I don't think we can be friends anymore, Cody. :P

I've been trying to get into it for years. I liked Ghost in the Shell, the movies I've seen of Hayao Miyazaki, and an occasional series (Haibane Renmei). It's such a massive category, though, and that's a bit like saying, "I ate some food I liked, once."

I might corner Xenos or breitzen sometime and pick your brain.

Look no farther than Mass Effect. A well told story through the campaign and side quests, and a massive codex giving us the history of that world. That's certainly what I want.

And all of that was wasted on me because the game was so terrible I gave up midway through the first mission :-p

Go straight to ME2. I missed 1 when it came out, then played 2 and absolutely loved it. So I went back and tried 1, and thought “same great writing, but this one sure plays like crap!”, lol.

2 is a bit dated now, but I think it is still appreciable.

Look no farther than Mass Effect. A well told story through the campaign and side quests, and a massive codex giving us the history of that world. That's certainly what I want.

And all of that was wasted on me because the game was so terrible I gave up midway through the first mission :-p

What's bumming me out lately is that I'm more frequently having to choose my health over gaming with you all. :(

What happened Tuesday? You joined the party, but disappeared before the game finished and we could get you in - and then it looked like you weren't online any more!

I was using the phone app to see who was in the party (I was going to send a message) and didn't realize you could now join the party through the app (which is supercool, but not what I meant to do).

(You could solve the 'I can't game with you because you play so late' problem by moving west, you know.)

Odds are that won't happen, but it's not like I haven't thought about it. :)

What's bumming me out lately is that I'm more frequently having to choose my health over gaming with you all. :(

What happened Tuesday? You joined the party, but disappeared before the game finished and we could get you in - and then it looked like you weren't online any more!

(You could solve the 'I can't game with you because you play so late' problem by moving west, you know.)

Every time Claude has talked about going to the theater he's talked about falling asleep.

Whatever you do, don't take him the Furious movies.

I've never seen any of 'em! Why would I fall asleep at what are generally considered to be exciting movies that I'd be seeing for the first time?

Fly to Speedracer's with a sleep deficit, eat a big lunch, and then try to watch one. That's all I'm saying.

Dude... I watched you fall asleep playing Destiny. I don't think our sleep issues are comparable. :)

That was launch night I believe. I really wanted to play.

But it's true, man. In all seriousness keeping a regular sleep schedule has always been an issue for me and it's not getting easier. The cold hard truth is that as I get older there's more crap going on with my body that wakes me up when I don't want to wake up. (Hope that's not TMI.)

What's bumming me out lately is that I'm more frequently having to choose my health over gaming with you all. :(

That's only just now happening with you Kermit!? I started doing that a couple years ago!

Let's get together again. PAX West this year?

I might not make it to PAX, but I want to hang out with y'all.

Every time Claude has talked about going to the theater he's talked about falling asleep.

Whatever you do, don't take him the Furious movies.

I've never seen any of 'em! Why would I fall asleep at what are generally considered to be exciting movies that I'd be seeing for the first time?

Fly to Speedracer's with a sleep deficit, eat a big lunch, and then try to watch one. That's all I'm saying.

Dude... I watched you fall asleep playing Destiny. I don't think our sleep issues are comparable. :)

That was launch night I believe. I really wanted to play.

But it's true, man. In all seriousness keeping a regular sleep schedule has always been an issue for me and it's not getting easier. The cold hard truth is that as I get older there's more crap going on with my body that wakes me up when I don't want to wake up. (Hope that's not TMI.)

What's bumming me out lately is that I'm more frequently having to choose my health over gaming with you all. :(

Every time Claude has talked about going to the theater he's talked about falling asleep.

Whatever you do, don't take him the Furious movies.

I've never seen any of 'em! Why would I fall asleep at what are generally considered to be exciting movies that I'd be seeing for the first time?

Fly to Speedracer's with a sleep deficit, eat a big lunch, and then try to watch one. That's all I'm saying.

Dude... I watched you fall asleep playing Destiny. I don't think our sleep issues are comparable. :)

Can confirm... I witnessed it over party chat lol

Every time Claude has talked about going to the theater he's talked about falling asleep.

Whatever you do, don't take him the Furious movies.

I've never seen any of 'em! Why would I fall asleep at what are generally considered to be exciting movies that I'd be seeing for the first time?

Fly to Speedracer's with a sleep deficit, eat a big lunch, and then try to watch one. That's all I'm saying.

Dude... I watched you fall asleep playing Destiny. I don't think our sleep issues are comparable. :)

Seriously why do we think almost the exact same on Tech stuff? Same TV, same Backups, are you my brother?

I'll, uh, have to ask my mom about the brother thing…

It's cute that some of you think they WON'T shortchange the Rasputin storyline. Look at Osiris. Case closed.

To be fair, Rasputin is a much larger story thread than Osiris was/is. Does it mean they'll deliver? Not necessarily, but I think everyone knows the stakes have never been higher. #CaseNotClosed

I say this while fully hoping that the story turns out decent, but at this point in Destiny’s lifespan, it’s one hell of a long-shot. I don’t think that’s being negative or pessimistic, simply realistic. The writing in every Destiny release so far has been terrible, with the exception of TTK which was ok (I’m talking in-game narrative here, not lore/grimoire stuff which is often fantastic). And I’m specifically not saying “IMO” here because I’m not just talking about subjective tastes. I’m talking about all the basics of storytelling, building a narrative, creating compelling characters... Destiny has largely been a complete failure in all these regards, with any exceptions bring few, far between, and relatively minor.

So for Warmind to suddenly succeed in telling a great story is certainly possible, but I see no reason to expect such a turnaround.

Again, I truly do hope that Warmind turns out different than previous entries in terms of storytelling. I just think that getting our hopes up in this specific area is just asking to be disappointed.

I guess I just don't like the (very internet-y) stigma of polarization. I'm very much with you here Cruel, I "hope" it's a good story, that they deliver a solid narrative, but the bar is set low. I guess I just feel like someone says "hope" and people jump on them for it. In reaction, many of us fire back, and then we end up in a negative place without good discussion based on expectations. (I'm guilty of this, and I'm sorry for stoking that fire)

I didn't listen to the podcast and think, wow these guys are convinced Warmind is going to be an awesome story. What I came away with was "They've been building up Rasputin for 4 years (in-game, not just lore) so there is room for a really great story there."

A note about hope and expectations: I will never tell someone to not hope. Cruel, you even said you are "fully hoping that the story turns out decent." Let's not pounce on people's hope (or even concern!) before understanding expectations.

<3 you all.

Right. And wasn't the discussion mostly about Raga's fear that they'll waste this great backstory material by not giving it the attention it deserves? I did not get the impression that anyone was overly optimistic. There's a big difference in saying "I think it's going to be great" and "I hope it's great."

Every time Claude has talked about going to the theater he's talked about falling asleep.

Whatever you do, don't take him the Furious movies.

I've never seen any of 'em! Why would I fall asleep at what are generally considered to be exciting movies that I'd be seeing for the first time?

Fly to Speedracer's with a sleep deficit, eat a big lunch, and then try to watch one. That's all I'm saying.

Seriously why do we think almost the exact same on Tech stuff? Same TV, same Backups, are you my brother?