Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

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Locit
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Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Locit »

Well, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get jackall this Christmas, seeing as I'm sitting smack in the middle of Communist China's frigid heartland. But that doesn't mean I'm not curious about what swag you guys have hauled in, whether from obligated relatives, guilt-tripped loved ones or simply through your own disgusting selfish impulses. So let's keep this proud, forum-wide tradition of competitive greed going. List your presents that I might eke some warmth from their reflected glory here in the ass-freezing depths of Mao's tightly puckered sphincter. And of course,

~Merry Christmas~

Here's hoping that Santa ate each and every one of the Drano cookies you left by the fireplace, that you might loot his fetid corpse.

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Post by Senbei »

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Sorry to get sentimental for a moment, but I've been wanting to post this for a while. As the activity of this board has declined, my activity IRL has increased. I used to come by here everyday, even when there wasn't anything happening, but I haven't been checking in regularly for the last half of this year. So, partly because the board has been so inactive, and partly because I'm so busy, I'm offering this sort-of farewell.

Believe it or not, the GHZ has been a pretty important part of my life growing up! I came here with my juvenile, 17-year-old opinions and learned that other people have opinions too, and theirs are sometimes way better than mine! My teenage presumptions and conceits were knocked out from under me by jerks on the internet, and I had to cope. But I've actually never frequented any other forum, because I knew the GHZ was a place where smart people went to talk, and that I might not be on their level, but I could still try.

I actually learned a lot! The philosophical, cultural, and technical debates and conversations I've engaged in here have made stronger my perspectives on popular culture, which is still a very important part of my life.

So, whether or not this place falls into silence as everybody moves on, I want to wish everybody here good luck in life. It has, earnestly, been a pleasure and an honor.

I'll probably pop in now and again, but I don't like to post unless I have something relevant to say. If you are interested in me as a person, check out my website. I don't do the social networking thing, but feel free to drop me an email.

And Locit, you're a day early, you convert.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Protodude »

Yeah Locit, it's not even christmas yet in any part of the world that matters! I did get two gift cards already though and I'm probably getting a 3DS from my parents. How are you enjoying China? Are you teaching english there? Also thanks to your avatar I was reminded of A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible, only to discover a new strip for the first time in six years, which is the best gift I could have asked for.

Also Senbei your experience with this site almost exactly mirrors mine, except I was 14 when I first joined. I still check this site almost everyday, even though at this point a week will go by without a single post.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Wombatwarlord777 »

This thread is kind of a gift to me, in that Locit both briefly recaptured the caustic spirit that used to run rampant through these forums AND gave a shout-out to Drano Cookies. I was actually wondering what had happened to them a few weeks back.

Because I never bothered to get another game system after the Wii, I guess I'm behind on what's happening in video games in general and Sonic in particular. I'm really glad I got a chance to play both Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, and I'm really looking forward to playing Sonic: After the Sequel when it comes out. Still, there's not much related to Sonic that really grabs my attention at the moment and I can't imagine that changing in the future. Still, I check the forums at least once a week because there's been some interesting non-Sonic stuff being discussed, and most everyone here is a funny bastard. Thanks GHZ!

As for Christmas loot, I got a lot of boring, practical stuff this year, mostly clothes. I'm probably not going to come on top of this year's haul contest.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Random Hajile 2 »

hahaha! you know what, I registered an account here cause I remembered it from the good ol' days, the fucking hilarious sarcastic, cynical comments 'bout Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, and the giant fuck-up of Sonic '06, it was fun! But its a little strange now actually.. Sonic games are actually decent now, wtf do ya do? Sonic Gens is.. alright, but we all know a true Sonic 3D platformer would blow everything else outta the water!

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Segaholic2 »

Merry Christmas, fuckers.

I got mostly books.

It's nice to read the earnest experiences of people who grew up with this site, as I also did. The lack of activity is a little saddening, but I know everyone is busy finding their own path in life. Speaking only for myself, I don't have time to check this site as often as I would like. I trust that fate, destiny or whatever higher power you ascribe to will individually lead you all to fame or fortune, or at least just happiness.

If you want to stay in touch with me in a more immediate fashion, feel free to follow or bug me on Twitter @Segaholic2, where I tend to be a snarky asshole. It's a good outlet for that. I don't like most other social networks, so I don't use them.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Brazillian Cara »

I got a Rubik's Cube. That's it.

And to this day, I'm still glad the GHZ was the first "social" site I ever ventured to. It certainly did me a lot of good as an internet user to talk semi-regularly with level-headed people with a sense of humor, and those who weren't taught me how NOT to behave. I'm still waiting for the next big announcement that will get this place running again (as temporarily as it may be)!

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Cuckooguy »

I got All Stars Racing, a Sonic handicraft that someone made for me, and a Sonic Collection for the DS.

I also grew up with this site, around the time I stopped visiting the Mobius Forum during my early teens and preferred the discussions and the humor of this forum, so for the last 15 years I've frequented this forum (and still visit quite often, even if I don't post). It is a bit disheartening to see the amount of discussion having gone down as I enjoy the wordsmithery, humor, and the well written collected thoughts of whatever game someone has played. I want to see how many quirks of this forum I can remember over the years here, post any I may have forgotten!

Passepartout
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Gulpo's Puke
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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Radrappy »

Happy Holidays everyone! I didn't get shit for xmas this year but did buy myself a wiiu. It's waiting for me at home as I'm with relatives until after the new years so I have zero impressions to share about it.

It is a little sad to see this place slow down as much as it has over the past year but what can you expect from a community based on a franchise that isn't what it used to be in terms of quality or relevance? Plus, we're all growing up and our priorities are shifting.

But hey, I'll contribute until this place closes for good.
Cuckooguy wrote:I got All Stars Racing, a Sonic handicraft that someone made for me, and a Sonic Collection for the DS.
What do you think of Sonic Collection for DS? I was surprised at the quality of the ports and what a genuine thrill it is to take these beloved games on the go in their entirety. It almost feels like the title was overlooked given how much value you get for only 20$.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Cuckooguy »

Pretty good for what they were. I'm surprised at how much I remembered Sonic 2's Special Stages so well and where all the lamp posts in Emerald Hill were since you can get all 7 before Emerald Hill ends. However, I botched up on my 5th Emerald which just ruined my mood so I went to another Sonic game. The resolution bothers me since you can't see as much as you could previously (I remember in Emerald Hill I was on a platform that moved up and down and couldn't see what was ahead but took a leap of faith anyway to find a platform ahead). Biggest gripe was the music when you activated speed shoes because the music doesn't become faster but rather the notes just become higher. Other than those 2 issues, it's a pretty solid port!

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Crisis »

I got The Walking Dead, which I'm told is good. Nothing Sonic related though. Aren't we overdue for another main series entry by now? Not that I'm complaining if they're taking their time.

I wish more people would post in the "what are you playing?" thread! I have to stop myself from doing it every time I finish a game because otherwise it'll just turn into my blog.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Jingles »

Happy Holidays everyone! I got some games and a bit of money from relatives.

I've also grown up with the GHZ, though I never payed much attention to the forums until recently. This really is a great community, and I'd hate to see it die.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Ritz »

8 years and a custom member title later and I still feel like I was only ever a spectator soaking in the rays of more intelligent people. Will anyone remember me? Will those memories be fond? You guys were sort of my primary peer group from early teens all the way up through high school, so you're going to have to accept partial responsibility for whatever degenerate threads my life unfurls. Baba posting fullthrottle.jpg, and me browsing that at the local library? Permanent damage. Popcorn's drug experiment? Zeta's orgy and subsequent GRIDS scare? GG! wiping his ass with curtains? All components integrated. I can use these tools.

I fixed my computer and bought myself two production cels from Rocko's Modern Life and a Cintiq 12WX at half price, yes

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Malchik »

Hitler here, I just wanted to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas. I wish I had joined this place before you all grew-up and started leading productive and fulfilling lives. I've been lurking here since the beginning, but Sonic has since diluted it's self so much that I find it's modern installments and fans too lame for me to keep constant interest. Kind of like the Simpsons.

Some of my fondest memories were back at the Cult forums when Sonic Heroes was being leaked in ludicrous amounts, and prototype dumps were sweeter than gold. The Sonic insanity will never be like those grand ol' days again.

Too bad Sonic 4 sucked. But I guess Sonic Team just doesn't get us.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by G.Silver »

Yep all that.

I also did some growing up here! When I first joined it was over at the forum that didn't archive anything beyond a certain date, so a lot of my formative idiocy has been mercifully wiped out. I'll probably keep checking here until it too is completely blasted from the internet.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Dr. BUGMAN »

I can only presume that by not explicitly exluding me from the lovefest, you implicitly include me. So warm. So full of warmed cockles.

I lost interest in this franchise years upon years ago, to tell the truth, and only frequent here because this is one of the few places on the 'net that has that perfect pH level of acerbity and salient posters. If by broading the scope of this community would help keep it out of torpor, I'm all for it!

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Delphine »

Cuckooguy wrote:Delphine is 400 lbs until she posts pictures of herself
I'm still 400 pounds you shitcakes

Oh wait we're doing the 'where are we now' thing? I'm on Twitter which I use for bullshit and Tumblr where I alternatively take everything too seriously and post the stupidest shit I can find.

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Locit
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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Locit »

Protodude wrote:How are you enjoying China? Are you teaching english there?
I taught English for two semesters at a University, then they let my contract expire a month before my visa was set to run out. In retrospect it was a shitty gig and I'm better off now--I found work as an editor for REDACTED here, and thanks to the speed at which I edit my actual job takes so little of my time that I can study and write a fair amount on most days when I manage not to be a worthless piece of shit. But the past five months have been an excruciating experience of jumping through hoop after ridiculous government-erected hoop with the threat of deportation looming over my head if I didn't find visa-worthy work fast. Barring a huge fucking disaster, which honestly I can't rule out because this is China, I should finally have a proper goddamn work visa in five or so days. Guess we'll see.

I write for a site now and am on Twitter, but frankly given the profession I'm looking to enter I'm better off not directly linking either one here. I've been on the GHZ since I was a teenager and some of the shit I've said here is goddamn embarrassing. If you're really curious PM me and we can work something out.

That said this site has been weirdly valuable to me. I got to be a stupid idiot online anonymously and get all of that out of my system. I actually "joined" shortly before there was an actual forum, back when it was just this incredibly shitty bulletin board that was roughly as navigable as Twitter is now. Maybe a little less, actually. I think this was 2003 or 2004, around when Heroes came out. Looking back on it I started posting right when the series began its real descent into mediocrity, which probably shaped my worldview in all kinds of weird ways. Plus I got to meet Holic, which is pretty cool.

I've been quiet lately, but I'll probably start posting more when they announce the next main series game. Sonic at this point is kind of like Sports for me, honestly. There is no good reason* for me to give as much of a shit as I do, but it's kind of fun to keep track of things. I've never followed any sport seriously, and I still find it kind of discomfiting when I watch people get super upset after their team loses the big Sports Match--I made a conscious decision when I was young to try not to attach emotional importance to things I can't control the outcome of. But I can kind of relate, because I started playing Sonic before that point. When people moan and scream over the first downs it's like they just found out Sega was going to publish Shadow the Hedgehog, or about the Werehog, or some other stupid bullshit. We're not so different, they and me.

*Actually I loved the hell out of Generations and Colors but this is not the place for that.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Frieza2000 »

In past years when I was away for a month it would take me about a week of reading to catch up on everything I missed. I've just come back after being away for 6 months and I was caught up in a day. It's kind of sad to see, but on the other hand I do like small forums. And I'm glad we're getting all mushy - I kind of wanted to do this anyway.

I was 19 when my search for help emulating SegaSonic Arcade brought me to these forums, and I too have them to thank for my personal growth. Not only from the deeply considered and extremely well-spoken perspectives, but also from the experience of being part of such a jaded community. The game of collectively sharpening and showing off our literary wit by dishing out some well deserved ridicule was fun and all, but after a while it started to have an effect on me. After all of the good times we had burying Shadow in vitriol I began to actually want to hate the games. I wanted them to be bad and reveled whenever we could find some fault to make a venomous crack about. Things probably wouldn't have gone that way if the Sonic games hadn't been so genuinely bad, but dwelling for so long in such negativity was making me into a more negative person and diminishing my enjoyment of all sorts of media. Somewhere between trying to pass as a respectably intelligent contributor and keeping pace with Gibbon's ingenious adjective couplets ("wildly insipid" is still one of my favorites) I was losing myself. I was complaining about things that really wouldn't have bothered me a few years earlier. I'm really not a pretensions intellectual. I enjoy trying to analyze a work of art and lament the shallowness of the culture today, but I can also indulge in that same shallowness and genuinely enjoy myself. I'm really not that hard to please; I just have the cultured palate to appreciate the finer things in a fuller way than I do the vapid stuff. Part of it was me trying to earn my place in the conversation, feel like one of the gang, but it was also just that I'm pretty easily influenced. Somewhere around 2007 I finally got a look at myself in the mirror and I didn't like what I saw. I didn't want to be that person. So I stepped back, took a queue from Esrever, and things got better. On that note I must say, as fun as the sarcasm is sometimes, it's nice to see that everyone's mellowed out a bit (or that the people who are left are just the less severe ones). I was surprised to see a pretty positive WiiU topic.

This is the last of the three internet communities that I've belonged to, the first being the SA1 boards you accessed through the Dreamcast and the second a GameFAQs Sonic board that's more dead than this. I've never really "left" and I probably won't unless something happens (this is pretty much my only connection to the world of pop culture and gaming) but I'm almost on the verge of giving up gaming all together so it's been rare that I have anything to add to the discussion. Still, it's good to be here! Did you miss me? I know Del did. Gsilv, I'm sorry I missed your Kickstarter. However much you made from Astroman, you probably deserved more. TB looks cool.

I actually got quite a few gifts this year, at least compared to the last few times we've done this topic:

-Adventure Time Season 1 DVD + T-shirt
-Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD
-Cloths
-The Sonic Franchise bundle on Steam, which includes:
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Adventure DX
Sonic Adventure 2 (with Battle DLC)
Sonic CD
Sonic Generations (with Casino Night DLC)
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II

I'm not sure I will yet, but if I do get around to playing Generations it'll be the first Sonic game I've played since '06. I'm a little curious what they did with Metal Sonic in Sonic 4 but I don't think I'll bother to find out.

And this wasn't for Christmas, but I got myself one of these about a week ago. I've always wanted to carry a multitool but didn't want to have the added bulk in my pocket. This just slips into my wallet - it's a brilliant idea. I've already used it several times.

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Crisis
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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Crisis »

Well I guess since this is the official navel-gazing thread...

I came into this forum pretty late, so a lot of the in-jokes and references go over my head. I did get to see a few (Passepartout was one of my favourites). I get the impression I'm one of the youngest people here, which at 22 is sort of incredible.

Before I started posting more or less exclusively on the GHZ, I was much more active on other forums under a different username. Some of you might even have known me. But I basically needed a clean break, so I stopped visiting online communities entirely for about a year, then started lurking at the GHZ under a new name (this one).

Honestly, I've never quite felt like I've fit in, but then that's been true of almost every community I've been in, so it's not unexpected. It's not hard to explain why; I seem to be younger, I joined later, I tend to be serious rather than funny, I have pretty introverted tendencies, I have a slight contrarian streak, etc.

Anyway - I tend to think that forums operate best with a small number of active regulars. For a while, the GHZ was operating at the sweet spot, but now we seem to have gone over the edge into a decline. I don't really see how this can be resolved without either an influx of new members (which seems unlikely) or everyone suddenly getting a lot more free time and a lot more to talk about.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Radrappy »

Crisis wrote: Honestly, I've never quite felt like I've fit in, but then that's been true of almost every community I've been in, so it's not unexpected. It's not hard to explain why; I seem to be younger, I joined later, I tend to be serious rather than funny, I have pretty introverted tendencies, I have a slight contrarian streak, etc.
Sorry, I can't help but want to poke fun at this line right here. So I'll just say it and get it out of my system

CRAAAAWWWLLING INNNN MY SKIIIIIIN

Anyway, I don't think anyone fits in per se. That would imply that there's some kind of model GHZ forum member. As long as you're an irreverent misfit who thinks he/she knows something about video games, you're fine. What would really make you not fit in would be if you were super polite, loved modern sonic games, and were a socially well adjusted, successful, and attractive female.

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Malchik
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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Malchik »

I was quite saddened to see that they cleaned up the Sega forums a few years ago. Back in 2003 the boards were a cesspool of perversion and shit poster. Those were great times.
Radrappy wrote: What would really make you not fit in would be if you were super polite, loved modern sonic games, and were a socially well adjusted, successful, and attractive hetero female.
Let's be fair here.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Neo »

Radrappy wrote:Anyway, I don't think anyone fits in per se. That would imply that there's some kind of model GHZ forum member.
Well, I think Arcade came close.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Majestic Joey »

Happy new years and all that. As far as forums go, this has been a place I have always felt where I belonged at even though I never post much. Been on this site since I was a middle school kid and was still watching yugioh (which is why my profile is named joey. Joey was my favorite character in that show. also yugioh is still a freaking, awesome show and my and my brother still watch it when eating dinner). This site always had people with interesting, well thought out opinions you can't find on almost any other forum. Everybody here is really sharp and passionate about things. Frankly I don't think this forum is dead as much as there has not been anything really good to talk about for a while. Outside of sonic generations and mayan end of the world scenarios, nothing interesting has been happening 2011-2012. All I here about is Facebook, twitter, minecraft and angry birds. Nothing really exciting has been happening in my opinion.

Anyways I'm sure everybody on this forum has been busy and have been working on more important things than posting stuff on things about sonic all the time. If there is one thing I remember fondly was on this forum there was this guy named "one classy bloke" claimed he was a tester at sega and knew all the stuff that was coming out for Sonic 06 and everybody was too excited about the game to really doubt his credibility. then the sonic 06 demo came out... Green Gibbon's front page post on the demo was priceless.

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Re: Merry Christmas, you heartless bastards

Post by Esrever »

Was that the guy I got in the big argument with about whether or not that "Venice the Hedgehog" Silver concept art he posted was fake or not? I had forgotten all about that! But I see other Sonic sites still treat it like it is real: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Silver_the_ ... esign1.jpg

I still think it looks like a fan doing an imperfect Yuji Uekawa impression. (The curved pupils and weird perspective on the boot clasps look very un-Uekawa-y to me.) But who knows... maybe it was all real after all and I was wrong, wrong, WRONG! Maybe Sega subcontracted all the '06 concept art to their interns.

I had a nice Christmas and New Years. Got some art supplies and some comic books, and managed to come up with a pretty good present for my wife, I think: http://samandfuzzy.tumblr.com/post/3844 ... -this-year

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