Last week we learned something very important about the Battlespire: it’s going to kill us a lot.
Time to take inventory. Things we got:
Things we don’t got:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Ruts vs. Battlespire CH3: Disco Fever”
We are streaming Good Robot. Come watch Josh play the game, and ask questions of the development team. It’ll be fun. And also terrifying, if you’re one of the developers.
EDIT: Thanks to everyone who watched!
My column this week is a tangent on the topic that Mumbles brought up on Spoiler Warning last week, about how she’s sick of the bossy female coach character archetype. I can relate. I’m not tired of the female coach, but I am sick of the Aiden Pearce brand of protagonist, and I get how irritating it is when developers stick to that one trope that really gets on your nerves.
And while I didn’t say so in the column, I think this is a point worth making:
I know I’m always grumbling about male protagonists and male characters and ranting about how developers need to get out of this rut, but Firewatch showed me that I can still enjoy a male lead character, as long as he’s written properly. I’m not sick of male leads, I’m sick of shitty male leads. Or as I’ve come to think of them: Ubisoft MenThis is NOT to suggest that Ubisoft is the only publisher guilty of this. They just have the ones that get on my nerves the most.. You know the type: Growling badasses with no emotional vulnerabilities, no sense of levity, and central motivation built around vengeance or aggression.
I used to be fine with these guys. I’m not sure what’s changed:
Then again, sometimes it works. As much as I whine about these guys, I really loved William “B.J.” Blazkowicz in the recent Wolfenstein games. I’m still trying to figure out why he works for me and (say) Jason Brody doesn’t.
Also, be sure to read my disclaimer on the Escapist before you go and make a mess in the comments. I love to talk about game design decisions like this, but I’d really rather this didn’t veer off into gender politics.
If the show auto-plays for you, please consult this post for details. In short, it’s a bug in the latest Firefox, I can’t fix it, but it should be patched soon. (And maybe the patch is up already.)
00:01:30 Zack Snyder: “The Force Awakens Killed More Civilians Than Man of Steel”
Above is the quote that got all the attention in the original WSJ article, but for me THIS quote is the one that really raised my eyebrows:
“I was surprised with the fervency of the defense of the concept of Superman. I feel like they were taking it personally that I was trying to grow up their character.”
If that comment was supposed to smooth things out, I think it… didn’t.
00:20:55 Daredevil
Like I said in the show, this is on my to-watch list as soon as this Good Robot business is over.
31:30 Rutskarn’s Tales of D&D Tomfoolery.
Also contains japery and shenanigans.
This Tuesday night, Josh and I (and maybe some of the Good Robot development team) will be streaming Good Robot. If you want to see the game in action, ask questions, or just get on Josh’s nerves, then this is a great opportunity to do so.
The stream begins at 11:59pm GMT.
As always, the stream will appear at twitch.tv/spoilerwarningshow when the time comes.
Only Bad Robots would miss this one.
This is it. It’s time for the brigands to attack the town of Archet. No matter who wins, I have to say they’ve been very sporting to wait this long.
During the attack we’ll be in a special instance version of the town, so there won’t be any other players around. (Not that there are all that many in the newbie zone anyway.)
Jon Brackenbrook decides that we should wait at the lodge until nightfall. I don’t know why. The lodge is not in town, and we’re supposed to defend the town. I suspect he wants to secure the lodge until the last of the stew is gone, but I don’t say that out loud.
Night arrives, and I find myself on a hill with Jon.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Lord of the Rings Online #5: Shadow and Flame”
Here it is, as promised: the original Good Robot script I sent Shamus in October of 2013. It was never revised, so expect a bit of roughness, but since it was never meant to be paired directly with scripting or in-game events it should be reasonably coherent.
You ought to know that this draft “spoils” a plot point from the current version of Good Robot…except the current game doesn’t have much of a plot, more like a tone and texture? Nevertheless, if you like to experience things completely blind, it’s possible reading this will negatively impact your playthrough of new-hotness Good Robot. The rest of you might find your experience improved; should you enjoy the critical approach, you might find it interesting to compare this script’s structured plot-reveal-conclusion nature with the current Shandified version. Take your best guess as to which kind of player you are and make your choice: click “read more,” or skip it and inevitably get lost in a MrBtongue archive binge.
One more note slash reminder: back then, each level had two or three story nodes scattered around between the entrance and the exit. My notion was there’d be one at the beginning, one sort of hidden, and one behind the boss fight (boss names marked with placeholders “A,” “B,” etc). Keep that in mind as you read through. Now, if you’ll excuse me, MrBtongue is about to explain to me why Morrowind is awesome. Again.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Good Robot #47: A Script Reading”
Why make millions on your video game when you could be making HUNDREDS on frivolous copyright claims?
Why spend millions on visuals that are just a distraction from the REAL game of hotbar-watching?
An attempt to make a good looking cityscape with nothing but simple tricks and a few rectangles of light.
There are two major schools of thought about how you should write software. Here's what they are and why people argue about it.
What lessons can we learn from the abrupt demise of this once-impressive games studio?
The story of me. If you're looking for a picture of what it was like growing up in the seventies, then this is for you.
How does image compression work, and why does it create those ugly spots all over some videos and not others?
What's wrong with a game being "too videogameish"?
Team Cap or Team Iron Man? More importantly, what basis would you use for making that decision?
Crunch-mode game development isn't good, but sometimes it happens for good reasons.
T w e n t y S i d e d
