Oh, it's definitely a nerdy con. I might check it out someday, though, we'll see. And yeah, there was a scene he thought was a rape scene which traumatized him as a kid, so the lines uttered by the final boss during the final battle are taken from there.
You should check out a con at least once, even if it's not a nerdy one. I wish I could be more excited but .hack was never a huge series for me, but my friends adore it. So I'm just basically along for the ride. I've been meaning to play Mother I think I have Earthbound somewhere but I'm still miffed that Nintendo never released it on Virtual Console for a platform I actually own. I've also heard he based the final boss of Mother 2 on a nightmare he had based on an old film he watched as a child.
Also, having beaten Undertale, I'm thinking of getting back into the Mother series with the wife. I played the first two games back in the day but only got like halfway into Mother 3 despite it being far and away the best one. I guess it was also the most difficult. Have you played the series? What I found most interesting about it is that Itoi, the creater, never did any other video game before or after, and in Japan he's a big name as an essayist, copywriter and storyteller (he even had a short story anthology published which contained both his stories and Murakami's). Hell, he even did some voice acting, playing the father in My Neighbor Totoro. Considering I am now working as a copywriter and have similar writing (and generally creative) aspirations, he's quickly become a role model for me. One analysis of his games I read in Polish is that while most games that try to be "artistic" take away the gameplay, basically reducing the game to walking around thoughtfully and stumbling into cutscenes, as if trying to wrestle the power from the gameplay side of things, the Mother series is an actual game to the core with gameplay elements that are incredibly well-integrated into the narrative, making it all the more powerful. It's interesting to think about, anyway.
Also, having beaten Undertale, I'm thinking of getting back into the Mother series with the wife. I played the first two games back in the day but only got like halfway into Mother 3 despite it being far and away the best one. I guess it was also the most difficult. Have you played the series? What I found most interesting about it is that Itoi, the creater, never did any other video game before or after, and in Japan he's a big name as an essayist, copywriter and storyteller (he even had a short story anthology published which contained both his stories and Murakami's). Hell, he even did some voice acting, playing the father in My Neighbor Totoro. Considering I am now working as a copywriter and have similar writing (and generally creative ambitions), he's quickly become a role model for me. One analysis of his games I read in Polish is that while most games that try to be "artistic" take away the gameplay, basically reducing the game to walking around thoughtfully and stumbling into cutscenes, the Mother series is an actual game to the core with gameplay elements that are incredibly well-integrated into the narrative, making it all the more powerful. It's interesting to think about, anyway.
Cool! Not that familiar with the source material (I've only read one of the .hack mangas - Twilight, uh, bangle? Or whatever it was?), but it sounds exciting anyway! I've never been to a convention even though there's one in my city every year. Just never really thought I'd fit in that well. Plus, money. Buuuut, maybe someday when I'm a successful writer who is revered among nerds I'll get invited to an actual con and get a panel to speak at haha
.hack://GU
What are you guys cosplaying as then?
I haven't gotten the green light for my panel, but it's no big deal. My GF and her friends are commandeering me for a cosplay group though, so I'll be in the contest at least. I have another friend who want s to finally do a cosplay skit idea I wrote up ten years ago finally. but that will have to wait until next year at the earliest.
Yeah, of course, I was just curious since you're in the know now :P And that sounds awesome! Are you going to speak at the convention or just visiting?
