Not a whole lot going on this week.
I’ve (for some reason) decided to make a new Terraria world, in master mode, with the Zenith seed. It’s bad. Bombs can drop from pots and trees, traps are many times more common, and many other terrible features. One of the (very few) upsides is that most blocks take less hits to brake, so I guess that’s nice.
I have no idea how many times I’ve died so far, but it’s at least in the triple digits.
How’s everyone else doing?
As promised! Episode 2 of Girls und Panzer: Tanks, we ride them! We learn almost everything we “need” to know about Sensha-do, or Tankery; in this episode. “How does this thing even work, anyway?” is kept appropriately vague, because there are certain story beats that require more suspension of disbelief than others. But ultimately, how precisely the tank-shaped hole that contains this show is dug isn’t really the point. Our guiding principle is friendship, and “finding your own Tankery;” a concept that will be brought up a couple of times. But while Tankery in the world of Girls und Panzer may be more gimmick than mechanic, the tanks themselves flip that situation. Mostly outside of battle. This episode ends in a cliffhanger that marks the transition of the series from something like the “slice-of-life” style we’ve seen so far, to; early in the third episode, something closer to a sports anime.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Girls und Panzer: Tanks, we ride them!”
With Mother’s Day around the corner I find it an appropriate time to consider an archetype that is often missing or ignored in video games… mothers. I sat with a couple friends and tried to think about the most interesting mother characters in video games and it was weirdly hard to come up with many. Story spoilers for: God of War (2018), Resident Evil 7 and 8, The Binding of Isaac, and Undertale.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Mommies in My Media? Maybe”
This week I played a few different games.
I finished my skyblock Terraria world. After it got into hardmode most of the difficulty of it being a skyblock disappears, you can get wings, and you’ll probably already have a few mob farms set up so it’s just kill a boss, farm some loot, kill a boss, farm some loot.
I also bought a small game called Scritchy Scratchy. It’s a short idle game about scratching scratch cards, it was $7 and I got a few hours of fun out of it.
I also learned that Rimworld has a multiplayer mod that just works with minimal hassle. I don’t know how well it works on the newest version, but it’s not given any trouble in version 1.5 so far.
Anyway, How’s everyone else doing?
Girls und Panzer the anime debuted in 2012. It was created or conceived sometime in 2011 as a TV series, with ideas likely originating a few years earlier. Takaaki Suzuki, who is variously listed as an assistant-producer, advisor, or consultant; had previously acted as a military history advisor for Strike Witches and Upotte! before 2010. Strike Witches and Upotte! featured high school girls (Japanese) as the personifications of World War II aircraft and guns, just as the slightly-later Kantai Collection starred high school girls (Japanese) as the personifications of WWII warships. All of these series achieved success; wide and outrageous success in every case except Upotte! But Girls und Panzer did it differently, and is the only property still working with the original plot and characters.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Girls und Panzer: Isn’t This Series Fifteen Years Old?”
I’ve discussed the series before and it’s time to give it a true spotlight. The Yakuza series is a kooky blast. I love it. There’s tons to do from bowling to batting to mahjong, there really is something for everyone. And I never would have even given any of the games a chance if it wasn’t for a YouTube let’s play series that spotlighted the game. I assumed that the Yakuza games were just Japanese Grand Theft Auto. I think that was the common thought at the time and likely still is. But the fact of the matter is they are very very different.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “My Favorite Very Okay Franchise”
This week I’ve been more Deep Rock Galactic, but now one of my siblings is playing with me.
They’ve been mostly just playing Scout (which is understandable) and I’ve been jumping between classes depending on the mission. Having another person instead of Bosco means that some missions are so much easier, the salvage operations are most notable, Bosco is nice to have, but two people during the drop pod repair is so much better.
The game s&box just released, so I’m probably going to be trying that out when I have time.
How’re you guys doing this week?
It seems like a simple question, but it turns out everyone has a different idea of right and wrong in the digital world.
This Korean title would be the greatest MMO ever made if not for the horrendous monetization system. And the embarrassing translation. And the terrible progression. And the developer's general apathy towards its western audience.
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
Yes, this game is loud, crude, childish, and stupid. But it it knows what it wants to be and nails it. And that's admirable.
Let's ruin everyone's fun by listing all the ways in which zombies can't work, couldn't happen, and don't make sense.
A videogame that judges its audience, criticizes its genre, and hates its premise. How did this thing get made?
What is "Domino Worldbuilding" and how did it help to make Mass Effect one of the most interesting settings in modern RPGs?
No Man's Sky is a game seemingly engineered to create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.
His problem isn't that he's dumb, the problem is that he bends the world he inhabits.
No, brutal, soul-sucking, marriage-destroying crunch mode in game development isn't a privilege or an opportunity. It's idiocy.
T w e n t y S i d e d
