ok; sheesh; I just read the article on who would win between a European knight and a Samuri; what a let down; what a wimpy piece of prose; sheesh. All the build up about technique and equipment just to come down to a burb that he who fights best will win. Big dissappointment.
ok; sheesh; I just read the article on who would win between a European knight and a Samurai... all the buildup about technique and equipment just to come down to a burb that he who fights best will win. Big disappointment.
True, though.
yeah, but sheesh; I knew that before I read the article and was hoping the build up would lead to something else or something worth chatting up your freinds with; am STILL steaming about it. :(
There is a lot of interesting information in it, that to some lay people is radical in scope. Most average gamers are not aware of the fact that there existed such a huge diversity of technology and combat styles through the ages, and I'm talking about the Western hemisphere. When one thinks "knight" they think a dude in lots of metal with a sword. I found the in depth delvings of the article thought provoking in light of how they expanded my own knowledge of the subject.
But I agree, it was also a long winded way of saying "apples and oranges". Not that there is anything wrong with that; sometimes it's nice to see someone say "stop thinking one is somehow superior to the other". But it is rather annoying to realize that sometimes we, we being those who place one above the other, have to be told just that.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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This was far from my favorite article. I do not think the Dragon relaunch in #323 was an unqualified success. I didn't come in until a few issues later, so it's best to view the Dragon relaunch as a work in progress. "Knight vs. Samurai" was a very flawed article, in my view, and is not representative of the kinds of articles we strive to publish in Dragon.
It's not that it's terrible. It contains some information readers might not have come across before, but to spend so many pages setting up a question and then not answer that question is a pretty jerky way to waste the reader's time, in my opinion.
--Erik
But.... 323 had that "Force Magic"... so that makes up for any weakness in the other articles right ;-)
I once had a guy who was on the fencing team want to "spar" with me (or whatever it is that fencers do). All that was handy were a couple of sticks; I picked mine up and held it in both hands, prompting disdainful snickers from him. While he was explaining to me that Western fencing was vastly superior because of the "one-two" speed as opposed to the old "strike-recover," and that he would mop the floor with me, etc., I knocked his stick out of line and clocked him in the head on the rebound.
In short, most people still have an inflated idea of how much style and tools really count for, as compared to practice and experience. The best golfer I've ever seen play in person had only 4 clubs. Even if the article itself wasn't maybe the best, at least the message is sound.