tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post1879741099675885185..comments2024-03-28T22:00:35.840-07:00Comments on Playing D&D With Porn Stars: Secret Wars Toys As A Parable of Design, Detail and Giving People What They WantZak Sabbathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-32154135609728034532021-03-29T11:32:49.125-07:002021-03-29T11:32:49.125-07:00Another interesting comparison would be to the ear...Another interesting comparison would be to the earlier Micronauts. The figures are decent quality but, also a mishmash of type and tone. Yet, the comic was really high quality and made the disparate elements work. And, while definitely a marketing exercise for toys, the lack of an established history helped in this case. Dogstarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033759045789835744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-78593000513190121462021-03-02T09:35:51.854-08:002021-03-02T09:35:51.854-08:00I want to be clear about that analogy:
The root o...I want to be clear about that analogy:<br /><br />The root of both problems is -refusing to think- when another human pisses you off. Just taking your instinct or programming and running with it. Not going "Ok, stop: I owe other humans exactly what they owe me". And that is why I feel very comfortable with that analogy. People pre-decided, without any curiosity or care, that things are exactly what they seem when you're angry or hurt. It is the alchemy where stupid becomes evil. Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-54639489729626022021-03-02T09:30:21.380-08:002021-03-02T09:30:21.380-08:00Well, what they did makes sense if you consider th...Well, what they did makes sense if you consider that by "they" we mean some evil, destructive people and lots of thoughtless people. <br />Now that I think of it, it does sound like Hitler shit. Simon Tsevelevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17713339519093556701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-9181816517226109782021-03-01T22:50:22.132-08:002021-03-01T22:50:22.132-08:00@Z-C E
If I actually did any of the heinous shit ...@Z-C E<br /><br />If I actually did any of the heinous shit Mandy accused me of I should be decapitated and sold to Jawas. But I didn't so what they did makes no sense. <br /><br />You don't ever assume guilt without asking questions. That's Hitler shit.Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-67883778552799674402021-03-01T22:41:12.062-08:002021-03-01T22:41:12.062-08:00I got tossed out face-first from the discord for s...I got tossed out face-first from the discord for saying "I don't think we should be acting on this too harshly unless Zak gets charged with rape." <br /><br />They said I was you. That's the only possibility. There was no nuance in 2019. I was pretty mad, lost a handful of good OSR friends I played with regularly, so I'm pretty happy you're making a comeback. <br /><br />Zak-Chad Elitenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-68744864581725179022021-03-01T21:23:11.488-08:002021-03-01T21:23:11.488-08:00If you say so.If you say so.Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-53505399582458191692021-03-01T21:21:14.168-08:002021-03-01T21:21:14.168-08:00- suing gen con and winning
- suing mandy and winn...- suing gen con and winning<br />- suing mandy and winning<br />- sued ettin and won<br />- rest of the traitors doomed<br />- producing top tier commentary on drama<br />- producing godly content<br /><br />Zak's back, baby! Zak-Chad Elitenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-53148473098976641622021-02-27T19:17:12.805-08:002021-02-27T19:17:12.805-08:00Oh yeah, my brother and I had a few of these. The ...Oh yeah, my brother and I had a few of these. The comic was good, the toys were not. Besides being cheaply made (Doc Ock's arms broke off within weeks of purchase), they had no real soul to them. The only reason to get them was to have a Marvel themed toy, really. Plus, there was zero connection to the comic, since they had figures that weren't even IN the Secret Wars.<br /><br />G.I. Joe had already introduced articulated figures you could pose easily, that made them incredibly fun to play with. Transformers? Well I'll be honest... they are pretty and cool, but actually playing with them was a pain. All the various Transformers were widely variant in scale since they came from two different toy lines originally, plus the die-cast metal linked with plastic parts meant they broke frequently under heavy play.<br /><br />But a year or two ago, I found out that a local toy store here bought and sold classic G1 Transformers, so I got all of our collection out and brought it down to them. Not in original boxes, with wear and tear, I made close to $1500 selling the entire collection. (A classic Megatron is particularly valuable these days as they can't even manufacture them overseas like they do many of the old G1 line; his gun appearance leads to him getting seized in customs every time.)<br /><br />Point being, Transformers had a great story behind it and some well developed characters and voice actors that made the toy a runaway hit. GI Joe was a little less successful (I honestly couldn't tell you the storyline from the old cartoons at ALL, it's been years since I watched them) but the functionality of the toys and the well developed character bios helped drive them along. Plus they had ninjas.Adamantyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14962009901412877763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-26228348622589471232021-02-26T23:46:18.333-08:002021-02-26T23:46:18.333-08:00My first thought: "Hey, cool, Kang and Doom a...My first thought: "Hey, cool, Kang and Doom and Captain. But why is Doc Octopus carrying a shield, isn't this silly and completely out of character?" <br />Oh. Riiight. <br />Love the moral of the story. I spent ten years in self-hatred over my inability to deal with Aristotle's composition before I found out that there's picaresque. Simon Tsevelevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17713339519093556701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-47061109219036579372021-02-26T16:17:12.791-08:002021-02-26T16:17:12.791-08:00It's not really a design flaw in the way those...It's not really a design flaw in the way those awful shields were (or the general detached nothingness of Secret Wars), but both my Spiderman and my Cap lost their detail paint within 6 months, rendering them aesthetically unbearable to me. Truly horrible memories of these shitty figures. <br /><br />Cap didn't actually have his proper shield either. <br /><br />You've brought something to mind...in the UK it was all about Action Man ('78-'84 range, superior in all ways to the US large scale GI Joe figures which had spawned them...i started with them during their last year and there was a thriving second hand market for at least another 4 years) and I returned there forthwith. Detail was key. Customisation was emphasised. No two kids had the same Action Man. <br /><br />This was story generated not from sound design principles and nested, meaningful detail, but pure DIY 'make the best hero you can from what you've found on market stalls and swapped at school'. I feel sad and maybe a little old, thinking how modern kids don't get to experience this. <br /><br />I hope detailed dolls get another run someday. They definitely lead into D&D for me (well, Fighting Fantasy RPG anyway).Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10092002529591261902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638993969706011706.post-71346318702416021402021-02-26T13:58:27.574-08:002021-02-26T13:58:27.574-08:00Gosh - I didn't know there were other figures ...Gosh - I didn't know there were other figures besides the 8 we saw in Italy!<br />I remember the good characters' shield, being circular, didn't work very well with the gimmick of secret identities.<br />And the line presented Kang (the first figure I owned) but, as far as I know, he was not present in the comic book miniseries!Luca Lorenzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16753738496048471583noreply@blogger.com