It’s basically capitalism as a game, but for the Genesis/Mega Drive era it was a surprisingly fun game. When I was a kid I played this before I even knew what McDonalds was, and many people I know thought I was crazy when I talked about a game I played where you collected the Golden Arches while being guided by Ronald McDonald on an environmental quest.
As per title. Most computer games these days are made with such unnecessary padding that I want to murder the devs or myself by the end. See, for example, Hyrule Warriors, the 100% 1000 Hour Nightmare, the Review....
I liked Outer Worlds, but while I do see some “NV magic” there, it feels like both Bethesda AND Obsidian are no longer the same companies that they once were. Obsidian are still quietly putting out some solid games…but not to the same quality of two generations prior.
He had put out a long line of duds, but was still considered an accomplished actor. King Richard is probably an outlier as a critically acclaimed role for him, but even after a decade of mostly crap he’s still been getting the work.
Given the response from Chris Rock to the slap, that might all be over though. He’s still busy as a producer on Bel Air, which has been…okay? That might be his next move in his career.
That statement in itself is quite sad, when one of the reasons everyone called it out as being an amazing game is because it was huge, well crafted, and made by a company that actually seemed to give a shit.
I don’t say this to diminish their achievements, because I’m 80 hours in and still not done, but it’s a spectacularly low bar that Larian absolutely launched themselves over. At a time where companies seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrel, Larian did the exact opposite, and reaped what should be the most obvious of awards (do good work, get lots of money).
It might be bland, but the fact it’s been marketed as “holy shit, it’s like Pokémon if Game Freak gave a shit” says it all about the Pokémon franchise.
FWIW, I doubt they’ll change a thing. People will buy anything with a Pokémon cover, and Game Freak know this…
Okay let me start with two heavy hitters right from the get go and don’t forget these are only personal oppinions and I absolute understand if you like those games. Good for you!...
Any of the Paper Mario or Super Mario RPG games. Maybe I’m not the target audience, but I’ve often felt that without the Mario name they would be considered mediocre.
Alongside this, basically every 3D Sonic game. I feel that Sonic has become a thing for furries, and that the 3D games just don’t really seem to get what a Sonic game should be. Frontiers was somewhat decent in the open world aspect, but its constant reliance on the homing dash just highlights how buggy those games are.
Do you have any recent examples? Am genuinely curious, given that it’s something that’s been a problem in the game’s industry for a long time, particularly at places like Activision.
In the tech industry, I’ve always enjoyed watching what those laid-off employees end up moving onto. While most find jobs elsewhere, you occasionally see some employees form new startups, or try something different with what they’ve learned from their big tech job.
I’d love to see a resource that follows up on people that were laid off from X company, and to see what their offshoots are working on themselves, supporting them where possible.
Some industries in tech are hit extremely hard (i.e. recruitment), but as someone that has spent the last year helping those laid off from Amazon to find roles internally and externally, that’s definitely not true in software engineering.
I’ve played and almost 100% the Spyro trilogy when it came out. The games were lovely and (aside from the gorgeous remade graphics) the gameplay has aged really well....
As we all know, Roblox is garbage tier gameplay structured around psychological cues to get children to fill an endless pit with fake money bought with real money....
Given that you’ve got some great answers already, there seems to be very few guides on how to deal with this sort of shit as a parent.
Gaming today is very different to what we grew up with, particularly microtransactions, and I think a lot of people would be surprised at how many kids spend insane amounts of money on things like FUT packs, VBucks, etc. Much of this is down to peer pressure, so saying shit like “my kid will never pay money on microtransactions” is wishful thinking.
It absolutely sucks, but many of the standard calls of “it’s always been shit” and “boycott” aren’t really doing anything outside of virtue signalling or trying to hold a moral view to a company that couldn’t give a fuck about the 0.001% of people that action these views.
Regarding software engineering, I’ve often said that “if the games industry doesn’t unionise, there’s no hope for the rest of the tech industry”, and I still stand by that. While there are obvious complications in forming unions in a global market, I truly believe that the US is often the barrier towards workers rights. If American workers can unionise, you can bet that those in Europe would do so too.
I’m British, so I don’t have a great understanding of French law, but do they have unions in the same way, or are they similar to works councils in Germany? I know French law is protective of workers, so wonder if it’s as divisive as it would be in the West.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m a software engineer at a FAANG company, and the split is very apparent. There are either people that would love to see a union (but know their employer would happily fire 100k+ people for even trying it), alongside people that believe unions are the devil. There was a shift in the last 12 months due to the mass layoffs and the nature of how someone with a decade or more of loyal work can be locked out and fired immediately without so much as a “goodbye”, but there is still a huge number of people that view tech as a “survival of the fittest” thing. I work with some people that even love the idea of URA and the “weakest” people in the team losing their jobs.
Game dev is an interesting thing, though. For decades now, even smaller companies (at the time) like Rare were built from the mentality that you cannot just work 50 hours a week to make a good game, or that once a release is complete, you move on to your next gig. That culture has existed throughout corporate, not just in tech, which is why I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a true effort towards unionising industry-wide. Hell, I would’ve thought that the Activision issues from a while ago would have spurred something too.
Recommendation engine: Downvote any game you've heard of before angielski
This might be a slightly unusual attempt at a prompt, but might draw some appealing unusual options....
What’s a game you can 100% without hating by the end? angielski
As per title. Most computer games these days are made with such unnecessary padding that I want to murder the devs or myself by the end. See, for example, Hyrule Warriors, the 100% 1000 Hour Nightmare, the Review....
Bethesda Is Charging $7 For A New Starfield Mission, And Players Are Upset (www.gamespot.com) angielski
Will Smith's Chinese Zombie Game [videogamedunkey] (www.youtube.com) angielski
Game is Undawn. Piped link.
Baldur's Gate 4 Isn't Next For Larian; Something Bigger Is Coming | Spot On | Gamespot (www.youtube.com) angielski
This is a really good interview. tl;dw is…...
Pokémon Legends Z-A - Reveal Trailer (www.youtube.com) angielski
Which games do you dislike, but the rest of the world loves them? angielski
Okay let me start with two heavy hitters right from the get go and don’t forget these are only personal oppinions and I absolute understand if you like those games. Good for you!...
Then vs Now (startrek.website) angielski
An Important Update about Riot’s Future (www.riotgames.com) angielski
TLDR: Riot is downscaling. The severance package is great but it’s another round of layoffs in the industry....
Twitch "isn't profitable" admits CEO, in wake of recent layoffs (www.eurogamer.net) angielski
This Spyro the Dragon tweet has fans thinking a new instalment is coming (www.eurogamer.net) angielski
I’ve played and almost 100% the Spyro trilogy when it came out. The games were lovely and (aside from the gorgeous remade graphics) the gameplay has aged really well....
I banned my kid from Roblox.... what next?
As we all know, Roblox is garbage tier gameplay structured around psychological cues to get children to fill an endless pit with fake money bought with real money....
Baldur's Gate 3 Has Been Completed by 1.3 Million Players, Shadowheart is Most Popular Love Interest (techraptor.net) angielski
Fallout TV Show - Teaser Trailer (m.youtube.com) angielski
The games industry sucks (www.youtube.com) angielski
Same title as the video. Game dev writer Alanah Pierce offers her POV on the recent layoffs from Epic Games....