#game discourse
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You've probably seen this image. I've seen it many times. I have mixed feelings about it.
It's a funny image, and represents a good cause. It's usually posted by people who want to support fairer working conditions for game developers, and want to show support for smaller titles.
It's usually posted in contrast to something like Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs: Legion, The Last of Us: Part II, or God of War: Ragnarok.
There's a part of me that cringes every time I see it, though. I imagine there may be other game developers who feel similarly.
I think the reflexive cringe comes from the phrase "shorter games with worse graphics." People being paid more to work less sounds great, tbh, and barring any sort of production pipeline blocking, I think most devs would be into that.
These are the thoughts that fly through my mind when I hear people say "I want shorter games with worse graphics."
Short compared to what?
Shorter than Elden Ring? Shorter than Hollow Knight? Short like Venba? Short like Celeste? How short could a AAA game be before, even despite posting this phrase, you'd find it unsatisfying or incomplete? How short could an indie game be before you don't consider it a "real game"? Games can be anything from Ulysses to a haiku, but it rarely seems like people are talking about the haiku style of games.
What does "worse graphics" mean?
I just can't imagine a world where "worse graphics" could possibly correlate to Hi-Fi Rush, Undertale, Hollow Knight, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Celeste, Mario Odyssey, Wind Waker, A Short Hike, or Hades. Even though those are the types of games that I often see people use this meme in support of. Those games have incredible art that talented artists worked really really hard on. It feels like a bit of a sting to associate those beautiful games with the term "worse graphics." That phrasing, sadly, implies that photorealism is the bar by which all other games are compared.
Forever Games
Where do replayable games, like roguelikes, tycoons, crafting games, and farming sims land on the realm of "shorter games"? They're not inherently any shorter than a big AAA game, and they're designed to be replayable and to suck your time in. That can be great, but it also might be a treadmill that is not inherently any more honorable than a game trying to tell a linear story.
Are you really "not kidding"?
This meme has a very confident, smug energy and I think that tone invites this question: Do you REALLY want shorter games with worse graphics? I know this is going to depend on the individual lives of each human being who's ever reposted this meme, and it can never be truly answered, but it really begs the question of whether or not people REALLY DO WANT "shorter games with worse graphics." Because let me tell ya, there's a lot of shorter games with worse graphics right now and they ain't selling very well. Check the Steam reviews. Ask devs how many copies they sell on itch. There are many devs out there who make shorter games with worse graphics and no matter how many times people post this phrase, people don't seem to flock over to support those projects. And that sinking feeling of "oh, these folks don't mean the games that my friends and I post regularly on itch, they mean Hi-Fi Rush and Wind Waker" is a little bit demotivating, given the gusto with which this meme is posted. There are people whose whole careers hinge on the hope that there's an audience out there that wants "shorter games with worse graphics" and there doesn't seem to be an actual sea change that's helping those projects out. There is a treasure trove of games out on itch that you can play in between hyped releases, but most people's playing habits don't seem to shift.
Lastly...
...there are thousands of devs out there who work hard, collaborating with other devs and artists, to make their games the best they can be. Devs work hard to bring their artistic vision to God of War: Ragnarok or to Bomb Rush Cyberfunk or to experimental indies with intentionally-ragged art styles. Everyone is putting their heart into their art to make something that will connect with the player. Sometimes, this can be pulled off by 1 or 2 people. Sometimes, this will require hiring more onto the team. It's slightly dissonant to see people say they want to see "worse graphics" when you're trying to get a job in texturing or particle effects and want to deliver something your team is trying to push a boundary on. This is true in both small projects and big projects. Artists are putting their stamp on Horizon Forbidden West just as much as they're putting their stamp on Venba. There are artists looking for work in the indie space who want to make better and more beautiful "graphics."
Anyway, no disrespect to people who post this meme. I understand that it's a show of support and solidarity. I understand that it's just a joke. I know that it's not a big deal.
But I'd be lying if I said that these mixed feelings didn't flash through my mind every time I saw this hedgehog. Figured I would share them.
#gaming#indie games#game dev#gamedev#indie dev#i want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and i'm not kidding#game discourse#blogofkylelab
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honestly? bring back ugly games. low-res, 30fps, baked in lighting... id rather see that than have a game over 140gb of high-res 8k 'look at how realistic this man's pores are' textures everywhere
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Circle of protection against capitalism
#rpg#roleplaying games#D&D#fantasy#spell idea#the best part is when you post it it doubles as “summon discourse”
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listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded psychopath happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.
#seeing some discourse and im not saying lucy grey didnt know#im saying she never dropped the kind of hints that she knew like she did in the movie#or if she did snow isnt worried about them until he very suddenly is consumed by them#snow is not concerned about whether or not she believed him. of course she did! hes snow!#but then shes gone…. for a while……#and its the sudden immediate drastic unravelling that comes across so clearly in the book#that i knew wouldn’t translate to screen yet still cant help but miss#the hunger games#coriolanus snow#tbosas#lucy gray baird#not a crime or anything just a note that i cannot stop thinking about#the ballad of songbirds and snakes#this is all from memory of reading it quite a while ago. so maybe 3 pages is an exaggeration#but i remember it happening VERY quickly and without much external cause#like we as the reader have no indication as to whether shes nearby or not.#snow has no idea either. he just SUSPECTS. and his suspicion breeds the hatred that has been bubbling inside him all this time#he hates how she undoes him. he hates that he WOULD run away with her if shed let him keep his secrets#and he HATES more than anything that she makes him WANT to tell his secrets#he wants to be vulnerable and reveal the ugly nasty parts about himself and still be loved#but he does not let himself and it is everyone’s downfall#he chooses cruelty bc it is easy and familiar and makes him feel more powerful than the vulnerable give and take that real love requires
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“spider-man 2 was robbed” “the game awards are rigged” and only yuri lowenthal was brave enough to raise the discussion of would peter parker and astarion explore each other’s bodies in their respective action adventure/rpg narratives
#yes they would#i also thought ab how biting would factor in with Peter’s spider dna and decided astarion’s into it#if you think he’d react the way he did to gale’s blood then i GUESS that’s also fair#bring on the real discourse we should already know that bg3 and sm2 and every other nominee were fucking awesome#(but bg3 was probably my personal goty)#anyway yuri’s so real for this#peter parker#astarion#marvel’s spider-man 2#baldur’s gate 3#the game awards#yuri lowenthal#neil newbon
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frankly i think most of the hate for mcyt fans isn't even about dream anymore i think it's more like the internet version of when you're in middle school and the popular kids make fun of you for being a weird autistic loser to prove that they're one of the cool normal middle schoolers and not a weird autistic loser like you
#text#like at some point ppl cannot be conflaiting completel y unrelated youtubers bc they both play the same game. ... right...?#discourse
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a sapphic ask game for ur sapphic ask game needs
are you beating the uhaul allegations? (be honest.)
do you identify as butch, femme, masc, and/or gnc? or none of the above?
how did you realize you were sapphic?
who is/was your most intense sapphic crush?
do you consider yourself a dyke?
are you good at picking up on when people are flirting with you, or do you tend to be more oblivious?
have you ever crushed on a straight girl?
what's your relationship status? are you happy about it?
do you have a "type"? if so, what is it?
did you do anything gay as a kid that makes sense when you look back on your childhood?
what are some good sapphic songs/music artists?
good sapphic books/poems/authors?
good sapphic movies/shows?
list five things you look for in a partner, or five things you love about your current partner(s).
are you the gay cousin?
do you consider being sapphic a big part of your identity?
how many people have you dated? talk about them if you want!
thoughts on e-dating or long distance? have you ever done it? how did it go?
describe your fashion sense. do you "dress gayly"?
do you consider yourself to be a good kisser?
are you generally "out" to people?
how do you feel about valentine's day?
do you like being referred to with masculine adjectives, feminine adjectives, both, or neither?
thoughts on marriage?
have you ever gone to a pride parade?
do you read yuri manga?
do you fit any sapphic stereotypes / other stereotypes related to your identity?
what's a canon sapphic ship you enjoy?
how about a non-canon sapphic ship?
who's your favorite sapphic character?
LEAST favorite sapphic character?
tell a funny story about something really gay you've done.
do you get crushes/fall in love easily?
who's a sapphic person you look up to? they can be someone in your life, a historical figure, a celebrity, etc!
if you could tell your younger sapphic self anything, what would it be?
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"Guy who acts like you're personally oppressing them when you acknowledge the existence of tabletop RPGs that aren't Dungeons & Dragons" versus "guy who's like 'oh my god, just play a different game', but then their rec list consists exclusively of Dungeons & Dragons clones" – fight!
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Rhaenyra is more conservative soccer mom then Alicent EVER WAS.
The woman who says her baby boys are perfect no matter what versus the one that openly struggles with her relationship with her kids? The woman who actively punishes people around her for telling the TRUTH?
I’m so tired of Alicent being called a conservative simply because she’s religious.
#house of the dragon#hotd#game of thrones#alicent hightower#pro team green#got#anti rhaenyra targaryen#hotd discourse#anti targaryen#anti daemon targaryen#pro alicent hightower#team alicent#team green
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Am I ready to watch TBoSaS? YES
Am I ready for all the horrible takes from strangers on the internet that don’t understand the point of the story and the complexities of the characters??
No.
#I’m begging people to read all the books and critically engage with them before posting opinions online#if you don’t feel like reading them then just don’t get involved in any discourse#it’s fine to just consume media#but if you want to engage with it then do your research first#booklr#books#reading#thg#the hunger games#tbosas#the ballad of songbirds and snakes#katniss everdeen#peeta mellark#lucy gray baird#coriolanus snow#piml
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#house of the dragon#hotd#hotd spoilers#game of thrones#got#asoiaf#rhaenys#princess rhaenys#meleys#meleys the red queen#i seriously cannot get over the discourse on reddit#people are so upset that innocents are dying?#have you watched game of thrones ever?#stop being mad that team bad bitch is winning#it's pretend#team black#though i'm very glad they started humanizing the green fam
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I find it so painfully heartbreaking that Solomon just...laughs off all the derision, the name-calling, and possibly even did "evil" things on purpose because it's expected of him at this point. (He had not always been like this as Thirteen pointed out before). There was a time when he was "innocent". When his soul sparkled. When it resembled the kind of soul everyone in these god forsaken (pun intended with spite) three realms seemed to associate with the ever loved MC. He's just...worryingly carefree. And because he's like that, he feels even more of a tragic character to me.
Sometimes it even seems that he himself would seemingly make up excuses on why he's hated. Oh, it's because I'm a sorcerer this. I might have won a war against Devildom single-handedly this. I have forgotten. But maybe, I did something bad, that. Hon, you were doing that to SURVIVE. You don't have to be a faultless person to deserve compassion. You don't have to be MC to deserve to be loved.
#rant#the more i play and read about nb solomon the more it feels like he's a worst case scenario foil to MC#and it's ridiculous maybe to feel this way but seeing how everyone dotes on mc and just panders to them without question no matter#especially with meaner dialogues#make me dislike the mc to some extent#what good will raising up one character do in exchange of dehumanising another?#i couldn't put a finger on this feeling before#but i think that's also why im so burnt out with this game#the more everyone loves me as the mc the more it becomes so apparent how unfairly solomon was treated#and how everyone ESPECIALLY HIM just rolls with it#sweetie please be angry. please complain. please hate me in some way#but no he just keeps loving and supporting the mc#in game in fandom this man can't catch a break#wanna gatekeep him fr /s#this has just been brewing in my mind for a while. i don't really wanna hear discourse or arguments that's why i put it in the tags#I just need a place to vent my frustrations with this game#obey me#obey me nightbringer#obey me solomon#spoiler mention#he's imperfect and flawed as all humans are and he deserves to be loved irregardless
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other tes fans around me at any given time: so here's all the reasons why this particular elder scrolls game sucks and my preferred elder scrolls game is good. i have a long detailed list of reasons as to why Game 1 sucks and Game 2 is good. don't talk to me about Game 1 or I will derail every discussion about how you are dumb for liking it.
me, a silly little guy: oh boy i get to be in tamriel in this game :) i am having so much fun :) this is so great :)
#morrowind#oblivion#skyrim#elder scrolls online#i like them all#you can bet if i tried arena and daggerfall i'd like them too!#i get to be in tamriel :)#i am having so much fun :)#i am sure there are people like me who are just happy to be here#but man it's funny to watch discourse about tes break out in my gaming discord#and i sit there going I LIKE THEM ALL :)
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a very interesting (and endearing, at least to me) detail about jean's character is how he tends to fix himself during a confrontation. (long post ahead)
despite the fact he looks just fine, he does it to self-soothe more than anything, because he knows he has no control over the situation. so if he can't get through harry, at least he's in control of how he looks. and he can look BETTER, more put together than harry, so he makes sure to show him that. every time.
constantly readjusting, correcting, dusting himself off every time he's confronting his former partner because i think he has a severe inferiority complex (since harry outranks him and refuses to accept any promotion, which makes jean perpetually stuck as a satellite-officer, tied to a self-destructive man who's also good at what he does + harry has had a chance at a love that's so redeeming that he pictures her as the game's equivalent of God, a love that jean desperately yearns for so he hates harry for blowing it, and hates himself for never finding such a love despite the fact he's more put together than harry, or so he claims) that flares up every time harry's in the vicinity. i don't think jean has problems asserting himself when harry's not around, though. we've seen that here.
jean's perfectly capable of being authoritative, and has power over his colleagues, contrary to popular belief on this website. of course, provided harry's not there.
because he'll start slipping every time. his body language is also incredibly stiff, i'm assuming it's to seem like he's composed, but that falls apart when you notice how many times he struggles with his breathing, how many times he has to collect himself.
naturally, since kim also outranks him, jean behaves the same way with him although less emotional. he loses the spite, turns a little more submissive, though his pride doesn't completely disappear, like authority indicates. i also believe it's because kim didn't address him properly, therefore jean didn't feel the need to extend more than basic respect towards him.
it's very interesting to see, since he seems to have this ongoing inner conflict between his pride and his self-hatred. believing he's better than harry, yet crumbling at his presence. laying down and taking it, then suddenly revolting. being in control until the reason you're forced to take control shows up, then suddenly you're not in control anymore and you have to fix your hair and your tie and dust your suit and cough to look like you have your shit together. to prove that you're better. jean's trying to tell harry that he's BETTER than him! that's why he does all of that shit! he's terrified of ending up like that! he's even more terrified of the fact that despite being the mess he is, harry IS better than him! HELLO!
#lav thinks#he's so INTERESTING!!! i wish all jean discourse starters a very shut the fuck up#i've been seeing some shit takes abt him not having power over anyone/him never doing his job etc n it's sooooo tiring#like give it a rest idk play the game again w your eyes OPEN this time!#i love him he's so interesting.... sososo fascinating#jean vicquemare#disco elysium
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me and the besties finding this guy's address so we can go uninstall bg3 from his computer:
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I love three houses discourse because I'm pretty sure everyone just picks their route based on which house leader they're the most gay for and then tries to defend their pick by pointing out the other sides's war crimes via twitter memes. Reader, all four of them do substantial quantities of war crimes. So many. We're just here because the woman with Issues and a big fuck-off axe said so, and then we gotta justify everything she did in the name of dismantling the class system. I mean, I'm here for that, but you could also try justifying Charm Man uses poison and perfidy to try to stop racism, A Sad Little Meow Meow gives no quarter instead of doing therapy, or the Thicc Pope tries to bring back her mom via human experimentation, depending on your tastes
#This is 100% swinging at a hell of a hornet's nest#Do I tag it?#Yeah fuck it we ball#fe3h#fe16#edelgard von hresvelg#claude von riegan#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd#rhea fire emblem#I should probably clarify that I love all of these characters quite dearly#Well except Rhea#I think she's a good character but I'm not feral about her like Edelgard or charmed by her like Claude or desperate to save her like Dimitr#discourse#edelgard discourse#Edit: I actually don’t care about 3H discourse either way lol#there’s plenty of interesting shit to talk about in this game#also I get that the people who say “x did war crimes” actually don’t mean “this was bad because it violated the Geneva Convention”#but any time I see something about how many war crimes someone did (usually Edelgard or Dimitri) I just think:#“Hah it’s a war crime to deploy Cyril to rescue Flayn because he’s still 14 then”#also I got into this game because someone told me ‘so there’s a gal with an axe and trauma’ and I booted it up#and I have a friend who likes Rhea despite his moral reservations solely because ‘she’s hot tho’#and that’s also really funny#point is I don’t really wanna participate in most fe3h discourse cuz I have shit to do but this post isn’t meant to be a dunk on anyone#I’m not upset when I see it; it’s either funny or fine or sometimes right#I’m just gay for Edelgard and amused by the idea of applying the Geneva Convention to a world where it Clearly Isn’t A Thing
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