Link (YouTube) |
So which choice is more vacuous and pointless?
This can be about ideology, but it can also be a matter of aesthetics. Which conflict got the most investment out of you, or made you care about a particular faction?
At great personal cost and after many salt tears, I’ve passed the fifth level of Battlespire. At last that purgatorial desert of corruption, pain, and empty fugue-lives falls behind me; ahead is the Promised Land, a garden metropolis where savegames may be plucked from hanging vines and death means nothing at all. I strike my first new save in weeks, its name reflecting my summery mood.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Rutskarn vs. Battlespire CH30: Through the Sucking Glass”
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my misadventures with the Windows 10 Store, and how trying to conduct a simple transaction had screwed up my computer. Some people quite reasonably pointed out that my complaints were more focused on the problems with the operating system than with the store, so my comparisons to Steam were unfair.
Okay then. Let’s ignore all the horribleness of the Anniversary Update and focus on the store. Let’s try to buy Forza 3 Horizon.
When I search the store for Forza 3, this is where it takes me:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “This Dumb Industry: Windows 10 Store, Round 2”
I really wanted to do more emails this week. We had some good ones lined up, but we ran short on time. Assuming there isn’t any huge news in the coming week, we’ll try again next episode.
Show Notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #171: More Mumbles, Halloween Horror Nights, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mailbag”
“Hello good sir! Do you have a moment?”, a bald man interrupts.
Master Norman and I are getting ready to leave town for a bit and scout out the nearby Fargodeep mine. We’re both anxious to get out of the madhouse that is Goldshire, but apparently Norman can’t resist a plea for help.
“Sure! What can I do for you?”, Norman says cheerily. I’m used to his goody-two-shoes act by now, so I only growl a little when he says this.
William Pestle gives us the run-down, “My brother and I run an apothecary in Stormwind, and I’m here to gather large candles for their wax. Can you help me?”
“Yes indeed!” Norman says, and he produces about a dozen small candles from his pack.
“Oh no. These won’t do,” the man says. “I need large candles.”
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Shamus Plays WoW #5: Enemy Mine”
Link (YouTube) |
“You know, the story of this place is kind of interesting if you read the computer terminals,” is probably the saddest thing to hear about an area of this game. It means someone actually came up with a good story, but nobody was willing to make it PART OF THE WORLD. Why? I dunno. I guess they spent all their voice acting budget on the moronic main story.
To be fair, it’s possible that the terminal story would fall apart once it was converted into stilted dialog from dead-eyed characters and the player couldn’t react to the dialog in any way except to choose from one of four lame responses to continue the conversation. Maybe the problem with the story in this game isn’t the story, but the terrible presentation.
Anyway… Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Fallout 4 EP45: Brotherhood of SEALs”
You may remember that last week I was heading upstairs to fight the level’s main antagonist. I left off without saying how it went, so let me set your anxieties at ease: everything went successfully. It was a white-knuckle struggle where every move counted, and at one point I was sure I wasn’t going to make it, but with grit and determination I successfully managed to climb that stairwell without getting stuck in the geometry.
So now that we’re past the hard part, let’s deal with Sugar Pie Herne Bun over here.
I really am going to have to deal with this guy. When I climbed up the hatch to the walltop it told me my trapdoor’s stuck itself, and the only way down is currently underneath his cloven ass-kicker feet. Besides, he’s got the last key I need to get off the level.
Unavoidable combat? Check.
Still can’t save my game? Check.
Guess that means it’s time to lotion up.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Ruts vs. Battlespire CH29: Cahmel’s Last Last Stand”
A big chunk of the internet went down in October of 2016. What happened? Was it a hack?
Raytracing is coming. Slowly. Eventually. What is it and what will it mean for game development?
What lessons can we learn from the abrupt demise of this once-impressive games studio?
A look at the main Borderlands games. What works, what doesn't, and where the series can go from here.
Here is how I'd conquer the game-publishing business. (Hint: NOT by copying EA, 2K, Activision, Take-Two, or Ubisoft.)
This is why shopping for graphics cards is so stupid and miserable.
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
How did this niche racing game make a gameworld so massive, and why is that a big deal?
A videogame that judges its audience, criticizes its genre, and hates its premise. How did this thing get made?
No, game prices don't "need" to go up. That's not how supply and demand works. Instead, the publishers need to be smarter about where they spend their money.
T w e n t y S i d e d
