AnasAbdin
JBB: An Artblog!
#extradirty
trying on a metaphor
JVL
Game of Thrones Daily
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sheepfilms
ojovivo
Claire Keane
Sade Olutola
Monterey Bay Aquarium
One Nice Bug Per Day
titsay
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izzy's playlists!
tannertan36
we're not kids anymore.
Discoholic 🪩
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@jefframbling
Rap name for a: Middle age white guy that may or may not hate minorities, talking to a camera over poorly mixed audio of old snes music about what’s killing the video game industry
Bigg Ru$$
Don't you sully the name of BI9 RUSS
Clustertruck
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what I like so much about Clustertruck. What I’m starting to realize is that it’s hitting a very satisfying loop that is very similar to Super Meat Boy. But I really like this thing a lot better than Super Meat Boy. Is it that Clustertruck is easier? Is it that Super Meat Boy gets too hard too fast? Is it that Super Meat Boy levels behave the exact same way no matter what, requiring a large amount of precision and muscle memory to complete a level? I am inclined to believe the latter.
I think my enjoyment of Clustertruck comes to the distilling of its concepts into this pitch (Yeah, I know it’s reductive to just call a game ‘x meets y’ but I think it helps me understand what I like about it): First-person Super Meat Boy meets chaos. Clustertruck levels are always set up the same way, but the physics of it don’t always react the same way. Sometimes everything goes completely awry, and you’re left scratching your head wondering if the level could have even been completed on that run. Sometimes the chaos is so nuts you just have to laugh at how it all played out and hope you were able to take advantage of it in some way. The physics and jumping react just a bit weirdly, occasionally I can do a sort-of skitch on the back of a truck and then launch myself higher in the air on a jump than I could otherwise. This has led me to learn how to complete this type of jump with some consistency. I don’t even know if this jump is technically a codified part of the game, but it works, so I use it.
While the chaos is part of what makes this game fun and funny, that’s probably where it diverges from Super Meat Boy. Where it is similar to SMB is in its rapid restarts and feeling of complete control and precision of your character. When a level goes completely sideways, a quick button press starts you over very quickly, and you’re off running again in an instant. I often don’t even let up from the ‘turbo’/run button as I’m doing this. I keep pressing up on my controller with the right trigger held down and GO! There’s always something very satisfying about this pace of restarting a level (besides Super Meat Boy, see also: Tony Hawk Pro Skater series), which also makes every game that should have this feeling sluggish or disappointing (Burnout Revenge comes to mind when I think of games that should load in on a restart much faster). On the subject of player control and precision, Clustertruck makes you feel like every movement is definitely the result of what you have done or didn’t do that led to your success or failure. It’s very rare that I complete a move and think, “Oh, I had that, the game did something funny there, must have broke” (which I’m realizing I feel like happens far too often now, which I don’t know if this is because I’m putting myself more along the edges of breaking a game these days, or if games are just generally less polished now). When I think I just completed a pristine jump and fall/fail, I realize what I did wrong. “Oh, I landed between two trucks, leading to my doom” or “Nope, that jump put me on the the hood of the truck, which is a tougher place to be or try to land” are common realizations I have when I’ve failed a level on the 12th, 22nd, or 32nd try. This kind of control is key to keeping a player attached fondly to this game considering the platforming/puzzle/fast-paced game play taking place.
While I’ve enjoyed the game immensely, I (literally) sorely need a better way to almost always be sprinting in the game. I’ve been largely using an Xbox 360 controller, and holding down the right trigger for so long has led to some RSI pain in the last few days, which is no good. This may have to do more with the controller not being ergonomically up to 2017 standards for this frenzied game play, but then again, I generally don’t have an issue with racing games with the same controller where I hold down the right trigger for long periods.
I got this game on Bundle Stars as part of the Indie Legends 6 Bundle, which is currently $3.49. I was in it just for Clustertruck (I had been targeting it for a sufficiently cheap price, and this did it), but it also includes Goat Simulator (which I think I’ve already had my fill of in a couple hours spent with it on iOS, but it’s a good time), The Final Station (I recall it being a grim FTL/Roguelike with slightly more narrative focus, so it’s something I want to check out eventually), Shadowrun: Dragonfall DX (I was originally interested in the Shadowrun reboot when it hit Kickstarter, so this is a nice bonus), I am Bread (seems like it’s QWOP but with bread? So also wacky like Goat Simulator), Chroma Squad (which I was not interested in until Waypoint’s Austin Walker brought it up in conversation related to Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle), among others. It’s a very good deal.
What made you want to be a writer Dan?
Reading game magazines all the time as a kid. I remember loving it when my mom would go to the grocery store, because I’d just hang out in the magazine aisle and flip through all of them. I’d bring a spiral notebook and write down all the codes I could before my mom finished shopping. Writing and talking about games for a living is pretty much all I ever wanted to do from about 9 years-old going forward.
I swear Ryckert is basically me if I had decided I wanted to write about games instead of getting into the idea of making them (which led instead to a more stable IT job in my home state). So....he's basically living 12-year-old Me's fantasy life.
Destiny Drinking Game (Don’t Try This At Home)
1. Drink every time your flying robot buddy has to scan something.
2. Chug if you have to fight off waves of enemies while your robot buddy is scanning.
3. Die of alcohol poisoning before you get off the Moon.
You'll be fall over drunk by the time you get off of Earth
Couple Monday Thoughts
Oh man, I'm just like Peter King! Now let me be insufferable. STONE RUINTEN, NO FINER IMPERIAL IPA GARBLE GARBLE GARBLE. Eh, I prefer Lake Erie Monster.
Thing 1: My wife and I helped a friend move this past weekend. They are moving from Clintonville to East of I-71. We noted in the neighborhood that there were actually a couple of nice houses in the area. Because we bought recently, we were curious what these houses were listed for. The nicest house on the block something like 1600 sqft, 3-4 bed, 2 bath, nice finishes throughout. It was listed for $99k. Now, mind you, we paid a ton more for a place in Clintonville where it's 3 bed, 1 bath, ~1000sqft. It's amazing the difference in location, and why I'm not really worried about long term housing prices in Clintonville (because I think it'll always be a good location). The internal classifieds listed a house for rent in Grove City for $1400. This price is about the same my wife and I estimate we could charge in rent on our house. However, in Grove City, this practically gets you a suburban McMansion. 3400 sqft, 4 bed, 3 bath, finished basement with wet bar, big yard, shed, and a half basketball court. That place would be cavernous compared to the house we bought, but would be so far from everything we like (and we've figured now Grove City is not really our cup of tea). Location price changes are nuts.
Thing 2: It gets reported this morning that Andy Dalton is signing an extension with Cincinnati for 6 years and $115 million. Everybody overreacts and freaks out about a league average guy getting "elite" money. This was the reported number and specifics are not out yet entirely. After everyone has a good tantrum over how ridiculous the original numbers sound (including myself), someone finally reports that guaranteed money is $17 million. That means less than 15% of the reported number would be guaranteed. It's nuts that there's such a stark difference in the total and guaranteed. It completely makes sense in the end, because Andy Dalton is league average. Now, having a steady, league average quarterback can be a nice advantage in some ways. Some teams have good QB's, but they're not able to stay healthy (Robert Griffin III). Some just have bad QB's (basically the bottom half of the league). The Bengals have an advantage that they have an overall good roster and just a decent QB, but he hasn't been hurt. So that means they're not worrying about injuries so much at that position, whereas the Cowboys mull signing Kitna every year Romo bangs up his shoulder, back, nose, toe, or whatever (I clearly know a lot about Romo </s>). So hopefully Dalton continues to earn his average salary and the Bengals can spend more on their star guys and make the other positions on the field better. If the $17 million number is accurate, perhaps Dalton and his agent are smart enough to realize what a good situation he's got in Cincinnati and took a team-friendly deal. This leaves the Bengals open to possibly dump Dalton if anything better comes along in the next several years.
There is a fair chance that if you're reading this post, your fridge--the most-used and largest appliance in your house--is screwing you. The refrigerator is as potent a symbol of American consumerist culture as you're likely to find, which is to say, it only makes sense if you don't really look at it very hard. It is, for many people, a waste of space, a waste of money, a drain on the environment, and an enabler of obesity.
Gawker article about fridges being TOO AMERICAN AND TOO LARGE! The comments are hilarious because the top comment suggests anybody without kids could do a few extra trips per week to the grocery store and live with less groceries.
Despite the fact that the comment writer was preaching to the choir in a sense (This is how my wife and I do our shopping. Every trip ends with an express checkout), it didn't take into account gas usage.
Some math around the idea of taking extra trips to the grocery store:
Comment suggested taking an extra 30 minutes a few times a week. Let's say 'a few' in this case is actually 2 extra trips per week. Per trip, perhaps 10 minutes of driving each way (and assume it's out of the way), so 20 minutes driving and 10 minutes shopping (shopping time may be low, I make very short trips on my own). This is 40 minutes driving, assume average speed is 30mph. You drive an extra 20 miles, which uses (spitballing this) around $2.50 of gas (assuming in the neighborhood of 30mpg, so you use 2/3 of a gallon). $2.50 per week extra * 52 weeks a year = $130 extra spent in gas per year for an extra 2 trips per week. Based on the article, let's say you save $100 with a newer or smaller (or both) refrigerator.
Based on the above math, the commenter has mostly lost the argument on multiple trips so that you waste less groceries must automatically be cheaper. Other comments got angry on behalf of busy parents and people in the suburbs (which makes sense, if you live more than a few miles away from a grocery store, it's not as convenient, so you should make less trips).
Of course, this then devolved into comments about suburbia being a waste, 'YOU DON'T KNOW ME's', and other kinds of mess. In the end, people all have their value systems and can choose what they want, but people will always argue that their way is automatically better.
That all said, I make 5-7 trips to a grocery store per week (often multiple stores per trip to get different things at each). I acknowledge that it uses extra gas (perhaps slightly less if I do it as part of driving home, although it's probably negligible with multiple stores less than a mile from me). I would also excuse the extra gas cost because going to the grocery store is a good way to get outside of the house for a bit (and could be an economical way to get out of the house, assuming you have a productive grocery trip don't just buy junk).
Guess I call this a thing I ramble on for a reason, this went all over the place.
Many of the other GB staff have T-Shirts. When are we going to see a "Team Brad" shirt?
I wanted to do one right after THE EVENT, but we didn’t settle on a design at the time and then it sort of fell by the wayside. If people are still interested I’d be down to revisit the idea. Are people still interested?
Sign me up for #hashtagteambrad
blazehedgehog replied to your post:How many Pogs have you owned?
You stack the pogs and then use a slammer to hit the stack. Whatever pogs land face down are yours to keep.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
I'm pretty sure Pogs got banned from my school because they decided it was a gambling game. All in all, I owned way more Pog nonsense than I had a right to when I never played the game as intended.
This is a Steal!
From the company classifieds:
40gb PS3 and 4 games ($280)
I am selling my 40gb PS3, power cord, two controllers, the charging cable for the controllers and the HDMI cord. I'm also including NCAA Football 14, NHL 14, MLB The Show 13 and College Hoops 2k8. This is a steal for this price so it's very firm. Contact me if interested.
Wha? Going rate for a 40GB PS3 seems to be about $150 on Amazon, NCAA and NHL are worth perhaps $70, MLB 13 maybe $20, and College Hoops 2k8 (released 6+ years ago!) apparently worth around $30 used. Add in a controller for maybe $30? This brings us to a generous $300, and it's a steal at this price instead of a slight discount? Not to mention that in general when you offer a bundle like this, you have to discount it some to account for the fact that people aren't going to be interested in every game you offer with it.
While it's far from some terrible classified transgression, I hate the way some sellers list a price as being a steal. If it's a steal of a price, it will sell very quickly, you hardly need to come out and declare it some crazy deal. Maybe this is just me being nitpicky because I've seen a ton of terrible classified listings and all I care about is the item, description, price, condition, and pictures.
Tumblr rant over!
Welp, this sucked yesterday
I submitted Super Drake Traker 2000 EX to the IGF. Well, kinda.
See, last year, french beach walking simulator Bientot L’ete was nominated for a Nuovo Award at the IGF. Frog Fractions, The Stanley Parable, and Thirty Flights of Loving were submitted, but did not get nominated.
Clearly, if I…
Turns out games are art, after all. Who knew?
Sometimes I find myself enjoying some really weird games-related nonsense, and it pains me that there isn't someone I can share this with in-person and receive the same kind of enthusiasm back for the appreciation for how silly it is. Perhaps it's a manifestation of how we all need to find our own Johnathan. I know what I must do now. I must embark on my Johnathan spirit quest.
Probably the silliest thing I've ever been bothered by
I discovered that my Twitter handle (@_jeffpatterson, follow now!) was blocked by one of my favorite sports writers Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell, follow him too! Except he has a low tolerance for snark aimed at him). I replied back at him regarding a story about Winamp shutting down.
His tweet:
Llama finally gets its revenge RT @verge: Winamp is shutting down after over 15 years http://t.co/UUwwTGFK3B
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell)
November 20, 2013
My reply:
@billbarnwell Third time I've heard the joke inside of 2 minutes since I first heard the story. Guess it's an easy, ubiquitous joke
— Jeff Patterson (@_jeffpatterson) November 20, 2013
He then apparently blocked me. I shouldn't care at all, but I'm still somehow bothered by it. I just want to see his Twitter feed, and now my account is screwed out of being able to follow it because of how blocking works on Twitter. Can't there just be some function that allows me to view the tweets in my timeline? My feed isn't complete without his quips during football Sundays, and I'm unwilling to start all over on Twitter (I've had the account 4-5 years now, I think?).
He's fielded a lot of mean people and mean responses on Twitter, so I get his short fuse to block people, I'm just annoyed that a reply that wasn't intended to insult him in any way got interpreted as a slight, and now I can't view his posts at all. So blech.
From the article, regarding the loss of custom soundtracks:
This is a hell of a thing to lose, and if a multiplatform release comes out that supports custom playlists on one console but not the other, that’s a serious selling point for many gamers. You can also forget about games like Audiosurf 2 that can use your own music; you’ll need to either pay for Sony’s proprietary solution or not use that feature if such games ever come to the PlayStation 4. That’s a massive bummer.
Ben Kuchera's particular complaint here is that it's a bummer we'll never be able to play Audiosurf 2 on PS4. Audiosurf is a series that has never seen a console release, I've never seen rumors about a console release, and there's no real reasonable expectation to see it have a console release. It's a real bummer we'll never be able to play that game on a console that was never going to be released there anyways.
In practice, at least for me, there's no loss in the PS4 not supporting audio CD's or MP3's. I haven't used a custom soundtrack on a game since perhaps Forza 2 on 360, and I never used it on PS3. I would say Kuchera is an edge case of somebody using the feature extensively, but there always seems to be a surprisingly large contingent of folks using systems in a very particular way. I fall into the weird camp that happens to use the PS3 as the primary streaming device for online video services, and also uses it to stream videos over my network with DLNA.
I just feel like this is all overblown. It sucks it won't be there, but enough people raised a fuss that we'll probably see it within a few months via a software patch. Then we can all finally go on with our lives in a world where the new consoles are out, we know what they are, and they react and listen to consumers when there's a missing feature.
God forbid a developer who put many hours into making a f2p game asks you to chip in some money to support them. Nope, just suck in all that juicy content for absolutely nothing. How pitiful of them. F2P is supposed to open up the barrier to new users who wouldn't have ever tried the game in the first place. When a person finds they like the game, then they can put money into it, which ends up being way less than 60 Bucks. If anything, charging that much is the disgusting thing
…OK? Thanks for the random lashing out, I guess?
I don't even know what this person's complaint is. Is he or she annoyed at people who play F2P games and then play them for free? Or is the annoyance around the idea that retail games and big releases continue to cost $60?
ohioans as soon as great lakes oktoberfest is available.
I agree, but it's hard to resist buying the GLBC Oktoberfest when it first came out in mid-August. But we're cool now, it's Oktoberfest time!
This shouldn't go on Facebook...
(Geek status)
It's interesting watching how Windows 8 prioritizes disk activity. I restarted my computer this morning and watched as Dropbox killed the disk for 15 minutes reindexing all my dropbox files, then Plex (media server) took it for a bit, then Steam finally took it to download an update to a game.
Conclusions? 1. That my 6-7 year old hard drives are probably not up to the task at keeping up with everything installed and 2. I'm using my computer to do too much
Some guy's super ticked about a simple comic suggesting a video game idea:
Whoever wrote this is an idiot. Who actually wants to encourage the things game companies do to suck money out of our pockets? When I saw the Skylanders thing with the toys, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What made it worse was that they put Spyo’s name on it and what makes it even -worse- is that people apparently -want- this. You people are what’s wrong with the game industry, you encourage these exploits. You buy the same games over and over and over and you fall for all the dumb tricks. Please, please, -please- grow some brains and don’t be idiots, for the love of Celestia.
Wow. I'm posting my comments here as there's no point in upsetting this person even more (or starting some type of stupid flame war), but man, this person is off.
I'll go over this line by line:
Who actually wants to encourage the things game companies do to suck money out of our pockets?
Who wants to encourage companies who found a successful business model for a line of toys which interact with a video game? I can understand this person's points to an extent, as the "collect them all" nature of Skylanders could lead to someone spending hundreds of dollars on the toys and accessories (see: Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb, although his obsession is some kind of professional compulsion he gets every now and then). I wouldn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a single game in this fashion myself, but power to Activision and the developers who came up with this. I like to see the video game industry do well, and I think it's a great success story for a new IP.
What made it worse was that they put Spyo’s name on it...
Spyro (I'll excuse the spelling error) is not the draw that he once was. If Spyro was still big, regular Spyro platformer games would still be made. That ship has sailed, and this was a fun way to bring back a once-loved character.
...and what makes it even -worse- is that people apparently -want- this. You people are what’s wrong with the game industry, you encourage these exploits. You buy the same games over and over and over and you fall for all the dumb tricks.
Success for Skylanders and the Call of Duty franchise means Activision can take a chance on new types of games (without Call of Duty's crazy success, maybe Skylanders doesn't get made? Although our intrepid commenter here might like that).
I don't think these people is what's wrong with the video game industry. What's generally wrong with the video game industry is that people are playing less games on consoles and dedicated portable gaming devices (see 3DS and Vita) and playing more on smart phones, iPhones, and iPads. I think people spending money on video game products for use on Wii/360/PS3/3DS/PC is just fine, and probably helps keep part of the games industry afloat for a while.
His "buying the same game over and over" comment was pretty great. He posts this on a site about Pokemon, which could be argued that it's essentially the same game from the late 90's with prettier graphics. And we're on what's essentially Pokemon 5 now, which in terms of the serialization of the series, is only slightly less egregious as the commenter sees something like Call of Duty (I kind of assume he's pointing the blame for this comment at Skylanders, Call of Duty, Madden, and other games which get released every year with new iterations).
I just think the dude needs to chill. It could also be argued that I should probably do the same (since it drove me to post this ridiculous rant on Tumblr), so I should probably shut myself up...
NEVER! YOU'LL NEVER SILENCE ME SUBCONSCIOUS! I CAN DEFEAT ANYTHING!
Ha ha, take that brain!
Now where was I? Oh yes, that's right, I was just not posting a rant in regards to a single comment on a Cheezburger site (pauses, reads) Oh no, what have I done?
