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PaperclipPerfector  4hr ago (text post)   138 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 24, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Video Game Thread

I haven't had much time for playing games this week, but I put a couple more hours into Deus Ex.

In a dialogue in the Hell's Kitchen bar, you run into Jock the pilot, who 'flies your brother Paul to Hong Kong.' After being bribed with a cold(!) beer, Jock talks about how Area 51 was turned into a secret base for Echelon IV, the United States' massive AI + surveillance system, when 'the government promised to stop spying on people'.

That's an interesting notion vis-à-vis what's actually happened IRL. This game was developed in the late nineties and released in year 2000. Which means there were rumors about 'Echelon' and mass surveillance even before 9/11 made it more 'necessary' and palatable to even start building such a project. And the writer assumed that when such a program was discovered by the public, the government would be forced to shut it down, at least ostensibly.

IRL, after 2011's Snowden reveal, we've seen new, enormous data centers for complete electronic surveillance of every citizen (and non-citizen) being built to expand the program. And most other developed countries have followed suit in undermining their citizens privacy and liberty.

The real world's human species is more docile and sheep-like in their surrender to government overreach than what the Deus Ex dystopia writer envisioned.

Edit: typo.

Tried playing Rollerdrome, and while it is a lot of fun, it's more challenging than I expected, and I'm not really in the mood for a twitchy game with a time limit.

Instead, I fell off the wagon, and reinstalled XCOM 2 last night (didn't have a chance to play it though). God help me, I will beat it on Commander Ironman mode.

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