Introduce yourself a bit

Most of us here are very interested in Ashes and we look forward to hearing a lot more about it here from the Man himself in the weeks and months to come!!

Chris from London, 36.
Well i live in Finland now,and after moving here and making 2 kids i`ve got abit behind with the games.
Nice to find this place,feels quite homely already.
I mess around with precious stones and metals for a living and when i find time i`m going to start on Gothic #1 !!! (i did say i was abit behind).

Originally Posted by Illuvatar
I'm a 25 years old unix engineer that loves to read, watch movies and ofcourse; play games.

Favorite books:

- A song of Ice and Fire -- George R.R. Martin
- The Prince of Nothing -- R. Scott Bakker
- The Malazan Empire -- Steven Erikson

Favorite movies:

- The Elephant Man -- David Lynch
- Braveheart -- Mel Gibson
- Happiness -- Todd Solondz

Favorite games:

- Fallout -- Black Isle
- Planescape: Torment -- Black Isle
- Baldur's Gate II: SOA -- Bioware

I love your taste.
Although I never really got into the books of Steven Erikson, my all time favourite is George RR Martin, and having just begun on Bakker's books I see that the series have alot of promise. All the games you mention are favourites of mine, although in another order.

Hmmm… I'm 40, married, a son (who is responsible for my current sig, among other things) and joined RPGDot in early 2002. Currently, my primary, full-time job is administative (a mixure of sysadmin and PA), my secondary, part-time job as well (doing the HR stuff and selling games for the family SW/HW/web-hosting company), and then I have a tertiary part-time job as a beta reader/translator/ghostwriter.
Needless to say I don't have the time anymore to play as many games as I would like to, or as I did years ago… even though I sell the stuff. But the fascination remains!

I'm mostly a p&p RPGer, still GMing the occasional RPG, yet I also like CRPGs. I'm not much of a rules type when it comes to p&p, and regarding CRPGs I'm not much of a 'purist', either, preferring hybrid games myself (action-adventures and games with RPG elements, so to say) - the most important aspects for me are ambience/atmosphere and immersion.

My favorite games/series of CRPGs or games which border on the RPG-ish are… let me think… the Lands of Lore series, Thief series, everything Elder Scrolls except the Travel games (which I don't have) , System Shock 1, DX 1, the Heretic and Hexen series, the Gothics, Diablos, Shadowcaster, Realms of the Haunting and perhaps Undying.
I'm not a very passionate reader of Fantasy literature, but that's probably because I'm paid for beta-reading/translating Fantasy, Horror and Historical lit; thus I consider it work instead of a passion.
My favorite ('free-time reading') authors include Asimov, Heinlein and McDonald Fraser. I also loved Traviss' first Republic Commando novel, but the second one was a bit of a disappointment IMO.

My favorite movies? Well… too many to choose from, but I really like historical drama, comedy, Star Wars and Fight Club.

To introduce myself:
I'm Sem, but in real-life I'm mostly called Folkert
Been with RPGDot since May 2003, later became a news poster for GothicDot and was with the crew during the secret RPGWatch operation. Stopped doing that several weeks ago, because my real-life prevents my from visiting the internet and the site regularly.

Luckily I'm a lot younger than people like Corwin and Cm (what's with the "gamer"), they were already ancient when I joined the site. Have been on Cm's list several times when we still had the barn and the beach.

Originally Posted by Sem
Luckily I'm a lot younger than people like Corwin and Cm (what's with the "gamer")

Our forums don't like 2-letter names.

Originally Posted by Jaz
My favorite ('free-time reading') authors include Asimov, Heinlein and McDonald Fraser. I also loved Traviss' first Republic Commando novel, but the second one was a bit of a disappointment IMO.

Crap … I thought the first one was decent as well … the second is sitting on the bedside table waiting to be read …

I'm 23, Irish, living in Germany. I've never frequented the RPGDot boards, I'm a RpgCodex regular and I read of the Dot diaspora and decided to wander over. Best of luck with the new site, already liking the layout, RPGDot was fugly, no offence.

My tastes run to the usual, Fallout, PS:T um…. I know there are others.

Originally Posted by txa1265
Crap … I thought the first one was decent as well … the second is sitting on the bedside table waiting to be read …

It topped my 'most anticipated' list for quite some time, but I expected too much (I guess). Don't get me wrong, it's a decent book, but it's not as good as the first one… good characterization, but too much unsolicited Mandalorian cultural history for my taste, and then the 'Dating Club'… aww, don't get me started on this.

Another old fart here. Been playing PnP since the original D&D boxed set came out. Currently gamemastering a campaign that's gone on for over a decade, every other Sunday at five, with occasional breaks of course. I work in IT, lately more on the design and management end of things than actual coding.

I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes on the computer game side of things. Lately I've been re-playing Rome: TW, KOTOR, and just started on Gothic 3.

I loved, in no particular order:

+ The Fallouts
+ Planescape: Torment (classic love/hate one, though -- some things about it drive me absolutely up the wall, but the good parts are so good it's all worth it)
+ Deus Ex
+ KOTOR and KOTOR II, despite the rushed ending
+ Rome: Total War (esp. with the Total Realism mod)
+ Myth 2 (more so than Myth)
+ Gothic 2 (never played 1 so far)
+ Arx Fatalis
+ Vampire: Bloodlines
+ The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
+ SimCity 2000
+ Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (not to mention the old Prince of Persias)
+ Escape Velocity: Nova. Also some mods, like Frozen Heart.

I liked, as in, played and mostly enjoyed, or would-have-loved-except-for-some-niggly-thing, or that just made me go "nice, but meh…"
+ NWN: Hordes of the Underdark (everything else NWN I've played was pretty boring IMO)
+ The Half-Lives (1, 2, Episode 1)
+ Thief 2 and Thief: Deadly Shadows
+ Rune
+ Far Cry (great vehicular combat though)
+ X2: The Threat
+ Myth
+ Morrowind

And I was disappointed in (for any of a number of reasons
+ Baldur's Gate II
+ Oblivion
+ NWN (everything other than HotU; beats me why I always bought new stuff hoping that maybe *this* is the thing that realizes the potential of the game)
+ DOOM 3 (there's only so much mileage to be had out of things leaping at you from dark corners and going BOO!)
+ Both GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas (great music, though)
+ Deus Ex 2 (wasn't everybody?)
+ X3: The Reunion (like watching paint dry, only not quite as exciting)

I haven't played but think I oughta, if I can find them:
+ System Shock 2
+ Arcanum
+ BG 1 (perhaps it'll make me like BG2, too)

I don't really have any hard dogma about what makes a good game good, other than those empirical, really-hard-to-pin-down qualities that just make you come back to it and don't let go. There are games on my "love" list that absolutely should not work, and there are games on my "meh" list that absolutely should (and that I'm assured by people whose taste I respect *do* work).

My only addition to your list would be get System Shock 1 first. It's a classic!!

Originally Posted by Prime Junta
And I was disappointed in (for any of a number of reasons
+ Deus Ex 2 (wasn't everybody?)

Isn't being disappointed by Deus Ex 2 like saying Titanic is the most over-rated movie ever

My favorite game of all time is Blade of Darkness, the gothic and HL series are at a very close second. I'm an open minded political moderate seeking a job in outside sales (currently tech support) while attending school for my MBA (Keller GSM - its not Harvard but the teachers are great!). I've been part of the community in one way or another ever since I took a chance on buying the original Gothic. I am a 24 year old white, straight, male from the Chicago IL. area in the good 'ol USA. I have been in a relationship with my lovely girlfriend for three years. Hobbies include: PC games (rpg and fps mostly), target shooting (expensive and I'm not that good), weight training (doesn't take coordination) and spending time with my very cute and very old Cairn terrier named Maggie. I have a deep appreciation for this community and I wish it many more happy, healthy, and positive years.

Originally Posted by lostnumber
My favorite game of all time is Blade of Darkness, the gothic and HL series are at a very close second.

So you must be totally jazzed about the upcoming Dark Messiah game …

Originally Posted by lostnumber
spending time with my very cute and very old Cairn terrier named Maggie.

We have a wonderful Norfolk, and just put in with the breeder for another. Got her because of my wife and son's allergies, but are just thrilled!

Originally Posted by txa1265
Isn't being disappointed by Deus Ex 2 like saying Titanic is the most over-rated movie ever

I wasn't disappointed by DX2 . Or was I? Not sure, the game fell into a time when I was a tad disappointed by every game that came out, so it doesn't really count.

And I can't WAIT for Dark Messiah!

Mike, you must read minds; I am completely psyched about the release of Dark Messiah! I played the demo and couldn't stop. I must have stabbed about 50 orcs in the neck since then. The combat is satisfyingly brutal and kinetic. The atmosphere is brooding and engrossing, and the visuals are simply stunning (thanks Valve). As far a blade goes I accidentally stumbled across it back in my undergrad days. The controls really do take a little getting used to, but doing so is very rewarding. I can honestly say that no matter how hard anyone else has tried no one, simply no one, has been able to match that fighting in a pc game. I have played that game so many time over I've literally lost count. In fact I have about 5 different games going right now. Now don't get me wrong, dark messiah has great combat, but until I see an orc stagger in front of me after I removed his head from the rest of him my opinion stands. I know the general tone of this post is rather violent, but what the hell is a fighting game supposed to be? I remember the days of Mortal Kombat on the SNES. Beating sweat off of the bad guy just didn't cut it. I know the difference between reality and virtual-reality; and when it comes to games I likes me my blood, violence, dismemberment, and an overall violent visceral charge. Really though outside of that I'm a nice guy, sometimes to a fault.

President and founder of the CCA (Catnip Connoisseurs of America)
-likes various forms of music, tho my favorites are doom, symphonic, and gothic metal
-loves rainy days, yay for Autumn
-has a fetish for peculiar or forgotten films
-ex WoW addict in recovery
-jack of all games, master of none

Oh and BTW Norfolks are adorable. They have a very similar appearance to Cairns, dare I say cuter? Nay… Sorry Maggie.

Originally Posted by lostnumber
Mike, you must read minds; I am completely psyched about the release of Dark Messiah!

Naw - that one was easy

Love Blade of Darkness, great music, nice combat - graphics still look pretty nice. And of course the Gothic connection (3rd person RPG), and Half-Life just join together to complete the puzzle.

I did the closed beta for quite a while … don't know how much multi I'll do when it comes out, but the SP will be grand, I'm sure.

Originally Posted by lostnumber
Oh and BTW Norfolks are adorable. They have a very similar appearance to Cairns, dare I say cuter? Nay… Sorry Maggie.

I never appreciated Terriers until we needed to look at a very few specific possible breeds for the allergies (or no dog at all).