I've been wondering... how would one go about learning to program and develop games for any given console? I'd really like to learn to program for the PS2, but I'm not sure where to look for information. Do you know of any websites that would have information, or should I just try my luck e-mailing Sony?

-- Amidamaru

Does it seem to anybody that Sega is going pro Nintendo, anti Sony. I mean they canceled Skies or Arcadia, they are not bringing Crazy Taxi 3 to PS2 and they haven't brought nothing but crap sports games in the last 5 years.

That's just an opinion of mine, what do you think?

DH

Heya Chime,

Do you have a PS2? I'm going to get one soon but I'm just wondering about the memory cards. I'm probably going to get a Sony 8MB memory card because I don't trust 3rd party accessories. But, how much is 8MB relative to the save space required for games on PS2? I remember with PSX, I survived on one memory card for a while but I eventually bought another one. Since some games took 2 spaces and others took 1, I usually had about 10 games saved on a PSX memory card. Is the PS2 memory card about the same in that respect? I know it has a much larger capacity, but do the games require much more save space as well?

Oh, and get Brad back here. He was "the man" back in "the day".

-Rahlious

So I actually know the story behind these two names. Unfortunately, due to most of our stuff being boxed up after a move, I can't get you the proper references and bibliography. My friend took an "Art of the Japanese Sword" class and Masamune and Murasame were explained in it.

Masamune and Murasame were both swordmakers who made really excellent Japanese swords. The difference between the two went like this: One of them was slightly insane and his swords were extremely destructive. I believe that was Murasame, only because in every game I've played that has these swords, Masamune is the better one, and Masamune is present in a least one game that doesn't have Murasame (Final Fantsay 1).

There's a little story in the textbook I learned this from that demonstrated the difference between a sword by Masamune and a sword by Murasame. If I get the two names mixed up, I'm sure someone will write in to correct me, but for now I'm going to assume that Murasame was the extremely destructive sword made by a slightly psychotic swordsmith. If you put a sword by Murasame stuck in the river, blade towards the flow of water, every leaf that came towards the sword would be obliterated. However, a sword by Masamune, when put to the same test, did not destroy the leaves. Instead, it diverted the flow of water so that no leaf would touch the sword's blade. Thus, Masamune was the better sword maker because his swords could avoid conflict. Or something like that. I'd have to find the book to make sure.

Anyway, it's part of Japanese legend, dating back a long, long time. I'd have to look that up, too. If you want the actual references, I'll try to find them. This is just paraphrasing, so please don't tell my teachers I plagurize. =)

-Meghan
--
http://not-the-hub.mit.edu/meghanm/index.html

"My fist is the divine breath! Blossom, o fallen seed, and draw upon thy hidden power. Grant unto thee the power of the glorious 'Mother of Destruction!'"
- Grahf

The swords from the Final Fantasy games known as Masamune & Muramasa are named for Japanese swordsmiths.

Masamune was the greatest swordsman of all time supposedly. He became the imperial swordsmith after winning a competiton to see who made the sharpest blades-- his sword went so deep into the wooden block (after it had passed through a large prisoner: an execution) that it got stuck in the wood.

Muramasa, on the other hand, was also a very skilled swordsmith, but supposedly, he was not a very good/honorable man & his swords were sort of cursed-- an emperor accidently cut himself w/one & was not surprised to find that it bore the mark of Muramasa.

Thought that might help out the guy wanting to know more about the swords.

yours truly,

garan

It's an unpleasant state of affairs when a quotation from the Hitchhiker's Guide radio show (spoken by Zaphod Beeblebrox on Brontitol, inside what would turn out to be the "cup" part of the statue of Arthur Dent Throwing The Nutri-Matic Cup--effectively, a giant floating marble cave thirteen miles aboveground) would be considered "obscure." *grin*

As to Murasame and Masamune, I was looking for facts to support my statement that they were sword smiths when I came upon this:
http://www.hybridbe.com/fa_20202.shtml It describes the Masamune, Murasame, and Muramasa legends rather well.
--
Will "scifantasy" Frank
"All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been; it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books." --Thomas Carlyle

Regarding the letter about swords yesterday, Masamune is the name of a Japanese swordsmith. I guess those video game companies wanted to add some real history to their products. I believe I wrote in a little essay on the different types of swords a while ago. I think it was around this same month 2 years ago. Yes, that's it. I think I sent it to YOU, in fact! And you printed it. You titled it, "I like swords..." Anyway, I just thought I'd clear that up for the readers, and for more info about swords and Japanese culture and history, visit your local library for cool books with gorey pictures.

Thanks!
Sabdo

Hi Chimerasame!

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:

Chyme \Chyme\, n. [L. chymus chyle, Gr. ? juice, like ?, fr. ?
to pour: cf. F. chyme. See {Chyle}.] (Physiol.)
The pulpy mass of semi-digested food in the small intestines just after its passage from the stomach. It is separated in the intestines into chyle and excrement. See {Chyle}.

Of course, it is true that there is a rhyme between chime and chyme, but since this is a textual column, it seems worth noting that they are spelled differently.

By the way, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment for the Playstation is a great game. There are a couple of reviews on GameFAQs that are disparaging, but this is probably one of the greatest RPGs I've played these past two years.

Ashley

First off, if I remember my Bill Nye the Science Guy correctly, chime (pronounced as if it were spelled with a 'k' instead of a 'ch') is what's left of the food in your stomach after the water and other stuff that can be absorbed by your stomach has been, plus stomach acid and bile. So it's basically mushy goo and acid that's about to be sent through the intestines so more nutrients can be absorbed, which makes it just a few short steps away from poo. Lovely. So, have you tried Morrowind? Is it worth buying? I have horrible luck with getting computer games to work, so I'm wary about it. Also, isn't Hecatonchere one of Bowman's weapons from Star Ocean 2? I'd never heard that word before and I hadn't heard it again until today's column. What does it mean, if anything?

Isn't it amazing how the epic level handbook has the Hecato (the hundred some odd armed, big demonic owie) make our good Tarrasque look like a pile of poo? Well, I suppose it is a level 78 encounter level. Ouch, that's bigger than my 50th encounter level Trollasque I made for our wheel of time campaign. Wow, was I off on designing the high level campaign. Oh well, all I want now is my 6 armed ogre with perfect multi-weapon fighting,
mmmmmmmm

You call THAT an obscure reference? Just make sure you don't slip out of the teacup.

Anyway, I just saw Resident Evil, and I have to say that I didn't hate it one bit. Which is weird, because it was a movie, and it was based on a video game, and those two things have never worked together. So, now that my faith is a -little- bit restored, do any games come to mind that you'd like to see become a movie?

Greetings (sages sing) CHIMERASAME
Now where are those group of sages now since they could help you? What's scary is that I remember Brad Lohr on the Q&A column. Is some sanity going to occur on the news updates and Q&A once the summer ends? How do people explode in Front Mission 3 just like the wanzers? I got news for you readers that my website has some big update so there's new stuff.
Imperial Mog