#but NOW the title is about bethesdas writing!!!

[scolek]

theres this video essay youtube keeps recommending to me like 'starfield is very unimaginative sci fi' and like. yeah friend its a bethesda game. i feel like if you were expecting anything beyond a completely boilerplate experience thats on you?

[leam1983]

Monster Factory

Started putzing around with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and what really frustrates me isn't the lack of deep RPG mechanics or even the weaker writing, but rather the character customization.

Now, I'm not a spiritual McElroy brother, I don't like to push my char-gen escapades too far, but I also like to create characters that have a life story writ large across their features. We're talking scars, imperfections, no real standard "beautiful" features - and the general sense that they belong in the sort of Dark Fantasy setting Dragon Age tries to foster, as a franchise. That means a modicum of deliberate ugliness is mandatory.

I could get that with careful slider-wrangling in previous entries, especially Dragon Age 1 and 2, but BioWare admittedly was a lot less focused on letting me create the kind of war-scarred warrior I had in mind than, say, Bethesda's offerings. Say what you will about the house Morrowind built and Skyrim sold to everyone and their mother, you can reliably build fugly dudes in everything between Oblivion and Starfield. Not so with BioWare titles. Starting with Inquisition, especially, everyone had to be airbrushed, polished and conventionally beautiful, safe for the errant scar.

And that, well... It takes me out of Thedas entirely. I'm not going to shake my fists at the airbrushed Qunari that made the Internet devolve into screaming fits - user-generated characters can pack a lot more gruffness and burr than what BioWare showcased - but I always had issues with the character designs for everyone between Morrigan (You're telling me the Witch of the Wilds manages to have a perfect complexion while spending most of her time outside of Thedas' main settlements?!) to Solas (I get it, the dude's an Elf and prospectively the last immortal Elf alive up until we learned about his true identity as the Dreadwolf, but you'd figure his struggles would've left a mark, right?) and even Varric, the poster boy for the franchise as a whole. Oh, sure, he's progressively aged up, but always in that weird sense that makes you think Thedas' dwarves actually know a thing or two about peeling and microblading...

And well, all of this to circle back to my first attempt at designing my Rook, which looks like a nice, clean, sterile nothing-burger packing a sword. Call me crazy, but I can't buy into the world-ending stakes that see us having to track down and kill two insane Elven gods let loose outside of the Fade if everyone involved looks like they just stepped out of a Maxim photoshoot! Oh, sure, there's plenty of body types, pronoun selections, cosmetic options for vitiligo sufferers - but despite it all, everyone is inescapably pretty.

As for the leading moroseness surrounding the game with us old-timers, or the sense that this isn't the BioWare I grew up with - well, yeah. Zeschuk and Watamaniuk left ages ago, so has Drew Karpyshyn; the design staff isn't the same - I could go on. The focus is different, as Veilguard is clearly an Action Game with RPG elements, as opposed to the first few games' more overt RPG leanings. Hearing a staff member at Larian Studios claim that this is the first Dragon Age entry that knows what it wants leaves me blinking bemusedly. Haven't they played the first entry in the series, or noticed how closely it sticks to the game design tropes Baldur's Gate III successfully iterated on?

The end result is I'm not offended, I'm not going to put up a screed that declares that BioWare is dead - but it's definitely changed.

[dandylion-virtual-adventurer]

My Outer Worlds posts aren’t getting much attention, but I’m still hyper focused on it (and the Vicar) so I thought I’d get my thoughts out about the game! Lots of words under the cut lol

I was interested when it was first revealed, but didn’t play it because I generally do not want to play in first person perspective. Without a toggle for third person, I pretty much checked out and didn't pay attention to anything about the game for a long time. I had tried it (years ago) during a game pass trial but did not make it into Edgewater. If I had, I firmly believe I would have played it so much sooner.

I picked it up for less than $10 a few months ago and finally played it this month. Boom. It’s my new obsession and it’s very, very sad to be so in love with something that no one seems to talk about anymore.

But anyway, here’s my thoughts on the game, admittedly rambly and not well put together:

First of all, I think it’s important to know that I have not played Fallout: New Vegas. In fact, I’ve only played Fallout 4. I became pretty obsessed with that game when I played it as well. But even still, not to the level that I am now with the Outer Worlds. I write all that to say that I wasn’t comparing this game to New Vegas, as so many other players were. I was, however, comparing it very much to Starfield.

This blog of mine sees me post a lot of Starfield photography and a lot of Sam Coe. But to be honest, the game was overall very disappointing to me. And I don't even actually like Sam that much. In fact, there are aspects about him I actively dislike lol. But he seemed to be the only option for me to romance in the game. (Barrett was my beloved gay uncle idk what to tell you lol).

I think The Outer Worlds succeeded in a lot of ways that Starfield failed. The most obvious way being the tightly crafted world. Starfield's randomly generated areas have nothing on the hand crafted environments of smaller titles, and feel so hollow in comparison. TOW was such a delight to explore in that way. It was always so exciting to land on a new planet or explore a new city. The scale is so much smaller, and I do wish it was bigger...more. But what is there, satisfied that itch of what I wanted adventuring into new alien worlds. It also offered up a better attempt at creating a new universe, in my opinion. I appreciate that Bethesda was trying to create something slightly more serious with their title, but I prefer the dark humor of Obsidian's new lore and more whimsical art direction, even if I feel the former wasn't nearly fleshed out enough. I deeply wish we knew more about other colonies and about the Earth our Captain left behind.

Gameplay wise, I never really did get over the first person thing. Since the game is relatively short compared to other open world RPG’s, at least half a dozen times a play session, I found myself attempting to toggle to a third person view. The persistent problem of the forced first person perspective throughout the entire experience was a constant grating annoyance. I simply do not like it. Especially in a world like this. It is so important for me to be able to see my character and it hugely took away from my experience that I could not. It's incredibly baffling that they included a character creator at all. Even more irritating, is that there are multiple quests about clothing, dressing up, and disguises. Sure would be nice to actually see yourself in that context, wouldn't it?? I also found it frustrating that the developers clearly understood people would want to take pictures in the world they created, but did not, and have never included a photo mode. It's written right there on the option to turn off the HUD. But no, no photo mode.

I don't have much to say about combat. I played on the easiest difficulty, again not being overly familiar with fps, and didn't have many issues. I enjoyed the companion commands and found them way more useful in combat scenarios than many other titles with followers. And how refreshing to be able to have more than one at a time! Their banter reminded me more of Dragon Age than Bethesda titles where it can feel somewhat lonely with a single follower. The dialogue between the Unreliable crew was a delight, but it seems to be the only real time you will get to see their personalities playing off one another, as there are very few moments where the whole cast is together. Admittedly, I still sometimes go out with just the Vicar ;)

And oh how that Vicar so quickly became beloved! I've never read fanfiction in my life, but here I am now. I just turned 30 last year and I'm scouring the internet for fics and fanart of this man. Lamenting the complete lack of merch. Is it any wonder? I definitely feel he's the most well explored character in the game. It's a pity I couldn't explore his body. Not only do I find him attractive and fun to have around, but by the end of his quest I felt a deeper connection to him, as I saw my own journey with deconstructing religion reflected in his story. Frankly, I felt most of the other characters' quests felt like afterthoughts in comparison, and I was hoping for a little more.

There are some other rough edges to the game for me as well. I was greatly aggravated by the level cap being sat at 36. I'm playing the og version with DLC installed. I had no idea it was coming and was frustrated I couldn't tweak the characters further. And of course, combat became a waste of time as it was no longer rewarding by mid to late game. I essentially played the entirety of Peril on Gorgon and the last few missions of the main campaign without earning a single shred of xp. I appreciate that I can take certain companions to boost my skills that I'm weak at, but preferred to take companions I liked and let my clothing do the supplemental work for us. Unfortunately this was a very tedious task without a load out system or any way to sort the armor by affect. One wonderful perk I must sing the praises of, however, is the ability to travel while over-encumbered! If only the map itself weren't so darn cumbersome! I never took on any flaws in my first playthrough, and think I'll save that for my low intelligence run, so I can't comment on that system. It did not look appealing to me while playing on easy.

One last thought before I sum up my opinions here. The DLC. Peril on Gorgon was fine. I'm disappointed I didn't get an Archibald Excelsior outfit for Max, but it's fine. I think it was a mistake to play it after Murder on Eridanos though... because I LOVED Murder on Eridanos. It felt bigger, more exciting. Different. It was such a blast to play and I think it stuck out to me more than any other part of the game.

The biggest complaints one can have with The Outer Worlds somewhat slink away when you remember the limited time and budget Obsidian had. I wanted more places to explore. I wanted more fleshed out world building and companions. I wanted a longer third act. A more satisfying conclusion. I admit, I hate that the crew drifted a part. Most of these things could be addressed in the sequel, but the fact that we won't get them for the Halcyon Colony and the Unreliable Crew saddens me to my core. If they add romance in the sequel, that would be wonderful. But if I won't be romancing Vicar Max then what's the point... *sigh*

Hey, maybe we can get a game where the Unreliable crew is reunited to solve another murder mystery?

Eh, it could happen.

[azures-grace]

i give you two options

a. the entire list of questions

or

b. 2, 5, 14, 20

Challenge MCFUCKING accepted

Questions at the end

1. 4 published, but technically I worked on The Shadow of the Wicked but didn't publish anything for it.

2. One shots!

3. Fallout lmaoo

4. 2, Skyrim and Fallout, 3 if you wanna get technical and say My Father's Name is FNV and Too Much has Fallen in Mine is Fo3

5. Butchicity.... Goober n Gore......

6. Butch DeLoria and Moira Brown

7. Yeah! Started writing for Fallout, and the new ships would be Moira and Lissy and Butch and Lissy but that technically hasn't actually come up in any writing yet. There's stuff I've been writing for it tho.... But for later.....

8. TMHFIM, it was really special to me because it was like... The first thing I was able to write after being really depressed for a long ass time. God bless antidepressants.

9. Ooh... Hard question. I was really happy to work on all of them, but I think Let me hold you until I soften your hands made me the happiest because it's just. Pure fluff.

10. One of the oneshots, I'm a whore for unfinished long fics nshdjejdbd

11. Uncanny Blood, mostly because I wanted to work on later parts a lot and had to figure out travel times and then had to write a whole extra chapter even though technically I had 2 chapters after it written, so currently the fic is at a standstill because I have to write chapter 3, even though I have 4 and 5 ready to go 😔😔😔

12. None of them lmaoo. My Father's Name, probably. I know the beginning of New Vegas pretty well.

13. Shortest: My Father's Name, Longest: TMHFIM

14. Depends on when in the year I was? I've got a couple character playlists n stuff sorry for the terrible answer lmao djsjjzbd

15. TMHFIM, I was stuck between several titles, but I'm using at least one of them for a later chapter, so all is well.

16. Let me hold you until I soften your hands. Makes me emotional

17. "Evenings by the fire were always their favorite part of the evening." Or "Her father had been… distant lately." I feel like both of those set up the tone of the story pretty well. And I giggle at the sentence mistake in the first

18. Well. I've only got two of those. But it's " “I think I'd like that, blood.” " which makes more sense in context. I'm gonna go cry about it now.

19. Eheheheh my favorite part. I have 2

“Hey,” Amkar said lightly. “Even if there's no real information here, at least it's very pretty to look at. Those Nords sure were on to something…”

“Weird to hear that from a Thalmor soldier,” she pointed out, pulling out her journal and beginning to sketch the crarvings.

“Just because I'm a racist doesn't mean I can't enjoy art,” he said.

She took a long pause trying to figure out if he was being serious or not. “Are you joking?”

And

“Hey!” a voice shouted from above.

She looked up, shading her eyes with her good arm. “Hi?”

“Are you a raider?” the voice called down.

“What's a raider?” Felicity asked, flabbergasted.

“Sherrif! You should get over here, there's some weird girl covered in blood at the gate!”

20.

“Oh? Family? You're not some deranged lunatic who spawned into Tamriel with a poor haircut and a strangely lovely taste in music?” Caryalind had pushed himself up onto his elbows to look at her.

21. I don't think so...? I think what surprised me most is how terribly Bethesda's characters in Skyrim are developed, I guess? At least for the minor ones and the general factions. Too many bandits. So I gave them personalities.

22. Google docs 😔

23. Felicity punching Moriarty, no question about it.

24. Nope

25. I didn't, I guess? Just... Fell into a writer's block and then came back months later.

26. Looooots of fanart, my azure arted tag has almost all of it.

27. None in the fanfic world, but I had 2 art trades this year and that was fun! I'd love to do more in the future.

28. My friends who listened to me ramble about my characters :]]

29. Finish up Chapter 6 of TMHFIM!

30. Oughg more TMHFIM and maybe a New Vegas fic or prequel that covers Celeste? Those would be fun...

[fallingdowntherathole]

Can I ask about Arya?

AAAA THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!

You people make me want to write about her more and help my writer block along the way!

Well, it's my take on the Skyrim event because Bethesda did it dirty (shallow writing).

She's basically Martin Septim's daughter that was born during the Oblivion crisis and handed to Lucien to be adopted by him and the dark brotherhood (this did not end as planned). So Sanguine(remember Martin's days in his cult? Yeah) took her away in his oblivion realm temporarily (200 years what) to keep her safe. When she's back on Nirn, she's supposed to be taken in by the dark brotherhood in Cyrodiil but again nothing goes according to the plan. In the end, she is sent to Skyrim for the collage of Winterhold and at some point joins the dark brotherhood.

She doesn't know who she is, yes Lucien is there but he doesn't tell her until Titus Mede II is killed.

Well, now imagine her, a 15 years old vengeful assassin, finding out about her royal blood AND dragon blood. Wild. She's angry, she's scared, she is a force to be reckoned with. She's a very good alchemist and conjurer(not a necromancer) and she loves almost anyone. Now, don't mistake her kindness for granted, because she will defend what's left of her family and friends with all of her powers, going so far even to change the war, and the politics of Tamriel to some degree.

She hates that she's royalty and prefers to be referred to as just Arya, not Arianna Septim, her full name. She knows who she is and a title and a crown will not change that. She will adopt a stealthier approach to politics and religion, not using her divine birthright to the ruby throne. She wants to help all the people in Tamriel, not just a race or a religious belief. Oh, and she hates almost all Aeadra (especially Kynareth but I cannot spoil more) so the religious buff? Not gonna work on her. She's at some degree an optimist cynic who will question everything to the point of madness, but that's why uncle HoK!Sheo is there to help.

Hmm, if I can make my laptop to work I will post a WIP of her if you want to read it. But regardless, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE ASK💖💖💖😭

[pretentious-art-love]

If Scaruffi Rated Games #1

If Scaruffi rated games he would probably rate Bethesda like this lol

Here is how he would write about them, probably... probably:

Bethesda Softworks, despite its cult status, stands as a monument to the intellectual decay of mainstream gaming. A company that found initial fame with The Elder Scrolls: Arena (1994), a game ambitious in scope yet primitive in execution, where players wandered vast, randomly generated dungeons that felt more like an algorithm’s fever dream than a coherent fantasy world. Bethesda's so-called "innovation" lay in its embrace of scale over message or story, a philosophy that would plague its later titles.

Daggerfall (1996) pushed this ethos further—boasting one of the largest open worlds in gaming history. Although one hollowed by its sameness, the game celebrated the freedom of choice and the versatility of its mechanics. It was a quintessentially American approach to RPGs: larger, louder, yet spiritually barren.

The Fallout series began under Interplay with Fallout (1997), a true rarity in gaming—a brutal, unflinching portrayal of a world ravaged by nuclear war, where players weren’t so much heroes as survivors, each choice a delicate balance between morality and survival. Inspired by 1950s American paranoia and fueled by biting satire, Fallout was a genuine cultural critique, confronting the excesses of post-war America while challenging the RPG genre’s own conventions. Fallout 2 (1998) took this dark satire even further, exposing the twisted ideologies that spring up in humanity’s attempt to rebuild civilization. These early titles stood as anti-RPGs of a kind, games that dared players to question not just their choices, but the very notion of heroism in a broken world.

Bethesda did manage a rare spark with Morrowind (2002), arguably its finest achievement. Here, Bethesda struck an uneasy balance between the surreal and the meticulously crafted with an alien landscape that felt almost purposeful, as though the developers had stumbled, perhaps by accident, into artistry.

Oblivion (2006) heralded the studio’s shift into the uncanny valley of popularity, where RPG mechanics were simplified and the world turned more into generic fantasy. It was a game that tried to be everything and succeeded at being nothing in particular.

Fallout 3 (2008) was a heretical adaptation of the Interplay series. Where Fallout had once been a biting satire of post-apocalyptic America, Bethesda turned it into a theme park of '50s kitsch and faux-moral choices. In Bethesda’s hands, Fallout became a series merely about atmosphere and style, with the franchise’s darkly satirical core sacrificed on the altar of commercial success.

Then came Fallout: New Vegas (2010), a rare and tragic exception to the series’ decline. Developed by Obsidian, a team with roots in Interplay, New Vegas recaptured the original games' moral ambiguity and wit, immersing players in a narrative that felt closer to Chinatown or Apocalypse Now than the simplistic hero’s journey so common in games. It was Fallout's last entry that understood it’s original spirit—dark satire, critique of human nature, and willingness to let players choose paths that were neither right nor wrong, but hauntingly realistic.

The true low point of Bethesda’s output lies in Skyrim (2011), a game so monumentally empty, so devoid of significance, that it became a runaway success precisely because it allowed players to project whatever meaning they wanted upon it. Here, Bethesda perfected the art of the illusion, of giving players a sandbox in which to create their own narratives because the developers had failed to create any themselves. Skyrim was the apotheosis of anti-art in gaming—a beautiful, empty shell, sold on the pretense of depth.

Fallout 4 (2015) and Fallout 76 (2018) took this philosophy to even more ludicrous heights. Fallout 4 was an exercise in “streamlining” to the point of self-parody, a game designed not for storytellers, but for hoarders. With Fallout 76, Bethesda stripped even the illusion of narrative away, a bizarrely cynical move that transformed its world into a vapid, multiplayer cash grab, foisting half-baked online mechanics onto a tired world already straining under the weight of uninspired storytelling.

Finally, Starfield (2023)—the space-faring adventure that promised players the stars and delivered little more than a soulless collection of procedurally generated planets. A celestial iteration of Skyrim's infamous hollowness, Starfield dared to go beyond Earth only to find, ironically, that it had nothing meaningful to say about space, exploration, or human existence.

In the end, Bethesda’s legacy is one of ambition shackled by intellectual bankruptcy. Their games are designed not to challenge or provoke, but to lull players into a stupor of mindless exploration, a simulacrum of depth that evaporates upon closer inspection. They are masterpieces of anti-design, worlds that insist upon their own importance yet remain profoundly empty—a fitting metaphor, perhaps, for an industry increasingly defined by spectacle over substance.

[trannydykes]

i'm on anon just because i've had bad experiences with being harassed when i come off anon. i hope that is ok. it's just hard to talk about racism as a poc without putting a target on your back. this is not meant as an attack at all, but as a biracial trans man i don't think it's really fair to speak over us and say that our manhood has nothing to do with our oppression. i'm not claiming that manhood alone is an oppressed class, but my manhood is racialised whether i consent to that or not, and cannot be extracted from my race. my manhood as well cannot be extracted from my transness. when i experience racism, that racism is often informed by a fear of my racialised masculinity; when i am abused by a transphobe, that too is informed by my transmasculinity. androphobia was coined by a feminist anthropologist as a *critique* of the word misandry; it was meant to do exactly what you're trying to do, which is describe the experiences of marginalised men without drawing a false equivalency to misogyny. they are different words with different definitions and history. i hope you can understand that while men are not oppressed by women, there are men who are oppressed *by other men*, and that violence does indeed target those men because they are men. thank you for listening. i do not think you mean to be racist, but i do urge you to look into the history of the word androphobia specifically- it was never meant to describe an equivalent phenomenon to misogyny, and actively seeks to critique the idea of misandry as a mirror to it.

im a big enough girl to admit i may have seen a word used in mra spaces (androphobia) and reacted on instinct, assuming it was the same

you didnt have to write all of this out but you did, and it helped me understand things i wasnt getting/things i didnt know about the transandrophobia concept. while the word still triggers an ick due to my connotation, the idea is easy enough to grasp now

i apologize for being kind of a dunce tonight, that's my bad and i should've listened instead of defending my position instinctively, and i appreciate and apologize to @transmascpetewentz who did make some good points. and i should've cut my losses and went 'yep that makes sense" but humans hate looking stupid.

NOW im going to smoke weed and play bethesda titles, as internet arguments take it out of me, i do not like them

[jcmarchi]

Everything You Need To Know About Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-fortnite-chapter-5-season-3/

Everything You Need To Know About Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3

A new season of Fortnite is now live, and it brings Fallout, Magneto, plenty of nitrous oxide, and some Mad Max-esque flair to the battle royale. Titled “Wrecked,” Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3 follows last season’s Greek Gods-themed season with a new battle pass, new weapons and skins, and more. 

“A ferocious sandstorm recently moved over the Island, creating a new biome in the south dubbed the wasteland,” an Epic Games blog post reads. “The ‘Wasteland Warriors’ have already called shotgun on owning the place (they did ride in with the sandstorm, after all). This crew moves as fast as their decked-out cars, proven by the places they’ve already established.” 

We’ll break down those new locations and more below. 

Everything You Need To Know About Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3 – Wrecked

Let’s start with the battle pass. It features some newly made characters by Epic Games, known as original skins within the Fortnite community, and some collaboration skins in the form of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic Fallout series and infamous X-Men villain, Magneto. 

Check out all the skins in the battle pass below: 

New Points of Interest

One of the first new points of interest, or map locations, is Redline Rig. It’s a Nitro refinery run by The Machinist, the Wasteland Warriors’ master mechanic who is also available in the battle pass.

Also in the south of the island is Nitrodrome. Here, Ringmaster Scarr, who is available in the battle pass, runs the circus-like car spectacle known as the Nitrodrome.

From the Nitrodrome, you can easily reach Brutal Beachhead. Here, Megalo Don is the person in charge. He’s the Wasteland Warriors’ “master muscle,” according to the blog post, and taking him on won’t be easy. 

Epic says there are other changes to locations on the map, though. For example, Snooty Steppes is now Sandy Steppes. 

Going Nitro

Across the Island, you’ll find Nitro Splash and Nitro Barrels, both from Redline Rig. Nitro Splash is a portable version of a Nitro container, which you can throw down to infuse you or your car with Nitro for a fiery boost. Nitro Barrels are Nitro containers that “Nitro-fy” on contact, and when you hit them, they’ll fly away and explode on landing. 

Here’s how Nitro works in Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3 – Wrecked: 

Vehicles that are Nitro-fied get a driving speed increase, explosive ramming power that deals damage and knockback, fuel consumption decrease, and a buff to attached attack mods. 

Players that are Nitro-fied get a movement speed increase, explosive bashing power that deals damage and knockback (and it can bust through builds), a stamina consumption decrease, a reload speed increase, and fall damage immunity. 

New Weapons And More

One of the new additions to the Battle Royale fight are the Nitro Fists, which allow you to perform a three-punch combo, uppercut, or aerial punch that dashes you through the air. 

Nitro Fists have four charges, and each charge recharges every eight seconds. The uppercut and aerial punch use one charge each, while the three-punch combo uses none. If you aerial punch the ground instead of the air, “the impact will be meteoric to surrounding enemies,” Epic writes in the blog post. 

The Boom Bolt is a new fast-firing, moddable crossbow that fires explosive bolts. A few shots can take down a vehicle, Epic says. 

Returning weapons include: 

Cerberus’ Gatekeeper Shotgun

Combat Shotgun

Gatekeeper Shotgun

Hammer Pump Shotgun

Oscar’s Frenzy Auto Shotgun

Warforged Assault Rifle

Tactical Assault Rifle

Enforcer AR

Thunder Burst SMG

Harbinger SMG

Huntress DMR

Ranger Pistol

Hand Cannon

Shockwave Grenade

There are some new ways to fortify your vehicles in Fortnite now, too, because mods are back. Here’s what to expect: 

Machine Gun Turret (roof slot)

Grenade Launcher Turret (roof slot)

Spiked Bumpber (front bumper slot)

Cow Catcher (front bumper slot)

Bulletproof Tires (tires slot)

Chonkers Off-Road Tires (tires slot)

All you need to do to equip a new mod is hit a Vehicle Mod Box and one will automatically attach to your vehicle. You can tell which mod you’ll get based on the symbol on the box, too. 

You can repair your vehicle and its mods with the new Repair Torch or Repair Boxes, which are scattered around the map. Plus, Service Stations have replaced gas pumps, allowing you to refill your vehicle’s gas and health while parked on a station pad. 

Joining the vehicle roster is the new Behemoth Car Body, which is an SUV vehicle. 

Outside of weapons and vehicle fortifications, there’s the Nuka-Cola, which restores a bit of health (over time) and shield. 

And there’s also the Kind Cacti, which gives players (and vehicles) a splash of healing when pickaxed or driven through. 

New Bosses

The Machinist will drop The Machinist’s Medallion upon her defeat. This medallion generates your shield over time. If you defeat her inside Redline Rig, you can also use this medallion to open the garage holding her car. Regardless of where you defeat her, she drops The Machinist’s Combat Assault Rifle. 

Defeating Ringmaster Scarr nets you the Ringmaster Scarr’s Medallion, giving you infinite ammo and a small damage buff. Defeat her in the Nitrodrome to open the garage holding her car. Regardless of where you defeat her, she’ll drop the Ringmaster’s Boom Bolt. 

And finally, defeating Megalo Don gives you the Megalo Don’s Medallion, which will infuse you with infinite Nitro. Plus, defeating him gives you Megalo Don’s Nitro Fists. 

And that’s everything you need to know about Fortnite Chapter 5: Season 3 – Wrecked. 

Are you excited about this new season? Let us know in the comments below!

[blogtaculous]

By the way, if a game relies on unpaid community content creation to be any good then it’s a bad fucking game. I’m so serious about this.

“Yeah the game is empty as fuck and there’s fuck all to do, but that’s just an empty slate for modders!”

Be for real right now. A game is *good* because it has *nothing* so that players who paid for the game can make the game *for free*

I cannot believe the state of discourse about Starfield. Unfortunately I can believe Bethesda has released another completely mediocre “Open World” with the most bland quests, milquetoast worldbuilding, and unremarkable writing and it has a billion simps.

400 million dollars. The scale of expenditure on this shit is almost inconceivable for the end product to be so insanely bland and lifeless. A better title would be Skyrim: Barely Retextured.

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Scale of Agency

The scripting community on Idle Champions has provided me with a weird quandary about The Gaming Experience.

Scripting in this case is quite similar to modding, except generally it's not reaching into the code of the base game but simply acting around it.

For instance, where one might mod Skyrim to include a model of Thomas the Tank Engine instead of a dragon, scripters in IC have a script that looks for green buttons and clicks them, essentially playing part of the game for the player.

What's interesting to me is how scripting and modding relates to fanfic.

Like, it's a place where you're taking someone else's work and then not simply creating your own separate work but rather taking greater responsibility for your own enjoyment of it. Introducing features you consider important to QoL (in the case of Bethesda titles this has sometimes been, like, graphics card compatibility), or riffing on the base idea without really departing from it, can be a lot less work than doing all that AND having to congeal a new universe out of the ether and describe it to a player/reader. There have been a lot of roguelike card games since Slay the Spire, but there have also been a LOT of Slay the Spire mods introducing new characters and game mechanics.

In gaming it feels like the layers are something like

Playing as you think the devs intended

Fooling around in the game

Using mods/scripts to mess with the game experience

WRITING mods/scripts to mess with the game experience

Developing your own game

I don't think either end of this spectrum is more Noble. I know of some player puritans who think scripters ruin the game experience of Idle Champions, which I feel I should mention is a purely solo experience outside of a single element (and that element doesn't give OP characters a chance to ruin other players' fun; only to make the game mildly easier for them and give them better rewards), and on the opposite end I know of people who think fanfic writers are just writers who can't really write. Both of these ideas are pretty self-evidently idiotic, but people fall for more watered-down versions of them all the time.

I think the reason they can be so enticing is their adjacency to other ideas we already buy into. It's certainly possible for a scripter or modder to ruin the game experience...for himself. And there have been high-profile cases where the developers' adjustments to accommodate mods have created problems, such as how WoW's gotten more and more lazy about in-game indicators over the years even as they've continued making more and more complex mechanics, to the point where some of their diegetic visual language is now garbage.

But the idea of "canon" as greater than or even different from "fanon" only functions in a social context. Within a single reader's head (or a single player's computer) they're not different. They're artistic works crafted by a creator. They may be well-made or poorly-made. The problems with them usually aren't from their provenance as "canon" or "fanon." Outrageously good writers are just as likely as other fans to get an idea in their head that won't leave them alone until they post it to AO3 (or Year's Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Anthology, if they're more professional - lookin' at you, A Study in Emerald). Bad game developers release Official, Original garbageware games onto the Steam store all the time.

The only important bit is having a shared understanding of which shape of the story you're talking about, for when you're talking about it. If we start arguing about the social dynamics of characters in Ranma 1/2 and you slowly come to realize I've been spending the argument talking about a version where Kuno runs a coffee shop and Ranma and Nabiki have 3 kids, then you'd be justified in telling me I wasn't "really" talking about Ranma 1/2. I was talking about Kuno Black or whatever the fic is titled. Concepts of "canon" or "original authorship" aren't important to questions of "is it good," but they do matter to "what is being discussed right now."

[caiusmajor]

for the Director's Cut meme: how about "To Make Clean, To Wipe Away"? I'd love to hear you talk more about Kersh/Bethesda.

Oh man. Putting this under a cut because of the nature of the fic. Fic is here if anyone wants to follow along.

Title: basically this is the dictionary definition of "absterge".

I don't write fic in first person often, but Legion of the Damned has little bits in first person from Kersh's POV, and that was the voice it made sense to me to write this in.

(There's an earlier, unwritten, version of this that is Bethesda's POV and goes more into her upbringing on Eschara; but that didn't seem like what Cody was looking for, so I wrote Kersh's POV instead.)

Bethesda is described as small and scrawny in Legion of the Damned -- I suspect she was undernourished as a kid, and is going through puberty late, at least by 21st century US standards.

"generative organ" -- my answer to the question of what Zachariah Kersh would call his penis. It kind of gestures at "reproductive organ" without actually saying that, because Kersh's reproductive organs are in his chest and neck.

"since I was less than a century old" -- Kersh is an old, old man, even by Space Marine standards.

"donning Dorn's mantle" and "achieving endorphic communion" -- both lovely phrases, both directly from Legion of the Damned.

"no words for this" -- yeah, at least in this fic, Katafalque wrote an entire guide to sadomasochism without once mentioning that it might be sexual. Imperial Fists be like that.

Bethesda in Kersh's bed -- yes, she has a giant crush, but also the poor girl has no privacy. She and her brother and father live all together in a tiny room next to Kersh's. Sometimes sleeping on a stone slab is worth it to get away from your dad and brother for a few hours.

"I dream that I am a man, and I hold my wife in my arms, as a man would." -- Kersh isn't a man, but he is kind of a gentleman, with some traditional ideas about men and women. If lying with Bethesda isn't unthinkable and impossible, then they could only be doing it as a (human) husband and wife, clearly.

"As Scourge, I have my own washroom" -- this is prior to the whole Stigmartyr debacle, so Kersh is still in favor with his chapter and no one has put him in a box yet.

Bethesda's breast-band -- I was imagining something more like a Roman strophium than a modern bra, if that makes sense. Also, given what we know about Bethesda's build, she probably doesn't have a lot going on there, either because of the delayed puberty I mentioned above or just because she's built like that.

"checking to see if I am looking" -- she's flirting SO hard right now.

"but I am capable of shame" -- Cody pointed this one out, and I like the dichotomy of Kersh's nudity being completely unremarkable but Bethesda's being special and private. Usually when a someone is unconcerned about their nudity in front of a servant, the implication is that the servant isn't really a person, but for Kersh it's the reverse -- he's not really a person, but Bethesda is.

"To me, you are a very attractive man." -- Bethesda is trying SO hard.

and it works out for her!

happily ever after, at least until the grimdark catches up with them.

[dontmindme2600]

Things that have happened to in Fallout 3 so far as I go into the game not knowing anything at all about it, part 3 (part two is in the reblogs of the og post I just don’t want to make it any longer lol):

-Game just straight up crashed randomly (love u Bethesda) but thankfully it was like soon after I turned it on so I didn’t really lose anything important. What was weird though is that after closing it and reopening it, it was still crashing. Like it just froze with glitched audio on the title screen. Also somehow when I tried to open a whole other game to give it a break the glitching sound continued over to a whole other goddamn game for some reason. I am using past tense here but I actively write this stuff as it happens (I have this post drafted) and literally have no idea what to do rn because I’m playing on Xbox GamePass and like wha (I’ll figure it out)

-I found the mechanist and tried to do that speech thing on him where you try to tell him he’s become just as big of a problem as the AntAgonizer, the first time it didn’t work and he killed me. The second time it immediately worked, and after like 3 lines of dialogue he took the suit off and I completed the entire quest. Like. Like the whole thing. What the fuck. I don’t even know what the AntAgonizer looks like yet. I was. I was expecting a little more there

-Was hanging out in the Rivet city marketplace for the first time, got some pre-war clothes, gossiped with some NPC’s, all of sudden one of them starts running and I’m getting shot at, I leave and come back and everything’s normal, don’t know what that was about but I LIVED THIS TIME THOUGH HA

-Was going through hell in DC as you do and started repeatedly clipping through the ground with every step I took, had to reload a save to get it back to normal

-Whatever you do, do not take a left after you discover Friendship Heights

-Found an area that was full of raiders to practice my combat and the raiders just like. Hung a bunch of dismembered bodies from the ceiling of one room and I will not lie I was a bit aghast. Appalled if you would. Flabbergasted. Like have some class???

-Made it to the underworld, I’m considering killing Ahzrukhal to learn more about Charon without having to pay, but the people there already probably don’t trust me and I don’t want them to become hostile because I killed him lmao

-Found a glitched like,,, floating armor I think??? It was just a chest plate and mask floating in midair in some closed off area of an underground metro station, and I’m not joking it scared the shit out of me because it looked like a floating corpse staring straight at me alsjdhakksj. When I walked into it gravity kicked in and it fell to the ground, but when I went back into the same area again later it respawned, floating again.

-I’ve realized that there’s a counter for “pants exploded” in your stats and I am,,, very curious on when that will be a thing I can do

Notes:

-I still have absolutely NO idea how to use V.A.T.S. properly, so I avoid it, so I’m absolutely dogshit at any combat in the game. I kind of think that at this point I should probably work on it because I’m struggling to make any major progress with the quests. So I’ll make sure to practice sometime

-From now on I’ll tag these posts as “fo3 with Stupid” (the old ones are tagged with this as well)

[sappho-official]

I need to stress to you guys what actually happened here.

In 2018, the Elder Scrolls VI was announced to be "In Development"

But it was not in production.

As far as I know, it was in early preproduction; the gap between Fallout 4 and Starfield was filled not just with Starfield's development, but the development of the Creation Engine 2. Fallout 4 already looked dated compared to other Triple A titles launching the same year. And if there's one good thing that came out of the disaster that was Fallout 76's launch, it was that Bethesda became incredibly aware of the fact that the original Creation Engine (which used a lot of framework from the Gamebryo Engine, which they'd been using since Morrowind) was not going to be able to keep up with modern development trends.

So the engineering team started making Creation Engine 2. And it's good! To be honest, Starfield really does feel like a tech demo, which makes sense for a first game in a newly-developed engine. But only the engineering team needs to be making the engine; the other teams (design, art, narrative, animation, etc) would definitely be making things in the new engine and giving input, but Starfield wound up with a much, much longer preproduction process than your average game as a result. There's not a lot of point in starting preproduction for another game when you haven't even finished preproduction for your current project! Making your devs constantly switch between projects is not good for their productivity. Once Starfield entered full production and was like, definitely going to be a real game, a few designers would get pulled off to work fully on TESVI, while meeting with leads about what TESVI would look like. They'd write design documents, maybe do a little concept art, and pitch that to execs and Todd himself. And, considering the timeline, it's probably been able to go through a lot of revisions.

So then.....why announce it in 2018?

You see, the announcement that "The Elder Scrolls VI is now in development" was not a developer decision. It was a marketing decision. In fact, the majority of developers at Bethesda Game Studios were not aware about the TESVI announcement before it was made. And they were pretty mad! But what can you even do in that situation? Saying "no, most of us aren't working on that right now! It's just in design documents, there's no game at all!" breaks NDA, especially if you post about it on social media.

The phrasing of "in development" is what gets me, tbh. The engine itself and a lot of the tech (like AI and ye olde Radiant Quests) was being developed, so does that technically mean that TESVI was in development? Yeah, kinda! If you squint! But was it anywhere near a playable state or really, like, existent? No, not at all.

So why did marketing announce it in 2018 instead of waiting? It probably had something to do with the sheer amount of time they knew it would be between games; they probably had some weird timeline of when they needed to increase hype around the Elder Scrolls in general (whether that was a Skyrim rerelease or an ESO thing or whatever). And they almost definitely had a very different projected timeline for Starfield and expected it to come out in like, 2021 or something. Then covid happened and Bethesda got bought by Microsoft who probably had a lot of input in what they wanted Starfield to be because they needed it to be a financial success in order to justify their purchase.

It wasn't, of course, but that's a story for another day.

[gregolwman]

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela

Hey, hey, people, Greg Owlman here. What? Did you expect someone else? Now, I know that it has been nearly a year since last we saw one another, but I have a valid excuse this time. Stuff happened. That's right, this is my excuse, and I am sticking to it. Sufficient to say is that on the Internet, it's best not to give away too much about yourself. However, posting your opinions, whether they are relevant or not, is another matter entirely. Where was I again? Right, I was just about to tell you about our newest offer. A THREE-IN-ONE COMBO PACKAGE, ALL FOR THE PRICE OF ONE. You heard it right folks, its three ideas for one post. A real doozy and a downright steal considering the economy. Not convinced, let me give you a taste of things that might have been.

"I need more photos of Spider-Man!" ; a classic meme about our favorite Web Crawler, but you want to know what's not a classic or favoured by anyone with taste? The answer is the current run of the Amazing Spider-Man title, which it's best described as the Paul Rabin SI/OC story. Dear lord, I can't even call this a narrative let alone a story. Are we sure it isn't Dan Slott writing under a pseudonym? He is doing another Superior WHO run afterwards? Jeez, not only is there another lame fanfiction in official printing, but we also have to deal with the Superior Spider-Man 3: The Revengeance instead of the Amazing Spider-Man 3 for crying out loud. Anyways, let's clean up this mess shall we? First off, no more Paul. Forget he exists and let's assume everything done following the Spider-Man Beyond didn't happen. Peter Parker has finally beaten those allegations and gotten his doctorate, hallelujah. Let's be honest, Peter is nearly in his late twenties and he doesn't need to deal with academics anymore than the rest of us. He is back working at the Daily Bugle again under Robbie as his go-to guy regarding science since it neatly combines two aspects about Spidey, his past working for the press and his love for science. But, Peter wants something more suited towards research and development. Here comes old Norman Osborn, stalking Peter once more since he wants the two of them to work together and is trying to break the ice regarding the fate of baby May Parker. You know Peter and MJ's newborn who supposedly died, but was actually kidnapped by Norman? Yeah, that May. Anyways, besides these things, Peter is facing his biggest challenge yet, which is being content with his life and beginning to find his happiness. Who is he dating, you might ask? Well, the way I see it, Peter might just deal with a burgeoning polyamorous relationship between him, MJ and Felicia, after all if it worked for the X-Men, it will work for these guys. Also, the way I see it, Peter is doing a lot more team-ups this time around rather than being forced to solo it. I want a proper New Avengers reunion, dang it!

Todd Howard at it again with his newest classic, Skyrim IN SPACE! I am not the first to say that Starfield is average at best, but that has to do mostly with the fact that Bethesda kept under wraps and didn't interact with their audience to receive feedback while they could still change the game. But I am not here to rant about the game, there are plenty of people doing that. Instead, I will present my own vision about what it could have been. First of all, I would restrict the number of systems to only a handful, after all quality trumps quantity every time. Second of all, I would move most of the major settlements to one world. That planet being Proxima Centauri b since apparently Alpha Centauri is a bust and we can't blame the Stranger from Outer Wilds regarding cloaking those worlds. If you are curious about how the maps would look like here are some Reddit threads that had the closest things in mind to my idea, the images belong to their respective creators. Here are the links: https://reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/s/ASsmDhI3du and https://reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/s/bVFWQGzk33 . Personally, I would have liked for all recruitable crew members to have a loyalty mission or even some recurring mini quests other than the stuff we needed to do in order to get them. With that in mind, maybe they could have added more dialogue options for the members of Constellation that don't get to interact with the main character as much. Looking at you, Mateo. Or maybe have the same aforementioned treatment, but sadly, old Toady boy decided that it isn't too cash money to implement. Also, am I the only one not really interested with whatever the Freestar Rangers plotline is doing? Sure, exposing the corruption hidden in plain sight within the Collective is all fine and dandy, but maybe we could have gotten something more exciting like uncovering a conspiracy to create psychic super soldiers and agents of a vague, yet menacing, government agency à la Firefly. Would have been way more fun than playing Space Texas Ranger. Speaking of factions, maybe they could have added some benefits to joining them other than getting a nice apartment at the end, like a monthly salary, the ability to skip contraband searches every once in a while or even discounts at affiliated shops for crying out loud. Honestly, at this point maybe it would be better to play Star Sector rather than give you guys idea about modding an economic simulation in a Bethesda game, thereby letting you play the role of a space merchant à la Salvor Hardin from Asimov's Foundation series. The books, not the TV series.

Star Wars is a long way from home. Honestly, a lot of the stuff that Disney has done is a hit or miss, therefore the expanded material such as books and especially comic books have been carrying the franchise moreso than the movies or the shows. If it were up to me, I would just send the Sequels down the way of the dinosaurs, but sadly they are here to stay in all their uncreative glory. Therefore, I will not waste my time or yours with talking about anything after the Original Trilogy in terms of chronology. Oh, dear readers, what I have mind will take us all over the timeline. Honestly, I like the High Republic era, but they could have just said that the Republic lost contact with the Outer Rim territories after the Great Hyperspace Disaster than saying they haven't even been explored yet. Another thing that I liked is Star Wars Visions, which explores various themes and ideas while using the GFFA as background material without necessarily incorporating the stories into the timeline. Where am I going with this? Well, I have been wondering what if there were stories set throughout the Star Wars galaxy that we just haven't heard about and they are canon? I mean, we have a blank slate spanning thousands of years past and future, where we can incorporate our own stories regarding this galaxy far, far away without worrying about existing material contradicting us and these small chapters in the very large book that we call history could have consequences on the movie era stories or even happen long after these events passed. This is an opportunity, that too few authors online that I have seen have taken since most of them prefer to stick to what we already seen. As such, I duly elected myself to notify you about taking this chance by the jugular and see how far you can stretch the material. Have fun!

Now that I have presented my offer, all I can say that it's good to make a comeback even if no one will take notice of it. Also, I will take this opportunity to mention that my last post regarding Star Trek Discovery and how it could have been improved has done better than expected, therefore it would be great if you would spread the love to those other lonely posts of mine. Enough shilling and let's properly end this new chapter in my little corner of the platform.

This has been Greg for Owlman's Previously Owned Ideas. We do not advise you to trust Todd Howard's little lies ever again. We also do no refunds.

[thedeadlyrobot]

Gaming recap of 2023

holy shit, i have been meaning to post something in here for a while now, but with personal issues and working constantly, it's been a little bit difficult to do.

so, i just wanted to take a moment to write about some games I've been playing, some games I've played, old ones, new ones, red ones, blue ones, and everything in between. 2023 has been stacked with games so far, so keeping track of everything has been a little difficult on my end. but i'll try and keep the descriptions and everything here a little short as to not overwhelm with gratuitous details.

Starfield

Surprise, surprise. I'm one of the million or so people who are currently playing Bethesda's new RPG. Without getting too into the weeds, it's a fun game. Generally speaking, anyway. It still has some of the annoyances of past Bethesda titles, but this one breaks the mold in so many other ways that it's easy for me to forgive some of the bigger design shortcomings. The UI, visual bugs (surprisingly, very little overall), inventory management and the lack of maps are the worst of the bunch here, but hopping planet to planet and running into other spacers trying to make their way in the universe is what keeps me coming back to it. I think this game nails the emergent gameplay that previous Bethesda games have attempted.

I won't really spoil much, but I did rush through the main quest after learning what the scope of NG+ is for this game, and I have to say that I think it may be in everyone's best interest to mainline the story first, then do most of the side content within the second NG+. I understand that there's at least 10 NG+'s that you can run and it's one of the primary ways to advance a progression system that is revealed mid-way through the story. I don't really think I'll end up running that many NG+ saves, as it will wipe most of your material progress, sans your skills and research... I have to admit I'm not fully in love with the way NG+ is handled here, and I imagine once the Creation tools are out, we'll probably see a major mod release that condenses the number of NG+ runs down to a couple VS the 10 they want you to do.

But that's really my biggest gripe I have with it. I think I'll go through my 2nd NG+ and just wait after that for some major overhaul mods, which are apparently right around the corner in 2024.

Baldur's Gate 3

Admittedly, I have set this game down right at the start of Act 3 so I could play Starfield, but I think I'm going to crawl my way back to this one sooner rather than later, just so I can see how it all concludes. I understand Act 3 has some interesting bugs and issues, but the scope of the final act of the game is something to behold. From what I gather, Act 3 is nearly twice as long as both Act 1 and 2 combined, which is a shitton of game to behold for sure.

From release, this is the only game that I really played for a long time. Up until Pikmin 4 released, this was my go-to daily game. I'm not sure how much more I can praise this game that most people haven't already done, but just know that this is most likely my favorite game of the year, even though Tears of the Kingdom is in a hot contest for that spot as well. BG3 is just as good as you've heard, and if you have the means to play this, I highly recommend you do so. Probably the best CRPG I've ever played.

Tears of the Kingdom

Breath of the Wild turned out to be one of the greatest Nintendo games, not just Zelda games, of all time. The depth of exploration, the feeling of discovery, the mystery of the world, it was all so brand new and fresh-feeling. Not a whole lot of open world games could contend with it for a very long time, as I believe that Nintendo's design philosophy has paid dividends for the genre. Let me just say that BotW was so good, that it ruined open world games for me for a very long time. I just had nearly no interest in them up until Red Dead Redemption 2 released.

Fast forward to 2023, and Tears of the Kingdom delivers on every promise that Breath of the Wild made, but doubly so. I sometimes miss the abilities from Breath of the Wild, but Tears of the Kingdom's weapon / shield fusing, ultrahand, and autobuild abilities are some of the best mechanics for any game I've played in recent memory. Think Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts but with the added depth of open world design and the classic Zelda feeling of discovery. Sure, combat is very simple, weapon durability can be frustrating, but that feeling carries over from the first title. I would have loved a little bit more innovation in these areas, but for what's here, it's a great fucking time.

Story wise, the game exceeded my expectations, even if some of the story beats are a bit repetitive. I would love to see them expand even further on what's been introduced here for the new game, and I'm willing to bet that this series concludes with a third entry in a trilogy, then it's onto whatever is next for our Hylian adventurer. If the world and quests feel overwhelming, I recommend blitzing through the main quest just to see what unfolds here story wise. Collect all of the Tears, then start conquering the different regions and temples to get the full picture of what is happening. What you'll find is, in my opinion, one of the most climactic and breathtaking finales of any Zelda game I've ever played. 10/10 game, easy.

Lunacid

Lunacid is a very mysterious game. It's a spiritual successor to the King's Field series created by FromSoftware, and it is doing an incredible job of replicating the way those games felt, in terms of combat and exploration.

It's currently in early access and created by a single person. It feels nearly feature complete, but it still has plenty of potential and room to grow. I recommend playing what is here, as your second playthrough may feel completely different than your first. I don't want to get to into what the game entails, as I feel the mystery is what makes this game the marvel that it is. Highly, highly recommended.

Jef

Jef is Jef, and that's what makes it special. Just play it. You can beat it in a single sitting but it's just batshit insane. Unironically one of my favorite gaming experiences I've had this year.

Chibi-Robo

Chibi Robo is an expensive game these days, but with a little bit of luck and a couple clicks, you can play this yourself. The internet is wonderous!

A hidden gem of a game, I wish I played it when I was a kid. I'm playing this on a modded Gamecube with all of the feeling of playing on original hardware and being sucked back into that simpler time. It's a game about making people happy by cleaning up their house and giving them presents. You meet an assortment of characters of all types, shapes, and sizes, and each of them has their own little story that you get to take part in. I'm also playing this on the Steam Deck totally real retail copy I have and it works great. It's a shame this never really took off here in the states, as I feel like subsequent sequels would have made good use of evolving the mechanics and scope of this series down the line. Try it out, I think you'll have fun with it.

Street Fighter 6

I suck at a lot of fighting games. I even suck at this one, but, I feel like I'm actually getting better each time I play it. I was pretty into Super Street Fighter IV when it came out, but the online scene then wasn't nearly as big as it is now, so playing ranked matches with people somewhat as skilled as me has been fun to learn and grow within the game.

I haven't played World Tour mode at all, as I mostly wanted to just git gud and fight other people, but eventually I'll make my way back around to it. If you're new at fighting games, I can't really think of a better way to get into them than this.

Project Zomboid / 7 Days to Die

They are both zombie games in perpetual Early Access, and I played these pretty much simultaneously with different groups of friends, which is partially why I lumped them together like this.

Zomboid with mods is something else entirely, and it's one of the better multiplayer games I've played in a long time. The difficulty curve is steep, but if you have a friend that can show you the ropes, it becomes a lot easier to grasp over time. I recommend playing it in a Vanilla state first, then working through the modlists and seeing what you may like.

7 Days to Die is a lot of fun as well, but admittedly the second pick of these two games. Getting the boys together and completing missions and staving off the horde is a lot of fun... for the first several hours, then you start to see how repetitive the game becomes. Quests are rinse and repeat, there's no real overarching goal or story at play here. It's been in early access since 2013, 10 years if you want the quick maths. That's a long long long early access period, and my hope is that they eventually "get there" with it, but maybe another 10 years will tell.

That's all really... there's several more games I've picked up in between, but these games left the biggest impression on me this year so far. I also started playing Lies of P once it released, but I haven't sank enough time into it to decide one way or another on how I feel about it. Plus, the year isn't over, there's still several on their way.

Also, I did not forget about Pikmin 4. I want to do a longer writeup on the Pikmin series as a whole, and where I think Pikmin 4 falls into as far as "the best" Pikmin game debate.

Go play some damn video games!

[cryley]

15 questions , 15 people

Tagged by @alwaysanagelneveragod thanks love 🤍

1. Are you named after anyone?

I don't think so, no. I was so close to being named Alyxandria (after my mom's friend) or Rachel (family name), but they for some reason went with Riley

2. When was the last time you cried?

Wednesday when I saw the 1975 (specifically during the opening/the 1975 and during 28)

3. Do you have kids?

nope 🤍✨

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I don't currently play sports, but I played a LOT of basketball as a kid (my dad coached college when he was young and was my coach all through school)

5. Do you use sarcasm?

yeah, but I'm on the spectrum and I think I maybe use it differently than neurotypicals do ???

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

their eyes, hair, and clothing

7. What's your eye colour?

a mossy-green

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

scary movies 1000%

9. Any talents?

I can recite a lot of lore from Bethesda titles and Stardew Valley, i'm pretty good at puzzles, and can sing (kind of ???)

10. Where were you born?

Pennsylvania, US (ew)

11. What are your hobbies?

art (painting, drawing, sculpting), playing video games, tabletop RPGs, reading, writing, napping with my cat, travelling, researching new hobbies

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have a cat named Tanuki. He is my reason to live.

13. How tall are you?

5' 5" - 5' 6"

14. Favourite subject in school?

Sculpture and painting, but of the core classes I really liked both English and Science

15. Dream job?

I'm technically in the field already (software development), but I would like to switch to a company that aligns more with my interests, like game development or web development for a company that makes cool stuff. I just work for an ecommerce company now.

I think all of the people I would typically tag were already tagged, so I tag anyone that hasn't done this and wants to!

🌿15 people, 15 questions

Tagged by @scarcrossdlvrs and @eriquin, thank you friends!! <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name is apparently a family friend's grandmother's name? It's extremely basic, but it was almost Maude, so.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Just a couple days ago.

3. Do you have kids?

No, and I will Not be having any myself. Could I be a step-parent? Maybe. Maybe, after, like, lots of talking and more therapy.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I was in kickboxing in grade 9, and maybe my axe throwing counts? It's a whole league with points and stuff?? I think it counts.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sometimes, but mostly just with people I'm really comfortable around or as a very poor attempt at flirting. I'm usually too worried about coming off as mean or it being taken the wrong way, though, so I tend not to.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Probably body language and tone of voice. It's the hypervigilance and people-pleasing, babeyyy ✌

7. What's your eye colour?

Green. And funny story, a few days ago a woman stopped to ask me a question and literally got distracted by my eye colour 😅😅😅 she even pulled her partner over to look at my eyes. It was very embarrassing and flattering xD

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Currently deep in a scary movie phase.

9. Any talents?

I'm very good at remembering where someone's parked their car, and I can fold a fitted sheet.

10. Where were you born?

In the very same city I live in now, on the west coast of so-called Canada.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, trying to get back into reading, singing in the shower, bass guitar badly, walking, making art of some kind, D&D, video games.

12. Do you have any pets?

Two! Jam, a black cat, and Toast, a leopard gecko.

13. How tall are you?

5'5" and some change.

14. Favourite subject in school?

Art, English, Biology.

15. Dream job?

Man, I dunno. I just wanna make shit.

The Tags (but no pressure, and apologies for some double-tags): @steves-strapcollection @t-boyeddie @hellion-child @kkpwnall @spectrum-spectre @moss-woods @alwaysanagelneveragod @starryeyedjanai @patriciavetinari @doublecherrypiediscosuperfly @cuoredimuschio @theheadlessphilosopher @vecnuthy @auryborealis @sentient-trash