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bagog · 5 months

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N7 Month, 2023 - Day 30: Last Stand

It's been real fun everybody, thanks for reading, and let me know what your favorites were!

Mshenko museum piece for the finale.

By mid-morning, the Alliance Military History museum was as busy as it was going to get for the day. Shepard and Kaidan, both clad in non-descript hoodies, dark glasses over their eyes, had been slowly making their way around the Shepard exhibit in the Reaper War wing of the museum. They’d avoided one exhibit in particular so far, but at last they had worked their way all the way around and only had one thing left.

There was an eye-catching sign that read ‘Last Stand’ and on a smaller sign below: “Experience the final three minutes of the Reaper war with Commander Shepard.” There were two entrances spaced wide apart, but it was clear that one was an entrance and the other an exit from the ‘Last Stand’ experience. Above the entrance was a bold ’21:13:43’ and above the exit was ’21:14:55.’ It evoked a popular symbol after the war had ended. A lot of people had a tattoo of the time—to the second—when the Crucible wave hit where they were hiding or fighting. The second the war ended.

“We don’t have to do this one,” Kaidan said, glancing at Shepard over the rim of his glasses.

“We’ve seen everything else.” Shepard’s brow was furrowed, “Might as well top-off the experience.” He turned and gave Kaidan a reassuring smile.

“I’m just saying,” Kaidan shrugged, “There’s not any three minutes of London that I’d like to relive, much less whatever three minutes they’ve picked out here.”

“What do you mean?”

“’21:13:43,’” Kaidan pointed to the exit, “That’s not London Local Time for the wave. It’s a good twelve minutes earlier.”

“Oh, Shepard nodded slowly, “the run-up to the transport beam.”

“Definitely not a moment I’d like to remember,” Kaidan said carefully, checking Shepard’s expression. Shepard had an excuse if he wanted it.

“Let’s have a look.” Shepard took a quick breath, then offered Kaidan a smile. Their audio queued when they cross the entrance threshold.

“These are some of the final moments of the Reaper War, and three minutes that would determine the fate of the galaxy. Constructed with data directly taken from a FOB monitoring Shepard’s position.”

The audio continued to set the scene: Hammer Squad, Thannix Missiles, heroic names—Shepard nudged Kaidan when ‘Spectre Kaidan Alenko’ was mentioned—and the transport conduit. The exhibit itself was a dark tunnel, on either side a gigantic holographic layout of the broken London street that served as the run-up to the transport conduit. The conduit was represented by a holo near the exit, and where Shepard and Kaidan entered represented 550 meters south: where Hammer Team made their final charge. The audio would trip at key moments as patrons made their way through the hall. By this time, there was another group just ahead of them, but it was dark enough where they felt comfortable taking off the sunglasses.

Shepard was represented on the holo by a yellow ball with a pinging halo emitting from it. As they approached, it began to move toward the transport beam, dodging blasts and avoiding rubble the holo hadn’t rendered, resulting in a somewhat comical display. The audio was aware:

“Forty-five seconds. Commander Shepard runs straight at the beam, or as straight as the situation allowed. Harbinger began repelling the advancing forces, indiscriminately targeting both individual soldiers on the ground and also the ground and air vehicles. You can see Shepard zig-zagging back and forth, likely avoiding rubble or attempting to make himself a more difficult target.”

“Why do you think it’s only me up there? They should have data for every marine out there that day?”

“It’s your exhibit,” Kaidan offered lamely. “Plus, I don’t think seeing all those little… flickering lights go out would be a very stirring exhibit.” Shepard nodded gravely.

The yellow ball raced down the hill in real time, and after forty five seconds, stopped abruptly. It then went backwards.

“Forty-two seconds. That’s how long it took Shepard to call down the SSV Normandy and evacuate a number of marines wounded in the battle. You can see him take up a defensive position behind cover, then race forward—possibly supporting the weight of another wounded marine—when the Normandy arrives.”

Sure enough, the yellow ball ‘limped’ over to where a holographic Normandy had been generated. The ball stayed there, though, for another thirty seconds, nearly.

“Twenty-eight seconds. That’s how long Shepard lingered at the Normandy, likely ensuring as much time as possible for further evacuations. The Normandy’s cyber warfare suite was a surprise for Harbinger, and silenced, for a time, its blasts.”

They were catching up on the other group now, who were talking between themselves, bent over the holo with interest.

“Twenty-eight seconds,” one whispered to the other. “That’s forever in a battle like this, huh? Geez, makes you wonder what was going on.”

“Probably was just giving some orders or something,” said the other. “…I wonder if he thought about just… flying away?” They both chuckled, then grew quieter as they proceeded to hurry through the rest of the exhibit when Kaidan and Shepard got closer.

“I did,” Shepard whispered to Kaidan, pulling Kaidan’s hood just to the side so his lips could almost to the shell of Kaidan’s ear.

“Did what?” Kaidan turned. Shepard looked over his shoulder to see that the other patrons had drifted away.

“I did think about just getting on the Normandy, flying away,” he said, softly.

“No you didn’t,” Kaidan cracked a conspiratorial grin. “Not for long if at all, at any rate.”

“I did. I thought about leaving with you. Thought about it just long enough to make it hurt when I had to turn away.” Shepard touched Kaidan’s hand. “The exhibit doesn’t talk about it at all, but do you remember what you said during those ‘twenty-eight seconds?’”

Kaidan looked at Shepard warmly, looking through him, in some ways. “I, uh… I think I told you to let me finish the fight!” He laughed.

“You said ‘Don’t leave me behind,’” Shepard replied. He lifted Kaidan’s hand, softly ran his thumb over the man’s knuckles, his ring. “And I told you I loved you. And you said it back.”

“Yeah,” Kaidan said, voice thick. “Yeah I remember that.”

“It was the first time we’d said it to each other.” Shepard pointed at the yellow ball, lingering behind the Normandy hologram. “That’s what I remember about those twenty-eight seconds.”

“That’s sweet, Shepard,” Kaidan touched Shepard’s face, gave a little smile. “That little yellow dot is about to go through a whole lot of shit in the next 10 minutes.” Shepard nodded, aware even now of the various cybernetics implanted into his body after this battle. “I’m sorry you had to go through it alone.”

“You were waiting,” Shepard said, at last. “That’s what matters.” Kaidan looked over his shoulder once more before leaning in and kissing Shepard. Shepard leaned back with a wry smile, “I think I’ve had enough hero worship for one day, what do you say we get out of here?” Kaidan nodded and took his hand. They slipped their dark glasses on and strode out of the museum arm in arm.

#n7 month #n7month #mass effect #fanfic #mshenko #kaidan alenko #commander shepard #thinking of sprucing up all the museum ones #and putting them on AO3 #would that work? i dunno

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calextheneko · 3 days

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Mario Maker 2 Self Promotion: Super World and Sky Tower Saga

So getting back into Mario Maker 2 and for those who don't know I freaking love Mario Maker. I currently have 80 levels uploaded in the second and forgot how many I have uploaded in the first. Never as many cause I never got enough likes to expand my upload pool in that one. Glad 2 through that mechanic in the trash.

Anyway, this post is just to blow my horn and talk about some of my favorite levels I've made. I'm far from the best or most popular level designer but I do put my heart into them! If any strike your fancy it means the world to me if you play them! So let's go on.

First off if you want to find me and pull up all my levels

Creator ID: GKP-1RT-HNG

Can use that to pull up my profile. If you see the name Calex and my little guy wearing the cat suit you got the right one!

So first up, my Super World found on my profile.

This follows basic 8 world progression, made in the Super Mario world style. I did my best to make it feel like a Mario game while adding in some unique twists. Worlds 1-6 have four stages including a boss stage, and world 7 and 8 have 5 levels including boss stages. I try to stay true to form with fighting the Koopalings and progressing but giving them unique mechanics or battlefields to fight on to freshen the fights up.

The levels start on the super easy side as I've attempted to scale the difficulty up as you progress through the worlds. I'd say world 7 is where you notice a big bump up.

I recently redid the final level of it 8-5: Seat of the King. Mainly, while I liked the original version the boss fight with Bowser took way too long. I wish they had a way to adjust his HP. So I updated it so Bowser will get damaged much, MUCH more quickly, as well as adding in a couple secrets that can let you skip round 1 with him. It's not nearly as hard, but I'll take fun over difficult any day of the week.

Most of the levels I'm proud of are later in the games as I made them more complex as part of turning the difficulty up. 7-1: Blast Off! might be my favorite of the set. As for hardest, for me personally I think 8-4: The Koopaling's Last Dance! As it contains rematches with each Koopaling that you fought throughout the game and then a fight with Bowser Jr. I put two checkpoint flags right on either side of a pipe for this one so you can reactivate them any time you want to save your progress in this level.

I could gush about each level but there are 40 of them total in the Superworld so going to move on so we're not here all day.

Sky Tower Saga

Sky Tower Saga is a series of levels I made back before the game had Super Worlds using the Mario 3 layout. Sky Tower Saga contains much more and often difficult twists on its boss fights and each of the levels has its own boss.

Sky Tower Saga is a five level collection that basically tells the story of Mario's journey to Sky Tower after it mysteriously appears in well, the sky, and his effort to stop Bowser from seizing the tower's strange powers for himself.

Sky Tower Saga Part 1: Journey

Course ID: 402-DQ9-LSG

Journey has you start in a winter themed level, as you platform your way along before reaching the Tower's entrance. Once inside you climb the first few floors before facing Boom Boom. This level is the only completely normal boss fight in the series, as it serves as a warmup level before you enter the tower proper. So Boom Boom has no mechanics. There is sadly a Soft Lock in it, there's an area you can go down under after hitting a P Switch and find a 1-up. But if you don't have the Super Leaf then it's not possible to get back up and eventually you die once the P-Switch runs out.

Sky Tower Saga Part 2: Ascent

Course ID: 1DT-J87-6RF

Ascent where the series starts using vertical levels as you climb higher and higher into the Tower. This level also has far more secrets in it than the first, including eight key coins that if you gather you can unlock a special bonus door right before the boss fight. You can also use the key to skip the boss fight if you want, but kind of ruins the fun. Up to you if you want to get through faster or if you want to fight it! Whatever you feel like! But the fact the boss can be skipped is why I later stopped using red coins in boss stages to prevent that. I just like putting in secrets for people to find. XD I feel it makes things more fun.

Anyway, this time the boss fight is against a Flying Boom Boom but now we start to have new mechanics introduced. This fight has a time limit beyond the actual course timer. As the fight continues one of the walls will closely close in giving you less and less room to move around in. You need to defeat Boom Boom and unlock the exit door before the wall closes in completely and squashes you flat. I left the timer very generous.

I designed it by using a Bill Blaster as the wall. It doesn't shoot anything, but I put it on a conveyor belt that tries to carry it right. However there are switch blocks in the way blocking its progress. Below it is a shell that is fired onto a conveyor belt that tries to carry it right but the shell is shot left making it travel very slowly. At the end of it is a Switch Block. So each time it hits the block the Bill Blaster is released from a switch block and moves right. Meanwhile the shell is quickly delivered back to where it started before bouncing and slowly moving towards the switch again. During the fight you can see it moving so you can see exactly how much time you have before the wall moves again.

Sky Tower Saga Part 3 Secret

Course ID: K47-5M0-5RG

Sky Tower stretches so high into the sky you start to leave the atmosphere. As a result any time you are physically climbing the outside of the tower there will be less gravity. Thankfully it seems the Mushroom Kingdom invented artificial gravity so inside you're fine.

Once again we have red coins to unlock a secret room as you travel up. And once again it can be used to skip the boss fight if wanted. But surprise twist! There are two boss fights! More on that in a second.

Secret introduces something important in the form of the three Fire Orbs with wings that will be seen again. These are used to represent an entity called Tower Soul who will be a problem in a later stage, but for this one you just get a glimpse of them. Meanwhile, the challenge takes in the form of scaling the place while managing the lowered gravity. There is also a snake block to ride, but don't worry there's a two-way pipe right before it so you can exit and re-enter if you fall off and need to respawn it.

As for the fights. It's Bowser Jr with a round 1 and a round 2 against him. The first round is simple, some Throwmps slam down activating an on and off switch which drops Bowser Jr and two red Bill Blasters into the room. You have to hit Bowser three times while dodging homing Bullet Bills and you're done. But round 2 things kick up a bit. Bowser Jr is now protected in the safety of the Tower and you must fight him while dealing with the Tower's defenses. Your only platform is a seesaw that goes up and down but this is to your benefit once you realize what you need to do. You need to jump on Koopa Troopas and then shoot their shell into a small hole where they'll travel down and hit Bowser Jr. If you stand on the left side of the seesaw it will form a perfect ramp that you can slide the shell along right into the hole instead of having to jump into the air and fire it. While you continue to fight the tower will release other defenses including buzz saws so watch yourself as you take it down. This fight is good training for a future fight that's a much bigger problem.

Sky Tower Part 4: Apex

Course ID: W7B-R7W-XKG

Finally you reach the apex of the tower. But as you reach the top, you will find none other waiting for you than Bowser! Charged up with the Tower Soul the entire Tower is now at his command as he attempts to destroy you!

Once again, up in space so low gravity when climbing the exterior of the tower, but most of the platforming takes place in the interior as you climb up the last few floors. Beware of Bullet Bills as they'll be a constant threat when you climb. When you have to charge forward towards a Bill Blaster remember to look for holes in the area you can jump or duck in to dodge the bullets. Also, as you navigate flying beetles and other surprises there might be a chance to grab an unintended upgrade along the way.

Apex is where the red coins stop as I realized I was undermining the levels, as well as this is where you face a much bigger threat for the boss. Bowser himself is the boss fight this time. When you finally make your way up to him, the arena will look familiar. You fight Bowser in the same was as you did in Mario 3, but with a slightly simplified arena. Naturally a you can guess from the previous fight this is just a warmup for the real fight.

Grab the Fire Flower after round 1, it will make your life much easier, I promise. For fight 2, you'll be facing Bowser in a Fire Car, but you have a Fire Car of your own. If you grabbed the Fire Flower you shoot three fireballs instead of one which will make things much easier. Dodge Bowser's attacks and take him out with your own fireballs to proceed forward! However, Bowser is probably the smallest worry you'll have at the moment. The Tower Soul will be seen flying around the map damaging you if it impacts you, as well as there are tons of cannon balls being fired. Navigate the maze of obstacles carefully as you fight Bowser and finally finish off the fight... Except, not quite. At the end of the level you'll see though Bowser is gone, Tower Soul remains.

Sky Tower Saga Finale: Soul

Course ID: 5S2-81B-XGF

It's the final level. With Bowser defeated Tower Soul has gone berserk. If the tower is left unchecked its destruction power will spread to the Mushroom Kingdom. Are you ready to fight an entire freaking tower? Cause you're fighting an entire tower. Or at least the heart of it.

This is a boss stage, no platforming to get here. Instead, you get some power ups and then are instantly thrown into a battle with Tower Soul. That's right, the final boss is a completely original thing instead of being Bowser again! I know it turns out I am capable of originality at times!

Now then...This is what the Bowser Jr fight earlier was practice for. You will see the Tower Soul inside a huge contraptions once you step into the heart of the tower. The ticket is once again to kick shells into a small opening so that it can damage the tower. But it's going to be much harder this time. There's no ramp you can shoot it up through. Now you'll need to either throw the shells from the air, jump up to the hole or time it perfectly off a moving platform to get a hit in. Each time you land a successful hit you'll see the tower start to fall apart as bricks fall from overheard.

This fight took a long time to design and went through a lot of versions. First I had to get it to actually work so that you could get a key for defeating a thing the game doesn't regard as an actual entity. I hit an enemy that's never visible on screen but is killed right after you land your final hit on Tower Soul. That enemy holds the key so that's how I made it look like defeating Tower Soul gives you the key. After I got this working though the fight was too insanely hard. So believe it or not this is the tuned down version of it. Keep aware of the threats around you and practice your timing with shells until you earn victory.

But the level isn't over yet. The Tower Soul flees as the entire tower begins to collapse. It's time for a Metroid this place is gonna explode escape sequence with some fun music. But, how do you escape Sky Tower? Well... You'll see when you get there. Defeating Tower Soul is the hard part the rest of the level is super easy and I don't want to spoil the fun of what's happening.

Anyway that's stuff about my Super World and Sky Tower. I may post more of these with other levels I worked on and their course IDs as it goes on. We'll see how it goes. Will also be trying to come up with some new level ideas cause the itch to make levels is bugging me like crazy now. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me rant, and super special thanks to anyone who plays any of the levels too!

#Mario Maker #MarioMaker #MarioMaker 2 #Mario #Nintendo #Switch #level maker #level design #platformer #Super World

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tails-artwork · 9 months

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Gaming Thoughts - July 2023 - Sonic Frontiers

(I'm looking at doing a sort of long-term project to hopefully slowly get my art back into the groove amidst some of my studying. Basically at the end of each month to do one really small doodle based one a game that I play during the month and also give my thoughts on the game as well. Some games may end up getting covered twice depending on how much I keep playing it or such too. But maybe it might serve as a way for me to get back into doing some fanart and keeping myself from getting too rusty)

Anyways, to kick this off, we're starting with a game that while I did end up starting it in June, I managed to finish it off in the first half of July. Which would happen to be Sonic Frontiers.

Nonetheless, I have been a bit of a Sonic fan ever since my first game being the old PC port of Sonic 3D Blast, but back then I really didn't play super long or seriously with games like I do now, thus in all technicality the first Sonic game that I had ever beaten was Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on the GCN. I think ever since then I ended up having a stronger bias towards some of the 3D sonic games as opposed to the 2D ones despite the huge variance in quality a lot of the games have had over time.

Anyways, the moment I started Frontiers, I swear I ended up getting drawn in VERY quickly. I honestly struggled really liking going back to any of the boost era games (Generations and Unleashed included, so go ahead and grab the pitchforks) and the fact that to me Sonic felt as smooth as I remember in Adventure and Heroes already helped me enjoy more of the game. And honestly i found it really easy to control for most of the game as well while exploring in the actual world.

The cyberspace zones were…well…despite the fact that some of the boost era games have just never fully clicked with me, I think those were not tooo bad. There is an obvious dissonance on how Sonic controlled in the open area and in the cyberspace levels though and thus he felt a lot more stiff in those. But…damm some of the level layouts did tickle my fancy so much (Even though I feel like they missed some potential with the music for some of them, but that is a different matter.)

Regardless, I don't think I've ever been THIS sucked into a Sonic game since Heroes though, and I definitely am looking forward to the final update with this game as well with the different playable characters. I've been itching for Tails to have been playable in a 3D sonic game since almost forever and I really hope it comes out well in the end. All in all, still ranks quite up there as being one of my fav Sonic games, though I don't think it has dethroned Heroes or SA2B quite yet. (also yes, in my playthrough of Frontiers, I absolutely HAD to use the SOAP shoes for Sonic as well)

Also, throwing this last part under the cut because final boss spoiler potential.

I played the game on hard mode and was able to get the final last true fight. I heard a lot of people complaining about it before because it was a complete genre shift from a majority of the game, but like..it did feel like the game was preparing you for it with some of the small minigames there were so it wasn't 100% left field. And well…having playing Ikargua as much as I had before, this final boss literately just felt like a stage of that so that might be why I had quite a lot of fun with it and didn't have a hard time with it either. Though speaking of which, for those who DID enjoy the final boss though or those similar minigames. This is 100% a shameless plug to go and give Ikargua a try as well. And Radiant Silvergun while you're at it too.

Also, Sage's development in the game was just dawww. I really loved her a lot and I hope she shows up in future games as well considering the last scene in the ending.

#Sonic Fronters #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sage #Sonic #My Art

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glassmarcus · 3 months

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Konami gave me an excuse to write about the trajectory of Bomberman campaigns

*Played in November 2023, Written in December 2023

For those who know me, it’s apparent that I’m one of those deviants who plays Bomberman games FOR the story mode. We’ve all played multiplayer Bomberman games, and we all had a blast doing so (Pun intended, the pun will always be intended). Multiplayer Bomberman just works and as long as you don’t fuck it up, it guarantees a Bomberman game is at least a 7/10 if you staple it to the side of any of them. It is pure distilled chaos in its most enjoyable form. But it’s also kind of perfected at this point. Yea, you can add a few more mechanics and characters to play at once, but nothing you can do really changes the feelings that multiplayer elicits. That’s why Single Player modes have always been more intriguing to me. There’s so much potential there, and every few games there’s a new take on the gameplay that could be pushed a little bit further.

Bomberman started out as a Single Player home computer game. The goal was to erradicate the enemies on the screen and then proceed to the next level. This became the default Bomberman Single Player format and didn’t die out until Bomberman Portable on the PSP. In fact it was basically the only gameplay type for a decade. I refer to this style of gameplay as “Genocide” as the goal is to completely clear out the map with no exception. It is the most plentiful Single Player mode and has honestly run its course. Having the goal be to kill every enemy really pins down what the level design and objectives have to be and just ends up dragging out the content. It was probably done the best in Super Bomberman 4 and by then the other gameplay types it created were inherently more interesting, so it was weird that they kept making them for a decade afterwards. There are many more types of Bomberman Single Player modes, and I’m about to break em down and bestow a title corresponding to whatever crime can best describe them.

After Multiplayer modes started getting added to Bomberman games, they pretty much took over the franchise and became the focus going forward. Some games decided to take the Multiplayer and pass it as a Single Player experience by pitting you against AI opponents. This gameplay type I refer to as “Homicide” as it focuses on killing players who have the same abilities as you. The first one to do this was Bomberman Gameboy, also known as Wario Blast in North America. Why is it called Wario Blast? Because they added Wario as a playable character and opponent. Why did they do that? I...I don’t have any answers for that. It still puzzles me to this day.

Homicide is far and away the worst Gameplay type for Single Player Bomberman games. Single Player Bomberman is fun because it’s for the most part Asymmetric. Multiplayer is fun because everyone is on the same level and has to navigate through the same chaos. These games take the worst of both worlds. The inherent equality is stripped from you as you’re forced to play with at least one AI opponent who will dodge every one of your bombs flawlessly, yet will accidentally kill themselves 80% of the time. Defeating them is not satisfying because it always feels like there’s no behavior or strategy you had to learn in order to win, you got lucky because the AI decided not to read your inputs or blow themselves up. And this is all in exchange of potentially great level layouts, varied enemy design, and a genuine feeling of progression. I don’t say this a lot, because I try to appreciate the hands I'm dealt with in life, but I’d truly rather have nothing.

Around the same time as the Homicide gameplay type was created, Bomberman 94 for the Turbo Grafx 16 blessed the world with a new style as well. Instead of the goal being to kill every enemy on the screen, it was to destroy certain enemy structures to open the exit of the level. Due to the goal being shifted to destruction of objects rather than enemies, I title this style as “Property Damage”. I’m a big fan of Property Damage. It gives you more options for how to handle the level now that you don’t have to kill every single thing on the map. Having certain points that the player must travel to allows for more creative map design as well.

It’s a better version of the Genocide gameplay style in every way. Super Bomberman 4 is a dynamite game on in a vacuum, but was ultimately disappointing because Super Bomberman 3 was a Property Damage Game. I would say the gameplay in Super Bomberman 4 is a step up from 3, but its inferior structure drags it down. Property Damage is the best gameplay style that I don’t have a desire to see again. I earnestly believe the formula was perfected in Saturn Bomberman, Aka The Best Bomberman Game. After playing it I was truly satisfied. They don’t need to go back to this well again, just re-release it on modern hardware. It’s the definitive Classic Bomberman Experience.

Not all styles can be as fully realized as Property Damage though. I think the most known gameplay style that fans clamor to make a comeback for is what I’ve come to refer to as “Loitering”. This is the gameplay style created by the N64 Bomberman Games. There is no specific requirement to unlock the exit, you only have to figure out how to get to it while goofing off on the way there. Adventure is the main focus and while all these games have had their problems, they were all solvable problems. A truly amazing Bomberman title is waiting to be made under the Loitering frame work.

Bomberman 64 has some undeniably gilded level design and is an impressive first attempt at a 3D Bomberman game. It frustrates the hell out me when I play it because of the camera and how stupid punishing it is, but that can all be fixed in a follow up or remake. I can say the same for every game of this style. Bomberman Hero would be amazing if it had a slight double jump action to spruce up movement. Bomberman 64: The Second Attack might become one of the best Bomberman Games if it explained and utilized its mechanics with a hint of sanity. Bomberman Generation has the least problems out of any 3D Bomberman game, but feels a bit sterile and safe compared to its predecessors. I’d love to see a version of the game with more open and creative levels. Bomberman Jetters...is a lost cause, but 80% of them are still bursting with potential. I’d prefer they return to this style, but due to it being the most resource intensive option, I doubt that will happen.

Over the years, Konami/Hudsoft has occasionally opted to lean towards somewhat of a fusion of the Property Damage and Genocide archetypes. Games where instead of the objective being to destroy an amount of enemies or objects, the objective differs in every level. This assures variety in level structure and gameplay and it’s basically what I expect Bomberman story modes to be at a bare minimum now. When Super Bomberman R came out and had this gameplay type in place, It felt as if that was the story mode that won out in the end after years of evolution. It’s not my favorite style, but “Crime Spree” felt like the future to me and I fully expected Super Bomberman R 2 to follow suit. The frame work had to be similar to classic Bomberman due to being a sequel to R, so the Loitering games I pined for were assuredly not going to return. The most I could hope for was a Bomberman Blast Story mode scenario where it’s still top down gameplay but with linear levels. Of course there are more options for the series to return to, but I deem those as even less likely. But that won’t stop me from writing about them though.

I will never not be salty about the fate of the Top Down Bomberman Adventure games. This series is at it’s best and most interesting when it’s shamelessly emulating The Legend of Zelda and I wholehearted wish they leaned in harder. Bomberman Quest is a wonderful game buried by a mountain of embarrassing technical issues. The bombs are literally transparency.jpgs and it’s the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. This game is barely held together, but traversing the world at your leisure and finding new abilities to use just feels right for the series. Its Gameboy Advance follow up, Bomberman Tournament is hands down one of the best games in the franchise because it cribs even more from Zelda including the tendency for Zelda games to perform decently. Tournament is the best Zelda game on the GBA, hands down. And this sub series peaks here, as its only follow up was Bomberman Story DS, which is a bad game I don’t want to talk about because it makes me VERY angry.

There’s a quality to Bomberman that lends itself to collection and exploration more than other franchises. I think it’s due to the work you put in to collecting and clearing out an area. Most adventure games have you travel to a place, do a quest, and then you have what you need for your quest. In Bomberman though, you have to do those same things...without accidentally killing yourself. It feels a bit more earned and exciting that way. Blasting the land and fracking resources fills me with glee, and that glee is all the better when those power ups and rewards are permanent. This is why I call this gameplay type “Looting”. The tools you acquire have lasting impact on your journey and a lot of the fun is indulging in the grind.

Now there are tons of other gameplay types that I don’t expect to return in any way because they are very unconventional for Bomberman gameplay and are essentially spin offs. I say essentially and not definitely in this case because I don’t know how to split a franchise as unfocused as this one into mainline and spin off categories. Basically, when the gameplay strongly diverges from the norm is when I don’t expect any return. So all those Bomberman Racing games that came out are irrelevant, as well as the Bomberman Land party games. But there is one spin off that I feel doesn’t stray from the norm too much and I still have some hope it can return in a future game. In the past we’ve had Genocide and Homicide, but neither of these crimes comes close to one of my favorite Gameplay Styles: “Regicide”.

Bomberman Wars is a goddamned gem of a strategy game that doesn’t deserve to be stuck on the Japanese PSX catalog. Many games back in the day didn’t get localized because they were too hard or didn’t have a tone that appealed to target demographics enough. This one I’m pretty sure was held back because they thought Americans simply weren’t smart enough. My brain was forced to expand when I played this game. If you don’t think 4 steps ahead at least, you can lose it all in a mere instant. Understanding each unit on the map and their function is key to victory and when you execute your assassination plan of the opposing team’s king, it's euphoric. The thing is, it’s still Bomberman gameplay. Only now it’s turn based. Bomberman games being on a grid makes it convert into a strategy game seamlessly. It’s not a strategy game with a Bomberman coat of paint; It’s a Bomberman game that is slowed down so you can plan for all the chaos that a 5 v 5 Bomberman match might entail. It might never come to the forefront of the franchise, but I believe that if the balance of Bomberman Wars is ironed out, we will have created Chess 2. I regret to inform you that these last two paragraphs are irrelevant to the main point of this write up and my motive was to gush about Bomberman Wars.

So with all this knowledge of Bomberman gameplay, I came into the newly released Super Bomberman R 2 fully expecting a Crime Spree game. There was no reason for it to not be that. But to my surprise...Konami cooked up something entirely different. To be fair the original Super Bomberman series shook things up a bit too between games. Sure, Super Bomberman 2 is pretty much the same as the first, but 3 shook things up by being a Property Damage game, 4 added mechanics that added value to the genocide gameplay style, and Super Bomberman 5 set itself apart by being a completely impenetrable cluster fuck. So there is precedent set in the series they are attempting to reboot, but not to this extent. When you boot up Super Bomberman R 2, you are not greeted with a mission to complete. You are not tasked with an object to destroy. You aren’t even given a hit list on who to kill. Because Super Bomberman R2 is a Looting game.

Now, it’s not a Looter the same way the previous 3 games are. You don’t get any unique abilities or bombs along the way which is a huge bummer. But by following the description I gave earlier, this clearly fits. The whole game is centered around collecting. You bomb softblocks and enemies to gain experience points which grant you basic power ups that last for the entire world. It’s not much, but it is an RPG mechanic and I’ll take all I can get. Exploration is at the forefront of story mode, as your objective is to comb the area and search for alien creatures called Ellons. Ellons look similar to Chao and have the same surface level appeal. They even have a discount Chao Garden on each planet you visit. But mechanically they work much more like Maiamais from The Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds. Each planet is gerrymandered into districts that have a certain amount of Ellons. Ellons are hidden all over the place and their locations can be sussed out by listening to their squeaks in the distance. When a district has all of it’s Ellons collected, it will be indicated on the map, and each Planet has 100 total. These are functionally Maiamais and again I must praise Bomberman for shameless cribbing off Zelda. This aspect of the gameplay loop shoots this game up to being one of my favorite Bomberman Campaigns.

Find a bunch of collectibles in an open world with no direction? I sleep. Find a moderate amount of collectibles in a series of divided areas? You have my undivided attention. Completing each section one by one hits that anxious spot in my brain real nice because once I’ve completed a section, I don’t have to worry about it again. More games need to do this and I’m glad Bomberman caught on. It also helps that searching for them in soft blocks isn’t the only way to obtain Ellons. There are also small puzzles and mini challenges you find throughout the level that award you with multiple Ellons at a time. Bomberman Story DS had puzzles like this too, but I’m pretty sure they were all awful. I can’t be sure, I prefer to not remember that game. The puzzles add a lot to the gameplay loop so it never feels stale. It would get tiring if the entire game was blasting soft blocks to find Chao and level up stats. What’s interesting about this stat element is that it’s not simply the standard fire, speed, and bomb amounts that increase. After a while, your gimmick maximum increases too, which is a stat that doesn’t appear to be relevant to the story mode at all.

As it turns out, this Story Mode is only half of a Looting game. The other half is comprised of a new gameplay type. One of the main selling points of Super Bomberman R2 was a new multiplayer mode that involved some sort of tower defense. The way it works is that there are two teams, one defending their treasures and another attempting to steal them. When time runs out and the defending team still has treasures left, they win. If the invading team successfully captures all the treasures before the time runs out, they win. This game mode in implemented into the Single Player campaign using AI opponents with some twist. Now, based on my feelings on Homicide style Bomberman games, this seems like something I’d hate. It’s a chaotic multiplayer mode being slapped onto the Single Player. But there are a few things about this implementation that make it not only work, but be a really fun experience.

My main issues with the Homicide Bomberman games was how there was no asymmetry and the AI were a little too slick at times. This is not a problem here. For one, the AI opponents are kinda dumb compared to previous titles, which I’m not sure was the intention, but I appreciate it at points. There is also no issue with symmetry, as this game mode is inherently asymmetrical. When you are on defense, you have the entire map working in your favor as you can adjust the fortress design to funnel enemies into traps(gimmicks) that push them away from the objective or kill them. You can also achieve special abilities such as a sword that kills enemies directly or a shield that takes a certain amount of hits. When you are on the invading side, you don’t have a lot going for you aside from numbers. Sure you’re likelier to die, but there are far more invaders than defenders. Because you don’t need to be stronger than the opposing side to win, you only need to be sneaky and clever with how you move around the fortress. While Looting also wouldn’t be a bad term for this gameplay type, due to both defense and offense being required, I think “Home Invasion” fits better.

For Home Invasion’s first outing it doesn’t do too shabby. The gimmicks and gimmick limits you obtain and increase throughout story mode allow you to bolster your defenses whenever enemies attempt to raid you. It’s hilarious to build your own fortress and watch the opposing forces fail to navigate your house of horrors. A lot of the time I felt like I was just blocking enemy paths with bombs though, so maybe the AI could have stood to be a little smarter. On the invading side of things where you have to take the enemy’s treasure, many elements don’t transfer over perfectly. You are on a team of 8, but they aren’t really your team. There is a single treasure to steal when you play in story mode and if you aren’t the one who steals it, you lose. White Bomberman has to be the main character. I think the idea was to assure the player character didn’t stand still and wait for the AI to maybe take care of the problem. Instead of an 8 v 3 it ends up being a 1 v 10, which isn’t even a challenge anyway. Most matches last 30 seconds if you know where the treasure actually is. The raiding side of things feels half baked and it’s really disappointing how you have to compete with your siblings instead of work with them.

One big change Super Bomberman R made was reestablish lore and make all the Bombermen be siblings with distinct personalities and I’m still not sure I’m a fan of this decision. While it’s great they are distinct, they can also get very annoying. There’s not a ton of story in this game, so they are all fighting for screen time due to 8 characters being an absurdly high number for a main cast. I think the story of this game integrates the individual characters better into the plot, but a lot of the time they do often come off as White Bomberman’s wacky side kicks. On the first invasion I did, I was kinda hyped to see all the Bomberman siblings together about to wreak havoc. They actually felt like a team. For a split second. Then you realize they are only getting in your way. I couldn’t help but imagine how cool it would be if these characters had their own little gameplay segments or maybe individual campaigns. Maybe then they could be cured of the annoying sidekick syndrome they’ve been bedridden with for 2 games. I desperately want to be endeared to these characters, but this game isn’t built for that. For as ambitious as it is, it’s only ambitious compared to the past few story modes.

I really need Konami to make the next Bomberman Story Mode with a budget. Aside from some qualms I have with the raiding side of Home Invasion, all issues with the game stem from a suffocation of new assets. You explore 3 planets in this game, which mean only 3 motifs. That’s on the lower end of Bomberman Games. 5 motifs is the expected minimum. While I never tired of the gameplay, I did tire of the visuals after a while. 3 Planets means only 3 over world themes, and while they do good to provide multiple mixes of those themes, that means there’s only 3 unique melodies for the majority of the campaign. It’s not even half as many as its predecessor. Sadly, I’ll take the soundtrack of the first game over this one any day. Asset diversity is the one thing I feel R1 completely trumps its sequel in.

3 planets also means a limited number of bosses. The Boss fights in this game have the quality and bombast I desire from this series. Well the third one is kinda bad, the rest are pretty great. There are clear patterns the boss goes through and the better you are at reading the boss and knowing what their openings and weak points are, the faster you can finish the fight. But because the story wants to do a cool finale with a multi-phase final boss fight, they decide to throw in a boss rush instead of a what they clearly wanted to do. It’s a bit deflating to have to slog through all these past bosses to get to the new content which there isn’t much of. And it’s shame because I was actually a bit invested in this villain’s motive and the lore they built here.

This Home Invasion Looter hybrid feels like a promising proof of concept for the future of the franchise, but I’m not confident it will be followed through. I don’t think this game is gonna sell as well as Konami wants it to, so it might be a while for an R3 to happen. But even after enjoying what they created, I would still prefer they make a pure Looting or Loitering type story mode next. I’m mainly just happy this team is trying new things. While Home Invasion has potential, it’s not the end of the world if it isn’t followed up on. But this game has really convinced me of something that I’ve always known deep down.

I can’t hide it anymore. I just want Bomberman to become the new Zelda. I’m not kidding. For a decade I have hungered for a new traditional Zelda game and Nintendo seems to have no plans for making them. I’m playing through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom savoring every morsel of traditional Zelda shavings it leaves behind, but it’s not enough. If you’re ever curious why I’m obsessed with this franchise, it’s because I’m a Zelda fan who is projecting. There has been a lonely rift in gaming for years now and it’s begging to be mended. Bomberman can fill that spot, I promise. Look at the level design in Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. Some of those are straight up Zelda dungeons! Tournament is the second best Bomberman game because it thinks it’s a Zelda game. The potential has always been there and I binged 40 Bomberman games in 2021 to see if there was anything else in the franchise that pushed the concepts those games introduced further. But I found nothing but a pile of mezzanine single player modes, a few gems, and Saturn Bomberman, the Best game I will never play again because Saturn Emulation is a nightmare.

Because Bomberman is such an unfocused franchise and because its multiplayer has subsumed its identity, I know it’s just not gonna happen. But the heart wants what the heart wants. My heart wants a different type of bomb in each dungeon that you use to solve complex puzzles. My heart wants consistent lore and culture between games. My heart wants a sick Rival Boss Fight between Max and Bomberman. My heart wants to use Louies and Tirras as mounts as you roam the overworld. My heart wants to place a bomb on a suspicious wall and find a secret, because that’s what both franchises are really about at the end of the day. Maybe my brain is still fried from the Great Bomber Binge of 2021, but I really do think this makes sense. This franchise has been around for over 40 years, yet feels like it never truly exploded. But it’s not too late Bomberman. The mantle is yours to take. Seek the throne, for it is now empty and calling out to you.

Anyway, here’s a diagram of all the categories I’ve divided the games I’m familiar with into. You’re Welcome.

#Bomberman #super bomberman r 2

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captmickey · 1 year

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✏️ +

no.1 pinched the bridge of his nose “why did you think confronting a witch would be a good idea?”

Sitting on his desk was a small frog in royal guard armour.

Daventry was home to many fantastical creatures. Trolls, goblins, unicorns who are absolutely not just goats with a poor man's version of a horn to trick said trolls… as well as witches and wizards.

Witches and wizards who had a fun time throwing curses and spells like it was water on a random Tuesday at the random civilian that dared to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

So it really did not come as a surprise to the captain of the guards when Graham sheepishly walked into his office with a frog in his hands.

"Pockets," Number One glared at his desk, "contrary to what the Royal Guards have said, me being a father is figurative, not literal."

"Noted."

"So why, pray tell, are you coming to my office, drenched in mud, holding a frog as a four year old would to their fathers?"

"Because um… well… it's not an ordinary frog." Graham winced.

"Pockets–"

"Look–"

"Do NOT put the filthy blasted frog on my–!" his words were cut short when he saw, placed delicately on his desk the unordinary frog.

An unordinary frog with the undoubtedly Royal Guard armor and eerily smelling of both earth and syrup.

"Explain."

"Huh?"

"Explain." Number One nearly hissed through gritted teeth as the frog lightly croaked. Even the blasted croak sounded like Number Two. "Why is my second in command a bloody frog? What happened to just scouting the layout of the land for anything threatening?"

Graham flinched but quickly regained his footing. "I mean, technically, this is the end result of the scouting. There's a witch and she casted something called Frog which… well… this is the end result."

"How… how did you find the witch?" Number One’s stare was piercing through Graham.

"Well, because Number Two thought it was an old lady that needed help. And uh…" Graham scratched his cheek. "He may have used a pun?"

Number One stared for an uncomfortably long time as the frog sat patiently on the parchment that was in regards to, ironically, swamp maintenance. He inhaled deeply before closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why did you think confronting a witch would be a good idea?”

Number Two let out a loud croak as an answer.

"You think the Hobblepotts have something to help understand animals?" Graham asked, biting back a bit of a laugh.

"They bloody better have." Number One grumbled, scooping up the Second In Frog and stepping out of his office. "With me, Pockets."

"Yes, sir!"

Number Two, once more, let out a croak to which Number One groaned.

#mickey writes #kings quest #I DID KNOW OF THE PROMPTS I JUST KEPT FORGETTING TO DO IT

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anime-grimmy · 1 year

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My thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The game’s been out for almost a week now and Ive blasted through it in like 3 days because my sick ass couldn’t really do much but lay around and suffer anyways. Rn I’m trying to fill my Pokedex and I’ve started a second, way slower playthrough to really enjoy everything the game’s got to offer.

Criticism

So, Pokemon’s first open world game. We’ve all seen the memes, the game has a lot of bugs and especially performance issues. While I have not run into a high amount of glitches, except for some visual stuttering and one shut down, the performance of this game is sometimes atrocious. And this coming from someone who plays Monster Hunter World on an old laptop at 30fps where more than half the textures don’t even load. Sometimes the game dances on the line of death when it loads in too many Pokemon, or god forbid you’re on water because your switch will sound like a chainsaw trying to cut through a stubborn trunk.

And it really IS a shame, because the concepts and ideas of this game are a lot of fun! Like, this game IS fun but it does get bogged down by its issues a lot. Also bcs it does not have dynamic level scaling. Don’t tell me I can go everywhere and do anything, but then throw me in a zone I can’t go through. Don’t get me wrong, the whole “I SHOULD NOT BE HERE YET” experience is very funny and makes you look forward to going back to places, but the layout is just confusing. At the start, Nemona tells you the West Gate is for the first Gym Challenge, Arven tells you the East Gate is for the first Titan. You’d assume either way you go, the challenges in that zone are at least around the same levels but NOPE. You can beat the Gym Leader on the side of the first Titan relatively easily, but try to take on the Team Star base in the same area and be sure to suffer. This weird layout design goes through most of the game. Like, why is the Gym Leader that’s FARTHER North than Grucia weaker than him??? Like, you kinda HAVE to go through his town to get to the other one. It just does NOT make any sense!

I wanna say that Game Freak just needed more time but we know that even a year more wouldn’t have helped much, because Game Freak just isn’t a studio that’s equipped to do everything they set out to do. They’re short development time makes them build the games on an already wonky base, so even if they did suddenly extend the development by a year, I don’t think much would have changed since they had a faulty game design from the start. It pisses me off so much how Game Freak won’t or can’t reach out for help, they always try to keep everything in their small little team and not let outside hands touch their product (which ofc also is because of all the branding around it), but with their short 3 year development cycle, these guys just aren’t fit for the job to make the games they want to and the people demand. For fuck’s sake, they’re the biggest media franchise on earth, I do not understand what makes them think that one more year of development from the start or an extension of their team would do to fuck that over. So far the people stick with their games because they give us glimmers of hope and lure us in with great Pokemon and characters, but if this continues, they are slowly but surely going to lose their status as top franchise.

Because not making a game with this low res run well on the switch when the Xenoblade’s Chronicles games can be played on the system is unacceptable.

The Good stuff

Now that Ive got the negative stuff out of the way, I can go to stuff I really enjoyed. Because while I do have my fair share of criticism, this game also did a lot I liked.

For one, I am deeply saddened they removed the chugging balls mechanic from Arceus, this just makes catching Pokemon a hassle again. However, I do like the autobattle mechanic. It’s a bit rough because your Pokemon are so slow and once you run for 3 steps they’re back in their Pokeballs. But it’s a nice mechanic to get some off hands exp when traveling from place to place.

Speaking of traversal, I really love Kuraidon. The sound design of this Pokemon is immaculate, I love the scaly boy, he has so much personality and I love how you’re unlocking HMs for him through the Herba Mystica. It’s such a stupid pun but I love it.

As for the other new Pokemon, I’m hit and miss on them. A lot feel weirdly Fakemon. Like, the Flamingo and the Stork don’t feel like real Pokemon to me. Others, however, I really really liked. The Smoliv line is one of my new fav Gras types, Fuecoco has no braincells and I love him for that, and this game did give us some awesome new bug and fairy types. DUDE, A BREAD DOG?! HE’S SO CUTE!!(Spoiler for endgame)

And then the ancient Pokemon. I do prefer the ancient Mons to the futuristic ones tbh, and I like the concept also way more of trying to bring back old, extinct Pokemon to live alongside the present ones than bringing some from the future. Dude, like, the ancient Volcarona is so fucking cool, it’s my fav of the old mons.

(spoiler territory)

But on to the one thing I truly loved about Scarlet and Violet, the characters. Specifically the main three, Nemona, Arven and Penny (and Mr. Clavell/Clive). I never thought I’d like Penny and Arven at the start but holy shit they grew on me. Even Nemona, who I figured I’d like, took a turn in character I hadn’t expected.

Let’s start off with Penny since I have the least to say about her. It was pretty obvious she’s the leader of Team Star from the start, right? The predictability aside, while the Team Star story was nothing to write home about, by the end I did feel attached to this group of misfits, and Penny’s relationship with them is so sweet. Like, when after the game you can join her looking after the team Star bosses to see if they’re doing well in school, it’s so adorable. What I like about Penny though is how surprisingly sassy she is. Freaking hacker Otaku with no chill, I love it.

Then, Nemona. She’s like the epitome of a “nice” rival. I like that from the start it’s established that she is a great trainer, since she already has the Champion title, but the fact she chooses to start from scratch to grow alongside you just screams how much she loves battling and respects a good journey. She wants you to be the best because she sees your potential and she just knows she’ll have the best battle in her life if she helps you out. She’s a mix of a rival/mentor character, who at the same time kind of has a screw loose since battling is all she thinks about. But it all comes from an honest place and the fact she doesn’t act as a cheerleader and actually challenges you in battle when you’re not ready for it, makes her a great rival.

Lastly, Arven. (BIG spoilers) My sweet baby boy, I cannot believe Game Freak dumped so much trauma on you. It was obvious from the start that he had some parental issues, I did not expect it to be year long neglect. I mean, he hasn’t seen the prof in YEARS and has NO memories of playing together with his parent? And apparently his other parent walked out on them the MOMENT he was born??? Then he gets a dying dog, which thankfully got better (it did make me teary eyed by the end ngl) but then the one who’s actually dead is the PROFESSOR???? I hate how quickly he got over the fact, the dude just found out his parent who he hasn’t seen in years is fucking DEAD and has been for YEARS. I mean, I’m happy this makes him find new ambition and a new path in life but fuck me, let the boy process this for a bit.

But yeah, Arven’s story was my fav (im very weak for dogs ok.) Though, all coming together in the end and you running alongside your friends down the Great Crater was so damn cute istg. And the dialogue between them, getting to know each other, is so damn good. You see some different sides of them, showing interest in someone else but you, and it gives them some more dimension, I love it.

Now if Game Freak just FINALLY added voice acting, at least for the damn CUTSCENES, I’d be the happiest. Like dude, that last emotional cutscene really needed some raw emotional voice deliveries.

But yeah, all in all, Scarlet and Violet has a ton of fucking problems, but it also has a lot of good sides to it. Now if Game Freak just took it’s fucking time and accepted some help, they truly could make a great game from the get go.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon scvi #thoughts #review #rambling #i really enjoyed the game #but it has a ton of issues #i do love the characters thought #such babies

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constellation2330 · 8 months

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Starfield, Final Thoughts

'cause no-one else I know has finished the game and I have to scream into the void

Starfield is a good game. There have been a couple of bugs so far (namely one where almost everything in my player home disappeared after a certain stage in the main quest, due to New Atlantis refreshing after a 'invasion' state, and a couple of naked guards), but everything has been stable and plays really well.

I like the combat, enemies will take cover, duck, run to new cover, run away, charge you. After playing a ton of FO4, it's refreshing. Outpost building and decorating is fun, and placing things is easier than in FO4. Scanning and exploration are not very exciting, but when you do them at the same time as other things (scanning a planet, flora and fauna whilst you're there for a quest, collecting resources), it can be a relaxing little side jaunt, particularly on an interesting looking planet. The random encounters, which Bethesda has always done so well, are also great.

The faction quests are genuinely fantastic. I've not completed them all entirely, but the UC one has been my favourite so far. There's some genuine 'oh shit' moments, the NPCs are compelling, and the missions are fun. I had an absolute blast with that UC one, particularly because by that point, I had learnt enough about the universe I had started taking certain things for granted that were turned on their head. There was a jump scare moment that was very delightful.

Companions are likeable, feel very grounded with 'real people problems,' and are tremendously well voice acted. I had fears they would be caricatures, particularly Barrett, but they're all solid.

Here's the bad, then.

No ground map. Particularly early on, this is a huge pain in the ass. There's actually a lot to see and do in the established settlements, but running around like a headless chicken when you're new to the game and just want to buy more ammo is frustrating. Luckily, there are some good maps online already, and after a while you'll find the layout of these places is pretty simple and you'll remember where everything is. Taking some of the 'activity' missions is also a fun and natural way they get you to explore the settlements.

Exploration, whilst as I said is a decent enough little side diversion as you do other things, is not the promised point of this game. It's boring, and I would like these points of interest to either a) have interesting enemies you need to fight b) have rare or unique loot to make them worth going to c) have random encounters or d) give you some much needed extra XP.

Companions, whilst likable, are maybe... too sane. The fact that all the main four 'full' companions are from the same, lawful, good faction is a real issue if you want to play a 'bad' or crime filled playthrough. Whilst I really like their backstories, one of the attractions of companions in games is that you get to hang out with some absolute nutters, and there are none here. We needed a mix, like in Fallout, of rival factions who would bicker and snipe at each other, at least one you can't get or lose in your first playthrough if you choose a 'side,' and at least one you can sway from their original faction. I would maybe have picked two from Constellation and one from the UC, Freestar, Crimson Fleet and House Va'runn. Sam could easily have been from the Freestar questline, as you take his place in the Rangers so he can get out to spend more time with his daughter (onto that later), Andreja could easily have been House Va'runn, who stays or leaves depending on your actions. We come to those two too late, really, when all the interesting stuff in their lives has essentially happened.

Edit: I should say, you can 'sort of' sway Andreja, but I would like to have seen YOU uncover her as a House Va'runn spy, and either let her continue (keep her secret), have her kicked out (and encounter her later as an enemy) or convince her to leave the house and join Constellation for real. The companion comments on that would have been amazing tbh.

So, the main quest. It's... a little unsatisfying. You don't get any answers about what the artifacts actually are (I'm thinking the DLC will explore this), and if you romance Sam Coe, something that really annoyed me was how easily he was willing to become Starborn, let his daughter become Starborn too, knowing the risk that they would be separated. In WHAT universe would a father as loving as Sam take the risk that he would never see his daughter again, just to fulfil some vague explorer's desire? This is done for gameplay reasons, you can't exactly wait for her to grow up, act out living a life with your family and then move on when you're all ready (although I like to think this is how it happens for my character). But it's very, very jarring. This is sort of addressed with one of the New Game+ openings, where adult Cora appears looking for revenge from a universe where Sam died, and is clearly resentful of the artifacts. But it just didn't really sit right with me.

It is, however, a really interesting and fun way to take your character into New Game+, if you're the kind that likes to do another playthrough with the same character. It's a bittersweet ending as you leave behind 'your' universe, but by the time you've done everything you wanted to do, you sort of feel 'ready.' It was nice to see the little epilogue tableaus, too.

So, yeah. Is it worth playing? Yeah. Was it worth the money I spent? Well... yeah, to be honest, considering the money off I'll get for the DLC included. But I would also recommend waiting until it comes down in price. You'll have fun and be absorbed, but I don't think it'll ever make the same splash (especially on Tumblr) that Fallout and BG3 have made.

#starfield #long post #i had to TALK about it ok

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redphienix · 2 years

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Who wants an uncalled for, but incredibly niche discussion about a couple series that have been dead and gone for 7 years?

You got it!

Rock Band and Guitar Hero! (mostly GH here)

There are many reasons why the sub-genre boom of "Guitar / Band based rhythm games" died and, without debate, without argument, without so much as a whiff of doubt, the main reason is Activision deciding that the boom deserved to be milked dry by releasing nearly 20 games in just a few years *cough*

But I wanted to propose an argument (and some observations) against their final, desperate, depressing spit of an attempt to get a few more drops of profit from the dead series- Guitar Hero Live.

Namely, that control scheme switch up, what a misguided decision that was, I feel.

For the uninitiated, Rock Band and Guitar Hero were birthed on a simple principle, bring the fun and "feel" of playing in a band to gaming- you know- an idea that's been done for other rhythm stuff.

The idea being that they take the "feel" and "idea" of the action, and gamify it, which often means changing a lot of it.

Just like how DDR isn't dancing, Guitar Hero isn't playing guitar, but both "feel" like it in a gaming sense and make you feel more invested in the music you're playing (the gaming version of playing) which, as any rhythm gamer will tell you, feels fucking great!

You get excited, you mash some buttons and hit some beats, you touch some lit up orbs or panels, it's a blast!

But a key similarity between DDR style dance games and Guitar Hero guitar games in my eyes is the emphasis on simplifying it for gaming instead of like, bending over backwards to make it "as close to actually doing the thing as possible". Because while you can lean on authenticity (IT WORKS SOMETIMES!) there's an alternative that's very, well, fun.

It's Gamified. You don't look like you're dancing in a traditional sense when you play DDR, but you CAN look REALLY COOL while doing it at a high level- it's just not gonna look like something you see on the dance floor more often than not.

Guitar Hero had the brilliant idea to take the complexity of the instrument and simplify it down to something that makes you feel like you're "playing" (game term) the action of "playing" (instrument term) a guitar.

They took all that complexity of strings, tuning, hell- even strumming and simplified it beautifully into a 5 button 1 bar toy guitar.

Is it anywhere near the real thing? No!

But the key is, it's distinctly not trying to be, it's TRYING to be a toy guitar, it's TRYING to be a tool for investing you in a rhythm gaming experience, and people loved this shit! I love this shit! I fuckin' adore the 5 button setup.

When the sub-genre began to see the final days approaching, the decision was made to take steps closer to the real instrument in the name of innovation without much thought put towards the decision beyond that.

It was a bullet on the back of the box- a demand to buy new plastic equipment- a change for the sake of changing, and it had MAJOR costs.

The new guitar was designed with a new button layout to try and step a bit closer towards the frets and strings of a real instrument- a novel concept- one I can definitely see being brought up and green lit with little argument.

But it warranted many arguments.

For one, it alienates the core audience of this series by removing all muscle memory and accrued skill from the story.

EVERYONE is on even ground, and that sounds great, and isn't bad in principle, but remember this is the latest in a series where the entire appeal is getting better and honing your newfound rhythm potential on these instruments- to have the 17th title suddenly tell you to unlearn it all for a new instrument is strange.

Second, this is in my opinion just a core misunderstanding of the point of the simplified instruments to begin with. People who are playing one of these toy guitars aren't inherently doing so because they want to play a real guitar- some are- and learning Guitar Hero can encourage you to try an instrument for certain- but these are not intrinsically the same thing or guaranteed to be paired together.

A lot of people play Guitar Hero to play a rhythm game, much like how people play Taiko Drum Master to play a rhythm game rather than master their pair of drums.

The simplified model was made to make it a unique rhythm experience that you can not acquire with real instruments because it is, indeed, a gamified version which makes it feel quite a bit different.

The remodeled Live guitar was meant to bridge the gap between the toy and real thing, but a lot of the audience simply wasn't asking for that.

And to be blunt, people who wanted that already had options that were miles better than this entirely unhelpful middle step- Rocksmith released in 2011 guys. There is a gamified "Learn how to play real guitar" option already.

Anyways, long story short, Live, the sputtering death spiral of an entry that it is, tried to innovate the wrong part of the formula and while I'd be the first to say it's genuinely novel in its own way- I suck at it but it's a serviceable concept- it was short sighted as all hell and ignored what made Guitar Hero and the sub-genre interesting to begin with.

Apt, that Activision's burning desire to ruin the sub-genre would remain short sighted even here.

The decision to change the controls was simply unneeded as the simplicity of the controls were never the issue- they were the APPEAL, and the idea of this half step being of value to those trying to get into real instruments is limited in effectiveness since it's still, 100%, entirely a toy that doesn't demonstrate most of what the instrument requires to be played.

Also this entry nixed the other instruments- perhaps the most ignorant decision possible seeing just how popular things like the drums were. Like holy shit, do you know how many people got SUPER into the drums during Rock Band's high? And this game just went "Fuck how guitar plays, also fuck all the other instruments, hey guys why aren't you buying more Guitar Hero????"

Point being I'm bad at explaining my points, and I think over time the dev and publisher side seemed to have mistaken the appeal of their games for "Learning Guitar" when the appeal was always "Gamified Guitar / Other Instruments". It's a very different experience sitting down to learn an instrument vs sitting down and practicing your rhythm with a toy that "feels" like the instrument, and the community kinda just really enjoyed that second option. Too bad :/

Anyways Live sucked, I'd love to pretend it single-handedly killed the Band Rhythm boom but that'd be ignorant to say when Activision was trying their best to shoot that beast dead far beforehand.

Rock Band 2 forever, best one, come at me.

#my posts #Guitar Hero #Rock Band

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psych---ologically-deranged · 1 month

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psych 2x13 lights camera homicidio

Steve franks, chris henze, kelly kulchak, andy berman, james roday rodriguez, dule hill

Too many people, but at least most of them have distinct voices

Again with the names. Doing voices I can't hear who they are, & not getting their voices, I'll have a harder time telling who is whom.

Three weeks? Matt Shakman.

The team!

Ppl in costumes in this one shot

Production offices in vancouver babey!

Is it funnier to say guys dressed as toast & then see it, or see it & then say it? Why was it SO important?

Well done Dulé

Smallest waist on a man ever born. 23/43 /j

"Roday could not keep serious whenever Matt would speak in this scene"

SF: Great opportunity for James to ~exploit~ his latin [american] roots JRr: It was man, I was appreciative. I had a blast. Thanks Andy. AB: You are welcome. JRr: My father got a kick out of this too. DH: Did he? JRr: He hasn't heard me speak spanish since I was 4 or 5

"Help me please, whoever you are" JRr: Hey man, say this

Gus was initially supposed to be waiting in a hopsital room to deliver some product, & he was watching tv live, & he sees the stabbing. He was supposed to be in an argument with the woman next to him on whether this guy would cheat. Gus was supposed to say "He'll pay for it. one day he'll die" & then this guy was supposed to be wheeled in on a hospital bed.

*punches shawn in the boob* SS: *falls clutching himself* That was too hard

THE SPANISH THEME SONG

SF: I took no spanish whatsoever. I took french.

Gama Lobo, named after Tony Gama Lobo

SF: When I was in kindergarten, I had a friend down the street named PJ, & one day he just moved away. PJ, if you're wathing this, what the heck happened to you man? That's not how friends treat each other, not even telling me! AB: I'd like to take this opportunity to propose to my girlfriend AB: ... When I actually have that girlfriend SF: Andy, you should be on one knee AB: Should I put my pants back on?

DH: My aunt Tit. She's from jamaica. Her real name is Lavender Gooms.

Uncle Penis, Cousin Placenta, what is wrong with these people?

Was supposed to be another female detective. (Wow she was rude. Juliet was offering her assistance in, say, maybe getting to know the layout, maybe remembering people's names, not writing your own name here & now.)

SS: *would eat meatballs from the trash* Like a jackal salivates for a wounded possum

CH *sneezing attack*

Different kind of Shawn Vision

Adam & John, good music!

Their sound stage is that green one on the screen

JRr: The hardest I got Dulé all season. ...to break. I wish I got to see the extended scene, hip movements, DH breaking character, I wish.

Poor JRr got sick.

Lol the palm trees.

Ooh the dress from weekend warriors.

*actually does smell the dream*

Because they film things out of order, you can see JRr still has some chad makeup on him

Kelly *creeped out that the director pulls shawn's shirt open*

This was ACTUALLY their rops trailer.

*everyone watching DH react to seeing the ep for the first time*

That flier is for their DP's birthday party

That trailer there is DH's, fun fact "I'm only in my trailer all the time when it's cold!"

"We've done nothing but ridicule you for the past three commentaries"

verybody watches this show except for lassiter.

Juliet becoming a child when she's excited. I love.

KK: I'm so glad that you spoke fluent spanish for this JRr: My spanish was... a little rough. *strangled sounding* I know what you mean buddy, my french is so rusty. KK: Aren't you sick? Are you kissing people? JRr: There's not a whole lot of lip touching in there

SF: A lot of people don't know this but the way Shawn's hair is in the episode is actually how James wears his hair in real life KK: Always the blow dried little flip right in the front JRr: Finally I get to do it normal style SF: Are those artificial side burns? JRr: I believe those are my own side burns SF: My mom's favourite line was that you learned all your spanish from Charles on The Love Letter (my deaf ass unable to hear what he's saying) SF: Her favourite episode is Cloudy Chance of Murder, Andy Berman JRr: I had a blast on that episode

Good old Hornstock

"You're like a little bag of granola"

*the board behind them filled with "bad" ideas*

Love Henry seeing Shawn on the tv

Same bed from Black & Tan

I can't hear a word they're saying

Juliet is asking how they got on the friends & family list bc she's trying to make a friend

KK is right, why doesn't Juliet want to be friends with the other female officers

I love it when they don't talk just watch & laugh

Network: He couldn't have read five years worth of scripts (in this amount of time) & remembered that line, & where it came from KK: He's just a good detective

"thumper" ok bestie

I like how they reference the fact that Shawn has been in jail

*puts up his hand & shares a nod*

Her desk is just... at the bottom of the stairs

CH (tho it might be AB): If you listen closely, you might hear me staring at Kelly right now. Thousand click stare

"20 degrees & raining, but that's santa barbara" Me: Do you mean it's a hot rain? (where I come from, rain is cold, I was shocked when my friend from the USA said she was able to wear shorts in the rain.) Do you alternatively mean that it is cold bc you are using fahrenheit not celsius & it's a joke aboutvancouver not being santa barbara? "& James is very sick at this point"

they have indeed mentioned the turkey stuffing sandwiches by Kelly in Craft Services on the commentaries before

DH: There's James Roday's car JRr: Actually that's my best friend Todd's. They named the Harthin's house after that guy

*Takes a picture with a family. They don't know who he is.*

CH: If you ever meet Dule on set, he's walking around with those tissues in his collar

People need to work on literacy. Understanding the difference between fiction & reality is not inherent like some people claim, it is a very simple skill that people need to have.

I forgot that henry said he is not one of shawn's/chad's fans, "I barely even like you" like girl, my man is blurring the lines between fiction & reality & saying this to his son, wow, wowww. I mean, when my older brother introduced me to psych he did say his dad traumatized him into being a good detective. First ever shot I saw was of shawn & henry & I said "I thought they were estranged"

"I want your baby!" 'I don't have any female fans?' I mean

*playing cats cradle*

"Ceramic mug?"

Love it every time they share a phone to talk to the prisoner

Editing the episode, making sure there are subtitles for when anyone speaks spanish & even when not.

Penny, just tell Juliet you feel like she is suffocating you, or tell the chief & say "This person is harassing me. Make it stop before I file a charge." Like, girl. Juliet, go say sorry instead of trying to continue making a friend. (Tho tbh looking at how Juliet is... I could see Penny getting weird vibes. It's the adhd & lack of social understanding.)

We ARE friends we just can't BE friends

She literally didn't ask tho.

the pencil there lol

"Wow" in captions XD

*the most unflattering pose ever*

the chair by Lassiter: Crystal Ball Henze

I love it love it when they stop the commentary to just watch the show

cue cards disappearing

high school spanish comes back to haunt him

"her heart is too big for her chest" *ppl look at her... heavy chest*

Oh all the inside jokes I don't get

His pillow his ricking pillow the pillow on his lap

Good job selling the depth of the well

His spanish XD

Great job

#psych commentary 2x13

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simplestarss · 4 months

Text

What Died Didn’t Stay Dead

Masterlist

A/N: Hello and welcome to What Died Didn’t Stay Dead! I started working on this fic around the time of TXT’s latest comeback, and after a lot of work (and procrastination) it’s finally ready to be uploaded! I’ll be co-uploading on AO3, so feel free to leave comments and kudos over there as well. Lastly, this is the first long-form fic- or story in general- that I’ve ever written, so my formatting and layout may change. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

Prologue

6/13/2013

Jin

I never really liked this place, if I’m being honest.

I’m not sure why. Usually, Universtar is a top destination for kids around here. Ever since I had to attend Jungkook’s 10th birthday party, I’ve felt uneasy whenever I go inside.

Especially around those freaky ass robots.

Yet here I am, at 18 years old, parked outside the place waiting for the rest of my friends. Typically, a few would be in the backseat; God knows my truck has the space for it. But Yoongi agreed to swing by the dance studio to get Hoseok and Jimin, and Taehyung is helping Jungkook with math. So my backseat wasn’t needed this time around.

I decided to head inside the place. Namjoon gets off his shift in 5 minutes (I have no idea how he can stand working at this dump, but hey, cash is cash) so I can wait around for him. I push open the glass doors and get a blast of noise. It’s a mix of kids screaming, arcade games playing music, and the robots doing their thing on the main stage. They’re supposed to be some sort of band of misfits, all brightly colored to appeal to the kids. They all make me feel uneasy, but there’s one that there’s something really off about. It’s this giant white alpaca. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s 7 feet tall or that its eyes have this weird glow. Whatever it is, I’ve always been pretty creeped out by RJ.

Eventually, Namjoon emerges from the back. He looks tired, but his eyes brighten when he sees me.

“God, what a fucking day.” he sighs as he flops into a booth near where I’m standing. “Some kid threw up in the ball pit. Guess who had to clean that shit.”

“Damn. How many kids do you think have done that?”

“I try not to dwell on that. Especially since Jungkook always jumps in there.”

I shudder at the thought. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t do that this time. Almost on cue, the door swings open, and the other 5 pile in, talking loudly amongst themselves. Once they catch sight of us, they quickly head over.

“Joonie! Jin! There you guys are!”

“The ride here was pure hell. Hobi and Jimin were fighting over the radio the whole damn time.”

“He said he hates Baby One More Time.”

“And I’ll do it again!”

“And I’ll slap you both.”

I can’t help but smile at them. We’re all so different, but we go together like a puzzle. Yoongi’s blunt words, Jimin’s free spirit, Jungkook’s rebellious attitude. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

“Enough arguing! Let’s get a pizza. I’m starving.” Taehyung says as he plops down in the firm booth next to Namjoon.

“Great, as long as I don’t have to cook it”

Yoongi starts towards the counter to get our usual order of a pepperoni pizza with a side of nachos, and the younger ones hurry towards the arcade. For a split second, I get this weird gut feeling, like something is about to go seriously wrong.

“Hey JK, don’t get in that ball pit.”

“For the last time, I am not putting my job on the line just so you guys can quote-unquote ‘explore’.”

“Come on Joonie! Please?” Jungkook begs with wide eyes.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun! We promise to be discreet.” Taehyung adds.

The younger 3 have gotten bored of the arcade, and have decided that it’d be a good idea to sneak around in the back where they keep the spare parts for the robots. Namjoon, however, would prefer to keep his job.

“Absolutely not! Besides, it’s a miracle we even convinced Jin to come through the doors. He’s not gonna want to go back there.”

“I can wait out here if it comes down to it,” I say, which causes Jungkook to look at me with wide, grateful eyes.

“See? He says it’s fine!”

“You wouldn’t want to say no to your best friend in the whole world, right Joon?”

“No, I’m his best friend!”

Namjoon puts his thumb and pointer finger between his brows. “Fine. You give me a headache, all of you.”

“YES! You’re the best, Joon!”

I can’t help but laugh to myself. Namjoon may act annoyed, but we all know he can’t say no to the young ones, especially Jungkook. None of us can, honestly. Something about their youthful spirits makes us want to do anything and everything for them.

“You want one of us to wait with you, Jin?” Yoongi asks.

“If you don’t mind, sure. Hobi and Namjoon are in charge.”

“Sweet!” Let’s go then!” Jimin announces, and the 5 of them head off to a door that reads Employees Only in neon yellow letters.

Once they’re out of earshot, Yoongi turns to me. “Wanna smoke?”

“Hey, why not?”

We head outside, and Yoongi grabs a cigarette for us both and his lighter. Namjoon would be throwing a fit if he were here right now. But Yoongi and I are 18 and graduated last week, so we’re in the clear. I light my cigarette and take a drag. It still feels strange going down, and I start hacking my lungs out after a few seconds, which causes Yoongi to chuckle to himself. He lights his and hits it almost perfectly.

“How the fuck are you so good at that already?”

“Shhhhh. Don’t question me, hyung,” he replies with a shit-eating grin. He knows I hate that honorific; it makes me feel like an old man. I hit him in the arm, and he drops his cigarette. He curses, picks it up, and hits it again, which makes me cringe.

“You did not just hit that thing.”

“Hey man, these things are expensive. You’re lucky you’re my friend and gave me rides to work until I got my license.”

I roll my eyes. “And bought you meals. And a new guitar. And concert tickets. And food for your cat.”

“Don’t make me call you hyung again.”

“Asshole.” I turn towards the door. “Doesn’t this place close in, like, 5 minutes?”

“Yeah. Namjoon is usually punctual about time. Huh.” Yoongi puts out his cigarette. “You finish yours. I’ll go hunt them down.”

“Alright. Hey Yoongi?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah.” And with that, he heads inside, letting the glass doors shut behind him.

I take one last hit, and for once don’t hack myself silly. Take that, Yoongles. I step on the cigarette to put it out and head back inside, expecting to bump into the others.

Besides the employee who’s wiping down the faux wood tables, the place is empty. Even the animatronics aren’t on stage anymore; they’re probably being repaired in the back. Not a sign of my friends anywhere.

Looking around the place, I realize that it’s pretty eerie after closing time. All of the arcade games are unplugged, so it’s far darker than usual. The sound of kids and the music is gone. It almost feels like it’s void of life.

I also notice that the door they used to get into the back is still propped open. Maybe they got lost back there. After a bit of pondering, I finally decided to go in and track them down. I’m a grown man, for God’s sake. I can go into the back of a restaurant for kids. I take one last look to make sure no one is watching and slip through the door.

Jesus, it’s dark.

There’s only a handful of emergency lights still on, so it’s pretty difficult to navigate my way through the hallway and check all of the doors. So far, there are only two: the break room and another door that seems to be closed.

I decided to start with the break room since that door was open. I can see there’s a worn-down sofa, a cheap coffee maker, and one of those posters that read You Must Wash Your Hands Before Returning To Work by the door. Upon closer inspection, I see a drawer on the table where the coffee maker is. I quietly walk over and open it. Inside is a flashlight and a note that says: In the event you must enter the Backstage area, carry me at all times.

Okay…? That’s not creepy at all. I grab the flashlight and check if it works, and it does. After doing a 360 around the room with this newfound light, I come to the conclusion they’re not here and leave the room, closing the door behind me.

That leaves the room with the closed door. As I get closer to it, I realize it isn’t closed; rather, it’s open just a crack. I slowly push it open and shine the light inside.

At first, I couldn’t see anything. Once my eyes adjust, I conclude that this is where they repair the robots. There were spare heads, some gears, and various tools scattered around. It was a bit surreal; these things are just robots.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something shiny on the floor. I shine the light onto it and immediately register what it is.

Yoongi’s lighter. Must’ve fallen out of his pocket. Carefully, I reach over and pick it up. He’ll thank me a thousand times over; he just bought this one.

As I’m inspecting the lighter for damage, I see something strange in my peripheral vision. It almost looks like a puddle, but it’s too dark to be water or even oil from the bots. I make my way closer, and the realization of what it is makes my heart stop.

Blood.

I cautiously make my way towards it, a sense of dread washing over me. Once I round the corner that the puddle is coming from, what I see makes my stomach turn over on itself.

My friends are right here before me, but in a way that I’ve never even begun to picture seeing them. Their bodies sprawled about; evidence of struggle on Jimin, Namjoon, and Yoongi. Their eyes staring at me, glazed over and lifeless. Their blood mixing to form a massive puddle that covered everything. On the wall above them, written in this very blood, was a single sentence.

We Are Not Seven With You

Jungkook was closest to me. I knelt over his lifeless form and carefully closed his eyes. It wasn’t until now that I felt the hot tears running down my face, and what had happened to the people I loved more than anything in the entire world finally dawned on me. My whole body seemed to give out, my chest wracking with loud sobs. They’re gone. It’s all over. It’s my fault. It’smyfaultit’smyfaultit’smyfaultit’smy-

A sound behind me brings me back to reality. I wipe my eyes and instantly register a shadow to my right. I turn and see a pair of large white feet standing right in the middle of the puddle. My eyes follow the figure upwards to a red bandana and a pair of glowing eyes.

It’s the fucking RJ bot.

And it has a chef’s knife from the kitchen.

I must’ve blacked out at the sight of it because the next thing I knew I was outside and gasping for air in an alley. I look down and see a deep, bloody gash on my arm. Almost instantly, the pain hits, and I see stars, a whole galaxy behind my eyes.

And everything goes dark.

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