Is TSL Narrator the new Cedric?

[Lambonius]

And yet the stuff he's the most well-known for is anything but concise or to the point.  He often rephrased the exact same concept in the same paragraph (or even the same sentence) several different ways and was loved for it.

I assume you're talking about stuff like A Farewell to Arms and the like?  Hemingway was attempting to convey emotions without actually describing emotions in the traditional sense.  Instead he hoped to get readers to feel the same emotions that his characters would, by vividly describing what his character was seeing through that character's own eyes--it was about using a juxtaposition of different phrases, all of which conjured specific imagery--and then through experiencing that imagery, the reader would feel the emotion themselves, rather than being told what the character was feeling.  It was a brilliant and experimental use of unconventional wording and nonstandard syntax.  It was absolutely NOT about redundant phrasing or wordiness, as you imply.  Hemingway was much better than that.  

[Flubly]

It really mainly boils down to personal preference.

Well, that's your opinion.  Oops, infinite loop.

[kindofdoon]

After all, isn't that the source of all disagreement?

[wilco64256]

After all, isn't that the source of all disagreement?

Infinite loops?

[kindofdoon]

No, I was just suggesting that "personal preference" is the source of all disagreement.

[Lambonius]

Why does the childish taunt "I know you are, but what am I?" keep going through my head whenever I read the responses to this thread?   

[kindofdoon]

Well, we are having a legitimate discussion, so I don't really know why...

[Fierce Deity]

Why does the childish taunt "I know you are, but what am I?" keep going through my head whenever I read the responses to this thread?   

Don't you just hate those immature voices in your head that won't go away? 

But seriously, whenever I start debating (even if it's a mature discussion), I tend to get a similar feeling. I fully understand the rationale behind another person's argument, but because I disagree with him, I have to continue ranting and raving my point. It get's to the point where I sense the "I know you are, but what am I?" and I personally have to let it go.

[Lambonius]

Why does the childish taunt "I know you are, but what am I?" keep going through my head whenever I read the responses to this thread?   

Don't you just hate those immature voices in your head that won't go away? 

But seriously, whenever I start debating (even if it's a mature discussion), I tend to get a similar feeling. I fully understand the rationale behind another person's argument, but because I disagree with him, I have to continue ranting and raving my point. It get's to the point where I sense the "I know you are, but what am I?" and I personally have to let it go.

Heh--yeah, my thoughts exactly.    As much as I might favor one side of the debate over the other--it's going to be endless no matter what--nobody is going to bow down and admit defeat (or indeed, even fault  ) so what's the point?

[wilco64256]

The problem is when a debate becomes too heavily based on personal opinions.  When trying to debate whether a particular game or movie or book or song or writing style is good or not, it's too easy to just fall onto personal likes and dislikes and have it end up just turning into an argument.  Proper debates ought to be based on factual information, so when you start trying to debate personal preferences it's likely going to degrade into something far less civil.

[kindofdoon]

[What's] the point?

Post count!

But in all seriousness, such discussions are healthy for the creative process at Phoenix Online and give us, the fans, something to chatter about as we wait for Episode 2.

[Lambonius]

Indeed.  To shift this back in a different direction--what's the likelihood of POS including a physical character model for the narrator in future episodes?  Personally, I think some kind of talking animal companion would be well-suited to this game and narration style.  Owls are SO 1990 though.  How about a squirrel or some kind of sloth-like creature?

[kindofdoon]

As far as I know, there are no plans for that.

As an aside: what is the source of your avatar, Lambonius? Is it Indiana Jones? What game?

[Lambonius]

It is indeed Indiana Jones, and the sprite and animation are both my original creations.    None of the Indy adventure games ever got the look of the character quite right (Fate of Atlantis was decent, but lacked all the accessories--whip, gun, satchel--though oddly, it did have the satchel strap visible across his chest.)  Anyway, I wanted to make a screen-accurate Indy sprite, just for fun, and that was the result.  He may or may not show up in a super secret easter egg in a certain Infamous Adventures-produced remake--but that's all I'm gonna say. 

[kindofdoon]

Very cool! What program(s) did you use to make it?

Also, if you want to get rid of that white background and replace it with transparency, let me know. I'd be happy to do it for you.

[Lambonius]

Photoshop for the initial drawing, then touched up the animation frames in Windows Paint with a custom palette.  I could take out the white if I felt like it, but eh--it doesn't bother me.    Thanks for the offer though.

[kindofdoon]

That's Paint? Wow, it's so fluid and natural-looking. Nice work.

[Lambonius]

That's Paint? Wow, it's so fluid and natural-looking. Nice work.

Heh, well, the thing was pretty much complete before it ever went into Paint.  I mainly used it so that I could zoom in with a grid and make the edges nice and sharp. 

[kindofdoon]

So the individual frames were created in Photoshop, I see. How did you animate the arm, exactly?

[Fierce Deity]

Indeed.  To shift this back in a different direction--what's the likelihood of POS including a physical character model for the narrator in future episodes?  Personally, I think some kind of talking animal companion would be well-suited to this game and narration style.  Owls are SO 1990 though.  How about a squirrel or some kind of sloth-like creature?

While I agree with kindofdoon, that the team may not create an avatar for the narrator's character, I was always keen on the idea of King's Quest being a story that was told by a storyteller (preferably one who sits in a leather chair next to a fireplace). It's a typical and unoriginal setting for King's Quest, I know. I just figured, it's such a long-running series (everything from Graham becoming a King to his son becoming a King), even the narrator should have some sort of a bond to the story.  

Exclusively for The Silver Lining, it would have been an interesting concept if Ali the Bookstore Owner had told the story, but obviously, the narrator is not Ali.