Best Graphics In The World
I’m going to get on my mud soapbox again just a short period of time. I hope you don’t mind. Today’s User Friendly comic really struck a cord with me, and reminded me of better times… The times when people actually had to read, pay attention, and concentrate on what they were doing while playing a game in order to merely survive. To excel in the games, you had to think about what you were reading, and how it might affect you. There were even tiny hints as to what things (that were usually not readily visible) needed to be pulled, pushed, turned, twisted, poked, or looked at. It was an amazing time of gaming.
Sure, World of Warcraft has pretty good graphics, but they just can’t compare to something like this:
Something Wicked The cave reeks of old, decaying bodies. The smell of fresh blood also mixes, and any who enter are almost immediately overcome with a strong desire to vomit. The strange writings are all over the walls and ceiling and even parts of the floor, but there have been so many messages written over the tops of others, nothing is discernable any longer. The only way out is south, to somewhat fresher air. [ Exits: Unknown! ] Some strange deformity of a man cackles, and draws on the wall.
$ look man
Drool dribbles out of his mouth, and there is definitely an insanity in his eyes - deep and forever insane. He looks around, but doesn't see anything but the dreams constantly in his head. He grabs his knife, cuts his finger again, and as the blood oozes out, writes his messages. This poor remnant of a man has no worthwhile reason to live.
This is just one example of a wonderful creation done by Syra D’Hornan on my mud. I could probably find and post even more wonderful creations, but I don’t have the time to track more down. There is a great and simple elegance in the written word, and I fear that we are rapidly losing the appreciation of such a thing.
I’m no different. If I need to research something, I hit the Internet. In the past, I would go to the library and spend hours there. At one point, I wanted to know more about feudal Japanese society, the Huns, Celtic warriors, and all sorts of ancient cultures for a world that I was creating for D&D. I spent every day at the library (except Sunday because it was closed) for close to two weeks doing research. It was one of the most enlightening times of my life.
Sure, modern technology lets me get to the heart of the matter faster, and maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s a bad thing. Knowledge is no longer hard earned. It is practically given to a person, and this gives them little appreciation for the difficulties that it took to accumulate that knowledge.
Ok. I’m getting off track, but I think I’ve pretty much said what I wanted to say. I’ll pack it in before I ramble even more than I already have. I could on and on and on about this topic. I’ll stop here before I bore you even more than I already have.
