T w e n t y S i d e d
Busy Past Few Days
Wednesday Action Log 05-20-26
This week was just more Terraria.
Due to the difficulty of the bosses in legendary mode, especially the three mechanical bosses being combined into Mechdusa, I’ve experimented with different ways to fight bosses. So far I’ve found some success with fighting bosses in a giant pool of lava with the lava shark mount. The main two benefits of this method being decent mobility, and projectiles being greatly slowed.
So far this strategy has worked for the Queen slime, and Mechdusa, but I don’t know if it’ll work that well for the other bosses. Especially since I have to keep making giant pools of lava, and it’s getting a bit tedious.
What’s everyone else doing this week?
Girls und Panzer: We’re having a match! Pt. 1
Where were we? Everyone decides to attack the Panzer IV team, Saori and Hana panic until Miho calms them down, they start speeding away to avoid getting shot, Mako is napping on the ground directly in front of the speeding tank AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Girls und Panzer: We’re having a match! Pt. 1”
GuP delayed by a day
Hey, folks. My weekend got offset by about 8 hours, and it has pushed my scheduling off by a workday. I will have Episode 3 of Girls und Panzer ready to go tomorrow. Thanks for the positive feedback, it’s been a lot of fun!
Paige
Simpsons Catchup Binge: I Spoke Too Soon
My understanding of when Flandersization kicks into The Simpsons was faulty. I was led to believe that as early as Season 4, Ned Flanders had become a complete caricature of himself. In fairness, it’s not as though somebody directly told me this, but it was the information that I sort of gathered by discussion. I was wrong. It seems that the consensus is that the true distillation of the character didn’t happen until far later, and I can see that now for sure. To be honest, I got into the show long after the golden years were over, so I have always had a few ideas of what the characters were like and didn’t think there was any sort of great shift.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Simpsons Catchup Binge: I Spoke Too Soon”
Wednesday Action Log 05-13-26
Not a whole lot going on this week.
I’ve (for some reason) decided to make a new Terraria world, in master mode, with the Zenith seed. It’s bad. Bombs can drop from pots and trees, traps are many times more common, and many other terrible features. One of the (very few) upsides is that most blocks take less hits to brake, so I guess that’s nice.
I have no idea how many times I’ve died so far, but it’s at least in the triple digits.
How’s everyone else doing?
Girls und Panzer: Tanks, we ride them!
As promised! Episode 2 of Girls und Panzer: Tanks, we ride them! We learn almost everything we “need” to know about Sensha-do, or Tankery; in this episode. “How does this thing even work, anyway?” is kept appropriately vague, because there are certain story beats that require more suspension of disbelief than others. But ultimately, how precisely the tank-shaped hole that contains this show is dug isn’t really the point. Our guiding principle is friendship, and “finding your own Tankery;” a concept that will be brought up a couple of times. But while Tankery in the world of Girls und Panzer may be more gimmick than mechanic, the tanks themselves flip that situation. Mostly outside of battle. This episode ends in a cliffhanger that marks the transition of the series from something like the “slice-of-life” style we’ve seen so far, to; early in the third episode, something closer to a sports anime.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Girls und Panzer: Tanks, we ride them!”
From The Archives:
The Brilliance of Mass Effect
What is "Domino Worldbuilding" and how did it help to make Mass Effect one of the most interesting settings in modern RPGs?
Fixing Match 3
For one of the most popular casual games in existence, Match 3 is actually really broken. Until one developer fixed it.
The Loot Lottery
What makes the gameplay of Borderlands so addictive for some, and what does that have to do with slot machines?
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.
Trekrospective
A look back at Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abrams Reboot.
Diablo III Retrospective
We were so upset by the server problems and real money auction that we overlooked just how terrible everything else is.
Silent Hill Origins
Here is a long look at a game that tries to live up to a big legacy and fails hilariously.
DM of the Rings
Both a celebration and an evisceration of tabletop roleplaying games, by twisting the Lord of the Rings films into a D&D game.
A Telltale Autopsy
What lessons can we learn from the abrupt demise of this once-impressive games studio?
Could Have Been Great
Here are four games that could have been much better with just a little more work.