Where are all the people?

Cobweb · Post by **Cobweb** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 6:29 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there supposed to be rather a lot of people in the World? Something along the lines of several million? Yet we almost NEVER see any characters just walking about in the show. Every field looks completely deserted, with the exception of Carmina Gardelica. You'd expect the root towns to be fairly popular, but all the others - Dun Loireag especially - look like strangely well-kept ruins. I understand that the three codeword system allows for nearly infinite possible fields, but I just have to chalk this one up to lazy animators and/or budgeting problems.

Dark770 · Post by **Dark770** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 7:41 pm

they probbly dont want you to get distracted....

Jerec · Post by **Jerec** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 7:59 pm

Also, the PS2 isn't the most powerful console in the universe. Could be a polygon rendering issue.

Xbelnaost · Post by **Xbelnaost** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:02 pm

maybe, cause if they did have alot of ppl, then alot of ppl would remember Twilight, then that would of liked, messed up stuff after it...maybe?...errr nvm.
Or they could just be on vacation, or maybe they are playing during the day when less ppl r on? i remember kamui saying most ppl play at night in //Udeden manga

Cobweb · Post by **Cobweb** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:11 pm

To Jerec - no offense or anything, but I wrote this under the SIGN category for a reason. It seems to me that people wouldn't really want to log into the World during all the upheaval going on in INFECTION, MUTATION, etc. What doesn't make sense to me is why the show is so underpopulated. Also, it can't just be that everyone is logging in at night because of all the scenes that take place after dark - assuming the World has the same time zone as Japan, which is a topic for another thread.

Invisible Egg! · Post by **Invisible Egg!** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 9:02 pm

Technically, if they want to make The World seem like a real MMORPG, then yes the Root Towns should be way more crowded. Oh well.

CRtwenty · Post by **CRtwenty** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 9:26 pm

But they say that there are regional servers in .hack//Udeden, that means that the only people walking around in the root towns are Japanese players. Which probably only has about 250,000 users.

Sanity · Post by **Sanity** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:02 pm

Maybe lots of different servers..like FFXI

Cobweb · Post by **Cobweb** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:19 pm

Oh! Okay ... that's good sense. But aren't all the servers named after Greek letters? I know I remember Beta, Theta, Delta, Lambda, and Omega. If the World is based off regional servers, they'd run out pretty quickly. And does that mean the World lacks the global connective-ness that makes the Internet so cool? (Supposedly; I've never met anyone from further away than London.)

CRtwenty · Post by **CRtwenty** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:20 pm

No, each regional server is made up of the individual servers... so there would be multiple Delta servers, multiple Theta servers, etc.

Guynietoren · Post by **Guynietoren** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:33 pm

It's seems like a socialogical issue. The plot wouldn't be so exclusive to the main characters. Everyone would get in the way of the plot. Besides, if you want a guy(Tsukasa) to look lonely, then make him alone.

Another distinction from the real world. There's hardly every JUST a hand full of people to save the day. You feel more important in a smaller group. Thus, making each character significant in the story.

It would be more realistic to have big crowd in populated towns. But the realism is more than you want. You wouldn't escape from the real world just to push your way into another headache.

Cobweb · Post by **Cobweb** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:49 pm

I disagree. As an extreme introvert, I have to say that it's always much worse when you're surrounded by people and you JUST CAN'T connect with them. Everyone's alone if nobody else is around; Tsukasa would appear much more out of place when dropped in a situation where a lot people were trying to be friends with him (ala Mimiru).
You're right on one thing, though ... eventually the World would clog up just like reality, and there wouldn't be much point in playing. But in a way that would add to the story: the World is starting to hit critical mass, so the crisis shown in SIGN and the games would almost be inevitable.

Guynietoren · Post by **Guynietoren** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 11:01 pm

You've got to think more in metaphores. It's easier to show how someone feels by making the environment look in that manner. Dark blues for a cold lonely place. Red for danger/love/heat. Like that commercial where that little dog kicks the fire hydrant, everything went from red to blue. The mood. Yeah, I know it's insulting to be in a crowd with no one to connect with. I've been there way too long. But not everyone has.

Obviously, .hack is for the people who connect with it. Alot can be said with just that.

Cobweb · Post by **Cobweb** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 11:23 pm

It IS true that the show simply teems with layers and layers of meaning. Ah, but such metaphors can be interpreted any way you like - that's probably why we spend so much time discussing .hack! For example, the colors that you mentioned. In the western world red symbolizes violence, passion, and danger. In China it represents good luck. Here white equals purity and innocence, but in Japan it is the color of death. In other words, using symbolism is a risky at best - though often quite rewarding, too. Logical plotting can achieve similar results and is usually more airtight. Of course, there's no reason why both couldn't be used: Tsukasa could be shown in a crowd of people who appear slightly blurred/off-color/etc, or there could be a space between him and them. In fact, I believe this is exactly what they did in episode ten.

Jerec · Post by **Jerec** » Sat Aug 16, 2003 1:01 am

Cobweb wrote:To Jerec - no offense or anything, but I wrote this under the SIGN category for a reason. It seems to me that people wouldn't really want to log into the World during all the upheaval going on in INFECTION, MUTATION, etc. What doesn't make sense to me is why the show is so underpopulated. Also, it can't just be that everyone is logging in at night because of all the scenes that take place after dark - assuming the World has the same time zone as Japan, which is a topic for another thread.

Heh, no offense taken ^_^

But I'll make a stupid answer again. Maybe the animators didn't wanna animate more people ^_^

Maybe with a movie budget, they could.