Super Blizzard

So Elon Musk just tweeted this article http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/07/intel-curie-spider-drone ...with the caveat "Definitely #signoftheapocalypse". So it was nice knowing all of you. I only wish I had taken the time to post in the Idle Forums more, but I guess it doesn't matter since we'll all be overtaken by swarms of robot spiders controlled by a fist-pumping Intel CEO. Oh well, at least I got to play Bloodborne. (the tweet: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/585893542263791616)

When Chris (at least I remember it as Chris) pointed out the thing with the whistle, I completely flipped my shit and fell in love with this show all over again. It's such a cool little story. I don't remember if it was delved further into (late night listen), but the stick-to-whistle transformation as a metaphor for Cooper using his human intellect to transform chaos into order has been stuck in my head all day. The moment he finally blows the whistle comes right as the case finally has its first real lead, and changes from something unordered (a random, seemingly meaningless act of great violence) into something ordered (a solvable crime, with a possible narrative and a suspect). Gaaaaah I love this show and I can't believe I get to hear two of my favorite Smart Podcast Dudes talk to me about it every week. Currently plowing through the entire show at light-speed just so I can listen to the full episodes without feeling guilty haha

Er, hi again? I signed up for the forums (I want to say) last year, then was promptly swallowed whole by the Great Internet Mouth, been full-on busy making games (with old thumbs episodes as my go-to work soundtrack) ever since. "Recent Video Game Events" got me seriously rethinking where I choose to spend my time and energy on the internet, when suddenly a tweet by Danielle reminds me that the Idle Forums - not unlike a desert mirage - waited just over the next pile of internet garbage, all full of normal-and-not-at-all-terrifying-people who talk about games like Real Adults. So hi again, nice to meet you all!

Ever since the Kickstarter, we've been listening to a VR simulation of the original Idle Thumbs It all makes so much sense now.

"It's the Tony Hawk of movies!" -IGN.com

Okay, I'm getting a shitload of ideas now, I'm going to go code something before my head explodes (or this is announced as Half-Life: Episode 3)

That's actually what I assumed you meant, and what I always (mistakenly) use 'permadeath' to mean in conversation.

Yeah, fair enough. Suppose it's just a matter of preference at the end of the day. I still love Tarantino movies too, so that's probably telling the whole story right there.

That offer code needs at least 3 more 'a's. Oh god I think my eyeballs exploded. I love lo-fi 3D, and those screens've stolen my heart.

I read your post in the 'turning opinions' thread about this, and from what you said there it seems like you just don't like mechanics-driven games. Nothin' wrong with that at all, but like I said, permadeath is (usually) a tool for telling stories in said mechanics-driven games. The entire notion of progression in roguelikes/likes is that the story is created entirely by the mechanics - it's an exercise in controlled creativity. It's like playing pretend with your friends as a kid, except all your friends are robots, and (with the exception of more "pure" roguelikes) you actually get to watch a guy shoot sweet fireballs at a skeleton. Permadeath is a really important part of this experience - when you're pretending as a kid, there are no rewinds or save points (unless you're with that one kid who keeps insisting he has time travel powers every time he dies even though everybody else voted and decided it was unfair, who even invited him to my birthday anyway). When you die, that story's over, and it's a story completely unique to you that will never be told again.

I can see where you're coming from, but I don't exactly see what that has to do with purpose. In Spelunky for example, there is a purpose - to get to the bottom and collect mad treasure sacks. It's the story of a guy accomplishing a goal, just like any other game, the only difference being that the story you tell in splunx is a personal one that changes every time and sometimes has a sad ending, as opposed to a consistent story that you play through over time towards a single point of resolution (or multiple, if the game has many endings). I don't think it has to - I'm just saying that without it, most game stories aren't worth finishing. If a game is specifically trying to be nothing but entertaining (and it succeeds), then that's awesome. Hell, I beat Borderlands 1 countless times for entertainment value alone. My problem is with games that take their stories and worlds very seriously, without actually having anything meaningful to say - and I don't even hate those games, but when there's no other motivation to finish a game except the story, I'm probably not going to finish it unless the story is at least half-decent. I dunno. Maybe saving the world just doesn't do it for me anymore.

I'm pretty sure it's Hideo Games.

Holy crap, I love love love love LOVE local multiplayer, that looks like an absolute blast. The art is great too, and I really like the comic-book style - the whole trailer is dripping with pizzazz. (IGN.com?) I actually just finished my first game a few weeks ago. It was originally going to be an entry into Ludum Dare 26 (48-hour design competition, the theme this year was Minimalism), but I missed the deadline and ended up finishing(?) it anyway. It's a puzzle-action-thing/mini art project where you drag r/g/b soldiers around a grid, matching colors with oncoming enemies. Your characters develop as they win more battles, gaining special abilities, eventually becoming undefeatable legends. There's a bunch of difficulty levels, a handful of artsy-fartsy secrets, and some sweet midi jams for maximum rocking. Once I get some more time on my hands, I definitely want to remake it sans 'programmer art' and with a bunch of things I ended up cutting for time (varied enemy behavior, multiple bosses, even more hipster meta stuff). It's called Chroma Zone (totes free, it's set to pay what you want so you can just pay nothing). Since this is my first released game (I've been using Game Maker for about 7 years, coding for 5, still use GM out of sheer convenience and familiarity), any thoughts you guys have are much appreciated, especially things I could do to improve on the existing mechanics. Thanks!

While it's totally realistic that a good portion of indie developers are ironic hipsters, I think you're missing that a lot of these 'retro pixel-y' games are made to look that way because the devs legitimately enjoy the way it looks, just like how -certain controversial filmmakers- use throwback techniques from grindhouse and martial arts films, not as an ironic nod, but as a genuine aesthetic choice. I know I personally develop lo-fi games because I like the way it looks, it has a feeling to it that I just don't get from games where I can't see the pixels all up in my face-space.

"Rosebud is a skateboard. Spoiler alert!" - IGN.com