Problem Machine

Well when I say neutral in Isaac's case I mean situational. Almost every item has a use under specific circumstances, the only exception to which I can think of are puberty, i found pills, and ruawizard pills. Something like Tiny Planet is neutral in the grand scheme of things, but can make or break a run by choosing to take or leave it.

Just binge-read Billy Bat. It asks the question we've all been thinking: What if Mickey Mouse was actually a time-transcending elder god who has shaped the whole of human history and Disney's belligerence towards knockoffs was actually a bid to monopolize its power? Well, sort of. It's fucking good. Fucking Naoki Urusawa. Goddammit.

I don't know a lot about D&D, but the impression I've gotten is that in older editions and in games which inherited from that tradition trapped and cursed items were a big deal. This is why the whole identification trope exists in Diablo, as far as I can tell, because the idea was that if you used something without knowing what it was you were taking a risk which could turn out very poorly. In Diablo itself, though, cursed items are basically just bad items that only exist at low levels, and after that they disappeared completely. It's understandable that this idea of dangerous items has kind of been optimized out of game design, but also really sad. Nothing says "magic is strange and dangerous" like knowing there are rings out there which will turn you into a puddle of goo if you try to wear them. Isaac kind of splits a balance, with pedestal item pickups being largely positive with a few pickups that are neutral, but when it comes to cards and pills they're much closer to value neutral. You really can't expect them to help you unless you happen to know exactly what they do. Also it's worth noting that some of the best items in the game can trip you up if you're not used to them. Many novice players have been killed adjusting to brimstone's charge time or mom's knife's range.

You didn't know what it was, it was a mystery item, and you used it without preparing for any possible negative consequences. Isn't the issue just that you don't like and/or aren't prepared for items having any negative repercussions? If that's the case, isn't that just because other games have trained you that loot is unconditionally good? I think that's an assumption worth challenging, and one that certainly comes from the Rogue tradition. If you don't know what it is, be prepared for bad shit to potentially happen when you use it. None of them will instantly kill you (with one clearly marked exception which has to be unlocked): Bad trip/ health down pills will reverse effect when they would kill you, and anything else might put you in a bad situation but not one you couldn't hypothetically play your way out of.

I assume that it's whether you ever wish if you could go back in time.

They're comparing sales numbers for a new release to numbers for a game that's been out a couple of years? Holy shit some porn game is outselling Secret of Mana, this is an outrage!

I heard about that primarily when Randi Harper linked to this comment (copied from reddit): Gaters gonna gate.

Oh. Well never mind then.

I think they kept the main field open in OoT so that you could ride Epona around freely. She isn't in MM, right?

It's been a long time since I played it, but I don't think I noticed it at the time. Given the attention to detail Jon seemed to put into all aspects of the game, it's hard to believe that's accidental. The epilogue seems to break a number of rules established elsewhere in the game as well, such as the strong separation of background and foreground (something he mentioned as being a priority in the art design talking about the game before release).

Well it says she might be. Which I read as "she might as well be, it doesn't matter one way or the other", but yeah dunno.

Holy shit! Man, hearing the way people talk about it, I'm one of apparently many people who wish they'd been in the right place and right time, physically and mentally, to enjoy that game as a kid. I hope I get a chance to still, but as has been discussed, it won't have the same impact now it would have then. Oh well. Oh well. There's a lot of parallel lives we don't get to live, no reason to get wound up about it.

Yes I'm comfortable with how creepy that sounds out of context.

Rubbing in the cheese tease

"we aint gonna talk about none of that sjw shit here" Does that mean they're getting rid of Yahtzee? Doesn't get much more curmudgeonly than that, but he's also pretty much the only reason the site became relevant at all in the first place.

I think the point was (if I'm remembering correctly), that a single game can be a hobby in a way that a single work can't in other media. Someone can just play Minecraft, or just play WoW, or just play Europa Universalis, and just that one game is their hobby. That's why I don't think enjoying an entire ouvre, along with adaptations, is quite analogous.

Well, then there's cursed eye...

I don't think it's entirely analogous to use the entire creative works of an author. It would be much harder to make a hobby out of just Hamlet or King Lear.

Though the XL Floor is a blessing just as often as a curse. On the first floor it means you save a key, and you likely wouldn't have saved up enough money yet for the lost shop to matter. I dunno, I think there's room for improvement with the curses but they do tend to make things interesting in some ways. Curse of the blind makes D6 and Devil Deals, two of the most manipulable elements to break the game, substantially less useful. Curse of the Unknown shouldn't make a difference most of the time but its psychological effect is powerful, which I think is super interesting. Curse of the maze can also be a blessing, since it can be manipulated to bypass locked doors if you're patient. Curse of the Lost, though, is just a fucking nuisance, and while it hypothetically shouldn't affect you at all if you pay enough attention to the map, no one normally pays that much attention. It mostly just makes finding secret rooms impossible.

That's exploration

Not sure I really hear glitchy, though the flute adds a nice spookiness to it. I like how it builds, but kinda wanna hear it broken up a bit since right now it's sort of the same section repeated with more on each go.

Well, half-crazy.

All Reason 4 (someday I'll be able to afford to upgrade). I never use the pre-made synths, usually I play around with parameters until I get something I think sounds interesting. All of the samples are from Reason's default soundbanks or the officially included refills, though I think one of the vocal samples I got elsewhere.

Thanks, I probably will

I'm trying to make one music piece a month this year. First one's done! Not sure if I'm going to leave it up, since its tone is appropriate for my game I may end up using it for the soundtrack eventually, but for now it is listenable on SoundCloud. Please Don't Make Me Leave LISTEN.