PancakeCats's recent activity
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Comment on Small talk, ice breakers, lines in ~talk
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI just finished a playthrough of Halo: CE coop with my partner and have been feeling much the same as you about this original outing. There sure are a lot of samey corridors in this game. The game...I just finished a playthrough of Halo: CE coop with my partner and have been feeling much the same as you about this original outing. There sure are a lot of samey corridors in this game. The game kind of tricks you with that first level, which feels open and expansive and showcases the nature of the ring. And then the game just shoves you in narrow grey corridors for the majority of the run time. I havent played any the campaigns, bar Halo: Reach, since I was a kid, and I remember there being more interesting levels in the following games, Halo 3 and Reach especially. The following games also add more options to the combat sandbox, which is the reason I play halo anyways. The guns feel good to shoot, the options are varied, there are more vehicles, and its a blast with a friend.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThis a good point, I remembered the case but never actually read the full media release. Thanks for bringing it back up. Here's hoping we get better consumer rights before they decide its no...This a good point, I remembered the case but never actually read the full media release. Thanks for bringing it back up. Here's hoping we get better consumer rights before they decide its no longer worth it.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThey didnt offer a meaningful benefit for customers in return. Its only net negatives for everybody but Sony, and they arent even trying to hide it. I suspect if they made a disc to digital...They didnt offer a meaningful benefit for customers in return. Its only net negatives for everybody but Sony, and they arent even trying to hide it. I suspect if they made a disc to digital program like Xbox and a resale market on digital copies then there would be less pushback from consumers, but retail game businesses would still pushback.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI dont know, it's not very surprising that people like the monopoly that treats them well and has for decades. Steam is probably one of the most consumer friendly companies in the industry, and by...I dont know, it's not very surprising that people like the monopoly that treats them well and has for decades. Steam is probably one of the most consumer friendly companies in the industry, and by far the most consumer friendly platform in gaming among the major players. Not to mention how entrenched people are in its ecosystem/communites after said decades. Most people arent thinking about it that deeply or at all, and Steam isn't obviously harmful at a glance. Even though it does still do harmful monopoly things, it's usually not harmful to their users.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats (edited )Link ParentI'm sorry, the PSN refund window is prior to download? What's the point then, if by the time you download it you have already nullified your ability to refund it. At least with Steam you can run...I'm sorry, the PSN refund window is prior to download? What's the point then, if by the time you download it you have already nullified your ability to refund it. At least with Steam you can run the game at least once to make sure it works and is something you feel was properly worth your money. Two hours may not be enough, but its something compared to "prior to download." Maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning, but thats not parity at all in that instance.
Additionally, you can and always could continue to play CS:GO through the beta branch feature, and last I heard it still had an active enough player base to find matches. It definitely still sucks though, making the forums and achievements and reviews for both games merge together is a messy & unnecessary move. And PlayStation would do the exact same thing if they decided it suited their interests. So if anything both scenarios just reinforce why we need better digital purchasing/ownership rights as consumers.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
PancakeCats Link ParentExactly, my monitors are just a display, nothing more. Buying updated displays isnt exactly appealing with the state of todays tech landscape, in both price and levels of bloat. And if anything,...Exactly, my monitors are just a display, nothing more. Buying updated displays isnt exactly appealing with the state of todays tech landscape, in both price and levels of bloat. And if anything, the lower specs have helped my Nvidia 2080 go a lot farther than it otherwise might have.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
PancakeCats LinkI switched to linux at the start of the year after hitting my breaking point dealing with Windows trying to control my PC. I went with Bazzite for something that was focused around out of the box...I switched to linux at the start of the year after hitting my breaking point dealing with Windows trying to control my PC. I went with Bazzite for something that was focused around out of the box support for NVIDIA cards and my intended uses. Overall its been a fairly painless transition/experience, and I have a seperate older drive in case I need Windows for whatever cursed reason. Its been months since I last loaded Windows though.
My computer is unrelated to my work, so productivity software is mostly a non issue. As far as gaming goes, my main pain points have been dual monitor support and cursor locking. Im a freak who still uses my monitors i got 12(!) years ago, 1600x900. I inherited a 1920x1080 monitor from a roommate, and was using that alongside the other 900p monitor. I've since given it to my partner after she got a PC for her work, but while I had two different sized monitors I had a plethora of issues related to cursor locking in games and applications. The issues were inconsistent and hard to diagnose, and eventually I resorted to just shutting off the other monitor when problems arose. After switching back to two monitors of the same size, issues mostly went away. Here and there I have cursor locking troubles but I can usually fix it quickly. Bazzite has decent documentation for most things I need from it and there are countless forums to search while I learn the OS better.
It's been a lot of fun to have a computer feel new again, and feel like a tool im controlling instead of something held hostage by a company I despise.
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Comment on Who likes GTA? in ~games
PancakeCats LinkI am a fan of most of Rockstar's output, seemingly against the grain here, so I'll wax poetic on why I have always enjoyed these games, and why I think a lot of people cant seem to quite gel with...I am a fan of most of Rockstar's output, seemingly against the grain here, so I'll wax poetic on why I have always enjoyed these games, and why I think a lot of people cant seem to quite gel with what Rockstar is doing. I think what drew me in to most of the games in their catalogue, going back to playing Vice City and San Andreas as a kid, is the world's Rockstar creates with each release. The humor ranges from gross and low hanging to fine, the gameplay is serviceable to quite good depending on the title and it's age, but the sense of place these games offer are, in my opinion, unparalleled by any other open world game on the market, bar maybe Suckerpunch's recent outings in the "Ghost of Tsushima/Yotei" series. (Even then, those games are going after different things, with a more condensed world that acts more as a traditional game space than a believable space the player inhabits during their playtime.) Getting to know the map of a GTA game is satisfying, driving around the map while listening to Rockstar's wonderful and varied radio stations is borderline therapeutic, and depending on the game, I think they offer genuinely compelling character driven narratives that align to identity of each space Rockstar is trying to capture, for better or worse.
More than anything else, I think the reason to play these games, the reason I keep coming back to them time after time, is for the world that they build as a foundation for each outing. It's why I have hundreds of hours in each title, including GTA V which I think isn't that great of a game after playing it for over a decade. The gameplay itself can sometimes be caught between open ended sandbox and linear narrative in a way that is clashing and off putting to certain players. Even still, I love existing in these spaces, and its the one thing Rockstar has rarely fumbled in all of their output. If you want (very lengthy) expanded thoughts on the series and why I think the games have become more polarized as time has gone on, I've tucked them away in the box below.
Long winded retrospection on the evolution of Rockstar's output & my reasoning as to why the games have both the cultural status and complicated reception they carry.
Nowadays, what is considered believable and impressive has shifted, but at the time of release, each game pushed the boundaries of what was possible on the consoles they released on. GTA III practically pioneered the open world genre as we know it, and each subsequent release raised the bar in some aspect, whether it be size, atmosphere, or simulation complexity. GTA: Vice City was an effective time capsule of 80's nostalgia. GTA: San Andreas felt like an expansive world with multiple states and cities, all capturing unique vibes, and had probably the most fleshed out world in the series in terms of interactivity and systems. Continued hits led to a cultural weight behind Rockstar's output, each game being a technical showcase as much as a kooky sandbox. This continues in GTA IV, which is a very physics driven title, which remains impressive considering the limited hardware to work with on its original platforms of release. It was also a notable upgrade in cinematic ambitions for Rockstar, which have always injected cinematic inspirations into their games, but now the games had more believable characters and more of a focus on cinematography and direction. I think this is where the divide in what people want from Rockstar games and what Rockstar is trying to deliver with their games starts to widen.
From IV onward, Rockstar starts to deliver stories with more substance, if you dive beneath the satirical surface, at the cost of tightening the reigns on the player. Niko's story focuses on the shattering illusion of the American dream in a gritty HBOesque narrative, and as such they reel in the absurdity, reel in the player's ability to cause mayhem, and reel in the expansive maps to a claustrophobic rats nest interpretation of New York, instead of the glitzy dreamland it can often be sold as. And much more than previous games, the character you inhabit feels like a fleshed out character you control through a narrative, rather than a caricature to possess to interact with a sandbox.
Red Dead Redemption continues this trend, focusing on a former outlaw in the dying throws of the Wild West, and reigns in the chaos even more, bucking sandbox player freedom for a character driven romp through the cowboy genre and western pastiche. John Marston, the protagonist of the first Red Dead outing, is character with principles and ideals, such as a commitment to wife and son you never even see for the majority of the experience that is held so strongly, that the game doesn't let you hire prostitutes, a first in Rockstar's output since GTA III. That may be a small and strange thing to highlight on paper, but I think its emblematic of a move away from full player freedom and a further step on the path towards character driven experiences. You can still shoot up a town and run from the law, but beyond that most activities and interactions in the game are firmly in the bounds of "is this something John Marston would do?" Missions become more linear, story telling is stronger but more focused in scope, and sandbox complexity takes a back seat. Even still, the world they create is as masterfully crafted as ever, offering multiple different flavors of western landscapes and phenomenal ambience. As a lifelong fan of the western setting, it's a joy to just exist in the space, listening to the sparse guitar and crickets.
Then we come to GTA V, which was a seminal release in it's day, 13(!!!) years ago, but I think has aged the worst out of any Rockstar's output in the HD era. It hit this critical mass that few games do, selling faster than any entertainment property ever, because even still, Rockstar is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in these types of games and the consoles they release on. It is definitely dated now, but even the original Xbox 360/PS3 release of GTA V is astonishing in the fidelity and scale for a console with 512mb of ram. Unfortunately, I think Rockstar's cinematic ambitions cause this game to suffer more than any other, depicting a shallow, hollow, corrosive image of life in LA/Hollywood. Characters are almost unanimously shallow and shitty people who are rarely fun to be around, the game focuses on spectacle more than systemic substance, and outside of the main narrative there are few interesting things to engage with. At the same time, its the most widely accessible game to date, the map is their best yet, and the multiplayer, GTA Online, is a seismic shift in the series's tone, gameplay, and focus. It's the most chaotic sandbox that Rockstar has offered in years, free from narrative ambitions and chained instead by capitalist satire morphed into genuine greed. The studio has more money than god, all eyes on them as a borderline religious figure in the industry, and instead of chasing another GTA V, they pull a 180 back into Red Dead Redemption's slower character driven gameplay with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.
I think Red Dead Redemption 2 outclasses all of Rockstar's previous output by far, it's not even close. At the same time, the divide between the players expectations of the Sandbox and Rockstar's intent for the experience is at its widest. Especially after GTA V's style over substance, all gas no brakes approach, it could be jarring how much they slowed everything down, from the story pacing to the animations and movement. It's a brave choice, coming off of the runaway success of GTA V knowing it might alienate players of that game. Luckily the game they made was so compelling it sold almost as many copies anyway.
The game is more committed to its characters than ever, with Arthur Morgan being one of the all time greats of player characters. Beneath a gruff towering mass of muscle and questionable morality is a complicated man with depth and unexpected insight, who is still written with enough room for however the player might choose to play him. It's genuinely astonishing how well they pulled this off, and how deeply they committed to their choices for the game's design around Arthur's character. In every aspect, the game encourages you to slow down and take it all in. Hunting and fishing are large parts of the games recreational systems, and both require thoughtful preparation and care to really make the most of. You can't really rush RDR 2, not if you want to get the best experience from the game and truly absorb what it's trying to impart.
Outside of the open world, Rockstar's heavy hands are much more noticeable. The more you try to poke at the edges of the narrative experience the more you see the ropes just out of view, cordoning off experimentation and freeform mission structure in favor a cinematic mostly linear narrative that has you shooting countless people throughout the runtime to make the TV show a bit more interactive. I don't mind this so much, I'm not really looking for freedom in the mission structure in these games, but a lot of people rub up against this. People see this expansive open world with so much to see and do, and expect it to translate into the campaign. This is reasonable to an extent, but its never been how Rockstar operates, at least in the modern era of their games, and its never really advertised as such. In the end, I think its a problem of mismatched expectations of what Rockstar wants these experiences to be, and what players idealize these experiences to be in their heads.
From the looks of it, GTA VI seems to be injecting more Red Dead DNA and for me, that is fantastic news. It's another brave choice, going deeper into the systemic sea of Red Dead instead of going back to GTA V's flashy accessible puddle. The line between cutscene and gameplay seems more blurred than ever, and while I'm on board for more of Rockstar's storytelling, I can see this being a big issue for a lot of fans. The game isn't in our hands yet, but it seems like you might be relinquishing control far more than prior entries during the main story, while having far more systemic substance in the open world in trade. I have already seen so much negative discourse from people who hyped themselves up far too much for what was always going to be another Rockstar game that pushes the envelope technically and in narrative. It was never going to be a truly life changing game, it was never going to redefine gaming forever. That's just what people wanted it to be after so much build up. Take the game for what it is, what Rockstar has intended it to be, and I think people will have far less disappointment around it. That's not to say people can't like Rockstar's output, or the studio itself, I just rub up against people who are angry about a game they made up in their own heads not materializing.
(Wow thats a lot of yapping, thanks for reading all that if you made it this far. Am I rambling incoherently? Am I full of shit? Please let me know. I love hearing measured takes on these games that have more thought than a 12 year old's comment history.)
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Comment on Wildfires expose — and detonate — buried bombs and mines from World War I and World War II in ~enviro
PancakeCats Link ParentIt never fails to amaze me how often humans toss their trash into the closest source for one of their most vital needs. Toxic waste from the local industry? Dump it in the river. Unused ordinance?...It never fails to amaze me how often humans toss their trash into the closest source for one of their most vital needs. Toxic waste from the local industry? Dump it in the river. Unused ordinance? Dump it in the river. Human waste? Dump it in the river. Doesnt matter that we bathe in said river, or that we drink from it. We just don't wanna deal with this inconvenience in the now, so in the closest water source it goes. Hopefully the bombs that don't explode from the wildfires get disposed of in a better way, ideally recycled for other uses away from killing.
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Comment on What game are you terrible at? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentYes! This monent for me was the first fight with the claw guys who swipe rapidly. It was the first time I felt the rhythm of the combat, which I soon started to feel everywhere, and the game...Yes! This monent for me was the first fight with the claw guys who swipe rapidly. It was the first time I felt the rhythm of the combat, which I soon started to feel everywhere, and the game clicked. In my case, I even got the satisfaction of it all clicking on two seperate occasions. I replayed it on my steam deck last year, after having originally played on mouse and keyboard around launch. I got to essentially relearn to play the game on controller, and it honestly felt like slowly getting back in the swing of an instrument. When you get the flow right, its really quite a beautiful dance.
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Comment on What game are you terrible at? in ~games
PancakeCats (edited )Link ParentI would not say they design the games deliberately to exclude at all actually. Sekiro is a bit more of an outlier because you do have flat skill checks more often, but there are almost always...I would not say they design the games deliberately to exclude at all actually. Sekiro is a bit more of an outlier because you do have flat skill checks more often, but there are almost always gameplay options available to you to soften the experience up. The reason they design these games the way they do, from the mouth of the designers themselves in interviews, is to foster that feeling of overcoming extreme opposition/difficulty and the resulting triumphant joy you can experience as a result. Adding a difficulty option would lessen the experience of the game as intended by the developers of the game.
This doesn't change the fact that the game might clash with limitations, and you can still feel however you like about it. I just dont agree that they are specifically designed to exclude. FromSoftware in particular has always done a good job of feeling like they actually want you to succeed, besides maybe Dark Souls 2 tipping the scales too far on the punishment scale. They are trying to foster that feeling of overcoming adversity, and they give you plenty of ways to get there. They might exclude as a byproduct, but I do not find it fair to say it is the intent of the developers.
I'm heading to work but I'll try to find the Miyazaki interview today.
Edit: took me a while, original host is down and I had to use the way back machine, but here is the interview -
Comment on ‘Barbie 2’ in crisis: sequel could be shelved amid pay battle and crumbling deal talks in ~movies
PancakeCats Link ParentI think Drewbahr is saying the studio resistance is the source of misogyny rather than Vord's comment. And while you might be able to read said comment as misogynistic, personally I'd say it comes...I think Drewbahr is saying the studio resistance is the source of misogyny rather than Vord's comment. And while you might be able to read said comment as misogynistic, personally I'd say it comes across more cynical of the movie industry and frequent artless sequels than anything. And while I do believe the creatives could make a great sequel, personally I have come around more to just letting things be without turning everything into a franchise to be milked until it collapses on itself. As unfortunate as it is, that is the route most sequel franchises go. I think John Wick is an excellent example of this. Not bad films, but the sequels cheapen the original's cultural weight and premise. So I personally hope Barbie stays as the sole Barbie film, and that creative energy gets spent making more new ideas a reality.
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Comment on Why does Opera GX rarely come up in browser discussions? in ~tech
PancakeCats Link ParentIf you're interested, a podcaster I follow made a gaming news aggregator, Overworld.vg, with one of the highlighted features being a calendar showing upcoming game releases, as well as upcoming...If you're interested, a podcaster I follow made a gaming news aggregator, Overworld.vg, with one of the highlighted features being a calendar showing upcoming game releases, as well as upcoming showcases. The site is minimally designed with no ads besides an unobtrusive single paid sponsorship spot on the side bar, so its a rather pleasant experience imo.
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Comment on Your cookware got worse on purpose: who owns Pyrex and All-Clad now in ~food
PancakeCats Link ParentRespectfully, what makes you so confident that these descriptions are LLM output? I should think the burden of proof is on the accuser, not someone sharing an article they found interesting and...Respectfully, what makes you so confident that these descriptions are LLM output? I should think the burden of proof is on the accuser, not someone sharing an article they found interesting and helpful (especially one they didnt write.) If they are as obvious as you claim, where are your receipts for said claim?
I just dont think its very helpful in conversation to just throw an accusation of undisclosed LLM usage at someone and not provide any reasoning as to why you feel that way.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats LinkI have been playing through Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. I played and loved the third entry in the series as a teenager back in the Xbox 360 days, and having had them sit in...I have been playing through Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. I played and loved the third entry in the series as a teenager back in the Xbox 360 days, and having had them sit in my library for years, I decided it was time to give them a proper shake. What I found was a third person shooter than definitely set gameplay standards for its genre for years to come, and has a tone and narrative so absurd I can't help but love it.
The gameplay of these still holds water, with its slowmo diving and movement being a focus of its identity. Not only does it look cool to dive past a door frame headshotting three dudes in the span of a second, the game rewards you for it by seemingly shrinking your hitbox while in mid air or decreasing the enemies' accuracy. The weapons are varied enough to build out a somewhat distinct set of tools for use in blasting. Surprisingly enough, its the tone and atmosphere of the game that actually keeps me hooked.
The levels all have this haunting empty and slightly liminal feel to them. A deserted New York in the midst of a blizzard, feeling more like a purgatory for the unluckiest man on the planet than a place anybody has ever actually lived. The only things in it were props to be used, a backdrop for the show in front of you. The characters are all noir caricatures, goons being classic dopes with amusing and moronic conversations, the toxic melodramatic detective with a new overly depressing with every other line of dialogue. The femme fatale who catches the eye of a man grieving from the loss of his wife and young child less than a day ago. The police chief who chains smokes and pops pills every time you have a conversation with him. The graphic novel presentation instead of cutscenes. All of it makes the game feel like a half sleeping fever dream, a personal hell for Max and an entertaining pastiche of the Noir genre for the player.
Now being about halfway through the second game, I can happily say it only leans further into the absurdity. It plays better than the first, looks better than the first, sounds better than the first. The writing is even more intense shlocky noir, and gives depth to the supporting cast. And the stageplay purgatory vibe still shines through, even in high definition (for 2003). Looking forward to replaying the 3rd again with the context of the full series.
Simultaneously, I have been dipping back into No Man's Sky after being lured in by the latest community expedition, which splits the players in three factions working toward the same galaxy wide goal. Each faction interacts with the system in unique ways, based on different playstyles of the game. You get sped up progression on a new character to give everyone an even playing field. It feels very Helldivers inspired, in good way because I thought the galactic goals were a key part of the magic of that game. It's been fun revisiting the game for the first time since launch, with so much changed and having been added. Like a pokemon battler for the procedurally generated alien species you find on the planets you explore, which sounds pretty neat if executed well. If I make it to that before burnout that is.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
PancakeCats Link ParentDeleting your cookies/cache in your mobile browser also works, if you dont mind not being signed in. I exclusively use reddit for searching for niche answers or technical support and therefore...Deleting your cookies/cache in your mobile browser also works, if you dont mind not being signed in. I exclusively use reddit for searching for niche answers or technical support and therefore feel no need to be signed in at all, so it works fine for me. Firefox mobile you can just click the shield on the address bar, wipe the cookies, refresh, and you are fine for a few days.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentIt's not, I think he may be conflating the sun exploding at the end of each time loop with the end of the universe.It's not, I think he may be conflating the sun exploding at the end of each time loop with the end of the universe.
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Comment on Shrek 5 | Official teaser trailer in ~movies
PancakeCats Link ParentFrom a cynical perspective, if it's bad it's a final nostaglia cashout and if it's good they can keep milking it for at least another movie. Waiting long enough for the original kids watching...From a cynical perspective, if it's bad it's a final nostaglia cashout and if it's good they can keep milking it for at least another movie. Waiting long enough for the original kids watching shrek to grow up and have kids who they will hopefully take to the new film and implant that love for the IP in the new generation. From an executive perspective i can kind of see it, from a creative perspective it seems a little sad to me. Im a big believer in letting properties die when they have run their course.
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Comment on What do you think is the best sandwich? in ~food
PancakeCats Link ParentAs a lifelong resident of the east coast, I cant say I have had something like that too often outside of some sandwich focused food trucks. The east coast is a large stretch of land with lots of...As a lifelong resident of the east coast, I cant say I have had something like that too often outside of some sandwich focused food trucks. The east coast is a large stretch of land with lots of diverse food cultures spread across it, so maybe I just dont live in the part of the east coast those shops are emulating.
I can definitely say that the style you're describing is delicious and I wish I had more access to that style of shop myself.
I interact with a lot of people in my work days, and during down time get to make a lot of small talk. Outside of my usual go-to's like "Any plans for the weekend?" or "What's the plan for the evening?" I'll sometimes spice it up with some less plain questions, usually about a topic of discussion already being had with coworkers. Some recent favorites include:
-Do you believe in Bigfoot? Do you believe in the Lochness Monster? ( I live in the southeast US, and a lot of people said yes to Bigfoot and no to Lochness. Non locals were more likely to say no to both. All anecdotal evidence ofc.)
-Would you rather see Pitbull live or Limp Bizkit live? (an astonishing amount of people said Limp Bizkit, I could hardly believe my ears.)
-Are burgers a sandwich? (Again, an astonishing amount of people said no, burgers are burgers and sandwiches are their own separate category.)
-If you could see any band live, whether currently touring or disbanded, what would it be and why?
I find questions like these are great at getting people to talk about themselves and open up to further conversations. Personally I view small talk as quick way to establish common ground so we can dig into the more interesting things, and never really understand why it's so despised.