#gameplay meta

[naturallydark]

That one post about how Kaycee Inscryption would get along with Kel VotV has never left my mind and now that the 0.8 update is out, I could no longer resist drawing this dream team crossover. I imagine Dr. Kel would be a lot less lonely if he had an equally insane friend living in the base with him and helping him keep the local cockroach population down.

[msviolacea]

In today's Dragon Age brainrot, I am avoiding work by thinking about how the potential lesson to learn from the Veilguard gameplay is not "Solas was right all along and our Rook fucked everything up" but "Solas was probably right to try to fix things Back in the Day, but no solution is without consequences, and once the world has adjusted itself around those consequences trying to unmake everything is the wrong choice, especially if you decide that the people who exist in the new world are somehow lesser beings than the ones you knew."

(Aside: if I had a nickel for every time a ridiculously powerful immortal character named Sola(u)s tried to fix a world-ending calamity with an effective but ultimately terrible solution and then eons later wanted to destroy the new version of the world to try to bring back the one he previously loved, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, etc.)

And the lesson to learn as PCs is not "we should never have tried to stop Solas we fucked up the world!" but "it's never wrong to try to save the world, but sometimes your solution is going to create even more problems, and you'll need to live with the consequences."

Looking forward to a(nother) game that hopefully has a moral of "creating a better world means working with what exists, with the people you have, and putting your trust in the people you love to help you shape the future."

[verathena14]

yknow i'd always had a headcanon that sora was a lot more proficient with magic than riku, but playing Re:CoM really solidified that for me with the difference between their playstyles.

when you play as sora, you have this massive variety of different sleights and spells and summons you can use, which from an in-world perspective, could read as him just... modifying the spells for his own use. I think it would be super funny if he talks to like. Aqua for example and she's like "wait how did you do that. thats not supposed to happen, that's not how magic works-?" but anyway! the point is that Sora's gameplay has a lot of variety and magic woven into it

whereas with riku, not only can he not edit his deck, but almost all of his sleights are locked behind Darkness-Murder Mode™️. So a lot of Riku's gameplay is just "hit things until they die" (also i feel like there's something to be said about the difference between Holy Spiral and Inverse Spiral, which are basically the same attack except HS is when Riku's not in Dark Mode and IS is when he is, something about HS lasting much less time than IS because riku's light magic isn't as powerful perhaps?)

ANYWAYS. i just think it's neat :)

[egophiliac]

So the final character turns out to be based on Ryugen, but it feels kinda weird how there is also one based on Zangetsu and they aren't brothers

Or what if plot reveals they are brothers and he was actually adopted or stollen

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S ACTUALLY RYUUGEN?! I made a joke about it when Toten got revealed but I didn't actually expect... (I'm counting it as a win though, which means I guessed three out of sixteen! ...given how wacky some of these got, I'm actually pretty proud of that.)

he seems very sweet though! I hope he and his secret hamsters are very happy together. 🐹

(also:

THIS WAS MY EXACT TRAIN OF THOUGHT TOO! either this is an incredible bit of meta foreshadowing, or an incredible bit of Takahashi trolling, and I -- I honestly don't know which is more likely)

[myrmica]

its so funny that all minute—the guy who once upon a time hoped to redeem zam—'s team has accomplished is getting him to consider giving up his remaining honor in order to match the level they're playing on ?

[thejolteonmastertj]

Me: Wow, why do all the townsfolk seem to know Zelda personally like she’s just any ol local girl.

Also me: Spends like an hour hopping onto any & every surface that can be hopped onto, hopping into the town square fountain, trying to hop into the well, hopping into & hiding in pots, jumpscaring the local cops, crawling out of the well dripping wet somehow, chasing butterflies, & occasionally managing some parkour on the rooftops… ah, I see.

[nataliasobreira19]

Castiel driving the impala on the sims 3

[serenedash]

Let's talk khux gameplay and plot,

imo I think part of khux's story telling and the impact of the story gets lost now that the game is defunct. I always thought people didn't appreciate how the gameplay and the mechanics actually had an impact on the story and while that impact become virtually nonexistent later on, I always thought it made the story far more engaging when the game was just chi/unchained chi and also the English translation didn't do it too well ngl

Anyway what I'm specifically talking about is the medal system. Also I feel like the whole bangle thing wasn't explained well in game but really it just comes down to leveling up medals specifically. If you never played khux, you equip medals to your keyblades and they doa specific attack and to level them up you combine multiple of the same medal and you could see how leveled up a medal is by the amount of yellow dots next to it and, in JP at least, this was called "guilt" and like wow that name fucking slaps. And when nightmare chirithy reveals the player has been collecting darkness this whole time thru the medal system, you have literal guilt on your conscious. You are guilty of collecting darkness and negative emotions like guilt to use for your own power. And in Back Cover when the foretellers are made aware of this, there's no stopping it and ofc the player can't stop either, they HAVE to get stronger, you literally have to keep playing the game,

Another part of the game that I appreciated is the way the name changes factored into the game; chi was the original "world line" that the dandelions existed in and at first unchained chi had come off as just a remake but really what we're playing is the continuation, where the player and the dandelions are now in this unchained state/new world line and they're reliving their time as wielders but now without the war/"dark" memories and finally when they relive everything and get back to the "present," they continue on after into "union cross" which I feel like. wasn't explained well in game that much tbh but if you didn't understand what that meant in game, it was just to say that unions didn't matter anymore and they were all dandelions so the unions. when the unions are crossed.

and tbh the experience of playing this game in real time also added to the experience a lot and the impact of the story especially with a player insert character. I think the most effective use of this game being played in real time was Strelitzia. Now in the english version, everything with Strelitzia was all one update and the english ver was behind so honestly they had to do catch up they couldn't really afford to lag behind. But in JP, which most khux fans kept up with using fan translations, Strelitzia's introduction and her death happened about a month apart so it gave the players time to actualyl grow attached to her and THEN we get crushed. You can easily pin point the exact time certain khux fan art was drawn bc in a group drawing of the dandelions Strelitzia is there instead of Lauriam since he was only introduced after her death

and another thing! It only became apparent by the end of the game but khux actually takes place over the course of about 4 years. which is fucking insane. because the dandelions were stuck in the data for 4 years and didn't know it until the glitches started. and the game ran for roughly the same amount of time and we weren't even aware of that either until the glitches! ("why 4 years" there are cutscenes that literally say "4 years ago" so yeah girl what the fuck haha)

Anyway yeah this was just me rambling I think about this so much all the time can you tell. I hope missing link does something like this too tbh it makes it more fun and makes it feel that your actions as the player actually have impact on the story

[ihaveforgortoomany]

2.2 rambling (major CN spoilers)

Again we literally have Mr Karson playable, literally the guy who was erased by the 1929 is now in our suitcase, sure he is not exactly the same (see the Mandela Effect ramble I made earlier) BUT

BP YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE TO NOT MAKE SCHNIEDER NOT BE PLAYABLE NOW OR REAPPEAR IN THE STORY!

(The copium is SO strong now, literally she has no reason not to appear again in the story, maybe we get to go to Italy in the future?)

But really holy shit wydm I have to wait a couple months just to fully understand this chapter? Im looking forward to seeing Matilda in 2.3 (lawd knows whats gonna happen to her) but the fact that were not gonna see a direct continuation is driving me up the wall you cannot drop a bomb like that and expect me to be normal.

(Also I didnt mention this but hello Sotheby got swallowed by a fish? Um? Completely forgor since well everything this patch??)

[bluebudgie]

Sometimes I think about this

[freakinator]

if yall would like to hear my weird lil flimsyass theory ive been sitting on that makes sense in my head but certainly not upon further scrutinization, based on nothing but the slightest bits of evidence that have nothing to do with each other cause whatever tf is happening on the server is being revealed at a snails pace (if even at all) and my weird lil brain that wants Some kind of lore explanation for the slowly changing format of the eps is that its slowly going from improv smp rules to scripted smp ones (in-universe cause its a staged smp no matter what lol)

wtf do i mean by this? am i saying that the chars went from improv smp content to scripted smp content? no, because we're seeing the (unstable) universe through the eyes of characters who dont even know the universe has rules at all cause thats just Life for them, there is no c/cc distinction cause wemmbu the mcytber is the exact same person as wemmbu the cubito

then what Do i mean? i have difficulty explaining it in any detail beyond *vibes* and *formatting* but basically have yall ever compared the differences between improv and scripted content? along with the difference between how the story plays out between them? thats not to say the rules will ever be Completely similar to more scripted smps like thats just not happening i dont think, but like. i think the closest thing i can compare it to rn off the top of my head is like. what happened to the storytelling style in the dsmp lmao, granted this can just be a natural consequence of a series where one of the main purposes is to experiment with and improve the storytelling styles of the main povs along with a story thatll only get more and moer serious and dramatic as the plot progresses

this doesnt Exactly refer to editorial tricks?? cause like earlier episodes had a lot more wide shots than later episodes did, im talking like. ''flavor text'' i suppose -- idk all i'll say is that the further down the list of episodes you go, the more cinematic videos get while their more... lets say "meta" gameplay traits (tab list, f3, etc.) become less prominent

[ellraiser]

ellraiser make a game without some cryptic UI designs challenge: impossible

[kobitoshiningneedle]

"Susato Mikotoba is the best girl because she is the most capable assistant in the series" I hate hate HATE this particular argument. For two big reasons

First of all, statements like this almost every time are followed by downplaying other AA assistants. Yes, Maya is more air headed. Yes, Kay is childish and likes to mess with Edgeworth even though she doesn't have any good reason to meddle. Yes, Trucy has this her playful attitude she exercises on Apollo. So what? All of them still contribute a lot to game's screentime, tone, atmosphere and plot with their banter, charisma and struggles they overcome. Acting like a character has more value because they're smart and have (sorta) law degree unlike others is a wrong approach - which becomes really suspicious if it's about female ones

The second thing is about my more subjective understanding of Susato's character. I disagree that being "capable" is her biggest appeal, and, frankly, people who really think that miss the whole picture. Susato's kind, and understanding, and forthright, and she rightfully expects the same things from family and friends. She's driving by awe of the new, rapidly changing world and new possibilities it may present to her. Susato's defining traits are her curiosity and striving for independency and understanding, and not being a nerd girlboss or whatever

[monabee-draws]

So we're leaving behind class-specific non-combat options? Cool

(Hear me out--)

In DAO and DA2 you only ever really needed a rogue in your party for non-combat access to hidden things like chests (and sometimes even when you had them they couldn't manage it 😮‍💨.) But DAI introduced class-specific tasks for everyone - fixing walkways and barricades for mages, bashing down walls for warriors, and of course, lockpicking for rogues. This meant that for optimal exploration, you need at least 1 of each class in your party. The game knew this: your starting party was balanced around this (Solas/Varric/Cassandra) and you meet a balanced number of extra companions as well. This system works in DAI because you can take any three companions along so long as you maintain the rogue/warrior/mage ratio! It also means you can double-up on a class at your leisure - whether one duplicate of your own, or just any character you always want along. So mage!Inky/Dorian/Cass/Cole works! But so does mage!Inky/Blackwall/Cass/Cole. Etc. Etc.

Having just 2 companions limits you to always choosing characters from the two classes you aren't playing yourself. Mass Effect gets away with it because every level is atomized and you can specifically spec to that encounter (robots? Bring someone with Overload, biotics? Get that Warp.) Open world maps don't work the same way and require a more 'jack of all trades' mentality. This means deprioritising companions of the same class as you🥺 which is honestly a shame. Maybe the combat will encourage more same-class reactions like Mass Effect or allow for cross-class ability building (like ME's mixed classes) to make up for it and give the players more room. Or we all just pick our faves and ignore all the secret rooms instead 😂 we all know no one is keeping Zev around for his abilities with a bobby pin

[papermint-airplane]

Eleanor: Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean 'who is Aiden'?! He's the Bachelor! You know, the whole reason we're competing in the first place?!

Angela: Surely you can't be serious!

Rose: I am serious! 🤭 And don't call me--

Viridia: IF YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE, I WILL END YOU MYSELF.

Eleanor: Gaaaaaaah, I hate you people.

Angela: Then I guess I need you to explain a lot more than the murder attempt because if you aren't competing for Aiden's heart -- the alleged premise of the show -- what are you competing for?

Rose: I. keep. TELLING YOU! I want to WIN! 😠

Angela: Yes, but win what?!

Rose: Uggggh, you're so dense, it physically hurts. 😩

Viridia: STOP TALKING IN CIRCLES AND JUST EXPLAIN SOMETHING FOR ONCE!

Rose: Haven't you ever heard the expression 'winning isn't everything, it's the only thing'? 🙄

Angela: Yeah, I've heard toxic Little League coaches say that to crying seven year olds. And?

Rose: Seriously?! It's the principle I've based my entire life on! It's my mantra! My raison d'être! 👿

Viridia: WATCH OUT, SHE'S GOING FRENCH AGAIN.

Angel: So the whole reason you snuck back into the house, disguised yourself as a mime, sloppily painted your blue stripes purple, tried to kill Angela, and potentially scarred Aiden for life was...because of an expression everyone uses ironically?

Rose: It's not ironic to me, dammit! It's my sole purpose in life! Everyone knows that, even the Watcher! And she...she used it against me. 😓 She promised me that if I made the competition interesting for her, she'd let me back into the house.

Eleanor: Wait. What?! Say that again.

Rose: When I broke into her control room, she made me an offer: I'd get to come back and compete again as long as I did something to shake up the status quo. She was getting bored of you idiots. 🥱

Angel: I-I can't believe this.

Bailey: I know what you mean...

Angel: One of us got to meet the Watcher in person and it wasn't me.

Rose: Look, Angel, if it makes you feel any better, she's not what you think. She's...crazy. 😦

Bailey: High praise coming from you.

Rose: And not only that, she seriously doesn't know how 'Earth reality shows' as she calls them work because holy shit, this whole thing has been one clusterfuck from the beginning. 🙄 She says it's a Bachelor-type dating show but she's run the whole thing like a survival show with the challenges and eliminations. I mean half of us haven't even met this Arwin-or-whatever, let alone been on a date with him. What sense does that make?! 😵

Aiden: It's Aiden. I'm Aiden!

Eleanor: You're right. I thought this whole thing was shoddily arranged but I've never seen any reality dating shows. For all I knew, this is how they're supposed to be.

Rose: Well I've seen hundreds of them, and believe me, this is not how they're supposed to be. Arlo is supposed to spend time with all of us one-on-one, not be shoved into a pod by himself ninety percent of the time. 😣 I don't know how they do shows like this back on her planet but it's not how we do it on Earth. 👽

Eleanor: On...her...planet? The Watcher is an alien?

Rose: Well duh. 😑 You couldn't tell? Why do you think she abducted us all at the casting call? She had to get us on more familiar turf.

Angel: That doesn't make any sense. The Watcher can't be an alien. She's an eternal extra-dimensional being of pure benevolence.

Viridia: WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR RELIGION, ALREADY?! CLEARLY SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON.

Eleanor: I knew it, we really are in the Lunar Lakes moon settlement. I could tell from the trees. But...why are we the only Sims here?

Rose: I don't know and I don't care. 🤨

Wow. You really exposed me to everyone, huh, Rose?

Rose: You exposed yourself! You should have just let me win from the jump and I wouldn't have had to tell everyone what I knew. 😖

I guess it really is a good thing I didn't tell you the whole plan, then, huh? Otherwise you'd have run your mouth to Aiden.

Rose: Yeah yeah, Argyle or whoever-the-fuck. Well, I held up my end of the bargain. You're going to call this whole thing off and just announce me the winner, riiiiight? 🤤

Why would I do that?

Rose: Because...I made things interesting for you, like we agreed on. 😕

Then why am I still bored?

Rose: I-- 😶

You haven't won anything, Rose. You're still the same loser you were when you walked into this place on the first day. And that's all you'll ever be.

Rose: ...

Nothing to say to that?

Rose: I am going to kick. your. ass. 😡

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