Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lore

PS3 franchises with story but little backstory?

Riki tiki — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:01:21 -0800

What video game franchises in the current generation would be good to pick up for the first time? I like games with a decent focus on story or lore. I just bought a PS3 and am looking to build up my library a bit. Problem is, I look around and see a lot of those types of games with large numbers at the end of their titles... Metal Gear Solid 4, Resident Evil 5, Devil May Cry 4. Not having played the earlier titles in these series, I'm hesitant to buy them for fear that the plot will make little to no sense to me or that I'll end up with a cruddy cash-in sequel that only appeals to people who had their minds blown by the early entries.

Which franchises justify that fear and which don't? Of the ones that have a rolling storyline, do the earlier games hold up well enough to be worth playing now (and would I be able to play them on a new PS3)?

The above were just examples, I'm open to any other franchises you can think of. Also feel free to assume a fairly loose definition of "story", I just mean it to exclude franchises where the plot is just a flimsy framework to justify the gameplay, like Street Fighter.

(also no need to talk about the following: Fallout 3, Oblivion, GTAIV, or the Final Fantasy series)

Darkon - What happened next?

kalessin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:57:25 -0800

Friends and I saw Darkon this weekend. Given that many of us (not me) are historians, the question was, "What happened next?" (spoilers) We checked out the game site. Mordom now appears to be a defunct country while Laconia seems to still be in the game.

So what happened? At the end of Darkon the Movie, one might have predicted a very different status by now. Our best guess is that the player of Keldar, the leader of Mordom, left the gaming club to pursue his full-time paid career and the game play story evolved around that.

I have a co-worker who may have at one time played, but I really don't want to have to ask him, because it seems like even asking the question could rapidly degenerate into TMI, or at the very least a too-close-to-the-action-perspective-on-the-whole-thing.

Anybody know of another source for history of the gaming club's story arc that doesn't involve joining?

Can you help me find tales of l33tness?

ArgentCorvid — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:01:39 -0800

Can you help me find more Hacker Folklore? There's The Story of Mel (and most of the rest of the Jargon File). There's The Story of the 500 Mile E-Mail. To a lesser degree of what I am looking for is The Origin of Quake3's Fast InvSqrt.

Do you know of anywhere that I can find more short stories in the same spirit of these? I'm talking about (probably) true stories of Techie Awesome and/or the history of Hacking. Stories about things that shouldn't work, but do.

If the story goes deep into the technical details, thats fine with me. In fact, the more details about the equipment and/or circumstances, the better.

I know that there are more out there than the three above, but I'm not sure I've been putting the right words into the search box.

Thanks in advance.

2 1/2 thistles?

thaivagabond — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:08:39 -0800

Last night in a pub here in northern Thailand I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman from the county of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland. He wore a ring on the face of which was the number 2 1/2 and on the sides of which were displayed a thistle. When I enquired as to their meaning he declined to tell me and said, moreover, that I would not be able to find out. The usual Google searches have not been helpful. Could a good Scotsman among the Metafilter hive enlighten me?

Irish rebel fights his own double?

Baldons — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:16:31 -0800

Irishlorefilter: I once heard a brief reference to a fascinating irish legend/tale/fictionalized episode. This was many years ago, back when ask Metafilter didn't exist, so I don't know if everything I say is true or I made it up. - An irish leader / rebel / revolutionary / independentist, etc; (don't know when)
- Probably drunk;
- Maybe in a raft going down by the river? (Liffey?);
- This is the interesting part, he FIGHTS with HIS OWN shadow / double / doppelganger
- Convincing him / her / it that VIOLENCE IS GOOD.

Again, some or many of this details may not be correct, but I think if someone knows that story they will probably recognize it. Is it a song? A novel? A legend? A movie? Does it exist? Please, hive mind, scratch this particular itch of mine!

Advice for competing in a triathlon.

COBRA! — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 08:50:04 -0800

In ten days, I'll be running my first triathlon. I'm physically ready, but I have a lot of small practical questions… any pointers from seasoned tri veterans would really be appreciated. A. There's a time gap between the closure of the transition area and the start of the Amateur race. Since I'll be leaving my shoes and socks with my bike in the T-area, and do I just wander around barefoot for a while before I start swimming?
B. Really dumb, but sort of obvious question: are bathrooms generally available during transitions? Or is holding it part of the I'm-made-of-steel mystique?
C. Should I expect to get pounded on/kicked/etc. during the swim?
D. Any other obscure bits of tri lore I should know?