good thing videogames have now moved on from blithely endorsing the misuse of state power huh
― grim-n-gritty hooty reboot (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 19 January 2018 10:03 (six years ago) link
(that was a really good piece tho, thx for posting)
― grim-n-gritty hooty reboot (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 19 January 2018 10:08 (six years ago) link
the 90s were terrible except for the techno
― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 January 2018 11:01 (six years ago) link
a lot of the techno was terrible too tbf
― grim-n-gritty hooty reboot (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 19 January 2018 11:04 (six years ago) link
That is true of all the days that have passed since MIDI
― El Tomboto, Friday, 19 January 2018 11:18 (six years ago) link
i was too young to remember was a horrible human being Daryl Gates was
i remember the LA Riots and D.A.R.E., had no idea the guy behind all of those was brought in to take over the Police Quest series!
at this point it wouldn't be too hard to draw lines directly from Halo/COD and Microsoft to US military recruitment (and for people failing that, enrolling in police academy)
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 19 January 2018 11:46 (six years ago) link
he claims to have invented SWAT as well. he's like ground zero for paramilitary police propoganda
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 19 January 2018 11:47 (six years ago) link
this article from a couple of years ago is pretty good on the direct and indirect links between gaming and the military: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-02-02-the-military-recruitment-of-gamers
― grim-n-gritty hooty reboot (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 19 January 2018 11:48 (six years ago) link
Great story on Police Quest. Game looks super pleasant!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BR1u-qT3J4&feature=youtu.be&t=3h18m50s
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 19 January 2018 13:28 (six years ago) link
Oops, link here
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 19 January 2018 13:29 (six years ago) link
thought the article was kind of patchily-written/edited but still well worth reading, thanks! ken williams perpetually coming off worse and worse in my mind. one of the living avatars of how easily west-coast/60s counterculturalism slid into reactionary 80s-mustached business conservatism.
― Righteous wax chaperone, rotating Wingdings (Doctor Casino), Friday, 19 January 2018 13:50 (six years ago) link
The counter-cultural Sierra stuff was always pretty conservative! Leisure Suit Larry, for obvious reasons. And Space Quest, which I don't think has a female character till the 4th game.
(I never played any of the Roberta Williams stuff till recently - Colonel's Bequest holds up quite well!)
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 19 January 2018 14:55 (six years ago) link
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, January 19, 2018 5:46 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
It sometimes occurs to how non-implausible it is that FPS-es could be employed as a Last Starfighter-esque tool by the military.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Friday, 19 January 2018 15:08 (six years ago) link
drone pilots already use xbox controllers iirc
― grim-n-gritty hooty reboot (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 19 January 2018 15:10 (six years ago) link
because hellworld
yeah i posted the article for the content, not the writing. i had a vague memory of the daryl gates police quest but hadn't really thought through the implications, and i didn't know about sierra's conservative underpinnings
― na (NA), Friday, 19 January 2018 15:20 (six years ago) link
I wanted to know more about what happened next (like, did anyone quit/how it changed how people felt about Sierra/etc) but this was the 90s and your work options were "get used to it or quit"
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 19 January 2018 16:48 (six years ago) link
I always looked at the PQ series as a bizarre outlier for Sierra's output. The police code crap was insane, even compared to LSL's stuff
― Nhex, Friday, 19 January 2018 17:07 (six years ago) link
remember lucas arts taking shots at sierra
http://www.eeggs.com/images/items/4266.full.jpg
― Mordy, Friday, 19 January 2018 17:19 (six years ago) link
One of the top Twin Galaxies record holders gets caught cheating multiple times; all his records are still on the site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-H4sEHB54
― adam the (abanana), Wednesday, 24 January 2018 00:01 (six years ago) link
pretty good
― Nhex, Monday, 29 January 2018 05:08 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYjbCJXxWLg
Bennett Foddy, the maker of "Getting Over It" (and QWOP!), plays "Getting Over It" with Tim Rogers.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 2 February 2018 01:46 (six years ago) link
glad to see Rogers still looks and acts like a tool
― Nhex, Friday, 2 February 2018 02:29 (six years ago) link
i had been holding off on watching speedruns or anything so this is fascinating
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Friday, 2 February 2018 02:30 (six years ago) link
—How did the development of Revenge of Shinobi begin?Ohba: Sega was upgrading their console hardware from the Mark III to the Megadrive, and in tandem with that we were trying to think of something new and exciting to do. At that time in America, the arcade version of Shinobi had become a huge hit. In fact, ninjas in general were all the rage in America then. And so we decided our next game would be ninja-themed.On the technical side, since this was going to be on the new Megadrive hardware, we wanted to use as much parallax scrolling as we could. We wanted every stage, if possible, to have over 3 layers of background scrolling. Our idea was to come up with a style of gameplay that actually made use of those multiple backgrounds.--By the way, as for the title of the game (“The Super Shinobi” in Japan)… at the time, a lot of Sega games had “SUPER” in the title. We didn’t just want to go with plain old “Super Shinobi” though, so we (quite meaninglessly) added “The” in front of it. (laughs) Those were the days!—By the way, this game is called “Shinobi”, but the hero never does anything stealthy! Why is that?Ohba: Hmm, it’s probably because we wanted to show how cool and badass ninjas are. They can jump higher than normal people, they’re physically stronger… we wanted to show them off, I guess? (laughs)--—The game balance for Revenge of Shinobi is undeniably difficult in places, but it felt like if you practiced, you could clear it.Ohba: I actually did very extensive simulations—on paper. We imagined a very good player and asked ourselves, how many points could this player get by X stage? How much life would he need to get through X part? I had mapped everything out and knew the item locations—plus, the number of enemies was limited by the hardware, so with all these variables in hand, I could actually simulate and predict a lot of things on paper alone.--—I understand you actually had permission to use the copyright for Spiderman; how did that happen?Ohba: Sega had already acquired copyright permission for the Spiderman arcade game they were developing. We were actually asked by Sega to include Spiderman as part of the promotional effort for that game. In that case we were actually told to make him look more like Spiderman. (laughs) That’s also why he doesn’t die when you beat him, he just runs off.http://shmuplations.com/shinobi/
Ohba: Sega was upgrading their console hardware from the Mark III to the Megadrive, and in tandem with that we were trying to think of something new and exciting to do. At that time in America, the arcade version of Shinobi had become a huge hit. In fact, ninjas in general were all the rage in America then. And so we decided our next game would be ninja-themed.
On the technical side, since this was going to be on the new Megadrive hardware, we wanted to use as much parallax scrolling as we could. We wanted every stage, if possible, to have over 3 layers of background scrolling. Our idea was to come up with a style of gameplay that actually made use of those multiple backgrounds.
--
By the way, as for the title of the game (“The Super Shinobi” in Japan)… at the time, a lot of Sega games had “SUPER” in the title. We didn’t just want to go with plain old “Super Shinobi” though, so we (quite meaninglessly) added “The” in front of it. (laughs) Those were the days!
—By the way, this game is called “Shinobi”, but the hero never does anything stealthy! Why is that?
Ohba: Hmm, it’s probably because we wanted to show how cool and badass ninjas are. They can jump higher than normal people, they’re physically stronger… we wanted to show them off, I guess? (laughs)
—The game balance for Revenge of Shinobi is undeniably difficult in places, but it felt like if you practiced, you could clear it.
Ohba: I actually did very extensive simulations—on paper. We imagined a very good player and asked ourselves, how many points could this player get by X stage? How much life would he need to get through X part? I had mapped everything out and knew the item locations—plus, the number of enemies was limited by the hardware, so with all these variables in hand, I could actually simulate and predict a lot of things on paper alone.
—I understand you actually had permission to use the copyright for Spiderman; how did that happen?
Ohba: Sega had already acquired copyright permission for the Spiderman arcade game they were developing. We were actually asked by Sega to include Spiderman as part of the promotional effort for that game. In that case we were actually told to make him look more like Spiderman. (laughs) That’s also why he doesn’t die when you beat him, he just runs off.
http://shmuplations.com/shinobi/
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 3 February 2018 18:14 (six years ago) link
discovered this via Metafilter and have only skimmed it so far but kudos on the work involved. a fanmade history of the CRPG:
https://crpgbook.wordpress.com/
― drugs don't kill people, poppers do (Noodle Vague), Monday, 5 February 2018 17:41 (six years ago) link
is this a crpg addict project or totally unrelated?
― Mordy, Monday, 5 February 2018 18:44 (six years ago) link
i think it's a different set of people - started at a site called RPG Codex. the reviews aren't all earth-shatteringly insightful but the scope of it and the design are really nice
― drugs don't kill people, poppers do (Noodle Vague), Monday, 5 February 2018 21:16 (six years ago) link
i automatically read rpgcodex on whatever i'm playing because the people there have played everything and play v critically and have a whole conflicting assortment of furious dogmas that makes for good discourse, but a lot of posters there have more or less the political profile you might expect fyi (dunno who did the book tho)
have been meaning to start a thread about GRIMOIRE, the retro blobber developed by a megalomaniacal rightwing gen-x codex guy, which was vaporware for like decades but was "finally" "released" on steam last year, at premium prices, undocumented, and half-functioning-- well not about the game, which i have not played, but about the codex thread where he screams about how it's not priced for lazy millennials and sjws while a small coterie of fans adores him (and adores the game for being broken) and a furious nemesis (who also seems to be pretty rw) sets himself to cracking each new updated executable out of spite
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 6 February 2018 02:12 (six years ago) link
soon to be a major motion picture
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Tuesday, 6 February 2018 15:50 (six years ago) link
https://kotaku.com/sex-pong-and-pioneers-what-atari-was-really-like-ac-1822930057
― Nhex, Tuesday, 20 February 2018 08:56 (six years ago) link
https://www.filfre.net/2018/02/adventure-game-rock-stars-live-in-conference/
― Nhex, Tuesday, 20 February 2018 09:20 (six years ago) link
that Atari article was really good, esp in light of Bushnell recently getting dissed
― Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 13:16 (six years ago) link
I enjoyed both of those, thanks Nhex. Lot of good Sierra reading-up to do on that filfre website.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 20 February 2018 13:28 (six years ago) link
yeah, the atari piece was great
i've just finished reading john markoff's what the dormouse said, about the intersection of california counterculture and the early development of personal computing in the 60s and 70s, which covers some similar ground to the kotaku piece
it feels like there's a lot of potential for a mad men-style sprawlingly ambitious tv show about that whole era, something like halt and catch fire but with a different focus
― NEW CHIMP THREAT (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 13:45 (six years ago) link
^i love that book! it is as if the 60's hippie dream of no country boundaries where everything was free and shared was somehow made flesh by all those acid-dropping engineers.
― Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 13:57 (six years ago) link
yeah, it's great! been on my list for ages so i'm glad i finally got around to reading it
― NEW CHIMP THREAT (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 14:05 (six years ago) link
everything on jimmy maher's blog (filfre.net) is super worth reading, he's great
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 14:09 (six years ago) link
having now read quite of few of jimmy maher's articles i can confirm that he is indeed great
― NEW CHIMP THREAT (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 22 February 2018 11:00 (six years ago) link
this one, on the utterly bizarre story behind the neuromancer videogame, is particularly good: https://www.filfre.net/2016/11/turning-on-booting-up-and-jacking-into-neuromancer/
― NEW CHIMP THREAT (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 22 February 2018 11:05 (six years ago) link
was reading the good ol' sermon on the mount today and realized that jesus was talking about roguelikes in Matthew 6:19-21
“19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
jesus is basically pioneering the structure of a roguelike, where you always start back from level 0 but you can spend accumulated treasure to increase permanent attribute bonuses or to purchase starting items or whatever. heaven is HQ, life on earth is the temporary attempt
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Saturday, 10 March 2018 01:25 (six years ago) link
he's saying "spend some of that gold on this store here on the 4th floor, but don't forget to reserve most of it for after you die, where the bonuses are permanent. we should cut INT and boost CON"
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Saturday, 10 March 2018 01:29 (six years ago) link
i believe i am finally ready to accept jesus christ as my saviour
― Roberto Spiralli, Saturday, 10 March 2018 01:53 (six years ago) link
(massive bonus in exchange for in-game purchase)
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Saturday, 10 March 2018 01:55 (six years ago) link
Revelations is like some surreal text adventure After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.> up2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.>examine throne3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.>touch throne with scepter5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.> extinguish lamps6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.> examine beasts7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.>examine him on throneAnd I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?>look at book3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.>open the book4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.>give lion to elder5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.>feed seals to lion6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.>administer field sobriety test7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.>give poison to elders8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
― thomasintrouble, Saturday, 10 March 2018 11:10 (six years ago) link
>sit on throne of god>there’s someone sitting there!>ask god to get up>you can’t do that!>craft throne>you can’t do that!>ask god to dance>you can’t do that!Man, revelations the game sucks, come on
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Saturday, 10 March 2018 14:56 (six years ago) link
Now that's something you don't often hear about Goldeneye. pic.twitter.com/WLMG4MnVv0— Kat Bailey (@The_Katbot) March 10, 2018
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Sunday, 11 March 2018 16:48 (six years ago) link
Miyamoto otm
― valorous wokelord (silby), Sunday, 11 March 2018 16:54 (six years ago) link
it is true that james bond kills at least 700 people in the course of a typical goldeneye playthrough
i made that stat up, but the number is high
― and in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine♪♫ (Karl Malone), Sunday, 11 March 2018 16:55 (six years ago) link
that's a lot of handshaking. just impractical.
― Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, 11 March 2018 16:58 (six years ago) link