Shevanel's recent activity
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel LinkShevanel's Bingo card Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 3/25 Has a skill tree ✔ Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD ✔ Chop Goblins ✔ Curse of D'Sparil (Heretic WAD) Is beatable without killing any enemies...Shevanel's Bingo card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 3/25 Has a skill tree From a series you have never played
✔ Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HDYou can complete it in only a few hours
✔ Chop GoblinsYou got it for free
✔ Curse of D'Sparil (Heretic WAD)Is beatable without killing any enemies Great reviews, but not your usual type Features a mystery Focuses on exploration It’s already installed From a genre you don’t normally play Has driving Has a non-human protagonist ★ Wildcard Released in the year you joined Tildes Considered a cult classic Popular game you never got around to playing Someone else has played it for their Backlog Burner Has no achievements Has a cozy vibe Uses at most three buttons Owned for more than 2 years Set in a dungeon Has a lives system Has a review score above 94 An updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game I'm glad I knocked a couple games out right at the top of the month, because it's definitely been slower going this week. I have two more games currently in the works which would net me a "Bingo," but I want to give one of them an honest effort, as it's a longer-form game and doesn't feel right to put it on the card yet.
That said, I'm still deciding on how much grace I want to give myself to call a spot "filled." I certainly don't plan to see a game through to completion if I'm absolutely hating the experience, though I also acknowledge that even if I'm enjoying my time with a game, I simply don't have the time to, say, explore the entirety of an entry in the Yakuza series within the month (which may or may not be my "skill tree" game in the top-left corner). I acknowledge these are my own hang-ups and not at all stipulated by the Bingo rules, but I feel like I'm going to hold myself to one of the below standards moving forward to determine if a game is "completed" and I'm justified in adding it to the card:
- The game is so long that I have absolutely no chance of finishing it within the month. In this case, I'll give it a good 5-10 hours of playtime to ensure that I've captured the spirit of the game
- I do not enjoy the game at all. I'll still force myself through 3-5 hours of these, primarily to ensure that I'm not missing some crucial element of the game that would change my opinion of it
- I feel like I've gotten a grasp on the gameplay. That is to say, it's an arcade-style game without an ending, or a repetitive enough gameplay loop that I understand what I have on my hands, and feel like I can speak to the experience.
I've really enjoyed seeing what everybody else has been burning through. Here's to another week!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentOh man, I would love to pick your brain on your favorite Soulsborne mods out of the ones you've tried. I'm very similarly disposed, probably ~1,200 hours across all of From's games. I've only ever...Oh man, I would love to pick your brain on your favorite Soulsborne mods out of the ones you've tried. I'm very similarly disposed, probably ~1,200 hours across all of From's games. I've only ever tried DS1 mods but enjoyed them immensely. I think I finished The Scorched Contract but it was years ago, and I got a kick out of the Dark Souls "Gun Game" mod but gave up around Nito.
I always love seeing the reused assets in gameplay footage of some of the mods I've checked out; it feels like a fun little Easter egg that you can only catch if you're familiar enough with boss movesets.
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentHappy that my post could help contribute to your card! I agree with you on the lack of a save feature - while I acknowledge that it was David S's "intended way to play," I don't think anything...Happy that my post could help contribute to your card! I agree with you on the lack of a save feature - while I acknowledge that it was David S's "intended way to play," I don't think anything would have been lost with the ability to at least save between levels. But outside of the achievements that force you to do a full playthrough, at least there is a level select so you could hop in with little effect to the overall game at that point. Excited to see where your card takes you moving forward!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentThat's good to know, as I've got Iron Lung in my backlog as well. I've heard excellent things about it, but it's not my usual type of game, which, as luck would have it, would make it perfect for...That's good to know, as I've got Iron Lung in my backlog as well. I've heard excellent things about it, but it's not my usual type of game, which, as luck would have it, would make it perfect for at least two of my bingo spots!
FWIW, I know you and I have discussed DOOM WADs and boomer shooters in general, so if you have any interest in knocking out a quick game in that vein, I can wholeheartedly recommend Chop Goblins! Not too tough either for what it's worth; playing on the normal difficulty was engaging but not obnoxious like some older purposefully-tough-as-nails WADs.
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentNice!! I picked this one up after trying the demo during what I think was a Steam Next Fest a couple years back. I was really hoping my card would have the "Music/rhythm-focused" spot specifically...Nice!! I picked this one up after trying the demo during what I think was a Steam Next Fest a couple years back. I was really hoping my card would have the "Music/rhythm-focused" spot specifically so I could have a reason to pick this up. I didn't get that on my card, but I did get the "Someone else has played it for their Backlog Burner" category. This is a very solid contender to take that spot, so thank you for that!
I only spent maybe 10-15 minutes with it in the demo, but one of the things I loved was that the music continued to get more intense and eventually add vocals once you hit a high combo. As soon as the vocals and full track kick in, it's all the more reason to keep the combo going, making things even more stressful (and fun) due to the tension involved. I was also a big System of a Down fan growing up, so Serj's presence on the soundtrack was a welcome addition!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentI couldn't speak to the original entries from a nostalgia vs. gameplay element either, but Stranger's Wrath, especially the HD remake on Steam, felt good. Little floaty, B+ from a platforming...I couldn't speak to the original entries from a nostalgia vs. gameplay element either, but Stranger's Wrath, especially the HD remake on Steam, felt good. Little floaty, B+ from a platforming stance, but fun and intuitive enough gameplay outside of that. Just not what I'm looking for ATM.
I'm so glad I'm not alone with the Buck Bumble theme song lol. Absolute banger, and my buddy and I will still sing it to each other just to get it stuck in each others' heads.
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentOddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD - From a series you have never played I'm well aware that, while this is technically an Oddworld game, it plays nothing like the first few entries to the classic...Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD - From a series you have never played
I'm well aware that, while this is technically an Oddworld game, it plays nothing like the first few entries to the classic series. That said, I picked up Stranger's Wrath in a bundle a few months back and figured I'd give it a try.
The Oddworld games always lived in the periphery for me. I grew up with several consoles, the original Playstation included, but the mid-90s was very much a time of picking out games that stood out on the rack at Blockbuster, not because there was any critical merit to the title. It's why I have probably over 100 hours in both Buck Bumble and Glover for the N64, but never picked up an Oddworld game. Those games had cool characters on the front - dudes with attitude. The front cover of Abe's Oddysee looked sad, and a little creepy. So while I've always been aware of the Oddworld series, I've never tried one until yesterday.
Stranger's Wrath was being sold in a "retro FPS" bundle, which, in retrospect, was a little misleading. Yes, there are first-person controls to aim your crossbow, so while it is literally a shooter that is sometimes in the first person, it doesn't feel at all like an FPS. Your crossbow ammo is varied and used to solve traps, activate devices, distract enemies, list goes on. The ammo is also made up entirely of little critters you have to capture in order to refill your ammo, which is a clever and cute approach to the system. There are some damage-dealing ammo types, but it's certainly not the developer's intent for you to play the game using that single ammo type for all encounters. Rather, the intent seems to be to seek out the ammo types you need, collect enough to approach encounters the way you want to approach, and handle combat in a relatively hands-off way, since you'll almost always be outgunned in the traditional sense.
At any rate, the world of Stranger's Wrath is a fun mix of third-party action-adventure / platforming with some light combat and exploration. I put several hours into it over the last day, completed a few bounties and enjoyed the story I encountered, and I think I'll call it good there for now. It seems like the sort of game that would have grabbed me and held on tight 20 years ago, but at this point in my life I don't know that I have the time or patience to work my way through 10+ more bounties to call the game "completed."
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentThank you for the continued development of the card & surrounding process; it looks great and feels good to use! It's funny, I promised myself that I wouldn't go off the deep end of boomer...Thank you for the continued development of the card & surrounding process; it looks great and feels good to use!
It's funny, I promised myself that I wouldn't go off the deep end of boomer shooters for bingo. I've made it a bit of a personal endeavor to work through all of the retro FPS "classics" from the 90s (/generally pre-Half Life release) that I was a little too young to enjoy at the time, or at least too young to play from start to finish--I have fond memories of getting stuck in DOOM 64 and having to return it to Blockbuster before I could beat it lol. But with that in mind, I know I'll eventually work through all the boomer shooters old and new out there at my own pace, so I want to focus on games outside of that style for the most part. When I got the "complete in a few hours" card, though, I couldn't resist, since I remember reading David S's description on the game and it seemed like such a great fit. I also may or may not have gone back and played through it again this afternoon already. Oops.
I'm with you, though - I am a huge fan of the revival as well. Continuing to hold out for the 1.0 release of Ultrakill, but man has it been tough; it looks like such a blast. At least New Blood still has plenty of other excellent games / DLC on the horizon and I know that David S's next game is supposed to release this year as well. Excited to check that one out too!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel (edited )Link ParentChop Goblins - You can complete it in only a few hours I figured I'd kick things off with something short and sweet. Or maybe short and funky? As far as bite-sized boomer shooters go, Chop Goblins...Chop Goblins - You can complete it in only a few hours
I figured I'd kick things off with something short and sweet. Or maybe short and funky? As far as bite-sized boomer shooters go, Chop Goblins does a have a certain sweet charm to it, for whatever that's worth. It's a retro-aesthetic FPS from David Szymanski, creator of DUSK (and other notable games of late). I don't have a ton to say about this game, other than it took me ~45 minute to plow through a playthrough of it, and that was with a little bit of secret hunting. There are no saves or checkpoints, so this approach is very much intended by David, per the blurb in the store page description -
Chop Goblins is a "microshooter": An FPS designed to be completed in a single sitting, without sacrificing depth, variety, or creativity in its gameplay and level design. It's a game you can play for less than an hour, or replay for many hours. Need something to distract you from work, boredom, or grinding in other games? Take a Chop Goblins Break, with a fun and satisfying FPS campaign that only takes one sitting to fully experience.
I'd echo what David wrote above - it's a fun little romp that feels great and doesn't overstay it's welcome. I'm looking forward to some additional playthroughs of this in the weeks to come just for funzies, but I've got a backlog to burn through!
Edit: I kept installing and booting up other backlog games, and as a palate-cleanser between them, I just keep doing more playthroughs of Chop Goblins haha. After 5 hours of total playtime, I got all the achievements, but am looking forward to more playthroughs. It is a really solid experience - very tight controls (to be expected from a David Szymanski game), fun weapons and gameplay loop, the inclusion of mirror mode and remixed levels with lots of little secrets peppered throughout. I played DUSK ~5 years ago, and it (along with DOOM '16) is one of the main reasons that I fell hard into the boomer shooter genre. Between DUSK and Chop Goblins, it's clear that David knows how to capture the perfectly distilled essence of the genre and put his own spin on it. Highly recommend this one.
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Shevanel (edited )Link@kfwyre and @Wes, you're both the best for putting this together again! I ran across one of these threads about halfway through last November's event and didn't have the gumption to try to catch...@kfwyre and @Wes, you're both the best for putting this together again! I ran across one of these threads about halfway through last November's event and didn't have the gumption to try to catch up at the time. I caught this right at the top this time around and am so excited to have a reason to burn through some of this!
My bingo card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 2/25 Has a skill tree From a series you have never played
✔ Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HDYou can complete it in only a few hours
✔ Chop GoblinsYou got it for free Is beatable without killing any enemies Great reviews, but not your usual type Features a mystery Focuses on exploration It’s already installed From a genre you don’t normally play Has driving Has a non-human protagonist ★ Wildcard Released in the year you joined Tildes Considered a cult classic Popular game you never got around to playing Someone else has played it for their Backlog Burner Has no achievements Has a cozy vibe Uses at most three buttons Owned for more than 2 years Set in a dungeon Has a lives system Has a review score above 94 An updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game I think this will be a really fun card. There are a few potential tricky spots on there. I'll have to do some digging to find separate entries for "Great reviews, but not your usual type" as well as "From a genre you don't normally play," for example. Of course, those two are lined up horizontally, too! But I'm sure I can manage if I dig around a bit.
It's the evening of 4/30 here in the US, but I'm already formulating a few ideas and will start chipping away tomorrow. Excited to check back in on others' progress, too!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentFromSoftware’s “Soulsborne” games are my very favorite games, but I totally get what you mean by the lack of guidance. On one hand, I’d agree with @0xSim that this is the most accessible of their...FromSoftware’s “Soulsborne” games are my very favorite games, but I totally get what you mean by the lack of guidance. On one hand, I’d agree with @0xSim that this is the most accessible of their games, but on another, I think it sometimes feels less accessible because it’s so huge. My first game in this genre was the original Dark Souls. While it did feel more obtuse, it was a tight enough scope (especially at the beginning of the game) that one could kind of just soldier on. In ER, though, the freedom and huge expanse of items, locations, and brand new mechanics like weapon arts, ash summons, and crafting is a lot to take in. For veterans of the “series,” it felt exciting, but I can completely see how it would be overwhelming.
I think some things that feel less obvious were better explained in previous games, so while they feel quite obtuse here, they were analogous enough to other older mechanics that veterans of the series didn’t mind as much. Per your example, I was confused about golden seeds at first, but once I read their extended description, I pretty quickly realized they were the the new way to upgrade the static “healing drink” present in every game of FromSoft’s, i.e. the estus flask from the Dark Souls games, or the healing gourd from Sekiro.
I’m not using that as an excuse, because obviously “go play all the other games first” is not realistic, and it basically proves your point that the game in a vacuum is still obtuse.
From an advice standpoint, I would highly recommend you read the extended description of virtually everything you come across by highlighting it in your inventory and pressing the x button / the square button (not sure what the KB binding is, sorry). They will go a long way in helping you understand a lot of the systems in the game. I’d even recommend going back and doing that for all the stuff you’ve already picked up.
I’ll also mention that the story and lore is absolutely obtuse and cryptic on purpose - that’s Miyazaki’s intended way to deliver the story, so you’re not missing anything there for now!
This might have been the video you already found, but I recommend watching VaatiVidya’s beginner’s guide for some of the most comprehensive spoiler-free beginner’s advice to get into the game. Yes, it’s annoying that you have to do this, I’m not defending the game on this one, but I promise it’s worth it. IMO, it’s one of the best gaming experiences in the past decade. Though again, if you ask me, it’s worth going back and playing the rest of FromSoft’s Soulsborne games, too. Happy to answer any other questions you have and keep it spoiler-free while I’m at it!
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Comment on Megathread: April Fools’ Day 2024 on the internet in ~talk
Shevanel LinkInternet Shaquille is one of my favorite “Food YouTubers” due to his unpretentious and concise videos which manage to be pragmatic while still being very funny and entertaining. For the last few...Internet Shaquille is one of my favorite “Food YouTubers” due to his unpretentious and concise videos which manage to be pragmatic while still being very funny and entertaining. For the last few years, he’s put out April Fool’s videos which lean heavily into the more mainstream / clickbait approach to cooking channels across TikTok, Instagram, and other short-form cooking videos (including YT). Plenty of YouTube personalities put out April Fool’s videos, but his are consistently some of the highest effort I’ve seen. This year’s video, while still very funny, was actually a little less involved compared to the past few years, with 2023’s video being what I might consider the highest-effort shitpost I’ve ever seen.
I actually kind of feel bad sharing his April Fool’s videos and none of his normal stuff, lol. They are more effective when you’re more familiar with his legitimately good (normal) approach to YT content creation.
Edit: Direct video links are mobile links, sorry. But let that be a further reason to absolutely dig into his channel fully when you’re viewing via your preferred method!
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
Shevanel LinkLast Chance to Reason (progressive metal) recently dropped two new singles after a ~13-year hiatus. I had no idea who they were, but they popped up on my Spotify Discovery playlist and my...Last Chance to Reason (progressive metal) recently dropped two new singles after a ~13-year hiatus. I had no idea who they were, but they popped up on my Spotify Discovery playlist and my immediate thought was, “Wow, this vocalist sounds a lot like the guy from The Contortionist.” Then come to find out that it is the same guy (Michael Lessard), and LCTR basically went on an indefinite hiatus while Michael focused on The Contortionist. Both new singles are great, and I’ve really enjoyed hearing their evolution over their three very different sounding albums. Their first release is radically different than their newer stuff, and sounds like it was extremely heavily influenced by early Between the Buried and Me, which is a big plus to me as you might guess.
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of February 11 in ~games
Shevanel LinkFanatical is currently hosting a tiered Build Your Own Shooter bundle. 3 games for $5, 5 games for $7, or 8 games for $10. If you're into shooters, it's one of the best bundles I've seen in recent...Fanatical is currently hosting a tiered Build Your Own Shooter bundle. 3 games for $5, 5 games for $7, or 8 games for $10. If you're into shooters, it's one of the best bundles I've seen in recent memory.
At a glance, you could pick up DUSK, Amid Evil, and Quake (the remastered version with four expansion packs included) for $5 total. That's an absolutely bonkers amount of well-polished content. DUSK and Amid Evil are some of the cornerstones of the modern boomer shooter revival. Quake + all its expansions added up to ~45 hours of stellar gameplay alone. Not to mention, Quake's final expansion is a brand new one built for this re-release, and it shows - the folks at MachineGames have learned plenty more about the tools of the trade in the decades since Quake's initial release, and it shows in the gameplay of these new levels. Super fun trip.
Plus, there are plenty of other very highly-rated hitters on the list. I've played and can vouch for the following games, in addition to my top three which I already mentioned:
- Ziggurat (wizard-flavored FPS roguelike)
- DOOM 64 (you owe it to yourself to play this if you appreciate the PC entries to the series; it's a solid port and the gameplay holds up really well)
- Wolfenstein 3-D (one of the OGs of FPSes, certainly shows its age but it's fun if you nerd out over the history of this stuff like I do)
For what it's worth, there are several others in the bundle that are very well-reviewed on several aggregate sites, but I haven't played them yet, so I won't speak to them. Several are already in my backlog, though!
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Comment on Tildes Gaming Club, January 2024: Tinkering in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentI’m choosing not to read the second part of your comment because I haven’t played MyHouse.WAD yet, but I’m glad I helped inspire the journey! And nice thinking on updating Steam’s launch...I’m choosing not to read the second part of your comment because I haven’t played MyHouse.WAD yet, but I’m glad I helped inspire the journey! And nice thinking on updating Steam’s launch parameters for DOOM II. I have a separate GZDOOM folder in which I have a bunch of .bat files written to launch separate WADs at my convenience, but I do love the thought of rewiring a longer-form game through the library to reflect my playtime. I’ll have to give it a shot!
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Comment on What do you guys think of these AI-generated stand up comedy specials? in ~tech
Shevanel Link ParentYou're pretty strictly talking about AI creating visual art, which is a topic to which I can't speak too much in general. But I wanted to echo a thought that I shared in my response to JCPhoenix's...You're pretty strictly talking about AI creating visual art, which is a topic to which I can't speak too much in general. But I wanted to echo a thought that I shared in my response to JCPhoenix's comment, which is that, no matter how many filters and tunings you apply to a model, it still ends up being reductive. It cannot create something truly novel, because it doesn't have a mind. I suppose it's the distinction between me looking at a picture and saying, "That looks pretty" versus me looking at a picture and actually feeling something profound. That is what makes something art, and it's a human element that has not been replicated in anything I've seen.
I have seen plenty of visual AI-created art that looked pretty enough. I don't think any of it can be considered "good art." I have also heard music generated with AI assistance that is perfectly passable, i.e. I would have assumed it was an up-and-coming band jamming on some ideas. It's the sort of thing I would expect to hear as the background music of a commercial. Never once have I heard something and gone, "wow, that's good," and I suspect that I never will.
However, AI already can, and will continue to assist in the creation of art in these mediums, and I do think there's a world in which artists adopt these learnings and make something even better than they were able to in the past, much like forward-thinking visual artists were able to learn and utilize Adobe's visual suite of products, or as JCPhoenix pointed out, the advent of photography itself. I don't hate any of it, but I just think it's in a weird place and should not be used as a full-stop stand-in for legitimate practicing of the arts.
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Comment on What do you guys think of these AI-generated stand up comedy specials? in ~tech
Shevanel (edited )Link ParentThis is a valid point at a baseline level, and yes, mediocrity is (and will remain) the majority. My concern is not that mediocre content exists, but it's that the sheer scale of it will be...But doesn't this presume that the world is filled to bursting with excellent quality content? Mediocrity is the baseline from which everything else is measured; it's literally the average.
This is a valid point at a baseline level, and yes, mediocrity is (and will remain) the majority. My concern is not that mediocre content exists, but it's that the sheer scale of it will be overwhelming. Arbitrary numbers, but if we say that the quality of art creations before the advent of AI tooling was 15% bad, 70% average, 15% good, my fear is that as more and more of this is churned out, things will look more like 1% bad, 98% average, and 1% good. It is simply that much easier to churn out a ton of content using AI, and that content is always just okay. The amount of legitimate art being created year to year will remain largely the same (though I hope it does increase as people learn to leverage technology like this intelligently), but the people who learn to adapt one-click art creation using AI will continue to skyrocket.
I bet people said the same thing when YouTube or Vine or any video-based social media started in the late 2000s... Did that ever happen? Does it ever happen? If the answer is No, then why would it be different now?
Yes, it absolutely happened, and continues to happen. It's just somewhat contained because it only exists within certain mediums, such as a given social media app. And that's ignoring the fact that social media, video-based or otherwise, is absolutely problematic per a variety of studies done on the matter. However, I want to take this a step further and draw a distinction between AI vs. mediums like YouTube. YT is a great example of a medium that can cater to the lowest common denominator, and often does, but the medium itself is not inherently an issue. One need only look at the hundreds of incredible content creators on YouTube to see that it is perfectly possible to create completely legitimate art through the medium, from multiple-hour-long video essays, to legitimate documentary series, to animated featurettes that can absolutely hold their own against any mainstream cartoon and/or anime.
However, this same thing does not apply to AI. It has always been possible to create incredible art via YouTube, from the very beginning. Not a lot of people were doing it, but it was possible. It is also possible to use AI to assist artists creating legitimately good art at this point. But the distinction must be made that it is not possible to create legitimately good art at this point with AI tooling alone. This makes it different than a medium such as YT. I won't speak too much to TikTok (or other shorter-form content) because I haven't spent enough time with it, though much like my first point in my original post, I acknowledge that these things are here to stay, and noise will continue to accumulate there whether I yell at clouds or not. But again, at least those items tend to stick to the one medium / app, and not start to creep into the "real world" and become commonplace. Art as a concept is consumed everywhere, all the time. TikTok, while extremely popular, still needs to be actively sought out to be experienced.
The same was probably said with the invention of the camera. Or the invention of digital tools like Photoshop and Illustrator.
I am not a visual artist, so I won't speak to this too much, but it is an interesting point to consider. My initial thought is that I'm sure there were folks vocally against the advent of these technologies; however, what naturally occurred is that art forms of their own arose out of these technologies because of their natural depth and incredibly high skill ceilings. Again, the distinction between all of these is that there is a learning curve, but someone who is a legitimately good artist who can use these toolings to further their art will be able to make something even better, but the foundational understanding is still that you need to be a good artist to utilize these well. There is no barrier of entry for AI. If you have a phone and can download an app, you can make AI art. As it exists now, it is a push-button technology. I suppose you can demonstrate a skill ceiling by writing better description prompts for the AI's input, but I would still argue that the skill ceiling for it is incredibly low, much lower than what it would take to become even moderately good at any of the skills you listed (e.g. cameras, Adobe PS and Illustrator).
Or the invention of Jazz or Rock and Roll.
I can speak a little more to this one as a musician, but I'll try to keep it relatively short as this post is already long in the tooth. Reactions to new genres of legitimate music are a matter of taste, and the breaking of cultural norms. This is a lot closer to the "old man yelling at clouds" vibe that I'm trying really hard to avoid here. Jazz and Rock & Roll are both legitimate forms of music, but the generations who didn't grow up with them fought against it because it was so radically different than the music with which they grew up. AI art, by its very nature, is not different. It's reductive. It takes everything we already have, and tries to create something new out of it, and the result is just a reductive, mediocre, played-out version of what already exists. If there is some huge leap forward in AI technology and it somehow invents a legitimately new genre of music, awesome, let's pick this conversation back up again at that time. We're nowhere close to that right now. Perhaps a better analogy to be made when it comes to music would be "DJs" or "producers" writing music which are terribly automated dance mixes of pre-existing songs, and "performing" them at the touch of a button in live scenarios. And, if we draw this example back to your original question, yeah, this kind of content has added a bunch of terrible noise to the world of music, and it has had terrible ramifications. There's so much garbage on Spotify that Spotify is toying with the idea of changing their royalties structure to only pay out to larger record labels. That means that legitimate artists who are trying to get their foot in the door will make virtually no money in doing so, and since they're not making Spotify any money, there is no incentive for the algorithm to boost them up, meaning that we lose even more legitimate art to the buildup of mediocre noise.
Idk. I'm interested to see where AI goes.
I want to end by saying that I am truly interested as well, and I really don't want to come across as some kind of nihilistic, overly cynical boomer here. I do think that AI has a place in art and media; I just don't think that place has been found yet, and we need to be extremely mindful of how we choose to consume art moving forward.
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Comment on What do you guys think of these AI-generated stand up comedy specials? in ~tech
Shevanel LinkThe more I dig into AI-generated art, whether visual or aural, the more I find myself in the "against" camp. But I'd like to offer a more gray perspective of this stance, if folks would indulge...The more I dig into AI-generated art, whether visual or aural, the more I find myself in the "against" camp. But I'd like to offer a more gray perspective of this stance, if folks would indulge me. I promise this isn't a "tech bad" rant.
First, some context and a disclaimer: I'm a software engineer. Learning models and generative AI have already made my life easier, sometimes without me even knowing it (AI-fueled search engines, GH Copilot at work, and so forth). I am not anti-AI. I repeat: I am not anti-AI. In fact, I am pro-AI in many, if not most, contexts. Furthermore, I believe that to be fundamentally against the concept of it at this point is not a far cry from being a technophobe. What we've been colloquially referring to as AI is here, it's not leaving, and we need to learn adapt to it and grow with it.
Now that I've made my stance on AI abundantly clear, I'd like to elaborate on why I really don't like how it's popping up in these sorts of contexts, and it's not because I think it's horrible. Rather, it really rubs me the wrong way because it's... just mediocre. Nearly every type of art produced by AI is just mediocre. Don't get me wrong - it is very cool to see what can be done with it at this point, and from a technical standpoint, it is fascinating in its own way. But "cool" and "fascinating" are descriptors of how the process of this art's creation occurs to me, not my feelings about the product itself. Because the product itself has been, and continues to be... so... mediocre.
Why is that such a big deal? My concern is that, over time, access to AI and generative tools that are creating this kind of art will only increase in popularity, and become far more widespread. The engineer in me loves that. Let's get the tech out there, and let's see what folks can do with it. But @lou mentioned a great point in his comment about stand-up, and I'd extend it to art in general--the gap between where AI is now and where humanity sits now from the perspective of artistic creativity is enormous. As far as I can tell, it's impossibly huge. So what does it mean as this tech becomes more accessible and its use becomes more widespread? It means the world is flooded with mediocre content that is churned out at the push of a button. And that is way worse than straight-up bad content being pushed out, in my opinion, because at some point, the deafening volume of mediocre content that will pile up will inevitably outweigh the volume of humans creating legitimately good art, and people will start accepting mediocre as the new good.
I hope I'm being far too cynical and paranoid here, but there is a part of me that truly fears that younger generations are going to be so thoroughly inundated with mediocre AI-generated art that they'll accept it as the baseline of creativity, and that's the real reason I'm against this. I keep a Facebook account because I use it to stay in touch with family, but scrolling there is nigh unbearable at this point because every single sponsored post or promoted page is some horrible oily-looking AI airbrushing job over a celebrity photo. And here's where I actually hope that the cynic in me is right, and that the majority of the "likes" on those photos are also just AI pushing the content up in the algorithm, but again, what if it isn't, and folks really think that's what quality art looks like?
I want to be clear that I don't fear that AI is "taking artists' jobs" or anything so outlandish as that. Rather, I fear that folks will eventually see this level of quality as acceptable, even good. The top comment in here is talking about how great art only breaks through the pack with luck, and that in the meanwhile, maybe generative content will "delight millions" along the way. I fear that the issue with that line of thinking is the idea that the only thing that makes art worth considering is if we remember it hundreds of years later, and that's a terrible way to consider the value of art. And sure, I agree that there were thousands upon thousands of great artists were all still producing great works of art that nobody remembers. But when those people were around and alive and creating art? People enjoyed them in the moment, and could appreciate them, and they were seen and heard, because there wasn't a literal technological wave of mediocrity holding their heads underwater.
Let's tie this back to stand-up for the sake of focus. George Carlin is truly one of the greatest comedic voices of the last several generations. If any comedian has a chance to be remembered 500 years from now, it will be him. However, in this moment, there are dozens of currently-living stand-up comedians I would rather listen to than a formulaic re-hashing of a dead George Carlin. And none of these modern guys will be remembered in 500 years. Hell, most of them won't make it past 10 years in our collective memories. But they're legitimately good, and the gap between them and the mediocrity we've seen out of AI art so far is vast.
Do I think AI and and art should be completely separated? Absolutely not! I just wish we would stop propping stuff like this out there and saying, "Look, I made an art" and then acting like we love the emperor's new clothes. It's not that good, and that's okay. I don't think that's where the intersection of AI and art should live. My hope is that we see true artists adopt and use AI much in the way that forward-thinking engineers are using it. Let's use AI to help re-word a tricky sentence in a novel we're writing, or convey a thought differently. Let's use AI to riff on a musical idea fed into it so a composer can hear a new line and go "Ooh, hadn't thought about going in that direction." Let's stop playing script kiddie with our new AI and drown out the folks putting in the real work, so we can still hear and see and experience that real work years from now.
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Comment on Tildes Gaming Club, January 2024: Tinkering in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentTotally valid concern. Maybe meeting in the middle - giving just one or two off-the-wall examples (if you can think of one) that would help folks think outside the box? That way, you’re building...Totally valid concern. Maybe meeting in the middle - giving just one or two off-the-wall examples (if you can think of one) that would help folks think outside the box? That way, you’re building the scaffolding while still allowing plenty of natural divergence. It’s not nothing, but not a huge list either.
Curse of D'Sparil - You got it for free
It's funny; I have hundreds of games in my Steam backlog alone, and I don't think I'm savvy enough to have picked up any of them for free. I'm trying to keep most of these backlog entries in the spirit of the card; i.e. I was really hoping to fill this with a game that I actually got for free, but I suppose I'll have to settle for a "mod," or in this case, a level replacement WAD. I've posted about DOOM WADs in the past, so I won't get too deep here, but I'm a big fan of the modding/level-building community that has risen out of one of the grandfathers of FPS gaming (DOOM II). So I get even more excited when an acclaimed WAD hits my radar and it's for a game built on the id2 engine other than DOOM II.
Curse of D'Sparil is a 9-level WAD for Heretic. Make no mistake, Heretic is basically medieval fantasy DOOM, but it has plenty of its own little twists that make it a unique experience, such as the inclusion of consumable items, something that you'd more readily find in Build Engine games from the mid-late 90s, a la Duke Nukem 3D. This WAD is widely considered one of the most well-known and successful Heretic WADs out there, and for good reason - it's very excellently made. It's clear that the modders knew and loved Heretic well. For folks who have played Heretic and want more of the same, I'd recommend it!
With that out of the way, I'll add a caveat that I only played half of the 8 primary levels available, and am gonna call it good there. Most WADs in my experience go one of two ways, which I'll call the Plutonia Path or the TNT Path. Plutonia and TNT: Evilution were two of the first "MegaWADs" on the scene, and they became so successful and so well-known that they were eventually pulled into the official DOOM fold and were released as new level packs within Final DOOM. Both packs are mechanically well-crafted, complete game experiences. However, Plutonia operates off of a "less-is-more" approach, offering tight, extremely punishing levels that require mastery of the gameplay to overcome, whereas TNT very much takes a "more-is-more" approach, with gigantic levels that have hundreds of enemies and often lots of backtracking, where exploration and patience is often rewarded over twitch reflexes. I'm trying to present these in a neutral way, but I'm personally a much bigger fan of the Plutonia Path, and I'm afraid to say that Curse of D'Sparil definitely follows the TNT Path instead. After finishing the fourth level, which had 478(!) enemies in it, I decided I had seen enough. For reference, I believe the highest enemy count in any level from DOOM II is the first secret level on the highest difficulty, which has 149 enemies.
If you like the TNT approach, you'll really like Curse of D'Sparil. It's a well-made game and a worthy love letter to Heretic. It's just not my favorite approach to the genre.