How Many Words 2018

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Aug 7, 2019

Filed under: Landmarks 217 comments

In the past I’ve gone into the site database and generated some charts showing how much writing I did in the preceding year and what form it took. This is the third such post, which means I guess it’s a tradition now.

I was planning on doing this way back in January, but then it slipped my mind for 8 months. Oops.

Well, we’re overdue. I have a few announcements about upcoming content changes, and these charts will help illustrate the rationale behind these changes.

2018 in Review

We kicked off 2018 with that hosting nightmare, which put a dent in the content flow for a couple of weeks. Once things returned to normal, I published the final few weeks of my Borderlands retrospective. We also brought back the Diecast after a 10-month hiatus. Wolfenstein ran until April. Then I spent a month bitching about Black Desert Online for some reason. I spent June talking about E3 2018. After that I launched my Grand Theft Auto retrospective, which was followed by Mass Effect Andromeda. Andromeda actually overlapped with the start of Spider-Man, which is due to wrap up in 2 weeks. I also published a total of 35 columns. For the last half of the year, I was posting two retrospectives and a column every week.

I returned to writing Experienced Points columns in August. My goal was to create material for the Escapist without reducing my output here on the blog. How did that work out? The charts below have the answers.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “How Many Words 2018”

 


 

Diecast #268: 7 Billion Humans, Moonlighter, Fract

By Shamus Posted Monday Aug 5, 2019

Filed under: Diecast 65 comments



Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.

Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #268: 7 Billion Humans, Moonlighter, Fract”

 


 
 
 

Spider-Man Part 23: Smarten Li

By Shamus Posted Thursday Aug 1, 2019

Filed under: Retrospectives 84 comments

In a narrative sense, we’re entering the absolute worst part of the game. The gameplay is fine, but these next couple of cutscenes are a disaster of frustration and annoyance in terms of story.

Spider-Man heads to the secret lab where they’re cooking up the Devil’s Breath antiserum. When he arrives, he finds that Martin Li has already taken over. Martin’s Demon gang steamrolled the Sable guardsHow can these guys possibly suck THIS BAD? The Demons wear suits and use swords, and Sable goons wear body armor and carry automatic rifles..

Spider-Man webs up the Demons, and is about to head inside when more Sable guys arrive. He tries to make peace with them, but their bloodlust is only exceeded by their breathtaking ineptitude. He adds them to the pile of snoozing Demon guys and chases after Martin.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Spider-Man Part 23: Smarten Li”

 


 

The New Computer

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jul 30, 2019

Filed under: Personal 56 comments

Three months ago someone gifted me a gaming PC. I mentioned it on the podcast, but I know not everyone listens to the podcast. So I thought I’d give the machine a proper write-up.

The machine in question is a Corsair One. This is a pre-built gaming PC with a custom case. This machine is a first for me in a lot of different ways:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The New Computer”

 


 

Diecast #267: RoboRosewater, The Boys, Mailbag

By Shamus Posted Monday Jul 29, 2019

Filed under: Diecast 96 comments

During the show, I talk about the Amazon comic book adaptation of The Boys, which just released. I talk about the ending and a twist I saw coming, but I want to make it clear that I didn’t spoil the real ending. The example I gave is a placeholder / red herring.



Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.

Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #267: RoboRosewater, The Boys, Mailbag”