!
See Karl for more details.

 

[the spud]

Why am I so tall?

Will the next word you say be no?

And finally:

Spoiler: Spoilered for language.

 

[Quigglebert]

what is the responsability of nato to its member states in the outbreak of nuclear war?

To not nuke each other. That is the prime responsibility of an alliance, beyond the threat of working together. History has proven the leader of each nation will do what is in the best interest of their nation (in theory), regardless of any previous made agreements. That is after all their primary job.

test run completed, now for the real thing, having recently found theories into dark matter may be wrong, what is your opinion on how phisisists will try to explain the "lack of mass" incomparison to our understanding of the universe at large

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

Mister Man in Red, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

im sorry for stealing this man in red, but according to a book i read on useless, but true, information, its 252 licks!

 

[emeraldrafael]

snip

Why were you so set on destroying the tower and fighting the ka-tet of the rose? I mean, what was really in it for you?

also, why did you choose flagg? he seems like such a useless henchman. I mean, he goes out in such a pussy way.

and are you truly gone, or are you just waiting for your body to reform?

Follow up question, if your body cant reform, what are you going to do?

Also, I am disappoint at no dark tower reference.

 

[000Ronald]

Gamecubes and Duct Tape?

I heard Moviebob (although perhaps not as moviebob; maybe as the game overthinker when he was on Youtube) say those two words once, and it confuses me. What are they referring to?

No. Really, I'm stumped.

 

[guidance]

How do you make it so you can see youtube videos in your posts?

 

[Tselis]

Okay, on the profiles page it says I can arrange my badges so I decide which ones are displayed when I post, but I can't figure out how to get it done. It won't let me move them. How do I arrange them? Oh, if you could please keep the answer simple, I'm not a technophile.

 

[ManInRed]

So, the question, oh mighty Man in Red: in your opinion, what is the future of the JRPG and its fans?

This is a well thought out question, which deserves a well thought out answer. And often it makes me wonder if this quote from Margulis wasn't attempting to address the issue:

"Behold the light that spreads before your eyes. This light once symbolized civilization, the very will of the human race. But what can be gleam by the light we see today? The people of this world have cast away their will to create, drowning themselves instead in an endless light of consumption. What you see now is the deceitful light cast by their stagnant eyes. The people you encounter in your life time are not people at all. They are less then human, mere sacks of flesh and bone. Only upon the realization of self will can a person truly be called a man. You choose to reject the false light, refused to succumb to their lies, that's why you never faltered."

I am a big fan of classic RPG games (that's right I drop the J when referring to JRPG's), but recent years have not been kind to them. The number of RPG's that have come over from Japan in the last 5 years has been staggering low. There are lots of factors to this: the merger of Square and Enix, the allure of making money by creating MMO's, Nintendo's shift away from making hardcore games, and the abandonment of the genre from big companies like Capcom and Namco. Having Monolith, who is made up of some of the finest RPG developers in the world, have their last creation not be localized in North America is another blow I could have done without. Really, if it wasn't for Shin Megami Tensei, I'm not sure most people today would even know what a good RPG game is.

The future is not as bad as it seems now. A lot of talent in Japan for making RPG's is being shifted back into making games, instead of anime, and RPG's are still very popular in Japan. I think the over reliance on the Unreal Tournament Engine in making main stream games is going to need to die down before we start seeing more RPG's where players control parties once more. But we have more hard core gamers out there than ever before, and if there is one thing RPG's are good at it's is providing verity of play into games for players that have seen it all. At worse, RPG games will be come a niche genre along with fighting games for really hardcore gamers, but if this were to happen it would actually encourage more engrossing in-depth, unique, and challenge game play.

My biggest worry is that nowadays so many young kids out there, who have only ever own an X-box 360, and have never gotten a chance to play one of these classic RPG's and have no idea what they are missing. The more of these gamers that are created, the less damn there will be for party controlling, battle mode out of dungeon exploration, story narration, genre of RPG so many players love. Still, I have faith that even these players will crave something more, and that there will always be a place for a good RPG game.

As long as the big developers in Japan behind all our classic favorites are getting jobs to make RPG games, I think the future is bright. Most of the lack luster recent RPG's from Japan were not worked on by these legends, but many of those developers are still out there in the industry, we just need them to go back to making great RPG's. I would start celebrate if Monolith gets picked up by a big company to churn out series of games for platform that can (and will) sell Japanese RPG's, like the PS3.

As for Japanese RPG fans, well their lives will all be completely fulfilling and they will all grow to become more attractive than others in their population (by my opinion at least). And I am sure expecting that will not be less disappointing than anything reported by operation Rainfall.

 

[ManInRed]

Why am I so tall?

Will the next word you say be no?

And finally:

Spoiler: Spoilered for language.

Height is a culmination of genetics, diet, and the diet of your ancestors (more you parents eat the more likely you are to be tall). Your overall body size is based on the most efficient size for your overall body shape, for the correct heat distribution for the environment you survive in. Though this is at best a guess made from past generations and random mutations. Basically, you roll a dice when you conceived that may have attribute bonuses, and have since leveled up in ways that may have effective the final results.

No, the next word I said was: "Height"

He does not look like a b____. In fact, Samuel L. Jackson is my life mentor, something I hope will become clearer as I answer these questions, and follow my resolution to continue to kick a__.