tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post9111219059197197150..comments2024-02-26T00:27:47.712-08:00Comments on Cross-Up: Let’s discuss video games…while I wear a silly hat.Voltechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01038586008627390463noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-25407215507742465392012-11-02T00:23:42.364-07:002012-11-02T00:23:42.364-07:00..VERY WELL PUNY HUMAN, RUN AWAY FOR NOW. BUT KNOW.....VERY WELL PUNY HUMAN, RUN AWAY FOR NOW. BUT KNOW THIS, I WILL BE BACK. SOONER THAN YOU EXPECT. 64 HOURS REMAIN. MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...<br /><br />...<br /><br />Gyah!!! What the hell?! Where am I, where the hell did I go? Everything went black all of a sudden. And why does the moon have a face all of a sudden?Sir Quafflernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-15220857823720790602012-11-01T16:08:04.940-07:002012-11-01T16:08:04.940-07:00M-Majora's Mask?! Shit! I'm not ready ye...M-Majora's Mask?! Shit! I'm not ready yet!<br /><br />All right...hope this works...right c A down c! Right c A down c!Voltech44noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-24725756050372663822012-11-01T15:27:50.292-07:002012-11-01T15:27:50.292-07:00I saw the ending for The Diabolical Box, and that ...I saw the ending for The Diabolical Box, and that put a tear in my eyes as well. Still haven't found it anywhere near me yet, but the moment I see it up on the shelf I'm grabbing it.Sir Quafflernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-42374789775040388302012-11-01T15:06:34.059-07:002012-11-01T15:06:34.059-07:00Ok well if you're not taking the Fierce Deity&...Ok well if you're not taking the Fierce Deity's mask (which I'll agree makes the final fight far too easy), just one piece of advice:<br /><br />Drink some Chateau Romani. You'll need it.<br /><br />I've also found the Zora Mask to be useful, so you ca-<br /><br />FOOLISH WHELP! A puppet that cannot be used is mere garbage.<br />This puppet's role has just ended.<br /><br />I... I SHALL CONSUME.<br />CONSUME... CONSUME EVERYTHING.Sir Quafflernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-78815302213794730262012-11-01T12:04:56.912-07:002012-11-01T12:04:56.912-07:00My brother actually got the Fierce Deity's Mas...My brother actually got the Fierce Deity's Mask on his first playthrough (with a little help from the Nintendo Power Player's Guide), and I'd argue it actually made the final boss fight horribly anticlimactic. So if I get all the masks, I'm kind of thinking that I'll fight without it. Hopefully it'll be enough...<br /><br /><br />Though my gut instincts suggest otherwise. If Majora's Mask can infiltrate my blog with ease, I can only imagine how far its influence can spread if left unchecked...the entire internet might be in danger!Voltech44noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-37596854335642982902012-11-01T11:51:51.170-07:002012-11-01T11:51:51.170-07:00And now I need to get one of the Professor Layton ...And now I need to get one of the Professor Layton games. How have I not played one of them so far? I must do as my brother once did, and "be transported back to Great Britain." Even though he's never been to Great Britain. Unless he did so in spirit...kinda seems like the sort of thing he'd want to explain in earnest, but whatever. Layton is now on my radar.Voltech44noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-4213652468914295022012-11-01T08:55:02.718-07:002012-11-01T08:55:02.718-07:00I need to check out KS, but Unwound Time, of the P...I need to check out KS, but Unwound Time, of the Professor Layton Series installed water faucets in my eyes when I got to the culmination of the plot.<br /><br />Why would you do that to me Level 5? I was enjoying my quirky, happy go lucky, british adventure than you had to go and give it real grim substance?! *salutes* Brilliant.Eric R. Jacksonhttp://twitter.com/Dimanagulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-28278220270493689212012-10-31T01:01:31.609-07:002012-10-31T01:01:31.609-07:00Yes, I've tapped into your private server, sil...Yes, I've tapped into your private server, silently hanging outside your window waiting for the moment you post and-<br /><br />Naw I'm just messing with you. I just happened to check right when it went up or something. Weird coincidence.<br /><br />Oh God, that part was the first time the game broke my heart. "I can't rely on you." She was staring right into my soul on that part.<br /><br />And, considering your question at large of whether it can be accepted into the gaming culture at large, you're probably right. I'm gonna hafta pick up the Ace Attorney and Prof. Layton games, as from what I understand they follow this same format. As is evidenced by the reactions by those like us, there's a definite fan base to make this work. But even though I want as many people to experience this game, at the same time it makes me feel different than them... better than them... I don't like to play the 'hipster cred' card, but this is one case where I'm more than happy to do so. I can say to them "My tastes are more refined and meaningful than yours." Yeah, I'd be happy saying that.<br /><br />As far as getting publishers to put them on a wider gamer market, I almost feel it's better that this sort of thing remains better in the hands of independent developers. I mean look at KS, it had a zero-dollar budget, to be sure, but since they were not taking any money with strings attached to them (as it always is) they were completely free to make the creative vision exactly as they wanted, with no interference from people supplying money. Now if there were some publisher willing enough to give a team no-strings-attached money to make a game like KS, but with a better budget, that would be totally awesome. But with the way the vast majority of game companies are going nowadays I think the days of experimentation and risk-taking are largely gone. As long as the word about these types of games makes its way around the web so that those willing to try can play them, that'll be good.<br /><br />Well I think that's enough from me for now, got school in the morning. Good luck facing off against the demon mask, you're gonna need it. Unless you somehow get all the masks and get the Fierce Deity's mask, you're in for one really tough (and really freaking weird) final fight.Sir Quafflernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-66438965643266842412012-10-30T22:45:15.502-07:002012-10-30T22:45:15.502-07:00Yikesy mikesy, you've really been waiting for ...Yikesy mikesy, you've really been waiting for this one, haven't you? Has it even been six hours since I posted this thing? Well, whatever. Glad to see you jumping in.<br /><br />Anyway, KS. Having thought about it for a bit, I think there is a place for it, or a game like it, in a more public eye. In a sense, it reminds me of the Ace Attorney games -- lots of memorable characters, effective writing, simple but potent gameplay, and no shortage of shocking twists and developments. It's been proven that there's an audience for AA before, and frankly I'm surprised Capcom hasn't bothered putting one of the games on consoles yet. I think it could go beyond just "working"; it's a chance to shine a light on the entire industry.<br /><br />And of course, a console-based KS (or, again, a game like it) could do the same, but even more so. You would think that a game based around developing relationships with young ladies would be less-than-savory <i>and nothing else</i>, but here we -- and plenty of other gamers -- are, confessing how much this game has affected and entertained us. I'm on Emi's route right now, and when she said "I can't rely on you", I felt that. I didn't cry (for some reason), but I feel like I should have -- it made me heated and wide-eyed, and for a minute I was afraid my own heart might start failing me. So to say that KS is powerful would be an obvious understatement.<br /><br />And yet...I wonder if it COULD be accepted into the gaming consciousness at large. Just think about the qualities of KS, or any visual novel (like AA or 999) -- generally speaking, they're "slow burns". They take their time setting things up, building characters and worlds and situations and emotions and responses; they have their action, but they're on a different axis than, say, Gears of War. It's a matter of genre, but it's also a matter of "acceptance" -- can a developer convince gamers to play a game that features no violence and no gunplay? Can a developer prove that a visual novel is more than just a chance to date virtual girls? And in light of the industry's current state -- where Resident Evil 6, a <i>terrible</i> game can sell three million copies in its first month by virtue of name recognition and explosive monster-fests -- can a developer even convince a publisher to take the plunge?<br /><br />Even though I'm an optimist, it's questions like those (and more) that make me wonder if beautiful games like KS could ever stand a chance. A damn shame, all things considered. But...well, maybe that's a good thing. It's irritating, knowing that there are people that haven't even heard of this game -- or worse, ignore it just because of the premise or genre -- but in a way, it feels like we're part of an exclusive club. We get to experience something truly great, untouched and untainted by the politics of the game industry. It's a game that is designed with love, and makes its players feel the love. And even if it's just a blip on the radar, it's our blip. It's a story that belongs to us, the brave and adventurous gamers.<br /><br /><br /><br />...Well, that was a nice little essay.<br /><br /><br />I'll probably end up talking about KS again somewhere down the line...not for a while, given that at my current pace a glacier could beat me in a footrace (and they don't even have the right running shoes), but I'll keep pecking away at it. And besides, I think I'm going to have my hands full with Majora's Mask for a while yet. If my guess is correct, this fight isn't going to end until I give it the good ol' Let's Discuss treatment. I just hope that's enough to lay the mask to rest. If somebody doesn't stop it, who knows what kind of damage it could do?Voltech44noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-29986921672725187612012-10-30T21:50:08.853-07:002012-10-30T21:50:08.853-07:00Ok so basically One Piece: Pirate Warriors = Dynas...Ok so basically One Piece: Pirate Warriors = Dynasty Warriors and PlayStation All-Stars = Super Smash Bros? Got it.<br /><br />Anyways, on to Katawa Shoujo. "The game is playing you"? That's... actually a really good way of putting it. I'm with you there, when I "played" KS, even though my physical actions were simply clicking next the vast majority of the time, I was enveloped entirely by what was happening to these people, and the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive for me. There were so many times I would have absolutely no clue what to do, and I would just sit there and go over the situation in my head over and over, trying to determine what would be the best course of action to overcome the obstacles in the relationships. I had never been in those situations before, so rather than simply choose the "Good Hisao" option like so many other games of these type would have you do, I actually had to figure out on the spot what the appropriate response was, and it was incredibly nerve-wracking.<br /><br />And if you get it wrong? Holy hell, do you get it wrong. It's not just a "oh well I failed my mission, time to restart it or just go on with the next mission", it was more like "this girl who was totally soft-spoken, nervous and shy is now screaming at me with all her pent-up rage, what kind of monster am I?!" That one in particular had me shell-shocked, just staring at the screen for like half an hour afterward, stunned at what had transpired, then finally broke out into tears. Oh man...... I'm getting depressed thinking about it even now.....<br /><br />And so many times, the game hit waaaaaaaay too close to home for me, and I felt like it was actually pointing out the worst things about myself. Particularly with Emi, I don't understand how to reciprocate love to other people and allow them to get closer to me, it's one of my greatest weaknesses, if not my absolute greatest; and with Rin, I am right with her when she can't express herself to others and in fact can't even understand others even on a basic level. "People are like jellyfish to me. I don't understand them." That sums me up right there.<br /><br />But when I finally figured out what I needed to do to overcome the obstacles? The payoff is by far the most rewarding I have ever seen in this media (or any media, for that matter). When I finally broke through to Emi (she was the girl I ended up with the first time around; I decided to make my choices the first time through based on what I would actually do, and she's who I ended up with) I cried many manly tears of joy. I'm sure you felt the same way with Lilly. It's surprising the way these characters are so well-written and lifelike, that in the player's mind they transcend "characters" and become actual people. Game writers NEED to take notes from this game on how to write believable people in games.<br /><br />It's a shame there aren't nearly enough games that follow in this one's footsteps. If only this one went more mainstream, I think we might finally be able to shatter the mold of "games as entertainment only" and break out into a totally new era of games emotionally affecting and influencing people. I know I've been deeply affected by it.<br /><br />Oh wow that was a mouthful. I need to go get some hot dogs, I'm starving.<br /><br />Oh, and good luck with that creepy mask. The fear... it never goes away... I've never looked at the moon the same way ever since this blasted game... those eyes...Sir Quafflernoreply@blogger.com