RubixsQube

But I think that gamergate is perhaps symptomatic of something much larger, which is the idea that the internet allows for ways of harassment and intolerance that we'll be seeing for a long time. Sending swat teams to houses, and spreading sensitive documents and personal information, these are things that are bad, and I worry they'll only get worse. Even if gamergate fizzles out, there will be people who use these methods to support their own ignorant views and get what they want. Edit: I think that this article, from Ezra Klein, builds an interesting case discussing how this sort of weird mess of a conflict is going to continue, today with video games, tomorrow with something else. (Also, I do want to make clear to anyone and everyone that the statement I made was a reference to my favorite 1984 quote, and not something I actually believe is a thing that should be done ever)

I really appreciate the conversation that goes on in this thread about gamergate. It's good that someone has the stomach to digest this constant stream of bullshit. I wonder if this will ever end, at all, ever. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a gamergate boot stamping on a SJW human face - forever.

I don't know if anyone could make a solid argument that Minecraft's systems are "simple." Also, everyone who plays Minecraft immediately goes and looks up some chart or guide to figure out how to craft various items, because the crafting system is otherwise oblique.

I understand what you're saying, and I respect your opinion. I love The Legend of Zelda, and I have no idea how it would fare today. If I'm feeling negative, then yes, I would think that people would be unfairly critical, but that's perhaps a symptom of modern gaming sentiment. But what I'm trying to say is that right now, open-ended gameplay is tough to do well, and often you end up just fighting against systems built in. The Idle Thumbs guys talk about this, in a way, on the latest podcast, when they discuss 80 Days. 80 Days, it seems, is very open-ended, and has a lot of content, but still you're limited to what's been built into the game. I'm saying that to support a game that moves further along in this direction, you have change the systems. Farcry 2 is celebrated because it had interacting systems that worked quite well, and allowed you to solve problems in unique ways. The Legend of Zelda lets you do whatever you want, but then you have to do what the designers want you to do, you just get to pick the order. I'm not trying to be argumentative, and I want you to understand my tone is mostly just conversational. I am someone who also yearns for simplicity, but it's very, very hard to balance this and the desire for open freedom without butting up against the simplicity again and again.

I think that a lot of modern video game fans want this Skyrim-like open world, no instructions situation, and I think that this is fine. The thing about video games is that we aren't quite there. We still have to fight the systems and limitations of video games. The original Legend of Zelda does essentially just let you go and wander and figure everything out on your own, but it's still quite oblique and as a result, frustrating. Yes, perhaps this is asking for Nick Breckon to come call me a baby, but I think that until games can support very complex systems that allow more creativity in problem solving, it's sometimes very nice to have an idea of the path, at least at the start, to see how systems work, and to get some understanding of what you can and can't do in this world. The problem with modern iterations of Zelda is that we're not the primary audience anymore, and there's no way to tweak things such that we can tell the signposts to shut up.

Hermie, that is exactly what I am hoping for out of the experience, except replace girlfriend with friend friend. I think I'll pick it up this afternoon. LOOK AT HOW EASY THAT WAS

Congratulations! As a person who bought a WiiU early on, and has been happy with it ever since, I'm always excited when people buy the console. It has it's strengths and weaknesses, but I think it's going to serve you well. ALSO, I am thinking of buying Hyrule Warriors, because I have a buddy who expressed interest in co-op. Does anyone have any opinions on that front?

I think you hit the nail on the head: it's hilarious and stupid to walk around bombing everything until you find a secret, or, at least in some of the game boy games, hitting all the walls with your sword. Because of the fact that video game reality is limited by its systems (bombs only allow you to go through walls defined by the game makers), it's really annoying to the player to make them try to figure out your secrets, unless you give them clues. I've never been offended by bombable walls being clearly indicated. What I'd like is for Zelda to be more open, taking many pages of notes from Link Between Worlds and running with that concept. Make it so that we can see something is bombable...but it's in a weird place inside of vast chambers we randomly stumble upon while exploring caves in Hyrule. Make it so that dungeons feel more like the unknown, and less like The Thing We Have To Go Through. Go back to the idea of Shigeru walking into a cave as a child, and give us that.

Roderick, More thoughts:

Oh shit, I'm sorry! I just noticed and hoped for the best. I hope you're ok. I've been really happy to have you on the last few episodes, so thanks for working through the nausea and indigestion! My work-related stress has lead to a giant, half-dollar sized spot of perfectly white hair on the back of my head.

This is the wooooorrrrrsssst Cool job, straight white dudes, keep telling ladies to calm the fuck down over "being complimented"

Yeah, I thought that

How is it that this web page and the page it links to on the Verge discuss the typeface ITC Serif Gothic and then they use a weird random typeface for this little make-your-own-title widget?

Ok, spoiler commence! Sigh.

Maybe this is a thing that I shouldn't ask about, but throughout the early portion of the episode, Nick has moments where he makes a repeated sharp intake of breath, which could either be something like indigestion (on the banal end) or a tic (on the extreme end). I was wondering if Nick is ok? Am I being rude by even bringing it up? ANYWAY, also I really liked when Sean said that his entire 80 Days journey went to pot in Amsterdam and you could hear Jake (I think) making a silly noise in the background from the pun. I like that Jake can't help but make that noise.

I saw this little indie film called Interstellar last night, and I have some opinions about it. I want everyone to hurry up and see it so we can all talk about it.

I don't know, I don't see a resemblance at all

I really want that Ecto-1 set. But in the mean time, I'm pretty happy with the Research Institute Set, aka, the lady scientist set. It has a badass lady astronomer: ! !!

I wish that I had had more faith in Nintendo a few days ago.

MAJORA'S MASK 3DS GOTY 4 ALL TIME

You know, I think that what I liked about Fusion, specifically, was it's kind of unreigned art style and specifically the color palette. It's very pretty in many places. Also, Fusion is a game where you can beat it and not really get into the metric boatload of extra items and passageways threading through the game. It's super, super dense with secrets.

If you liked Super Metroid, you should try Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion, the GBA sequel/prequels. Only Metroid Fusion is out on the Wii U virtual console, and while it's a little bit more linear than Super Metroid (and a little more hand-hold-ey), it's still very good. Eventually, Metroid: Zero Mission will come to the US virtual console, hopefully, and that's an update of the NES game, which makes it control and look a lot better. I have played and beaten all three of these games scores of times, and while Super Metroid is still far and away the best of the three, the others are well worth your time.

I agree. I think that Splatoon, given the right crowd, could be really interesting. I was really excited to watch it being played at E3 this year, because it seemed to be balanced quite well, although maybe that was a result of the people playing it being inexperienced. I'm glad that the mechanics seem simple, because I think that Nintendo's MO is diversity through simplicity. Make something with solid, easy-to-understand systems, and see how they work in concert. I am not the world's biggest fan of the art style, but I'll play it providing it has a robust online component. (Ha ha, that's unlikely)

I bought those arm patches from this amazon account, but I had to make the rest of the patches and badges and such out of paper and cardstock from images on the internet.

Completed costume, with Dallas (myself), Ripley (with Weird Al wig), Brett (no cigarette), and Snow White's Queen there in the background.