T w e n t y S i d e d
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “#19 I’m Sure You’ll Fit Right In”
#19 I’m Sure You’ll Fit Right In
No More Twitter
Twitter gave me a place to throw snark and short observations that wouldn’t work as a full post. It was also a good way to broadcast stuff to all of you to let you know that the site was down. It was a good place to get a feel for the big gaming stories of the day and a good way to see what other creators were up to. It was useful, but I’m done with the platform for good.
I can’t point to a single event that made me quit Twitter. This wasn’t a snap judgement made in response to a single tweet, this was a long process where Twitter itself annoyed me into leaving. However, there was one Tweet that works as a pretty good shorthand for the problem I’m talking about. It said:
Fuck you and everyone who thinks like you.
When viewed directly on the web, Twitter has two main tabs. The first is supposedly a feed of everyone you follow, although maybe this is curated by the system or maybe not. Maybe the tweets are in chronological order or maybe THE ALGORITHM picks a few that it thinks are most important and puts those at the top. There’s an option to disable this, but it’s not clear what the default behavior is, what THE ALGORITHM does, or what the option to disable it does. If I see a tweet from PC Gamer linking to an article and then six hours later I see the same tweet at the top of my feed again, does that mean PC Gamer repeated themselves, or is THE ALGORITHM trying to make sure I don’t miss this one?
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “No More Twitter”
Experienced Points: EA Crippled BioWare With Frostbite
In my article this week, I talk about how the decision to use Frostbite has done tons of damage to BioWare. Also, I spent a little time explaining why seemingly-easy features might be hard to implement in Frostbite.
Annoyingly, I didn’t cover all my bases and a bunch of people tried to “gotcha” me with the fact that former BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn claims it was BioWare’s decision to use Frostbite. I remember hearing about this ages ago, but I dismissed it as obvious corporate ass-covering. Still, if I’d been on the ball I would have demolished that argument before I started in on Frostbite. Maybe I’ll append something to the article, maybe I’ll handle it in an aside in my next column, but in the meantime here’s the problem with Flynn’s statement:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Experienced Points: EA Crippled BioWare With Frostbite”
Game of Thrones Season Eight: “The Long Night”
This series analyzes the show, but sometimes references the books as well. If you read it, expect spoilers for both.
It’s finally here: the Big Honking Battle Scene. This review is going up a bit later than usual; yesterday was the day I saw Endgame, and didn’t get back until late, and then watched Game of Thrones, and jeez that’s a whole lot of Big Honking Battle Scene to watch in a single night. I don’t recommend it.
Just to set the stage: a handful of characters (Cersei, FrankenGregor, Euron, Qyburn, Harry Strickland, and possibly Bronn) are down in King’s Landing. Pretty much every other character on the entire show is at Winterfell, awaiting the imminent arrival of the Night King and his army. This episode, as much as any other I can think of, demonstrates the things about the show that are good, the things that are bad, and the things that are ugly.
THE GOOD
I’ve complimented Miguel Sapochnik in the past, and my opinion of him is mostly undamaged by “The Long Knight.” The runtime is an hour and a half, but subtract opening and closing credits and behind the episode stuff and it’s more like an hour and ten minutes. Even so, doing over an hour’s worth of show on a single battle is a big ask. It’s something of a Game of Thrones tradition, however, dating back to “Blackwater,” the second-to-last episode of the second season. Now they tend to do one of these every season, regardless of whether it’s a good idea pacingwise.
Despite all that, “The Long Knight” has a consistent rhythm to it, and it’s one that works with the nature of the Wights and White Walkers: a slowly building sense of despair. This is an army that just moves forward and forward and doesn’t stop for anything. This is reflected in how the fighting plays out: Winterfell has arranged its defenses in depth, and one by inevitable one they’re defeated. The first iteration of this is probably the best-executed: the flaming swords of the Dothraki, slowly winking out while the rest of the army watches. Later, the White Walkers summon a white-out blizzard, rendering Dany’s dragons less effective due to lack of visibility. It’s not an ability we’ve seen from them before, but it makes sense thematically and added an unexpected and ominous twist to the proceedings.
This bit where the dragons fly above the clouds is one of the coolest shots the show's ever had.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Game of Thrones Season Eight: “The Long Night””
Diecast #254: Epic Trap, Steam Facts, KSP Update
I know Avengers: Endgame is the big topic on the internet this week, but I hadn’t seen it when we recorded this show. I saw it Sunday, and I’m sure we’ll talk about it next week.
Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.
Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #254: Epic Trap, Steam Facts, KSP Update”
#18 An Irresistible Source of Brains
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “#18 An Irresistible Source of Brains”
Spider-Man Part 13: Oscorp Tower Defense
Spider-Man heads back to FEAST. He changes into civilian clothes to check on Aunt May and break into Martin Li’s office. We do some extremely light puzzling and find a secret room behind Martin’s office. We find a diary that depicts Li as struggling against some sort of demonic power, but I don’t know if we’re supposed to take that literally or not. It really feels like the writer has assumed we’ve read the comics.
We also recover the file from the start of the game that talks about Devil’s Breath. We still don’t know what it is, but we know it figures into Martin’s plans and we know it’s called friggin’ DEVIL’S BREATH so it’s a safe bet it’s not a dessert topping.
There's actually a bill of lading (a description of goods for shipping) for this bioweapon? Laying aside questions of why you would meticulously document something so illegal, where the hell were you shipping it?
Martin Li shows up just as Peter leaves Li’s office. They have a guarded conversation. Martin seems to know Peter was snooping around in his stuff, and Peter knows that Li is the leader of the Demons, but neither of them seems to know how much the other knows. Li is friendly towards both Peter and Aunt May.
When the conversation turns to current events and the recent attack on the city, Martin assures Peter and May that they’ll be safe as long as they “stay out of places you shouldn’t be”. This is horseshit, by the way. Martin’s plan is to release a bio-weapon capable of causing a pandemic. Again, I feel like the writer is trying to characterize this guy but I can’t make sense of it because it was never explained how his Yin / Yang deal works.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Spider-Man Part 13: Oscorp Tower Defense”
From The Archives:
The No Politics Rule
Here are 6 reasons why I forbid political discussions on this site. #4 will amaze you. Or not.
Skylines of the Future
Cities: Skylines is bound to have a sequel sooner or later. Where can this series go next, and what changes would I like to see?
Another PC Golden Age?
Is it real? Is PC gaming returning to its former glory? Sort of. It's complicated.
This Game is Too Videogame-y
What's wrong with a game being "too videogameish"?
Revisiting a Dead Engine
I wanted to take the file format of a late 90s shooter and read it in modern-day Unity. This is the result.
Philosophy of Moderation
The comments on most sites are a sewer of hate, because we're moderating with the wrong goals in mind.
The Best of 2014
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2014.
Civilization VI
I'm a very casual fan of the series, but I gave Civilization VI a look to see what was up with this nuclear war simulator.
Good Robot Dev Blog
An ongoing series where I work on making a 2D action game from scratch.
Gamers Aren’t Toxic
This is a horrible narrative that undermines the hobby through crass stereotypes. The hobby is vast, gamers come from all walks of life, and you shouldn't judge ANY group by its worst members.