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mozillogames · 7 years

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I’m Openly Bored of Open World Games

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Hoo boy, aren’t open world games everywhere these days? I hope I can’t be the only one who sees the latest open world game and almost immediately switch off from any interest in the thing. We’re reaching a critical mass of underwhelming, and rather simple, open world games that focus more on the fact that it’s an open world game than anything else, ultimately to their own downfall. While there are a few good open world games, there are a lot of bad ones as well, a flood of bad ones.

I used to like open world games, maybe it was because I was younger and had near limitless time on my hands and no major commitments outside of video gaming, sure there was school but I tended to sleep through that and just turn up to the exams at some point. All gloating aside, when you’re a wee lad of 15 or so the idea of spending an entire afternoon, from about 4:30pm until 3am, walking across a map meticulously picking up hundreds of icons on a map, slowly revealing the next chunk of the quilt and immediately preceding to mop up the clutter that lines it.

What appeals to you as a child, however, may not continue to cause a twitch in your nethers once you get older, except for Final Fantasy VII which will always cause me a stir somewhere upon my person. Now that I’m an old man at the disgustingly ripe age of somewhere in my 20s (I haven’t the time to remember or work out my age) I find myself with an actual job that I have to pretend to be good at to get money and thus eat for my own sustenance. Time has become rapidly precious and, while I may be currently playing through Persona 5 for a second time mere minutes after just finishing it, I don’t have the free time to disengage my brain and roll around an open world for the thrill that is map cleaning.

My main issue with open worlds doesn’t even necessarily descend from my lack of time in my life, instead they just tend to be so boring. Many open world games now rely heavily on padding out gameplay with increasingly cluttered maps and extra objectives, an ever increasing amount of Riddler Trophies, more Animus Fragments or Feathers than ever before, or just another hundred encampments to clear out, it’s all rather exciting, isn’t it?

There are definitely open world games that can really work, The Witcher 3 is a great example, but also things like Fallout 4. The games focus so much more on the quests that you come across that they drive your exploration of the world and point you in a direction to head to, maybe a dungeon or a building or just anything. The point is that someone put some thought into a quest chain, and they are generally chains, that may branch into more quests and you end up with a spider web of things to do. If you look at Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Final Fantasy XV, two franchises that recently jumped into the open world pool, the quests are simple and forgettable. Normally someone tells you to get them something or kill monsters in a location and once you’ve returned with your simple and forgettable task completed you get a quick and hasty “thanks” and that’s the end of it.

Outside of the exploration itself the reasons to spend 20 minutes running out in the open wilderness rapidly run dry, one of my main criticisms of the latest additions to two of my favorite franchises were just that. The game focused more on the idea that the game is an open world than the idea of your game taking place IN an open world. I find a lot of open world games these days create an old world environment and think that’s the game, running around an open world, maybe with a few story quests scattered around, is enough to warrant the open world itself and it really isn’t.

The sandbox is an easy way to extend the length of your game quite substantially. Driving around fake LA in Grand Theft Auto from mission to mission can take literal minutes or more of your life, you’re not even really doing anything other than trying to drive in as straight a line as possible to make the journey quicker. What little I played of Ghost Recond: Wildlands was much to the same, driving through the vast and empty scenery is a boring chore and I’m quite glad the vehicles in that defied any form of physics as it made driving straight to the objective a lot easier as your truck scales an entire cliff face.

On that note, quick travel. That’s an admission of a problem already built straight into the actual game itself. Quick travel acknowledges that walking through the open world itself is already tedious and needs to be done once and only once, to unlock the locations to then fast travel to. As I stated in my video, if you took the actual structured content in an open world game and cut out all the open world walking bits the games would be a lot more engaging, to me at least. I guess that’s all that matters, that I personally have fun over everyone else.

Something that also tends to occur with open world games is the lack of player progression. It’s harder to enforce progression of your character, such as skills or equipment, without having to build large walls around entire areas of your map. You know how in older Zelda games if you had the hookshot, bombs or any other piece of equipment it’d unlock new routes and new areas? You can’t have that in an open world game as it just breaks the pacing of the open world, instead you often find yourself with everything you’re going to see within the first moments of the game itself.

In the case of games like GTA or Saints Row 3 (the only one I’ve played) you can find yourself with all the guns or equipment pretty rapidly, the games are almost designed around acquiring rocket launchers in unlikely places and then flying military jets around like it’s not a major national incident. In GTA it’s not too difficult to break into a military complex and steal said jet within the opening hours of the game, what else is the game ever going to show me? What new equipment am I likely to get that’ll change up the game more than the high tier military equipment? At that point progression is no longer something in the game, outside of the, normally, mediocre story.

Yes, this is a rather broad brush and it doesn’t apply to every game, but it falls, once again, to open world games that rely more on the game just being an open world as their major selling point than anything else. The quests in The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 more than make up for the lack of equipment progression. The lack of this in GTA or Breath of the Wild leaves much to be desired as you find yourself doing the same objectives and actions time and time again.

I just long for more games that have structure to their gameplay. Dungeons or buildings or pathways to travel that someone has had to sit down and design with the idea that the player will actually walk through it. A well placed enemy or obstacle is a lot more memorable than 20 minutes of running through an open field maybe with a randomly placed enemy that’s vaguely placed or spawned to break the monotony. Or at least an open world game with engaging quests and characters that actually make me want to spend time in the world. If you’re going to make an open world game, wonderful, just don’t have that as your gameplay, the open world itself, put some actual effort into the game and try and write something interesting to go alongside it.

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thejpfdude-blog · 7 years

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The Upcoming Winter 2018 Shows I’ll Be Watching

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody! What better time than now to talk about the new season’s shows in the annual pre-seasonal post where I describe the shows I’ll be watching/giving a chance from the coming Winter 2018 season! Always a fun time, and fun to look back at and see how wrong/right I was about a show.

A reminder of the usual thing I say in these posts:

I might watch some other shows that are good or drop some shows if they aren’t good, but that’s for the future.

Like always, I’m organizing these shows into three categories: Full Chance are shows I’m giving the whole season towards, Short Leash are shows I’m giving three or so episodes towards, and One Shot are shows I’m giving one episode towards. As we progress towards categories, expect less words for each anime as I lose interest in writing. Also a reminder that MAL links to the shows are on the titles for those interested.

Some words about next season: I know everybody is hyping up Spring 2018 to be THE season for anime (just look at that lineup), but I think the Winter 2018 season has some potential gems. With each passing season I’m getting more and more picky with the shows I keep, let alone give a chance. Even with that, there are 20 anime below, and that doesn’t even include a few I’m sort of interested in but decided to not watch because I already have a lot on my plate. Plus the fact that I’m pretty dang excited for a few of these shows, which might end up backfiring on me in the end because Sturgeon’s Law. Oh well, that’s life.

All right, let’s get this show on the road, starting with...

Full Chance Shows

Dagashi Kashi 2: I legit can’t believe this got a second season. The first season of this show was way back 2 years ago during the first season I started watching seasonal shows, and even then I knew this show wasn’t really that special. Basically the problem with the show was that it was a candy infomercial at its core: the characters and their stories/development were overshadowed by “lol look it’s candy”. The only great thing the show had going for it was the character design, which got nullified for this season since a whole different studio is handling it (Tezuka Productions instead of feel).

But there’s good reason to hope that this installment of the show will be better than the first season. The biggest reason for that is that this time around, Dagashi Kashi is a short anime. Not one of those 3-minute blazers, but a 15-minute half-length short. After hearing that, I had some hope for this show: the first season at times felt like it dragged on with its skits. Hopefully cutting the length will help immensely with that. Plus, there’s a new character which might potentially add more spice to the mix. So you never know, this second season might be pretty good. Or it could be bad. Either way, I have no expectations given how the first season went.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san: A bit of (unrelated) backstory: I know this only because the anime club I’m in had the manga as one of the readings for the manga social. Otherwise known as Skilled Teaser Takagi-san, the show is basically about a middle schooler named Nishikata who gets teased by Takagi, a girl who sits next to him in class. In revenge Nishikata tries to tease Takagi himself, but it always ends up backfiring, resulting in Nishikata being teased yet again. From the little snippets I’ve seen/heard about, the show should mostly be comedic with the cute moments and max smug. I’ve seen complaints that it’s very repetitive and that there is no romantic progression, but the second point seems kinda null when you realize there’s a spinoff of the original manga, which is about something I won’t mention explicitly here (go look it up if you’re curious). With that in mind, I’m not expecting too much, just some occasional cute and funny moments that may or may not be repetitive.

Mitsuboshi Colors: Uhh... yeah. Now before you call me a lolicon, let me tell you what this show is about. Basically just three kids living their daily lives exploring the town and all that.

...Wow that doesn’t make it better does it. Well, whatever. The show’s looks to be a relaxing slice-of-life, and that’s something I’m about (as long as it has something else to it like comedy). Fun fact: the manga shares the same author as Hitoribocchi no ○○ Seikatsu, a manga I’m reading right now that I’m really enjoying. Just a random fact, but it’s a good sign that the source at least has good roots.

From the comments I read about it, Mitsuboshi Colors looks to be wholesome, with similarities to Ichigo Marshmallow. Also apparently the kids are savage af, which is both realistic (kids that age are too real) and right up my alley. Overall sounds like a good time, and though I’m trying not too expect too much, I’m wouldn’t lie if I said this was a show I’m excited for.

...So yeah. Pls don’t call the FBI. Yet.

Poputepipikku: I have nothing to say about this show. Seriously, go read the MAL description (or lack thereof) and watch the PVs, and tell me you know what this show is about.

The only basis I have is the 4-koma this is based off of, which has translations somewhere in the web as well as video adaptation things here. I guess if you want a sense of what this show is about the videos are the best way to figure that out. Basically what I get is that this show is one huge meme.

So yeah I’m super down for it. Bring it on. Absolutely no clue what it is, but sure. I like memes. The danker the better.

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2: I’m probably less excited for this show than I should be, I admit. Towards the end of the first season, the show felt a bit stale since they added more and more new characters which made it feel like a “too many cooks” situation where it felt like they were running out of ideas with the old characters. I’m a tad worried about this second season because they’re adding even more new characters, as if we didn’t have enough in the first place. Though if there’s anything to be hopeful about, it’s that they’re keeping the format of 5 shorts a week. Definitely the better format than just a compilation episode at the end of the week.

At the end of the day though, this show made me laugh almost every episode, and that’s a rare thing nowadays (DAE sadbois). So yeah, I’m still pretty excited this got a second season and hopeful that the new characters add more depth to the show. Guess we’ll see.

Violet Evergarden: OOOH. It’s time. It’s time to be hyped, but then tell myself to keep that hype down. Because it’s here, ladies and gents. The one I’ve been waiting for ever since May 27, 2016, the day the CM came out (this one). Now is the animation going to be as good as in the CM? Hell no. But man, I’m not gonna lie: I’m super excited for this one. Like SUPER excited.

There’s a bunch of reasons for that: the biggest reason is the involvement of Kyoto Animation. I admit I’m a KyoAni fanboy: I’ve watched most of their shows and with the exception of Musaigen no Phantom World, I’ve liked all of them (and even Musaigen started getting good towards the end). Of course the animation in Violet Evergarden is going to be high quality (that’s a given), but the story is apparently top-notch as well, something a bit unprecedented with works adapted by KyoAni. Most of the LNs/manga that KyoAni adapt are... a bit lacking. From K-On to Chuunibyou to Free, all of them weren’t the best source material. Though most of them were good enough to win Honorable Mention in KyoAni’s annual light novel competition, none won the Grand Prize. And that was the case for the first few years the competition ran: no Grand Prize winners. Until Violet Evergarden won the Grand Prize. Sure says something about the LN’s story. Combine that with KyoAni’s ability to fit a source material to an anime format well, and you get the biggest hype train since One Punch Man.

But what about the plot itself? That was a mystery to me until now, and after doing some research into the story it looks like it’s about a robot/cyborg who formerly was fighting in the battlefield who now works as a “Auto Memories Doll” who “carries peoples’ thoughts and memories and converts them into words“. Apparently it’s similar to Kino’s Journey only with more drama/interesting characters (so most likely episodic). Which I’m down for since I enjoyed Kino’s Journey (well at least the old one). Also small side note: minimal romance until the end, which is fine since I think a romance subplot would distract from the main storyline.

So yeah, I’m on the hype train. But with this big of a hype train, anything less than a 9/10 would be disappointing. So to prevent that from happening, I’m trying to keep myself in check by thinking about the last time I got onto a hype train, which was Mahoutsukai no Yome. And look how well that turned out... “on hold” (though I may pick it up... 5% chance). AKA anything can happen, and because of that expectations are “low” -- but let’s be honest I’m hyped for this. Let’s go.

Yuru Camp△: Let me get the joke out of the way now: LOL DAE READ AS “YURI CAMP”?????

I’m sorry.

Anyway, if there’s one word to describe this, it’s COMFY. The best way I’ve seen this described is a combination of Non Non Biyori and Yama no Susume. And having seen both shows, I can see the maximum comfy this will provide. The plot is simple: cute girls doing cute camping. Slice-of-life + comfy + CGDCT = good stuff for this guy.

Though doing further research, there were some things that turned me off a bit. One is the following words: yuri undertones/subtext. Those two (three?) words have the potential to ruin the show, though it depends on how strong they are. If we’re talking Hibike Euphonium levels, we’re doomed. If we’re talking Love Live levels, we’re fine. Though I wish CGDCTs nowadays shouldn’t feel like they need yuri undertones, if it’s not too overbearing I can just brush it off.

Another thing that concerns me a bit is the studio handling this: C-Station, which doesn’t have the most inspiring list of shows made. Now they’ve done a few full-length shows, but I’ve never heard of them before, so it’s... unknown how they’ll be able to handle Yuru Camp.

A final, nitpicky thing is past experiences. Watching the PV made me feel comfy, something I didn’t feel since... Flying Witch. Which, while comfy, was also boring. Who knows, maybe Yuru Camp will actually have humor to it so I don’t fall asleep while watching it. But generally comfy = boring for me (with an exception being Non Non Biyori), so it’s something to be wary about for me personallly.

Though negatives aside, this show has great potential and it’s one of the handful of shows I’m excited for. Let’s get comfy.

Short Leash Shows

Citrus: Hoo boy... if I have to be honest, I’ll be super surprised if I end up finishing this show. This is one of the few times where I read the source material beforehand, so I can share my experiences and tell y’all what to expect. And let me tell you... expect this show to be bad. I know it’s being really hyped because it’s yuri, but holy melodrama Batman. Now I admit I’m not the biggest fan of yuri, and I haven’t read much works in the genre. But still... even I know there’s a lot of better works out there with the yuri, most of which haven’t gotten an anime adaptation.

There are two main problems with this show. The first is the characters. Specifically one character, the student council pres/stepsister. Her actions make absolutely no sense, and are the driving force of the questionable moments in the manga. Which brings me to the second problem: the drama, which stems from some of the weirdest problems that shouldn’t even be problems. I’d state an example, but that’s spoilers that I kinda want to avoid. This image sums up the manga well in my opinion (thanks to /r/animemes). Add the fact that the yuri isn’t even that good, and you got a dropped manga, one of the few I dropped (my manga list for reference).

With that in mind, I feel kinda bad for the people really hyped for this show. Then again, most of them are hyped for the yuri, which... I don’t blame them to be honest given the lack of good yuri anime out there. Still... have some standards y’all. Expect this show to be one of the “most disappointing” shows out there.

Darling in the FranXX: Basic facts about this anime: Trigger and A-1 Pictures are collaborating on it and it’s a mecha show. In terms of actual plot, the MAL summary is a pretty good idea of what we should expect. Because otherwise, nobody knows since this is an anime original. Looks interesting enough though, so might as well give it a few episodes and see what’s up.

Gakuen Babysitters: So this looks pretty cute. Basically we got a guy and his brother who gets taken in by a chairman of a school, later becoming the school daycare’s new babysitter. Tragic backstory aside (the guy loses both his parents), the manga is apparently diabetes-level of adorable, which I’m down for. Cute things are cute.

Hakumei to Mikochi: Small girls (9 cm tall) living small lives. That’s basically it. Such a small anime deserves a small description. So I’ll say this: looks to be comfy and laid-back. I’m about that.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni: And here’s the winner of the “Questionable Plotline of the Season”. We got high school girl who falls in love with her 45-year old manager. AKA the problem I had with Blend S taken to the next level... you would think. But I think if the show does it tastefully, it won’t be too bad. And apparently that’s what it is: a feel good slice-of-life/romance with interesting characters. Plus the fact that it’s not the older guy being all lovey-dovey this time, which helps a lot. This should be an interesting one to keep an eye on, both in terms of the anime itself and the reception towards it.

Random side note: I honestly think it’s kinda sad when the top comments of /r/anime’s thread for the PV of this all talk about Aimer and how they’ll watch the show because of her only. Seriously... that’s some weak reasoning for watching an anime, when only a minute and a half out of 23 minutes is the thing you’re watching for. You don’t see me watching Eromanga-sensei because ClariS did the OP. Just a bit of a personal gripe.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san: As you can kinda tell from the title, the show’s about a girl named Koizumi who really likes ramen, and goes to various places to eat their ramen. I have no idea what to expect given there isn’t much info out there about this, but I guess I’ll expect lots of ramen to be eaten. The way this is laid out, I’m hoping it’s a short, because otherwise it’ll drag on for way too long.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho: Next to the obvious shows like Violet Evergarden, this is the one show I’m seeing /r/anime announce as a dark horse AOTS candidate. But doing further information, I’m kinda confused as to why. It doesn’t really fit the standards of the typical show that /r/anime really loves (Made in Abyss, Houseki no Kuni, etc.) considering it looks like it’s just a CGDCT about girls going to the South Pole. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a dark turn that happens given the setting of Antarctica, nobody really knows given this is another anime original. But hey, I’m not complaining. I like CGDCTs. And this season’s got a bunch of them, like...

Slow Start: This one. Plot doesn’t reveal anything special, just about a girl who started school a year late. That’s it.

Background-wise, though, this show has good potential. Same director as GochiUsa, same magazine as a lot of CGDCT anime, etc. I’m not expecting much from this show, but there are points for it to be good.

Takunomi.: Like Osake something something from this season, we have another show about adults drinking. A 15-minute short, has potential but like the shows above I’m not expecting much.

One Shot Shows

Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku: Holy moly, I had the biggest case of deja vu while watching the PV for this show. Just look at the MC for this show: the most generic MC I’ve seen, so generic it literally looks like the MC for that isekai smartphone show that came out a few seasons ago. Heysus Christos, what is this baloney. Seriously, compare these two: here and here. I’m honestly more impressed than anything.

Anyway, the show looks to be your standard generic isekai. Yay. My favorite.

Märchen Mädchen: It’s kind of an isekai... I don’t know, at this point I’m tired, just read the summary. I like the eyes. That’s all I really have to say about the show.

Ryuuou no Oshigoto!: Yeah the summary says it best. A moe Sangatsu no Lion, though I’m sure the only similarities it has with the show is the theme of shogi.

Sanrio Danshi: One big commercial for Sanrio characters. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting. Also shades of shounen-ai. Eh.

And that’s all for this really long post! Thanks for reading! Quick announcement: the newest version of The Week in Anime is probably gonna be delayed a few hours since I’ve been busy being on vacation (yes I’m busy even now). Apologies for that, but it should be a short post anyway since there were only three shows to watch.

Anyways, thanks again for reading, and I’ll see you in the next post very soon!

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