Stuart

That's super .

Sean popping up at the end of the podcast startled the hell out of me! Also, I was wondering if ya'll would discuss the Bioshock Infinite DLC next week maybe? I was really looking forward to that, but Sean's absence seems to have interrupted that. Still, super good pod, I dare say.

This reminds me, was Frozen good? I mean, I know it got good reviews and all, but it seemed because it was a return to form of old Disney, which tbh I don't like in the context of a CGI animated film. But I also heard it does positive things when it comes to characterizing its female leads, so that's cool. I guess this question is more suited for the movie recommendations thread.

That's pretty super, dude.

Well, I finished watching the entirety of the first season of True Detective, with zero expectations. And I didn't think it was that great as many make it seem. It was enjoyable, sure, and some of the dialogue really came through, the music is great, and the cinematography and acting are superb, but it just felt so full of itself. And the last episode was just absolutely terrible. I see where the writers were going, but they failed 100% in their attempt of trying to shine some light in this grim and gritty tale. But even excluding that ending, my impressions are not that high. Actually, I'm getting what I like to call "The Man of Steel Effect", which is when I watch something that I find very impressionable and interesting, and once I finish watching it, the more I think about it, the less I like it. This was my reaction to Man of Steel, which at my first viewing I thought was awesome, but now stands as one of the worst movies I've watched in the last five years. I'm sure True Detective won't get to worst TV show I've ever seen status, but it's impact is becoming very sour, specially once I start thinking about the show's hard to ignore, legitimate flaws.

That is actually a full on concept video just for BG&E 2, made before the first AC game. This lead to the creation of AC actually, or at least, the inception of AC's movement system.

Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff inspired? I'd totally buy this shirt, but needs more misspelling! :x Poor Jake. This is truly how it starts. Also, Sean looks hella ripped.

You know what I adore about this game? It does that thing I want so many other games to do: it blends different styles of gameplay to cohesively serve different aspects of the game's world and story, as well as its themes, while also making all those different mechanics deep enough and interesting enough so that it doesn't feel out of place or wrong. It cleverly blends third person platforming, stealth, driving, exploration, puzzle solving, and character interaction in order to give a complete sense of agency and involvement in the narrative. A good recent game to compare it to would be Batman: Arkham Asylum (as the Thumbs did in an old episode, forgot which one), or, to a greater extent, Arkham City. Every mechanic there is utilized to create a certain kind of mood or situation that is subservient to the story while also not being out place and having the player have complete agency in an otherwise intensely linear experience. And BG&E does it so well it's mind boggling. The only problem I have with it is just the limitation of camera movement when in stealth sequences. For some reason, Ubisoft thought it was a good idea to just let you move the camera vertically on a straight Y axis during stealth sequences instead of just letting you have full control over the camera. But whatever! Amazing game, I really hope that painting Ancel showed is a hint that the sequel nears!

No link to the episode on the main thread post? I expect more professionalism from you, Hot Scoops! In all seriousness, been waiting for this post dearly. I shall give it a listen while playing a bit of Enemy Unknown. The full Solomon experience.

Medication terrifies me, and I hope it doesn't come to that. I've scheduled a meeting with a counselor here, but it's been so late. A whole school year's worth late, and a whole six years late.

Bah fuck, I finally have realized I have had depression for the past six years of my life. Fuck. I think I'll go see a psychiatrist. But fuck, just goddamn it, I feel horrendous for just now realizing that, and specially realizing it just now that the school year is ending and my grades are shit due to my insomnia and lack of motivation. Fuck everything, seriously. I feel so tired.

May I ask the context around the first 4 seconds of the podcast? When I heard Sean (Jake?) do that cat (???) voice, it killed me and want to know more about it. Also, I have no idea what Sean or Jake said in after those two meow's (????).

Concerning the Avengers, I hate it for the same reason I hate or just don't care about much of Whedon's works: it's boring main plot, and the boring visual style and cinematography. Specially the latter. The guy seems too comfortable sticking with broadcast TV cinematography and that's something I've always hated about some superhero movies. They end up looking sterile, fake, and lacking of any visual uniqueness and care. I start to actually feel that what I'm watching is just a calculated product, and with The Avengers, that feeling couldn't have been more apparent. Also, the main plot is just dull and not engaging. I'm not asking for a complex plot with twists and turns, but I Whedon has the tendency of just making rote, bland stories with very interesting character development and interactions. Pacific Rim and films like it showed that you can have an uber simple story that's super predictable but salvages itself by having moment by moment surprising things and events that make it interesting and engaging. Add the fact that Rim was beautifully directed and conceived visually. and the characters, though admittedly mostly one-dimensional, were relatable enough to elevate its status of just being another stupid action adventure movie, and you have a film that is as conceptually banal, if not more, than The Avengers and works much better as an adventure/action film. But the characters. That's perhaps the only thing I'll praise in The Avengers and other Whedon stuff: The guy knows how to write characters and their interplay, but that wasn't enough to save most of his film for me. I kinda wish James Gunn had been given the helm to direct and write The Avengers. That'd would've been sooooo perfect. I'm happy he's doing Guardians of the Galaxy. Also, sad ya'll didn't care much for Kentucky Route Zero. Ya guys should try it again!

I made another stupid thing.

I guess no one else cares about labyrinthian level design. *walks away to dark corner*

Looks like you're the ghost now, Steve. What a twist! *munches popcorn*

The only thing I really care about, besides the blatant Tarantino-esque dialogue and narrative (by which I mean, invoking schlock, kitsch premise but with clever dialogue and character development. Tbh, that's not new at all in games, and games have done terribly on that front. See: House/Typing of the Dead: Overkill, Wet, Slaughterhouse remake, any narrative based Suda51 game except Killer 7 and Lollipop Chainsaw, etc.), is that the game's level design is actually good. As primitive the original Wolfenstein is, it's actual level design is extremely interesting and open in a labyrinthian way. Modern games with their shiny graphics and varying degrees of striving to be "grounded" in some way doesn't accommodate Wolfenstein, Quake, and Doom's surreal architecture and level design. All I'm saying in the end is: I really hope their pretty Nazi pulp action grindhouse story doesn't bog down the actual game's level design to just being straight corridors with scripted sequences or pseudo-open single areas to stealth around. The Shadow Warrior remake and the Rise of the Triad remake have brought old school level design and modernized it to a point where they can actually add stories and narrative progression within these arena based arcade shooters, Of course, the narrative stuff sucked balls in both of them, but that didn't hinder the game's old school level design. I just hope I get to play in crazy maze levels in the new Wolfenstein that have enough modern video game visual and architecture plausibility to not make them look abstract. Less scripted sequences and shallow stealth sequences, more branching insane corridors and spaces where I can shoot Nazi's and robots with silly guns. When i hear Wolfenstein, I think shooting things in the face while running around like a maniac, not narrative sequences that try to pass themselves off as being as witty and sharp as Tarantino's films, or any other filmmaker. EDIT: In retrospection, my post sound like old man whining (despite not being old and not actually grown up with old id games.. Blegh, take that as you will I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh_DkwNguSY

The return of Idle Thumbs reference internet domains has come! Would be cool if there suddenly is an actual Bad Game Jam. Not sure how that'll happen though.

¿Que?

Me: