T w e n t y S i d e d
This week I have had more time than last week, but unfortunately I got a little sick, so once again, very few games have been played.
What’s everyone else doing?
Wednesday Action Log 12-04-24
More of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth; on the significance of Jennifer Connelly (Part Two)
We left Labyrinth at what I described as a transition point in the movie. Sarah is now stuck at the bottom of an oubliette (one of many in the labyrinth, Hoggle will inform us shortly), although Jareth will continue to refer to “the” oubliette and “it” as if there is only one. Was it a script inconsistency, or an intentional reference to the fact that Hoggle is a product of the story while Jareth is the storyteller? Much like many insane Kubrickian hypothesis, I don’t think it matters. As far as the story goes, she *is* in *the* oubliette, and that’s all we need to know. The labyrinth is “full of them,” according to Hoggle, and considering Sarah is dealing with more significant matters than the pedantry of the Goblin Kingdom…it is, after all, only the setting…they may as well all be the same oubliette. And as we have seen, they *could* all be the same oubliette, all leading to same possible outcomes.
DM of the Rings Remastered XCVIII: Ooooh! Shiny!
Wednesday Action Log 11-27-24
This week I’ve done barely anything. In my free time I’ve been watching YouTube, but I’ve barely had enough time to commit games. Next week I should have more, so hopefully then I will have anything to talk about.
How’s everyone else this week?
DM of the Rings XCVII Remastered: Gets Me Right Here
An Analysis of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, or Why is Bowie so friggin’ sexy? (Part One)
I originally thought a post on Labyrinth would be pretty large; epic even. The more I worked it over in my mind,the concepts got simpler and simpler (famous last words). My original premise was based on the observation that most people remember Labyrinth for, well; David Bowie’s balls. And the skintight pants prominently displaying his equipment. We must be honest, as well; David Bowie is a pretty sexy fella and the entire presentation of Jareth the Goblin King does nothing but accentuate this idea. Sooo…that means Labyrinth is about growing into sexual maturity, right?
No, it’s not. That wasn’t the original idea, it’s not in the script, and it’s not explicitly in the movie. It’s just that everything related to the Goblin King, especially *in the second half of the movie* carries sexual overtones.
Wednesday Action Log 11-20-24
This week I’ve been playing more Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.
So far, I’ve learned that turning down the damage reduction really hurts. Last time I played I had damage reduction set to easy, so I was effectively invincible with heavy enough armor. But now I have to learn what it’s like to take damage.
Also, since I’m not making most of my money from smithing, I’m having to actually learn how trade caravans and workshops work, instead of making one really good sword and having enough money to pay an army for a year.
Anyway, what’s everyone else doing this week?
From The Archives:
The Biggest Game Ever
How did this niche racing game make a gameworld so massive, and why is that a big deal?
PC Hardware is Toast
This is why shopping for graphics cards is so stupid and miserable.
The Terrible New Thing
Fidget spinners are ruining education! We need to... oh, never mind the fad is over. This is not the first time we've had a dumb moral panic.
What is Vulkan?
There's a new graphics API in town. What does that mean, and why do we need it?
Project Button Masher
I teach myself music composition by imitating the style of various videogame soundtracks. How did it turn out? Listen for yourself.
Batman v. Superman Wasn't All Bad
It's not a good movie, but it was made with good intentions and if you look closely you can find a few interesting ideas.
Skyrim Thieves Guild
The Thieves Guild quest in Skyrim is a vortex of disjointed plot-holes, contrivances, and nonsense.
Fable II
The plot of this game isn't just dumb, it's actively hostile to the player. This game hates you and thinks you are stupid.
The Plot-Driven Door
You know how videogames sometimes do that thing where it's preposterously hard to go through a simple door? This one is really bad.
A Star is Born
Remember the superhero MMO from 2009? Neither does anyone else. It was dumb. So dumb I was compelled to write this.