Akun
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Posts posted by Akun
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This is pretty f***ed up.
As someone who's passionate about movies and the craft of filmmaking, I'm often reminded of how it doesn't just take a single person to make a movie, but an entire crew of often unsung heroes. At least the writers got their due with the Writers' Guild, but VFX artists need their own guild or unionization as well.
I wasn't really a fan of how the newer Marvel films looked the same in terms of color grading and style compared to the Phase 1 films, but I certainly wouldn't have blamed the VFX artists for that one, but the studio heads that wanted to cut cost and push release dates. This reminds me of how when certain AAA games were released with bugs, people complain about it and the hundreds and thousands of developers working those bugs and animation details had to fix it on a crunch time, often without thanks.
I've seen so many video essays talking about such an issue in modern Hollywood films too, how studios have become lazy and dependent on VFX artists to polish up the film rather than having the filmmakers do the hard work of capturing the right shots in the right environment with the right lighting. And these freaking release dates too, pushing for a harder deadline regardless of workers' rights. I'd have been willing to wait years for a movie to be done right rather than be rushed out. That's my policy with any entertainment, including games.
I do understand that there are certain windows of opportunity that makes a release date the most profitable, and history has proved that when certain movies get delayed too long, people were no longer interested anymore. But I think there needs to be a compromise for that, for studios to come up with a solution that doesn't mean VFX artists get underpaid or forced through forced labor and unreasonable crunch times, threatened with bullying or worse. Just make movies the traditional way and stop relying on visual effects so much. We know that most movies rely on it so much because it's cheaper to polish up the lighting and color of a film rather than do the hard work of location-scouting or picking the right lighting - you know, like in the old days with Hitchcock or Kubrick when VFX wasn't as heavily relied on as a crutch.
And if you do need the VFX artists to do the heavy work... PAY THEM. Maybe even give the proper credits to them in your little pretentious Oscars speeches instead of being cheap, you Hollywood hacks.
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I'd die without an Internet connection. I'm a spoiled millennial. 😆 So a workable phone with an Internet connection would be great, except that I'd be using it to call for help anyway. lmao
But I'm not that fussy when it comes to food. Just give me something normal like bread and butter and I'll be fine. No seafood though.
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I'd only buy it if there's extra new content that makes it worth the price or if it's an entirely new game like FFVII remake. I didn't even bother to buy the "remastered" PC version of Insomniac's Spider-Man in spite of being probably one of the biggest Spidey-fans on this forum. Man, looking back at it now, it's funny how I bought a PS4 just for that game, and now it's ported to the PC like it's easy as pie. lol Not complaining, but still, makes me wonder if I should've bought that PS4 at all, since I didn't have a huge library for the console. But I digress.
At certain times, I'd pay for a remake if I like the developer well enough and want to support them so that they could make more games I'd like. But then again, if the publisher makes the lazy move of releasing a lazy remake... I wouldn't be sure if I'd want to support them at all, so it's a dilemma.
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It's too much trouble, and given that I couldn't afford to buy a lot of TB-sized external hard disks, it's challenging for me to back up whole libraries of game save files, especially when they're several GB-sized. These things built up over time, and I don't usually have much use for them since I'm a "play it once and forget about it" kind of guy for most games.
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I have a feeling that the folks at Nintendo didn't really care much for whether the game would sell well or not, because I just can't see how the marketing team or the sales department looked at the release price and thought it's a great idea. It makes even more sense when you realize that Skyrim isn't a Nintendo game, and when you look at most third-party games on Nintendo platforms, you could tell Nintendo doesn't really put in effort in marketing them well. Now, if this was a Mario or Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, the content included will be much more rich and worth the price. Probably.
Then again, Bethesda didn't have the best record when it comes to having a fair price for their games either. They've been getting greedier ever since Fallout 76, so I wouldn't be surprised if this genius move came from them and Nintendo just shrugged and said "It's your funeral."
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2 hours ago, Shagger said:
I want you to understand something though. It's not just the term and what it means in history that bothers me. As a PC gamer, I find the idea that we are somehow better than other gamers just because of a platform presence abhorrent and fundamentally wrong, and there's a reason. I was once part of a forum and gaming community that was about gamers grouping up and organizing with each other to play games together, but at first they absolutely refused to support those of people played on console and excluded them. Whenever we tried to organise our own game nights on console, they shut us down. Even on cross platform games they set the rules up in such a way that we could not join in. So you see, I'm not just being some "snowflake", "PC Master Race" is an attack of the very principles I hold as a gamer. None of the arrogance and elitism that some PC gamers feel is justified and just like how me and a few others refused to let to let it be acceptable back then, I refuse to let it be acceptable now.
I could understand that.
To be clear, I hate elitism in all things, but particularly in gaming as well. I hate being called a "casual gamer" just because I don't enjoy the AAA games most people enjoy, for example.
But I think where I was coming from with the "Master Race" thing was that I wasn't intentionally using it in the elitist way. I get what you're saying, and I get that it is associated with elitism, but I feel like a lot of words (where the meaning isn't as obvious as blatantly offensive words like Nazi and the other n-word) are thrown around on the Internet in an ironic but humorous fashion that the original definition of such words become blurred, and oftentimes, I get called out for being too sensitive when they're "just joking around," so the "proper etiquette" for behaving towards such ambiguous usage of words just becomes confusing. "Git gud" is one such term where it can be interpreted as a mocking kind of term to ridicule people who aren't good at games, and yet people have criticized me for getting sensitive about it, saying "it's just a joke and no one really use it unironically," so I just don't even know what the proper standards are. I'll still refrain from using it, but I wanted to explain where I'm coming from and how I was influenced into using such loaded words in such a frivolous fashion.
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2 hours ago, Shagger said:
"PC Master Race" isn't a joke, it's the mating call of insecure fanboys who don't even realise that they're comparing themselves to Nazi's. I hate that term with a passion. Do PC players like being called basement dwellers? No, so why should console players put up with that "joke"? Honestly, I'd avoid that term on VGR.
Words are fickle and could have different meanings depending on the context they were used (things become particularly subjective in the context of a joke), but sure, if it triggers you so much. I'll stop using it.
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I've been having a lot more fun with Two Point Campus once I started using a cheat trainer program called "WeMod". 😆 I only use the "Unlimited Money" cheat though and removed the pressure of financial restrains from the Campaign while still playing it normally to try and unlock everything else. I didn't use the "Max Happiness" or even the "Unlock Everything" cheats. It's just the money management that I find tedious and annoying, because I couldn't even manage my own money efficiently in real life. 😆
I've also followed this YouTuber named "Pinstar" and his ideal layouts for each room so I don't have to go through the stress of designing the perfect layout for the school. I know, I know, I'm spoiled and I want everything handed to me without stress. But that's just how I want to relax with my games. lol Plus, Pinstar's advices are efficient, so why the heck not wouldn't I follow them?
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Yeah, it's not worth it. I already don't like most Nintendo games like Zelda and Mario since I didn't grow up with them, so Nintendo's giving me fewer reasons to support their products with this BS.
"PC Master Race" is usually used ironically as a joke, but in this case, it really shows why people like me prefer the PC version, and why the PC platform just shouts "customization" with custom-built PCs and custom PC mods.
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This song came on when I was buying dinner at Long John Silver's. It feels good, the song. Feels gentle, romantic, with a tinge of melancholy.
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I don't think I've loved that many licensed games (liked them for a short period of time, sure, but not love them) because much like how mobile games are made because they're cheap and profitable, licensed games were made just for a quick cash-grab most of the time. However, there were exceptions.
South Park's two PC games were great fun to me, The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, but only because the original creators, Trey and Matt, were part of the creative process. I've always enjoyed South's Park's humor and superheroes, so TFBW pretty much combined the two (I still think TSoT is the superior game though).
I game Telltale's Games are technically licensed games, but other than The Walking Dead series, I don't think I've been a huge fan of their games or their inability to hide the illusion of choice when they tell you "your choices matter." Other games of similar ilk at least try to hide that illusion better by having three diverging paths at the very end of the game, for example; TWD2 has two choices at the end which don't play a huge role in TWD3. Mass Effect 3 ironically did the "carry your choices forward" far better than TWD in spite of its piss-poor tri-color ending. I know that's because ME3 is a AAA game, but maybe don't lie to your players that "your choices matter" when they don't matter that much in significant ways.
Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 though were big exceptions because Treyarch did a great job with them. They were easily as entertaining as Insomniac's Spider-Man, if not better in some aspects of the games (such as adding extra layer to the plot of the films we never thought about before).
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6 hours ago, killamch89 said:
I was born in 89 and that's what I grew up listening to as well - Backstreet boys, Janet Jackson.
I kinda outgrew boybands after a while (always preferred Backstreet over NSYNC btw - BACKSTREET'S BACK, ALRIGHT!), but female pop stars easily replaced them when I got older, people like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, even some of Black Eyed Peas. The 2000s were the period when I got old enough and my music taste really started to develop. By the time the 2010s rolled around, no pop artist has ever caught my attention (except maybe Billie Eilish's one song, No Time to Die). I like the song "Bang Bang," but Jessie J and Ariana's songs just don't really grab me the same way Katy and Lady Gaga's earlier hits did. Hot N Cold, Telephone, Edge of Glory, Part of Me; these all had a kind of melody that felt really bubbly and adrenaline-pumping the way club music feels. Modern pop music feels like it has a more somber and subtle tone to it, like that adrenaline's been toned down and not as shouty or loud anymore, which is a shame. Even post '90s Britney had Toxic, and that was easily one of the most iconic and memorable pop songs of all time that just makes me want to dance everytime it comes on. Let's not forget Womanizer either.
I know it's kinda cliched to say this, but they don't make music like these anymore, at least not in the way that appeals to me. lol
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I caved in and bought Two Point Campus after feeling bored at night and needed a new game to distract me. I had a history of being engaged by management simulation games because the routine structure of a management game keeps my anxiety in check. But man, just two hours into the game, I'm reminded how tedious management games can be, maintaining these students happiness on a limited budget. I'll probably have more fun playing the sandbox mode where I don't have that kind of stress though, so I guess I'll reserve my judgment for now. But I have a feeling I'll be too busy to spend too much time managing an entire campus for long... I could see it as a nice distraction in late nights when I get bored.
Thankfully, it's not too expensive, costing $51.90 Singapore dollars. After earning a bunch of cash from reselling my old SMT games (along with Digimon Survive), I didn't want to spend too much on games so quickly, so 50 bucks isn't too bad for a game as large as this.
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I find it annoying when reviews encourage pity-buying a game just because it's an indie game made by one person. While I could appreciate the hard work such a game would require, if the game doesn't appeal to me (whether it's because it's an indie game lacking the budget of a AAA game is irrelevant), then it doesn't appeal to me, and I shouldn't be guilted into spending my hard-earned money on something just because some other folks want to squander their money on supporting indie developers. Would you pay a large sum of money for a low budget mobile game over a AAA game just to support the developers? If you want to do that sort of thing and support the indie industry, it's your prerogative and more power to you, but don't gaslight, manipulate or guilt-trip me into buying it, saying how "other reviews are comparing this game to a AAA game." Of course they make comparisons to AAA games - they have a bigger budget and are a lot more fun, and therefore they feel those AAA games are more worthy of purchase. That's the sad reality of the industry, and no amount of good intentions from indie developers is going to change how cool-looking and high quality gameplay a AAA game will have over most indie games. If your positive review of an indie game requires the dismissal of the "high budget" of AAA games to make that indie game look better, then maybe the indie game you're defending just isn't that quality to stand on its own merits without comparing "developer budgets."
I like Undertale and Spiritfarer, for example, but as much as I love them, I'm not going to pretend that they're far superior games than most of the higher budget AAA games I've played in terms of gameplay mechanics, game length, storyline and especially visuals. The specific game that got me to talk about this issue, however, is Prehistoric Kingdom. It's been in development for over a decade now, and many reviews complained that it has the bare minimum a dinosaur park management game should have, and I think that, at the very least, they're justified in feeling bored, even if such criticisms might've been unfair towards the indie developer working with a minimum budget. The sad reality is that if you're working with a lower budget, your game will have less features than a higher budget game like Jurassic World: Evolution 2. For all the flaws of JWE2, it's undeniable that it has 1) a lot more dinosaurs, 2) higher quality visuals, 3) a lot more gameplay features. That's not a subjective opinion; that's a fact. It's an opinion to say you enjoy the minimalism of Prehistoric Kingdom, but it's disingenuous to say that Prehistoric Kingdom should be bought just to support low budget indie games, especially when they haven't done jack to develop the game at all for 10 years. It's like begging for a charity case, and it's manipulative.
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The foreign films I find to be the best are mostly anime films. I don't usually watch foreign films, so I don't really have a lot of good examples outside of anime to list. The one I remember most fondly as the 'best' would be the third Madoka Magica film, "Rebellion," but I wouldn't rank it as the best film I've seen ever either in comparison to non-foreign films. Akira was solid and really changed the anime and cyberpunk landscape. And of course, you have other classics like Ghost in the Shell and Grave of the Fireflies.
I think there were a few non-anime foreign films that I liked enough, like Victoria (2015), an entire film uniquely shot in one take, and Run Lola Run, which I remembered as having a unique film structure, but I couldn't quite remember what (except that it had a Groundhog's Day type of plot). Worth mentioning is the underrated The Orphanage (2007), which was such a beautiful and tragic horror film that subverted horror tropes long before Insidious made it popular to do so. I immediately wrote a review for it after finishing the film because I was just so thoroughly impressed how it provoked me emotionally in all the right ways.
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I find more relaxation from TV shows and movies because it involves zero level of work from me. I don't need to work for my relaxation, unlike most video games. Work causes me stress. It's a simple equation. lol
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On 9/23/2022 at 8:41 PM, Shagger said:
Being passionate and getting excited by new announcements is fine, but FFS use a little common sense. Look at sources and examine the details before jumping to conclusions, it's not difficult.
A lot of people on social media would beg to differ, jumping headfirst into presumptions and baseless conclusions without bothering with this "research" thing, especially on Twitter. Once something starts trending, even baseless video game announcements, it spreads like a wildfire. That's just the way people are these days, looking for the quickest answer that affirms their preestablished beliefs. They need someone to approve their beliefs like a child would, even if there's no research or logic involved.
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The ruthless calculus of such scenarios. Save a child over an aging old man to continue our bloodline. It's not a comfortable question, but I can't help but get practical over dilemmas like this. A child usually gets my save over any other age groups.
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I tend to stay away from popcorn because I don't like the skin of the nut within the popcorn (I don't know what it's called). It makes me cough and just feels unpleasant.
I would usually just buy a hotdog bun or spicy potato chips for movie theater snacks, maybe some M&M's to spice things up.
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The Lonely Island's music videos are usually a banger in the comedy department.
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Yeah, I grew up on McDonald's, so I can't help but 'loving it,' as the company slogan says. Plus, I'm spoiled by our local food delivery service, Grab, which means I got to have McDonald's very often delivered right to my doorstep. It's expensive, costing $20-$30 per meal (paying for two), but convenient.
I got kinda tired of the meals after having it for two weeks straight though, so I'm not sure if I'd bother eating fast food everyday even if it's healthy for me. If it's different fast food chains aside from just McDonald's alone though, maybe, but our KFC here doesn't cook their chicken well (you could find blood in them often), and the burgers and fries of other fast food chains just don't taste as good as McDonald's. I know McDonald's food doesn't have the best reputation in America, but the Singaporean McDonald's isn't just tastier, but a lot less disgusting too. It tastes fresh most of the time unless it's delivered at night (when they bring out the leftovers sitting in storage throughout the day).
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I love the ironic humor of this. It's just such a rude and ridiculous song but sung so proudly by Denis.
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I would only notice the music if it's a song I recognize and have nostalgia for or if it fits the scene perfectly on an emotional level. Most music I've heard in not just movies and TV shows, but also video games, I just don't find them all that memorable or interesting enough that I would pay attention to them. They're decent tracks, but they didn't really stand out as unique for me. What I classify as "unique" and "iconic" might be unreasonable though, because I'd call the Superman theme unique and timeless. Anyone could recognize the theme just from a few seconds of it. Whereas if you ask me to remember a single song from Telltale Games' The Walking Dead, or even in a movie context, the soundtracks from Gladiator, I can't hum a tune for you at all.
Sequels becoming exclusives
in Gaming Forum
Posted
Yeah, it is pretty screwed up. I could understand releasing ports on PC because that's the only way I'd ever play Red Dead Redemption 1, but the console exclusivity of sequels hurts the player fanbase that supported you in the first place. "Don't you guys have an XBox/Playstation/Money?" Yeah, we do, but we supported you through a specific platform to begin with, whether it's PC or the Switch. Don't screw us over by goading us into buying another console we might not need. You're literally asking us to pay $500 or more just to play your stupid sequel.
But studios will just keep doing this because it's a good business move, ethics be damned. If there's money to be made from cashing in on a more popular platform and making it an exclusive, you'll be damn sure they'll do it. It's just how things run now, apparently, studios trying to revitalize the old console war when there's 100 PC ports of console games on Steam. It's ridiculous.