Jake

Idle Thumbs 167: And That's Why Skeletons Fart That Way

Recommended Posts

BUT did they take fart.skeleton? That's where the real money's at.

 

I was excited that .skeleton was a real TLD but according to this you are a liar. On the plus side, now I know that there is an official list of TLD's and it is hilarious.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Been away from the pod cast for a while but I'm loving the new host. It was great to have some new blood. Danielle's doing a great job. 

Also, I loved the Dash Con tangent. Sometimes I think some of the show's best topics are the ones that have nothing to do with games

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is a tiny thing, but on the front page of Idle Thumbs, the title of the podcast bleeds into the small text below it.

 

Excellent pod though, made me laugh. 

 

I got dragon's crown. I didn't think the art would bother me, but I was surprised by the extent of jiggle in the female characters. Still a good game, regardless of anything else. I should really finish that game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just listened to the podcast again and I enjoy the sincerity that Chris responds with when Jake calls out his buying used games from old gaming magazines.  Jake then proceeds to say "I wish that guy still existed" or something along those lines.  Is he referring to the used game reseller or the industry folks who used to decry used games killing the industry a few years back?  Can't tell if Steam has killed off that argument or if it has just been shouted down.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, I dropped about 2-3 hours on Abyss Odyssey last night and although I am really liking it, it is another Ace Team game in which there are a bunch of really good ideas that are poorly executed.

 

For starters, I hope Captainfish is still reading this thread and can explain how to employ some good fighting tactics. The reason for this is that it is clunky at best and downright frustrating the rest of the time. Most fights degenerated into me spamming the attack button until the opponent died. It was better than trying to use any kind of tactics and it made the game feel like I was playing Prince of Persia (specifically the Master System/Game Gear version where you can spam the attack button and win every fight). 

 

Some tips on comboing successfully (attack into special suggestions specifically) would be great.

 

The platforming is also a little unresponsive (the jumping reminded me of Mercenary Kings) and the swinging blades are the worst as it is utterly unclear as to how the hit detection works. Whenever I encounter them on the Hard version of any levels (ones with moving platforms and death flames beneath them I just resign myself to either losing a chunk of health or just outright dying. I know I must be doing something really wrong because no one designs a game to be impossible.

 

Despite its core being utterly broken... I am still compelled to come back to this game. The levelling and the exploration is compelling and I really like the character design and a bunch of the premises. I also love that nothing is explained to you, hence why I am hoping someone else has understood the game better than me so that they can explain what I might be missing, or that I am going to discover some new thing that immediately makes my initial gripes redundant (like Dark Souls)

 

Anyone interested in this kind of game should try out a game on Xbox Live Indie games called 'Brand':

 

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Brand/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550a72

 

It might not have randomly generated maps or as pretty art but it does have a reasonably deep crafting system that encourages revisits. The game is a little clunky but once you understand how it works it is really fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just listened to the podcast again and I enjoy the sincerity that Chris responds with when Jake calls out his buying used games from old gaming magazines. Jake then proceeds to say "I wish that guy still existed" or something along those lines. Is he referring to the used game reseller or the industry folks who used to decry used games killing the industry a few years back? Can't tell if Steam has killed off that argument or if it has just been shouted down.

Due to the internet, the scarcity of inconvenience has been lost. It used to feel like there were games in the official channels of distribution, and then there were games that were more similar to contraband. I don't know how to torrent but from what I've gathered getting a pirated copy of the Sims 3 is very similar to getting a pirated copy of Hotline Miami. Where the separation now lies between buying something legally and pirating it, that difference in alignment used to be between buying a Nintendo game or getting a bunch of diskettes in a baggie if a game that you've only heard rumors of. Buying something like Xeno Clash used to feel like finding a copy of Codex Seraphinianus at a flea-market or buying a mogwai from an antique-store. Now it's just downloading it from Steam like any other game. This situation is certainly more fair and generates a more accountable, homogenous culture, but it doesn't have the same seediness.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At the risk of sounding like a hipster, I'm tempted to romanticize scarcity like that. I enjoy shopping for antiques because of the search, and finally finding something you've been looking for is very enjoying and makes you appreciate that item much more. But I'd imagine we wouldn't have the quality we do now without the quantity.

 

The funny thing is I think that search and scarcity still happens in the Steam-generation, as there is such a flood of games that don't interest me. I'd buy a Humble Bundle with 10 games in it and pick through them for the one that really resonated with me. When I do find a game that I really truly enjoy, it's like finding treasure. I end up playing it thoroughly as I'd imagine kids looking for scarce games would have upon discovering a dusty set of diskettes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I wonder how much of the scarcity-loss is just due to me being older and the many resources which I can now use. Like you are saying, there is a lot of niche stuff available once you know how to look for it. I think that buying games could still be an adventure if I tried to do something out of my usual routine. For instance, these are probably availiable online, but if they required at minimum a phone-call, aquiring one might get me high again.

http://gameological.com/2013/02/the-pirate-hacks-of-africa/

At the risk of sounding like a hipster...

You don't like jazz?

You fear jazz.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh my god, I have so many questions.

 

Such as? The author of that piece is actually a good friend of mine. He's generally happy to chat.

 

Unless you mean questions for the developers. I don't think he can help with that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Does it have to be questions about that article, or is any question acceptable?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I wonder how much of the scarcity-loss is just due to me being older and the many resources which I can now use. Like you are saying, there is a lot of niche stuff available once you know how to look for it. I think that buying games could still be an adventure if I tried to do something out of my usual routine. For instance, these are probably availiable online, but if they required at minimum a phone-call, aquiring one might get me high again.

http://gameological.com/2013/02/the-pirate-hacks-of-africa/

You don't like jazz?

You fear jazz.

 

Everyone on this forum must click that link.  If you don't believe me, just look at this:

 

post-33601-0-04703000-1406232701_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Such as? The author of that piece is actually a good friend of mine. He's generally happy to chat.

 

Unless you mean questions for the developers. I don't think he can help with that.

 

Yeah, mainly about the developers and the culture of the people who are the target market for those games.

 

How did the developers reach the conclusion that Kirk Douglas or the Saw clown were a good fit for GTA that would be something people would buy? Or is it truly scarcity of assets, in which case why is it so difficult to find those assets and where are they found? What kind of culture is it where someone would walk into a store and say "Oh no way, Kirk Douglas and GTA sound like something I'll buy!" Just curious as to the environment that leads to that. Scarcity definitely has a lot to do with it, but what is the rationale behind all of this? What is going through the heads of everyone involved? Just seems so zany.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What kind of culture is it where someone would walk into a store and say "Oh no way, Kirk Douglas and GTA sound like something I'll buy!"

 

I don't know what culture leads to that, but I know if I saw a GTA: Spartacus game, I'd buy it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know what culture leads to that, but I know if I saw a GTA: Spartacus game, I'd buy it.

 

I suppose that one's a given, you'd be crazy not to.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now