SnotFlickerman

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Kirby for smash

https://c.tenor.com/oziJ-NZiXmAAAAAC/tenor.gif

😏

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Be, uh, careful with that barrel roll.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Welp, you don’t get a choice, you’re asexual now whether you like it or not. Meme says it, so it’s true.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I don’t play Kart or Smash because I don’t own Nintendo consoles anymore and haven’t in a hot decade.

I guess that just makes me old ha. An old fogey not in the streets or in the sheets.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Not being interested in sex is different than not being interested in a game? That’s how I read it, anyway. Apologies if it came off otherwise.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

https://i.insider.com/53fb613aecad04372cd26fa8

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

https://art.ngfiles.com/images/3154000/3154473_vforvalhalla_handsome-ganondorf.png?f1681513900

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu (edited 8 miesięcy temu)

Forgive me, but to me not experiencing sexual attraction reads the same as “not being interested” because you don’t experience sexual attraction. (Why would you be interested in something you have no attraction to?) Cheers.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

It’s time for developers and legislators to take responsibility and start protecting the players, especially the younger ones, from these predatory practices.

They’re making fucking bank with these practices. It will have to be stopped by government regulation. Self-regulation of industries has literally never fucking worked once in history. Look at Boeing, which has had the FAA basically glad-handing it for 50 years and it’s falling apart at the seams (sometimes literally).

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.

-Upton Sinclair

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu (edited 8 miesięcy temu)

Thanks for calling them out for being Skinner Boxes (also known as an Operant Conditioning Chamber). When my friends were having addiction issues with WoW 20 years ago, I called it out as being addictive because it was a glorified skinner box. Nothing has changed, it’s just become more exploitative.

en.wikipedia.org/…/Operant_conditioning_chamber

For anyone unfamiliar, it’s a science experiment. There’s two rats in two boxes. One rat has a lever that, when pressed, drops food to the rat. The rat only presses the lever when it is hungry. In the other box, the rat has a lever that randomly outputs food, but never consistently. A lot of the time, it produces nothing. The rat in that box spends all day long pressing the lever. Since it has no idea when the food will come, it panics and never stops trying to get more food, unsure if it will starve if it does not.

This is Diablo/World of Warcraft and the “Epic Loot” problem. People are clicking on the games endlessly looking for that top tier loot drop. It’s the same thing, because the results are inconsistent, people get addicted to the grind of trying to find the “best” item.

Also, thanks for pointing out that it doesn’t matter what game it is it’s still not okay. It wasn’t okay when it was WoW, it’s not okay when it’s Genshin Impact.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

True, and I say this as a fan of Balatro…

…but the core of Balatro is literally in its random presentation. The blinds are random, the jokers are random, the store is random, the planets are random, the tarot cards are random, it’s all random. World of Warcraft didn’t need you to pay money to get epic loot either, but I still had friends ruin their lives over chasing epic loot in WoW. I haven’t had any friends ruin their lives over Balatro yet, but I also don’t think it’s impossible for that to happen. Obviously Balatro isn’t “gambling” in the sense of taking a risk with actual real money, but otherwise it still fits the definition of a skinner box.

Because at their core, when a massive amount of the gameplay revolves around random chance, it’s very easy to get addicted to it.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

…and because literally every mechanic in the game is random. The whole game is a skinner box. I say this as a fan of Balatro.

To quote myself from elsewhere in the thread: The blinds are random, the jokers are random, the store is random, the planets are random, the tarot cards are random, it’s all random.

That’s literally what gives Balatro an addictively replayable quality.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu (edited 8 miesięcy temu)

I’m not the one who made the original post so I’m not asking for a solution for this.

I’m pointing out how hard it is to lay down a line in the sand and say “this one is bad and this one is good” because sadly, but very arguably, the core game mechanics are addictive themselves.

I remember the couple in China South Korea whose baby died because they were playing too much WoW.

It’s been 20 years I got the country wrong: arstechnica.com/gaming/2005/06/547/

Some people just cannot control themselves when it comes to a skinner box.

I don’t know what the solution is because I’d rather not see Diablo/WoW/Borderlands/Balatro get banned.

I just think it is important to discuss the reality of their skinner box operational procedures.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Ah yes, the ESRB, the group built to avoid actual regulation.

I mean, I get it, to an extent, the MPAA was and is absolute dogshit and filled with weird right-wing Christians who don’t like things that show women’s sexual pleasure and a lot of other weird censorial decisions.

Like how Hillary Clinton wanted to ban GTA because of the Hot Coffee mod, when the actual “Hot Coffee” minigame wasn’t available in an easily accessible way.

So, to that extent, I can understand why they built that system to avoid idiot fucking puritans taking over the ratings sytem, but I generally agree, it’s become more of a taboo thing just like the “PARENTAL WARNING EXPLICIT LYRICS” just made people want that version more. (That really worked out, huh, Tipper Gore?)

Without actual enforcement, it becomes something cool for kids to get.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I understand I didn’t make it clear in this comment and I apologize for that, elsewhere in the thread I made clear that I don’t want games like WoW/Diablo/Borderlands/Balatro to get banned, but I do think it’s important to recognize how their systems work and can impact people with addiction/gambling issues. I think we haven’t ever actually had a conversation about that aspect of these games, and I think it may be an important one to have, even if it only deeply affects a small sliver of society. Out of 9 billion people, a sliver is still often millions.

Also, and I do apologize, (especially if it was just a typo) but it is actually “wide berth” not “wide birth.” Otherwise, I agree with your point. However, I really did have friends who struggled with WoW in functionally the same way I have had other friends struggle with drugs and alcohol. They were in the minority, but they existed. I think it’s important to find ways to help those people deal with those issues without impacting the large number of people whom it does not. As I said elsewhere, I personally don’t have good ideas how to achieve that, I just know the conversation should happen. I would hope more clever and thoughtful people than I could have good ideas.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Megan Ellison sounds like a terrible chip off the old block of Larry Ellison.

This sucks for all the developers and sucks for the people who resigned since Ellison obviously doesn’t care about their concerns.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Anything where you’re more interested in the story than the challenge.

So… story-driven games.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu (edited 8 miesięcy temu)

I think easy game modes take away what a great game makes a great game.

But a lot of people are coming to gaming from traditional media where there is no interaction. A lot of those people like the narratives in games, but don’t love beating a challenge. A lot of those people are tired from long days at work and do not get joy from eking out a win. To them, it feels like a chore, and they didn’t get into this to do chores. They got into it to get away from the stress of the world.

(EDIT: Forgot to mention, this is also why Let’s Play youtubes are popular. I know a guy who doesn’t game at all but has watched full playthroughs of things like Firewatch.)

If you get enjoyment from great game mechanics, more power to you. However, that doesn’t mean those game mechanics are less impactful in story driven games where the gaming is “easier.”

My partner didn’t play games at all until those old Walking Dead games by Telltale came out. They were like a TV show, and she started playing them… because it was like “playing” one of her favorite shows at the time. I literally chose them to introduce her to gaming because it was more like a TV show than a game.

She recently finished Baldur’s Gate 3 on normal and its her favorite game now. So games with easy difficulty levels can also help people who have never gamed before be able to get into it and eventually love the more difficult challenge.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

People like you describe don’t want to play the game

I think this is part of the problem I have.

Are they still pressing buttons and making input? Yes.

Thus, they’re still playing the game.

If you want to sound less judgmental, stop saying they’re not “playing” it or that “they don’t want to play it” just because they’re not “playing it the way I think is right.”

If you really think its okay, accept that when they are still pressing buttons and interacting with the game, they are still functionally playing the game. Not playing the game is watching a Let’s Play.

It’s a pointless distinction rooted in treating people who want an easy mode as “lesser” because “they don’t want to actually play the game.” Sorry, sick of hearing it worded this way.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Personal opinion: This is actually excellent because we could actually use developers who have worked these jobs and thus are familiar with how they work, and then they can develop actually useful code for small businesses.

For example: restaurants often have the ability to order online, but they have zero rate limiting, so you can end up with 30 different orders made within 30 seconds of each other and all those people will expect their orders ready at the same time and in the meantime you’ve got exactly three cooks and each meal takes at least five to seven minutes to get out. Someone could design a rate limiter, no one has. Because there aren’t developers working those jobs realizing that workers are being worked to the bone because of businesses refusing to add limits to how much demand can come through their door.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I guess Open Source doesn’t exist?

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

and there’s no way Rockstar is going to be paying $99 million dollars for just songs.

GTA V/Online produced $8.5 billion in revenue.

I mean, I guess you’re not wrong, (how else could they be milking it for this much money but being cheap?) but it still makes them fucking cheap bastards.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

If they’re a 1-hit wonder, maybe that’s why they want more up front: In case they gain no new listeners from the GTA 6 soundtrack and continue to be a 1-hit wonder.

It’s like why football players have insane-sounding contracts: Because in the future they won’t be able to make the same kind of money.

Sounds to me like homie was smart and thinking long-term.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

It takes upward of 200 streams of a track on Spotify to earn a single penny. 20,000 streams to earn a dollar.

(For me and my personal expenses, this would mean I would need 40,000,000 streams per month to pay rent/pay bills/eat. I’m dirt poor and live a dirt poor budget. 40,000,000 streams to pay $1400 in rent is INSANE.)

That “exposure” can still add up to “not paying the bills.”

Also, if he gains no new listeners? He would have made a huge mistake not angling for more money.

This guy is being smart, and the rich just want people to THINK that exposure is worth it. Even Oprah pays in exposure and its bullshit. The company has got the fucking money to pay it they just don’t want to.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

should’ve asked for a sliver of a percentage

I think it’s really clear that Rockstar is trying to avoid a repeat of past soundtracks and licensing issues and they want these up-front with no royalty payments to make in the future, so they don’t have to keep re-negotiating licensing (and having to remove/replace songs in old games).

I still think this guy was being smart for asking more, even if he asked too much. You’re right, he shouldn’t have high-balled, but he was smart enough to understand getting a percentage or royalties was probably almost assuredly out of the question.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

You, as an individual, buy enough of their stuff to support them month-to-month? How generous of you.

Now that the snark is out of the way: Clearly an individual doesn’t make enough money to do that, and if you’re the only new fan they gain that’s still nowhere near enough to make a living.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Further cementing my point. If they’re not making new stuff and this deal gains them no new listeners: it’s a bad deal.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Actually, yeah I can. Every time a fucking bean-counter makes a living humans life worse at their job to save the company a buck is a great time to blame accountants for doing their fucking jobs.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Game Preservationists When a Game Sucks:

“Good I’m glad it’s gone.”

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

welp, glad I never bought Risk of Rain or Risk of Rain 2 then.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

They did, indeed, come out on top.

https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/036/386/I'm_Playing_Both_Sides_Banner.jpg

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Despite that, I’ve heard from friends there’s been some major changes since the sale… and they’re not good.

Not live service, but an update broke a lot of stuff and people aren’t too happy about it.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I want to see an adaptation of Naked Lunch as a video game that starts out as a hard-boiled neo-noir detective game, becoming a surreal waking nightmare much like the book, and ending with becoming an endless randomly-generated flight from the cops as you evade pursuit for accidentally killing your wife during a game of William Tell.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

This guy "As a black man"ed the whole disabled gaming community what the fuck.

He lives up to his name, Craven, for deleting all his social media in response to this.

Anyone who gave this guy a fucking dime needs to sue the living shit out of him for fraudulently misrepresenting himself as getting money to these disabled women that never fucking existed and this fucking chode just pocketed all the fucking money.

What a giant piece of shit. I hope someone knocks him the fuck out and people just leave him out cold in the street because fuck him.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Many of these are also compatible with Windows 10 and up.

While it totally kicks ass that they release these through their Xbox branding, but it’s weird that they don’t make a bigger deal how this also makes PC gaming more accessible as well.

Although to be fair, they may have better support for these controllers via the Xbox app/Microsoft Store, and maybe they don’t hype it as much because there isn’t great Steam support perhaps?

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I’m weird and I have a real soft spot for the original PlayStation 1 Final Fantasy Tactics as well. Both solid games, imho.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

I honestly only ever see people talking about FFTA, I almost never see people mention FFT for playstation.

Could just be me, but I don’t exactly run into lots of folks who are even aware it exists.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu (edited 8 miesięcy temu)

I have never read much of game reviews and game news nor “top” listicles, so maybe that’s why I’m less aware of the critical acclaim.

EDIT: and to be clear, it’s nice to know my opinion is in good company and not weird.

SnotFlickerman, 8 miesięcy temu

A lot of reasons to dislike Todd Howard, but fuck it, this is cute and wholesome.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

Oh man I remember the open-world obsession era. It’s still sort of with us, but a few companies are daring to stick with linear narratives that don’t allow as many branching paths, like Control or Alan Wake 2. Even non-linear narratives are being pulled off in non-open-world games like Baldur’s Gate 3.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

Tav: Shouldn’t have wished to live in more interesting times.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu (edited 9 miesięcy temu)

Yeah this title wasn’t begging for a remaster.

It was interesting, at the time, but far more interesting, thoughtful, and artistic indie games have popped up since.

It’s artstyle isn’t as unique as it was on release, nor is the gameplay. It’s no small wonder it did not do well.

This guy must have been huffing his own farts thinking this was a good time and market to do it in.

It’s never been tougher for indie games, and people are outright bored by linear narratives. Braid is presented with events out-of-order but it still tells a linear story.

Much more complex narratives exist now, and Braid just can’t compete on that level.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

Tom Nook is a rotten bell-grubbing bastard.

But its a cute fun game. I only ever played the one on GameCube and a tiny bit of New Leaf. I liked finding old NES games on the GameCube one and playing them on the in-game NES.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

A man chooses.

A slave obeys.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

In other news, Microsoft shuts down Bethesda game studios…

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

I honestly felt it was weaker than both Bioshock and System Shock 2. It was stronger than Bioshock 2, but I mean… that doesn’t take a lot.

Both System Shock 2 and Bioshock built the game systems first and foremost to be fun and engaging, and then wrote an engaging story around those mechanics. Bioshock was literally taking dumbed down systems from System Shock 2 and rewriting a more engaging and thoughtful story around the familiar systems. Bioshock Infinite seemed much more like they had a story idea first and then tried to adapt Bioshock-esque gameplay hamfistedly stapled onto said story. The others feel like the gameplay came first, and the story evolved naturally to align with the gameplay.

Games like Neir Automata really show where a synthesis of game systems design and game story design are really important and become even more impactful to the story, and in this Bioshock Infinite failed in comparison to earlier installments in the series (and its spiritual predecessor, System Shock 2).

I feel like it’s hard to talk about Bioshock as a series at all without discussing System Shock 2, because that’s where Levine first pioneered his story with the engaging antagonist who speaks to you through a radio, and Bioshock is where he refined it into what comes close to literature. Bioshock Infinite marks a regression, more worried about the story that Levine wanted to tell than the gameplay to support it. Due to that the story falls flat, feels stilted, and Levine’s generic take of “everyone can be a bad guy” feels hollow, because it’s not backed up by compelling gameplay that supports it.

As McLuhan put it, “the medium is the message” and video games inherently work better through a synthesis of gameplay and story, without one dominating over the other. Games that lean too far in one direction or the other (Metal Gear Solid’s interminably long cut-scenes for instance) take you too far out of the gaming medium and too far into other, more detached mediums.

SnotFlickerman, 9 miesięcy temu

I came back because I read a bunch about Levine’s new game, Judas… and it sounds like his approach to Judas is exactly what I’m asking for.

He talks about “narrative legos” a lot while developing this game, and I think that’s the kind of thing he really needed to implement to be able to tell the story he actually wanted to tell.

I found one interview (already forgot which one) where he described Bioshock Infinite’s linear story as holding him back, and that’s part of why it’s a weaker installment, because it can’t change the story in response to your actions. That’s clearly what Levine was trying to do with stuff like the choice of harvesting of the Little Sisters or not, or in Infinite, choosing to be a racist piece of shit or not. He was held back technologically, and I think the “narrative legos” idea is why Judas languished so long in development hell.

Here’s hoping Levine learned his lessons this time around.