Atlantic

Making JRPG battle music for a Twine game was very fun! Here's what I made for The Death of Nick Breckon:

Here's the music I made for Palpable Dreams. I provided Nappi with individual layers so that are unmuted as you progress. This is the simplest and quickest way to do an adaptive soundtrack and I think it worked out quite well here. This version just has all of the instruments from the beginning: And here's a version that fades in the instruments over time, to simulate how it works in-game:

What I'm Doing: Music/Sound Design I contributed to a few games in Wizards Jam 5 + 6 + 7, and am looking to get more experience and have fun. I'm definitely more interested in the music side of things, but I can do small bits of sound design if it is required. Contact Info: Here on the forums, on the slack for the duration of the jam (@atlantic), or via email at attlantic [dot] jam @ gmail [dot] com Time Zone: GMT/UTC Portfolio: For Wiz Jam 5 I contributed music and sound design to The Calster's A Thousand Dormant Machines, and music to Zirrrus' Prepare for the Jelly and BenX's The Robot's Lips. For Wiz Jam 6 I made some cyberpunky music for both SuperBiasedMan's Get Hoisted and Mythalore's ICE Wave/NEON Shell. For Wiz Jam 7 I SuperBiasedMan's Our Newest Show. I've made mostly electronic music for wiz jammers but I have a piano, guitar, and viola at my disposal as well if you want acoustic ambient music instead. Here's a Soundcloud link with all the music and more: (fake edit: i will not apologise for the nudity in my soundcloud link)

This was a baffling and compelling experience.

This is a fun little thing. I made Devil Gobbler, the Shadow the Hedgehog to Dot Gobbler's Sonic:

Like I imagine a lot of people, I am not sure how available I am going to be over the jam period but I will do my best! What I'm Doing: Music/Sound Design I contributed to a few games in Wizards Jam 5 and 6, and am looking to get more experience and have fun. I'm definitely more interested in the music side of things, but I can do small bits of sound design if it is required. Contact Info: Here on the forums, on the slack for the duration of the jam (@atlantic), or via email at attlantic [dot] jam @ gmail [dot] com Time Zone: GMT/UTC Portfolio: For Wiz Jam 5 I contributed music and sound design to The Calster's A Thousand Dormant Machines, and music to Zirrrus' Prepare for the Jelly and BenX's The Robot's Lips. For Wiz Jam 6 I made some cyberpunky music for both SuperBiasedMan's Get Hoisted and Mythalore's ICE Wave/NEON Shell. Here's a Soundcloud link with all the music and more: (fake edit: oops nudity lol)

When I saw this my mind went "Ah it's Dotsy!" That's my headcanon now.

I have by now finished God of War. I haven't really read many of the reviews but I can guess where they failed to point out flaws in the treatment of the women characters. Some loose thoughts and criticisms: - The combat really started to wear thin in the last few hours. I don't think it's deep enough to warrant the amount of combat you have to do just to get to the end. Throwing the axe around is fun and feels good, but your toolset is limited for the majority of the game. You get more options later in the game but they made combat easier and in doing so it became a chore. All of the stats and RPG elements felt a bit superfluous in that I could just chip away at every enemies health by spamming the attack buttons. I didn't need much strategy. - I didn't really like any of the characters. Kratos is pretty dull and hard to care about, Atreus tries to undercut him most of the time but I found BOY to be annoying about 70% of the time. There are two dwarves that help you along the way called Brok and Sindri. Brok is okay, but Sindri's schtick wore thin after probably the third encounter with him. More importantly, I would argue that the treatment of the two named women characters in the game injects a new misogyny into the series. Kratos' wife is dead before the game starts. The other character is treated very poorly by the game. I don't really want to spoil it even though I think that it is very bad. I know this game is trying to be a meditation on toxic masculinity (which it mostly pulls off) but there are shitty things right in the middle there. - The music by Bear McCreary is not very interesting. I haven't seen a single person mention this. Nordic music, especially Scandinavian music, is full of distinctive instruments and musical characteristics. Instead we get this typical big budget score that doesn't take any risks. I watched a video where McCreary said he got to really explore thematic writing for this game, but to my ears the themes didn't develop over the game, they just got repeated during cutscenes. It's a long game, so maybe I'm misremembering the beginning. - I think the one-shot camera idea, where there are no "cuts" throughout the entire game is cool. I think I managed to spot a couple of the places where they cheat. MGSV did a lot of one-shot cutscenes, and I think Hellblade did a one-shot through most of the game as well. There are a few points in GoW where it really pays off though. When there are those moments of grand spectacle, the camera rolling through it makes it seem like even more of a technical marvel than if they cut. Overall, I enjoyed the game. I won't remember anything from it in about six months time. --- I don't think you should ever trust a review completely. There are loads of games that I love that didn't get a wide spread positive critical consensus, and loads of games that were highly praised that didn't connect with me at all. The only way to actually know if you like a game means you need to play it (or maybe watch a Let's Play of it? idk). Having said that, Nier: Automata is simultaneously a 7/10 game and one of the greatest games that I have ever played. Having gotten to the end of GoW, I'm not entirely convinced it has gotten away from the violence, misogyny, and juvenile bullshit. It's still a big summer blockbuster. I'm going to go pick up Yakuza 6 next, which will almost certainly be a better dadified game. Kiryu is a much more nuanced character than Kratos, even though they are both muscle wizards.

The two pronunciations Siobhan offered of her name were like night and day to me (I grew up speaking Irish/Gaelige/"Gaelic" so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). Steve is lucky he hasn't come across any Bláthnaids, Muireanns, Caoimhíns and/or Aodháns in game development yet. Also... AIRBLADE! I remember playing Airblade. I remember it being very difficult.

That's a lot of words for a game that clearly isn't to your tastes. You don't have to like every new big game/movie/book/album/whatever. With that said, I have played a few hours of the new God of War so I can respond to some of your points. Why do you despise the "cinematic" approach? I know a few reasons why that might be the case but I am curious if you could elaborate a bit more. The Naughty Dog Uncharted/The Last of Us presentation has become a bit of a house style for first party Sony games, and they present well to broader audiences. You could show a random person on the street 5 minutes of these games and they would say "oh it's like a movie that you play." With games that rely on systemic interaction that can be a much more difficult thing to do even to a knowledgeable audience. The Last of Us was really a stealth game, and Joel and Ellie had slightly different mechanics/abilities that tied into the story. I do not understand why you feel this way. There aren't any forced walking sections in the new God of War, at least not so far. There are lots of conversations that spring up between Kratos and his son, and they have provided a lot of context for the world and their relationship. They have referenced various things I did in side quests along the main path, as well as geography that I probably shouldn't haven been in yet. Like, we had to go to a place and Boy said "hey remember that place" even though at the time it wasn't necessary for me to have visited it. I still have a lot of questions, but I'm probably only a third of the way through the game. I don't know what interview with the voice actor you are referring to, but the dialogue is of a decent quality, and it seems fairly naturalistic. There are still a lot of badly written game (and movies), but also you are taking marketing materials still a bit too seriously I think. The "Walk, walk, watch, walk, walk, highly scripted combat sequence." take is very reductive. The combat isn't highly scripted generally. There are a few set piece moments, but the average combat encounter leaves you in full control, which is almost overwhelming at times. I am rolling my eyes at this. Action games have come a long way since the original God of War games. Tonnes of games have over-the-shoulder perspectives. The PS4 is plenty powerful. I have the stock model, not the Pro, and this game is very pretty both in terms of design and fidelity and it has a consistent framerate. It also has a hub-and-spoke design for its open world, and from the moment you press start the camera never cuts away. I suspect it cheats a few times but that remains to be seen. This game is a technical marvel and I think you are being very cynical. You can't and probably shouldn't. Reviews, especially those with a numbered score, are not really all that useful anymore. Longer form criticism is probably a better avenue, which you mention. Yeah sure it takes a while for that stuff to come out, but what's the rush? God of War will still be available for purchase a year from now, and you will have the benefit of it probably being on sale or cheaper, or maybe bundled with any DLC they release for it. Bayo 1 + 2 have very good combat systems, Devil May Cry has gotten better over the years. Ninja Theory's DmC went for a very different approach, in that it is much more of a brawler than a technical fighter like Bayo or old DMC. BUT! DmC got people into the Devil May Cry games (probably in part that it came from a Western developer which is a whole other kettle of fish) and it paved the way for Ninja Theory to make Hellblade which repurposed these kinds of mechanics into a story about mental illness. And sure you will probably sneer at Hellblade for also being a "cinematic" game but it was one of my favourite games of last year. Hey maybe it's not for you. That's fine. Overall, I like the game, but I don't understand the critical acclaim. Maybe when I finish it the praise will make more sense to me. --- BOY I know it's a meme but Kratos really does say it an awful lot. He has a good voice though so I'll allow it.

I took some time off from wasting time on the internet which gave me time to read: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. I had put it off because I really enjoyed Cloud Atlas and wasn't sure if Mitchell could follow it up. I the fantasy elements are sometimes a bit weak but overall I enjoyed it. I have been working my way through John le Carré's novels. I read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy a few years ago but rounded out the rest of the Karla trilogy last year. The most recent one I finished was The Little Drummer Girl which was a very slow burn but very, very good. It's about Palestine and Israel so it still feels very current. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. A foundational text in 20th century feminism, famous for the line "One is not born, but rather becomes, woman." If I remember the feminist theory I read during college this has been taken to mean that de Beauvoir was separating sex and gender in 1949. That wasn't quite the impression I got from that line in context, but it's a big book. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. Possibly the best short story collection I have ever read. I can only describe it feminist magical realism, but it is much more than that. Highlights include "The Husband Stitch" (which you can read here) and "Especially Heinous," which is the summary of 272 fictional episodes of Law & Order SVU. Sappho translated by Mary Barnard. Gorgeous fragments of a 2500 year old Greek poet. Also recommended: sapphobot on twitter. There are probably other books since the last time I posted in here but I can't remember.

bye thanks for stoppingg bbyyy

MEGASHRKELI Egg Helms Millennial Cusper

Frictional Games' SOMA also deals with copying consciousness fairly extensively.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/3/6/17086164/inside-collectors-edition-realdoll-playdead-iam8bit Playdead have teamed up with a Realdoll manufacturer to make... something.

Again, I'm only playing Bayo 2 for the first time as well, but I don't really recall any items/accessories that made the first game easier. I suppose the heart and magic upgrades would help. Searching around the levels for the heart pieces and magic upgrade pieces usually results in another fight, as far as I can tell. You might run across blue circles on the ground, which lead you into an optional challenge room. They give you heart and magic upgrade pieces as well. If the challenge seems doable, try it a few times. In Bayo 1, some of them were next to impossible until you had the right weapon/abilities. Bayo 2 seems to give you a lot more money overall, in comparison to Bayo 1. Obviously the green lollipops are helpful, and I think there are yellow lollipops as well. They make you invincible for 30 seconds. If you're really struggling, you could always drop it down to easy mode. I'm just wary that considering Hard mode adds enemies, Easy might take some away. If you're in it for the spectacle, that might be a disservice. I don't think Dodge Offset is explained in the game, but Platinum are kind of notorious for not tutorialising what makes their combat systems interesting. In Metal Gear Rising and Wonderful 101 you had to buy things like the dodge and block moves in the shop. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can't give perfect advice because I am playing through Bayo 2 for the first time, but I played a lot of Bayo 1 back on the 360. Some of the accessories can make things easier, like Selene's Light, but games by Platinum really come alive when you engage with the combat systems. You can have fun by watching all of the ridiculous things on screen, but Bayo is one of the games that lets you do all of the ridiculous stuff at will. Especially Bayo 1, which is the best combat in any of these kinds of character action games. It is absolutely delicious. I'm not that far into Bayo 2, but I think it might be even better. It depends on the additional weapons and enemy design, but the initial pistol moveset feels a lot tighter than in Bayo 1. Anyway, I'd recommend getting all the moves and learning how to do them. You might want to learn about Dodge Offset as well, which is one of the defining characteristics of Bayonetta's combat. There is more than enough combat in the game that I think that it would behoove you to at least try to learn pieces of it, so that you look forward to the combat scenarios rather than dread them. You are not going to come close to mastering the combat on the first playthrough. It cannot be done. The different difficulty settings are definitely worth considering after you have completed the game. If Bayo 2 is like any of the other Platinum games, there are remixed enemy encounters, so enemies that show up late in the game on Normal show up in the early levels on Hard etc. I hope that isn't too much "you're playing it wrong" but the game is in the mechanics and I would urge you to learn how best to do all the wild stuff (Dodge Offset Witch Time pause combos into Umbran Climax Wicked Weaves and finishing with a Torture Attack).

I have only played the HD PS3 version, and I think it is one of the Great Games. I was curious to see if I would feel the same with this remake. I have killed the first four colossi as well, and it's all coming back to me. I am playing on hard mode because it adds extra sigils that you need to stab on each colossus (because I know how to take them all down already). It also means I get to spend longer admiring the complex animation and I have already discovered a couple of things that I didn't know each of them could do. However, it does feel different in a few ways. A lot has been said about the visual changes, such as the washed out lighting being replaced with something more in line with other modern games, and all the extra detail in the environment eliminates the impressionistic sense of the world and makes it much more literal. There are a few other things as well, such as Wander's face looking different, like it is a different shape or something. It's gorgeous though! I can't tell if they have done anything to the audio, like a remastering or another pass at mixing the music and the little bits of speech. It seems similar to me, though I remember it being much more compressed even in the PS3 HD version. @graddy The basic feel of the game remains intact, but the controls have changed to something more in line with other modern action games. That's where it feels most different, but if you have kept up with games it feels much more intuitive. All of this just makes me realise that for how influential people say SotC was there is still absolutely nothing like it.

HARVO!

It's a shame you didn't enjoy Dishonored more. I have always found that immersive sim lineage games tend to really come alive on a second or third playthrough, which isn't in the spirit of this thread. You figure out the things that you could have done different from a mechanics side, and you can make different narrative choices that can pretty drastically change certain levels. There are also a few different points that are kind of random. For example, the twins in the brothel can be in several different places, some of which can provide special assassination opportunities. It definitely makes a mistake in scolding you for being the hyperviolent death machine that it equips you to be, but it works if you are willing to role play a bit with what you think the disgraced bodyguard of a dead empress might do in that situation. I agree that the plot of the game is very dull (rescue the princess! oh no your suspicious group has betrayed you!), but I adore the world. The Outsider is kind of poorly presented in D1 and he's just kind of annoying, but there is some Deep Lore around him that is interesting. The characters have a lot of "off screen" interactions with one another. Like, at some point Havelock gets annoyed with recording all of his diaries on one of the audiograph machines in the Hound Pits, so he throws it out. You can find it later in Samuel's little hut that's beside the stairs down to his boat. There are tonnes of things like that. The DLC is very good though. It's a noir detective mystery starring Michael Madsen. Dishonored 2 is a sequel to the DLC as much a the original game, and Death of the Outsider shakes things up a bit that works well within its smaller scope. Although looking over your list you don't seem too keen on immersive sims.

I suppose I'll be the one to break the seal. Like I imagine a lot of people, I am not sure how available I am going to be over the jam period but I will do my best! What I'm Doing: Music/Sound Design I contributed to a few games in Wiz Jam 5, and am looking to get more experience. I'm definitely more interested in the music side of things, but I can do small bits of sound design if it is required. Contact Info: Here on the forums, on the slack (@atlantic), or via email at attlantic [dot] jam @ gmail [dot] com Time Zone: GMT/UTC Portfolio: For Wiz Jam 5 I contributed music and sound design to The Calster's A Thousand Dormant Machines, and music to Zirrrus' Prepare for the Jelly and BenX's The Robot's Lips. Here's a Soundcloud link with all the music and more:

I just want to give a +1 to this recommendation. It's very, very good. Like most Earwolf shows it kind of lives and dies by its guests, but I think they have done really well so far. There have only been two episode where the guest was a poor singer or they didn't really go for it. But it's very good! Zach and Jess were also on a recent episode of Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins.

I have played TNO and TOC on both the Fergus and Wyatt timelines. I like Fergus and his scenes sooooooo much more than Wyatt.

I bought Wolfenstein II because I was swayed by Bethesda's Nazi-punching marketing campaign. It was a political purchase, but I'm really glad I did it. I have finished the game and I think it is excellent. It is absolutely cathartic to kill Nazis, but the game has a lot more things to say and discuss politically beyond what it is on its face. The light stealth mechanics are a bit wonky, but the feeling of escalation in each encounter works well. You plink away at the Nazis, doing a stealth takedown, throwing a hatchet, headshotting an officer with an upgraded silenced pistol. And then when you get caught, you pull up a triple-barrelled shotgun in each hand and turn the place into viscera and smashed concrete.