The Third Annual “Jarenth and Josh Stream Themselves Being Dumb for New Year’s Eve” Stream!

By Josh Posted Monday Dec 30, 2013

Filed under: Notices 46 comments

It’s that time of year again; that wonderful time when Jarenth and I take over the website so we can stream ourselves being dumb for a few hours while Shamus isn’t looking.

This year we’ll be playing…

Uh.

Actually, I don’t know what we’ll be playing yet! But we’ll be playing something! And it probably won’t be Nethack! (That would be sadness.)

The stream will start at 8 PM Pacific/11 PM Eastern/4 AM British on New Year’s Eve (December 31st), or if you’re in Europe, New Year’s Day (January 1st).

And don’t tell Shamus!

 


 

Batman Arkham Origins: Over-Analysis Part 5

By Shamus Posted Friday Dec 27, 2013

Filed under: Batman 68 comments

Usual flame-shield disclaimer: I've been nitpicking the game pretty hard in this series. This does not mean the game is bad or that you shouldn't like it. This is an exercise in comparing different art teams and design approaches. Rocksteady made the first two games, WBGM made Batman: Origins, and I find it interesting to see a property being handed off like this. Some of my complaints might have seemed small or trivial, but they're part of a larger point that I'm making.

Boss Fights

Okay, push the yellow button a whole bunch… now the blue one… now the… no no no! Wrong button! That’s not how I decided you will win this fight! Try again!
Okay, push the yellow button a whole bunch… now the blue one… now the… no no no! Wrong button! That’s not how I decided you will win this fight! Try again!

I’ve never been a huge fan of the boss fights in the Arkham games. The fights with Titans in Arkham Asylum were pretty shallow old-school vidogame stuff: Wait for the big brute to charge you, then jump out of the way so he hits the wall, then punch him in the butt a few times and run away. There’s one way to beat the boss, and you just do the right move at the right time to beat him down. It’s all very… Zelda? I guess?

These sequence-based fights are the weakest parts of the gameplay. You lose your agency as a player and are shoved into a fixed set of actions with a simple pass/fail outcome. There’s nothing to do but do what you’re told.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Batman Arkham Origins: Over-Analysis Part 5”

 


 

Merry Christmas

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Dec 25, 2013

Filed under: Personal 46 comments

Ah, Christmas. A time of family, food, and rapacious consumerism – three of my favorite things. I don’t know what sorts of things you do on Christmas, but here is a bit of mine:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Merry Christmas”

 


 

Remember Me, Starbound, and Skyrim

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Dec 24, 2013

Filed under: Video Games 71 comments

Has it really been a week since my last post? I can’t remember the last time that happened. It feels wrong. I can’t even give an account of where the time is going. It’s just… holidays and goofing off, you know?

But since we didn’t do a Diecast this week, let’s talk about what I’m playing.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Remember Me, Starbound, and Skyrim”

 


 

Diecast #39: Pokemon, Hearthfire, Burial at Sea

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Dec 17, 2013

Filed under: Diecast 118 comments

Yeah. I couldn’t make it this week due to equipment problems. But I really like how focused and spirited this episode was.

Download MP3 File
Download Ogg Vorbis File

Hosts: Chris, Josh, Mumbles.

Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #39: Pokemon, Hearthfire, Burial at Sea”

 


 

Batman Arkham Origins: Over-Analysis Part 4

By Shamus Posted Monday Dec 16, 2013

Filed under: Batman 54 comments

Yes, we’re still talking about Batman. Remember that it’s not a horrible game, I’m just magnifying its flaws. In fact, I’m not even sure this next bit is criticism or not. There’s something off with the art, and I don’t know if the art is of lower quality, if they shifted the art style, or if I’m just picking up on old existing problems because I’m looking at the game more closely.

I leave the final judgement on this up to the reader. Let’s talk about…

Art Style

I am ANGRYFACE BATMAN.

Really good artists are hard to find. If the style your concept art calls for is (for example) “slightly Frank Miller-ish comic-book with a dash of Bladerunner”, then you need a team of accomplished artists to pull it off. Art teams these days are big, and the larger the team gets the harder it is to get enough people that can nail a really specific point on the stylistic spectrum. It’s even harder when you consider that most artists are youngsters who are paid crap. (I’m not suggesting this is the case with WBGM. I know nothing about the inner workings of the company.)

But while stylistic nuances are hard to get right, just about all the artists at least have technical proficiency. They might not be able to create “an Arabian Nights-themed techno-fortress of the future”, but if they know how to use their tools they should at least be able to make basic real-world stuff.

This is probably why so many games are ending up in the photorealism rut. While Rocksteady gave the first two Arkham games a slightly comic style, I think WBGM has moved closer to reality for Origins. Compare Bane:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Batman Arkham Origins: Over-Analysis Part 4”

 


 

Aunty Paladin: Games List, Contest Winners

By Rutskarn Posted Sunday Dec 15, 2013

Filed under: Tabletop Games 12 comments

Rutskarn here–I’ll keep this brief, because I am up to my unmentionables in equipment to unpack, characters to roll, and AV systems to set up for this year’s grueling Aunty Paladin. Just thought I’d pop in and whet y’all’s appetites for the live gaming goodness to come.

I’ll get to the winners of the choose my character/design an adventure contest in a minute. First, a short (and totally incomplete) list of games I’ll be running or participating in with some idea of when they’ll happen. We can’t schedule accurately too far in advance, so if you want specific details on when some of these adventures are going to run, stay tuned to the website or the twitter feed (@AuntyPaladin).

Return to the Tomb of Horrors: A handful of foolhardy men and women go up against the sequel to the most dangerous module ever published. Starts at 7PM PST every day of the marathon until we win or die, whichever comes first. Spoiler: it’s the first one.

Aunty’s Little Helpers: We’ll be running a Pathfinder dungeon playing characters (created by other cast members) based on ourselves. The drama! The pageantry! 4PM PST Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Highlander FATE: A Fate game based on the Highlander mythos, complete with flashbacks, immortal duels, and drama, drama, drama. Time not yet determined, probably later on.

I’ll Never Love Again: A grim, noveau-western drama of convicts and pastors set in an unnamed small town in the American south. Designed by Rutskarn to use the Fiasco rules and playsets. Time not yet determined, probably Thursday.

Durance: This story-heavy narrative game gives each player two characters: one part of a ruthless prison planet’s administration, the other a beleaguered and dangerous inmate. One character will be towards the top of the hierarchy; the other, that many steps towards the bottom. Each character has one rule they’ll never, ever break; the game won’t end until half the character have broken those rules or died. Runs after Return to the Tomb of Horrors Monday night, probably around Midnight PST.

Unrest: An official (but non-spoiler and non-canon) game based on the upcoming CRPG Unrest. Run by Rutskarn, the lead writer. Look for this one some time Wednesday.

Paranoia: Everyone’s favorite mandatory fun-time dark humor dystopian roleplaying game. We won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say we hope you have your papers in order. Time TBA.

The Official Sailor Moon Roleplaying Game: Fuck you, Kamen. Time TBA.

Aunty’s Revenge: Nick’s put us through a lot of RPG-related misery. This year, we found the most confusing (but innocuous) clusterfrag of a system the internet had to offer, and come Thursday AM he’s going to have to learn the rules and run it for us with very little preparation. What system is it, you ask? Stay tuned. We’ll spring the system on him at 12:45 AM PST, then we’ll play something else while he pores through the document, descending deeper into madness with every baffling table and block of unreadable flavor text. Character creation begins at 4:00 PM.

…and many, many more.

Now for the contest winners:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Aunty Paladin: Games List, Contest Winners”