If you're not looking for some kind of attention by posting here, then what are you doing? Did I just accidentally walk into your personal diary?

My relationship with a difficult game, such as Dark Souls, is not so much a switchy s/m dynamic as it is akin to the dynamic between me and an especially wiggly bottom; by seeking mastery, I inspire resistance, and the truth of us is somewhere in the middle.

I grew up in a household and school that taught creationism and was ardently against ideas such as global warming. Later I became an atheist and got an anthropology degree. So, I know all about those difficulties, and try to at least talk about interesting stuff when possible. :)

The brain - as you very well may know - has a whole suite of "shortcuts" that it uses because, historically, animals (including humans) need to be able to make quick decisions based on imperfect evidence. In a lot of scenarios, we need those abilities. We need to know if a food can be trusted or not from simple sight…

If you want it to be.

Here's some more in-depth information for those curious (and who are dissatisfied with Kotaku's relatively shallow understanding of what's happening here.) I'm mostly using themittani.com here, as their reportage is relatively solid, their writing quality good, and they have writers and editors from both sides of the…

As clearly described, the furry identity isn't just about sex.

Sure, but there's a huge difference between "proving something to someone" (whatever that could possibly mean beyond shallow speculation as to someone's motivations,) and being self-deluded into getting "mountains of tang."

Or maybe he's a happy, healthy dude with different interests than you.

I think the idea is that it's such a difficult weapon to use effectively (for example, blocking lasers,) that it would be foolish to try without the appropriate skill.

Yeah, sure, you could roll a naked fishymancer or do speed runs whatever, but if that's not how you want to play the game, then yes, you're probably gonna have to grind some loot. I'm also 100% certain that those builds/playstyles aren't just going to come naturally to most players. They're specific, advanced tactics,…

All loot in D3 can be equipped, sold, used. Just because it's not useful to you doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the game. I think the game you're envisioning is needlessly streamlined and quite boring.

"You did not have to farm gear in D1 or D2 to be able to beat the game on it's highest difficulty."

As far as I can tell, they exist for psychological reasons; a kind of loot-pacing. Surely everything that drops shouldn't be useful? That would be extremely unexciting.

Laptops can be extremely useful tools when you're on a mountain.

Play long enough, and it will become brutally difficult. You'll need to start thinking tactically, know when to use what builds, and make tough decisions about your gear. If you're a good player, you'll still see glimpses of this in Act III and IV of normal, but you'll really start seeing it once you hit Nightmare.

Even if you don't play poker in order to learn how, you learn how in order to be better at poker. Deception is the central mechanic, purpose, and joy of the game.

I'm pretty sure he never claimed to speak for you. He simply has a perspective, and he communicates based on that perspective.

I suspect that, if you don't find chess or poker to be emotional games, then you either don't understand them well enough, or they're simply not for you.

You scamp!