#I also hold no moral high ground over anyone who didn't like this game

[sappho114]

what's your thoughts on cyberpunk 2077? I'll fully admit i didn't like the final product and felt like there was tons of missed opportunities, wasted characters and plot lines, and a bunch of stuff that were just not handled well. But i'm not here to just bash on the game, i want to hear your opinion on it

I know that it's popular to hate on for the reasons of "it was popular" and "it marketed by a transphobic social media team" (of which, the latter makes sense but it is NOT reflective of the product.) I tend to ignore people who are hyperbolic about that kinda stuff because a lot of them just ran out and bought Red Dead Redemption 2 or engage in media made by abusers and actual transphobes. The moral high ground politicking by those who hated CP2077 is actually hilariously ridiculous. Anyway, that's less about the game and more about how dumb some folks were being. More below about the game itself.

It is a janky game, it required at least two to three major patches for what's in game to be functional fully, and having to beat back their game to fit into the shitbox that is the PS4 and other consoles was not a task I envy. CDPR's higher leadership also are silly cunts and the crunch they faced up to release is not so good. Although in hindsight, with the Naughty Dog and Act-Blizz shit, at least the women weren't abused and they actually got paid and benefits for their overtime thanks to Polish labor law. God, America needs to unfuck itself so much.

That being said: I loved it. I felt it was a good representation of Pondsmith's Cyberpunk universe. I enjoyed almost all of the characters, loved the vibe, had fun just driving around Night City with the crowds, the ads, the radio. I've beaten it once and I have about 3 different save files half-way or more through completion.

I'm not one of those people who saw "wallrunning" in a trailer from 2018 and expected it to be in the game (and angry that it wasn't, even if they said it wasn't gonna be in it for literal years.) I think in the end its about as janky as Witcher 2 was, and considering it's a new IP that's not all that bad for eastern european developers. We've gotten a dozen or so jankier, shittier games from eastern europe since CP2077 released but because they didn't have a marketing budget, people don't really care. That's a whole thing we could spend a while on.

As someone who is chronically ill, poor, and wants more out of life I connected with V's story. I also hated Johnny at first because I know of that little shitbag from the TTRPG but over time he actually grew on me. I love the idea of the flashbacks to Arasaka tower being so different because it's how Johnny saw what he did, not necessarily the truthful representation. I dunno if that's like, canon, or whatnot, but it fits that blowhard so much that I choose to believe it fully. I hate that guy but he became a good friend.

I felt that all the performances were solid. T-Bug deserved more time on screen, though. Other than that I loved all the character side missions and felt they wrapped things nicely for almost all of them. At least until we get ourselves those expansion packs.

Oh, I lied. Judy Alvarez is perfect, and she needs 2000% more dialogue and stuff to do. I'd go visit my Night City Wife after every mission and she seldom had too much to say. More of that downtime conversation would've been awesome. I don't necessarily mean downtime activities - I actually hate Grand Theft Auto and Ubisoft time-wasting bullshit. It's why I liked CP2077's side content being tactical blast some baddies time for the most part. If I want to fucking play poker, I'd play fucking poker.

Any major issues I have with the game tend to stem from my issues with Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk RED as a whole. The narrative nihilism of the Cyberpunk universe is lame as hell. I'm a Shadowrun girl. There's always hope - even if the Horrors are making Lofwyr piss his dragaloons (that's dragon pantaloons) there's still space for a group of ne'er-do-wells to do some violence well. I also think that if you choose certain endings, you end up with a horribly optimistic turn on things! That left a good taste in my mouth. I wanna find this cure for neurological death that V's going through and I'm glad they explicitly said that it's a possibility.

tl;dr: not perfect but I love it and am waiting for more. Adored the story, characters, all that jazz.

[egg-emperor]

not sure if you didn't get my ask the first time but what about Sonic X , version of Eggman? its Yuji Naka's vision and he isn't that evil as many of the other characters that appear in the series, I would really love to hear what you think about it as an Eggman fan

Oh I did get your ask, I was just trying to think of the best way to word my answer.

X Eggman has a very special place in my heart for being one of my first pieces of Sonic media, aside from Heroes and Shadow 2005. As you may know, that two games didn't have that much Eggman in them and his character was being mistreated with the way he was being sidelined. But something about Eggman was already appealing to me and I wanted to see more of him, so I watched X before getting any other games. It was one of the first bigger looks I got at Eggman as a result.

X really helped me fall in love with Eggman because I got to see much more of him and how charming, funny, and evil he can be. Literally every time he was on screen he made me smile and laugh, I just found him so entertaining. I still do to this day and I rewatch it annually. But it wasn't the idea they tried to push of him being 'not that evil' or capable of doing good that appealed to me about his character from the very beginning. I loved all the evil and assholic things he did throughout the show.

He still had evil, selfish, and rude moments that made him look like a big dick and I loved it. The idea of him suddenly caring for Sonic and friends later on came out of nowhere and I don't like how it was handled, so I like to imagine it was just another one of his acts to get on their good side, so they could all defeat the Metarex. I know that wasn't really the case and I'm not very happy about it. It was random and out of nowhere and it contradicts things that Eggman did in this very show. It downplays his villainy for no good reason.

I think the "when you actually hurt them, that's going too far" line was one of the most ridiculous things to come out of Eggman's mouth of all people. It makes him so hypocritical, even when it comes to his portrayal in the show because he still hurt plenty, attempted to kill Sonic and friends, tried to blow up Station Square, and did countless other terrible destructive things, and there's no way that multiple of his plans didn't result in collateral damage.

Chris wasn't even the exception either because remember when he jumped onto Eggman's Egg Mobile in an attempt to take the emerald, and when he grabbed Eggman's mustache, he shook him off and sent him plummeting to his doom? Where was the good in his heart when he allowed the twelve year old to fall and almost die and only cared about the fact that he'd just accidentally let the emerald fall with him? It doesn't seem very kind and caring to me, but very in character selfish, as he should be. So yeah, he's one to talk in that scene when he's even put Chris in harm's way himself.

In the Japanese version of that line, he said he doesn't hurt hostages. But what I think would've be more in character would be that he just wouldn't care if hostages get hurt, as long as they're still alive to use as the bait. I said in the little rant that I slipped into my Eggman X supercut season 3 video that the only way I could really see the scene working was if Eggman was just pretending to take the moral high ground just to piss off the Metarex or something. Because otherwise it just really doesn't make sense.

I despise the Metarex for being boring villains with generic designs. They really wanted us to think they were amazing, powerful, and scary but they were try hard and had no interesting motive. Eggman made them look stupid by pointing out how their plan doesn't make sense and results in destroying planets so they won't have anything to rule over and prove their power to. They have a boring motive, unlike Eggman who has an egotistical dream that he'll go to great lengths to accomplish, rather than just being "haha I'm so evil I'm going to destroy everything for no reason"

It feels like just another case of Eggman's villainy being downplayed in an attempt to emphasize how much better of a villain and bigger of a threat others are supposed to be, which I'm never a fan of because it's not true. Eggman isn't innocent compared to them, he just has a better plan that doesn't involve just destroying the world. And when you have to either put Eggman down or make him act OOC so he doesn't seem as evil, then they're clearly not good villains that can prove themselves on their own. Other villains shouldn't take away from Eggman, instead we should be told why we should see these villains as a dangerous threat like Eggman.

I can't take away the idea that 'oh Eggman is actually a kind and caring guy compared to the big scary super evil Metarex' away from the scene. He's a terrible person too, the only reason he frowns upon the Metarex's acts isn't because he has a good heart, it's because they're going to destroy everything he wants to conquer. Eggman has always been selfish and only cared about what he wants and he doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he gets it. This even applied to X Eggman himself earlier on in the show.

If he was truly a good guy, why wasn't he holding back and showing care from the start? When people were getting hurt because of his actions and he was intentionally trying to kill others, why were there so many moments of him clearly enjoying it? And if it was supposed to be seen as some type of character development, they didn't do a very good job at showing it because him actually being concerned for others came out of nowhere. And even so, I just don't think it works for Eggman because if there isn't some secret evil and selfish motive behind his actions, it just makes him a big hypocrite.

But besides that bothering me because it's not the kind of development I think Eggman should have, I love X Eggman for many other reasons in a way that I can rewatch the show without it getting to me much. But I still really wish they would've done some things differently because earlier on it seemed like they had the right idea but had to bring that whole twist out of nowhere which I just don't think suits a deeply selfish, narcissistic, dangerous man that lacks empathy. (Because yes, there were even blatant moments in X that showed Eggman's low empathy was still there. That's how he does the things he does without shame.)

And one thing that stops me from being as bitter about it in the end is that, despite who was involved with X in Japan, it's still clearly very separate from the games. Just like how Boom Eggman, who is also portrayed as being a nicer Eggman, is entirely separate. Game universe Eggman has done a lot more evil, selfish, fucked up catastrophic shit than both X and Boom Eggman combined and clearly has no ounce of remorse. That's why I've never been a fan of people attempting to merge the separate universes/canons together when they just don't work.

There's nothing in the games that implies game Eggman has this same mindset and ability to care about anyone other than himself, unlike X or Boom Eggman. And even though X Eggman was the first time I got to see a version of him really in action, it didn't shape my view of him in the games because I could recognize the differences. I'm happy that it didn't affect his game portrayal because I already think those moments in X were OOC enough for X Eggman when they contradict his actions, so it would've made even less sense for him in the game universe.

The concept of him being not such a bad guy doesn't need to be a part of his character to make him charming, lovable and entertaining to me. He's perfect just the way he is as the prideful, selfish, egotistical bastard that I fell in love with. 💜

[christhebarker]

Twenty bloody years

Today HR informed me it was my 20th anniversary at my company so in a slightly self-indulgent post here's ten random things from twenty random years. I intended to do twenty but I think it's long enough really.

1 Talent spotting

Standing at the light box looking at transparencies through a loop I spotted a star. It was my first week at Classic FM magazine and that girl was the young Katherine Jenkins making one of her first PR appearances backstage at the classical Brit awards. I demanded to do a cover shoot with her. She was incredibly beautiful and totally charming in real life. Over the three years I worked on that mag I photographed her on numerous occasions , upping the ante every time; borrowing a million dollars worth of diamonds, an Aston Martin DB5 and ultimately a palace for each successive shoot. Over that time I saw her evolve from a little girl, green around the gills into a bona fide diva - never heard her sing though. It was never about that for me. She clearly had star quality. 

2 Tunnel vision

I art directed the McLaren in house magazine for a while. It wasn't a comfortable job - the tobacco advertising ban was coming through at the time and the marketing team were all over everything - so it's quite fitting that that my most memorable experience was pretty uncomfortable too. I had an idea for a cover shoot that I'd never seen done before. For the Monaco issue I wanted a front on close up of coulthard in his car heading for the tunnel with it reflected in his visor. Amazingly they allowed me to borrow his MP4-16, overalls and helmet, but not the man himself. So, being fairly small (DC is tiny) it fell to me to be his body double. Those cars are cramped. I sat for an hour in that tiny cockpit, moulded to his girl-like hips and I could barely walk afterwards. And the visibility, Christ they must get claustrophobic in those things. The rear view mirror was about the size of a cigarette lighter. Makes you realise it does take some balls to go at that speed in those things. 

3 Olympic vision

It's very rare in any non-performing profession to see people enjoying your work in its natural environment but London 2012 provided me with that, among many other unbelievable, opportunities. I had the chance to witness Mo Farah's historic 5000m win at the London Olympic stadium and see Bolt win gold too to boot. But the take home for me was witnessing 100s of people - in the grounds, in the stadium, on the train home - consuming and enjoying my work on the Official Olympic Daily Programmes. You never get that opportunity in publishing, and to top it off there was also televised praise from John Inverdale and Claire Balding on the BBC. And Lord Heseltine told me it was the best thing we had ever published when he came in to the office. A real morale booster at that point when spirits were starting to flag in the middle of sixteen solid days of 6am-9pm (then a break, then the Paralympics too).

4 The royal wee

Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted. The intimate moments with incredible people. I remember turning to the PR as we were sitting in on a rehearsal by the Ballet Rambert as they were perfecting some superhuman feat I couldn't possibly imagine doing and saying "We've seen some things haven't we" and laughing about it. I've witnessed personal performances for me and a photographer alone from some of the greatest classical musicians alive Julian Lloyd Weber running through Bach's cello concerto in his kitchen, James Galway toddling away at something he was learning, but my favourite anecdote is probably when me and Sting took it in turns to sneak into the Queen's private toilet in the royal opera house for a piss. "Well if you're doing it I'm gonna go as well" he said. 

5 Sheffield steel

I accidentally touched Jessica Ennis's backside while adjusting a Union Jack draped around her in a Sheffield steel mill. Which is quite appropriate seeing as they are buns of steel. It was like I'd bashed into a wall, not a person. It was a complete accident and I don't think she noticed but it was quite memorable. Even though at the time I didn't really know who she was, same with Mo a week earlier, who I shot in the world's oldest wind tunnel at the National Physical Laboratory just down the road from my house. No idea who he was at the time. We chatted about a mate he may have worked with at McDonald's I believe. 

6 Have I got awards for you

I've been fortunate enough to win a few awards over the years. We won PPA publication of the year for the Olympics work, my most high profile win was BSME art director of the year earlier this year for Work. magazine but my favourite win was the second of my back-to-back cover of the year awards voted for by a room of my peers on the night. Anyone can win something once with a fluke, but to do it twice was pretty special. It means you must know what you're doing. But what made the Brexit cover win extra special for me was that when I went up to receive it I spotted Ian Hislop, a bit of a hero of mine, sitting in the front row giving me a thumbs up. I got to chat to him after in the green room and I told him I thought he was the best thing about Britain today. 

7 Trouble in Tuscany

There's been a bit of travel over the years. In the early days we would fly out to Germany to show proofs to BMW and Mercedes. Unimaginable now what with PDFs, emails, Skype and minuscule budgets. I photographed a sprinter in Florida, a hurdler in Ostrava... but the most memorable trip was to photograph tenor Andrea Bocelli at his home just outside Pisa. Memorable because it was such a disaster. As you may know he is blind, and his English isn't brilliant so communication was a problem. And the fact that to ease his obvious discomfort with the whole situation he insisted on using props. He left the room and came back in with a trumpet for example, which he insisted on holding in shot for every frame. Then just as we were getting underway someone started cooking pasta in his kitchen and the smell made him wander off. We didn't know if it was over or if he was coming back. Eventually he did and we got a few extra frames without the trumpet but it was such a bad day that when we left and the photographer put a light stand through the hire car's rear light I was like "yeah, that's about right". 

8 High anxiety

Borrowed a helicopter for a shoot once. That was bloody terrifying. Never been in one before. If you've never done it, it's like being in a transit van in the air and whenever they want to turn or move in any way it kind of lurches. You feel like the pilot is only slightly in control and gravity is the real driver. I kept my head down and looked at the pictures as they came in on the laptop, pretending I wasn't there in the end. 

9 Roger that

Seeing a genuine sporting legend at the top of his game is incredible. None of the other sporting events I've been present for in a work capacity - Grands Prix, UEFA Cup Finals, England test cricket - quite match up to seeing Roger Federer take on Andy Murray from the front row at the O2. Before the match I'd been looking forward to seeing Murray's trademark smashes but seeing Federer caress the ball and think five strokes ahead from such close quarters converted me to the tennis legend I had previously thought was a bit boring. 

10 Mercury prizing

As far as I can tell I was responsible for Gomez winning the Mercury Music Prize in 1998. Which is weird because they were up against Pulp and I love Pulp. I was sitting on a table with the MD of Technics - I think, it's all a bit of a blur to be honest - at the awards ceremony and he was really interested in my opinion on who I thought should win. This was just after Gomez had done a storming rendition of Whipping Piccadilly and I think it probably swayed me. So when he disappeared for a bit then came back and told me he'd put his vote in for my favourite I didn't have the heart to say I'd changed my mind and thought Pulp should win. It was a very close run thing as well apparently. Sorry Jarvis.