TheJorro's recent activity
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Comment on 2K Games breaks gaming's de facto $60 (USD) price ceiling, announces MSRP for next-gen NBA 2K21 as $70 in ~games
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Comment on 2K Games breaks gaming's de facto $60 (USD) price ceiling, announces MSRP for next-gen NBA 2K21 as $70 in ~games
TheJorro (edited )LinkI'm not opposed to games going up in MSRP to account for increased production costs, inflation, etc., if it means they can dial back on the microtransactions, DLC, and cosmetic items that have...I'm not opposed to games going up in MSRP to account for increased production costs, inflation, etc., if it means they can dial back on the microtransactions, DLC, and cosmetic items that have filled up games increasingly this past decade to generate that extra revenue.
But Take-Two and the NBA 2K series are the last things I would trust. This has been the single most money-grubbing game series out there for multiple years now, offering such wonderful things as unskippable in-game ads (that are opt-out by default), have a paywall for upgrading your custom characters' terrible stats, and force as many microtransactions and corporate advertising into the games as possible.
It sucks because I like buying sports games for the very, very, very few years my local city's sports teams actually do well, and considering we're the reigning champs in the NBA, it really sucks that buying the only NBA game on the market means I have to cross other lines about advertising and predatory capitalism since that's how extreme it has become with these games.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentRight, yes. When I said it was a "very good PC port", this was the one big thing left over. It seems P4G's cutscenes are very strangely encoded and pose problems with HDDs or lower-end PCs when it...Right, yes. When I said it was a "very good PC port", this was the one big thing left over. It seems P4G's cutscenes are very strangely encoded and pose problems with HDDs or lower-end PCs when it shouldn't. Hopefully this will be addressed in a potential update but otherwise, as usual, I recommend consulting the PC Gaming Wiki to start with any troubleshooting.
But that aside, enjoy the ride!
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Comment on [WARNING - transphobia] Gender critical has been banned - here are some links I’ve collected in ~test
TheJorro Link ParentIt's not your spelling or grammar, it's your dodging questions that's the problem. You haven't once addressed anyone's questions or comments in detail here.It's not your spelling or grammar, it's your dodging questions that's the problem.
You haven't once addressed anyone's questions or comments in detail here.
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Comment on [WARNING - transphobia] Gender critical has been banned - here are some links I’ve collected in ~test
TheJorro Link ParentYou keep saying they're useful but not what they're useful for. Especially after you've made it abundantly clear that you haven't actually read the vast majority of them. So what utility does this...You keep saying they're useful but not what they're useful for. Especially after you've made it abundantly clear that you haven't actually read the vast majority of them.
So what utility does this leave except for massive baiting, or popping out a list when asked to convince people (who also won't read any of it) that you have a well-sourced position since they won't actually check out the sources to realize they're not at all what you portrayed them as?
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Comment on [WARNING - transphobia] Gender critical has been banned - here are some links I’ve collected in ~test
TheJorro Link ParentJust great timing on your part. This is the only time something like this has been posted and up for so long in a long, long, long time.Just great timing on your part. This is the only time something like this has been posted and up for so long in a long, long, long time.
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Comment on [WARNING - transphobia] Gender critical has been banned - here are some links I’ve collected in ~test
TheJorro Link ParentIf you had, you'd notice most of these studies aren't studies. Weird, huh?If you had, you'd notice most of these studies aren't studies. Weird, huh?
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Comment on [WARNING - transphobia] Gender critical has been banned - here are some links I’ve collected in ~test
TheJorro Link ParentHow would you know? It's clear you haven't actually read them.How would you know? It's clear you haven't actually read them.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentI'm not much of a "build your own stuff" sandbox kind of player, so games like Minecraft and the Sims don't really have much lasting appeal to me. Factorio, though, hits more of an incremental...I'm not much of a "build your own stuff" sandbox kind of player, so games like Minecraft and the Sims don't really have much lasting appeal to me. Factorio, though, hits more of an incremental games itch instead.
You start with just your avatar and some land. You need to mine resources like wood, iron, copper, etc. from the world and begin crafting things together. Then you realize you need more and more and more materials to build more and more and more things that let you build even more and more, and the only way to do that is to begin automating some of the low level tasks like mining for iron.
So you build a mining rig and have it collect into a box that you can pick up from. But eventually you need more, so you start building entire groups of mining rigs that load their mined ore onto a conveyor that feeds all their output into a box. But then eventually you notice that you're spending too much of your time being an iron mule, delivering it to three or four different other constructions that build other materials you need out of that iron. So now you start planning networks of conveyor belts that split and feed the iron directly from the mining rigs into your iron processing facilities.
And so on.
It's simply a very addictive and satisfying game because it is a game of iteration and experimentation, with tangible and visible results that are immediate. It's not quite so abstract that you can't see at a glance what's going on but also not married to realism so that doing everything is a chore.
Combine that with surprisingly capable multiplayer modes and a classic Soldat-feeling combat style to fight off the alien insect swarms with your constructed weaponry and vehicles, and you've got yourself a fun experience.
Try out the demo!
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Comment on I cannot recommend The Newsroom enough. in ~tv
TheJorro Link ParentI remember that the first season was basically a treatise against the Tea Party movement from the perspective of a more traditional patriotic conservative viewpoint. I really wish he kept that...I remember that the first season was basically a treatise against the Tea Party movement from the perspective of a more traditional patriotic conservative viewpoint.
I really wish he kept that going for the rest of the show because, yes, that was clearly a message that needed to be hammered in over and over. It does seem like the writing really suffered when the teeth were out away, as you said.
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Comment on I cannot recommend The Newsroom enough. in ~tv
TheJorro Link ParentOh boy, I clicked in here thinking this was a new thread, not a two year old one. Letalone one where I had a popularly voted-on comment and a new reply! Not that I try to bitch about Newsroom...Oh boy, I clicked in here thinking this was a new thread, not a two year old one. Letalone one where I had a popularly voted-on comment and a new reply! Not that I try to bitch about Newsroom everytime I see the name, I promise haha, I was just casually browsing Tildes while waiting for some next steps in dinner prep.
I immediately remembered than entire hair/Ugandan plotline as if I had just watched it just seeing the name of the show. I don't really know what it was about that particular storyline but I just can't get it out of my head when I think of the show. I think it's sheer disbelief to the point that it seared in my brain. When I watched the show, I was coming off of a West Wing marathon where I thought that show suffered greatly because of the lack of Sorkin, only to run headfirst into... whatever the hell that plotline was.
That all said, my favourite moment in the show is Paul Lieberstein being the doomsday prophet from the EPA. Loved that moment quite a lot.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentIt took me 1.5 years of on and off playing to get through it all. Don't rush yourself! The game's at its best if you can turn off the minimap and simply explore on your own.It took me 1.5 years of on and off playing to get through it all. Don't rush yourself! The game's at its best if you can turn off the minimap and simply explore on your own.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentNot sure about Subnautica but the Creative Director for Kingdom Come had a few Gamergate friendly Twitter rants on matters of race and representation in medieval Bohemia.Not sure about Subnautica but the Creative Director for Kingdom Come had a few Gamergate friendly Twitter rants on matters of race and representation in medieval Bohemia.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentI think I know what he's griping about. There seems to be an insistence on the One True Interpretation for many artistic works. This Folding Ideas video addresses it and its pitfalls pretty well,...I think I know what he's griping about. There seems to be an insistence on the One True Interpretation for many artistic works. This Folding Ideas video addresses it and its pitfalls pretty well, especially when the work is meant to be interpretive, much as Blow's works are.
Ultimately, I think so much of Braid's value and reputation comes because it clearly and consistently informs you that there is more to it, much like the Witness does. But since Witness is a larger, and more involved game, it's a lot better about presenting more whereas Braid, being smaller and more focused, asks for more reflection and thought to find what that "more" is since even thinks like the allusions to physics are more conceptual and mechanical in nature than visual or exposition, as many of the gaming critics he seems to be chiding focus on.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentIf it helps, here's Jonathan Blow's own approach to the story of Braid, especially in regards to the ending. Seems like Braid was his first adventure in metatextual storytelling.If it helps, here's Jonathan Blow's own approach to the story of Braid, especially in regards to the ending. Seems like Braid was his first adventure in metatextual storytelling.
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Comment on The 2020 Steam Summer Sale is live and goes until July 9th in ~games
TheJorro LinkPicked up a few games already: Doom Eternal DUSK Amid Evil The Magic Circle Devil Daggers Pathologic 2 Hades I'll probably find out about a couple of more as the sales go by, there's always...Picked up a few games already:
- Doom Eternal
- DUSK
- Amid Evil
- The Magic Circle
- Devil Daggers
- Pathologic 2
- Hades
I'll probably find out about a couple of more as the sales go by, there's always something I miss during the first few days.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )LinkJordan Thomas Not well known since I think he shies away from all press and PR, but do you remember the orphanage level from Thief: Deadly Shadows? Or the Sander Cohen level from Bioshock? This is...Jordan Thomas
Not well known since I think he shies away from all press and PR, but do you remember the orphanage level from Thief: Deadly Shadows? Or the Sander Cohen level from Bioshock? This is the guy behind those levels. The two most memorable levels of both games, Jordan Thomas may be one of the most talented level designers in all of gaming. He was also the creative director for Bioshock 2, a game which by all rights should have been a paltry sequel to Bioshock, but wasn't. Though not as good as the original, it was much better than I expected it to be, with a better ending sequence, and DLC is arguably the best moment of the entire Bioshock franchise.
He's with a small studio named Question these days and they've been made a couple of fascinating smaller FPS titles.
Hideo Kojima
I've been closely following him since 2001 when I first played Metal Gear Solid 2 and that game redefined what I thought video games were. I literally had not played a video game that didn't have levels until MGS2—I remember thinking at some point during the part where you find Ames in the room full of hostages "hm, I wonder when I get to Level 3, because this level is really long." For those of you who played MGS2, you can imagine how much of a whiplash I got about what video games could be by the end of that game when I came into it with such a naivety.
He hasn't really disappointed, even if his games have here and there (i.e. MGS4 and major aspects of MGSV). It's hard to talk about him these days because he's caught in the meme machine so everyone seems to have a rolodex of statements about him, his work, and how it all fits together. Also the guy has a strange fascination with sexuality and titillation which can come across in many different negative ways. Though I read it more as he lives in a different world on those matters than everyone else, his work doesn't even seem to have an analogue with other Japanese media that deal in sexuality and titillation.
But I think it's part of why he's so interesting at the same time, he's been pushing boundaries and the envelope not just for how games are played but also what the content of games can be. Looking back, MGS2 might be the first game with a bisexual lens, where men are just as gazed upon as the women, if not moreso due to volume, and with plenty of homoerotic moments, around the same time period that "booth babes" and Playboy/FHM "shoots" of video game women were still a thing and men all had to be hulking, muscular Duke Nukem badass types.
But the real reason I look forward to his work is how he approaches the idea of actually playing a game is so different from anyone else. He's not always interested in providing a simple and easy player experience, he seems far more interested in exploring how to craft interactions together with stories. I've called him a genius in this regard, and I stand by it. In MGS2 alone, he took advantage of pressure sensitive buttons to instill the idea that a player should have good trigger discipline otherwise they could accidentally fire their weapon when they didn't mean to (i.e. you pressed the Square button in a panic and fired). He also messed around with the Game Over screen and UI during a scene when the AI is breaking down as a form of foreshadowing for the twists to come so well, it actually scared some people into turning off the console or returning the game.
When Death Stranding was nearing release, I told people that I was excited to play it but I had no idea if I'd like it. This is what I go to Kojima games for: a unique way of interacting with the game, the world, and the themes he is interested in exploring at the moment. I don't always enjoy his games but I enjoy his execution of interaction.
Vince Zampella / Jason West
Yeah, the Infinity Ward and Respawn guys. But, I believe more accurately, two of the most important names in FPS gaming history. Between their work on Medal of Honor, everything they did with Call of Duty (until their last one of MW2, after which Infinity Ward nosedived), and now the Titanfall games and Apex Legends, I believe these two have cemented their place in FPS gaming history with four of the most famous series' in the genre spanning a 20+ year career.
They seem to have great minds for what it is about FPS games, and how players can directly control and move around in that space. Beyond just fun campaigns, the actual input mechanics of their games have been the gold standard for over 15 years now. Only Bungie can compete with the smooth, acrobatic sort of FPS control these guys have put into their games. Even if I don't always end up loving the end product (screw the Modern Warfare 2 writers and their 7th grade writing skills), I'll always keep my hands on the mouse and keyboard for one of their games.
SWERY / Swery65
Only because of one game: Deadly Premonition. I have no idea how or why such a game got made but it's the best example of "greater than the sum of its parts" in the entire medium. Every aspect of the game, except for its story, ranges from terrible to subpar: graphics, sound, menus, combat, mechanics, etc. Everything. On top of that, the story is basically an interpretation of Twin Peaks from the perspective of someone who didn't understand English so they filled in their own plot to the visuals on-screen. And it works extremely well, given the tone and atmosphere that Twin Peaks, and now Deadly Premonition, go for. It's full of wonderful twists and turns, and is full of characters you can't help but care about for all their weird cartoonishness in the middle of a horrific murder mystery because of their charm and humour. IGN US gave it a 2/10. Jim Sterling at Destructoid gave it a 10/10. The game apparently holds a Guinness World Record for "most polarizing survival horror game".
It's a very low budget game, full of jank, rushed assets and animations, and barebones levels of polish to pass the console licensing checks. Why I'm so fascinated by SWERY is that he turned this into a strength, peppering nods to the fourth wall throughout the game to keep you interested with its absurd humour but retaining its emotionally intense story.
Fr example, the game only has combat because the publisher got cold feet about a game without combat, so SWERY decided to almost literally tack combat on. Your character will literally walk into another room in a building, have this horrific nightmarish combat encounter, and then come out the other side of the room to join the other characters and doesn't acknowledge the combat encounter he just experienced. It is so minimally constructed that everyone recommends setting the game to Easy and just not worrying about it at all because the combat means that little. It's only in there because the publisher got cold feet about releasing a game without combat.
Nothing about this game should work, but it comes together so damn well in ways that people are still writing thinkpieces to out what it is about this game that works so well when it has almost nothing going for it. Here's a spoiler-free cutscene from the game just to whet your appetite for how the game uses so little to do so many strange things at once.
Likewise, one of my favourite moments in the game is when York, the main character, and the hotel's elderly owner are sitting on opposite sides of a Mr. Burns-length dining table. There is some background music in this cutscene, as there usually is. They realize they can't hear each other, so they both have to speak louder. But then the music gets louder. So the characters speak even louder. Then the music gets louder. It's such a cartoonish gag out of nowhere that I can't help but admire it.
SWERY's other games haven't quite grabbed me like this one, and he's currently about to release the sequel to this as a Switch exclusive. I'm hoping this game wasn't lightning in a bottle for how impactful I found it, but it remains to be seen if SWERY is a one-hit wonder. I hope he isn't.
Lucas Pope
Papers, Please is one of the greatest arguments for games as art I can think of, and then so was the Return of the Obra Dinn. Back to back, Lucas Pope has delivered such unorthodox games that pack so much into the interactivity for the player that you can't help but get absorbed into his works.
Papers, Please asks that you check passports, and you do. And everything that entails, from constantly changing rules, to sob stories, to coercion, to blackmail, to survival for yourself and your family. It's not just the trolley problem, it's so many moral dilemmas thrown at you at once. And you have to play it out. This isn't a mere good/evil choice that affects the tone of the voice over at the end. If you take that bribe, then you have to live with it.
Obra Dinn sealed my interest in his work because it was completely unlike Papers, Please. Instead of a constant state of moral dilemma, Obra Dinn instead asks for patience, observation, and thought. You are an insurance adjustor and a ghost ship just rolled into port. Time to go and figure out what happened, so your employer can adequately pay out the insurance. You have to figure out what happened based on observations, memories, and deduction. It's a wonderful puzzle game that, again, puts everything on you and how intensely you interact with the game.
Like Kojima, Pope has a real talent for using the interactivity of the medium to reinforce the themes he not only wants the player to pick up on, but actually live out.
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Comment on Who are your favourite game developers? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentAnd writing! Greg Kasavin is a real talent.And writing! Greg Kasavin is a real talent.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentThe good news about 198X is that it's only the first part of a planned series of games.The good news about 198X is that it's only the first part of a planned series of games.
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Comment on A wave of sexual harassment accusations is sweeping the games industry in ~games
TheJorro LinkOn top of these, Mitch Dyer and some other former IGN staff have called out two former IGN leaders for unethical (non-sexual) behaviour, and Sol Brennan has called out Insomniac games for general...On top of these, Mitch Dyer and some other former IGN staff have called out two former IGN leaders for unethical (non-sexual) behaviour, and Sol Brennan has called out Insomniac games for general sexism.
I don't think the issue there was the pricing model so much as it was that it reversed its course entirely on a main selling point.