Generally, I use a backpack. Ratty (but sturdy) old canvas thing that I've had since high school (I'm in my 30s now), but it gets the job done. My biggest problem with messenger bags (and I imagine I'd have the same problem with purses, if I carried one) is that I tend towards forgetfulness. The number of umbrellas…

Sort of. The Far Lands that most people think of (with the ridiculous mountain cliffs and all) haven't been in the game since before the 1.8 beta version back in 2012. Those began at ~12 million meters from the initial spawn point, I think. The bug in terrain generation was fixed (apparently unintentionally) after…

That's not a Big Rip scenario, just a standard infinite expansion / Big Freeze scenario. A Big Rip end would involve all matter tearing itself apart, while he describes everything eventually being consumed by black holes which eventually evaporate themselves.

What do you think is behind the door?

To be fair, it gives up after the first part. For a computer to write out a googolplex in standard format, it would need to store the number somewhere. And that's where you run into the same problem of there being more digits in a googolplex than there is the smallest units of matter in the universe. Even if you could…

Fair enough. Honestly, I just like saying googolplexplex.

I'm by no means an expert in the subject, but I was under the impression that an expanding universe gives us the most time until the end of the universe. A Big Crunch scenario would logically happen before a Big Freeze event, since the universe needs to start contracting at some point before heat death.

Sure. I can even post it on Kotaku:

Which is an interesting question, honestly: how much larger would the timer have to be to reach a googolplex (10^googol)? A googolplexplex (10^googolplex)? Skewes's number? Moser's number? Graham's number? At what point do the calculations necessary to determine the number of hoppers become prohibitively difficult? At…

And, by then, they'll have gotten tired of waiting and will just take a damned pickaxe and break down the door. :-)

The Game Show Network did a two hour special on it about a decade ago, where they actually go over how the board worked, and how Michael Larson figured it out and used it to his advantage. Basically, at the time he was a contestant, there were only five patterns in play. Larson memorized them, and also took note of…

I suspect the Metroid Prime series is effectively over. I expect we'll see future Metroid games, but I doubt we'll ever see Metroid Prime 4.

Selling the game on the promise of future DLC is one thing. I suspect WB would argue that they didn't do any such thing, though. I'd probably agree, albeit for different reasons (if the deal was that I buy this $60 game and get more content later, why do I need to pay for said additional content?). But it's certainly…

The typical argument against DLC is that the content should be part of the original purchase price, not that the content shouldn't exist in the first place. If I complain that my clothes are too expensive/cheaply made, Macy's isn't doing me a favor if they stop selling me clothes.

Where in this article does it say Nintendo is going to die? This is a legitimate news story (how often do DLC season passes get cancelled and refunded?). It's not Kotaku's fault that it arguably doesn't present the Wii U in a great light.

I'm not sure I buy comparing a decision to publish something on a platform as equivalent to agreeing to pick up a friend from the hospital. I suspect Warner Bros. would dispute that they ever told Nintendo that they could count on their unending support, no strings attached. A better way to look at it is this:…

It kind of is, actually. Warner Bros. isn't running a charity, you know? Their ultimate goal is not to see the Wii U succeed as a platform, it's to sell as much as humanly possible. In other words, they probably don't care what people are saying about what the Wii U needs. The only ones who care, from a business…

I dunno, I think it depends on how the game chooses to implement any sort of theocratic mechanic. It's not like the Pope was a true, "my way or the highway" kind of despot. I think it would be possible to come up with a system that kept the Papacy from being too overwhelming and/or gamebreaking by placing an emphasis…

They were more often than you'd think. Look at the Borgias: one of the most politically influential families of the early Renaissance, they got two of their family members elevated to the Papacy (Calixtus III and Alexander VI). The modern conclave system, where only elector-bishops have a vote in selecting the next…

If not as an expansion to Crusader Kings II (which may not be feasible due to memory limitations), I'd love to see Paradox take on China/East Asia in another game. There was Sengoku from a years ago, which dealt with feudal Japan, but it lacked the polish and entertainment value of Paradox's main franchises (Crusader…