Shevanel's recent activity
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Comment on Elden Ring Nightreign | Reveal gameplay trailer in ~games
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Comment on Elden Ring Nightreign | Reveal gameplay trailer in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentDon’t get me wrong; I still have high hopes for the game, and I agree that it is far more than an asset-flip. But IMO it’s still hard for me to ignore the appearance of a major boss that was 100%...Don’t get me wrong; I still have high hopes for the game, and I agree that it is far more than an asset-flip. But IMO it’s still hard for me to ignore the appearance of a major boss that was 100% lifted from another entry in a separate series.
TBH I probably wouldn’t have batted an eye over this if it hadn’t come on the heels of the announcement of FromSoftware’s acquisition. I suppose I’m just incredibly paranoid. FS is my very favorite studio, in no small part because they have always seemed to be interested first and foremost in creating the game they want to create, not following the latest fads.
In short, I’m still excited; it just spooks me when this game is one of the very first entries in their oeuvre that seems to buck that trend, right after an announcement that suggests that they are under new management who may (or may not) be interested in squeezing the cash cow to the best of their abilities. And in this world of tired re-hashes and endless sequels in lieu of trying anything original, what would be the easiest way to make a quick buck if you owned a studio like FromSoftware? Easy - put together a game that combines a boss rush, elements of games like Fortnite, and hardcore nostalgia (from multiple successful series, let alone this one).
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Comment on Elden Ring Nightreign | Reveal gameplay trailer in ~games
Shevanel LinkI gotta say, I'm... a little thrown off by this? Does anybody else feel weird about this? I never thought I'd be one to be wary of a FromSoftware release, but this almost feels weirdly close to an...I gotta say, I'm... a little thrown off by this? Does anybody else feel weird about this? I never thought I'd be one to be wary of a FromSoftware release, but this almost feels weirdly close to an asset-flip mod. I'm sure it will still be good and fun to play, but I can't help but think about the timing with FromSoftware's recent acquisition, and the fact that this seems like the sort of thing people will gobble up simply because "Elden Ring" is attached to it. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid.
Earlier FromSoftware game spoiler (and very surprising spoiler for this game too, I guess)
But like, seriously. WTF is the Nameless King doing here? Excuse me? Is this like a kid playing in his bathtub with different toys from his favorite series?
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Elden Ring Nightreign | Reveal gameplay trailer
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Comment on Holiday season playlist in ~music
Shevanel Link ParentI am elated that you posted this album. I adored Low in the early 2000s, caught them supporting Wilco right after Drums and Guns released, but had no idea they released a Christmas album. This is...I am elated that you posted this album. I adored Low in the early 2000s, caught them supporting Wilco right after Drums and Guns released, but had no idea they released a Christmas album. This is going into the rotation immediately. Thank you for sharing!
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
Shevanel LinkMine’s actually a first for me here on Tildes, because I finally joined a site early enough to get my pick of the litter. It’s a reference to a song from one of my favorite bands, Between the...Mine’s actually a first for me here on Tildes, because I finally joined a site early enough to get my pick of the litter. It’s a reference to a song from one of my favorite bands, Between the Buried and Me’s Shevanel Cut a Flip. It’s always been taken every time I join a site, so it was a pleasant surprise to get to use it here!
I shared a live recording of it instead of the original because first, they sound much better performing it in 2008 than they did as a bunch of 19-year-olds in 1999, and second, I was at that Nashville show where they recorded those live videos! One of my favorite live concert experiences.
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Comment on Morrowind doesn't have any rivers in ~games
Shevanel LinkI was only just made hip to this channel a couple weeks back but I am really enjoying it. Austin’s videos are perfectly banal in the best kinds of ways. He has a whole series of determining the...I was only just made hip to this channel a couple weeks back but I am really enjoying it. Austin’s videos are perfectly banal in the best kinds of ways. He has a whole series of determining the employment rate of various towns and cities, all of which are great. His delivery and tone has really developed in the past year and it’s a lot of fun while remaining totally “harmless” if that makes sense.
The videos very much have the energy of a sleepover at a friend’s house where you’ve been playing the same game for 6 hours and are just coming up with silly stuff to try to figure out while trying not to fall asleep.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentNot sure if it’s the same one, but there are two apps on iOS that may fill a similar niche for anyone looking. One paid, one $3.99. The free one just looks to be a list of characters with...Not sure if it’s the same one, but there are two apps on iOS that may fill a similar niche for anyone looking. One paid, one $3.99. The free one just looks to be a list of characters with spoiler-free descriptions of them sorted by book. Better than nothing, for sure. Thanks for the post; I wouldn’t haven’t thought to look otherwise!
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentYou are not alone - I just started The Eye of the World about two weeks ago! We just welcomed our first kid at the end of last month, so I’ve felt separated from real life for about a month now....You are not alone - I just started The Eye of the World about two weeks ago! We just welcomed our first kid at the end of last month, so I’ve felt separated from real life for about a month now. The chapters of the first book are just short enough that it’s been really easy to pick up between feedings, diapers, naps, etc. and I’ve really been enjoying it as well.
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Comment on Recommend some new(ish) metal bands in ~music
Shevanel Link ParentThanks for calling out Piah Mater @0x29A, I was gonna call out the same. @winther if you’re looking for Opeth adjacent but not quite the same, you might enjoy Luna’s Call.Thanks for calling out Piah Mater @0x29A, I was gonna call out the same. @winther if you’re looking for Opeth adjacent but not quite the same, you might enjoy Luna’s Call.
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Comment on Recommend some new(ish) metal bands in ~music
Shevanel LinkNobody else has mentioned them yet, but if you’re broadly open to a variety of subgenres and don’t tend towards metalcore, then I’d suggest bands that fall under the “thall” umbrella because there...Nobody else has mentioned them yet, but if you’re broadly open to a variety of subgenres and don’t tend towards metalcore, then I’d suggest bands that fall under the “thall” umbrella because there are very few bands that sound like them at this point in time. The flagship of the genre is Vildhjarta, though their drummer’s side project Humanity’s Last Breath is more of the same (in a very good way).
Mirar is another great relatively new band in the space, though they are even more off the wall. Neoclassical and electronic influences, gets downright grating to listen to at times (but I enjoy them all the same).
The closest I can get to pinning down the subgenre is to call it progressive deathcore, but that somehow sounds both reductive and over the top at the same time! At any rate, it’s a total trip, and I think you might appreciate their novel sound as someone who’s spent decades with the genre.
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Comment on Why AI isn't going to make art in ~arts
Shevanel Link ParentI basically read the article and inserted the word “good” before every usage of the word “art.” By definition, yes, of course AI is making art already. But it is, by its very nature, reductive and...I basically read the article and inserted the word “good” before every usage of the word “art.” By definition, yes, of course AI is making art already. But it is, by its very nature, reductive and bland, and therefore lacks legitimacy in my opinion (and it’s just not that good). In this same vein, I can record myself banging on a pan and screaming at the top of my lungs, and say it’s a piece of live performance art, but that doesn’t mean that anybody needs to validate its legitimacy or consider it good.
When I put this into a tech lens, the analogy I like to use is like when a software engineer is talking to somebody who just learned how to copy and paste a bash script into their CLI and the person says, “wow, this is all you do all day? This is easy.” AI “artists” are like script kiddies backing into art and trying to stake their claim because, “hey, this is art, too.”
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Comment on Why AI isn't going to make art in ~arts
Shevanel Link ParentI agree with what you’re saying, but I also don’t disagree with the statement being made in the article. I think it comes down to what you yourself already pointed out - I think that AI will, in...I agree with what you’re saying, but I also don’t disagree with the statement being made in the article. I think it comes down to what you yourself already pointed out - I think that AI will, in time, certainly assist with the creation of art. But I’m of the belief that it will not, can not, make good bespoke art. I also think the examples given in the response you linked are all pretty lukewarm examples that prove the point we likely both agree on.
Sampling is a valid part of making music, but unless you’re a freak of nature like Girl Talk, one can’t really consider sampling to be art in and of itself.
“Synthesizers” is so immensely broad, it’s like saying “digital art.” Which, again, I’d maintain that AI generative art is an inch deep and infinitely wide at this point, so sure, you can supplement your art with it, but to claim that its utility comes anywhere close to the leaps and bounds music took forward upon the invention of synthesizers is frankly silly.
Rap? That’s an entire genre of music. Apples to oranges, in my opinion. It also requires lots and lots of talent or effort (often both) to write and perform rap well, and there’s not currently any sort of AI toolset analogous to something as all-encompassing as an entire genre of music.
The list goes on, but my point is that folks try to make this black-and-white argument that if you push back against AI at all, you’re just as bad as the repressed townsfolk in Dirty Dancing. Whereas I’m saying there’s a lot of gray area here, and while I think AI tooling could bring us some really cool advancements in how we approach art in the future, to try to put it in the same category as anything else being mentioned in the “cultural disrupters” category that Seb is mentioning is not an accurate representation of either side of that spectrum.
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Comment on What are your favorite Dreamcast games? Any odd or unique ones worth playing? in ~games
Shevanel Link ParentI know I’m way late with this, but I wanted to let you know that I clicked on this thread with every intention to extol the virtues of Toy Commander if no one else had gotten to it yet. I messed...I know I’m way late with this, but I wanted to let you know that I clicked on this thread with every intention to extol the virtues of Toy Commander if no one else had gotten to it yet. I messed around with it on my Steam Deck and it plays great!
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentI can appreciate that perspective! I really like your term "unwilling agnostic," and in some ways, I'd call myself an unwilling atheist. I do feel like Atheism carries a little more...I can appreciate that perspective! I really like your term "unwilling agnostic," and in some ways, I'd call myself an unwilling atheist. I do feel like Atheism carries a little more black-and-white weight to it (it brings to mind Pratchett's quote about Simony "believing" in Atheism in a way that's as fiery as religious belief itself), but I suppose my mindset is more like "there's no possible way of fully knowing how the world works, I just don't think the answer lies with any sort of omnipotent (or even relatively powerful) being or set of beings that shape the direction of it." But I'm a major dreamer and escapist, and the world would be a whole lot cooler if it did work that way, or least, if it worked that way and we were able to recognize it at this time and place as a matter of fact and not supposition and faith!
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentSomewhat tangential to your question, but the crowd's disappointment when Didactylos was finally propped up in front of the disgruntled Omnians and he didn't try to strike up a religious fervor...Somewhat tangential to your question, but the crowd's disappointment when Didactylos was finally propped up in front of the disgruntled Omnians and he didn't try to strike up a religious fervor was just *chef's kiss* in my opinion.
"The Turtle exists. The world is a flat disc. The sun turns around it once every day, dragging its light behind it. And this will go on happening, whether you believe it is true or not. It is real. I don't know about truth. Truth is a lot more complicated than that. I don't think the Turtle gives a bugger whether it's true or not, to tell you the truth."
It's played as if the Omnians weren't looking to be shown the facts, or the way things are--they wanted an almighty replacement, capital-T Truth with which they could replace their belief in Om. Whereas the Ephebians, who are ironically a lot more scientific in their philosophical musings, simply share what is and what is not. The reality of the world was still too messy for them.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentMaybe this will change as time goes on and I read more of Pratchett's later works, but this is the first book of his that I've read that fast-forwards to the end of the protagonist's life and...Maybe this will change as time goes on and I read more of Pratchett's later works, but this is the first book of his that I've read that fast-forwards to the end of the protagonist's life and discusses his death (and his very characteristic entry into the afterlife). In a way, it's the first book of his that I've read in which the central protagonist dies. I'm sure it won't be the last, but at least for me, it was quite unexpected, and it left me feeling a little sappy! Sure, Brutha is not a terribly deep character, but it was nice to see a bow tied on his story and see him treat Vorbis in the afterlife the same way he treated him in life.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentAgreed - the story itself was fine, but as a vehicle for a lens on religious belief, I enjoyed the read. I didn't dislike any of the beats, but I appreciated its take on religion in general. I was...Agreed - the story itself was fine, but as a vehicle for a lens on religious belief, I enjoyed the read. I didn't dislike any of the beats, but I appreciated its take on religion in general. I was raised Catholic, then sort of just fell off into an apathetic Agnosticism in high school, then veered hard back into general Christianity in early college, and finally settled back into proper Atheism in my mid-20s.
I felt that my journey helped me relate to Brutha in a strange way. Here was a person dealing with the dissonance of quite literally meeting his god face to face while also realizing that he's not all that he's cracked up to be, in addition to the fact that his message has been entirely re-appropriated and bastardized over centuries of folks making things up under the pretense of Om's wishes, coupled with the simultaneous discovery that other gods very much exist outside of Om. Granted, I don't think any of us are going to literally meet the physical manifestation of God (or a god(s)) anytime soon, but the perspective still struck a cord with me.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett in ~books
Shevanel Link ParentI first discovered Pratchett ~10 years ago and immediately devoured three of his books in the span of a month or two. I fell off of him (and really off of reading almost entirely) due to life...I first discovered Pratchett ~10 years ago and immediately devoured three of his books in the span of a month or two. I fell off of him (and really off of reading almost entirely) due to life stuff for a while there, but have recently come back around to him and have re-read a few entries and grabbed a few new ones, including the first couple of Wizards books, "Guards! Guards!", "Equal Rites", and "Pyramids" before reading "Small Gods."
I love reading Pratchett because it feels like I'm watching a movie. I don't know how else to describe it; his flow is just so natural with a great pace that it's incredibly easy to lose myself in his books for hours on end. I like reading, but I often find myself pulling my head out of books to check the time, think about a good stopping point, see if I ought to call it a night, etc... whereas with Pratchett, I'll just keep reading and reading, then accidentally catch the time on my phone and realize I've read 150 pages in a single sitting and it's 2:00 AM. That said, I would agree with others in that his tone is definitely a little more focused on this one vs. the near-slapstick that I noticed in his earlier novels, especially the first two Wizards novels.
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Comment on Gay student says “Coach” Tim Walz protected him from homophobic bullies in ~lgbt
Shevanel Link ParentI think excusing a student from class is the right thing to do, but @DefinitelyNotAFae also added, “because it was gross,” which, the only way that they would know that the teacher believed that...I think excusing a student from class is the right thing to do, but @DefinitelyNotAFae also added, “because it was gross,” which, the only way that they would know that the teacher believed that is because the teacher would exclaim out loud in class that the cramps are gross. As a former teacher, I can pretty comfortably vouch that this would be a great way to publicly mortify a school-aged girl.
I think this is a good perspective, and one that I ought to mentally hold onto as I learn more about this. FS has built up a ton of goodwill, and even if this entry isn’t to my liking, as long as future games don’t continue the trend, I shouldn’t have anything to worry about.