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Friday Fun Thread for October 13, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Oh hell no, Elden Ring is a complete bitch to play without a controller. Rdr2 is great though, really customisable but even the default is well thought out.

The thing about rdr2's story is that it is written by gen xers, so it absolutely deconstructs the hell out of everything. So it depends on what aggravates you about deconstructions - if it's any kind of pomo meta bullshit that annoys you, you are going to have a bad time. But if it's the fact that everyone deconstructs everything the same fucking way to get the same pat globohomo message of 'peace and love and consume and victims are wonderful' then you might actually enjoy it, because it's not that. There are elements of that - it's a triple a game, but Rockstar put a lot of effort into working them in as a natural extension of the story, like with Lenny your black protege, and Sadie your female protege.

I know I'm being very forgiving but my rationale is that big companies like Rockstar have to pander to the woke a bit, they are beholden to investors and can't afford to be crucified by 90% of their advertisers (the gaming press). So I can tolerate the diversity bullshit, because they put a sincere effort into making it fit the story and setting. Like I said, rdr2 and elden ring are immersive in very different ways - in rdr2 you feel like you are in the world because you have so much input, whereas in er you get sucked in by the environmental storytelling.

But shit man, if you nailed dark souls so hard you can no longer not see the seams, you probably will bounce off er. It's significantly more refined and there are more systems at play, but if they don't distract you from the loops I know it's not going to be any less frustrating. I do think you should give rdr2 a go though.

I'd say our main point of divergence is that I like vague and meaningless storytelling. I like putting my own ideas into it and especially figuring out what the author was going for.

This is kind of disjointed, sorry about that - this is actually my third attempt writing it because I guess brave really doesn't like android 14 - I can't even change tabs without it refreshing since I updated. Largely I agree with you though and I think we should get a thread about indie games going.

Hah. I don't do long posts on the phone because I tend to fatfinger the back-button, thus deleting it all. Sorry to hear that your digits, too, are too clumsy for your device!

And alright, alright. No Elden Ring for me, I won't be getting a controller, but you sold me on RDR2. I'll get it when it's cheap enough for my slim wallet.

I'd say our main point of divergence is that I like vague and meaningless storytelling. I like putting my own ideas into it and especially figuring out what the author was going for.

Absolutely fair assessment. I for one can't stand that kind of thing - on finishing any book by Gene Wolfe, I have to simultaneously admire his craftsmanship and curse him for leaving me with a giant mess to sort out and not enough information to do it with.

I think we should get a thread about indie games going.

I might do that when next I feel the need to review something. Might be a while yet because my gaming budget dried up. Or I could drag out one of my more readable steam reviews and freshen it up a little. Hell, I'll certainly join in if you start it first. Games are just much nicer than culture war, lately.