#swery i want answers

[yorkmas]

hi sorry im unsure. is thomas being trans just your interpretation or was that actually retconned? /gen

So there's a lot to say but your basic answer is that SWERY has discussed Thomas being trans and refers to her using she/her pronouns in this interview from 2018 [link] (contains spoilers for The Missing)

The point he seems to be making and the point that I want to get into is that this is not a retcon either. Thomas has always been a trans woman, just a closeted one. Further elaboration under the cut

What you have to keep in mind is that this is a trans character written by cis writers back in the late 2000s (The game was in development hell for so long that most of the writing was completed around like 2007ish). I do feel like it’s important context. Think about your average (cishet) layman’s knowledge about trans people back then.

Thus the reason I don't consider the way Thomas was talked about in that later interview to be a retcon is it seems to be more of a case of SWERY learning more about the subject after working with trans consultants when making The Missing (which is great btw go check it out). To speculate a bit I think he realized that the character he wrote that wanted to be a woman... would, in fact, just be a woman.

Even before that interview, I feel like the intention is still clearly there, regardless of how poorly it was handled. For example, in a Q&A from 2010/2011 SWERY mentions that one of his inspirations for Thomas was his friend transitioning [archive link, formatting is broken]

And in the game itself, there's Thomas' inclusion as a goddess. She's not treated as an exception. She wears a dress and is happy like all the others. Multiple characters in the epilogue refer to the victims as “the girls” without ever making any sort of distinction such as “Thomas and the girls.” She’s one of them. So if you only care about in-game evidence, she is still acknowledged as a woman, even if it is only in death.

[melviships]

Okay, ship tag with Harry is going to be #HereForTheBrews. I'm still working on one for Kim, which will be platonic, potentially queerplatonic.

My insert is Malachy, a barista in a coffee shop in Martinaise. I want to be cute and call it the Swery Café; but I'm not attached to the name yet.

In game, the café would be available to visit after finding mention of it through interaction with objects and a few dialogue options with Union members. Malachy would be polite to Harry and if he makes a Formidable Empathy check, he can see that they are familiar with him and are happy to see he's alive.

If he brings this fact up, they tell him that they have interacted before when he was quite hungover and requested a coffee. He even went so far to ask if they could make an Ubi Coffee (alcoholic beverage). They do not carry liquor and he cried about it. Tears wiped, he drank the coffee and it tasted so good he cried a second time.

He tipped them way too much before leaving.

There is an option to apologize for the occurence, nod in understanding, ask if they carry liquor now, or double-down on saying they should carry it because that's a great business opportunity.

After this he can ask if they have heard anything about the murder or if they hear anything from patrons. Either way, they can answer the questions. Any time Harry gets new information he can come back and ask if they have more details on the matter.

He can also purchase drinks or food to help with morale and health, depending.

Completing the Homo-sexual Underground thought unlocks the option to ask them on a date. He laughs and says he's not opposed to the idea- what does Harry have in mind ?

Nothing. He has no idea what they even like outside of bits they've told him.

With that said, they tell him they like hiking and long walks; so he offers a special tour of Matinaise where he can tell them everything he's found and learned.

They say yes. What is told during the date is dependent on how much the player has done and what routes they have gone on. He may re-enact scenarios if mentioned in the conversation. They will also comment on local wildlife if his Perception is high enough to see or hear the subjects. If he is in the Sorry Cop internalized route and has gone on other dates, he can apologize and say he's seeing other people too. They take zero issue in multiple partners and express they don't date cops anyway. Some of the statistics may chime in that their dress, mannerisms, or anecdotes suggest they are anti-authority. Certain ones will say they are dressed "pretty punk-rock".

Specific areas can trigger them taking a smoke break. If Harry is holding cigarettes, he may join them. He can also offer held alcohol and drugs of which they decline. With alcohol specifically they say they have one monthly cocktail and nothing more. If the date is going okay, they might teasingly remark about drinking with him if he has an Ubi Coffee.

The outcome of the date is either laughably bad but memorable or invigorating and charming. Harry has the option to ask to hug or kiss them, but only after they assert boundaries. Kissing requires a Heroic Suggestion check.

They smell like leather and patchouli. They taste like strong black tea and even stronger breath mints. Legendary Perception check success: the cinnamon kind in the tins they sell at the shops.

If it goes well, they suggest doing it another time- if he finds anything new and interesting. Subsequent dates he can apologize for dating other people if he hasn't already and get the same response.

At the end of the case he can quit being a cop. He brings up the fact that he might have a new kind of partner following the decision and tells Kim they should grab coffee now that it's done.

[jupitermelichios]

you know, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is kind of a dogshit game in a lot of ways. it genuinely has the worst control system i've ever used in a game; octodad has a better control system and being uncontrollable is the entire joke of octodad. the characters are infuriating. it has a borderline intollerable amount of what i can only call anime bullshit. it has fucking roland walker the creepiest non-horror game character in history. it ran out of money to finish and so we'll never know whether the story made sense but i'm willing to lay serious money that the answer is no

and yet

this weird mess of a game has the only use of a catgirl i actually like in basically all of fiction, because for all his many (many many) faults as a game dev and a human being, swery is not a coward, and when he says a catgirl he means a CATgirl

this is amanda. whether or not she actually exists is questionable, because the plot of d4 is just like that, but the first thing this free-to-play-hentai-game-looking bitch does in the entire game is destroy your entire apartment chasing a mouse, which she then eats in front of you. live.

she looks like this, and she has a tonne of unlockable skimpy outfits and a dance minigame, and she canonically eats live mice and birds, throws stuff on the floor to get attention, hisses at the MC's friends when they visit, and spends 99% of every day asleep on furniture that was not designed for be slept on, and however much of a fuck you i want to give swery for everything he did with deadly premonition 2, i have to respect his commitment to making the most unhinged character design decisions in history for d4

[jfsindel]

You'll Believe Me - York/Player!Zach - Deadly Premonitions/Red Seeds Profile

York is officially my boyfriend forever and honestly, I need to write something for me. This is in an entirely different way than I'm used to write (first person to reader directly).

I wanted to keep it human and emotional, so I did not use any online editor or resource. It's straight razor back writing (no going backwards).

Happy Valentine's Day, my love!!! (ok, I don't REALLY believe he's my boyfriend, but why can't I date him?! SWERY, why would you do this to us!??!)

Picture commissioned and done by @fracturedhues

You'll Believe Me

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37126180

Excerpt:

… Zach?

… oh, good.

You worried me.

I’m still here.

Even your grumpy morning self can’t scare me off. Some coffee will help you. Maybe we can swing by and get some breakfast. … I don’t think they do room service here… not sure if we should anyway. The bellhop was a little flighty.

… And I don’t want you to stay in bed all day. We have work to do! Oh, Zach. You’ll be absolutely phenomenal. When have you never been? I’m always so impressed by you. Don’t I always say that you mentor me?

You don’t have to smile today if you don’t have the energy. I got that covered. You just let me know when it’s too much and I’ll handle the small-talk. Oh, I don’t mind. Take your time getting ready.

[ryo-maybe]

7, 12, 25 and 35?

7. Most disappointing game you’ve played?

Fire Emblem Fates. I loved Awakening to death (I specifically kept my copy along with Echoes' when I sold all my 3ds games), so when Fates was about to come out, I was down bad. Pre-ordered both versions of the game, which is the sinning equivalent of performing an Astra on your nether regions. With a Brave Weapon. I didn't give a shit. I needed Fates to give me more of the magic, the wonderful characters and fun gameplay that made me love Awakening so much.

Then I played it.

I couldn't. I straight up tried to gaslight myself into believing I liked the game for what few good aspects it had, if only to justify the monetary expense, which at the time was about the equivalent of one month's worth of food for me (well, still is, but that's beside the point), but, I simply couldn't like it. I hated the weird gimmicky way weapons worked as a trade-off for the removal of durability. I hated the characters. I hated Corrin's stupid, stupid ass. I hated the oddly written and/or paced Supports. The fucking Baby Dimension. The plot... look, we all know, we've talked it down to death, but MAN... I gave so little of a shit that Conquest's decent gameplay couldn't save the whole shebang for me. If it was just the gameplay, I could have played loads of other FEs, with the caveat that they also had a story and characters that didn't make me want to piledrive my ass onto a cactus.

12. Most bizarre game you’ve ever played?

Ooh, I know this one. I had to think on it for a while, but I think I can safely answer this with Steambot Chronicles. There are games done with a deliberate style and aesthetic that evoke a sense of surreality, like, say, Suda51's or SWERY's - Steambot Chronicles does not fall under the same purview. It is a game with the deceptive aesthetic of something aimed at younger audiences, but with an incredibly melancholic veneer to it, and a surprising amount of mature topics such and death and grief featured in its story, among other things. The gameplay... how do I even describe it properly? There is exploration. You can play an instrument (and its associated rhythm minigame) on a corner of a street to gain some dimes from passersby. There is a stock market you can fully engage with. Your responses can make your character pass off as a goody-two-shoes, an asshole, or a dude roleplaying as a soldier. You fight arena matches with mecha shaped like oldie car chassis, except with arms (or drills, or swords, or pile-drivers) and legs (or threads, or spider legs) instead of wheels. You can date and have (implied) sex with some characters. Some of the NPC questlines are as depressing as a Soulslike's. You can end the game by bombing society back into a less technology-addicted dark age. Its Japanese name is "Bumpy Trot". The cover looks like this:

It's a deeply fascinating experience. And the Trotmobiles are an absolutely genius design.

25. Proudest accomplishment in gaming?

I'm not really tryhard enough to do big challenges or anything, but on a purely personal level, I fondly remember this one day of my childhood I spent hooked on my PS2 all day learning how to successfully execute all of King's throw strings in Tekken 5. Of course, it ended up mattering little since I still had to remember how to perform them outside of Practice Mode, but still! It definitely felt very fulfilling at the time.

On the topic of fighting games, any victory I manage to get by the skin of my teeth against @r4ampage feels downright cathartic.

Oh, and clearing the entirety of both Ouendan games in high school too!

35. Best protagonist?

I like Kyle Hyde from the Hotel Dusk series (if you can even call it that, with only two games to its name) a whole damn lot. He checks a lot of my archetypical preferences: he is a detective, a grump who can't help but care about others, an utter loser, and, most important of all, he is so, so delightfully human. I think that, at the end of the day, he embodies a lot of what I like in a character in a simple, straightforward, yet not necessarily inferior fashion to other characters with more complex writing.

That said, I will also say that Library of Ruina's Roland also became a very dear favorite in more recent times, but to properly explain the reasons why I would have to delve into too many spoilers about a game I really wish more people would check out.

[entergamingxp]

A Blessing in Disguise Review — Always Trust the Pizza, Zach

July 8, 2020 9:00 AM EST

Deadly Premonition 2 marks the return of Francis York Morgan and his brand of weirdness. He can also skateboard now. It’s rad.

To call the first Deadly Premonition a cult classic feels like a bit of an understatement. Swery65 and the team at Access Games created one of the most intriguing, yet technically terrible games in recent memory. In 2010, the game felt like a modern-era version of Shenmue’s “gameplay” mixed with an oddball murder mystery like Twin Peaks.

Fans of the original release will be happy to know that the trademark weirdness is still alive and well in 2020. In fact, this prequel/sequel, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise, feels like it was entirely designed back in 2010, and then Swery just held onto it for 10 years.

As such, this makes it a very difficult game to give you a clean-cut review score. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if several people just read the score and skip my text in their haste to take to the comments section to complain. Your enjoyment of Deadly Premonition 2 mostly comes down to what you value most in your video games.

In short, if you like wacky casts and a harebrained plot that barely makes sense, Deadly Premonition is probably worth a try. However, if you need your games to play at a consistent framerate or want precise control over your actions, maybe look elsewhere.

That dichotomy between two thoughts of game design is represented in nearly every aspect of Deadly Premonition 2. It might be tough to fully explain all of my thoughts on my favorite game outside of NieR: Automata or the Yakuza series over the last half-decade while also feeling hard-pressed to call it good. That said, I’ll do my best while going into some spoilers, so fair warning.

“York is, perhaps, my favorite protagonist in gaming history.”

Let’s start with the most important aspect of Deadly Premonition 2, which is the characters. This cast of misfits is often hilarious, always compelling, and sometimes full of more emotion than you previously thought possible. Obviously, the star of the show is Francis York Morgan and his alter ego, Zach. York is, perhaps, my favorite protagonist in gaming history. His encyclopedic knowledge of B-movies and his willingness to explore anything in the search of truth make him the kind of guy you’d love to have on your side.

At times, he might seem to not really understand normal humans, but then you realize that he’s just on another plane from the rest of us. Sure, he refuses to call Arnold Schwarzenegger anything but Arnold S. And, I’ll grant you that mentally hopping out of conversations to talk to what some would call an imaginary friend is probably not the best way to handle an investigation, but York is always there to surprise you with his deep understanding of how people work. He’s able to assess situations in ways that other characters can’t because his worldview is so different from the norm.

York isn’t the only character worth talking about. There’s David, whose four separate personalities fulfill the roles of your hotel’s chef, concierge, bellboy, and owner. There’s also Mrs. Carpenter, the bowling granny. Or maybe, like me, you love the always-cursing crawdaddy farmer Chuck. The man might have a short temper, but when he goes off on you in his heavy Louisanna accent, it’s a thing of beauty. You haven’t seen a better putdown wordsmith in video games.

And, it would be a mistake to not also talk about York’s young assistant, Patti. As a foil to York’s oddball behavior, Patti is sublime. She refuses to put up with his crap and even takes a few Jim from The Office-like moments to look at the camera, asking “is this guy for real?” with her blue eyes.

Unfortunately, while all the characters in the game are memorable (yes, even you, The Mirror), when you actually start playing the game, it all starts to fall apart.

I’m no frame rate expert. Frankly, as long as it’s consistent, I don’t really care for most games. That said, calling Deadly Premonition 2’s framerate smooth is like calling games with randomized loot boxes a fun form of “surprise mechanics.” It’s just an outright lie.

In the main overworld, the game chugs like a stay-at-home mom whose son just dropped out of college and has taken up binge-drinking boxed wine. I can make that joke because I dropped out for a year before going back to finish. Except, I was the one drinking, not my mom.

“As a foil to York’s oddball behavior, Patti is sublime.”

Anyways, don’t expect technical brilliance. Even expecting technical competency is a big ask. But, does any of that matter when you can skate around the beautiful town of Le Carre in 15fps or less?

The answer is absolutely not. See, Deadly Premonition 2 might not understand what framerate is, but it does understand fun. And, to that end, Swery and his team have replaced the boring driving from the original game with skateboarding.

That’s right, friends. York’s rented hybrid card was stolen during his trip to Le Carre and, in its place, he’s become a true “Sk8er Boi.” At first, all he can do is ride around, but, once you meet your very own Mr. Miyagi in Emma, you’ll quickly learn the “FORBIDDEN ARTS” of skateboarding. Basically, you’re going to become an impossible-landing machine. It’s super rad.

At least, it (and the rest of the game with it) is as long as it’s working. We talked about Deadly Premonition 2’s frame rate, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. Expect to run into several bugs. The game only hard crashed on me once, but, like a jealous former lover, it teased me all the time. Load times in Deadly Premonition 2 are apparently something the game thinks you should savor.

They’re incredibly long and sometimes you’re just looking at a black screen for 10 minutes wondering if you Switch exploded on the inside from running this Xbox 360-looking game. Additionally, I also ran into several soft locks during my playthrough. Basically, what happens is randomly your buttons stop working. You can’t shoot bad guys. You can’t run. Heck, you can’t even skate. Truly, it’s the worst timeline.

That first problem will really hurt you, though. If you can’t shoot, you can’t fight off bad guys in the game’s dungeons. This means you have no choice except to load back to a checkpoint.

Speaking of the dungeon, imagine you’re playing a Persona game. The only difference is that, in place of deep rock-paper-scissors RPG combat, you’re shooting enemies in the face. The best you can say about it is that it’s so easy, you barely have to think about it.

Seriously, I don’t think I used a health pack until the last boss. At the end of the game, I had well over 100 healing items, and it wasn’t because I was being stingy. Personally, I didn’t really mind. The story and characters were the reason to play. However, if you’re looking for good gameplay, this ain’t it.

“Like a good book, the story is a page-turner.”

Deadly Premonition 2’s often bonkers story is full of heart. If you asked me to tell you exactly what happens, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you. However, what I will say is that I was glued to the TV throughout the game.  Like a good book, the story is a page-turner. I’m just not completely sure if the total tale makes sense or not.

To me, it’s an exploration of a man who lost everything and is trying to get it back. It’s also about a man who is willing to follow any possibility in his search for the truth. And lastly, it’s about RED TREES. I’m sure that last line means something to a small number of you.

But, while the main story is a bit of a wild one, I can say one thing with absolute certainty; In his time in Le Carre, York has developed an obsession with bridges. I know this because he’s told me that somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 times.

See, while the cutscenes are mostly great, York only has 15-20 stories that he tells while you’re exploring the town. And he’s going to tell them to you over and over again. If you wanted to hear York wax poetically about Charles Bronson’s name, you’re in luck. He’ll be doing that a lot.

Deadly Premonition 2 is a test of how much crap you can put up with for one of my favorite experiences in this generation of video games. It’s like if a chef brought you the finest crab in the world, but to eat it you have to crack open the shells with your toes while getting mud thrown at your face and being forced to listen to your least favorite song play over-and-over again. At some point, you have to ask yourself, is the crab really worth it?

For me, the answer is a resounding yes. I don’t know if Deadly Premonition 2 will end the year ranked as the best game of 2020 in the annals of DualShockers’ history, but it will probably be my favorite one.

“Deadly Premonition 2 just wants to tell its story, tell it well, and be its own weird, little self.”

The game actually provides one of the best analogies I think of to describe itself. York is a student of cinema. He can tell you the director and year of release for almost any film in existence. However, he’s never heard of E.T., a seminal movie in film history.

Only crazy people and children haven’t heard of E.T. You might not like it, but you’ve heard of it. You probably know the story. You’ve certainly heard about him phoning home. But York hasn’t. He’s too focused on Scatman Crothers’ performance in The Shining to pay attention to that popcorn movie. He doesn’t have time for your summer blockbusters.

Imagine a man who not only hasn’t seen a Marvel movie in 2020, but hasn’t even heard of them. That’s York. He’d see a poster for The Avengers and be like, “This masked man in red, white, and blue tights reminds me of Simon Wincer’s 1996 film The Phantom starring Billy Zane and Kristy Swanson.” And then you’d have to hear him talk about it lovingly for five minutes, while some great smooth jazz plays in the background. Did I mention the music rules? But, like every other aspect of Deadly Premonition 2, that has to come with a caveat. Because, just like the first game, the audio mixing is all over the place.

Anyways, Deadly Premonition 2 is exactly the same. It’s a game that feels like it has never played any games released after the original. It doesn’t care about frame rate or good controls. It’s made a few changes to the overall formula but mostly casts aside the advances game design has made in the last ten years. Deadly Premonition 2 just wants to tell its story, tell it well, and be its own weird, little self. Your ability to either live with that or not will determine how deeply you fall in love with the citizens of Le Carre.

July 8, 2020 9:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/a-blessing-in-disguise-review-always-trust-the-pizza-zach/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-blessing-in-disguise-review-always-trust-the-pizza-zach

[rollinwiththepunches]

Video game ask ya nerd! 3-8!

UR A NERD

3: Best game you've ever played?

Like, on what merits though? Best gameplay? Best story? Best art? A game I really enjoy? My favorite?

I think I could easily say Bloodborne here. It has a perfect mix of everything I love in games, meticulously crafted into a game I would gladly herald as one of the most expertly made games ever, but it’s too easy, you know?

Let me instead tell you about my most enjoyable gaming experience. I’ve had the joy to play so many great games in my life, but no game will probably ever match up to the joy I felt playing through SWERY’s game Deadly Premonition. I remember I went to a game dev talk once and was told ‘If you love the game you’re working on; it’ll show’

And you know what? I don’t think I’ve ever played another game that was made with as much love and child-like wonder over the medium of games as Deadly Premonition. Look, this game is so hilariously unfocused in its features and scope it borders on unplayable at times, I’m not going to lie. A majority of people will be so turned off by the uncanny-looking graphics, multitude of bugs and repetitive gameplay. But I loved every moment. It’s pretty clear the dev team just made the game they wanted to make with 0 regard on how it would sell, play or perform. But it’s like watching a kid play with toys. It makes me so incredibly happy, brings me so much joy, and I think that’s a brilliant quality of a game.

4: Worst game you've ever played?

Silent Hill: Homecoming.

Ok, so, let me preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of the Silent Hill series, so this is almost entirely based on the crushing disappointment I felt watching my all-time favorite series devolve into this shell of what the series was to me. Rather than the surprisingly deep-woven narrative about personal hells, religious themes, and deep symbolism, Homecoming devolved into a convoluted mess that was too busy to visually reference the Silent Hill movie instead of having it’s own visual identity. 

Mired under all the mediocrity are a few actually pretty good ideas, but the gameplay was average, there were basically no puzzles

Overall, Homecoming was an average game, and would have been an okay horror shooter, had it not decided to slap on the name of Silent Hill. 

Plus points, however; sweet-ass monster designs, and super fucking rad soundtrack!

If you like Homecoming; that’s awesome! I’m happy you saw something I didn’t in it. I’m not some form of Silent Hill elitist here, come in my inbox and I will gladly defend the Silent Hill movie.

5: A popular series/game you just can't get into no matter how much you try?

Dragon Age Origins.  I’ve given this game the most honest shot. I wanted to love it, I wanted to be swallowed up in its world and be immersed in this epic fantasy tale, but the immersion never came. I loved the characters, I love Thedas, but the battles are so boring and the gameplay so tedious that it killed any shot the game had to pull me into it. Which sucks, because I really, really love the Dragon Age universe.

6: A game that's changed you the most?

This question has a couple of answers. If we’re talking what game has made the most impact on me overall? Or what game made me leave it as a completely different person? Or most influential? I’ll divide this up!

The one game that has had the most impact on me and my journey through video games and myself, it’s Silent Hill 2. This is my all-time favorite game, no question about it, but it’s also my most integral and important moment in gaming. This game has been my biggest artistic influence, this game convinced me about the integrity of games as an artistic medium. This game is what made me want to pursue art as a career.

Personally, and for my emotional development, however; it’s Yume Nikki that changed me the most. This low-key, slow-burn free RPG maker game was probably the most emotional experience I’ve had with a game. I know this game has a million interpretations, but I feel you interpret whatever you bring into it. For me, it was the emotional catharsis I needed to work through the trauma I went through being severely bullied throughout middle school.

Lastly, I’m going to also name Dark Souls, for revolutionizing how I view environmental storytelling and how I forever aspire to make my environments. 

7: A game you'll never forget?

OFF by mortis ghost. This game has a funny way of staying in my head. I’ve gone over it my head a million times, but I can’t pin down why and how it left such a huge impact on me that I can’t forget it. If it’s the unsettling designs, the uncanny feeling of the world, or trying to figure out what the hell everything means, there’s just something about it and the bleak world it paints I have not yet been able to shake.

8: Best soundtrack?

Bloodborne. 

Motivation: Ludwig The Holy Blade  Boss Theme

[bonegender]

Wait does that confirm GNC Thomas????

SWERY I WANT ANSWERS

SWERY MY MAN BOOSTING TRANS RIGHTS