Thank God it’s not just me

It’s a Samsung A5 (not Galaxy). I didn’t really think much of it when I got it, and it started to slow down a few years ago, but I just keep clearing space to speed it up and it just keeps working. Would probably last 2 full days on the battery, so never have to think about that as long as I charge it over night. Not to shill, but at this point I’m rightly impressed. It just works.

Some apps like Slack have stopped working on it, but nothing that would make me switch to a newer phone.

I’m going on 9 years with this current phone. I want my next phone to last double that, at least.

I don’t track or rank joy like that, but discovering the dark world in The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past is definitely up there. Just realising the world had this whole extra dimension to it.

I still love dimensionality / hidden depth in games.

I mean, who doesn’t?

Wow that does sound incredible

I heard one video essayist identify it as a “metroidbrainia” - a game where progression is gated not simply by items/keys, but by knowledge of systems, many of them hidden.

It is really really good though.

I bounced off of it my first couple rounds too, but then I figured it out enough to start trying builds, and it got a lot more fun

On gold stake though. If you just want to try different wacky strategies, don’t select mac difficulty.

Agree there should be more knobs to tweak a run for the hardcore folks (I am not one of them).

I’m still waiting for a steal

If you count mods and third party derivatives, Doom/II

I like the way you think. The logic of video games and what they display don’t have to be limited by anything in the real world. They can invent entirely new forms of perception even (like that Devil Daggers sequel that lets you see behind yourself using colour overlays).

Sure you can, just do like “reviewers/players gush about ‘riveting plot’ and ‘characters that feel real’ and ‘a truly compelling story’” or whatever it is.

This is what I also do. I have plenty of old favourites, but if I’m really not in the mood, I don’t try to push it.

Yeah I was specifically thinking of Remedy with Control as a shop that makes good use of the tech to put forward an aesthetic that isn’t just flash and chrome.

But I believe they could make a beautiful game with a Voodoo 2 lol, they’re that good.

You and I have wildly different associations with this construct.

To me it sounds like silly phrasing. Just another version of “doth protest”

Same. And I’m sick of all these stupid puddles everywhere. It’s like how everything two generations ago looked wrapped in plastic because card makers were shovelling specular lightmaps or whatever.

It’s just the vapid faces of fashion. A bullet point for the investors that’ll impress for a moment, then be forgotten.

Pretentious though?

Congrats

Yes! I was trying to explain this at a PoE 2 launch party but no one got it. I know Diablo is likely dated in a lot of ways, but unlike with other entries, I remember actually getting scared while playing it. Like it actually felt like overcoming an ordeal.

A Butcher that stalked you from the shadows like a kobold would be terrifying

The explosions in that game were so cool

Yeah it means things got pretty heated

Worse, you’ve even got some copyrighting gameplay concepts, Shadow of Mordor with their “nemesis system.”

Imagine if the concept of the “first person shooter” was locked down by Atari after their employees made Battlezone.

I actually agree. If you don’t just focus on the tippy-top AAA/AAAA live service / gambling simulators / hi-fi vapid adventure, then there are some incredible games coming out all the time.

Arguably, the “triple-I” Indies and AA mid studios have taken over the culture/price-range/innovation niche vacated by the big studios climbing over each other to impress shareholders.

They’re going to hyperfocus on the shades and the armblades, and totally miss the whole point of the series, I guarantee it.

I contend that the next great Deus Ex game will not come out of Ubi, and it won’t be under the name Deus Ex, but it will be a new kind of immersive sim made with love by developers who grew up on the originals.

I contend this for a lot of the classic franchises tbh

Also too many mouths to feed. When you’ve got so many people (including admin) to keep paying, then you can’t “afford” to make a cute little experiment. You’ve got to go huge production, latest fads, cutting edge, and super broad appeal.

What kind of identity can a game like that even hope to have?

Honestly it would probably be worth it as a flagship project to keep their staff engineers excited about something.

I know they earn piles and piles of money, but some people just quit when they’ve got enough cash, so you need an other sort of carrot.

I expected him to be cool, I guess

Nahh

Holy shit Gabe Newell is a billionaire (it’s just at the second paragraph). This does change my view of him and steam. So uncool.

Yeah let’s keep this civil

Oh well, maybe this is the best they could do then. Would love to a big player really push the kind of hw we’re talking about, though

Yeah it’s a bit of a pipe dream, but my point was that if they reduced the complexity, increased the build quality, and made it repairable, then I would be so happy.

Nintendo are just the bunch of madlads to pull it off too. It’s not like need to worry about being profitable.

E: my mistake, forgot I was in the gearhead community :p

Good. If I had my way it would be even less performant than the Switch 1, and last for 25 years before needing replacement parts.

This is it. The real product is hype, with a tiny tiny little kernel of actual utility, that is puffed up and remixed until the hype dies away, and we have to make do with whatever’s left.*

The hype machine with generative shit went into fuckin overdrive because while yes there is a grift component, natch; unlike with blockchain, nfts, web3, etc, there is an actual visible thing that the technology can do that hasn’t been done before.

People who are used to selling nothing but vapour lost their minds when they saw it, because rightfully so, they realised how much grift they were going to be able to make off of it.

* Usually this involves a bunch of platform engineers et al de-tooling codebases and infrastructure.

Weekend just hit again and I’m looking forward to diving back into Tunic this Sunday. I’m a good way through it, but can only play an hour or so at a time.

I was honestly unimpressed to begin with, but the overall vibe, and detail of the manual pages, won me over.

Yep, it’s the only game that my one non-gaming sibling has beat, and they still talk about it.

Yes!!! The only* game I’ve played start to finish in one sitting. The entire experience had me riveted. RIVETED.The aesthetic was perfect. The visuals, sound, music, art design, fiction! So good!

*okay I guess other than You Have to Burn the Rope.