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alright time to immortalize myself on this thread

Hotline Miami 2's gameplay is better than that of the first game

"oh but the enemies snipe you from anywhere" yeah and then you go back up couple of seconds later, having more knowledge of the level and seeing more options to solve the level. It's a test of patience. If you stay calm throughout it all, you get the flow of the game and aren't deterred by the trial and error nature of the levels. The enemy AI is questionable, but their reaction to seeing your character is predictable and that alone makes the massive amount of windows a net positive to the gameplay. The original game is difficult by itself, but easy compared to the second, you can rambo through the vast majority of the game without issues, whilst the second requires you to work strategically but also as fast as possible

The critique against HM2 isn't even "I've got skill issues", it's rather "I am impatient"

The only level that doesn't apply to is the extra level, Ruins. Man. That level is really, absolutely, not designed with Evan in mind. It's fine if you decide to go berserk mode by the last room, but if you don't want that, it's just a very frustrating mess

Also, bro just let the games be. The two games are a wonderful narrative, we don't need a third game, not everything needs to be sequelized non-stop
 
Alright, time for another round of me shitting on a game I've never played.

Spookys Jumpscare Mansion is not a good horror game. Now, there are several asterisks to this. First of all, I am only talking about the base game. Endless Mode is really challenging and stressful. Karamari Hospital... well, it shares a lot of the same problem as the base game, but the visual design is really unnerving, and Hanged Man is pretty cool. Doll House poses a decent gameplay challenge, with one of the most genius moments in any game that is so good I won't even spoil it along with everything else. Second of all, I am only critiquing the gameplay. This game nails the setting, monster design, buildup, and music, with the best collection of death screens I've seen (outside of its sequels). That being said, lets list the gameplay experiences of each of the monsters, and see if you can understand why this game is bad at horror.

Specimen 2:Hold W
Specimen 3:Hold W
Specimen 4:Hold W
Specimen 5:Hold W
Specimen 6:Look behind you when he laughs
Specimen 7:Hold W
Old Specimen 8:Hold W
New Specimen 8:Ok, this one is pretty cool, but after you realize what is happening, all you have to do is keep close to it around walls
Specimen 9:TAKE THE DEAD TO TAKE THE DEAD TO TAKE THE DEAD TO TAKE THE DEAD TO
Specimen 10:Escort Mission
Specimen 11:Hold W
Specimen 12:The easiest game of hide and seek ever, then hold W
Specimen 13:Ok this one is actually pretty good. Technically, you could just camp until your HP is recovered, but at that point, I have to ask you why you are taking fun out of the games you play. Do you use cheats to give yourself diamonds in Minecraft? Do you look up spoilers for shows you watch? Do you play Basketball without an opposing team?
Specimen 9 (again):I don't think I've ever seen anyone get hit by this boss

As you can see, this game is very easy, and that is bad when you want people to be scared. This game nails every other aspect, but its really bad when the least scary part of your game is the actual chase.
 
D&D is not a good game. It is still a great experience, and the dice roll makes for some really funny moments, but in terms of pure gameplay, the decision to have the deciding factor to literally every action be luck is genuinely one of the worst decisions ever.
 
Cancel cult said:
D&D is not a good game. It is still a great experience, and the dice roll makes for some really funny moments, but in terms of pure gameplay, the decision to have the deciding factor to literally every action be luck is genuinely one of the worst decisions ever.
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I could've just gotten saddled with bad DMs who didn't know how to do engaging combat, my D&D "phase" was in a high school club after all, but it is absolutely a big part of the reason why I lost interest. Immersing myself in a setting built for me and a table of friends, building my own character with a backstory and bouncing off the others? Cool idea! And then we start rolling dice to beat imaginary people up and zzzzzz honk shoo mimimimi.
 
Adeleine said:
Gen 4 Creation Trio +1 in order of best design to worst:

Giratina-Altered
Arceus
Palkia-Origin = Dialga-Origin
Giratina-Origin
Dialga
Palkia

it'd be a lot to get into every reason but i'll take questions probably
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dialga at the near bottom of this list is a felony, i will not tolerate this slander

that said i wanna hear your reasoning for putting it there, because maybe i can learn a thing or two
 
War Incarnate said:
dialga at the near bottom of this list is a felony, i will not tolerate this slander

that said i wanna hear your reasoning for putting it there, because maybe i can learn a thing or two
Click to expand...
I generally think about good Pokemon designs in two categories. One category, that I generally (not always) consider better, is Pokemon that create depth with compelling interpretations. For me, a Pokemon like Giratina-Altered uses its design to create interesting questions about ideas like rebellion, destruction, and death. Its design is, ironically, bursting with life (in a literal and almost visceral sense) to me. Its neck and rings remind me of a spinal column and vertebral discs, and its clumsy, bulky form reminds me of a caterpillar or bagworm. Instead of normal demons and devils, it isn't something completely different to animal life, but something that was once an animal, maybe. Something that was exposed to outside dangers prematurely and suffered terribly, tearing away at its body until this spine and carcass wings were left. Maybe it's still a caterpillar and hasn't pupated yet because this raw damage stunted its growth. Maybe the damage could be healed.

The other category, that I generally consider weaker, is a Pokemon that executed a specific aesthetic choice very cleanly. Giratina-Origin is a very cool space evil ghost death bone dragon snake guy. But I do not get the same kinds of reads on it as I do about the Altered. Reads is intentional - I think there's other compelling interpretations, too, maybe something about dinosaurs and about something more. And maybe there's a compelling more artistic read on Giratina-O that I haven't found yet.

OK that was more than I expected to say about Pokemon that aren't Dialga.

I don't think Dialga base is a great design because I don't think it succeeds in either of these ends. I don't understand is aesthetically, I just see a fairly generic dragon body shape modified to better fit the Steel typing - given more rigid and defined limbs, given metal protrusions. I don't get how this schema relates to time, or, more broadly, what the point of this (and Dialga's visual choices more broadly) is. For reference, I did check its Bulbapedia origins page, which is like "Maybe a dinosaur idk. And its chest thing is kind of like clock hands." Eh. I also don't see a compelling narrative emerging from Dialga. It's a design echoing ferocity somewhat with its tall, rigid form and steely gaze, but also somewhat restrained. having that sort of Brontosaurus / Brachiosaurus situation of "Yes you are large, but how are you going to hurt me". I don't know what this design has to say about time or what other story it can construct. Maybe I'm missing it, same on the aesthetic front. Or maybe Dialga's design succeeds in some other way besides the two I've mentioned. But I don't see it.
 
yureion said:
(i get it, servers, copyrights, defunct companies, etc) but all games from a systems history (speaking like all nintendo/xbox/ps etc) should be available if nothing else digitally on said systems.
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I think the best way towards preservation is to explicitly allow emulation and piracy for games that are 10+ years old. Same thing should go for movies, shows, and all kinds of other media
 
Adeleine said:
I generally think about good Pokemon designs in two categories. One category, that I generally (not always) consider better, is Pokemon that create depth with compelling interpretations. For me, a Pokemon like Giratina-Altered uses its design to create interesting questions about ideas like rebellion, destruction, and death. Its design is, ironically, bursting with life (in a literal and almost visceral sense) to me. Its neck and rings remind me of a spinal column and vertebral discs, and its clumsy, bulky form reminds me of a caterpillar or bagworm. Instead of normal demons and devils, it isn't something completely different to animal life, but something that was once an animal, maybe. Something that was exposed to outside dangers prematurely and suffered terribly, tearing away at its body until this spine and carcass wings were left. Maybe it's still a caterpillar and hasn't pupated yet because this raw damage stunted its growth. Maybe the damage could be healed.

The other category, that I generally consider weaker, is a Pokemon that executed a specific aesthetic choice very cleanly. Giratina-Origin is a very cool space evil ghost death bone dragon snake guy. But I do not get the same kinds of reads on it as I do about the Altered. Reads is intentional - I think there's other compelling interpretations, too, maybe something about dinosaurs and about something more. And maybe there's a compelling more artistic read on Giratina-O that I haven't found yet.

OK that was more than I expected to say about Pokemon that aren't Dialga.

I don't think Dialga base is a great design because I don't think it succeeds in either of these ends. I don't understand is aesthetically, I just see a fairly generic dragon body shape modified to better fit the Steel typing - given more rigid and defined limbs, given metal protrusions. I don't get how this schema relates to time, or, more broadly, what the point of this (and Dialga's visual choices more broadly) is. For reference, I did check its Bulbapedia origins page, which is like "Maybe a dinosaur idk. And its chest thing is kind of like clock hands." Eh. I also don't see a compelling narrative emerging from Dialga. It's a design echoing ferocity somewhat with its tall, rigid form and steely gaze, but also somewhat restrained. having that sort of Brontosaurus / Brachiosaurus situation of "Yes you are large, but how are you going to hurt me". I don't know what this design has to say about time or what other story it can construct. Maybe I'm missing it, same on the aesthetic front. Or maybe Dialga's design succeeds in some other way besides the two I've mentioned. But I don't see it.
Click to expand...
This now has me thinking that Dialga could have been a lot better with the right palette swap instead of having a fairly similar shiny. Gold-coloured highlights instead of silver could work with both brass as the stereotypical metal for clockwork and cesium as the current definition of the second. Meanwhile, swapping out the diamond for a recognizable variety of quartz like amethyst could reference how piezoelectric crystals are the core of most digital timers.
 
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