This meme in all its forms really annoys me, because all the item descriptions and NPC dialogues DO mean something, they often trace out very interesting background stories either in the text itself or from the placement of items, in an extremely natural and detailed form of environmental storytelling. There is no meaningless gibberish, people just blaze past and don't think about anything, and then complain they don't understand what's going on or that it's nonsensical. I watched a friend play Sekiro and it was so frustrating to watch him skip through basically every NPC's dialogue, and then he didn't know why he was doing anything he was doing!
It's just like, I play through Elden Ring and see the pinnacle of this art, telling stories in some cases with literally no words, just the placement of objects in space, knowing how much time, effort and creativity must have gone into the process and then people say "it's all just random, the people making this game are stupid and you're stupid for pretending there's any pattern".
Like, if you want a two-hour effort post just ask me about the foreshadowing of the Three Fingers throughout the course of the game.
I wonder how they internally rationalise their way of handling NPC questlines. I really dislike it because I almost never replay games in succession so if I miss something I cannot come across it until the next year or so when I possibly replay the game. Without a guide you are relying on either pure luck or obsessively scouring every nook and cranny both of which feel terrible. Worst part is when you miss out on boss fights because of this design.
It was somewhat bearable in Dark Souls but using the same system in Elden Ring means you are having to turn The Lands Between (huge tract of land) upside down to find a given NPC. It just feels like shit even after they added the map markers because I don't know if they can preemptively tell you where they are. I missed out of pretty much the whole story of the DLC because I was on autopilot and ended up killing Miquella's groupies.
I think part of it is trying to recreate the feeling of secret shit in games from the pre-internet era, but that just works a lot better with a shorter game tbh
The game is made to be sadistic. It is supposed to inspire feeling of loss and guilt. But then also randomly you will have cool experiences no one else understands. It is very artistic. Which is usually not what people want form video games
the game is not supposed to be sadistic, that's a ridiculous and wrong claim, but if videogames want to be art they need to let the player miss stuff. the greatest thing about from games is being able to feel lost.
It would normally. However miazki has made some statements about his love for poision swamps and giant women with out shoes. The vibes are informed by a specific kidna of masochism that lots of other games are not.
miazki has made some statements about his love for poision swamps
Welp, that explains Dark souls 3
Yeah, everything makes more and more sense when considered in totality unfortunately
This got me thinking: Masochism isn't really the opposite of sadism, right? Even if it was, putting the player in a masochistic position doesn't make the game or the devs sadistic. Much to think about.
I would call it the complement. Not the opposite but the same with an opposed chirality.
The games suck because the designer likes bad parts of games and has a fetish which means the games are good!
The games are good because a third bar makes all the regular gaming stuff more intresting. The game is artistic because it is about two nonbodies fighting over nothing in the middle of nowhere.
Souls fans will really interpret every flaw as a genius artistic flourish.
I didn't say that. I am saying we get poision swamps with big shoeless women in them for gooner reasons.
"the game is so good. it's meant to traumatize you. afterwards you should need therapy. you WILL be trauma bonded with other fans. you WILL jump when people tap you on the shoulder in public. you WILL be on at 3 three neurotropic medications god what i wouldn't give to play it for the first time again."
this is what souls fans sound like. i feel like yall are parodying yourselves at this point. no i have never played one of these nonsense games and never will
I mean I was already doing all of those things, so like, SoulsBorne games just feel like home for me.
I didn't say that was good. It is a intresting game flavor to have a disempowerment fantasy as opposed to the classic power fantasy. So that is good to exist in the gaming discourse
They keep trying to do more with NPC questlines, like actually direct the player or have them interact in anything more than dialog. It never gets finished, and winds up as cut content for data miners to find. Apparently there was a lady who was supposed to make it easier to find the mimic tear? I think?
Elden Ring was so fucking good. Clearly unfinished and like probably not half of what they actually wanted to make, but goddamn what a game
Gesture Learned: Grimbo's Flourish
It is said that this intricate gesture still holds great meaning to those who fled the Legion to the swamps of Vungosta, carrying their gods with them on their backs.
And I will spend 500 hours playing the same game all over again.
