#Game Ramble

[onesecretperson]

I’ve Been Playing Subnautica All Week

This is the most engaged I’ve been in a real video game for years, though part of that may be the fabled autistic hyper-fixation. It is the right genre of horror for me and i can’t believe I didn’t try it until now. It also takes a lot of time because I play rather cautiously to the point I haven’t died yet, and I overprepare for exploration way too much while constantly forgetting the specific necessary things I need to prepare over an over again, but that’s just a normal day for me. Now the game says I’ve been surviving in the water crater for 87 days in game despite all the monsters and super pandemic bacterium.

[swearphil]

when something major goes down in a fandom you're not a part of

[cactusnymph]

love the difference in tone when homer narrates about zagreus vs melinoe. he's like the lazy ass prince blunders on and on. oh the splendor of the princess as she moves in darkness......... he has a favorite

[hoshizoralone]

reflection

[biocrafthero]

ANATOMY (2016)

[mintyvoid]

a somewhat review / ramble about garfield 2008 game

so if you're not in the same sections of yt as myself you may not be familiar with the guy- planet clue (or evan), who I quite like, am inspired by at times, and slightly jealous(as im jealous of anyone who is able to do things they enjoy and finish projects). Recently he uploaded a video about the 2008 Garfield game ALONGSIDE a mod he made to better the experience of playing the old thing.

please watch, he always does a really good job at going juuust enough in depth to sate most curiosity- while also leaving stuff out and making you want to engage in whatever he's talking about. He's always super passionate about whatever it is, and it's really inspiring.

ANYWAYS. So of course I had to try the game out.

For a quick look see into my brain, I play just about any game that catches my interest- which isn't really bound by genre or mechanic. There are some exceptions, like fps or horror or sports. Despite this I still engage with these in other ways likes reviews or gameplay videos. In general I think as a (i dunno if i can really call myself a game designer despite going to school for it, i havent really done much after graduating thanks to depression and having that fun autistic life decline after losing structure)- it's good to have knowledge or experience of as many unique things as possible.

ANYWAYSANYWAYS. I also really liked the idea of the game.

For a short synops if you didn't watch the video or forget; you play as garfield, and odie just fucking wrecked the house. You need to fix this using a vacuum to grab items and put them back where they belong, as well as right skewed frames/posters on the walls. It's a really clever and grounded premise for the garfield world. Games that take place is a kinda mundane or simple world tend to either go really hard into a fantastical premise/mechanics or just do a puzzle game lol. So it's really refreshing to see a really solid idea that to the right people IS really engaging.

I am one of those people.

I LOVE organizing, putting puzzles together, doing the fun sorting for no reason.

Now I won't sugar coat it, the game is fucking rough around the edges. It is veryyyy much a product of its time and a licensed game. The controls are a clunky and take a bit to get used to, the use of the vacuum as well doesn't always 'just work'.

The main character controller is overall a bit sluggish, I was surprised that it doesn't just snap and change your direction when you go. Lining yourself up properly can take a few taps or needing to do like a full rotation. Most of the time this is fine, there are a few instances where there's an item to place/grab that's on a shelf where it becomes a fun game of trying to rotate the character lol.

There was also the fun realization that the vacuum uses two buttons, one for sucking and one for spitting. There are no tutorials in the game, which I imagine was fine at the time since the instruction manual most likely provided all this information. And really I probably should've looked it up, but it also would've been nice to have a pdf or something already in the files or even just the controls in a txt.

Speaking of controls, there is also a kick button. I didn't use this for the entirety of my playthrough lol. I think you can use it to kick Odie aside, he will charge you and knock into you in a quick stunned state, but it seemed really hard to pull off. For the most part I could just avoid him or just let him do his thing lol.

Along side this obstacle, are some light platforming puzzles- that use the items you relocate. Honestly I'm just super impressed by how everything ties together, sure the game is kinda shit, but it makes up for it with so charm and hella good cohesion. Literally nothing feels out of place. Even the few side missions you have to do (a vacuum themed one, a race, and a flower hunt) don't feel out of place. Thought to be honest none of them are particularly /fun/ either.

The game also has a time limit? When you start there is a timer counting down from 8 hours and you must finish everything by then. Do not be alarmed, this is extremely way too much time. By the time I finished(which i technically haven't done but I'll get there..) I had about 5 hours still left. The timer directly relates to the plot, the total destruction of the house is prefaced with John threatening Garfield with making him diet after he ate his lasagna(that was such a hard word to type holy shit) and scratched up some things. John saying that if he finds another thing ruined by the /time he comes back at 5pm/ the dieting will commence.

..5pm.... 8 hours?

Oh my god John left for his 9-5! The 8 hours directly means a full day passing. This is probably so small and most likely barely thought of, but the fact that to me it's so logical makes it just soooooooooo good. Another thing perfectly tying the whole thing together.

Okay but what about the actual game? It's not a simple free for all, you don't get access to the full house right away. There are also other artificial barriers created by the playing only being able to hold 3 items at a time. If you want to collect more you need to deposit some into a storage box which there are a few of, but they're not connected- so I just kept using the same one in the main hallway the entire time.

It's a lot of going back and forth between rooms and between them and the box.

You unlock the other rooms by completing the ones you have access too, It's a pretty obvious way to handle the progression and one that is handled well.

There were a handful of times though, that I got completely stuck. Often it was because of the camera and missing items that were tucked away in such a way that required wrestling with the camera in order to get the item in view. Though you don't actually need the item in view to suck/spit it out, as a first time player it made for quite frustrating moments. The camera often doesn't want to sit where you get it too. It feels like it was made for more open areas than it was programmed too and doesn't want to get closer to the player character. I think almost all the places where I missed something and couldn't find it till I watched a speedrun of it, were all small ish areas where getting the camera to actually see it was a struggle.

I was also really surprised that the cameras horizontal isn't inverted. I don't know if this was a change made by the mod, or if 2008 was already in the time where this change happened in the industry. I thought it happened around 2010. I'm curious to see if the ps2 version of the game had inverse. I'm someone who actually likes an inverted horizontal axis, so it took a bit to get used to and in general was a interesting brain thought to me.

A thing that I actually feel different about with evan is I actually /like/ the music. His mod replaced the music with some lesser known nintendo tunes, but I wanted to have the authentic experience- just to know.

And while initially the game sounds like a dumpster fire, I grew to enjoy it. It all sounds..fine. None of it is extremely bad, but none of it is any good either. It's all feels like royalty free stuff with like a hint of Sims music thrown in there. They're all earworms and kinda live rent free in my head now, seriously just the 'menu' music which is also the main first floor music is so stupid sounding(affectionate). I think my favourite is the upstairs theme, it's a bit more mellow, while still having aspects of frantic-ness to it. Cause ya know, need to clean before John gets home.

So I know I said I finished the game..and also said that I haven't actually. There is SOMETHING in the house that needs to be readjusted I think, I'm pretty sure I've completed all the rooms and the lasagna is done too (though it uh...the model reverted back to its empty version, it's kinda funny looking at all the items around it and it being empty again..i dunno if this is a major issue or not)...but what I assume is a final cutscene has not played. I most likely will need to rewatch a sr to finally finish the game.

Overall though, I would recommend the game if it sounds like something you'd be into. It is a fun experience, even with it's clunkyness. And the work Evan has done is really awesome.

If i wasn't in such a deep funk there's a lot of cool things that could be done with the game and it's ideas. There are already tools to export the models, so i imagine updating or just goofing around with the textures would be possible and probably fun to do. Or even going further and just remaking the mechanics to make something new with the ideas..or going crazier and remaking the whole game in like unity to better various things like the controller lol

i've always wanted to get into modding and weird game stuff, but always fall short in getting myself to -actually do the thing- *sighs* maybe when the funk ends..

but i digress, HERE is the link

[saturnisfallingdown]

[ID: A variety of word art sentences strung together to form a post. Burning red text says “i use a windows pc”. Purple and blue all caps text says “I am aware that solitaire is no longer totally free”. Gritty blue text reads “it was just an easy comparison”. Bubbly orange text reads “I am also aware that minecraft costs more money now”. Clean silver text reads “im glad you liked my post though”. Bold golden text reads “Have a great day”. End ID]

[auranym]

I think the saddest part about Unity's godawful news is that a lot of games are going to just. disappear.

it's like Unity is trying to go the way of streaming where the hidden gems and cult classics don't make enough money, so, they're taken offline. except this time it's with games (mostly indie).

to put it in perspective, hollow knight, cuphead, and ori are made in unity. so are night in the woods, tunic, and countless more indie gems. hell, AMONG US is made in unity. if the devs of any of these games can't shell out the outrageous cost, then maybe the devs will take them offline. and we'll just. never be able to play them anymore

it's a sad possibility that I don't think any of us ever had to consider. but now we do.

[eira-kuso]

If anyone wants me to say my opinion on a character with this bingo

[goldensunset]

people who go through the main tags of big and tumultuous fandoms looking for new fresh good posts to reblog are essential to any circle. they’re like true hunter gatherers leaving the safety of settlement and braving the unknown wilderness to find food for the flock. they risk their lives every day and will come back with a few scratches at best and severe psychological damage at worst

[sunsetcorvid]

dear mojang

add more crops in minecraft im begging you im on my hands and knees give us tomatoes give us onions give us strawberries give us peppers

add more food recipes please give us sandwiches give us more pastries give us pudding or some shit

sincerely, the farmer of every minecraft server

[whatafuckinnerd]

I find it unfathomable and astounding that Tumblr isn't more obsessed with Sam Reich. You're telling me there exists out there a man who was born into the aristocracy of our country—with every privilege of modern society at his fingertips—who didn't complete high school (due to his mental health) and instead chose to devote his life to making strangers laugh and raising awareness on mental health. A full-bearded short king who is so committed to being the change he wants to see in the world that he decided to take the company he worked for into his own hands so that he could make sure all the people who worked under him could keep their livelihoods.

How many other CEOs are out here being as honest and transparent with their target audience/market as Sam Reich is? How many of them acknowledge when they fumble and continuously strive to be better than they were? How many of them actually seem like they respect their talent, both in the cast and crew? Sam Reich is the standard we should be holding other CEOs to.

But forget about all that (I could talk for a long time about the respect I have for Sam Reich)—ignore just how respectable he is as a businessman and a person. Ignore all the wholesome reasons for obsessing over Sam Dalton Reich.

The man is a stone-cold fox.

He's a little chaos gremlin and an absolute evil mastermind all rolled into one classy suit and well-groomed beard. Whenever Sam is on the set, you can guarantee he is going to make you crack a smile. And for someone with such natural authority, he's never afraid to be the butt of a joke and show himself being embarrassed. Go ahead, watch any clip of him trying to improvise in No Laugh Newsroom and just try to resist that blush.

You're sleeping on a goldmine of a man, here, damnit! And I will NOT let this go ignored any longer!

[tariah23]

The manga industry, especially JUMP, needs to hurry up and do away with weekly scheduling for mangaka. There needs to better regulations put into place for their health and safety because this is pitiful. Two weeks - monthly updates should’ve already been the standard for the manga industry at this point. These money grabbers will only continue to put the lives of these artists at stake for the sake of capitalism unless some serious changes are implemented.

[northernfireart]

i can't find the original post of this idea but im obsessed completely with Sam Reich! Master

upd: The original idea was by @ace-whovian-neuroscientist!!!

[gothboyboogie]

[haoeu]

Must be lonely to be stuck in a computer in an abandoned theme park