Rebekah Valentine from IGN has written an absolutely wonderful, thoughtful and kind article for In Stars and Time! I definitely didn't tear up reading it!!! Have a snippet
I didn't expect to get fucking actual literal triggered by a godsdamn IGN article and yet here we are.
Gale's arc is about finding the will to live, that suicide isn't the solution, that there's always a better way. You are worthy by your own merits and not your talents or what you can provide. So many Galemancers I've talked to or read of talk about their struggle with depression & SI, self-worth problems and how Gale has really help inspire them to hold on. My mental health has much improved since my darkest days, so I really didn't expect to get so upset.
Chrystal Ding, Lead Writer: On a very human level, you have the guy who starts off annoying everyone, he's constantly asking you to give him your most treasured possessions to eat, otherwise he's in trouble, and at the end, he gives himself for the world.
NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. If you have a character with depressive characterization and brimming with suicidal ideation tendencies...Don't mix in the 💣 ending framed as a selfless act! That's a call to the void to people walking on the ledge. Gale has literal WillingtoDie flags! It's major yikes all around. At the brain stem Tav is either talking someone who isn't suicidal anymore back into killing himself, or allowing a suicidal person to do it. "Feels like the right ending to me"? Nooooo thank you interviewer.
I actually like the 💣 ending in a tragic "My choices ran out and I failed to save Gale" way. Never ever, will it ever feel the "right" ending.
Asking for help takes COURAGE, especially from someone who isn't used to it. Gale asking you for items is literally because he's in so much pain he can't function anymore. He has no other choice. If asking for help for your pain is selfish, then I don't ever want to not be selfish.
Gale was never annoying to me. If they tried to make Gale the annoying, selfish, asshole who redeems himself in the end. They failed.
I'm mostly mad at the interviewer, to be honest. But oh man the devs didn't help.
I'm hopping off my soapbox now. Thanks to anyone who read it. And yes I did my therapy shit and am calm now.
Oh and remember, there's always another way, and that way is never, ever, EVER the "right" way. Seek and you shall find me.
Employees at IGN, the popular video game and entertainment media site, have announced that they are unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA labor union.
The IGN Creators Guild consists of editorial and creative workers at IGN, which is owned by digital media parent company Ziff Davis. The guild is currently made of over 80 employees, with 87% of the eligible members signing union authorization cards. The union will be fighting for better pay, layoff protections, measurable steps that increase staff diversity and more.
“I’ve seen what my colleagues are capable of, whether we’re producing content around blockbuster gaming and entertainment releases, spinning up massive live shows around tentpole industry events or staying abreast of the daily hum of popular culture, and it’s a constant reminder of what’s possible when this many smart and talented people work together,” said Max Scoville, senior producer and host at IGN, in a statement. “I’m immensely proud of this team, and want the best for all of us. IGN is already an industry leader in entertainment media, but it’s crucial that we ensure it also continues to be a bastion for the human beings who give it a voice.”
"'The 2D stuff - amazing as it was to make those games - it was really, really hard when you think about what you have to work with. It's just very confined, how we even made those fights work. And it's the freedom here to create, it's just a lot easier in the 3D realm," says Stone. "For me, I just accept that these are the South Park kids. I know it's a new look, but to me that makes total sense. I think we've learned a lot about the animation. And I think now we could really go further.'"
"As you might have guessed from South Park episodes like Informative Murder Porn and Make Love, Not Warcraft, and the previous South Park RPGs, Stone and fellow South Park creator Trey Parker are gamers. Stone cited Hades as one of the games the team was playing when South Park: Snow Days was born, but also revealed that one of the keys to getting another South Park game made is getting he and Parker interested in something that appeals to both of their gaming sensibilities."
"'Trey and I have totally different tastes in games. I could basically just button mash, I could just play fighting games all the time. I like strategy games a little bit." "'Trey likes RPGs and Dungeons and Dragons and real strategy games. He's a total board game freak and [into] just kind of more cerebral and rules-based things. And again, I don't [play those] at all so then how do we make a game? So we talked about replayability and playing with friends, and that was also a big reason to do the 3D is like, wow, that would be really cool to be able to be with your friends and do this.'"
So now we have our explanation as to why it's in 3D and co-op!😁
THIS Interview has my blood boiling. I sounded TF OFF about how they talked about Gale, and idgaf if anyone hates my fucking take. If you wanna see what I posted (and like/retweet whatever) I would appreciate it. We need more appreciation for Gale, and I will NOT go gently into that good night.