Gradually_Adjusting

Gradually_Adjusting, 5 days ago

I showed my kid the trailer for bits & bops and he literally did a gasp of delight. Thanks for that :)

Gradually_Adjusting, 9 days ago

For quality and training purposes of course 🙃

Gradually_Adjusting, 13 days ago

I really wanted to like it more because they made some really cool choices in the design of it. I can see why it didn’t sell well, but it should have at least been more influential

Gradually_Adjusting, 16 days ago

It’s really gross how people’s games can just be disappeared these days. GaaS is a terrible business model.

Gradually_Adjusting, 16 days ago

I’m not playing them as hard as I can.

Live service games have been failing constantly, so unless the change is happening already I don’t think they’re deterred. That perpetual revenue stream is some exec’s idea of a lottery ticket.

Gradually_Adjusting, 15 days ago

It’s not my game. I only wanted to talk about what they did wrong. Kinda just doing armpit farts at the funeral, yanno?

Gradually_Adjusting, 15 days ago

Hack the planet, indeed.

Gradually_Adjusting, 24 days ago

They hate us cause they anus

Gradually_Adjusting, 23 days ago

The complexity was initially sensed, though I did not encompass it at the time of writing

Gradually_Adjusting, 26 days ago

I should have included that. I didn’t want anyone to think I was selling them something, I was just moved to talk about this game in the spur of the moment.

Gradually_Adjusting, 26 days ago

I’m not the guy who can tell from a steam store page whether an indie game is a success or not, so maybe you’re right but I don’t have a dog in that race. I’m more focused on how well they conceived the idea and managed to add nothing that fails to serve their vision.

Gradually_Adjusting, 26 days ago

The one hit kill is an incredibly meaningful choice, and I feel like it drives a lot of other decisions as well. It forces the player to be completely unburdened by the weight of their actions, killing without a thought. The second you fret about your next move, the flow is interrupted, and your survival chances drop.

And since you spend so little time on any single enemy, that drives decisions about how success is measured, etc etc. The similarities fall into place when you hew very closely to the single hit kill mechanic.

I don’t fault Ludic at all for the similarities here, it’s an innocent case of carcinization. If you’re going to make a game whose loop is so tight that you can boot up the game and enter an extremely satisfying flow state in a minute flat, you make something like this. I’m definitely going to check out Akane next.

Gradually_Adjusting, 1 month ago

My Bethesda rant goes something like this: “they think the ideal video game is when you can treat everything like action figures, make anything happen in any combination just to see it happen, bash em together, pull them apart, make them kiss, make them join every team and do every thing, do whatever you want, and then fuck off because it never meant anything”.

Gradually_Adjusting, 1 month ago

Artwork is never truly finished, it is abandoned

Gradually_Adjusting, 1 month ago

Thanks to Larian for negotiating an end to the 2007 writers strike.

Gradually_Adjusting, 1 month ago

It’s sepia, and it’s classy

Gradually_Adjusting, 1 month ago

“For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonization spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”

From the SpaceX TOS. Oligarchs want to rule as kings on Mars, not as Americans.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

What a treat, and what a win for self-hosting. I wish they talked more about how they did it in the article.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

The people who enjoyed the joke just upvote and move on. But yes, we do have a lot of folks who do not embrace obliquity.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

My kid and I finished this game late last year and it’s his all time fav. We love this!

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

It’s so stupid. I have literally plugged GC controllers into my Switch with an adapter hub, and they worked with non-GC games. This is deliberately worse.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

Oh, so it’s just ragebait and they’re reporting on nothing? I fell for it.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

You just got done telling me they are reporting as fact something that is likely not so, and now you are scoffing at me for not having wasted my time. If there is any reason for this article to still be published or even discussed, it has eluded me.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

I haven’t been into FPS for several years, but if I was going to play anything current, I’d give The Forever Winter a look. It’s still being worked on, but the early access gameplay is really cool looking, and it’s bringing a lot of ideas to the table creatively.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

I want to move to Linux, but I need to be able to use the VPN service my work uses and I’m just not sure how to get it working on Linux. I should just dual boot.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

It’s Watchguard. Though looking at their site, it seems like there might be support that I wasn’t able to find last time I looked into this. Definitely want to dual boot at some point. I’ve got a Surface Book 3 though, and I know it needs special kernel stuff to get working properly, so I’d almost rather just wait until my boss retires and everyone’s out of a job to dive into Linux. Easier than finding spare time in my life. Living the dream

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

Sorry for that, it gets hard sometimes when I start accidentally living the examined life for a second

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

I have not checked, but I hope and trust there are difficulty options. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to play MMX at or near the level in that video.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

This one is slightly less on target, but I’m really intrigued by a free demo I found this week called Exo Rally Championship. It’s a rally car game, but set in exotic little exoplanetary environments. The movement looks really interesting especially because you’re not just in a low-grav setting, you also have 360⁰ jets you can use to assist in steering or course-correction midair.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

If this is going to be what Switch 2 offers, I’m fully out

Edit: I checked with a friend. Normal game cartridges are still a thing. One thing that makes them slightly better than digital downloads (albeit still imperfect) is that you can at least trade, sell, and buy them used. Not as good as physical media, but slightly better ownership rights than buying a digital copy.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

Yeah but this one’s going to be late for a little while and then suck forever

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

I’m just talking crap. My most recent impression of the series was Fable: The Journey and that sucked shit through a fat old boba tea straw.

Gradually_Adjusting, 2 months ago

That’s a trip. I keep having that moment with the JWST where I think okay, now I get the hype and then it surprises me again.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

Rare bookmarked comment

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

Time to pass laws, this shit keeps happening. If you sold a game over $x that completely ceases to be playable within X years, you should be forced to open-source your code.

Won’t bother guessing at what the best numbers should be, hardly matters as I’m sure lobbyists would defang the whole thing as much as possible.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

Great to see another update. One of my buddies is practically a game industry savant so I always feel a bit out of my depth with him. Reading this is my cheat sheet for talking points with him.

Who do you know of that talks about games as art? That’s more my focus, and the only one that really seems to tick that box for me is Noah Gervais - and he’s great, but I would love more variety if you know anyone doing pieces like that.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

It does! Thanks, looking forward to the next dispatch ^^

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

I’m not a big “power gamer” as I also game on my laptop mainly and it’s a bit less powerful than yours. My suggestions tend toward retro graphics and indie titles; I have a type.

In no particular order, I’m going to recommend Ruiner, Make Way, and Hyper Light Drifter. Ruiner and HLD both have incredibly intense atmospheres and stylized storytelling with an emphasis on action. Make Way is heaps of chaos, totally unrealistic, and the AI can be brutally hard, but it’s extremely simple and unless you crank down the difficulty to zero, it’s easy to find a flow state in the rapidly evolving mayhem.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

You modern gamers and your metroidvanias nobody’s ever heard of.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

Thanks for the newsletter! I am not good with fediverse how do I like and subscribe… Your talk of emulation on the deck awoke something in me. I checked and yes, it appears you can emulate 360 on it too.

I was interested in the rest, but this has driven every other thought out of my head. I don’t even know how to make breakfast in this state. I’m a wreck.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

I’m honestly just jonesing for some Split/Second, looks like it’s still not there yet!

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/d7044a46-40e2-4322-b498-0f54b4c6412d.png

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

If it is, Rocket League is an 11/10 sports game.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago)

It’s a little cringe in retrospect, but I really liked my time with Makai Kingdom. Avoid if anime stuff isn’t your bag.

Ico had some interesting ideas that are worth a look.

Rogue Galaxy was pretty okay.

Psychonauts deserves a mention, though it’s kind of obvious.

Red Faction had cool political leanings for a game of that era.

You’ve got heaps of great suggestions already so I’ll leave it at that.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

I’ve never heard of B: AA described as a metroidvania… How do you figure that one?

I still haven’t gotten to Ori yet (a glaring omission I know). Never heard of the other one but I’ve wish listed it.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

I suppose you’re right, I guess I had a blind spot there. Haven’t played it.

Gradually_Adjusting, 3 months ago

It’s one of my top five all timers, and my kid’s. Raising em right. I was just trying to figure out where this other fella was coming from.