matthew

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Posts posted by matthew


  1. The quote was:

    A car is supposed to drive you places. What is a game supposed to do?

     

    so either they are baiting because they know what a game is, and are trolling OR are honestly asking "what is a game supposed to do?"

     

    The idea behind 'objective game reviews' has been pretty roundly dismissed in these parts for a while MisterG. TychoCelchuu from earlier in the thread used to run http://www.objectivegamereviews.com/ (mostly) as a joke -  You should take a look at it. It is probably more objective than most reviews you consider objective!


  2. FIVE OUT OF TEN IS NOT A LOW SCORE

     

    PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND LEARN HOW FRACTIONS WORK

     

    (This isn't directed towards the hosts, as Danielle did point it out, but holy shit did I just start shouting aloud to myself when that email started)

     

    I wrote the email, and I will say that I'd appreciate it if scores worked like that - but have you looked at Polygons ratings for other games? I'll also note that Danielle specifically mentioned being disappointed with the game in an earlier episode of Idle thumbs. I'm perfectly okay with lowering the score curve, but in most systems, 5 or lower basically means bad. My favorite rating system is Good Ok Bad, or maybe Good Flawed Bad. (My rating for Dustforce is Flawed)

     

    Anyways, if a game can be a 7/10 after 2 hours, a 4/10 after 12 hours, and a 9/10 after 100 hours, well, I think that's kind of interesting. That said, I only care about numbers when people use them, I don't need them at all. I actually forgot that Tom Chick talked about it when he was on.


  3. I've never actually used npm at all so I'm not sure if you can help here, but I'm getting this error message when running 'npm install -g gulp && npm install':

    C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master>npm install -g gulp && npm install
    npm WARN deprecated [email protected]: lodash@<3.0.0 is no longer maintained. Upgrade to lodash@^3.0.0
    C:\Users\MattIshii\AppData\Roaming\npm\gulp -> C:\Users\MattIshii\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\gulp\bin\gulp.js
    [email protected] C:\Users\MattIshii\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\gulp
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected])
    ├── [email protected]
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected])
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
    ├── [email protected] ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
    └── [email protected] ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected])
    npm WARN unmet dependency C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master\node_modules\babelify\node_modules\babel-core\node_modules\babel-register\node_modules\source-map-support requires source-map@'0.1.32' but will load
    npm WARN unmet dependency C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master\node_modules\babelify\node_modules\babel-core\node_modules\source-map,
    npm WARN unmet dependency which is version 0.5.3
    
    C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master>
    

    And when I try running gulp I get: 

     

    C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master>gulp
    module.js:339
        throw err;
        ^
    
    Error: Cannot find module 'module-deps'
        at Function.Module._resolveFilename (module.js:337:15)
        at Function.Module._load (module.js:287:25)
        at Module.require (module.js:366:17)
        at require (module.js:385:17)
        at Object.<anonymous> (C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master\node_modules\browserify\index.js:1:75)
        at Module._compile (module.js:435:26)
        at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:442:10)
        at Module.load (module.js:356:32)
        at Function.Module._load (module.js:311:12)
        at Module.require (module.js:366:17)
    
    C:\Users\MattIshii\Downloads\cwine-master\cwine-master>
    

     

    Which I assume means that the unmet dependencies are required. Is this a known issue?


  4. I've read 850 chapters of Detective Conan (I play catch up every year or 2 since maybe 2008 - sometime pre mangafox scanlation dominance, but post download only scanlations), and I'd say if you havent started, dont bother, but it is pretty good comfort food. There are dozens of cast members and rote plot structures that are just infrequent enough to be fun when they return. Teaming up with the Osaka kid, plotty action arcs, Kaito Kid arcs, Haibara focused arcs, all the kids working together, the two detectives that are dating. I kinda love it in a way that I cant with most 300+ chapter shonen. The problem with those is they're too dense, I forget stuff. When youre with a series for that long you sort of get Stockholm Syndromed to its flow, and the slow burn plot means I can drop it for 2 years and pick it right back up, without having lost too much critical information.

     

    Anyways, read the manga, is what I'm saying - it'll reduce it to weeks instead of months.


  5. Original Post: Unity is hard, and jams are a bad place to learn for me, so I'm going to throw together a bunch of micro-games for fun. Planning to use increpare's micro game engines, and maybe throw together a card game idea at the end.

     

    Here's number 1, Light The Tree, though the Idle Thumbs canonical name is Old Growth Artisinal Dot, or The Bubble Guy:

     post-34286-0-16358600-1449111492_thumb.png

     

    http://www.plingpling.org/play.html?p=6e36e704d5d54f034341

     

    It's a janky little pinball thing -Light up the orbs on the tree, and get to the X in the centre. Arrow Keys and R to play

     

    Update 1: Ok I did a second one: The Satisfaction of a Job Well Done, at http://www.flickgame.org/play.html?p=ed52e035f151879ddacc

     

    post-34286-0-69596100-1449373174_thumb.png

     

    This is also using an increpare-made game-toy-thing. I think it has some cute aspects, so I'm happy with it, though it took almost 2 hours to make something this small! Tomorrow I'm hoping to do a text adventure using his tinychoice.

     

    Update 2: Third one completed, this is a really random text adventure with weird corners and no through line. It's also 1200 words long somehow. OH WELL HERE IT IS. Made in increpare's third tiny game engine, tinychoice. Next game will be.... Puzzlescript? Card game? maybe Unity? I dunno.

     

    http://www.tinychoice.net/play.html?p=4b44584b6a14bd326be8


  6. Has anyone here played Aisle, by Sam Barlow? Danielle, if you read this, I think you'll really like it. It's a 1999 text adventure that was a Big Deal in the interactive fiction community. I came to it about 3 years ago and fell in love. It showed me the joy of a text parser, without the mental overhead required to use keywords and things like that. Aisle only allows the player to enter one command before the game ends.

     

    You are an old man in a grocery store aisle. What do you do?

     

    From that, you make your request, the game responds, and you reset to that moment. You can "Remember the past", where you learn he had a wife, then "think about wife", and she died in a tragic accident, then "Remember the accident" which might have been a car crash. Or you could, I don't know. "take off your clothes". "pick up corn". "kiss the woman in the aisle" Etc, etc.

     

    In many ways, Her Story is a more palatable, updated sequel to Aisle. They both offer a single point from which you access the past in a nonlinear fashion. I hesitate to say it, but I think I prefer Her Story. There's something beautiful in the spaces left to the imagination in Aisle, but it has in my opinion the critical flaw of presenting multiple pasts. There's an interesting mechanic where you can track what timeline you're in, but that's neither here nor there. Sean and Jake talked about the necessity of having all of Lee's possible statements in the walking dead being 'Lee canon'. That's not the case in Aisle.


  7. So I'm throwing my hat into the ring pretty late. I hope i can accomplish something though. I literally have nothing to do for the next 2 days besides eat, sleep, and hang out with friends. My goal for this is just to make a 2D platformer character controller that feels good to use. I haven't made many games, and I've made 0 where the 'feel' is right. The level itself could be an empty room for all I care, with no art assets. So my ideas are:

     

    1) Cruisin' for a Word that Rhymes With Cruisin': This is the one I will probably do. Cycle between all of your powers to get through the level! Your powers include: boozin', bruisin', fusin', losin', musin', oozin', schmoozin', & snoozin'

     
    2) This would just be a Kid Goku character controller. I'd want him to have a few basic abilities - kamehameha, nyoibo, and nimbus. not sure how to integrate nimbus into it though.

  8. If people are considering using this list as their reference for stuff to look at, a good post just went up on kotaku:

     

    http://thebests.kotaku.com/the-best-anime-and-manga-for-beginners-1697769892

     

    Some of the anime stuff is a repeat, and its much more manga focused. Good list, I dont disagree with any of it, though I would add stuff like Wandering Son, Twin Spica, Fullmetal Alchemist, Aku no Hana, Beck, etc etc etc


  9. Well considering most experimental and auteur type directors, the ones really breaking boundaries in animation in Japan, don't do often do features or shows and tend to stick to shorts or music videos doesn't really say to me that that is the best way to judge.

     

    That's true. An uncharitable way to look at my list would be equivocating it to something like "List of auteur Hollywood directors". Sticking to something resembling the mainstream won't give the most experimental or unique voices. I am interested in indie animators in Japan and their work, but it's a more academic interest, as opposed to the more meaty enjoyment I get out of larger works.

     

    Also, as far as standout staff directors, I think Mizushima Tsutomu at PA Works is the closest we get. He's directed a wide variety of work, from Joshiraku to Another to Girls und Panzer to Shirobako, but they all have similar approaches to the use of moé as a unifying aesthetic, to characterization especially of women, and to pacing. I see it myself, but I'm not really prepared to argue it as an auteur phenomenon here.

     

    'Auteur' isnt really a word I care about. The only reason I use the word is that I like looking at a body of work and seeing how an individual's voice influences and shapes the story. When it just feels like another studio work, that sort of analysis doesn't really mean anything. The authorial through-line is the fun part. If you can describe a unifying aesthetic that I miss, then I'd love to hear more.

     

    Looking through Mizushima's other stuff that I've seen, I remember being majorly weirded out that Kujibiki Unbalance was getting an anime. Ookiku Furikabutte might not quite align with what you're describing, the guys in it were definitely moe. I was having trouble seeing what you meant about Another in terms of moe, seeing as it's horror, but in terms of moe character design, I get it. The female lead is definitely someone designed to be 'protected'. They also find the time for a lot of slice of life BS.


  10. I love that Shirow Masamune has a very distinct body of work as an artist, it's just that Ghost in the Shell is the exception. It seems like his career trajectory was to crank out GITS somewhere between making really terrible hentai.

     

    I was considering adding Kenji Kamiyama to my list as well. He directed all of the Stand Alone Complex series, Guardian of the Sacred Spirit, and Eden of the East. I fucking LOVE Guardian, as well as the first half of Eden, but that's another example for me of not seeing the voice of the director across their work.


  11. Please don't overlook Koji Morimoto.

     

    Also no mention whatsoever of Katsuhiro Otomo? ;(

     

    Oh, never heard of Morimoto actually. Any comprehensive knowledge of anime I have stretches back about 15 years, plus stuff that people still bring up a lot. So Kite, Masamune Shirow, Rose of Versailles, all of the big 90s sci-fi and 80s shonen. It's hard to watch anime and not be aware of that.  I definitely haven't filled in all of my blanks yet.

     

    On Anno : Yeah, you're probably right Gormongous. I've only seen everything Evangelion, and Kare Kano. I haven't checked out Gunbuster or Nadia yet. His latter day stuff like Rebuild and Cutie Honey have jaded me to him though.

     

    On short careers: Katsuhiro Otomo really only made 2 full features, Akira and Steamboy, so I didn't include him. I did give Koike a shoutout, with only 1 movie though. I'll also throw in Kazuya Tsurumaki, because FLCL is my fucking life.

     

    Other artists with an active hand and long lasting influences in the anime industry are obvious: Leiji Matsumoto, Tezuka, Go Nagai.

     

    I actually tried to think of through-lines for some staff directors - specifically for PA Works and KyoAni, but I couldnt think of any stylistic specifics that make specific director's works unique within the studios. I deliberately disregarded Yamamoto Yutaka.


  12. And here's the other half:

     

    rv01-01.JPG
    Osamu Dezaki - Rose of Versailles, Ashita no Joe, Space Adventure Cobra
     
    escaflowne_versus.jpg
    Shoji Kawamori - Macross, Aquarion, Escaflowne
     
    dmc.jpg
    Hiroshi Nagahama - Mushishi, Detroit Metal City, Flowers of Evil
     
    baccano2.jpg
    Takahiro Omori - Baccano, Natsume's Book of Friends, Koi Kaze, Kuragehime
     
    ghostintheshell-oshii.jpg
    Mamoru Oshii - Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers
     
    largeanimepaperscans_aria_nat0-99__thisr
    Junichi Sato - Sailor Moon, Princess Tutu, Aria
     
    planetes1.jpg
    Goro Taniguchi - Infinite Ryvius, Planetes, Code Geass, Maria the Virgin Witch
     
    g-no-reconquista-visual-2.jpg
    Yoshiyuki Tomino - Gundam, Gundam, Gundam
     
    animepaperwallpapers_michiko-to-hatchin_
    Saya Yamamoto - Michiko e Hatchin, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine
     
    tatami-galaxy-header.jpg
    Masaaki Yuasa - Kaiba, Tatami Galaxy, Ping Pong
     
    I want to include Koike (REDLINE) and Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin-Roh & A Letter to Momo), but their directorial body of work is pretty small. Decided to take Hideaki Anno off the list because Evangelion is the only thing of real note I think he's done

  13. Just don't sell the game with it. If you use it for freeware, it may be illegal, but its not immoral on my scale. That's true for most people I think. Better to have a finished game with stolen art than nothing at all


  14. I've been watching Every Frame a Painting and thinking about anime directors with a strong voice and a body of work that stretches to 3 or more movies/series (who are also actually good. Get outta here, Yasuhiro Umetsu). I try to ignore 'staff directors', directors that make a few series for a single studio but don't really have anything unique within the house style. Unless they define that house style. All of Kyoto Animation's directors are kinda like that. This is the site with Tone Control and Designer Notes, so I assume anyone who's into anime on this site thinks about that stuff too.

     

    Here's the list of big names I can think of. Anyone I'm missing?

    trailer-img-2.jpg

    Mamoru Hosoda - Wolf Children, Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Digimon OVAs

     

    228379.jpg

    Kunihiko Ikuhara - Mawaru Penguindrum, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yurikuma Arashi

     

    dead-leaves-pictures-2.png

    Hiroyuki Imaishi - Gurren Lagann, Panty & Stocking, Kill la Kill, Dead Leaves

     

    paprika_00268341.jpg

    Satoshi Kon - Millenium Actress, Perfect Blue, Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers

     

    .hack.jpg

    Koichi Mashimo - The girls with guns series (Noir, Madlax, El Cazador de la Bruja), Phantom, .hack

     

    spirited-away-1_0.jpg?1384551776

    Hayao Miyazaki - You better know this guy

     

    threesteps.jpg

    Akiyuki Shinbo - Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Monogatari series Puella Magi Madoka Magica

     

    8550036241_abc4f02f27_o.jpg

    Makoto Shinkai - 5cm/second, Garden of Words, The Place Promised in Our Early Days

     

    kaguya-hime.jpg

    Isao Takahata - Tale of Princess Kaguya, Grave of the Fireflies

     

    24-09-01_cowboybebop_big.jpg

    Shinichiro Watanabe - Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope, Space Dandy

     

    I also read through the thread with people planning a podcast, and I think evaluating an entire body of work is fun. You guys should do that. I have a much bigger list I'm gonna post later, because I obsess in that way.


  15. Codicier and I have talked a bit about a podcast, too. I would love to contribute, maybe even buy a microphone to replace what is no doubt my shitty webcam mic, but I don't know about doing a currently airing series, especially because this coming season looks so barren. Still, talking about anime with cool and smart people who know a lot about the genre would be a lot of fun, and maybe other people would like to hear it, too.

     

    Also, yeah. Shirobako is hands-down the best anime of last season, maybe of the past year? Using a detailed industry procedural to tell an ensemble of interesting stories about careers, ambitions, and failure is really genius.

     

    Yeah? next season is looking to be one of the better ones, imo.

     

    There's a lot of stuff that looks good, if not great. Studios MAPPA and Trigger are high quality studios that haven't completely worn out their welcome in the way that Kyoto Animation and BONES have. So I'm gonna check out Punch Line and Ninja Slayer. That said, I will probably still check out Hibike Euphonium and Kekkai Sensen, just for the animation.

     

    Plastic Memories is written by the guy who wrote Steins;Gate.

     

    Digimon tri has a lot of nostalgia value. Speaking of which, I'm also curious about Lupin III, which seems like a back to basics take on it.

     

    May check out Owari no Seraph and Shokugeki no Soma, to see if anything Shonen Jump makes can still appeal to me.

     

    Ore Monogatari has a cute premise, and I thought the manga had a sweet earnestness to it.

     

    Fate season 2 and Arslan Senki are two things that I'm much more confident will be totally great. Hiromu Arakawa is amazing.

     

    Soooo yeah. Lots of stuff to check out. I predict my list will end up looking more like Arslan, Fate, Ninja Slayer, and Digimon pretty quickly. Maybe ore monogatari as well