Idle Thumbs 88: Lacks Restraint

[Jake]

Idle Thumbs 88:

Lacks Restraint

This week we get into the weeds a bit when discussing Far Cry 3 and are subsequently asked to return to the mission area. Plus: immigrant stories in gaming, and the realization that Cart Life is amazing.

Games Discussed: Cart Life, Grand Theft Auto IV, Far Cry 3

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[Donk]

I'm still getting used to new episodes each week, so awesome. I had probably listened to the old archives 3 times over by the time the cast started back up.

[Korax]

PHAEDRUS OUT

[subbes]

"phaedrus what are you doing"

"phaedrus out"

[Henroid]

I still have 20 minutes to go in listening to this but I have to get this thought out about Far Cry 3.

It sounds like, based on what you guys are saying, that the development direction of Far Cry 3 came from a place of, "People know how to play FPS games, but they haven't played any other kind of game before." So their angle was taking features from so many other game genres and putting them into a AAA presentation game, to be that first step for people who probably actually haven't played many other games outside of FPS.

Edit - Phaedrus & Phaedrus, Attorneys at Law

[Upthrust]

I've only played just a few days of Cart Life so far, but I'm already impressed with how this game is making me make decisions. I started out stocking newspapers and soda, but Richard (who comes by several times a day!) kept asking for coffee, so I naturally bought a coffee maker (a great investment!). The next day, Richard asks me for a latte, so I decide to stock up on milk. He's never asked again. I still talk to him when he comes by, but I'm still a little mad when I look at that milk in my inventory.

Also, seventy-five cents for a paper? You're really giving it away cheap, man. I'm selling at $1.25 and the only guy to complain is fucking George (who, granted, does so repeatedly and at length).

P.S. Anyone who wants to play: http://www.richardho...r.com/cartlife/

EDIT: Far Cry 3 shark-killing pro-tip: Use a jet-ski.

[DrEvilbones]

This is the string read in slowmo in the dateline: v=JPT1Up8WIHE

What the ding dong is this all about? It reminded me of a PHP variable passed via URL, so I tried appending it to the end of the URL for idlethumbs.net, but just got 404s. Seems like some kind of hash?

[Rhontos]

Its this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JPT1Up8WIHE

[tabacco]

This is the string read in slowmo in the dateline: v=JPT1Up8WIHE

What the ding dong is this all about? It reminded me of a PHP variable passed via URL, so I tried appending it to the end of the URL for idlethumbs.net, but just got 404s. Seems like some kind of hash?

Web Fact! That's an HTTP standard, not a PHP-specific thing. Works exactly the same in Python, Perl, you name it

[Chris]

Other Fact: It's not in slow-mo, just pitch-shifted down. It plays at the original speed.

[BigJKO]

Third fact: It is awesome.

[soggybagel]

Due to Idle Thumbs I gave Far Cry 2 multiple shots and it never grabbed me. To each his own of course, but I could not agree more with the sentiment regarding Chris's exhaustion with the Assassin's Creed games and how it relates to Far Cry 3 and Ubisoft.

I was about eight to ten hours in to Assassin's Creed 3 when I just felt overwhelmed and certainly not in a good way. It just felt like they were shoveling things on top of things hoping to wow me with the pure number of things when a little bit of restraint (and ditching the idiotic Animus shit) could have gone a long way. I gave up on that game because the game systems, the side things, they all worked to kind of just make me feel like I was doing more work than enjoying things and so I put it down and haven't been back.

[I_smell]

Don't google "pengalin".

It's spelled "Pangolin".

[melmer]

[melmer]

I used to listen to limp bizkit on infinite repeat when i played Revolt on the N64

[melmer]

The worst thing about the sound in Far Cry 3 that i have come across is having to listen to the same end of mission phone call over and over and over and over and over again. If you intend to play this game, at some point this will happen to you and it will infuriate you.

[DrEvilbones]

Oh, duh. Of course it's part of a youtube URL. heh, sorry for missing, and thus forcing everyone, to point out the obvious.

edit: Also that video is pretty great.

[musim]

So I don't know how far I am into Far Cry 3 but I went from really enjoying the gameplay to slowly despising the game for the writing in general. After seeing the Penny Arcade article pop up, I couldn't take it anymore and starting reading up what people were saying about the story, spoilers and all. I found this article on Rock Paper Shotgun and it spread a certain light into the game that may make me shelve it without even beating it. Spoilers ahoy. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/19/far-cry-3s-jeffrey-yohalem-on-racism-torture-and-satire/

Learning the lead writer was the same guy I have to blame for the Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood glyph puzzle sequences, the whole game makes loads more sense.

Also first time poster on these boards even though I was somehow already a member (I blame China and Sony).

[brkl]

Don't google "pengalin".

It's spelled "Pangolin".

They look line pine cones.

[Brannigan]

on the random words during load on far cry 3, definitely have had "fuck" "mom" show up in sequence, so there's that i guess.

[ebrasure]

Hi Chris, Jake, and Sean:

Not sure if you read your forums, but I thought you would appreciate some background/more information on Cart Life:

As far as I known, Joel Goodwin who writes http://www.electrondance.com was the first person to write about the game, or at the very least was the first person to really push the game. He wrote several articles about it and there's a section of his 2012 wrapup devoted to Cart Life:

http://www.electrond...me-of-the-year/

http://www.electrond...head-the-stars/

http://www.electrond...chard-hofmeier/ (Podcast interview with Richard Hofmeier)

http://www.electrond...he-2012-review/

Rock Paper Shotgun and Kotaku both wrote about the game:

http://www.rockpaper...hink-cart-life/

http://kotaku.com/5880215/

And so did Nightmare Mode and Games That Exist:

http://nightmaremode...hofmeier-17504/

http://gamesthatexis...-a-second-look/

And thanks to finding out about the game from Joel Goodwin, I decided to interview Richard Hofmeier for my interview podcast Dialogue Tree (which disclosure, is now a part of Electron Dance):

http://oncamazotz.co...verisimilitude/

This is in no way an exhaustive list of all the writing on the game, but Kotaku and RPS were the only two big sites to cover Cart Life. I hope you find some of this information useful. I really enjoyed your conversation about the game and your reaction to it almost in real time--and I hope you cover Cart Life again. It is simply the most important game to come out in at least the past five years.

[ysbreker]

Speaking of the story in Far Cry 3: I presume you all read this interview/discussion with the main writer of Far Cry 3 on RPS?

[Cleinhun]

"This game shows no restraint!" -igndotcom

[Hofmeier]

[gregbrown]

GTA IV mods are

.