Eji1700's recent activity
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Comment on Rapid Support Forces massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show in ~society
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Comment on Rapid Support Forces massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show in ~society
Eji1700 Link ParentOr turning around and funding terrorist organizations or all sorts of other problems. There is no easy “magical uplift this country out of hell” solution when things get this bad. No matter what...Or turning around and funding terrorist organizations or all sorts of other problems.
There is no easy “magical uplift this country out of hell” solution when things get this bad.
No matter what you do, even with only good intentions, you’re always influencing cultures massively outside your sphere with only the most vague of realistic expectations.
People want to think that things like Soviet/CIA coups are bad only because they had bad intentions, but they miss that often there’s not a ton of likely good outcomes (or at least the perfect ones they imagine)
This is before you get into the nightmare of things like “yeah we spent 100m arming this militia for maybe good reasons, but fuck your local societal issues”
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Comment on Rapid Support Forces massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show in ~society
Eji1700 Link ParentIt’s odd because I’ve seen arguments that this doesn’t actually meet the technical definition: Whiiich might not technically meet the definition of what the RSF is trying to do, but it clearly...It’s odd because I’ve seen arguments that this doesn’t actually meet the technical definition:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such
Whiiich might not technically meet the definition of what the RSF is trying to do, but it clearly gets into the “who cares” side of things since it’s sure as shit an abominable atrocity if you horrifically kill a large number of people, even if the intent is more arbitrary.
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Comment on Crunchyroll to end ad-supported streaming at the end of 2025 in ~anime
Eji1700 LinkOn the one hand crunchy has been absolutely horrible with their AI subs and dubs. That said I do think this is how more businesses have needed to go forever. The endless “it’s free but here’s...On the one hand crunchy has been absolutely horrible with their AI subs and dubs.
That said I do think this is how more businesses have needed to go forever. The endless “it’s free but here’s zillions of ads and we’re harvesting all your data” stuff needs to die. It’s not really sustainable and it’s awful for everyone.
The problem is I fully expect this to morph into “pay for it AND we do all the ads anyways” by next year
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Comment on RAM is so expensive, Samsung won’t even sell it to Samsung in ~tech
Eji1700 Link ParentIt's an unfortunate lack of understanding of economics that's gotten worse because we have political identities tied up in it.It's an unfortunate lack of understanding of economics that's gotten worse because we have political identities tied up in it.
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Comment on Skarven | Teaser trailer in ~games
Eji1700 (edited )LinkIntriguing from an art direction standpoint but hard to get excited where I’m unsure of the game play. I’m assuming survival horror like uhhhh… I forget the name but “thief with guns” But could...Intriguing from an art direction standpoint but hard to get excited where I’m unsure of the game play.
I’m assuming survival horror like uhhhh… I forget the name but “thief with guns” But could also be a boomer shooter like dusk?
Edit- I was thinking of gloomwood.
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Comment on Living wage calculator in ~finance
Eji1700 Link ParentBeing one check from disaster is a detriment to your health and your billsBeing one check from disaster is a detriment to your health and your bills
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Comment on Living wage calculator in ~finance
Eji1700 Link ParentI think it's low for Vegas, which is tricky given that where you live can change your CoL WILDLY. That said rent is pretty bad at this point and I think the housing price is low. It gets a little...I think it's low for Vegas, which is tricky given that where you live can change your CoL WILDLY. That said rent is pretty bad at this point and I think the housing price is low.
It gets a little awkward because people have a different mental image of what "living wage" is.
The definition given is-
"The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. "
but like...if you're making what they recommend in Vegas with kids, you're not exactly living on easy street. I agree you're not poverty, but it's not "own a smallish house in a decent area, and don't worry about the bills while making your donations for retirement".
Much more "renting a place in a mediocre area one paycheck away from major upheaval never making IRA contributions" or whatever. In general I find these calculations seem to leave out the "actually start your retirement fund" calculations or "save for children college" stuff, but perhaps some of that is in here and I don't have time to check.
annnnd glancing below my edit window I see MimicSquid has pointed out the same thing, so yeah.
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Comment on Helldivers movie in the works from Justin Lin, Sony in ~movies
Eji1700 Link ParentTo be a little fair I think this one has a better chance of being a "hit" just simply because "sci fi military action spectacle" has mass appeal. Uncharted maaaaybe should have (obviously sharing...To be a little fair I think this one has a better chance of being a "hit" just simply because "sci fi military action spectacle" has mass appeal.
Uncharted maaaaybe should have (obviously sharing territory with Indiana Jones), but Ratchet & Clank is a lot more nostalgia bait. Whereas I can see helldivers being a movie that happens to be an ad for the game, rather than hoping the game serves as an ad for the movie.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Eji1700 LinkHolder of Place - It's a $10 card/team like autobattler (while looking nothing like it sooooorta like balatro) dripping in flavor and has a decent pile of strategy to it. Easy recommendation if...Holder of Place -
It's a $10 card/team like autobattler (while looking nothing like it sooooorta like balatro) dripping in flavor and has a decent pile of strategy to it. Easy recommendation if you think it sounds remotely good. There's a free, old, itch demo that I haven't played, but main game has 4 different "classes" of sorts that all change the gameplay, with some game mods that actually change how you approach your runs. Great time killer that's priced accordingly. -
Comment on Helldivers movie in the works from Justin Lin, Sony in ~movies
Eji1700 LinkI personally doubt this will pull off the needle threading Starship Troopers did, but it's probably going to be "fine" for generic action flick wearing a helldivers skin. Curious if they even...I personally doubt this will pull off the needle threading Starship Troopers did, but it's probably going to be "fine" for generic action flick wearing a helldivers skin.
Curious if they even really bother with the satire or if we just get the standard "lone protagonist with romance interest" adlibs script.
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Comment on Uber and Lyft prices vary for the same rides in ~transport
Eji1700 Link ParentWas a real moment of showing who practiced what they preached. Uber is one of the most unethical companies ever, but sooo many people I knew who swore up and down they wouldn't support bad...Was a real moment of showing who practiced what they preached. Uber is one of the most unethical companies ever, but sooo many people I knew who swore up and down they wouldn't support bad practices just met me with "well cabs are bad too!" when presented with their practices.
Now that uber's got a market captured and is jacking up prices, suddenly they care again.
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Comment on Par is a concurrent language with linear types in ~comp
Eji1700 LinkIt's nice to see more and more development in line with the idea of "god the compiler really should catch more of this". Runtime errors are the worst. I get why language development went the route...It's nice to see more and more development in line with the idea of "god the compiler really should catch more of this". Runtime errors are the worst. I get why language development went the route it did, but now that memory is much less of a rare resource there's still a ton of room left for improvement on the development side.
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 Link ParentMy claim is it’s vastly less common than people think, especially these days. Myst was already brought up, like it was when it was new, and it confused me just as much then because literally every...My claim is it’s vastly less common than people think, especially these days.
Myst was already brought up, like it was when it was new, and it confused me just as much then because literally every puzzle is sign posted. The point and click adventure games absolutely were brutal with all sorts of nonsense but it’s a mostly dead genre, and modern ones do their best to not do that.
Myst was always brought up and it’s where this fascination started for me because I beat the game with my dad, along with Riven and very little felt outright difficult let alone unfair.
I play them both every decade or so when my memory of all the puzzles wears off and it’s a very well designed game, and I’m pretty sure literally every puzzle has very reasonable hints, if not out right solutions.
Likewise yes I will concede some souls quest lines are BS, but given the original claim was “all of them” I don’t agree. Again more than half of them I’d guess I figured out naturally. Some are clearly designed for you to fail the first time, but “huh I found their corpse here” is itself a perfectly fine clue for a game intended to be played multiple times.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
Eji1700 LinkChronos chronicles by shami stovall. Scratches the Dresden files itch nicely.Chronos chronicles by shami stovall.
Scratches the Dresden files itch nicely.
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 Link ParentI have seen plenty of games use these labels which do not fit the material you've described. I know many "metroidvania's" that are not platformers and rougelike is used for anything that has more...Metroidvania games are typically platformers that involve exploring a map and unlocking new areas with items or abilities rather than beating levels. Roguelikes/roguelites have procedurally generated maps that vary with every run. Soulslikes are RPG games known for dark world-building elements and difficult combat.
I have seen plenty of games use these labels which do not fit the material you've described. I know many "metroidvania's" that are not platformers and rougelike is used for anything that has more than 1 run, especially without proc-gen. Soulslike is everywhere simply because it covers 2 major adoptable mechanics in a stamina/dodge based combat AND the estus limited healing between "safe" points.
But the games listed as “Metroidbrania” have all sorts of wildly differing gameplay. A game like Her Story is wildly different from, say, Tunic or Animal Well. I was legitimately surprised to see Inscryption come up since I know it as a deck-building game and card battler.
Inscryption is one of the games that shouldn't be on the list and is just an example of how the initial data is kinda cherry picked, as admitted by the author in their own methodology. The only thing about it that fits this AT ALL is the fact that there's some signposted secrets. Megaman X qualifies under the same logic. If you remove ARG content there's even less that makes Inscryption relevant to the list/genre, and I don't know anyone who'd call it a metroidbrania, or any of these other things.
The main connecting point is that progression is locked behind knowledge gates, but in terms of gameplay and mechanics, that can manifest in many different ways.
If you stretch a definition it can, but as I and the author already said you need some level of open ended exploration to make that part of the connection. Nearly every game has knowledge gates, a metroidvania is one where exploring to solve the knowledge gates is the loop vs something like a fighting game where you lab setups.
Just like how the main connection point can be "resting resets enemies and progress but gives you back your 'heals" for soulslikes.
"Puzzle game" doesn't really fit as an umbrella term for all these knowledge-gated games either. They are puzzle games, but not all puzzle games rely on knowledge gates. I wouldn't put Portal in that category, for example, since that's not based on knowledge so much as creative thinking.
Well you'd be the first person I know who wouldn't classify Portal as a puzzle game, and separating "knowledge" vs "creative thinking" is certainly quite the leap in my eyes. While there are "creative" solutions to some of the portal puzzles they come closer to speedrunning/unintended solutions than some sort of sandbox "here's the mechanics, figure out a way to solve" like scribblenauts.
Every level in portal is teaching you some new way to understand the mechanics yes, but you just combine those ways in a very specific order. The knowledge that you can maintain momentum is a gate. The knowledge you can do that by going through the same portal more than once is a gate. Yes really clever players can make momentum cannons and skip large parts of the puzzle, but that's not the intended/standard experience.
The greater takeaway I got from the article was trying to define and group the games into new subgenres based on gameplay. And right now, there's not really much language for describing these sorts of games, so finding games that scratch a particular itch can be tricky. After all, someone who enjoyed the platforming elements of Fez may not care to play solitaire in Occlude. "Database thriller" in particular stands out to me given how many games use that format.
Sure, and as I said I think that's fine. I think the framework of trying to make an excuse to do this because "oh this word is too dorky" or "i don't like this category" is foolish.
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 (edited )Link ParentEh there are some, but I did many unspoiled, and even then the "some" are probably just me eventually getting lazy. Hell i know they are because I know other people who did them just fine, but...Literally any questline in a FromSoft game.
Eh there are some, but I did many unspoiled, and even then the "some" are probably just me eventually getting lazy. Hell i know they are because I know other people who did them just fine, but they're also the people who take physical notes. Fromsoft games do a shit ton of quest logic based on world building and visual cues mixed with actually engaging with the optional lore. It's mostly not moon logic so much as optional content to reward people who are bothering to engage with it.
You can unlock Luigi in Super Smash Bros Melee if the seconds on your game timer contain a 2. It's highly unlikely you figure this out before it accidentally happens to you.
That's just RNG. It shouldn't even be classed as moon logic. They could've had a hidden RNG seed with the same odds and you wouldn't call that "logic".
Here's one I liked from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Yeah that's the older era games where that absolutely was a thing, but also a limitation of the time. It's a 1990's game, don't think it had day night cycles.
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 Link ParentI've found these claims to vary wildly and it's an interesting thing to keep an eye on. There's some "moon logic" examples i've seen over the years that are either: Someone is just bad at the...A lot of point and click and interactive fiction games involve moon logic, so lawnmowering can be a valid solve strategy.
I've found these claims to vary wildly and it's an interesting thing to keep an eye on. There's some "moon logic" examples i've seen over the years that are either:
- Someone is just bad at the game, sorry.
- They started brute forcing solutions rather than continuing to search for clues that would've made it obvious, so when they got the brute force to work they assumed it was bad (which again might be a player who's not great or might be bad signposting).
- Actual "how the hell should anyone get this" moon logic (mostly in the realm of ARGs and extra content these days in my eyes).
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 Link ParentMuch like my longer reply below, i find that terminology useful for when I'm talking to the kind of person who might actually play a Rogue-like proper (Qud, Stone Soup, Rift Wizard) because yeah...Much like my longer reply below, i find that terminology useful for when I'm talking to the kind of person who might actually play a Rogue-like proper (Qud, Stone Soup, Rift Wizard) because yeah it can get annoying saying "no like actual hard not just pick 3 do a run hard".
However i also don't care because I acknowledge that 99% of people don't play that niche genre, don't care, and if they do care, will take all of 10 seconds to explain the difference so we can continue the conversation at the same level of context.
It only really annoys me personally because yeah it can make the genre hard to research when I am jonesing for something Qudesque.
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Comment on Against 'Metroidbrania': a landscape of knowledge games in ~games
Eji1700 LinkThis feels dishonest in its own logic so it can justify it's self defined "better" catetgory. Yeah i doubt many people hate it, and dear god someone being "too dorky" in this day and age is...This feels dishonest in its own logic so it can justify it's self defined "better" catetgory.
I hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think many people who use the term seem to hate it, too; as Kate Gray writes on a Nintendo Life feature listing some of these games, the word "makes [her] feel like someone with a hobby so dorky that [she] can't talk about it with normal people."
Yeah i doubt many people hate it, and dear god someone being "too dorky" in this day and age is hilarious to me. What a cherry picked example
You'll never convince me that these games form a coherent genre, or even that you can group them under a general umbrella term.
Puzzle, and its of course a skewed list. 90% of it does easily. If you ignore the "yes listicles aren't great at figuring things out" outliers this is cake.
I think the reason why is that the term was originally coined to mean "games with open-ended exploration" – similar to a metroidvania1 – but using knowledge gating instead of traditional ability gating.
Congrats you just explained the vast majority of the games you said you couldn't put under one group.
In a "true" metroidbrania, what you know is the only real form of progression; a player who already knows all the secrets can start a fresh save and immediately go through the motions of beating the game, skipping over most of the game.
The problem there is that there's very few games that actually meet this description. Out of the list above, the only ones I'd put in that list are Animal Well, Outer Wilds, and Tunic. Because there's not enough games to put on a listicle, the term naturally expands so you can at least name 10. Because everyone is doing this independently, it expands in every available direction, until somehow Gone Home and Fez are now in the same genre. 'Metroidbrania' is thus dead on arrival; it can never usefully describe a game beyond a vague sense that it involves knowledge, puzzles, or deduction
"True" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here because YES Tunic and Fez share dna....literally one is an inspiration for the other. If you simply limit the definition to "knowledge is often used as a progression gate", congrats, you've grouped your data without the awkward "and you can skip game if you know it" qualifier.
Understanding the secret language in Tunic.
OK pet peeve but this is one of the most awkward examples because you can do everything but the Arg without this (as I literally did). The knowledge checks that matter are so much more interesting and it's a CRIME to have it in the language translation bubble in my eyes because the brilliance of the game design is that's just bonus points at every possible puzzle level until the very very last.
otherwise, every classical puzzle game (eg, Portal, Stephen's Sausage Roll) is now a knowledge game.
So you agree they're all puzzle games...
Gah.
This isn't to say that I think the article is worthless. The higher level discussion is interesting and reminds me of plenty of stuff I've read and discussed for years (game vs toy for example). These frameworks are helpful for people really diving into the details of various games and help give more constructive discussion about it. But for a casual grouping for a crowd of people Metroidbrania is fine. Yes it's got a built in knowledge check caused by people trying to be too clever but it takes about 5 seconds to explain.
Which is why it annoys me that I feel like the opening boils down to "DAE hate when people say ATM Machine am i right?!"
Another point to consider:
There is still no real substitute for large numbers of boots on the ground.
No amount of tech allows 1 person to beat a hundred.
Yes with MASSIVE logistical support you can get a helicopter up and wipe out a bunch of people, but at the end of the day you have to have boots on the ground to do anything. Providing people who could die and are VERY expensive to equip and maintain is already a huge hurdle.
And then for what? Why are these people trying to kill each other? What about a bunch of foreigners telling them to stop will fix that? A bunch of rich countries send in troops and tell them what to do? That’s going to magically solve the underlying incentives for such atrocities?
This is why countries like China only focus on their interests. It’s not just because they may not care, but because even if they do they don’t have a good solution. You can focus on “this mine will be defended enough to ship X amount of Y per month” and maybe it helps, maybe it doesn’t, but at least there’s a clear goal and a cost for the money and lives spent.
The alternative is send god knows how many people for God knows how long to try and play peacekeeper/tutor/industrialist at absurd cost with questionable gain.
All this when no country is so rich and modern that money couldn’t have been spent locally to improve their own citizens lives instead