Morning Discussion

For reasons unknown, I've had suburbs on my mind this morning and it's somehow got me excited about Homefront to see its depiction of war within the suburbs of the USA. They're a space largely unexplored by video games, which I imagine is down to their decidedly unsexy nature and the fact that they don't lend themselves well to corridor experiences. Suburbs are important, though. They house a huge number of people--genuinely, far too many people across far too large an area, leading to terrible things--but also represent ideals rarely touched upon in video games, a way of life and mindset which could be used in interesting ways.

Having stayed in an American suburb for a few weeks last year, I'm oddly repulsed yet fascinated and enthralled by them. Please, video games, take me there.

From The Chatty
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    October 12, 2010 5:06 AM

    Does england not have suburbs around large cities? I've sadly only been to london proper. :(

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      October 12, 2010 5:08 AM

      yes, there are often smaller towns around cities and villages around towns.

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        October 12, 2010 5:09 AM

        But I guess they aren't really sprawling collections of insta-homes like the US.

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      October 12, 2010 5:11 AM

      I've yet to see sizeable suburbs anything like America's. Our suburbs are, like purekillforce says, more like small towns and villages but they're miniature versions of the big thing, complete with local services and businesses. Nothing on the scale of the USA.

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        October 12, 2010 5:16 AM

        I'd say Canada follows a model similar to the US.

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          October 12, 2010 5:44 AM

          Especially around Toronto

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            October 12, 2010 6:01 AM

            Calgary is one giant suburb. Noting but lame cookie cutter houses

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          October 12, 2010 10:39 AM

          Doesn't every place that wasn't seriously developed until the last couple hundred years follow that model? England is an exception because there's thousands of years of history of development already and people aren't going to say, "Let's bulldoze the amazing character of this old town and put up a Wal-Mart." Unfortunately when you have nothing else around like in the US, terrible unsustainable developments are the thing to do, only to see them abandoned in 20 years.

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        October 12, 2010 5:51 AM

        Well, don't forget that England is an island and America has A LOT of space for sprawl.

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      October 12, 2010 5:22 AM

      Every city has several suburbs. Some are huge sprawling masses like the ones outside London, others are smaller. Every city has them though.

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      October 12, 2010 5:33 AM

      My brother said when he came to Australia "it's like America, without the guns" it was very sad :(

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        October 12, 2010 5:34 AM

        London just seemed jumbled and crowded to me. New York City is the same way though.

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        October 12, 2010 5:34 AM

        For real. You guys are WAY more conservative. :D

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        October 12, 2010 5:35 AM

        It sounds like the best possible version to me. I like not getting shot.

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          October 12, 2010 5:36 AM

          I've been shot twice this morning and I haven't even left the house yet.

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          October 12, 2010 5:36 AM

          You'll just get bitten by killer snakes and spiders instead.

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          October 12, 2010 5:38 AM

          I hate our stupidity, hey let's spread OUT and drive BIG CARS and all have GIANT homes which are built very in-efficiently but we can put a MASSIVE air conditioner and heater on the place. My family are all from England and they basically laugh at housing codes in this country, the homes are made of plastic and paper. Don't last long and a cunt to keep warm or cool.
          Melbourne has only 5 million people but it's near 60 miles from one end of the suburbs to the other full end.

          London and Hong Kong are such better cities.

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            October 12, 2010 5:40 AM

            On the down side though we are fucking packed on-top of each other and there isn't enough room so swing a dead cat.

            It sucks balls when my idiot fucking neighbour comes home at 2am and slams his door and I can hear it.

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              October 12, 2010 5:41 AM

              I found it really weird you guys know how to build walls internally so thick and strong and soundproof but the floors are wooden between flats... what? Why!

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                October 12, 2010 5:43 AM

                Yes. Its shit. In my old place I was going mad hearing squeaking of floor boards up stairs, so I moved into a semi detached Victorian that is built like a brick shit house but for some reason when the dude in the house attached slams his door it echoes really loudly.

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                October 12, 2010 5:53 AM

                and their plumbing sucks too. come on, get some proper pressure in your showers

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                  October 12, 2010 5:54 AM

                  Ok yeah the plumbing and hard water (and tiny bathrooms for skinny people) kind of threw me but otherwise it was awesome! <3 London

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                    October 12, 2010 5:55 AM

                    yeah i really liked london too

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                      October 12, 2010 5:58 AM

                      I'd like to see it as a skinny person one day, it might be even better.

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                        October 12, 2010 6:07 AM

                        i was fine there but yeah some of the bathrooms were kind of small even for a skinny dude.

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                    October 12, 2010 6:00 AM

                    I did love London, no doubt. My favorite city on the planet.

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            October 12, 2010 5:43 AM

            and then people whine about public transport. No shit it's going to suck if you insist on living out in the stix so you can have a big backyard.

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              October 12, 2010 5:44 AM

              Yep, and these fucking cunts want me to pay near 4/10'ths of a million dollars to own a home here? Really.....

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            October 12, 2010 5:47 AM

            hong kong is the kind of place you end up with a 500sq ft apartment.

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            October 12, 2010 5:58 AM

            I laughed at housing in England, when I was there. Insanely, ridiculously cramped living spaces - it was like being shoved into a tiny doll world. Every time I opened a car door in a parking lot (even) I feared denting some other car's door since parking spaces, like everything else there, were minuscule at best. It was literally like a breath of fresh air to come back home to the USA after my tour in England and park somewhere and actually have freakin' room to open my car door.

            I liked my time there but there aren't too many things I'll miss about the place from a living perspective, though the people were lovely and it was awesome to be somewhere were futbol reigned!

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              October 12, 2010 5:59 AM

              Let's not forget that in England, apparently, it's impossible to put a screen door or window on anything, either...never saw a single one the entire time I was there. Bizarre.

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                October 12, 2010 6:08 AM

                They are not really needed, I think. It doesn't get very hot and there aren't zillions of horrible flies.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:12 AM

                  There are plenty of insects there. And while it's not that hot all that frequently, it does get hot on occasion in the summer. It's just really strange to not see a single one.

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                    October 12, 2010 6:15 AM

                    I leave the door to my garden open all summer and I don't get flies in the house, or very few anyway. The occasional bee gets lots and needs to be ushered out again, heh.

                    Why are they so popular in the US? What are they for, exactly? They seem a bit pointless.

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              October 12, 2010 6:01 AM

              Oh god the parking here is fucking ridiculous. I drove a big ass range rover to a shopping centre a while back and ended up parking the damn thing a million miles away because there was not a single spot in the multi story that was big enough for it.

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              October 12, 2010 6:37 AM

              Where in England were you exactly?

              I for one have plenty of fucking space.

              but never enough cowbell

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                October 12, 2010 9:46 AM

                Stationed in Cornwall (Newquay to be precise at JMF St. Mawgan)...was out all over the place down in that region and also in Plymouth, Bristol, London, etc...

                Some places were, admittedly, better than others in the whole issue of space...

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            October 12, 2010 6:04 AM

            Some people like backyards and trees and shit. Crazy I know.

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              October 12, 2010 6:08 AM

              [deleted]

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              October 12, 2010 6:09 AM

              That's fine - then live in the bush and suburbs - but too many people seem to just want a big house with a mid size backyard they never actually use because it's the "great Australian dream!!!"

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                October 12, 2010 6:10 AM

                [deleted]

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                  October 12, 2010 6:13 AM

                  ^^ This. I would love to be surrounded by an acre of land between me and the neighbours. Unfortunately I guess for me living in the city is more important right now.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:15 AM

                  It's not efficient and just leads to sprawl.

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                  October 12, 2010 10:22 AM

                  And it gives you a place for your dog to run around in.

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                October 12, 2010 6:14 AM

                if there's an American Dream and an Australian Dream, what's the English Dream? Do they even have cultural aspirations?

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                  October 12, 2010 6:18 AM

                  Probably a cottage by the sea, if anything.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:19 AM

                  Hmm I guess a woolly belief in tolerance and fair play, and the right to have your own little dominion. It's rather modest :(

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                  October 12, 2010 6:27 AM

                  For their football team to win before they pass out in a pool of vomit.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:29 AM

                  In Orwell's 'Why I write' he talks about how there really is no one defining thing that makes us 'English' none of really have any aspirations yet in times of need we can all pull together and be 'English' We are a strange bunch.

                  I think my 'English Dream' is to have a manner house and be the Duchy of a small Hamlet. I would have 20 or 30 peasant families working the land and serving under my protectorate and I in turn would ensure their well-being.

                  Its a modest dream I know but one I hope to someday live.

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                    October 12, 2010 10:21 AM

                    I dunno, England seem to pull together well in WWII. I've always admired how well they withstood the Nazis and seemed to maintain their dignity and character.

                    At least that's what the movies tell me. Maybe people were raping babies and everyone's just swept it under the rug.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:30 AM

                  The english dream is to have a lack of dental problems.

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                    October 12, 2010 6:31 AM

                    YEAH BABY THAT JOKE IS FUNNY

                    IM RANDY BABY

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                  October 12, 2010 6:45 AM

                  There really is no nationally defining 'English dream'. We're all too busy partaking in the Class War.

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                  October 12, 2010 6:46 AM

                  does america even have culture? duurrrr

                • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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                  October 12, 2010 6:46 AM

                  their dream is to be eaten by their children America and Australia.

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                  October 12, 2010 7:04 AM

                  I should add that the idea of a single shared aspiration should be ludicrous in any country.

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                    October 12, 2010 9:55 AM

                    the "american dream" is often misinterpreted as the desire to have a house, kids, two cars, and a relatively well-off life. in reality it is, and always has been, the opportunity for people to follow their passion and live their life in the way they see fit. which is a pretty cool foundation. it just gets obscured and in the 1950's, when a single-income family of four could live in a three-bedroom suburban house, it was assumed that's what everyone wanted.

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                      October 12, 2010 10:23 AM

                      No coincidence that it was the '50's when people started watching TV.

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                        October 12, 2010 10:24 AM

                        yep. it's both horrifying and pretty fascinating how the country changed from the start of WWII to the tail-end of the 1950's.

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                        October 12, 2010 10:48 AM

                        Shit has being going downhill ever since.

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                  October 12, 2010 9:54 AM

                  dreaming is considered rude there

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                    October 12, 2010 10:00 AM

                    This post is as true as your previous one, unfortunately.

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        October 12, 2010 5:38 AM

        (FWIW though, he did get his initial impressions from Queensland)

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        October 12, 2010 6:00 AM

        Well, sharks, spiders, stingrays and crocs don't need guns.

      • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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        October 12, 2010 6:44 AM

        I enjoy living inside the beltway next to mass transit and walkable stores, I could never live in the suburbs.

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      October 12, 2010 6:05 AM

      Funny video about annoying London hipsters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmmYMwFj1I

      (repost from ER)

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      October 12, 2010 6:30 AM

      England only has Suburbia, no suburbs.

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      October 12, 2010 9:59 AM

      I can honestly say I have no idea what she's talking about. Alice, have you never been in any of the British conurbs?

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