#man these posts always turn out way wordier than I mean for them to

[artemisiatridentata]

I am begging y’all to please wear a mask (ideally an N95, such as a 3M aura, or at least a KN95 or KF94) in public and in crowds, indoor AND outdoor, even when you DON’T feel sick or have any symptoms. At least 20% — and some sources say up to 60% — of cases are asymptomatic!!! Meaning you could feel completely fine, waltzing through the grocery store or restaurant or concert maskless, and be shedding virus and infecting countless other people!! Please mask up to protect yourself and others. If you’ve stopped, it’s never too late to start again. It is never pointless.

Also — just want to clarify a couple things mentioned above.

1) Covid is not endemic. Here’s a good explanation as to why:

2) While I’m very glad to hear the person above is experiencing mild acute symptoms, I hope people reading that don’t interpret it as a reason to drop precautions like masking, testing, avoiding crowds, etc!! And the next things I’ll say are not meant to scare y’all, but to reiterate the seriousness of this ongoing viral pandemic.

Covid is not becoming more mild. It is, rather, becoming more infectious and more immune-evasive, meaning immunity you may have from vaccines or prior infections protects you less as new variants evolve and spread.

While the acute phase of covid can result in mild symptoms for some people, the long-term effects are worrying. An increasing number of previously healthy young people are getting strokes, heart attacks, brain fog and other severe post-covid sequelae. Even mild cases can result in brain damage equivalent to an extra year of aging, and covid can impair your body’s ability to fight off future infections. An estimated 23 million Americans and 65 million people globally have or have had long covid, a cluster of often life-altering and debilitating symptoms that persist weeks, months, and even years after an acute infection. Hell, the WHO themselves recently stated that you have a 1 in 10 chance of developing LC with each infection, though some estimates put it at 1 in 5. Idk about y’all but I am not tryna fuck around and find out with those odds.

I’m not even going to get into the eugenic aspects of the way the US government and corporations are handling this pandemic, because I’m tired and don’t want to type all that out right now. But that’s another important reason to wear a mask, imo. Since the pandemic started, disabled people have been pushed out of society and repeatedly ignored and told the basic protections we’re asking for are too much to ask. They’re not. Caring for the people around you by wearing a mask is one of the most radical things you can do right now. Don’t let the government and capitalist corporations convince you otherwise.

Lastly, what we have to remember is that we are early on in this pandemic. We are just starting to see the long-term effects that repeat covid infections are having on people, and they are, frankly, horrifying. What will the world be like 10 years from now, if everyone keeps going along with the back-to-normal getting-infected-twice-a-year grind?

Anyways. Personally, for all these reasons and more, I’m not willing to take risks like going unmasked in public. I’ve avoided restaurants, bars, movie theaters, concerts, and other large gatherings since March 2020. I continue to wear an N95 in public, both indoors and outdoors if I’m around a bunch of people. I use other mitigation tools like air filters and antiviral nasal spray to further reduce my risk, and I…. may or may not have hypothetically used a fake name to get two Novavax shots even though I wasn’t eligible for more vaccines since I got a bivalent booster back in the fall. (No I didn’t. I would never do something illegal! Even if the government were dragging its feet on updating vaccine guidelines! Haha! You should definitely not do something like that!) is it hard to live like this? Fuck yeah. It fucking sucks sometimes. But you know what would suck more? Throwing caution to the wind and listening to corporations urging me to get back to normal and then getting repeatedly infected and probably becoming even more disabled or dying.

I would much rather make some sacrifices socially and listen to doctors and scientists and long covid survivors who have been sounding the alarm bells and screaming from the rooftops since 2020. Because I love my life, I love being able to do the things I’m able to do, and I don’t want to lose that by getting long covid. I don’t want to raise my risk of dying young from a stroke or heart attack. I don’t want to risk infecting someone else and condemning them to that fate because I wasn’t wearing a mask. And I doubt that any of y’all want that either, deep down. 💖

reminder that even if the world health organization says covid is over, it isnt.

[listoriented]

“B”een There

done that.

So here ends my time playing games that start with the letter B. Thanks for reading! It's been three years plus change. Back in early 2016 when I pondered how the world might look when I finished another letter, I never imagined, even from that unsteady ground, just quite how different things would become (in terms of global political-psychological landscape) - though really all the top-down drama happened that year, and everything since then has just felt like the normalisation and ratification of it, this splintered-systemic madness, the post-parody, post-fake fake-real. Or whatever you want to call it.

Nor did I imagine that it would take me so long. But, life. I went overseas, moved houses, moved cities, went through a breakup, started a PhD, rode a bike, read some books, faffed around. I anxiously played hundreds of hours of Rocket League; I ticked off every achievement in Mini Metro; I spent too long trying to remember what I was doing in Stardew Valley. I reviewed some games over at Gamecloud, which wrapped up earlier this year.  Time accumulated in a predictable but upsetting way.

Beloved demigod of gaming blogs RPS went through a full staff turnover, pretty much. It's weird, man. VR happened but remains a bit beyond my periphery, even if it gets brought up from time to time in the groupchat. Battle Royale games weren't a thing a few years ago, then they became everything, now they are still a big deal, the biggest deal, or maybe a large-medium deal, or just a large part of the background - I honestly don’t know how to quantify this. Steam's ubiquity has slipped markedly, through a mixture of managed negligence and increasingly aggressive competition. The inherent limitations of being bound to one commercial distribution system on one hardware platform have always been at the back of my mind, but I do increasingly wonder if my time would be better spent on a project that dug through other veins. The answer is, for now, that sometimes you've gotten keep doing the thing you said you were gonna do, if no other reason than because. 

Tumblr, our home since 2016, has gone through its own shifts and controversies in this time too. They no longer seem to allow unencoded links (so no-one ever knows what they’re clicking on), it became less friendly to adult content, and as of today apparently Tumblr has been sold on to wordpress. I don’t really know the implications of this last thing.

Some Maths

I played fifty one games beginning with B. Of the forty-eight that I'd deem to have some notional metric of completability, twenty-four of those I (often in the most flexible sense possible), "completed". 50%: Not as bad as I'd expected, TBH, especially as that includes a couple of painful six/seven game streaks where I didn't finish anything.

Ceremonious Award Giving for Games Starting with ‘B’

It is always hard to pick favourites, and from any given vantage point they tend to change. Nevertheless, an act of self-canonisation is in order, as is tradition. Given the nature of this project, I do put a lot of value in titles that surprise me in one way or another. Batman: Arkham Asylum and Bulletstorm were equal Best Goofy Action surprises (it pays having low expectations, sometimes), with an honourable mention to Brigador. The Banner Saga was the most surprisingly thought provoking. Davey Wreden’s autoficitive The Beginners Guide gets the Anodyne Prize for Most Enjoyably Difficult To Put In A Box. 

Botanicula was probably my Favourite (total) Revisit, or the best non-surprise. 

B was a letter characterised by a few high-budget action series (of which my favourite part was Bioshock 2 (Minerva's Den)), held up by substrate of modest indie things of varying impact. My attention span was all over the place, too. We had a lot of short forays with little to say, but there was there were also more than a few wordier attempts at thought. I'm bad at judging what makes "good" writing, particularly of my own, which I oscillate between accepting and loathing, but I can tell you which games/posts took the cake for length and effort: Baldur's Gate for longest playtime; Burnout: Paradise for highest word-count (and longest gestation period); Battleblock Theater for the most time-consuming method of putting a post together; The Beginners Guide for the most times played through a game in order to try and parse it; Braid for the most external reading and referencing.  

I think the most absurdly Expensive-at-purchase game here was Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which also gets the newly thought of I Can’t Believe It Still Has Functioning Online Multiplayer prize. I'm handing the Most Disappointing badge to Broken Age, despite (or because of) already having played it a bunch before attempting it for the list, though Before the Echo (fka Sequence) takes the Aquanox Award for game I inexplicably sunk the most time on trying to finish despite not really enjoying. I hold the Most Contempt for Breach & Clear. Black Mirror had the Worst Voice Acting, and it was also the Oldest Game here (2003), at least in terms of no-significant-alterations though depending on how you want to factor in remasters and remakes, you might alternatively give that prize to Broken Sword (1996) or Bionic Commando Rearmed (1988). Blueberry Garden was Purchased Most Long Ago, in 2009, though the Aquaria Trophy for Longest Unplayed Incumbent goes to Bob Came in Pieces, which I'd bought in 2010 then never installed (it's pretty good, it turns out!). However, the special Emotional Closure Award goes to Baldur's Gate, with which I already had nearly two decades of fond, scattered memories, before finally finishing for the first time during this project.

More Maths

When I started this letter I had 438 games in my steam library. Right now I have 1049 games, which is almost exactly three times the amount I had when I started this blog in October 2015 (~350). I've played 70 games total. A further 57 entered the list behind the marker, into the exempt scorched land of the already visited alphabet, which means we're at 127/1049 = 12.11% of the way through the list, which is a +7% increase on where we were at three years ago. That's not nothing. But at 2.5% per year, it's not a lot. Globally, the average human lifespan is 68 years.

Terrifying Implications For the Future

The maths says that the current terms aren't working, that I'm drowning in a heady mixture of my own relentless consumerism, hesitation, and procrastination from this task which is itself an avenue of procrastination - that at this rate I will probably die (or certainly give up) before even getting to the halfway point, and that we can't continue like this in good faith. 

So I'm going to get a bit reckless, even change the rules slightly, in order to try and breathe new life into this thing. All games must still be played for at least an hour - yes, that one stands. But. BUT. I'm setting a hard time limit of one week, from one game to the next, post to post. For now at least. No more lofty words about striving to "finish" games as a rule rather than exception. It's quantity over quality (pretending for a second that quality was ever a concern) from here on out, business over pleasure, irreverence over lengthy considerations, scrapbooking over essays.

On the bright side, this means I can have a weekly posting schedule. Let's say Tuesdays? Tuesdays seem like a good day for posting.

A couple of other things: 

List Oriented now has a ko-fi tip jar, just in case you, dear reader, enjoy this blog - or did before it went completely silent for the first half of this year - and feel like helping to pay for my caffeine addiction and/or encouraging me to keep going with this task. 

Another thing I want to do is compile a list of links to good places for games-writing and other things that I like, because a) I feel like such a page would be helpful for me to keep a record, even if for nobody else; b) my conception of the internet is permanently stuck in 2008 but also; c) it's hard to remember where to look for good things on the internet, sometimes, these days, given our habitual over-reliance on various platforms to direct us to CONTENT. But one thing I want to include is a list of other places where people are doing this kind of list-oriented project thing. I remember a bunch of them sprung up a couple of years back when we gained a brief and relative flash of notoriety, though I’m not sure how many stuck at it. If you yourself are doing one, or you’re aware of any others who are, Let Me Know! 

Anyway, looking ahead. C. An obtuse but interesting letter. Not so many of the big-hitters. A buuuuunch of city builders and management games, a few influential and/or janky platformers, more than a handful of puzzlers, some famed RTS series, a heap of question marks, a coupla interesting art things and a few uh *squints* Shooting Game. Happily for me, a lot of titles that I've not yet gotten round to giving a go, so this will be all...fresh.

I have a vague memory from when I got through A, of looking ahead to C and thinking at least it was a much more compact section than B, at the time, some light on the other side of what I'd already known would be a slog. But here we are three years later, and now there's fifty seven such games beginning with C, so there goes that thought. You'd think, having identified the consumerist-excess problem that catalysed this stupid thing, I would have stopped buying game bundles at some point, made this ridiculous project a bit easier for myself, a little more plausible for everyone else. 

But, we must continue. It's a new day. A new letter. A new schedule.

The way is long and it is littered with videogames.

above: “celebrating” my “achievements” with a ‘b’eer

[liibertus]

Hey listen no one asked but I still think of these a lot

So I had linked this post introducing Lib, but there’s more and since it took me more than like .3 seconds to find these again I’m making my own reference post for introductory/promotional images for the KG kids. Will also include a lot of headcanons for this blog as well as @lvche​, @khxra​, @sonitvs​, and @axisara​. 

I’m obviously biased, so first is Lib’s:

“Growing up alongside Nyx, Libertus was always the upbeat and outspoken one. When the situation turns serious, he must confront his fear and prove is valor.” 

as I said before, I find it interesting, and perhaps this is an outdated observation, that Libertus was very much portrayed as the “kind of a loser best friend,” which, by this summary, isn’t true at all. To each their own, of course, but this struck me as a contrast between the two boys, making Nyx a bit more reserved and mild as a child. Or perhaps just the beginnings of the cool guy we see in the movie. But strictly from what we see in the film, I had originally imagined Nyx to be rather outgoing and popular, though it seems that, had they a group growing up, it might have been Libertus who was more the leader with Nyx’s cool demeanor at his side. And these are the headcanons I go with on this blog, unless a Nyx I am interacting with has different hcs ofc. 

Next, ofc, Nyx’s, all this stuff common knowledge now, though: 

“Saved by King Regis as a child, Nyx repays his debt by serving the Kingsglaive with distinction. His unique ability to wield the King’s magic and epic exploits in combat have earned him the moniker of “hero” among his peers.” 

This is all pretty well known and accepted at this point, but I would like to point out the small implication as to how rare being able to use the King’s magic is. As we know from Comrades, there are far more Glaives than we see even in the background of the movie, so take from this what you will. Again, sorry there wasn’t too much else I have to say on this. Promise there’s more to come.

Next, Crowe: 

“Crowe grew up an orphan on the outskirts of Lucis. Her rare gift of magic earned her a place in the Kingsglaive. Her fellow soldiers are the only family she knows.” 

Okay so, again it has been quite a while since I have looked into the generally accepted fanon, but I remember being a bit shocked that Crowe wasn’t Galahdan like Nyx and Libertus. I think there is a snippet somewhere of Nyx and Libertus stumbling across a young Crowe somewhere, so someone do link me or let me know if I am crazy. The other thing that surprised me is there’s a lot of hostility toward Glaives as being outsiders. But I would think that, despite being on the outskirts, Crowe might be shown just a bit less aggression as she is Lucian, if not Insomnian. Though I doubt most people cared and just lumped her in, it is something to think about I think. What’s more is I do want to also specifically note the strong familial ties she feels toward the Glaive. There’s some mention of this in the movie too, and I am very much supportive of the idea that the group was somewhat like a rather large, extended family. 

Now, Luche: 

You may be suprised I did him before Pelna, but there is a personal headcanon I want to tie into their snippets here, so bear with me. Luche was also posted before Pelna’s but that’s kind of an aside. The previous three also just have named actors and actresses for image descriptions, but here we finally get an additional line.

“Respect is earned. ...  A leader among the Glaives, Luche’s intellect has earned the trust and respect of his comrades.” 

Couldn’t be shorter or sweeter, I think. As I will repeat many, many times I am sure, my memories of the mass accepted headcanons may have changed, but I do remember this being relatively accepted. However, I would like to point out there is no ill feelings in this item specifically. He has earned the Glaive’s respect and it seems very well implied that they choose his leadership because they trust his judgement. I think this is very important as, in the movie, I moreso got the impression that Luche was a boot-licking fool appointed as an underling to Drautos. And while there might have been some other things going on, I personally stand by his position among his peers being gained through their choosing, not Drautos’s. 

And now, Pelna: 

“Meet the Glaive who seizes any opportunity to fight. ... What young Pelna lacks in experience, he makes up for with his incisive mind and quick wit.”

Also very short and sweet. Now, I do like the emphasis on his young age relative to the other Glaives. I find that rather fascinating in of itself, but I’l jump right into the connection I personally headcanon. While I am sure there were many other bright and promising minds in the Glaive, Luche’s presence with Pelna’s group has lead me to believe two things about Luche’s character. I believe there was a sort of mentor relationship between Luche and Pelna, though I stress of “a sort.” I do think they treated each other more as equals a lot of the time, but the whole bit about lacking experience is something that I thought a lot about. Assuming my second headcanon as well-- which is that Luche was much more of a personal leader, liking to spend time with the different groups he lead-- I think he would have gained a lot of respect from Pelna, who we know from his insistence on repaying his debts to Nyx is one for more personal loyalty. Likewise, I think Luche would have seen Pelna’s sharp mind and asked for his input on things wherever he felt practical, both truly for his views and to deepen their relationship. Finally, I would like to go back to the first line and express my original surprise with it. Pelna never seemed to sort to seek out conflict, and truthfully it’s one of the few comments I tend to dismiss. Though, if pressed, I’d personally take it as meaning to say he’s always ready to prove himself in battle both as far as combat and strategy.

Now for the Traitorous Trio, who I will say now, I gleam far less than in previous notes. But, for sake of completionisim, here they are. 

For Tredd: 

“Cocksure and cutthroat, Tredd never shies away from a fight, and rarely loses.” 

Another rather short and mostly known and accepted description. I would like to highlight the word choice of cutthroat. Perhaps the choice could be interpreted for it’s more audibly pleasing sense than actual connotation. I’ve always found Tredd to be hot headed perhaps, but not murderous to such a degree. I, however, like the not-so-subtle implications of just how competent he is in battle with that last. 

For Sonitus: 

“Meet the Glaive whose virtues seem boundless. ... A renowned man-at-arms, Sonitus’ virtuosity is exceeded only by his virtue.” 

Just the slightest bit wordier than Tredd’s, but I think it’s a bit more to the point. Sonitus is exceptional in combat and has high regard for morality. I do like the stress on this latter point, though, as I firmly believe that those Glaives who betrayed the Crown weren’t evil, but only doing what they felt they had to. While Tredd seemed to express little tie to his homeland, I am a bit unsure whether or not his two companions shared these feelings. Either way, I think it was just as much of a shocking betrayal of trust to them as it was to the main four we follow. I’ll admit I am definitely not the best at wrapping around to conclusions, but generally I very much like the idea that they had their reasons, primarily that their actions followed own moral code. 

Finally, Axis: 

and I will say now it is rather insightful in my opinion. 

“The soft-spoken Axis has always preferred letting his blades do the talking.” 

I don’t think this is anything new, of course. I do like to think, though, that he takes this way of expressing himself liberally, generally letting actions speak louder than words as opposed to usually resorting to violence, but make of it what you will. 

There are others I might as well add for other’s benefit, but as I personally I’m not reading into these as much. So, here you are. 

Lunfreya Nox Fleuret: 

“Before accepting sacred charge of the Oracle, Lunafreya was born princess of Tenebrae. As a girl she forged a bond with Prince Noctis, now her betrothed. Though she was to meet her fiance in Altissia, circumstances carry her into the crown city ahead of the peace signing.”

Regis Lucis Caelum: 

“Merciful and wise, King Regis is revered by his people for all he has done for Lucis. After his son, Prince Noctis, sets forth from the crown city, the King turns his attention to forging a peace between his Kingdom and the Empire of Niflheim. “

Titus Drautos: 

“As Captain of the Kingsglaive, Drautos holds his soldiers to the same unforgiving high standards to which he holds himself and trained Nyx in the art of combat. His respect can only be earned with blood, sweat and tears.” 

Ardyn Izunia: 

“For vastly enhancing the might of the Imperial Army, the grandiloquent  Ardyn Izunia has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the rank of Chancellor. He now enters the crown city to deliver Lucis the empire’s terms of peace.”

Claurus Amicitia: 

“True power isn’t bound by those who seek it. ...  Sword shield and childhood friend to King Regis, Clarus is valued as much for his voice as he is his mettle. His son, Gladio, travels alongside the King’s in FINAL FANTASY XV.” 

Ideolas Aldercapt: 

“Just wanting doesn’t win wars. ... Wold domination’s close at hand for Niflheim’s cunning and cutthroat emperor, Ideolas Aldercapt, with only the Kingdom of Lucis out of his grasp.” 

Ravus Nox Flueret: 

“His homeland razed, he finds vengence the only way he knows how. ... Like his sister, Lunafreya, Ravus Nox Flueret also enters the crown city before the signing, but does so of his own free will under the auspices of the Imperial Army.” 

I’ll most likely have more to say and note later, but I also intend on doing further notes on this post here.