#it was the hideo kojima joke one

[alternis]

deleted a reblog thanks to a message from a kind person who forgot to anon so i wont publish the actual ask.

[typellblog]

i think the worst thing about the kojima games thing is that i've never actually seen the original joke so i legitimately had a 'oh, i get it now . . . it's because hideo rhymes with video' moment while looking at one of the toskarins' posts

[not-your-bro]

Tell me rfn the kind of video games climbing class stays up until 3am grinding and getting way too invested in

OOH. this is an interesting question bc i think they have fairly different taste in video games.

chris is into games with deep mechanics, so he gravitates to rpgs, including turn-based. likes strategy games, too. as a example of his taste, chris loves pokemon, but he plays it in a way i do not personally understand, in that he's crafting the most optimal team and also not naming his pokemon. all that said, he isn't opposed to turning his brain off with fps games when he just wants to relax. in all games, he is a chronic cutscene skipper (a trait that makes josh grind his teeth). if he picks up an in-game document that he deems too long, he's like "i ain't reading all that. i'm happy for u tho. or sorry that happened."

josh plays fewer games and has narrower taste. obviously, he's into horror in all forms, from AAA down to the smallest of indie titles (tho he prefers indie). i think he wouldn't have pegged himself as a fighting game guy, but he checked out mortal kombat bc of the fatalities and got really into it. he'd be into hideo kojima games. if i can include post-2014 games bc we're just having fun here, this would include death stranding (which chris would not understand the appeal of). josh would also love the weird, wide world of elden ring, in particular how it's stripped of things like quest logs. he would really enjoy making his own physical notes (which, again, would feel like homework to chris).

now, here's what they learned they can't play together.

moody, atmospheric horror that relies more on suspense or dread than fear. josh would love silent hill games (the good ones lmao), but chris would find them unenjoyable to play and narratively confusing & boring. warning for silent hill 2 spoilers here, but i made a joke in a fic about chris getting, like, too deep into sh2 before going, "oh. did this guy do something to his wife?" and i stand by that. i think he's just like whatttt is going on and when will this be over.

competitive games that rely too heavily on luck. obvious examples are mario party & mario kart games. josh gets too fucking moody when he feels he loses unfairly, and it brings the (mario) party down. and every time he suggests them, he's like "i seriously won't care, like it's not a big deal." but it is a big deal. in his heart. if he loses fair and square, he's fine, but he hates feeling robbed by bad luck.

...and here's what they do play together.

freaky asf horror games. like, the kinds of games with moments that are gonna have "streamers react to..." compilations on youtube. ideally, chris is playing and josh is watching, bc josh loves to watch chris react to games like this, especially if he himself has played them before. nothing more enjoyable than sitting next to chris, knowing what horrors await him but not saying anything. josh has a ps4 with p.t. (which he will never, ever delete) and he delighted in making chris play that. he also made chris play doki doki literature club, under the guise of "giving him a well-deserved break from horror." good one, josh.

chris's rpgs are long as hell and he gets very into them, so when he's particularly sucked in but josh still wants to hang, josh is like ok just bring your console over and play here, idc. now, josh knows chris is a cutscene skipper, so josh spends the entire time peppering chris with questions. what's happened so far? what's going on right now? who's this guy - what's his deal? at some point, they start making shit up, spitballing what they think is going on based on context clues, but also throwing in their own wild ideas just to make each other laugh. (after chris finishes the game, they read a plot summary to see how close they were.)

i think chris is a kingdom hearts fan, but again, not the way i'm a kingdom hearts fan. he thinks they're fun as fuck to play, but he has NO clue what's going on. in fact, playing kingdom hearts as a kid is probably what triggered his aversion to cutscenes. he was like that shit goes on FOREVER, and for WHAT? i'm enamored with the idea of chris foisting kingdom hearts on josh - like, "try it, bro, it's really fun. but just skip the cutscenes they're super long and confusing." and josh is like "now, now, christopher. a lot of work went into these cutscenes. we can't just skip them. that would be disrespectful." so josh lets them roll - initially as a bit, but then they both get invested, and next thing you know they're barreling through all 983094 games together.

resident evil 4. periodt. it has stuff that appeals to them both: horror/gore for josh, more action-oriented gameplay for chris, plus short cutscenes they can both find enjoyment in, because they're either freaky or funny or both. they would lament (as did i) that re5 and re6 have co-op but are so much worse, but they'd still play them once. and they'd both love the modern remakes + new re games. josh's favorite of those would be re7, and chris's would be re2 remake.

[astramachina]

6 albums I’ve been listening to a lot lately! Plus one track from each that I’m especially fond of.

tagged by the wonderful @valenshawke!!

i haven't been doing much "full album" listening lately since going into a project usually means listening to a lot of tailored playlists, but i have been revisiting some... oldies.

Wish Upon A Blackstar - Celldweller; "Unshakeable" This was my first ever Celldweller album and it was introduced to me by a now defunct tumblr mutual about a decade ago. Apparently they thought "Blackstar" suited a character on my ongoing fic at the time, and I instantly fell in love with Klayton's music. "Unshakeable" is definitely on the playlist for one of my current MCs.

The Black Halo - Kamelot; "When the Lights Are Down" Kamelot is one of those bands Lil Goth me (freshman) got introduced to by an Elder Goth (senior) back in 2005, though "Ghost Opera" was technically the first ever song of theirs I ever listened to.

The Open Door - Evanescence; "Your Star" I wasn't joking about oldies. Again, surprising amount of MC vibes coming off this album which makes me fear for the poor guy's life.

POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR - Bring Me the Horizon; "1x1" So, the funny thing about "1x1" is that, at their core, every single one of my protagonists can be summed up by this one song and I don't know what that says about me as a writer. I mean, 'annihilation never looked so good' as a lyric never fails to make me want to headbang.

DEATH STRANDING: Timefall - Multiple artists; "Ghost" by Au/Ra My endgame as a creator is to become the next Hideo Kojima like I want to make my own company and make utterly self-indulgent and fucking insane shit how I want to make it and then have all my cool artist friends either star in it or record songs for soundtracks. That being said, I'm yet to come across a video game soundtrack that's just banger after banger after banger.

Love is Dead - CHVRCHES; "Graffiti" I came across this album during the beginning of the pandemic and I listened to it so many times that multiple people reached out to ask if my discord was glitched because the status kept showing the same songs over and over. I'm not sure why it latched onto me the way it did, but February 2020 was sure a time.

Honorable mentions!

7. Woman King - Iron & Wine; "Freedom Hangs Like Heaven"

8. Lifa - Heilung; "In Maidjan"

9. Pictures of Mountains - Cody Fry; "London" & "Photograph"

tagging @lucillesharpeapologist, @vanessaaftonsgirl, @opaleyedprince, @fortunatetragedy, @wrencatte SHOW ME YOUR MUSIC TASTES (but only if you want to, ofc!)

[callmearcturus]

Is PT AU titled after a song or something specific? Or is it something you and Punct came up with?

we came up with it, it went through a few iterations of wording, but we workshopped until we liked it

hang on i found the brainstorming we did in a planning doc

I actually have a huge doc of titles in search of a story, it was given to me as a gift like literally 10 years ago, and i always skim through it when its time to title something in case there's something good in there

as you can see from the screenshot*, we thought really hard about Richard Siken's original version of Love Letter For The Square Root Of Minus One. big inspiration.

MORE THAN ONCE IN WRITING THIS SO FAR, THIS EXACT CONVO HAS HAPPENED

Punct: working on the doc, I really like this bit here Arc: oh, the siken reference? Punct, sighing: gdi of course its a siken reference

in the same way hideo kojima is 70% movies, i am 70% siken references

*note this is a joke, the original version of that poem is hard to find and kinda obscure lmao i VASTLY prefer it to the one he published in War of the Foxes tho, sorry richard

[jupitermelichios]

so this is, as far as anyone can tell, not a joke. this is an actual list an alt right dipshit gamerTM made of 'conservative core' games and posted on a 4chan clone, and it's the greatest self own I've seen online in a while. guy is just out here boasting about his own lack of media literacy

I'll put the full list below a cut for anyone who wants it, but i just want to highlight a extra few special entries here first (minor content warning for mention of forced pregnancy, nothing explicit):

Toho Project: it's almost certainly on here because it contains anime waifus, but I've literally never met a toho fan who wasn't trans. technically i guess cis toho fans exist, but they're definitely not the ones keeping the franchise afloat

The 3 different Warhammer 40k games: 40k was created as a critique of reactionary conservatism generally, and margaret thatcher specifically.

Doom: just gonna quote the creator of doom here. "Trans rights are human rights, important rights, critical rights and society needs to do more to make this the case for everyone."

Sniper Elite: this is a game about shooting nazis in the balls. literally, that is the game. there are nazis, you shoot them. usually in the balls. that feels like a pretty firmly anti-nazi stance to me, idk

Persona 4: this game is about how conservative japanese society mistreats teenagers and denies them physical and emotional agency. gonna go out on a limb and guess it's on here because dipshit fancies one of the female characters

Silent Hill 3: silent hill three is about a teenage girl who is impregnated against her will and desperately wants to not be pregnant but a powerful religious organisation tries to force her to carry the baby to term and as a direct result the world nearly ends. in one of the endings, it does end. because of the lack of an abortion. i cannot believe the game about the importance of reproductive rights isn't even the stupidest entry on this list

Fallout 3: it is, granted,one of the less political fallouts. it's still a game about how the U.S. gonvernment destroyed the entire world by declaring war on china and then nuking the planet, and also about how unchecked capitalism and the replacing the social safety net with corporations will inevitably lead to those corporations abusing people, and how that is very bad actually.

Bioshock: literally the first thing that happens in this game is you are told libertarianism is a stupid ideology that will always fail and ayn rand was a moron. and then the game goes on telling you that. at length. in a variety of creative ways. for the next 15 hours.

Metro Last Light: see fallout, this is a game about war-hungry governments who don't give a shit about their people end up nuking the planet and nearly wiping out all life.

and finally, to end on the highest possible note:

Metal Gear Rising Revengence: not only is this an entry in a franchise which is entirely and exclusively about how awful the military industrial complex is, this game specifically is about a soldier who was abused by the military killing the president of the united states because his use of private military corporations to fight wars is morally indefensible. literally. that's the plot. it's entirely possible raiden just says those words in that order out loud in the game because hideo kojima knows writers who use subtext and they're all cowards.

anyway, the alt right are fucking morons and media studies needs to be a compulsory subject in every school on the planet.

full list below the cut:

Toho Project

Warhammer 40k: Darktide

Doom

Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Sniper Elite

Mortal Kombat

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Persona 4

Rimworld

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Quake

Silent Hill 3

Resident Evil: Parasite Eve

007: Goldeneye

Perfect Dark

Battlefield 4

Dino Crisis

Fallout 3

Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Arma III

Squad (no, I don't know what this one is either, it appears to just be called squad? it looks like a rainbox six knock off)

Ready or Not (disappointingly, this looks like a Call of Duty knockoff and not a game based on the film ready or not, which is about killing the 1% with a machete)

Company of Heroes

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Devil May Cry 2

Fire Emblem: the Three Houses

Megaman Zero

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl

Bioshock

Halo 2

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War

Ninja Gaiden II

Metro: Last Light

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (fun fact, at the end of this game your character gets executed for heresy because they saved lives, but i'm sure that's not commentary on anything at all)

Killzone 2

Dead or Alive: X-Treme Beach Volleyball 2

God of War (the original, not the Dad of Boy reboot)

Metal Gear Rising Revengence

[discluded]

After following them for more than a year....I'll wait to see if any acting jobs are actually underway before getting excited. After KP but before MS was confirmed they promised a bunch of projects together (which I guess now looking back was a bunch of photoshoots,endorsement/sponsors events and KPWT) Then MS was confirmed and that rightfully took a lot of time as they once again started from scratch getting sponsors and training in dancing and the drums (while still doing KPWT). Then we got an S-class series announcement for this year but that's now been pushed to next year...I am sure they have a ton of projects together but I am not sure a large percentage of those will be acting projects. The massive (and successful) shift towards brands and fashion is great and to see how well they are doing in that field is wonderful but as someone who came for their acting....looks like it's going to be another long wait.

to be honest, joking aside about the showing up on set to act and only that, I think very few actors spend most of their time singularly acting in front of a camera. except maybe series regulars on long running series, or if you are Mads Mikkelsen where you walk onto an audition for a role for a major franchise you've never heard of because you live in the woods outside Copenhagen or something and then immediately seduce every casting director you've ever met alongside Hideo Kojima who is not a casting director but will solely invent a game specifically so he can lure you to Japan and go on dates with you and also have an excuse to put a statue of you in his office building.

anyway , the point is - for a lot of actors, the grind is going to audition after audition and getting rejected. Bible mentioned he auditioned 26 times before landing a single role, it just happens that Vegas was a major role for him. Is going to 26 auditions without being cast any better than waiting a whole year to even start production on a series you're the lead in and everyone's wondering what's even happening with that series?

I think doing sponsorships and shoots is at least more glamorous and interesting for fans than going to audition after audition without the certainty of yes, but when - even though that's also part of acting work. Jimmy O Yang has talked about, between season 1 and 2 of Silicon Valley, he was driving Uber to make ends meet and had clients who recognized him from the show.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying be satisfied with how many acting projects we're getting to see them in right now, but also, like, even for the GMMTV kiddos, maybe they'll get a cameo in another GMMTV series if they're lucky, but in they're also in about one series a year as a main cast member, if that. But unless if BOC figures out how to get their talent into other projects they're not directly responsible for from start to finish (like Wuju Bakery) where either of them can just pop up for a few episodes, then it'll probably continue at this pace. Which is why having two production companies offering them scripts and projects actually will be better in long run.

[hatredmadeofgold]

Unfortunately not a new chapter but a current status update (same text as in the link):

Sorry, this isn’t Chapter 7 yet, but a status update and I will NOT abandon this don’t worry

Hey hello, Pulsar here. No worries, this fic not going on hiatus, I just felt bad that there’s radio silence and no new chapter update yet. Also, I had no idea how to reach many of my readers in any other way because my username until a few weeks ago didn’t match my handle anywhere else, but I’ll be linking to my social media at the end of this message.

I can assure you though, I will never abandon this project. My therapist pointed out to me that writing this helps me a lot with my own mental health and recovery, so basically, I must write this as if my life depends on it. /hj And honestly, I noticed that as well after he pointed it out, and recovery is my number one priority in life anyway, so. Hope that’s reassuring enough for you guys that this fic will be finished in full, including all the additional stories, even if it takes 5 years or longer than that. I am one of those people who stick to the same main interest/fandom for a decade.

Anyway, let’s get to the actual status update:

I absolutely underestimated how much work it takes to finish the script, originally I wanted to continue writing when the script for Arc 1 is finished but hahaha that’s unfortunately not how that’s going to work out and I hate having to make people wait for ages (I am not that patient myself), but I wanted to be transparent about the current writing process 😊

Chapter 7 will come out still this month (June 2023), and I am very sure that I can guarantee that. But I recently discovered that I misinterpreted some aspects of MGR itself while watching the Japanese dub out of curiosity, and I am not satisfied anymore with the 2nd version of my script as I already said when I published Chapter 6, which the first 4 chapters were based on. Hence, I will have to edit (almost) all of them, but thankfully it’s really minor changes and additions as well as some formatting, and none of these changes affects the story so far. But if you want to, you can read them again from the beginning once Chapter 7 goes online. I will delete this announcement then and move some of the info here to the author comment section at the end of Chapter 7. With the addition of the prequel I Come With Knives, Sam got an entire backstory now that did not exist in the 2nd version of the script and it affects the story very positively. It makes it a lot more complex, a lot more consistent and a lot more enjoyable for me to write and (hopefully) also a lot more enjoyable for you guys to read. The downside is, that with the 3rd version of the script, all the additional stories also came and the ‘lore’ of Sing to Me became very fucking massive – I am not joking when I say this is nearly as complex as the Solid series – and that makes the development of the script a little more ‘difficult’. I am not a perfectionist, but my brain is only satisfied when things make sense. I have 29 script files at this point and they will become even more (but at least it’s very organised). Not that I cannot handle it, but at this point I have a small development team who help me with research and discussing ideas, giving me feedback etc. I am just a tiny bit insane about this project but in the best way possible (One of my mutuals even joked that I am a fusion of Hideo Kojima and Rohan Kishibe when it comes to being an author lmao). Honestly, another reason I decided to rework my script is also the fact that it focused too much on Raiden and too little on Sam in the first and second versions. And I think there’s enough focus on Raiden already everywhere else (not that that’s a bad thing), but Sam deserves as much attention as Raiden does – and during the 3rd script development I was sometimes scared that it would now be imbalanced in the other direction, where the focus lies too much on Sam lol. But thankfully that didn’t happen, it’s pretty 50-50. Also, I am sure that even 75 chapters won’t come close to how long this fic will be, like, at this point I believe 100-125 chapters is more realistic but who the fuck knows. I know this is insane. I am enjoying every bit of it <3

Long story short, the two paragraphs above explain why I couldn’t get back to my insane writing speed from January in which I legit wrote 5 chapters in a single month yet. But hopefully, I might get that speed back as soon as I finished the preparations that need to be done for me to continue. However, I’ll also go back to vocational school sometime around August and I’ll have to see how I manage my studies and writing together. Also, dragonfly1212 asked me a while ago that due to the amount of research that I am doing for this story if I would share it eventually, and he’s got a point. My plan is to probably make a tumblr side blog where I will share all the lore over time, as well as reference sheets, character information, inspiration, etc. Drawings I commissioned as well as ‘fanart’, playlists, and fic updates. With the amount of detail and complexity this fic project has, a ‘wiki’ certainly would help I guess lol. Since it’s unrealistic for me to finish the entire Arc 1 script as fast as I’d like to, I will do this in smaller steps instead. As for now, I have nearly finished the fine-tuned scripts for Chapter 7 until Chapter 13, which will finalise the first smaller arc of Arc 1 :D Chapter 13 is probably going to be my next favourite one to write after Chapters 5 and 6, but the fine-tuned script for it is already 8 pages long and it doesn’t make sense to split it up because it would kill the tension if I were to do that. I hope that it will NOT be extremely long, but I am afraid I will have to ‘assault’ you guys with a chapter that’s going to be over 10k words long. Oh well, please don’t hate me. With Chapter 13 this fic will also officially move its rating from Mature to Explicit. If you’re somebody who does not like to read sexually explicit scenes though, I already decided that chapters with such scenes, first of all, will not solely consist of that alone, and secondly, I will also give a marking/note in the top author comment above such chapters where it starts and where it ends, so you can CTRL/Cmd + F and skip over those. I am not sure yet how, but I might use symbols for that as well, so it’s easier to skip, especially for those of you who prefer to read on mobile devices (I am one of those people myself). Also, it’s unlikely that there will be a lot of such scenes in this story anyway, at least in proportion to the length. I care a little bit more about the plot and the drama hahaha.

Community Discord Y/N? Additionally, I’ve been asked now by 3 different people if there’s a discord server about this fic. I didn’t think people would be so curious or interested in my creative work that people would ask if there’s a server lmao but honestly? If there’s enough interest, then I might make one – and please give me feedback if you’d be interested in joining such a community. In the case I might make a discord server though, it would not be exclusively about Samuraiden, Metal Gear or any ship or fandom in particular, and not just Sing to Me, although the main focus would still be on this project. I thought, if anything, it would be a small creative exchange between artists and authors or just people who enjoy reading this story and want to talk to me about it or others as well. This server then would also have an additional corner for you to share your own creative work, be that art, writing, or any other form of artistic expression, and it doesn’t have to be fandom-specific or fanwork at all, it can be original as well. I thought that I may also use such a server to help and support other authors and artists, and maybe give feedback on other people’s stuff when I have the time and energy to do so. Additionally, I could use that server to give updates on the progress of the fic overall, which is a lot better than inappropriately using AO3 like I am doing it right now. This will be the only time I will make an announcement like this anyway.

I’ve otherwise made such announcements already on my social media accounts before, but I haven’t had them linked in my AO3 profile until recently either. You can find me here: Twitter: R3DR4G3dotEXE tumblr: R3DR4G3 Instagram: R3DR4G3.exe Carrd: R3DR4G3 Discord ID: R3DR4G3#3952 (Yes, if you read my fic of course you can add me, I’d love to chat!) Anyway! Thanks for reading, I am sorry that this isn’t Chapter 7 yet and I hope to see you guys soon! ;^;

[jcmarchi]

Spoiling The Game Awards Winners Of 2025

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/spoiling-the-game-awards-winners-of-2025/

Spoiling The Game Awards Winners Of 2025

Happy New Year! Now that 2024 is here, it’s time to push it the hell out of the way and look ahead to 2025. At least, that’s what it feels like the game industry is increasingly saying I should do. A number of recently revealed titles have been slapped with 2025 release windows, so I can’t help but wonder how next year will shape up and, most importantly, what the awards seasons will look like.  

There are still hundreds of games yet to fill the 2025 release calendar, but let’s pretend they won’t exist. Let’s say 95% of the game industry collectively decided to take a year off. Making games is obscenely hard, and to avoid crunch, everyone decided to take some well-deserved (and well-compensated) R&R, so these seven titles are the only ones to launch in 2025. What’s Game Awards host Geoff Keighley to do come December? Continue the show anyway; those trophies aren’t going to award themselves. 

To save yourself three hours of cringy celebrity presenters and Genshin Impact commercials, I’ve taken the liberty of spoiling the event here. Be sure to check back next December to see how right I am. 

Monster Hunter Wilds – Game Awards: Best Role-Playing Game

Capcom’s tentpole games tend to do well for themselves during awards season, and people love huntin’ monsters. Wilds’ spiritual predecessor, Monster Hunter: World, nabbed Best RPG at the 2018 TGAs. Unless Bethesda hits The Elder Scrolls VI’s music, and it makes a surprise run-in to clean house like Stone Cold Steve Austin, let’s just tape the same award under Capcom’s seat before they arrive. 

Big Walk – Game Award: Games for Impact

Developer House House’s follow-up to Untitled Goose Game makes my soul smile. It will likely do the same to everyone who plays it, and if someone has the foresight to get it into the hands of politicians, 2025 will be the year humanity achieves world peace. I think that qualifies it for the Games for Impact award. Big Walk likely has a deeper message hidden amongst its delightful nonsense; as a co-op game, it’s probably the power of friendship or something. 

Pony Island 2: Panda Circus – Game Award: Best Content Creator

I have no idea what to make of Pony Island 2, and I’ve played all of Daniel Mullens’ games. No matter how incomprehensible his work may seem, there’s no denying that he creates fascinating content; sounds like he’s a shoo-in for Best Content Creator! At least pre-show host Sydnee Goodman can finally read a creator’s name that doesn’t make her sound like she’s speaking in tongues. 

Usual June – Game Award: Best Independent Game

Usual June is a neat-looking indie game from a quality developer in Finji, but they will not be making an acceptance speech. At the end of the day, it’s an indie game. Unless Hideo Kojima falls into an open manhole on the way to the Peacock Theater, Geoff simply will not have the time to let Finji bask in the glow of a Game Award victory. Plus, he’s gotta make room for whichever Muppet hasn’t appeared on the show yet. Expect a deluge of angry opinion articles about how Geoff disrespected Finji so that he could play an awkward game of live charades with Scooter. 

Mouse – Game Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Shooter

We all laughed when Activision said Call of Duy was taking a two-year break after Modern Warfare III to reinvigorate itself (let me dream, damn it), but the joke’s on us two years later. COD’s absence leaves Mouse as 2025’s break-out shooter. A good awards show needs a bit of controversy, though, so someone will inevitably point out that the game is inspired by a problematic period of animation, making it the spiciest winner of the event.   

Crimson Desert – Game Award: Snubbed!

Oh snap, Crimson Desert might be coming out in 2025 now? But we already gave the Best RPG trophy to Monster Hunter. Well, this is awkward. Crimson Desert also looks pretty ambitious, but Grand Theft Auto VI has filled the “super mega game” quota. Since Pearl Abyss’ promising RPG epic joined the ‘25 party so late, and because one of the biggest stories of any awards show is how a deserving nominee won diddly squat, let’s say Crimson Desert does its best Marvel’s Spider-Man impression and enjoys a night of consistent disappointment. 

Grand Theft Auto VI – Game Awards: Yes

Let’s be real; we all know GTA VI will be collecting Game Awards trophies like Thanos collecting Infinity Stones. That’s because the hotly anticipated game will not only live up to every sky-high fan expectation – no matter how unrealistic – but also surpass them. Did you see the hair physics on that one lady in the trailer? It will be the “everything” video game. 

Expect Geoff to unfurl a six-foot-long scroll to breathlessly recite every category in which Lucia and her male cohort fed its rivals to an alligator. Rockstar president Sam Houser and a fleet of designers will then materialize on stage as holograms broadcasted from Edinburgh, Scotland  (we all know Rockstar wouldn’t be caught dead attending this thing in person), to give an emotional speech. Rockstar will also insist it provides its own “Please Wrap It Up” music in the form of a carefully curated licensed song. Let’s just say it’s Cardi B’s “WAP” because Rockstar is cool like that. Anyway, here’s a small sample of the awards Rockstar is taking: 

Game of the Year – GTA VI

Player’s Choice – GTA VI

Best Game Direction – GTA VI

Best Sports/Racing Game – GTA VI 

Best Narrative – GTA VI

Best (Crime) Family Game – GTA VI

Best Score & Music – GTA VI

Best Sim/Strategy – GTA VI

Best Performance – Lawerence “Florida Joker” Sullivan as Leonidas Joker – GTA VI

Best Adaptation (of Florida) – GTA VI

Best Ongoing Game – GTA VI 

Best eSport – GTA VI

Best Multiplayer prested by [INSERT MONEYBAGS SPONSOR] – GTA VI

Games For Economical Impact – GTA VI

Most Anticipated Game – GTA VI (On PC)

[snarp]

Dream probably made up of notable figures from the last few Tumblr posts I encountered before falling asleep:

Me, Jadzia Dax, and the historical Hassan-i Sabbah are trying to bust the fourth member of our adventuring party, Spongebob Squarepants, out of federal custody. This is time-sensitive because - while Spongebob is currently being held in some shitty makeshift "alien holding cells" in an empty part of a Library of Congress basement that had to be emptied out due to moisture issues - federal agent Hideo Kojima is preparing to move him somewhere much more secure.

Due to the longstanding paranoia issues that led Kojima to take Spongebob into federal custody in the first place, he considers all three of our party members to be aliens, for reasons of varying validity. In my case, it is because I am a Dragon Age dwarf; Hassan-i Sabbah, because he has dyed his hair blue. ("No one expects a historical assassin to have blue hair.") Upon encountering a cosplay meetup, we decide to try to recruit them, in order to further confuse Kojima and overwhelm his understaffed operation.

This was my idea, but because my ideas in this narrative always fuck me over personally in some way, the organizer of the meetup turns out to be my longtime nemesis - The Duchess. While The Duchess hates Kojima for declaring HER an alien (she's maybe a vampire), and is thus very willing to help, the whole thing is just really awkward. She keeps licking me in an effort to create threatening UST, but that's extremely not my thing, so she just gets mad that I don't react correctly. (Plus she's always wearing Chanel No 5 which just reminds me of, like, my great-aunt.) I feel like Dax is better-equipped to handle The Duchess.

...Dax and The Duchess were herding the other cosplayers through the Madison Building metal detectors when I woke up. On reflection, I think that wasn't really Kojima. That was one of his failed clones. It was a Metal Gear joke. We should have gone on Twitter and asked the real Kojima for help.

[francostrider]

‘The Last of Us’ Was Not the First of Anything

With The Last of Us the Game the Series released, the conversation of whether or not this is the greatest game that ever gamed has come up once again. Its position was called into question due to the mixed reaction of its sequel in 2020, and while it still had defenders, people were a lot more open to discussing the original’s flaws. But there are still those who call it the greatest game ever, and award shows (a cancer upon entertainment) love to push that narrative.

As I maintain, this is subjective, and declaring anything the greatest is a shallow viewpoint of any medium and only serves to invalidate the whole rainbow of other works that are, ultimately, not comparable. The sequel was incredibly divisive for that simple fact. You cannot compare The Last of Us, a cover shooter with some expensive cutscenes, to more complex RPGs like Divinity Original Sin 2, or high octane action games like Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, or investigative titles like The Return of the Obra Din. Comparing them is like comparing a lawn mower to a cookie tray. I have not played The Last of Us, and while it may be a competently made game, it holds zero value to me. I’ve heard the praise (the cutscenes), and the criticisms (Ellie not being a factor in gameplay, gameplay is pretty derivative, etc.), but I’m not going to rip into it because it’s not part of the my world.

And fans of TLOU, don’t take that personally. Final Fantasy VII Remake also holds no value to me. As does Lisa: The Painful RPG, most Final Fantasy, Valkyrie Profile, Call of Duty, Fortnite or a lot of other popular franchises of today. I am occasionally surprised by something out of my usual repetiore, like Dawn of War, but with my limited time, I want to put my time to something I am interested in, and I’m well past the point of caring about hype. The games I criticize are the ones I wanted to care about (Fire Emblem Fates) and wanted to do better.

But let’s make something clear: The Last of Us was not a first on any given level.

We all know the meme of someone on Twitter saying that Video Games have been nothing but coin crunchers until TLOU. From my research the “showrunner” quoted (who had been left anonymous) does not exist, and the post was a joke to anger people. But I have gotten into arguments with people who claimed that The Last of Us was the first to be really “narrative focused”. Sadly, this was not the only example.

And, say, aren’t we forgetting a few? If you want to go back to narrative driven games, the earliest I can think of are adventure games, like the Monkey Island series. You know, back in the 80s, early 90s. RPGs (both western and Japanese), have been playing with dialogue and settings and character arcs since the NES days. But the one that comes to mind for myself is a little old game on the PS1 by Hideo Kojima.

Metal Gear Solid for a lot of people (including myself) was the first to put a lot of effort into its cutscenes. Not only that, but it was the first I played to put the voice talent onto center stage. When introduced to a new character, you are given the name of the character and the name of the voice actor behind it. As a kid, I did not think of the voice talent much before that game. Kojima not only wanted you to know the characters and their story, but the voices behind them.

On the shoulder of that game, you have Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I was more aware of the voice talent coming into this game, but there are some significant details that marry gameplay with the story. Raziel is a fallen vampire, turned soul devouring lich. The bones were torn from his wings and he was cast into an abyss, killing him before an ancient being brings him back. In this form, he needs to devour souls to maintain himself in the living world, or else be forced back into the spectral realm. His torn wings can be used as an impromptu parachute to glide. Devouring greater vampires leads to new powers to allow him to progress further. The vampires need to be killed in specific ways, like water or fire.

The point is Soul Reaver matches the gameplay and story with very little segregation. You feel the world and Raziel’s character in ways most games neglect. There is no forgetting the narrative during its gamplay. This is not the only example of this, but it is one that will always stand out in my mind. And this was all the way back in 1999. This is a classic example of a narrative driven game.

The Last of Us was basically a logical next step of the trends of the time: cover based shooting, refinement of cutscenes and voice work, graphical touches, and so on. It did not break trends or set them. Spec Ops: The Line is very often compared to TLOU, and that came out the year prior, specifically to deconstruct the modern military genre of shooters. We’d seen zombies before, we’d seen main characters fall apart, we’d seen character arcs and we’d seen some real downers up to that point.

This is not to say you cannot enjoy The Last of Us or that the game itself is toxic. By all means, have fun. But what is toxic is the narrative surrounding it. Calling it the greatest does nothing for the gaming industry except decide an arbitrary standard (like the Oscars) of which games are worth looking at. It decrees that only when you’ve worked your animation staff to death will you draw the greater collective’s attention. It implies that every other kind of game is a waste of time. It erases gaming history for the sake of Oscar fueled spectacle.

And most of all, it harms the legacy of The Last of Us itself. This myopic, elitist attitude toward gaming does nothing for a game about the desperate and downtrodden. Because the buzz and hype has become so important to the game, it muddies the message. We do not live in a vacuum: Timing and exposure of a piece is important. One of these days, we’re going to look back on this game more soberly and call into question the culture around it.

Maybe we can finally quit this Oscar bait nonsense and spread the attention around. That would be a first.

[armadilloroll]

I had a chat a month or so ago with a friend about directors of videogames and how the audience would respond to seeing them in-game.

Sam Lake gets a standing ovation. Everyone wants to have a new spin-off with not! Max Payne - Alex Casey, actually. Can we get more of this guy, please? Immediate concern if anything happens to him. Like CASEY ARE YOU OKAY PLEASE BE OKAY. I won't lie. In that one scene where Casey was out in the woods, I ran without any bullets for the shotgun to go make sure that he was all right. Like, I'LL FISTY-CUFFS. I'LL DO IT FOR CASEY!

I wondered what other directors could elicit a response. So, here's the general vibe ... some came up with my friend and some on my own...

Hideo Kojima could show up in his own game. He'd either be an NPC named Hideo Kojima and just IS Hideo Kojima as much as Hideo Kojima could make himself. Or he'd be a secret boss with the wackiest mechanics ever for no reason other than "I couldn't put this in the game so wanted to put them somewhere." And his team going, "We thought he was joking."

Yoko Taro could show up as a secret boss. Fighting him would wipe out every single save and inability to play the game for at least 10 days. However, get a very special achievement that'd be like, "Congrats. There will be no more sequels of this game." Or some shit. (laughs)

Shigeru Miyamoto would just want to be an NPC. He'd have a cute pun name and just be helpful and maybe give something nice if someone happened to find him in the game. Players probably would try to surround the character with dropped high-quality items. If possible.

Masashiro Sakurai could show up but only as an assist. Incredibly rare. 1% chance to drop. It immediately kills all enemy characters. The line: "Never ask me for anything again." comes up. He is never seen again. This is seen only in YT due to the rarity but generally, a good time is had.

Todd Howard and Ed Boon have the same feelings for me. Neither one would want to be in their own games. They really feel like they just appreciate it and have no desire to be part of the world like they see that shit and go like, "Actually, I'm good not putting myself there, thanks." Knowing full well what players would do to them if they were in the game even as an NPC.

David Cage's character would be killed on sight regardless if it was possible or not; if it brought about a bad ending or not; if it soft-locked the game or not. Immediate mockery would be had.

[acruelerdonut]

“America isn't dead yet.”

“We need to reconnect America!”

“America needs you!”

[nihilnovisubsole]

@tobbycat replied to your post:

i follow so many arknights blogs at this point i didnt even realize it was you

the greatest tragedy of arknights is how good it is. it's been my go-to "keep me entertained while i exercise" game for months now. [standard warning still applies: it is a gacha game, so if gambling gives you trouble, i wouldn't recommend it. it's easy for me to avoid the slot mechanic for months at a time and only pull when there's a character i really want. know yourself.]

why?

the worldbuilding. arknights takes everything but the kitchen sink, throws it in hideo kojima's blender, and adds magical tech. i mean, i compare it to death stranding and metal gear solid as a joke, but i see a clear influence on both its writing and visuals. you've got reluctant soldiers fighting for the cure for a nano-disease. you've got a world marred by natural disasters, unethical science, and old wars. you also have dragons, eldritch stuff going on in the ocean, masquerade balls, and knight tournaments as a corporate-tainted sport. every corner of every country has something to dig into. half the fun of the story is seeing what they'll chuck in next.

despite what i said earlier about it being a gacha game, it's easy to stay free-to-play. i've never spent a cent on it. you earn the slot machine currency through ingame activities, and i'm told the odds are more generous than most others of its kind. [in fact, the game allows you to buy high-end characters outright with another free currency, which removes the gambling element.] if you're willing to save and be patient, you can still rack up a very comfortable roster of very powerful teammates.

but you don't have to. most of the game's stages are beatable with common, low-end squaddies, and if they're not, you're allowed to borrow a unit from the community. game articles tend to cite this as one of its biggest strengths. it feels like it wants you to win. the most punishing content is optional.

and, since it's me, the clothes. you can tell the artists are fashion nerds, because while most characters' clothes are fanciful, they look wearable. cosplayers say they're more comfortable than other costumes from that genre, and they'll mash up several aesthetics at once with interesting results. [seriously, if you've ever wondered what "knight sportswear" looks like, check it out.] there's even a teammate who used to edit a fashion magazine, which is a funny, meta nod to the game's cosmetic skins.

the "people with animal ears" thing is a little goofy for me, but like, i've watched anime before. i know the drill. i have no idea what the fandom is like, and frankly, i'm content. all i know is that it's fun and the girls are my sailor moon friends

[mumble-muse]

PLEASE GUSH ABOUT THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

Welp, I've officially been asked and so I'm taking this permission and running with it.

To save y'all I'm gonna hide this insanity below the cut. I am not an expert in any of these topics and I wrote this on my phone so apologies for any errors!:

This is structured around some nonsense essay titles I made up in about five seconds, but actually turned out to cover most of what I love about this film <3

The essential duality of hero and villian in Lego Batman

So first to address what Hideo Kojima says here (I can't believe I just wrote that...)

So one of the main themes/story beats of Lego Batman is that Batman is a hero who looks and acts a lot Iike a villian both in the context of the film and throughout his canon.

This is both true of his appearance and his arrogance and rejection of teamwork/asking for help and human connection.

In the film this is contrasted with Joker who is a villian, but desperate for human connection, good at teamwork/asking for help, less visually scary, and actually a big softie to many important people in his life (see Harley and Batman).

Both characters are explicitly called out about this contradiction by Phyllis the gatekeeper of the phantom zone who questions whether Joker is really evil enough for super jail and Batman good enough to be a hero.

For example, late in the film Joker demonstrates his explicitly ambiguous villainy by helping save the day by encouraging the Gotham villians to join the efforts to rejoin the city (literally and figuratively 😉)

As is pointed out in the tweet linked, both of their hero and villainy is largely in relation to each other. Batman is only a hero in relation to the Joker who is in turn classified as a villian. Both Batman and Joker are definitionally incomplete and aimless without each other.

Added to this are the bad guys from the phantom zone who are framed as evil, and truly evil in a way that the Joker is not, but Batman might be due to his treatment of others.

Each of these villians are spurred to action by the Joker by him invoking their corresponding heroes - as these essential opponents with whom each bad guy has a similar relationship. In this way the villian/hero dyad is reinforced.

And as Hideo Kojima says "They are more than rivals, they are inevitable." Like...

So we are left with the question of what defines heroism and villainy? For Lego Batman a lot of the answer lies in our relationships and relations with others and our community.

60 years of canon: making a 21st Century Batman film

Okay so as a reward for reading this far, I will tell you a badly kept secret. I freaking love superheroes and Batman in particular. I've read enough comics and seen enough films etc to get the majority of the in-jokes and references in this film (and there a crap tonne). Those are my qualifications for the following statements:

I firmly believe this is one of the best portrayals of Batman and Bruce Wayne in all Batman media. Just... somehow this dumb movie just got him perfectly.

Somehow it captures both the inherent comedy of Batman, and also the angst and the drama of Batman.

Somehow also manages to be one of my fav Dick Graysons and Alfreds. Parenting your troubled child, anyone?

So Lego Batman is in the same universe as the Lego movies.

I absolutely love how they integrate references to the comics, to the shows, to the movies, to Batman's rogues gallery etc, and I think in a way that isn't too alienating to newbies and just super fun as fan. Condiment Man! The Penguin and his penguins! Catwoman hacking and saying "Meow Meow"!

References the big classic gotchas of Batman on a loving way, rather than in a needly way! Yes, why is crime so high?

Batman hating Superman in a very dumb fun way is my favourite trope in Batman media, just after Batman and Superman being in love 😘

How to write a multiverse: the case of Lego Batman

It integrates the world rules of The Lego Movie i.e. this world takes place on a literal table, probably in the same basement.

This manifests in the climax but also throughout! In the first act bomb threat, the phantom zone villains, and just... Will Arnett Batman!

Batman is still a Master Builder! It's blink and you miss it, but it's an element in the climax and throughout.

So it's kinda fun if you're familiar with the other movies and the wider multiverse, but it really doesn't ruin anything if you aren't.

Just a refreshing approach in this world of multi-film tie-ins!

The music slaps!!!!!!!!!!!

Who's the (Bat) Man?: The music of Lego Batman

The Batman intro song? Amazing. Literally a joke a second.

Super fun pop songs!!!!!!

The song that plays when Batman looks at Barbara lolololol

The busby berkley style number at the end??? iconic!!!! The message you're left with being "Friends are family"????????

Animation in the 21st century: the case study of Lego Batman

The animation is sooooooooo coool!!!!

So there has been this general trend towards realism in CGI animation which is... okay... It's pretty technically cool, but for lots of people who love animation it can result in a loss in terms of what makes animation a great medium in of itself - for me this looks like experimentation with motion, colour, shape, and style!

Lord and Miller (the producers of this film) have also been involved with some of my favourite animated films of the last decade - for example, the Cloudy with a Chance series and Into the Spiderverse. I don't know if that's a conscious thing on their part (could google, but this is already too serious without extra research lol), but essentially if they're involved in an animated film I'm gonna be confident I'm gonna love the animation.

This film is brightly coloured, deeply silly, and a film that is firmly rooted in it's medium.

Obviously everything is lego shaped but the way they use that!! Sometimes you forget they are little lego people, but sometimes they hit you over the head with it! With stop-motion sytle! With little visual jokes! With their little lego arms!

Everything is so shaped!!!!

Bromance, clostedness and the homoerotic in Lego Batman

TL;DR Batman and the Joker are gay for each other.

Okay so one of the central conflicts of this film is that the Joker wants Batman to tell him that he values their relationship. And when Batman refuses he makes the face in the gif above...

Like damn dude, that is one sad lil guy

Joker spends the rest of the movie trying to make Batman say the Joker has an important and meaningful place in his life and acts very divorced until he does.

Obviousssllllllyyyyy this is not necessarily inherently homoerotic or romantic... but also... fellas...

The resolution of the film is Batman admitting that the Joker is special to him and affirming his value. 🥺🥺🥺

There is a lot to say about Batman's performance of hypermasculinity, including the way he pushes away all discussion of emotions and relationships. This is strongly contrasted with Joker's more queer-coded characterisation and Robin's actively camp portrayal. However, the resolution of the film is partially driven by Batman finding a place for both the Joker and Robin in his heart and life, and allowing himself to relax his performance of solitary toxic masculinity.

Arguably the film is leaning towards Barbara/Batman as a romantic pairing but ultimately they end up as like a friend dynamic which is honestly kinda lovely.

One of my fav reoccuring jokes is that Batman and Bruce Wayne are "roommates" and are co-parenting Dick/Robin. Like it's not a joke that Robin maybe has two dads, but that Batman is so reluctant to open up to people he'll lie about his identity to such an extent. Also Robin is just soooooooo psyched about having two dads! (see gif below and my final lil rant).

Found family, generational trauma and fatherhood in Lego Batman

Oh look, it's tumblr's favourite trope! Who doesn't love a bit of found family? Batman canon has a very strong history of this trope which is largely absent from the live action films (which i am so cool and chill about of course)

As mentioned, Robin thinks he has two dads for like half the film and is so stoked!!!! He loves his new family deeply, completely, and immediately.

Alfred is Batman's dad!!!!!! And Batman is Alfred's son!!!!!!! And Robin is Alfred's grandson!!!!

Batman lost his parents to the violence he seeks to remedy and locks away his heart and rejects his friends and family out of fear of losing them to that violence too 😭😭😭😭

Padre! Papa! Dad!

Cuz friends are family!!!!

I realise this gets more and more incoherent as it goes on so I can only apologise hahahah. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Go watch Lego Batman!!!!!!