Just watched the first two episodes, and...Wow.
This is kind of boring, isn't it? I mean, SAO's second episode had that awesome fight against Ilfang the Kobold Lord, but this basically had...Well, nothing. There's no sense of threat, either, since you can't die permanently in-game - And the food tastes like crap.
Lower budget and production values, too, and a simply terrible OP. Even the game they're in feels significantly less polished.
It's like they're trapped in a cheap Chinese bootleg of Aincraid: One of those fly-by-night, pay-to-win MM Os that close down shortly after they come up.
No, it's not boring. Granted, I want to see what they're going to do with it and what conflicts are going to show up, but "mortal danger" isn't the only thing that can make something exciting.
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SAO is another genre entirely. You can compare the portrayal of the MMO setting (For instance, to me, Log Horizon seems more in depth and realistic, whereas SAO's system, flawed though it is, is more unique), but otherwise they don't have that much in common (Aside from target demographic, I mean).
Any two-bit writer can use death as a source of drama—it takes more skill to invoke it through less extreme means. You can be the judge of how successful Log Horizon was to you in that regard, naturally, but it's not like the, "Oh no, I could die!" thing is some genius, revolutionary plot device SAO's author came up with.
edited 12th Oct '13 9:46:14 PM by Rem
Fire, air, water, earth...legend has it that when these four elements are gathered, they will form the fifth element...boron.
x4
Someone mentioned that the feel of Elder Tale was what Everquest was at its height, and the MMO seems to be very old by the time The Apocalypse happens to the characters (take note how Naotsugu says that he hasn't been online for a year or two).
Also, if you haven't noticed, its done by the Maoyuu author, and the focus isn't on the battles but politics and, hilariously, political change. Heck, apparently there was a several pages-long rambling monologue on the nature of side-jobs, which we got only a bit of this episode.
edited 12th Oct '13 9:48:37 PM by MyssaRei
I missed the danger of sexual assault entirely... I think I was too much in a gaming mindset. In how many games can you rape other players? (I know players often use such terms, because "killing" has no potency and "maiming" lacks the humilitation component.) If the food has not taste, it is likely the sex is similar. Maybe that will have implications for any romance.
They remove death as a threat... then make that into a major angst point as even suicide is meaningless. Instead the fact that their journey will be reset is the source of tension. Works fine for me.
There are other things that don't. That fight had too much infodumping, and the dialogue with the guild felt off. I hope the party dynamics move beyond running gags. The pacing is about right though.
Someone on Crunchyroll mentioned that this show is a genuine love letter to gaming, while SAO was more a gamer's self-insert wish fulfilment. (Can't testify, I haven't watched SAO past the first two episodes.)
I find myself asking the same question I have with all classic swords-and-sorceries: how long before a dragon turns up?
A blog that gets updated on a geological timescale.It's not Skyrim unless someone yells at a dragon after taking an arrow to the knee.
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◊, but thanks to the people at /a/, we're getting specifics at how the 12 classes work in Log Horizon.
Yeah, /a/'s pretty crazy about LH. Seems like the plot gets even better in the novels, I can't wait for translations.
Also Shaman sounds fun to play. Maybe bard but that's not translated yet...
edited 14th Oct '13 6:59:21 AM by danna45
"And you must be Jonathan Joestar!" - SueSpeaking of which, look what we found on Enterbrain's publishing site
... A pen and paper RPG rulebook for Log Horizon, scheduled for February 2014. ^.^
Bard is weak on its own but supports people with magical songs. Sounds pretty boring, probably.
Cleric is specialized healer; Druid is all-rounder with damage spell too, but mana inefficient; Summoner is standard pet class (over a hundred pets! but not all at once of course. popular with soloists).
Hm, not seeing that much of a difference between bard and enchanter. Still, would totally play shaman if an MMO or even a single-player game of this comes out.
"And you must be Jonathan Joestar!" - Sue

Same here.
edited 12th Oct '13 7:09:40 PM by jaustin89