Danielle

I obviously can't say too much about it - but oh my holy god, do I wish I could do something about this (we all do). It makes everyone here see red.

Damn... some shade thrown at the top of this discussion, huh? It's my fault that the podcast was late. As you can imagine, work schedules are utterly bananas all the time and it's even worse in December, with family obligations, holiday travel, etc. It's even worse-worse (editor here, that's not a word!) when there are also a bunch of deaths in the family and weekends don't exist any more. I apologize, earnestly. But please understand that Rob and I - and Jake and Chris, who do the publishing - do run up against some pretty rough schedules at times. We all have jobs (often multiple jobs, and lives) that sometimes get in the way of timely podcasting.

^ Everything that Rob just said. Twice. Also: we do this because we love it, and we enjoy talking to each other and having this dynamic (at least I do!). When I was editing, I thought seriously about cutting way down on the politics talk at the top, but I decided to leave it in, because, well, I thought it was ok to have an episode like this. I don't think we're going to be the idle politics podcast or anything, and I certainly don't want to be. But it felt like an honest chat about where we were, and I stand by that. As always, thank you, sincerely, for being such a rad community.

I'm popping into this thread again! 1. Yes, everything (including day 1 stuff/Giant bomb stuff) will definitely be up from the 72-hour stream! We are actually in the process of naming everything properly and cutting everything up appropriately. 2. I am hilariously, spectacularly bad at Chess, especially when exhausted. I almost panicked when I was told I had to play that game live at 8am with no sleep! I still think Danika let me win.

My Anime Life Coach Danielle brings aboard friend of the show Amanda Cosmos for a very special Idle Weekend from a tiny cabin in Ticonderoga, New York! Since we recorded in less-than-ideal conditions, sound quality is somewhat reduced, but that didn't stop us from discussing Mystic Messenger, Shin Megami Tensei and all sorts of wonderful anime! Discussed: Mystic Messenger, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Yuri on Ice, Mafia III, Tokyo Mirage Listen on Episode Page Listen on SoundCloud Listen in iTunes

Sneaking up in my very first day to say thank you for the well wishes! This community is the actual best on the internet.

Ha, and here I thought I was a huge dork... Ok! So, it's not just relegated to kink, or to queer sex, but the term Switch does come from those worlds. Simply, a switch is someone who can be a "top" or a "bottom" in the sexual sense. You can think of it as sub/dom, but with much broader meaning. Like, someone who simply enjoys the top or bottom position more identifies that way. A switch is just someone who goes both ways! Also... it's the new Nintendo Console! It sort of actually works...

I'm probably not going to talk about this on the podcast, but I found the ultimate way (for me) to enjoy No Man's Sky. I fire up a nice, long Hardcore History episode and I go about my explorations/farming/mining bullshit. It's ~perfect~ I sort of always figured it'd be a good podcast game, but even better - it's the perfect semi-academic (rather than conversational) podcast game, because my eyes and hands are engaged, but my mind is completely free to listen and engage with the material. Is it weird that I now associate the Anabaptists with weird, penis-looking iron spires?

Seriously, thank you so much! I sometimes get nervous about the reception of our more sensitive discussions, because I want to be sure that we're approaching everything thoughtfully (not scared to say what I feel, just, trying to be aware and a responsible citizen in my tiny little corner of the world!) Also, thanks for listening!

I like all of your ideas! A 'chill mode' for this game would solve a lot, as would the ~so-simple-why-the-everloving-fuck-didn't-they-do-that~ idea of allowing you to stack items in your inventory. I do have hope for mod support one day, or for hello games to maybe make some QOL improvements, at the least. I don't dislike survival mechanics, I just dislike them in this game. Don't Starve is a game I adore, for example. I just think they feel half-hearted and out of place here. Just my thoughts.

I've been really, really loving this game, but, like I've said on the podcast and elsewhere, I detest the mining/crafting/shitty inventory management. It would've been a far stronger game with mechanics that didn't make you a space asshole, but instead a benevolent explorer/photographer/whatever. I can't help but feel the survival stuff was a concession to marketability. Like "Infinite planets and sci-fi book covers!" wasn't enough of a sell, so they had to pitch "but also, shitty Minecraft elements and a Destiny interface!" on top of it. I don't know how far off the mark I am for thinking this. NMS is like, one core decision away from GOTY for me, hence my saltiness. (I still can't stop playing...)

Good points, all - the curation is definitely a factor (glitch runs, etc.), and engines - I imagine 3D games simply have... more ways to be broken and snapped in two. Did any folks catch Half Coordinated's run of Momodura? I wasn't familiar with him previously, but he's a speedrunner who has the use of one hand. He ran this adorable kitty-themed platformer, then gave a really nice, slightly teary speech afterwards, urging other gamers with disabilities to push their limits and such. It was a highlight of the event so far. A really nice gesture, and it seems very much in keeping with the spirit of the event (which, at times in years past, has felt iffy, with the growth of the event, some runners' immaturity and terms they've used for strats, etc.). That, and I'm glad the charity is MSF

Aw, gee, thank you folks, for the kind words. It was actually a very last-minute thing - I had planned to do a quick show with a guest that had to drop out last minute. Glad it worked out for folks!

I've enjoyed the BioShock and Wolfenstein: The New Order runs the most so far. One thing I've noticed, and I'm not sure if its anecdotal or an actual trend - but it seems that the majority of runs now are about breaking the hell out of a given game. I've just noticed much more out-of-bounds play and such. It's really fascinating to me, as someone who has fairly casually enjoyed watching these since the late 2000s or so, when the majority of runs *seemed* like folks basically picked a route that seemed fast and just got as close as humanly possible to getting through it, using the regular mechanics of the game. Again, this might be purely anecdotal, but if it actually is a trend, I wonder why/how. Better/bigger communities for speedrunning? Better tools for finding and exploiting glitches? It's cool, fascinating, weird stuff! I dig it.

Welcome, Jalapeno! You can/should totally send this in to [email protected]!

You spelled my name just fine, my friend (I can only imagine the Reindeer horrors that googling it subjected you to, though)

And Tamo Saturday night also sounds good!

Heyyy all! I'll be at PAX East this year, and would love to join you folks if there's a meetup. I used to live in Boston, but it was a little while ago, so if folks have thoughts on venue... (Back when I lived in Chinatown, my bar of choice was the Sweetwater Tavern, which is close to Downtown Crossing on the T. There are probably better/closer places though!) EDIT: wow. It closed last year. I am the worst.

Ha, Vader, it's something of a joke - I nicknamed the alien in my game Frankie to alleviate some of the stress (I streamed much of the game, and one viewer made a joke account called FrankieTheXenomorph to tease me with, etc.). So, the he pronouns are really just referring to "my" alien in the game.

I just saw that last night, after someone referred to the siblings as the "Wachowski sisters." 1. The Daily Mail is horrible for doing that. Period. 2. If Lily chooses to come out - and this needs to be done on her terms, as it always must - then a small part of me is warmed by the fact that there is a pair of trans sisters in Hollywood, making massive-budget, goofy-as-hell movies like Jupiter Ascending. It feels like a wonderful affront to all the bullshit "would it sell in Peoria" pandering of Hollywood, and I love that.

To be honest, I have to limit my intake of politics in order to keep a crushing depression from completely overwhelming me (some cool background: at the ACLU, it was one of my duties to compile a list of every single news mention related to ACLU issues in the state of CA and across national media, and it burned me out so hard that I think I have permanent scars from the political bullshit and general 'mundane evil" of it all). But... I do find something peculiar about Trump. Particularly the supporters who want Sanders first, and would vote for Trump over Clinton... I've heard this a few times, I've read about it... I just... All of it makes me want benevolent robots to control all aspects of government.

Also! Thank you folks, who responded. It certainly makes sense that hints spoil some of the self-discovery in a game that is all about self-discovery. I think a lot of my frustration comes from being aggravated at myself. "Why aren't I better at this!" is something I continually bump up against in this game. It's good for me, when I can detach a little, take a deep breath, and be proud of my (very slow) progress. It's just funny to me (and also frustrating) that this game is more intellectually difficult for me than anything else I'm doing - at my job, at my teaching job, in my athletic training or in my medical training. All the intellectual exercise of those pursuits is like a warmup compared to the actual marathon that is The Witness. Something about that doesn't sit right! I'm not even rationally certain why that is...

I'm really looking forward to watching that GB video - but only after I've "finished" the game. So, in about ten months

A legitimate, non-trolling question -- I see a lot of folks in this thread expressing disappointment with themselves for seeking hints. In my experience, I would've thrown this game out the window two dozen hours ago without at least a bit of light encouragement and hints from folks. No outright solutions, but those occasional hints have been lifesavers. Is it a pride thing? I've figured out the vast majority of things myself, but, as others have observed, there are some places where the tutorializing does a poor job of showing the player the next logical step (that one goddamned marsh puzzle, for instance), and, I take that as a bit of a flaw in the game (or, a flaw in the game's ability to communicate to me). Don't get me wrong, I'm practically addicted to The Witness. I cannot stop playing, even though I am the furthest thing from a puzzle/logic whiz, and progress is coming in fits and starts, with long, frustrating dry spells. The puzzles themselves are 99% brilliant, and I really love exploring the island, encountering the different bits and pieces of logic. (the statues, on the other hand...)