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satoshi-mochida · 2 months

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System Shock remake for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One launches May 21

From Gematsu

The System Shock remake will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 21, publisher Prime Matter and developer Nightdive Studios announced.

The remake first launched for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG on May 30, 2023.

Here is an overview of the game, via Prime Matter:

About

“Look at you, Hacker. A pth-pth… pathetic creature of meat and bone.” You awaken from a six month healing coma aboard Citadel Station, TriOptimum’s premier research facility. Mutants feast on their former crew mates, nightmares of flesh bound to metal roam the dark hallways, and the station’s A.I., SHODAN, is aiming Citadel’s mining laser… at Earth! Your military grade neural interface is all that stands between humanity and the silicon god coming to remake Earth in their vision. System Shock is a remake of the beloved PC classic. Updating mechanics, graphics, and enemy A.I.—System Shock is here to offer a new generation of players a chance to go toe-to-toe with one of gaming’s iconic enemies: SHODAN. Fight, hack, and save humanity from a fate worse than death itself.

Weapons and Tools at Your Disposal

“How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?” Weapons have been completely overhauled to form a new deadly arsenal featuring the MK 2100 Magnum, SK-27 Shotgun, LG-XX Plasma Rifle, ND-12 Rail Gun, the Laser Rapier, and many more. Plug-in the Mapping Unit implant to chart your way through all nine levels of Citadel Station, hook-up the Biological Systems Monitor to monitor your health and energy consumption, and install the Multimedia Data Reader to experience the last horrifying moments of Citadel’s crew.

New Threats and Horrors

“My children, a human infection continues to thrive inside of me…” SHODAN’s twisted mind has remade the crew into her image of perfection. Poisoning their DNA, she mutated their flesh. Clouding their minds, she grafted together steel and bone to make them cyborgs. Around every corner lurks a new and horrible way to die.

Explore Citadel Station for the First Time

“You are an interloper, a blight on my domain.” Citadel Station has been renovated to include new areas to explore, traps to evade, puzzles to solve and secrets to discover. Hack your way through Cyberspace, a 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) hacking simulator rebuilt to be more dangerous with new enemies and challenges.

Watch a new trailer below.

Consoles Release Date Trailer

youtube

#System Shock remake #System Shock #Prime Matter #Nightdive Studios #Plaion #Atari #FPS #Gematsu #Youtube

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veemo4 · 11 months

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2023 Media Thread (Re-do to add a Read More Link)

Spark The Electric Jester 3:

Man I was holding off on spoilers for MONTHS until the holidays when I could get this game, and I only beat it in the beginning of the year and well…HOLY SHIT I didn’t know I needed existentialism in my funny little platformer- Gameplay is INSANELY solid, like honestly some of my favorite platforming controls I have ever used! Music is top notch as well!

Nier Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition:

Holy fuck how did I manage to avoid spoilers for this game for YEARS??? That ending was beautiful~ (Yes I did do all the main endings)

Chrono Trigger: I should preface this by saying I did modify this game a tiiiiny bit to have PS4 button prompts and fixing the Classic filter. Other than that, I can see why it’s a lot of people’s favorite RPG! Short enough in case you wanna replay it, and the foundation of the NG+ system definitely helps incentivize replays! Can’t wait to play Chrono Cross!

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII:

I binged both FFXIII and FFXIII-2 during October and November of last year, but took a short break to avoid burnout. And well, yeah this game was neat! I will admit though that since there’s no way to REWIND time like in Majora’s Mask that I got INSANELY stressed out but that didn’t take away from the sweet release of seeing these characters I love finally get their well-deserved happy ending :)

Mega Man Zero:

I put this one off and on throughout like 2 years because I just wasn’t good at it, but it taught me a VERY good lesson in perseverance! Really excited to play Zero 2!

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion: ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK ;w; Story was pretty…alright for the most part, but I couldn’t feel attached to any of the original characters :/ Honestly my eyes were on Zack just…being real with what’s going on. I may not feel bad for when people he cares about dies, but I can EASILY emphasize with him because I know that HE knows them. Knows them more than we ever will know. Also the gameplay and music are fucking stellar.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes:

I should preface all of this by saying I don’t remember what order I beat all of these in lmao. Anyways my route was Golden Wildfire and the story for it is such an improvement over its equivalent in Three Houses!!! I love Shez so much as a protagonist even if his outfit is a tiny bit dumb.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

Man I really wanted to like this. And like, music and area wise I loved it! But the story feels…It just doesn’t feel like the finality for all we’ve done so far. I could not care at all for Meteion because they spend approximately like 20 or 30 minutes making us meet them and then throwing us IMMEDIATELY into the angst like, no. This isn’t even a case of “Well I don’t care but I can understand why others do” NO THE GAME MAKES YOUR WOL FEEL BAD AS WELL, MEANING YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO CARE! NO! I DON’T! I was able to at least pretend a little bit to roleplay as needed but man. At least Footfalls and the post-endwalker dungeon themes kick ass though. (Warrior of Light’s name for me is M’bahlon Tia)

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE I love kirby games sm and this is no exception. REALLY loved how hard the Magolor Epilogue got at certain points though that was great.

Fire Emblem Awakening

I CAN SEE WHY THIS SAVED THE FRANCHISE WHEN IT CAME OUT!! It’s a REALLY good game! I went with the default male Robin settings since that’s what’s in Smash Bros. And man just, everything about this game is AMAZING!!! Sadly cannot see myself replaying it anytime. I could just load my endgame save and grind out support conversations with other characters or do that…new game plus thing I think it was?

Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space: Bound Wills and the Hollow Puppeteer

I did this event initially back when it came out (and in fact is the main reason why I played the game in the first place) But I got horrible units and died super often, and revived every chance I got. But losing my save data and getting a better unit HEAVILY boosted my chances of getting through the event and man, it was a lot of fun! I love seeing tiny mona :3 JUST LOOK AT HOW SMOL HE IS AAAAAAAAA

Mighty Gunvolt Burst:

I had a lot of fun with this one! I used one of the DLC characters (I think they’re the Zero character from Mighty Number 9 but) it’s a great romp!

EDIT: ALSO SHOULD MENTION IT FUCKING OWO’D ME

Final Fantasy XV

“Walk tall…my friends.” I got this game YEARS ago but haven’t truly delved into it recently. And well… That ending got to me. It really did. The gameplay took me so long to get used to (especially since I had been more used to the more refined gameplay of Final Fantasy 7 Remake 3 years prior) Music is amazing, love the characters! I just wish the other episodes were finished and weren’t just put in a novel :/

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

HOLY FUCK THIS GAME WAS SO COOL. I always heard like, right, about how good this game was but I figured it was just nostalgia talking for people. NOPE. As someone who’s first paper mario game was super (never beat it, I was a really stupid child) and then played Sticker Star (Again, very stupid child but also that game is bullshit because everything is so obtuse and it sucks) But this? This was a big breath of fresh air. I am so excited to go back and play 64 and Super!!!

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Honestly? Way better than I was expecting. You can FEEL nintendo had a strangle-hold on the movie’s production though from how Chris Pratt in the final movie actually fucking voice acts somewhat (it’s a start), there’s no bad Illumination tropes, Peach is a dragoon, Toad and Bowser easily steal the show, and just, ALL THE REFERENCES WOW. EVEN THE NEWER THINGS. I didn’t see any Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi references though which makes me sad. I hope that if there’s a sequel it’s actually better and doesn’t fall into any traps movie sequels usually do, maybe even say if the other kingdoms from Mario Odyssey are in this universe (and maybe Isle Defino) The movie definitely could have used an extra 20 minutes spread throughout to add more to the main group dynamic.

Mega Man Zero 2

OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER BALANCE-WISE HOLY SHIT Cyber-elves requirements to be leveled up were MASSIVELY lowered and the enemy AI isn’t as overly aggressive! Loved the music too, especially Departure and the ending theme which was adapted for the song Clover! Can’t wait to do Zero 3!

WARE WA MESSIAH NARI! HAHAHA!

Mega Man Zero 3 was really good, but either I am getting way too good at these games or they are getting easier haha. Loved the music and gameplay though, and how Cyber Elves were handled here is absolutely the best they have ever been! If there’s any game in this series I am gonna replay, it’s Zero 3 without a doubt! On to Mega Man Zero 4, the last of the GBA era.

Mega Man Zero 4

I finally did it. I beat the entire Mega Man Zero series. While I do not agree with how the parts and cyber elf system were handled, It was not a bad experience by any means! It felt nice following Zero’s character arc throughout these games. I’m maybe gonna take a break before I tackle Mega Man ZX, but hey, I feel like that game’s gonna be fun! It’s the only one I actually OWN on its original hardware after all! :D

Sonic and the Black Knight

This was a fun distraction for a few hours! I had a lot of fun with this! Granted the second King Arthur fight took me an hour but besides that it was a quick and good romp! Probably has one of the best final boss themes in a sonic game I’ve ever heard! :D

The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

Pretty fun game all things considered, but I didn’t like how punishing some of the design philosophies were in the end parts of the game. Music’s great though! Maybe I’ll revisit it one day, but not anytime soon. Still, can’t say I disliked my experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Where…do I even begin with this?…It was…genuinely amazing. I was waiting for a sequel to Breath of the Wild for years, and during my high school years I was wondering how they would even follow it up! Doing a sequel to an open-world game is harder than a lot of other genres. But yet….they did it. They somehow did it. Those 6 years of development time more than paid off. It felt…amazing to run around a changed Hyrule from the last game. The mechanics were amazing, and the character development was really cool! The new rune abilities are dope!!! BUT THE MUSIC MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM THE MUSIC OH THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD THE ENDING MUSIC MADE ME ACTUALLY CRY AHHHHHHHH PLAY THIS GAME PLAY IT NOW

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

And here we are! Finally got around to this! It was a really dope game! Loved the combat and music! I even did most of the bonus content and the Ultimate Cup Z, but I kept dying at the final phase of the final boss of that so I just gave up lol, it’s purely bonus content anyways lol. But honestly I loved this game! Can’t wait for the next mainline kirby game!

The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

FINALLY GOT AROUND TO PLAYING THIS ONE! I owned this on real hardware since its release date but never got far. I finally got around to it with the motivation of beating Tears of the Kingdom, and I gotta say, it’s pretty good! Not exactly like, absolutely top tier game that everyone MUST play but, it’s decent! Bosses are a big sour point though. Music was pretty decent, though the final dungeon theme is a bore. Only other current Zelda games I gotta beat are the 2D/Top-Down ones, so maybe I’ll do one of those next! Possibly either Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks.

Pokémon Scarlet

HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING SEQUENCE WAS ACTUALLY COOL AS HELL!!! Like yeah, the game has its decent chunk of technical issues but, holy shit….those last two hours of the main story are phenomenal. TOBY FOX CONTINUES TO BE THE GOAT THE MUSIC HE COMPOSED IS AMAZING! I love how easier it is to capture pokemon compared to Sword and Shield as well. I do like Dynamax raids more as a multiplayer component, but I much prefer the Tera mechanic in terms of PVP. I stlll need to do the post game before the dlc comes out later this year, but all I really got is just the refights against the gym leaders and all that jazz. There’s also the Needle thingies I gotta pull out and the wall things I gotta investigate in order to get the other legendaries, but all I really care about is finishing the core of the main story, I got other games to get to lol. Probably thinking of either Paper Mario or Chrono Cross next haha.

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Final: Build & Ex-Aid with Legend Riders

Okay so context: my friend @arcadiusdragoneyes is showing me and @darkspine576 Kamen Rider Build since it’s one of his favorites and he wanted to indoctrinate introduce us into Kamen Rider AND IT’S FUCKING WORKING. I only know one part of this crossover, but I think it did a good job of giving across the feel of the other Kamen Rider series very well! Kamen Rider Build is so extra I love it. Can’t wait to finish Kamen Rider Build!

#long post

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diversegaminglists · 5 months

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Games Finished in 2023

Didn't get as much gaming as I usually do, due to a combination of health issues, my cat having cancer (she's fine now) and my computer breaking in a couple of infuriatingly nebulous ways.

Games I recommend are bolded.

Archvale

Franken RPG

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga

Signalis

Bound by Flame

Monster Train

The Last Door Season One

Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn

Dirk Smallwood HD

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Flynn: Son of Crimson

Dishonored: Knife of Dunwall

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches

Sands of Salazaar

Adios

Talk to Me

Dishonored 2

Power Wash Simulator

Power Wash Simulator: Tomb Raider

Power Wash Simulator: Midgar

Pilgrims

Stone

Teacup

Cloud Gardens

Memory Traces: Japan

Khimera: Puzzle Island

Katamari Damacy Reroll

I was a Teenage Exocolonist

100 Hidden Frogs

lure

Lights Off...

Viltnemda

Suspicious Downpour

The Lost Dachshund

Resonance of the Ocean

Swallow the Sea

Shadow Burglar

Kore

Fears to Fathoms: Home Alone

Greedfall

Rapture: The Beginning

Adventure Escape Christmas Killer

Apeture Desk Job

Corridor Z

Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 2

The Shore

Alder's Blood: Prologue

Mirlo Above the Sun

Stillwater

The Call of Karen

Karisvale

Momotype

Epic Battle Fantasy 5

Aztlan Uncovered: Prologue

Good Dog

Adventure Escape Mysteries: Cluedo

You are a Whale Also Part 1

Adventure Escape Mysteries: Midnight Carnival

I want to be a Triangle

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

The Case of the Golden Idol

The Darkside Detective

Project Exhibited

The Case of the Golden Idol: The Spider of Lanka

The Test

Fayburrrow

Faefever

You Will (Not) Remain

Bad Dream: Stories

Star Apprentice: Magical Murder Mystery

Arcanbreak

Glass Masquerade 3: Honey Lines

Dot's Home

Westwood Shadows: Prologue

The Suicide of Rachel Foster

The Looker

Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull

Without a Voice

Escape Academy

One Night Stand

Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice

Janosik

Don't Escape Trilogy

Spirit Cleaning

Fatum Betula

Viridi

Sarawak

Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear

Riddles of the Past

Desolatium: Prologue

Apocalipsis

The Vagrant

Apocalipsis: One Night in the Woods

Hayami Chan

Ginkgo

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Memory Traces: Egypt

Wilful

Distraint

Baldur's Gate 3

Zombie Admin

The Lost Night

Inside

Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix (PS4)

The Painscreek Killings

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

One-Eyed Lee: Prologue

Nasty Little Man

Halo CE: Anniversary

Technoccult: Covenant

To be a Herpwitch

Seethe and Scab

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition: Main Campaign

Moons of Madness

Dragon's Crown Pro (PS4)

Paradise Killer

Amnesia: Rebirth

Dave the Diver

Zemblanity

Fighting Fantasy Classics: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

#games played in 2023 #game recommendations

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prototypelq · 6 months

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video game ask let's gooooo

5. Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to

12. A character you particularly like in the game you’re currently playing (or any other game really)

13. Quick, name the first song from a game that comes to mind

20. A boss you think is really cool

22. A game ending that’s really stuck with you

26. Realism or stylized?

Thank you for the gaming ask my beloved mutual! )))

5. That's a really tough one. While I do follow gaming news, I am not so attentive to actual game releases. Mostly because I have never really played on a 'current' platform. I have been using consoles for gaming most of my life, I played on x360 up to 2017, then I got a ps4, which was/is my most go-to platform till this year. This year was a change for me, because I finally surrendered to pirating at the beginning of the year, and played through a number of awesome low-spec indies that way. Though, I have been very lucky to get a new pc recently, and oh boy is this a big change for me. It's still crazy to think this machine can run something more than pixelart now xD (no disrespect to low-spec games in this house allowed, the more accessible the game the better, weak hardware optimisation my beloved)

I have also found a way to get past the payment blocks and have bought all those games I pirated, that was a big weight off my shoulders) So, uh, yeah. I don't follow releases. I would have said Alan Wake 2 is you asked earlier this year tho, CONTROL had me transform into a Sam Lake devoted follower xD I'll gladly watch a letsplay of it sometime soon, before I catch any spoilers. All the other game series I'm interested in are either on hiatus (Darksiders when), or the latest entry made me lose interest (Horizon 2. I love the world, so I'll follow the series anyway, but the story of the sequel is a mess I didn't like at all, and it doubled down on this new direction too). That was a long and roundabout way of saying I don't really look up to any new games currently, lol.

12. Currently - Lohse from the DOS2. This game has an extensive player character creator, however, you could play as basically one of the companions of the game, with full custom story and questline. And Lohse is a Very special case, as my dear bard woman is currently posessed)

The game has some amazing moments, where it will throw you a persuasion check to 'prevent you from throttling a character because the demon inside you didn't like them' for example. Funnily enough, in this moment in particular, if you succeed on the first check (which is hard to do early-game), if will throw you Another one with other stats to use. And Another. There's three persuasion checks in succession here, which is normally literally impossible to do, unless you mod the game to hell and leave the balance there as I did, and STILL this is the only option the dialogue will leave for you. Lohse becomes uncontrollable after this, and your other party members have to subdue her.

It's incredible, amazing time, 10/10. Other origin characters are great too, but I think this fourth-wall-meddling makes Lohse simply the best origin character to play as.

I also greatly enjoyed playing as Delsin Rowe in Infamous Second Son, I love that game, it's super fun and has great style, plus Delsin is adorable. He's a bit punk, he is witty, he is a geek, an artist and his grafitti-drawing mechanic is adorable.

Also Death from Darksiders 2. His parkour is superb, his abilities are super cool, he has an amazing horse, and he is Literally Death Rider Of The Apocalypse.

13. First song that comes to mind would be Bound Together, since I mentioned it a lot the last few asks...excluding that one, Subhuman + BTL, and Black Dog for the fun of it, All Is Soft Inside which was featured for a virtual concert of AURORA in Sky: Children of the Light (adorable game, which will hopefully come out sometime on pc, mutuals I would hold your hands in that game so. much.)

20. A really cool boss. Sorry King Cerberus and Vergil, you are cool by definition. The first that comes to mind is the Guardian fight from the Darksiders 2, which is honestly the most badass fight in the series. THAT MUSIC HITS SO HARD. And that finish animation, oh my, pure epic.

22. A game ending that’s really stuck with you. ooops already did a too-long and roudabout post about that one xD

26. Realism or stylized? Stylized anytime. Realism is honestly kind of boring, though I admit sometimes seeing your fave very detailed is cool. For example, dmc5 Dante design is my favourite out of them all, because it is finally (kind-of) down-to-earth. The game is about fighting demons and being cool about it, but the story is of human struggle and issues, and the character design finally reflects that. And I do enjoy the Impressive hair physics in Horizon games, but that's it for realism. Stylized is literally better in every possible way: it makes the design more flexible - it can be expressive or constrained, depending on your direction; it is cheaper to produce and easier to optimize and easier to run. Plus 'realism' is a forever-outdated style. Games that were considered 'realistic' in 90s, 00s and 10s don't look so realistic to us now. Even Delsin Rowe I mentioned above - he looks great, the motion capture and animation for the game looks awesome, but his face is kind of baby-smooth and the pupils of every character in the game are just a bit too-wide, it makes them all look like they all collectively had some hallucinogens xD. Meanwhile, stylised games can never go out of style, as they are the ones dictating it. Beyond Good and Evil still looks good, Fables look good, Psychonauts does too, etc. These games always exist in the state they were meant to be viewed in, while realistic games are always reaching for the not-really-but-sort-of unattainable standards, which change with time and available technology.

Stylized is Always. Better. In. Every. Way. Also make games optimized again and lower the hardware reqs. I swear, it's like every new title requires you to buy an entire basement full of rocket-science multi-computers, each with a videocard which name will make the math-lovers cry.

#this was fun to answer thank you)#mutuals my beloved #gaming #surprisingly a lot of darksiders snuck into this one xD #darksiders #infamous second son #dos2 #dos2 lohse #delsin rowe #darksiders death #sky cotl #that sky game

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robo-dino-puppy · 10 months

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seekers of lost knowledge

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #aloy #sylens #this is from when i kidnapped him (and erend) from the final battle #using infinite jumps #not doable on ps5 if you're on the latest patch #(rip jump glitch)#but still doable on ps4 as far as i know #we're on the off-map beach across from the zenith base #hfw npcs #hfw out of bounds #out of bounds exploration

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theriainwonderland · 1 year

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youtube

How to return to the Far Zenith base after the game ends - Horizon Fobidden West

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #hfw out of bounds #horizon forbidden west out of bounds #hfw aloy #far zenith #zeniths #far zenith base #i think i broke the game #we want to see more about far zenith #Youtube #guerrilla games #videogames #ps5 games #ps4 games

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blaiddfailcam · 6 months

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Hi! I really love your work with gifs, they're always so cool. How do you record what you do with Bloodborne? I'm very uneducated about gif making but I usually only see that stuff from games that are available on PC? Or at least a photo mode?

Oh wow, thank you so much! 🥲

Yeah, it's a bit complicated recording GIFs for Bloodborne without a PC—less so the recording part, actually, more the camera trickery.

As for recording, downloading, and converting, these are the basic steps I follow:

Find whatever I want to make a GIF of in the game, then set up the shot. I play without the HUD to make sure I get as much screenspace as possible, so it takes some deep familiarity with Bloodborne's gameplay as a whole.

Using the PS4/PS5's feature to save previous gameplay, I retroactively record the last 15-30 seconds after I get the shot I wanted.

I've downloaded the Playstation App on my phone. The PS4/PS5 will automatically upload saved gameplay there, which I can then download directly to my phone's storage. (I'm definitely operating on a low budget, lol.)

Via my phone, I trim the video to get only the exact shot I want to convert into a GIF. I'll also mess around with contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc. to get a clearer image, and ideally to minimize the resultant GIF's file size.

This is where it gets laughably cheap: I upload the video to a site called ezgif.com. It's a little hokey, but true to the name, it's very easy to use and has a good bit of options when it comes to resolution and framerate. Most importantly, it's free. I haven't had any issue with it thus far! (🤞)

Once I have the GIF I want and under 10 MiB, I just download it straight to my phone. I might edit this GIF later, but it's essentially finished.

That's it for the technical side, but as for how to actually go about recording gameplay in lieu of a photo mode? Well, there are a myriad of techniques I'm still experimenting with, but most rely on one simple in-game mechanic:

Gesturing. Specifically, the Sit Down gesture.

Since there's no way to obscure the player character (at least not entirely), the simplest solution is to have them sit down so you can either crop them out of view, or hide them entirely by having them sit by a wall or object that forces the camera close to them.

You can also sit while using the monocular, which drops the player character out of view so you can get close-ups of the environment, or simply record pristine images without need for a wall.

There's a lot more I've learned as far as camera movement, but those are the basics of simply removing that pesky hunter from the picture. No modding necessary!

Of course, this means there will always be a degree of diegesis, so I can't easily get high-angle shots or slip out of bounds. Furthermore, enemies will still try to beat my ass, so I have to be careful. It's a bit like wildlife photography in that sense, lol. (But that can be a good thing!)

I hope I was able to answer your question!

#my gifs

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bagheerita · 2 months

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Writing Patterns (Tag Game)

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Thanks for the tag @chaniis-atlantis!! ❤

(I recently posted a bunch of my old fics to AO3, so doing this strictly by post date includes exactly 2 fics I've written in the last 14 years. So this is last 10 new fics posted to AO3, go:)

Wraithspeaker (SGA) First Scientist of the Tertiary hive sworn to the Commander-known-by-his-years-remembered-at-the-long-Siege-marked-by-the-Queen-in-recognition-for-his-prowess-in-repelling-the-Enemy-and-again-by-the-Queen-born-in-fire-and-marked-again-and-bound-to-the-human-John-Sheppard, stands at the interface in his workspace, checking that his underlings have finished entering the data from the tests run in the previous cycle.

Even Bad Wolves Can Be Good (Teen Wolf) Peter paces the room he's been confined to and has to admit that things aren't looking great at the moment.

(our heart’s a mess) But It's Our Only Defense, To Brave the Wilderness (SGA) Teyla and Ronon don't stop him as John walks past them out of the conference room.

What Can I Say, This House Is Falling Apart (SGA) The Phoenix settles into orbit above Atlantis and Captain Hicks reports, "Still no response to our hails."

Customary (SGA) “I believe among your people it is customary to shake hands?” The Wraith grins.

Jade (SGA) Jade has never known anything but the hive.

Since We've No Place to Go (SGA) PS4-987 is a nice enough planet when they first arrive.

Mushroom Hunting (SGA) The forest on M8A-C26 was cool, the air heavy with the scent of recent rain, and fallen leaves rustled under their boots as they walked away from the Stargate.

Where I Fit in the Picture (Holiday) Ned Seton was relatively sober as the clock chimed 3:00 but was not planning to stay that way.

Sunlight (SGA) The sun was a comfort on her skin as Teyla lay back in her chair, relaxing for the first time in what felt like ages, soaking in the warmth.

Patterns? (lol why did I decide to do this after I posted Wraithspeaker??🤣 I was throwing some conceptual stuff at the wall, because I feel like the whole way that Wraith understand the concept of "names" is so much bigger than the way that us spoken-language-people do. anyway) Um, patterns... I dunno. I usually write in present tense, but sometimes in past tense (which is not fun when I change my mind halfway through a fic 🤣😭). I do like to start the fic right away, no long prologues or information at the beginning, because when I read I tend to drop books that don't hook me in right away with something interesting so that reflects in what I write. Reading through these I do feel like I tend to establish location right away, too.

This was really interesting thanks for the opportunity!!

#tag game #my writing

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miloscat · 3 months

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[Review] Sephonie (PS5)

Analgesic does it again with this puzzle-platformer/puzzle stunner.

After Anodyne 2, Melos and Marina of Analgesic created this game, which is in many ways an evolution of the exploration of 3D spaces seen there. In other ways it examines similar themes to All Our Asias and Even the Ocean, so I'm glad I played those first. There's plenty of innovation here though with a new PS2-esque art style, an interesting movement system, and the integration of tile puzzle sequences. Basically, there's a lot of cool stuff going on here, with the typical Analgesic layer of raw humanity underlying everything.

There's an issue to address up front: do not play the Playstation release. Sephonie has three main characters, all of Taiwanese descent. The game goes into their backstories which are wrapped up in connections between Taiwan, Japan, and the USA (reflecting Melos's own background and to a lesser extent Marina's). The idea of Taiwan and cultural heritage is vital to the story, and is in fact one of the stated purposes of the game by its developers: to bring attention to a culture that is sorely under-represented in media, especially video games. Part of the reason for this is active suppression by the Chinese government, which Sony is party to via a prohibition on even mentioning its existence. The result is a censoring of all mentions of Taiwan in the PS4/5 versions, replacing it with "Atlantis" (and Taipei with Timaeus, and so on) which as Melos noted on the Analgesic Discord "seemed like an absurdly appropriate way to do it because those sorts of censorship laws effectively want Taiwan to become an imaginary place". Needless to say learning about this seriously bummed me out, and while the story is mostly intact, I'd recommend checking this out on other platforms.

With that out of the way... the game opens with a shipwreck on the isolated Sephonie Island. Three scientists set out to explore this mysterious place with the help of the sci-fi Onyx technology which lets them wallrun and airdash, as well as letting them communicate with the unique flora and fauna. As you explore the caves beneath the surface, things get more surreal and the stakes are raised as it's revealed the island is sentient and is hiding a deadly secret... which makes things sound sinister but most of the interactions you have are quite gentle and wholesome, with themes of connection and interdependence.

The three characters play identically but have their own personalities which are expressed a number of ways. Collectible items hold details simultaneously mundane and essential about their daily lives and memories, while climactic cutscenes cover deeper dives into their histories, their thoughts and hopes and joys and cares. Later areas also begin to be influenced by the characters, the cave system contorting itself to match moments and places from their lives, complete with ephemeral NPCs you can talk to. As with Analgesic's other games, the writing consistently has a sincerity to it that really cuts through, and compels you to care, to think, and to reflect.

Between these moments are some cool platforming mechanics, with a run button taking you into something akin to skateboarding movement. Mastering the wallrun and the mid-air hop from dashing into a wall are satisfying, and there's plenty of new gimmicks that get introduced as you go to add new twists to it. The postgame unlocks the "Bubble Adventure" mode that adds bubbles to each zone, acting both as shortcuts and a new challenge to pop them while returning to safe footing, which was a lot of fun as a way to engage further with the movement systems (after ten hours doing the base game, I spent another ten doing Bubble Adventure and finding collectibles and out-of-bounds secrets!). But if they give you trouble, there's plenty of accessibility options to customise.

While exploring you find new forms of life, with some cool and slightly otherworldly designs. Interacting with them leads to the recurring puzzle minigame, where you place blocks in a grid to create large matched colour sets. I enjoyed these as a change of pace, but most can be skipped if you don't get on with them. Your reward is some info about the particular fauna or flora's ecological niche which seems well-researched, as well as some amusing dialogue with the creature itself.

In addition to Bubble Adventure, completing the game gets you a nice plot epilogue that provides a satisfying cap to the story, as well as some behind-the-scenes looks at the game's development which are now customary for Analgesic. Popping more bubbles opens up playable early draft levels as well as debug and test rooms. This kind of candid archiving really deepens my holistic engagement with their games, and in this case reveals that most of their best ideas did indeed end up in the game... although I wonder if the hoverboard concept could have been cool!

There's a lot of admirable stuff about Sephonie, and it's a great addition to the overall Analgesic catalogue. I feel like each new game they put out only enriches the others. Once again the result is a really special experience, and one that I'll remember fondly, even with the bitter edge of the cultural censorship that mars the Sony versions. I can't wait to see what they do next! (It's called Angeline Era, wishlist it on Steam I guess?)

#sephonie #analgesic productions #indie #review #ps5

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