T w e n t y S i d e d
DM of the Rings Remastered CXLIII: Elfophobic
Spoilers and Unrealistic Expectations
DISCLAIMER: I will not be spoiling anything for anyone in this post. This is a post whining about spoilers and I try not to be THAT big of a hypocrite. So feel free to read without worry.
Recently the first part of the final season of “Stranger Things” came out and I was excited to watch it, but I’ve been sick for a month now. I wanted to enjoy the watch and trying to enjoy a show while I’m mostly deaf from a bad double ear infection and sniffling the whole time kind of takes away from a viewing experience. So I waited. I waited and I waited and I waited until I made a mistake that I make pretty much every day. I got on TikTok. Only this time there were greater consequences than brainrot.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Spoilers and Unrealistic Expectations”
Wednesday Action Log 12-10-25
Another uneventful week.
Still playing Slay the Spire here and there. I’ve only beaten ascension level 13 over the whole week, and I don’t know how long it’ll take to beat the next one.
I’m starting to think that I should invest in a new game. The only game I bought this whole year was Balatro.
What’s everyone else doing?
Horror Slasher Evolution: Halloween Returns
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was released for Halloween of 1988. The movie’s selling point is in the name. 1982’s Halloween 3: Season of the Witch did not continue the story from the first two films. Neither does it have anything to do with the rest of the Halloween franchise beyond the production and some thematic elements. I have already talked about John Carpenter’s desire to make the Halloween films a yearly anthology series, with each movie sharing only the Halloween holiday as connecting tissue. Carpenter had not wanted to continue the story from the first movie; in fact he made “The Shape” more human and less of a conceptual avatar in Halloween II just so he could kill that character off. At least, that’s my reading of what has been related. John Carpenter and his partner, Debra Hill only agreed to return for Halloween III on the condition that the story had nothing to do with the first two movies, a stipulation executive producers Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans accepted. Even then, Carpenter and Hill only worked as producers; arranging talent and resources.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Horror Slasher Evolution: Halloween Returns”
DM of the Rings Remastered CXLII: Rank Bribery
An Idiot’s Analysis of A Film: The Long Walk
I don’t go to the movie theater anymore. I never was a fan of spending a decent chunk of money on a single watch of a movie, then spending a small fortune on snacks and a Coke. Add on top of that the several experiences of annoying audiences ruining the atmosphere of great movies and I was ready for an excuse to stop going to the theaters. Then came the pandemic and the bottom fell out of the movie screening industry and earlier streaming debuts of movies. Now, most of the time you couldn’t pay me to go. However there are movie debuts that tempt me to go back. The release of “The Long Walk” was one such movie.
I’ve always loved Stephen King adaptations. From the masterpiece that is “The Shining” to the batshit insanity that is “The Langoliers” I find something to enjoy in most of them. There’s a warmth and particular charm to his characters that is hard to describe but you definitely know it when you see it. Maybe the copious amounts of cocaine imbibed while writing his characters just forces its way through even when it’s been filtered through another layer of interpretation. Regardless, I can’t read so enjoying his stories in book form is impossible for me. So when I saw a video discussing the “The Long Walk” prior to its release, I got very excited.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “An Idiot’s Analysis of A Film: The Long Walk”
Wednesday Action Log 12-03-25
This week I had a tooth extraction, so not much to talk about. My jaw hurts.
How’s everyone else this week?
From The Archives:
Starcraft 2: Rush Analysis
I write a program to simulate different strategies in Starcraft 2, to see how they compare.
Trashing the Heap
What does it mean when a program crashes, and why does it happen?
Good Robot Dev Blog
An ongoing series where I work on making a 2D action game from scratch.
Please Help I Can’t Stop Playing Cities: Skylines
What makes this borderline indie title so much better than the AAA juggernauts that came before?
Game at the Bottom
Why spend millions on visuals that are just a distraction from the REAL game of hotbar-watching?
I Was Wrong About Borderlands 3
I really thought one thing, but then something else. There's a bunch more to it, but you'll have to read the article.
The Middle Ages
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
Stop Asking Me to Play Dark Souls!
An unhinged rant where I maybe slightly over-reacted to the water torture of Souls evangelism.
Shamus Plays WOW
Ever wondered what's in all those quest boxes you've never bothered to read? Get ready: They're more insane than you might expect.
Batman: Arkham City
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.