Morgan is still trying to reach Deep Storage so she can obtain her arming key so she can blow up the station. At some point during this ordeal, Morgan needs to visit the Crew Quarters. This is actually pretty dang far out of her way, and the reasons for it are a little convoluted. I’ll talk about them later, but first let’s talk about the amazing design of Talos-1.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 8: Yesterday’s World of Tomorrow”
The running joke is that every year I make a birthday post about how I’m getting old and I’m going to be dead any minute now. I try to find some sort of humorous way to joke about death or aging and then maybe follow it up with a sarcastic remark about Half-Life 3. It’s a funny traditionFunny according to the standards set on this site, anyway. YMMV. but I’m just not feeling it this year. So let’s have a serious conversation about my health.
Now, I generally dislike sharing too much information. I don’t mind telling people I have asthma, but I don’t want to list off my current medications and treatment history. That’s just weird. On the other hand, I’ve been pulling THIS bullshit for the last four months:
Shamus: Owie. I’m too sick to do my job.
The Internet: Oh? What’s wrong?
Shamus: I don’t want to talk about it.
That’s just annoying. If I don’t want to talk about it, then I shouldn’t bring it up. At the same time, I feel the need to explain myself when I fail my commitments. So here’s what’s going on…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Ding 50!”
Here is an hour and seven minutes of two guys talking about stuff. You’re welcome.
Link (YouTube) |
Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #353: Remembering Blizzard”
Morgan Yu has a tough job. Her goal is to blow up the Talos-1 space station, and optionally find some way to escape the blast, and even more optionally find some way for everyone else to also escape.
To blow up the station, she needs her arming key. To get her arming key, she needs to reach Deep Storage. To reach Deep Storage, she needs to go on a half dozen detours through the malfunctioning, infested, haunted guts of the station.
While she’s working on that, let’s stop and talk about…
In his book Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud talks about “amplification through simplification”. The idea is that as you simplify a cartoon character down to the essential details, they become more generalized. As their details become so broad that they could represent anyone, they effectively come to represent everyone. When you strip away age, gender, body type, ethnicity, race, and that stupid haircut you really need to change, all we’re left with is the humanity of the character. And wouldn’t you know it, we have that in common! We’re more able to identify with this kind of simple design. We can see ourselves in them. As a face becomes more stylized, it gradually becomes a mask representing either people in general or ourselves in particular.
But the one thing it doesn’t do – indeed, the one thing comics can’t do – is get you to take the final step and put the mask on. At that point the transition is complete. You can no longer see the mask at all. The character becomes you, specifically. Only videogames can do this.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 7: Who Are Yu?”
Heads up: I spend the first 7 minutes of the show talking about weird non-gaming, non-nerd personal stuff for some reason. This segment was originally longer, but I had Issac chop a bit of it out for fear of over-sharing.
Also, I had a funny story I’d intended to share on the show, but forgot to put in the show notes. Look for it at the end of this post. I’m honestly curious if I’m stupid, crazy, or if I was bamboozled.
Link (YouTube) |
Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #352: Animation and Joint Pain”
So we’re working our way through Psychotronics. This poorly-lit maze is the oldest part of the station, and it’s also where the classified Typhon research takes place. So while we’re here and reading everyone’s mail, let’s take the time to talk about the various monster types we’ve run into so far…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Prey 2017 Part 6: Meet the Monsters”
Hey, remember a couple of years ago when the TV show Rick and Morty was the topic of the day? No? Weird. I remember half the recommendations on YouTube were thinkpieces talking about how the show was pure awfulness / pure brilliance / at peak cultural relevance / a sign of the fall of civilization / a dumb fad / a show for smart people / a show for assholes. Most of it went over my head because I’d never watched the show.
The show is still going, so I’m not sure why it’s getting so little attention now. (Or perhaps, why it got so much 2 years ago.)
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Rick and Morty”
This Korean title would be the greatest MMO ever made if not for the horrendous monetization system. And the embarrassing translation. And the terrible progression. And the developer's general apathy towards its western audience.
How did this game avoid all the usual stupidity that ruins remakes of classic titles?
A big chunk of the internet went down in October of 2016. What happened? Was it a hack?
Why spend millions on visuals that are just a distraction from the REAL game of hotbar-watching?
Why make millions on your video game when you could be making HUNDREDS on frivolous copyright claims?
Ever wonder how seemingly sane people can hate popular games? It can happen!
A horrible, railroading, stupid, contrived, and painfully ill-conceived roleplaying campaign. All in good fun.
Yeah, this game is a classic. But the story is idiotic, incoherent, thematically confused, and patronizing.
I called 2018 "The Year of Good News". Here is a list of the games I thought were interesting or worth talking about that year.
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2011.
T w e n t y S i d e d