Editor’s Choice

In response to “WebGame 2.0” from The Escapist Forum: I’ve been engaging in this exact behavior for the extent of the W2.0 timeframe, and didn’t make the insight.

– TheWizard

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In response to “Inside Job: How Much Work and How Much Play?” from The Escapist Forum: I am completely against restricting internet access at the workplace. Myself, I’m working in a role where internet access is a must and I’m expected to stay up to date with what’s going on in the web.

But even apart from that, I just can’t stay productive if I can’t have my dosage of socializing. I agree that it can get out of hand, but my productivity is not harmed if I keep my Gmail open, reading maybe half a dozen personal emails a day and replying to one or two. I check Facebook when I need an actual break. I usually turn up to work ahead of schedule to have time to go through my RSS feeds. I’m not trying to hide these activities; it’s just how I work. As long as I get my work done, I can’t see what’s the problem.

– jlaakso

It’s a tricky issue to be sure.

Breaks are an absolute necessity, but when your employees start taking their break a few minutes early, ending the same break a good ten minutes late, and then going online immediately afterwards and updating their blog with some hot gossip they heard from Ben while they took their break….

It’s an issue of trust, and abuse of said trust, that gets management to start thinking of restricting the group, rather than the individual, so that work gets done when work should be getting done, mostly likely because it’s easier and quicker to apply law to the group than it is to the individual, lest some other individual is doing the exact thing same thing they’re stopping someone else from doing, but they don’t notice since they’re too busy with the one individual, and now I’ve used individual one, no, two too many times.

Point is, when someone breaks the bond of trust, it’s considered easier and more effective to enforce the law with the group as a whole so the experience won’t be repeated.

– SatansBestBuddy

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In response to “Alpha Centauri” from The Escapist Forum: Alpha Centauri is one of the games I still play and love, more than six years after I first installed it. And I believe it is better, in a number of ways, than all Civ titles, amybe save the last Civ IV with all its expansions and complements. But why, I wondered…

And the answer is emotional involvment. The story, the quotes, the backwriting, the Voice, the setting are made to draw you in and make you lay just one more turn…

– moromete

In response to “Jerk on the Internet” from The Escapist Forum: that was possibly one of the best things i’ve read in a long time. i haven’t played CS in years because of the same people you enjoy TKing. i applaude your actions, “jerk on the internet”.

– danimal1384

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In response to “Burning in the Halo Pre-Order Hell” from The Escapist Forum: So, stop.
Stop preordering. You’ve indicated that you live in a large enough area to not worry about a game ever selling out, much less for more than a week. There is, then, literally no downside to feeding these pre-order trolls.

If you check that $1 box, you’re helping candidates run for office without private interests corrupting things. If you give that extra money to the pizza guy, a real person has directly benefited from your generosity. On the other hand, GameStop puts that money in a corporate bank account, and garners interest.

I totally empathize with your complaint, but I have to say I’m really disturbed by your closing paragraphs, where you basically shrug off your self-disgust with a “meh” instead of resolving to actually change your ways. If you give in to the economics of the stupid, even once…well, you’re stupid!

– Khakionion

If you have an internet connection then you never have to worry about a game being sold out. I buy almost all my games online now they are just cheaper online then at retail stores.

I do pre-order games but only when pre-ordering let’s me buy the game for less. For example I pre-ordered BioShock and paid a total of $45 dollars for it, I got the same deal on Mass Effect.

After I pre-ordered Halo 2 and got it a midnight release I said to myself I would never pre-order at retail again and try to get the game as soon as the store opens when I could easily get my sleep wake up the next day and get the game without being in the store for more than 10 minutes.

Now I have a Halo 3 pre-order one that I was more given than wanted and I probably won’t concern myself with it until after 2pm on 25th and this will mark my last planned brick and mortar retail pre-order for a very long time.

– Lex Darko

i probably would have pre-ordered if i had a 360. it’s fun to be excited about something. i like to think i don’t go overboard though.

– jt2002tj