Having fun figuring out the designs of the evil robots.

6.3 Secrets of The Enclave

Just got done with the new flashpoint and I have some Opinions[tm]

Cut for spoilers so be warned...

Overall I enjoyed the story. However I came out of it feeling wanting. I had hoped for something meatier from this story but unfortunately it just felt like a flashpoint to nudge the progression a millimetre further. We knew that Malgus was going to do this for ages now and I had hoped that more could have been done to set up the story going forward. Still, for what it was, it was an enjoyable hour or so that I spent in the story mode. 

The characters were decent. While Malgus felt like a threat across the flashpoint, I had hoped we could get to battle him at least a bit. I think his over arching sense of fear would have been better preserved if the teaser SWTOR’s twitter shared didn’t have the line “I have broken my chains” which basically said ‘yeah he succeeds it makes no difference.’ so because that is technically spoiled, I had hoped for a fight at least.

Commander Golah was a fun villain in place of Malgus. Personally, I got some Indiana Jones villain vibes from him. It would have cool to have that amped up a bit further. But as a boss he was fun for what little we saw of him. Given that there is the option to kill or spare him, I figure he isn’t coming back. SWTOR has got to take away the kill option for a while. It’s too much. Let us have some characters that exist for a while.

I felt that Aryn was good if a touch one note. She felt very similarly like she did in the Deceived novel, which is understandable but I had hoped that she would be a little matured given how long it’s been. She felt a touch too brash at times. I did however find the varying levels of trust the other Jedi had of her to be interesting. Arn sticking up for her was fantastic. You go, bud.

Speaking of Arn, there’s honestly not much to say. It was great to see him again. Yet I felt he came across as an exposition character for the most part until the end moments where he spoke up against the Nautolan Jedi (who’s name I regret not taking note of...) I also see they still haven’t fixed his companion model to have the correct lightsaber and he still has the Derelict Lightsaber model instead of his own.

I will say some of the exposition delivered by Arn was interesting. I specifically noted how he chimed in with his “Not anymore” addition after Aryn said “Jedi don’t wipe your memories if you decide to leave”. I have to admit I don’t remember this being a thing in other pieces of SW media pre-SWTOR, but if true. Damn. That’s dark. I also thought it was funny that they explained his presence and why he knew this by saying ‘Oh yeah he studied the ruins’ but it doesn’t really do anything interesting except explain why he can deliver exposition. 

The ruins of The Enclave themselves... oh boy... I have such mixed emotions on this. The ruins themselves were modeled perfectly to how I remember KOTOR 1 and 2. I had a moment upon leaving the sub-level via the elevator, picking up the explosives around the open area and setting foot into the corridor. It was only upon seeing that corridor did I realize exactly where I was standing and that the open area I had just been in had been the landing pad where the Ebon Hawk sits in KOTOR 1. I had to stop for moment and just go back look around and notice all the details like the walls and doors and how it felt so familiar to how it looked back in 2004 when I first played it. 

Nostalgia then became corrupted by the frustration I already went into this update feeling. Frustration that SWTOR was again keeping an aspect of the game instanced that I strongly feel should have been open for exploration. Like if they want to have a flashpoint in the enclave, fine, but why can’t there be more of Dantooine to explore? To get to go and explore those ruins at our leisure. The area is so well crafted and faithfully remodeled that it really feels like such a shame to place it where it is. It’s the same problem as Copero, Umbara, and Reborn Nathema in my opinion. I can’t see why this game update couldn’t have been bundled with the pirate incursion quests and released as planet like Ossus. Anyway that’s my complaint about that. However, Master Sal-Deron suggests placing forces at other Jedi sites... if we get Rhen Var or another world as a flashpoint only planet, I will personally fly to Texas and slap the design team. 

I would also like to mention, the introduction of Master Sal-Deron and the Nautolan Jedi Archivist is very appreciated and I hope we see more of them. I don’t remember it being explicitly stated that they are Jedi Council members but I like to think that they might be. If so, I’m glad the Jedi Order is starting to see some regrowth like this. I also like having Sal-Deron’s name in my pocket now so I can use that character for some of my OC’s backstories to either introduce them or reintroduce them to The Jedi Order.  

So in summary; Secrets of The Enclave, an entertaining hour of voiced dialogue with honestly minimal story and frustratingly well designed nostalgia... in short...

Meh...

Movie Review

(We’re almost at the end of a Disney+ trial and besides bingeing all the Tangled stuff, Johnny and I watched a few movies. Here’s our basic thoughts on Onward)

Loved: Barley. His character design, his motivation, his secret shame (the reveal was so well done) and his enthusiasm for D&D-- I mean, Quests of Yore. He’s also a mega supportive brother and it seems like Ian doesn’t always appreciate how cool and helpful Barley is.

The Mom + The Manticore. Honestly, their scenes were a blast. Mom has way more chemistry with Corey than she does Colt Bronco, although we are not opposed to the canon pairing. We just think the Manticore was a kick butt character and the Mom manages to be tough without screaming Strong Independent Woman! She’s still nurturing and patient, putting up with Barley’s gap year. Spoilers: I don’t think that boy is ever going to college

Some of the Traps. The water room and the gelatinous cube are highlights. Johnny plays a lot of RPG style games: Albion, Everquest, Warcraft, etc. so he definitely appreciated the adventuring nods. Having Wilden ‘solve’ the water trap was a good way to get the Dad involved. I wish there’d been more scenes like that.

Neutral: Wilden (the dad) has so little info given about him, it’s hard to connect with Ian’s plight. I get that the point is that Ian has no memories of him, but Barley with his basic memories doesn’t fill in many gaps. I actually lost my dad as a kid (10 yrs old) so this story should have resonated with me more. But Wilden just comes across as so plain, without the quirks or character dynamics of say Marlin from Finding Nemo. “He has a scratchy beard” is not enough of a character trait.

Retro? It’s weird that in the era of smart phones, Laurel’s music tastes and exercise vid, Barley’s van design, and Ian’s collection of cassette tapes! make the movie seem like it’s set in fantasy 1980s rather than present day. I think this is a Dan Scanlon thing, Monsters University also gave off a strong 80s vibe.

Disliked: The pixie bikers. They just seem annoying and very poorly thought out. We did like them getting their magic back, although it seemed so easy for them, you wonder why magic ever went away to begin with.

Ian. He’s just super moe (clumsy, insecure) without any special traits to set him apart from the dozens of characters whose arc involves learning confidence. I also don’t care for his character design. Barley and Laurel (the mom) have builds like real people, but Ian is so cartoonishly skinny it’s distracting. I am a recovering anorexic, and I pay attention to how media presents people of varying sizes. Like, of course Ian is the lead despite Barley being more compelling, Ian has the noodle limbs of a hero. :/

Word On Waff

The city of Lagos is home to over 20 million people. The streets are always busy, and rainy days can be quite warm. Dubbed ‘The centre of excellence’, there’s an aspirational spirit to Lagos very few cities possess. WAFFLESNCREAM (abbreviated to WAFF) is a skate brand with strong intentions – to challenge preconceived notions of urban youth in Lagos city. The whole idea is the synthesis of different interests:  skateboarding, BMX, fashion, art and music. It entails a group of people that have a passion for creativity in its different forms. The brand seeks to shed light on Lagos, the forgotten heroes, and forgotten heroes to be. WAFF celebrates authenticity and particularly embraces innovation; it embodies the purist approach to individual culture.

 To get a good idea of what WAFF really is, you can’t speak to just one person: at its core it is a circle of friends that have become extended family – Nif, J, Elijah Zgambo, Kofo, Slawn, Onyedi, Leonard, Nuda, Jide, Fadekemi, AJ, Jordan Thomas, Dae, Millabad, Donnika, Thai Hibbert, Be, Saidi, Bai aka Fuzxy, Anthony Wildman aka Wildest, Omi, KC, and Eva, and that’s naming a handful. WAFF has become network of like minds scattered across three continents and counting. Here’s an image of  ‘The Family’ from a past pop-up.

 Humble Beginnings, History & Formation

 Speaking to AJ, a skater who did videography on the first WAFF skate tour from Leeds to London we get first hand perspective of the brand’s humble beginnings, “WAFFLESNCREAM started in Leeds as a concept, no clothes, no ‘brand name’, just skating,” he explained via Facebook messenger. “Leeds was the first experiment, simply a vibe; there was no reference to home. But Leeds had its own unique style of skating and associated lifestyle we embodied. There was a mutual want to bring something different to skateboarding, and the Bello brothers [J and Nif, who started the brand] had strong ideas of how they would like to represent skateboarding. That brought them to their ‘we’re gonna get this’ moment. The filming and photography was approached with a focus on representing this pocket of life.” This process of organic growth happened again in Lusaka, Zambia when J teamed up with Elijah to help kick start a skate scene that is now in the thousands, before its latest reenactment in Lagos.

 At the time of the first skate tour, the Bello Brothers (J and Nif) were between Reading and Leeds. The original Leeds skate crew had been about their antics as young skateboarders for some time, but J had to move away to Reading for univeristy. The actual concept of WAFFLESNCREAM as a brand was created while in Reading, long after the crew was birthed. J would design apparel while Skype-ing Nif, who made sure the merchandise got to the Leeds crew. And just like that, the first wave of WAFF had begun.

 Shortly after, WAFF collaborated with Redbull to go on their premier skate tour, this is when AJ was brought on board to help document the trip. He credits his loyalty to friends to WAFF eventually becoming his family, “The reason I went to London with them was no one else in Leeds really knew about them and didn't want to ‘dip their toe’ as it were, and trust them. So people saw it as just another early 2011 hype and an exploited idea. I stuck with them because the other riders [in the Leeds crew] were my close friends and eventually J became that also.”

 The first skate tour was ten years ago, and since then seven collections have been released; the last release [titled ‘007’] being two years ago. It seems that for the past 2 years, WAFF has been in hibernation. After expanding the brand through regular apparel releases and pop-ups between London and Lagos, the family doubled down on their mission: to make skating a reality for the kids back “home”. When AJ is asked about the strides WAFF has taken, he tells the classic story of a diamond in the rough, “You know, people who used to snigger are now so surprised at their success and I just assumed it was only a matter of when. On the other hand, the last 10 years speak their own experience and validation. Besides this, the name can definitely turn someone's interest by merit of being so unique. It happens so often when I crack out the ‘Crack is Wack’ [an adopted slogan used in their first collection] windbreaker and everyone's like ‘yoooo’. Hahaha”.

    More Than a Skate Brand

 The last editorial from 007 was shot in 2015 on Elegushi beach in Lagos, this would serve as a preview of things to come. The core of the WAFF family are now based in Lagos and thus, the focus has shifted to a large extent. But there are still representatives across the UK, USA, Ghana and Zambia, who are still loyal to the house J built.

 One of the key components of the brand of WAFFLESNCREAM is its ‘facelessness’. Founder and head honcho, J, is notoriously opposed to any sort of personal press or media angling to portray WAFF as one man’s passion project. And those that have met him know just how passionate he is about it: it has quite literally been his life for a decade now. This selflessness is refreshing in a country where everything seems to be about the individual rather than the collective: from the fashion world to the oft-criticised political realm. J’s personal detachment to the general public has allowed the brand to develop an identity that is independent of any individual figurehead, and it is reaping the benefits. Behind the scenes it's a web of commitments where all the team members bring their strengths to the table. Nuda - a London based creative - has modelled and done creative direction for past editorials, Onyedi solely recorded footage for the last edit (‘Jide’), Slawn does graphic work and illustration for their coveted t-shirts, and Leonard does Illustration and photography. Most recently, Nif (who daylights as a product designer) is drawing up sketches for Lagos’ first skate park: the crowning achievement for the Bello brother.  

 When WAFF initially relocated to Lagos on a more permanent basis, J  and the family brainstormed on ways to integrate into the underground culture of the city. Whilst this was their home, they were still seen by some as foreigners, coming from the UK. The family soon started sporadic underground music gatherings named VIBES. Established in 2015, VIBES was a perfect platform for WAFF to make their mark in Lagos. Bringing people from different walks of life into one room. Be it avid skaters, streetwear aficionados, or simply Lagosians tired of the repetitive bottle service clubs and overpriced bars - VIBES was a safe haven. At the time, WAFF had no office, staff or skaters but VIBES was a way to connect what would eventually become family through the universal language of music. Since its inception, there have been numerous, and usually spontaneous VIBES nights with selectors from the family [Dae, Omi and Fuzxy] all gracing the decks. Special guests such as Seun Kuti and M.I. Abaga have also been in attendance, with the events varying from the back garden of friends to art galleries. The VIBES DJs recently released a mix titled Indigenous Mix Vol. 1 - wonderfully hectic collection of tracks, which currently acts as the soundtrack to the flagship store. Harking back to the early noughties, the mix is only available in CD format, exclusively at the store in Lagos.

 When talking about the familial ethos to work and skating, Slawn states, “Family is what the group considers itself to be. Because we know not everyone will accept and understand what we’re doing”. It comes as no surprise to find out the crew celebrates birthdays and engagements alike. Negative sentiment associated with the ‘otherness’ of emerging cultures stays true to skateboarding in Africa. Elijah [who helped set up the first Lusaka crew] has recounted tales of being arrested and locked up in Zambia on numerous occasions, in a previous conversation with HUCK Magazine.

 Community Ties

 The locals in the area around the store have mixed opinions on skateboarding. The vast majority of them are interacting with the sport for the first time and they are still trying to understand what it is exactly that these kids are doing. They mostly see skateboarding as an unnecessary hazard, but will cheer on when a skater’s ‘impossible’ stunts are landed - pun intended. For now, spectators are watching with an a gaze of amazement, but not quite admiration yet. 

 It takes a lot to be a skater in Lagos. Most of the city is flat so you haven’t the luxury of cruising down hills. It’s a lot of kicking and pushing to get around (this is the only way to pick up momentum when skateboarding). In addition to this, the best areas to skateboard are usually fenced off and/or have security guards. Sometimes skateboarding is wearily condoned at best, but this is without any future guarantees from proprietors of spaces the skaters frequent. Negotiating their way around to find the perfect mix of smooth ground and ‘skatable' obstacles can be challenging, but definitely makes being able to skateboard even sweeter when they can. Everyone learns a trick from someone else, which means that the skate community is connected in a spiritual way too; it nurtures feelings of camaraderie and humility amongst the skaters. Leonard rants on the challenges of skating in Lagos, “You don’t have facilities, or even good roads. You don’t have people who have trained for years with skills you can catch up to, you just have to have a fuck you attitude towards these obstacles and keep grinding. Hopefully, someone picks up a trick from you, you learn from them, and the cycle continues.”

 Leonard chimes in again with a frustrated but humorous tone, “Lagos is trying to be a megacity but the parks aren’t physically accessible, nobody's making their way under a high speed bridge for r&r [a reference to the public parks built by the state in hard to reach areas]".  The WAFF crew is constantly on the lookout for interstitial spaces to skate. Sidewalks are few and far between outside the older parts of Lagos Island, which really comes down to city planning. When Nif and J break the news of a potential skate park, it’s met with as much excitement as relief.

 Go Skate Day (an international skateboarding day) is being celebrated by the crew: on June 21st skate films will be screened all day at the skate shop and their second skate edit titled ‘Linda’ will be premiered. A half pipe being constructed for The 24th of June follows this; it's surely a good time for the skaters in Lagos.   

  The Future of WAFF

 It has been an interesting past few years for WAFF, the brand now boasts West Africa’s premier skate shop in the shape of their flagship store in Victoria Island, Lagos which opened in January 2017. With intentions of making a global impact, it’s fitting to find that the shop’s address is 234 Muri Okunola Street (+234 being Nigeria’s international code). Senegal and Ghana are two other West African countries with a skateboarding scene but have no supplies. This makes the skate shop a regional game changer.

 Despite their considerable strides, international distributors do not always believe that WAFF exists, sometimes going as far as asking for pictures of people buying apparel in-store to prove it’s legit. Kofo, the store manager recalls, “Every proposal feels like a 419 scam, with the ‘Nigerian Prince’ gag and all. The landlord still doesn’t understand what we do. People in public and even parents ask why we do ‘this thing’, they can’t make sense of it”. Outside of Nigeria, there is growing list of African countries with blossoming skate scenes, but only Zambia and South Africa boast skate shops. The possibilities for skateboarding on the African continent are still presenting themselves as the sport gains popularity in little pockets.

 What the store means for Lagos is a cultural meeting point for skaters and creatives alike. After the soft launch there was a 5-week ‘Friends & Family’ exhibition featuring photography, illustrations, graffiti, paintings and music from different members of The Family. The space changes to suit its needs as it grows, while keeping the environment interesting and cosy. The original back office is now a production room. Recently the till was removed completely only to be replaced by a sofa. There’s a cat that roams around, but mainly just chills in the stock room.

 In a country where the WAFF crew is more of an outsider pack, only the youth and future generations may enjoy the luxuries of a developed skateboarding scene aided by private and public support. The marginalised action sports enthusiasts - the skaters, bmx’ers, and more - may soon find themselves represented on an international stage. Skateboarding was just green-lit for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the intro to an epic underdog story has been penned. The question if Nigeria (or even Africa) will have its own Cool Runnings moment will surely be answered in due time.  Other extreme sports in the region need a way to tell their own stories, but it’s the Wild West right now and there are no rules. WAFFLESNCREAM dually serves as a source of inspiration, and the benchmark to inspire other brands to come forth. London and New York are two cities that have seen skate brands revolutionise youth culture, and we can only hope Lagos is next. The infamously media-averse J finally speaks on the record when I ask him about his views on the future of skateboarding: “Africa is ready, let’s see what happens.”

Words: Baingor Joiner

Editor: Seni Saraki

Client: Native Magazine - ‘Birth Issue’

Thoughts on Gojira’s Magma

Magma is, without a doubt, my favorite album that came out last year. I know that it came out in June and that a lot had already been said about it around the time of its release, but its impact on metal last year was huge and it sustained discussion about itself and its creators all through the year. It became my favorite album from a band who I already had immense respect and adoration for, and I was fortunate enough to see them tour in support of it and play six of its songs live. (“Pray” was so insane live.) Considering the album conjured up their first two surprising Grammy nominations (as the Grammys are usually pretty ridiculous) and considering the fact that this is my blog and I can write about whatever I want, I think it’s still perfectly relevant to write about an album from last year that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I fear this might get pretty long.

I’ll keep from going through every little detail from the album that made me love it (and also from the few moments that weren’t perfect) because I know that each song would take a LONG time. But while I’m here I can’t help from fawning over the excellence of the tone set by the catchy groove of the opening track, the cathartic solo in the Grammy-nominated track that gracefully follows the opener, the combined power of the drums and vocals on “The Cell”, the straightforward and memorable mid-paced groove and vocal prowess on “Stranded”, the meditative state the title track generates, the infectious “Bleed”-like rhythm that “Pray” uses more convincingly than any other band that has tried to rip off the now-classic Meshuggah drum pattern, the anthem-like quality of the death metal riffing in “Only Pain”, and the touching lyrics and perfectly designed cadential aura of the brothers’ tribute to their late mother on “Low Lands”. Wow, that was a long sentence!

When Magma came out last June, and when “Stranded”, “Silvera”, and “The Shooting Star” helped prepare the metal world for it, the obligatory debate over Gojira’s masterfully intense and technical death metal taking the back seat to this new, proggy, groove-centered, and diverse style they debuted. It seemed unusual to me at first too, but it didn’t take long for me to see that this was still Gojira playing to their strengths, only this time it was strengths they hadn’t revealed before. One of my favorite things about the album, which was discussed significantly as part of their change in style, is Joe’s vocals. I already worshipped the special, melodic, burning growls that enriched every one of their previous albums, but his clean singing especially on this album helped especially well to set the bar unimaginably high for them now. The songs on the album fit snuggly with his unique register and his varied, nonformulaic use of his clean and gruff vocal styles throughout the album compliments the music exquisitely, setting atmospheric moods with clean singing and breaking those atmospheres down resonantly with reintroduced howling, and swirling that majestic chaos back into meditative mood after meditative mood of blast-beat-y hammering. Indeed, many of the brutal moments on the album are just as ambient and meditative as they are blood-pumping and head-banging, an art that resembles the hard-to-capture duality of the violent jazzy metal tranquility of Meshuggah. The naturalist vibe and message Gojira has already cultivated is enriched in the lyricism and the successful experimentation with their sound on Magma. The expansion and molding of the ambient component of their sound, which people complained about having replaced the nonstop torrent of overwhelming technical death metal, both provides more of Gojira to love, and highlights what most of the band’s fans already loved about them. The heavier moments stand out more with the mix of relative calmness into the tracks and resurge with the real force that keeps the punch from becoming numbing the way a lot of music by the likes of Nile or Decapitated often does, and in that regard, the heavy is really heavy, due credit also being due to the mixing and mastering work done on the album. It does not flash all its magic at once and fizzle out after one listen either. The songwriting throughout the album is interesting and beckons many repeated spins to become connected, and rewardingly so, with its every enthralling nuance; I’m listening to it right now, with all my appendages pulsing with more of Magma’s moments and spirit than the last time I listened to it. I often yearned for the album to be longer when I was giving it early listens, because it’s just so damn compelling, but it really is crafted to impart a specific experience in exactly the time of what it already presents. I could go on and on and relay more poetic praise for what Gojira has done for me personally with this album, but this is already pretty lengthy.

This album has meant a lot for me, and also a lot to the band themselves (Mario and Joe especially evidently) and to the metal community and our music as a whole. It was a triumphant delivery after the four-year wait between L'Enfant Sauvage and their new album’s release after many were underwhelmed or indifferent to Metallica’s comeback and even disappointed with Meshuggah’s studio return. Indeed, despite many other huge figures in metal (Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Meshuggah, Deftones, Opeth, Rob Zombie, Korn, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Anthrax, In Flames) dropping many highly-anticipated albums, Magma and everything that went along with it really made 2016 Gojira’s year. The enigmatic nature of the album that made it hard for the metal sphere to finish its first rounds of talking about it, the massive tour the band set out on to celebrate it, and their tasteful, refreshingly artful social media presence (their tour diaries being outstandingly gorgeous and worthwhile, and Evil Mario being an awesome window into their goofiness behind the scenes) certainly also helped them end up in many metal publications and topping their year-end lists by December’s closing.

It’s also worth talking about how all of this culminated in Grammy nominations at the end of the year for Gojira. The Grammys have ever been a somewhat redundant ceremony to parade what everyone already knows has made the most money that year based on its hard-to-avoid splatter across radio and social media, and ever since their infamous snub of …And Justice for All, they have never really been taken too seriously or even passionately in the context of metal, which is minimally represented anyway. Even their metal picks seem to be pretty consistently basic and out-of-touch most of the time; although I do find it funny how much silverware they give Metallica now that they’re huge and they know they goofed back in 1988. But this year, they seem to have run their finger luckily across the giant pulse Gojira made in metal, and they seem to have picked up on just how significant Magma was this past year because they nominated the entire work for an award and not just the most accessible single. They also noticed, to my amazement, the fabulous work Baroness did at the end of the previous year. Even though most of us don’t really get our hopes up for the Grammys recognizing meaningful work in this genre, it’s somewhat reminiscent of Metallica’s first nomination almost 30 years ago; a somewhat underground band’s (pretty underground for the Grammys) death metal-marinated album in the hard rock category, one that really made waves and earned its reputation. It’s sort of a significant moment for death metal, even if Magma doesn’t win. But if it does, it would be a sight to behold, and what would that mean for metal in the world to come? Would it boost interest in the styles of metal Magma is rooted in? Would that interest develop invested participants in metal culture or just shallow visitations to these trends of desperate fame-seekers the way a lot of dime-a-dozen djent music has emerged since Meshuggah’s breakthrough and how blackgaze has become battling grounds ever since Deafheaven’s explosion onto the scene? Would nothing happen because we ignore the Grammys for the most part now and don’t consider their voice accurately representative of metal? I don’t know, and it’s too early in the morning to speculate now, so I’ll stay on the topic of Magma.

I feel like there were so many points I wanted to make about this album and its contextual presences and that even though this is long and winded, I’m forgetting something. I’ll quickly mention that I love the artwork associated with the album; I’m a sucker for volcano-related stuff and I love the front cover artwork and I’ve been meaning to get the visual companion. Call me a fanboy, but the primal, cave-painting-esque art style really fits the nature-centric theme of their music and I dig it. I’ll mention that I have this album on record as well and I love displaying and looking at that large square piece with the sunshine volcano eruption while I play this thing. The vinyl itself is quite crackly, but strangely, I don’t mind for this one.

I’ll finish this off by just saying thank you if you read this. I know this was long and I understand if you just skimmed it. I did this in one sitting and I’m sure there are some typos and convoluted sentences. The long sentences thing tends to be the way I write, and I can’t help but write extensively because I just adore this music so much. So, thank you again; see, I can’t even finish this tacked-on paragraph briefly without trying to discuss something.

Thank you whoever reads this. Thank you, teriyaki turkey jerky, for getting me through this. And thank you Gojira for Magma and everything else!

Back to Work— Sunday Chats (10-22-17)

Finally. It’s time. Time to get back to work.

New Website!

Hey, there is a totally redesigned and relaunched version of IrrationalPassions.com up RIGHT NOW! You can go see it!

This is the reason I wasn’t able to post Sunday Chats last week, as I was working tirelessly with Logan Wilkinson and Jurge Cruz to get this new site up and looking gorgeous with all the Irrational Passions content in tact and on the site.

While that is still a work in progress, and so is the site in some cases, small tweaks coming here and there as time goes on, I’m very proud of my team for what we’ve made. The new logo that I showed on here months ago is finally up, launched, and new. That’s true across all of our stuff, social media, twitch, etc. With a new logo out there, it may be time for a new shirt too... 🤔

And there are some cool pieces up now to go along with this, including my review of Destiny 2, a piece about visual novels from Jurge Cruz, and Jarrett Green’s review of the game Hob.

Thank you to everyone to checked the site out and said nice things about it, we’re very proud, and I’m super excited for what this means we can do with the site too.

What I’ve Been Working On

I’ve been chipping away at a lot, so i wanted to throw out a couple of things that may be coming from me in the near future.

I have finished a very long second edition of Simply Mechanics, a new column I started a long time ago it seems, back in the early months of this year. This one is all about the Destiny 2 Raid, and I actually feel very good about it, and am gonna try and get it up soon. I’ve also been thinking of a possible video review idea, which I’ve never done before. It’d be on a new and recent game and it’d be a cool space to play around with getting used to making video reviews. I definitely want to try it out, at least.

There are more things in the pipeline too, but we’ll see how they pan out. A lot of stuff I am nervous to share currently, but hopefully something cool will come of it.

What’s on Tap

The Evil Within (Yes, the first one)

Man I have a lot of thoughts on this game. I got most of them out on the most recent podcast, but still, here are some.

It all being in a fictional, essentially dream world is rad and all, but I also feel like it was used to justify some bad mechanics.

While it is used to justify amazing moments of character growth for the antagonist, those seem few and far between to justify crappy gameplay sections.

Things like destroyed cities with frustrating auto-kill beasts seem more forced into the structure of the game with the thin justification that “it’s all a dream world” versus the really well contextualized sections in the antagonists memories and past.

Maybe that’s my big takeaway because there are a lot of auto kill enemies in this game, and almost all of them are real frustrating.

The design and spookiness of the game was well worth the struggle though. It’s an incredibly atmospheric experience.

The Evil Within 2

This game is very interesting though. It pulls a lot of its changes, mechanically and in feel, from The Last of Us, which is not a bad thing.

Instead of being so strictly linear, jumping back in the dream world in The Evil Within 2 has sections of wide, explorable areas. It reminds me a lot of Tomb Raider.

What’s even cooler about these, which on face value aren’t that excited unless they’re done right (which they were) is that it takes on this wider format while still not losing what made The Evil Within special: spookiness surrounded by an uneasy truth that the world around you is changing constantly.

While exploring things can still change and alarm you even more because your in a completely different state than a corridor, but more an open town. It’s a vary jarring feeling that works wonders for that atmospheric vibe that The Evil Within did so well, and owns so well.

It is also just a much better feeling and looking game, with excellent and refreshed mechanics, better stealth, better crafting, and is just an alarming improvement. 

For a Halloween Game, I’m glad I went with this one. It’s excellent going off my first six or so hours.

Skyrim

I’ve weirdly had a craving to jump back into Skyrim, and as a more mindless revisit to Tamriel than my main focus game right now, it’s been super great.

Man this game is better than Fallout 4 (imho)

There are a ton of little things here that I didn’t notice before that are making me appreciate Skyrim and its design that much more. Things like hints to where traps are,  visual cues to let you know what direction you should go in, and the placement of dungeons on the map. It’s just very thorough, and smart.

Cuphead

I don’t really have time to write a ton about it in this Sunday Chats, but Cuphead is so good.

The Checklist 

A lot of interesting conversations in video games this week because of the whole visceral debacle. Here are some choice listens/reads to dig into.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq8gG7dhe7c - Easy Allies Podcast Episode 82

I really liked Brandon Jones’s heated take on the closing of Visceral, and Daniel Bloodworth adds some much needed positivity to the discussion as well. It’s a really excellent discussion on all parts, and Michael Damiani’s insight on the business end of things really just lays that out too. Definitely give it a listen.

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/evbdzm/race-in-games-ea-woes-with-former-mass-effect-manveer-heir - Waypoint Radio (Fri Oct. 20th)

I have yet to listen to this show, but Waypoint Radio had on Manveer Heir to discuss the happenings at EA, and as someone who was there for many years, he apparently has some fantastic insight. I can’t wait to listen, and Waypoint radio is always a treat.

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/59dn78/todays-star-wars-news-makes-the-future-of-single-player-look-very-messy - Today’s News Makes the Future of Single Player Games Look Messy - Patrick Klepek - Waypoint

Patrick had a great response piece on the fact that Visceral’s game was shut down in favor of something less strictly single player, and the possibilities that could imply for video games. I don’t know if I am on the same page, but It’s absolutely worth a read.

http://irrationalpassions.com/in-ghosts-of-miami-latino-characters-take-center-stage/ - In Ghosts of Miami, Latino Characters Take Center Stage - Jurge Cruz - Irrational Passions

While I agree it is weird to pimp out your own content, Jurge’s piece on Ghosts of Miami was super insightful for me, and his use of comparisons definitely marked a touchstone with me. He calls back to The Walking Dead Season 3 and a great discussion between Patrick Klepek and Austin Walker on Waypoint Radio a few months back. Absolutely worth a read.

I know its been a few weeks since we had questions on Sunday Chats, but I’ve had a lot going on, and while I love answering them hear, it does take a ton of time to make. Absolutely a labor of love though. I’ll be ready for them next week.

I’ve got a ton of exciting things planned for the future, and I’m excited to be able to break them out soon. Thank you as always for reading, and thank you all for your support.

Until next time,

keep it real.