Rilen

I have been very sick since a camping trip this weekend, and spent most of the last 2 days in bed watching the Planet Coaster stream. I would slowly tune out, fall asleep, and wake up to an amazing new horror on the beef chief experience. Watching the Nublar come together got me up and cleaning up. Now I'm almost back to health and there is still more to watch. Thank you for your insane dedication Nick. Can't wait to be in chat for the next one.

I really enjoy Long Plays of games I think look cool but that I know I wouldn't actually love to play. Or games that are cultural artifacts that I don't have the time or desire to sit through. Game Informer's , for instance, was fantastic for me. While I don't find their staff to be the most charismatic or well informed, hearing two calm convivial friends chat about this game and their experiences with it as they worked their way through it gave me a great sense of it, including parts I wasn't seeing. I watched it over the course of a week or so, just putting it on while I was doing dishes or other household chores. I also watch Let's Plays of games that I super want but don't have the console for, to see what I'm missing.

Really enjoying it so far, puzzles have been pleasant and I'm enjoying the Mist flashbacks. Am stuck on one puzzle that i'm guessing from the Polygon review is a finicky perspective trick. I keep shuffling a few feet back and forth trying to stick the right angle. Overall very happy and excited, though.

It says something about me that looking at those cat nuns gives me a creeping sense of guilt.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that Idle Thumbs is here on the internet to be place where I can go for robot jokes but leave with a Hilary Mantel novel under my arm. Here are games I'm giving away. PM me if interested. The Games! Half-Life 2 HL2: Episode 1 HL2: Episode 2 Bioshock Don't Starve & Don't Starve Together The Talos Principle Dust: An Elysian Tail Jet Set Radio Psychonauts Kentucky Route Zero Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed Orion Prelude (2) Risk of Rain EDIT: All gone for now, see you guys next holiday!

I, personally, would steer clear. Even reading positive reviews, the things that people didn't like about it seemed like they would drive one mad. I enjoyed watching a Youtuber clear it, but it really looked like a hallway slog through much of the game. Sorry, I guess that's very vague. To be specific: The game's tone is trying desperately to be grim and serious, while having moments of wacky over-the-topness ala Bayonetta. A lot of the game's survival mechanics are more like punishment mechanics, punishing you for not standing in exactly the right place to hit a guy, punishing you for not knowing something was around a blind corner, etc. It is however, gorgeous in many places. Make your own decision but I would recommend watching a playthrough of at least the opening to see if it's your cuppa.

A Snorlax sanctuarycould be a false park plan consisting of multiple paths, roads, and critical bridges for them to sleep on, and the staff would just use different entrances to pop in and out.

Just started playing with 2 of my friends. We are all really loving the game. Looking for a fourth to learn with or show us the ropes. I'm interested in trying more planning and attempts at stealth. undermind9, added you on Steam. We are on the East Coast as well if we want to try some scheduling. Korax, added you.

Thanks for the resources. I'm sad that I missed that original bundle, but it seems like most of these can be obtained independently. Never heard of Boss Fight Books, but I absolutely love what I see and can't wait to check them out. I recently finished Extra Lives by Tom Bissell for the first time. A fine read, but I felt like it was trying to cover too much ground (emotional, educational, historical) at once. A lot of the terms and concepts that he devotes time to have become commonplace and I'm interested to see how the book will age. I think the emotional impact of the interviews and personal recollections, especially the last section, will help it endure to some degree. Thoughts?

Read this as "using that as a base building.." And had a moment of unbelievable vistas opening up in my brain as I imagined crafting a base filled with interior spaces that cause mobs to investigate and dally in them. Like turret defense where instead of guns you have Gone Home rooms. Challenge yourself to make the enemy engage in soul-searching! Ahah! The alien has paused to gently grasp a photo of a lost child, you gain 5 seconds! Seriously, so so excited. And that login method, ungh, why haven't I seen that before?

In reading one of the sources I saw that GOG.com is a sponsor of thegg.net which seems like not the best spot. Do they sponsor other GG platforms or related sites? Not rushing to conclusions, I just know nothing about GOG's leanings and their love of old games seems like it would be a magnet for people who decry change. Has this been happening? Is it all terribly obvi? Am I late to this particular party?

Hey everyone! I have a lot of multiplayer games that I haven't actually gotten to play with other people yet! So if you're up for playing with a friendly noob I'll give anything a whirl. May have a few extra copies of some things. http://steamcommunity.com/id/MeatAndBones/

This line was my favorite time I looked at your portrait and pictured it coming out of the wizard's mouth.

@Tanukitsune I have some advice on that subject. If you have any leeway (i.e. living with parents, savings) try to find someone who is doing something you are interested in and ask them if you can work to learn. Trades are always in demand because many of them cannot be outsourced and young people are often uninterested in them these days. It's also the kind of job that you get continually better, so your salary continues to increase. When I decided I wanted to be a cook I just worked like a dog for a chef for two months of pittance pay and then he took me on as a full time cook. Right now I'm learning welding and apprenticed to a metalsmith. In my spare time I work on a farm. As long as you work hard there are always people around you with interesting skills who need help and are willing to teach. Also, I don't know what the job situation is like where you are (UK?) but you can check online and see what trade is most in demand. These will be the people who will be most willing to teach someone whose quite green. In the US at least, welding is needed everywhere and there are never enough welders so the pay gets up there very swiftly. Hope this helps, good luck. PS: My mom always wanted me to be a butcher.

This sounds like a wonderful idea! I just convinced a few friends who missed Season 1 to get into it before Season 2. Looking forward to watching this season with the Thumbs as well.

I..Damn, yeah, for a lot of reasons. Thanks!

In response to several questions about the creators' possible intents and the game's direction, my read on this came from the reviews of the game's flaws. The limitations placed on what it's possible to do, coupled with across the board poor execution, brought to mind reviews of branded movie tie-in games. Throughout the ones I perusedI kept feeling like I was instead reading about a crappy port of "Season of The Witch: Plaguekickers" or what have you.

Favorites so far: "It's basically like The Sims. Walking around in the neighbourhood and interacting with other people, visiting their homes, getting groceries, satisfying your needs ect." "Great way to test out Steam's new refund system! 10/10 Would reverse purchase if bought again" "This game taught me how to give back to the community, help the homeless, and support my local law enforcement. " And my favorite: "Hatred's a pretty solid twin-stick shooter. There are a few bugs here and there, one specifically where when a car runs you over and you instantly die is just Crawling in My Skin. Remember, in combat, you need to stay in cover, because These Wounds They Will Not Heal. This game is hugely controversial because some people may take it the wrong way, even though it's a video game, so some people may be Confusing What is Real. The game - It starts with One Thing I Don't Know Why. When you get the SWAT and military on you, It Doesn't Even Matter How Hard You Try. I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall, to lose it all."

The History of a Genre/Idea I find learning the history of a game, especially the evolution of it's rule or system set, to not only be interesting but also helpful in understanding and playing it. As someone who's been interested in strategy games forever but never been particularly gifted at the nuts and bolts, I would love to hear about how focus on different particulars changed over time.

There are a ton of positive Steam reviews, but virtually all of them I've seen have been comedic (surprisingly so!) It's interesting that this coincides with Valve's decision to allow people to get refunds of any product. Some worried that their refund policy would allow people to buy games just to review them, then get their money back. While I found that idea unlikely, I find it more unlikely that this many people would buy Hatred, especially in order to leave joke reviews. I really, really hope Valve lined the release of the refund policy up with the release of Hatred as a subtle 'fuck-you'. Or I suppose in classic Valve sense, it's more like they gave their audience the tools to allow them, the consumers, the ability to say 'fuck-you'.

I assumed the first time a ship was named this was far earlier. Fun mental image, though!

I too, have felt the spector of Warren's Oil. Seconding syntheticgerbil's bit about the slight difference in the Konami situation because of the P.T. I agreed with everything on balance, but it's an odd situation when their has been such a distinct and polished taste put out. This might be part of the poisonous cycle being described, where expectations are stoked long before they can be sated. I wish there was a way that more of the industry could agree to basically act in a saner fashion and sort of choose to ignore the rabid elements. I'm not saying I enjoy it when the film industry does that, but it's much easier not to fret. When there are a number of loud people out in the internet streets shouting injustice it can be harder to think clearly.

I just parsed "dreadnaught" the other day and realized I'd spent my life giving that word less than it's bad-ass worth. Dreadnaught = dread-naught = dread-nothing = fear-nothing = "When ye sail outta this harbor in one my tall ships, laddy, ye shall dread naught!" Bad. Ass. This whole time I'd been thinking about it as if it is was meant to inspire dread, but etymologically that doesn't seem to hold up. I also like that the the a lack of fear applies to facing not only an enemy but also the ocean, whereas striking fear makes the ship seem only useful in war-time.

Hi there! I'm Rilen. Just discovered the podcast recently, which is surprising considering that all the people involved do things that I love and follow in other parts of the internet. After listening to a couple of juicy-sounding older episodes, I decided to stop cherry-picking and mainline the entire back catalog. Looking forward to thinking only in the hosts' voices for the next few days. Additionally, I just started a Let's Play channel, mostly because I want to find more odd little games (like everything in Wizard Jam) and shine a light on them. I'm hoping to find recommendations for awesome and unheard of things to play here, and maybe get a chance to chat with some of the creators! Very excited to be part of an active and funny forum, hope I can contribute!

Seconded everyone else's game theory recommendations, and wanted to add a note about film theory. One of the things I've found most helpful is reading scripts. Find a movie you really like and read the script, noticing directions and changes from the page to the shot. It gives you an inside-their-head look and can teach you a lot about how they control action and time. You can find a copy of most movie's script online for free via google, though having a copy you can dog-ear is always fun. I first heard about this in an interview with a director (can't remember who) about his influences. I first tried it in NY, reading the script for Taxi Driver as I rode the subway, finishing it on top of the Empire State Building. Also, some script-writers have incredibly personal ways of writing and it's so cool to find them. Ingmar Bergman, for example, writes his scripts like short stories, with minimal camera directions but lots of descriptions of the quality and feel of the moment, the character's inner motivations, etc.