Jex
Member
Oh but we do.
Idle Thumbs Megathread | Indepth discussion inbetween horsebags and birdsounds
- Thread starter Lijik
- Start date
Oh but we do.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I have no idea why I kept thinking that dashcon is a MLP con before this podcast.
Sir Garbageman
Member
The skeleton dream talk had me laughing so hard I almost had to pull over while driving home from work. Holy crap.
Me too, and whenever I hear the name thats what I think too.
im on tumblr all the time and i honestly thought it was a rainbow dash convention when i first heard about it until someone explained it to me
Because one of the characters is named Rainbow Dash. Seems logical to me, I mean there's no relation between Tumblr and "Dash-". Why didn't they just call it Tumblrcon
or AwfulCon
Along the theme of sharing dreams, today's dream had me driving a car and then getting in to an accident. I lost parts of the right side of my body and so my torso and right arm were replaced by robotic substitutes. They felt cold and unfeeling but I still felt human... I think. It was probably because I slept on the arm and cut off circulation but I felt fine when I woke up.
Chris Remo
Member
"Dash" is for "dashboard." Tumblr (wisely) forbade them from using "Tumblr" in the name or implying there's any official association with Tumblr.
Okay, that makes sense then, but the name still seems too generic to be useful unlike other conventions.
it seemed like a rather generic convention anyway with no real focus other than it was on a specific social media platform
Do such conventions work I wonder. You know, besides the shitshow this particular convention blew up into.
Anime and video games is pretty focused I reckon, since they are mediums with a constant stream of new stuff and a long-ish history. The populations for both are also massive and anime/manga and video games sometimes gets bundled up with comics for convergence of nerdiness (i.e. there's a shitload of stuff an attendee could talk about and branch out).
GafCon (if it would exist) would be kind of like Dashcon; a convention centered around a website or platform (that doesn't involve sharing technical know-how like most developer conferences). There's only so many memes and reminiscing one could hypothetically stand before they leave. A regional meetup works much better in both cases.
GafCon (if it would exist) would be kind of like Dashcon; a convention centered around a website or platform (that doesn't involve sharing technical know-how like most developer conferences). There's only so many memes and reminiscing one could hypothetically stand before they leave. A regional meetup works much better in both cases.
TheHollowNight
Member
Oh my GOD Chris' dream. I was totally immobilized from laughter at work for a good 5 minutes. Oh man, That was so good.
ebullientprism
Member
I dunno if it was just me but Dani's description of Abyss was utterly incomprehensible.
Its like a 20 minute talk in the podcast where every second sentence has the phrase "Its kinda like" followed by comparisions to almost every game and genre an Indie game can be like. Then pepper the rest of the conversation with descriptions of game's monsters.
I knew nothing about the game before listening to the podcast and now I feel like I know less than that.
:/
Its like a 20 minute talk in the podcast where every second sentence has the phrase "Its kinda like" followed by comparisions to almost every game and genre an Indie game can be like. Then pepper the rest of the conversation with descriptions of game's monsters.
I knew nothing about the game before listening to the podcast and now I feel like I know less than that.
:/
Then again, it really seems like a weird game that is pretty hard to describe on the top of your head.
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
She had the difficult time of explaining an ACE game but who wouldn't?
Zeno Clash has you fighting half bird men in first person, in a story that ends up being a terrible tale of surreal kidnappings with main antagonist name that goes by the name of father mother.
I can sit here all day and carefully break down Zeno Clash for the uninformed but I'm not sure I get it myself.
Zeno Clash has you fighting half bird men in first person, in a story that ends up being a terrible tale of surreal kidnappings with main antagonist name that goes by the name of father mother.
I can sit here all day and carefully break down Zeno Clash for the uninformed but I'm not sure I get it myself.
i had this problem too. i found that section baffling. after a while i just paused the podcast and watched a gameplay video to help orientate myself. her comments were good after doing that, maybe i wasn't paying close enough attention but i think she just forgot to give the listener a straightforward low level description to ground you because she was so focused on trying to express the wide range of weird things that were interesting about it.
It's actually pretty fucking mundane and on the nose if you can look past the weird look. The second game even more so. It even uncovers most of the reasons behind the way the world is the way it is, including its inhabitants. In short: It's a first person brawler with a really weird skin. Bam. It's really not that difficult to describe in an understandable way. Abyss Odyssey is a 2D action game with a combo system, randomised levels and a weird skin. Bam.
Bam. Bam. Pow.
Ice-Pick Lodge games (Pathologic, The Void, Cargo!) aren't as easy to reduce into recognizable parts.
Cymbal Head
Banned
I would listen to a dedicated Idle Thumbs Dream Cast.
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
a 2d action game like strider? or like double dragon? Or like contra?
A combo system like DMC? or like vanquish? or like tony hawk?
a weird skin like doki doki universe? like the swapper? like jazz punk?
randomized levels like im playing level 3 now instead of level 14? or you mean like a persona dungeon? or like spelunky?
It's easy to describe something to 2-3 friends who you know very well and can account for their experiences. However, if you're ever on a podcast with thousands of listeners you might find yourself having a tougher time explaining a game that has multiple systems like AO and still come out with something that is universally comprehensible.
Cargo is fairly easy to break down, its core gameplay is comparable to Banjo Nuts and Bolts. You make vehicles to complete missions and find parts to make new vehicles.
Its everything else around that thats wild and tricky to explain
I don't think that contradicts my point. You don't need to be as precise as that. The examples you picked demonstrate the kind of understanding that genre terms are there for. You know roughly where to place it. If you want to know more you go into more detail, but that's not always in service of a fluid conversation.
Yeah, you're right actually.
Kick these little bald men around for some reason, then make them have a lot of fun.
MiniBossBattle
Member
For a video game reviewer, Danielle does a poor job describing a video game.
I don't understand how she parses or shares information. My brain hurts and is trying to cling on to what is relevant/helpful
I don't understand how she parses or shares information. My brain hurts and is trying to cling on to what is relevant/helpful
There is something different in describing a game off-the-cuff than in writing. It's pretty easy to get distracted by the details, especially when they are such a big part of the game experience.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
this collection of words is weird:
I want to know what Jake thinks of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
I want to know what Jake thinks of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
MiniBossBattle
Member
Doesn't make it any better. There was no base description of mechanics then goes into tangents (fish?). She talks like a 6 page IGN article about Dynasty Warrior 5. I wish they had more designers like Samantha or Kasavin.
Contrast that with the debate about Shovel Knights mechanics/player only rule sets not meeting the expectations of a Spelunky universal rule sets.
Edit; It wasn't SF2, its was USF4 that Luffy won with a PS1 controller with a converter for the Xbox360.
Your posts on the last few pages of this thread are getting pretty repetitive and tiring.
I would love to hear them discuss any of their [Ice-Pick Lodge] games for a whole podcast.
Especially if they could get everyone on and have them all play it. Loved this cast. 2 hours of 'try not to make goofy faces/laugh out loud on the subway/bus to/from work' goodness. Danielle slipping in and out of her Rhode Island really adds to the greatness. She's settled into that 3rd/4th chair nicely, even if her reviews lack description
MiniBossBattle
Member
MiniBossBattle
Member
Yeah she did. The score was about right, good mechanics and interesting environmental interactions but Anime sucks.
I liked it a lot. Both it and Rise. Both of them are movies that should be dumb with no need to exist, but instead they are engaging character-driven stories that treat the audience like they have brains in their head, and at least come across feeling like they're about something. That's not to say that they're not big Hollywood high concept tentpole movies -- that's the framework they exist within and they are examples of that model working the way I wish more movies did.
I think describing a game on a podcast is a learned skill that is not natural to anyone. I also think Breckon is the undisputed master of it on all fronts and the rest of us are just imitators.
Just turn 'em into legs.
Like the mechanics of a mini boss.
MiniBossBattle
Member
It's almost like I am showing patterns to teach and inform. Critique doesn't equal not liking them.
Maybe I am giving bitter and not enough sweet: I love how Danielle translated her knowledge of boxing to the footise and distances players were using to their advantage. I also can relate the frustration of being physically good at a sport but not at a game.
Words to live by.
I don't know what that feels like. When I was still in school, I picked up sports as fast as I did video games. I wasn't the best, but I was pretty good for a short guy (especially in basketball where height gives so many advantages since I was a very high jumper). The only difference was I stopped playing sports and kept on with games because they were more interesting to me. I've only had trouble with my fingers/body not keeping up with my brain signals when it came to games like DMC and Bayonetta and fighting games when I was still dabbling in them.
NumberThree
Member
I thought the video game <-> phyical sports discussion was weird. It felt like they equated playing sports with a bunch of friends to playing fighting games at EVO in terms of how they can translate their thoughts into actions.
If you've beaten Spelunky or Dark Souls or Far Cry 2 or Dragon's Crown you're already adept at translating your thoughts into inputs. If you're playing or making video games for a living you're most likely better at video games than you are at any sport.
If you've beaten Spelunky or Dark Souls or Far Cry 2 or Dragon's Crown you're already adept at translating your thoughts into inputs. If you're playing or making video games for a living you're most likely better at video games than you are at any sport.
ebullientprism
Member
I think it was more like the idea of being able to see something on the screen and relate it to something actually physical you do/can do making it a more accessible esport to watch even if you have relatively little knowledge about the game.
I imagine everyone knows what holding a gun feels like (toys anyway) so you can translate that into what you see on the screen if you watch CS even if you never played CS. It acts like a bridge between what you see on the screen and what you know you have done in the past. Those games where you can make that transition I think are always way more newbie friendly than something like DOTA or LOL where that feeling of having done/seen something in real life to relate doesnt exist.
EDIT that German accent you guys do is always hilarious. I think Nick and Chris did that last time they were talking about Starcraft 2. Was giggling like a child everytime someone broke that out.
EDIT 2 Last post wasnt meant to be a jab at Danielle, I just thought she could have done a more focused job explaining what the game is.
MiniBossBattle
Member
These games are built ultimately to be able be beatable, items/levels to lessen the difficulty curve and don't have difficult combos in addition to having a human being put you in the worst places possible. You can't nerf a human's ability.
Danielle was putting her experience of the boxing ring with the players competing in EVO (Street Fighter specifically). EVO players were using fireballs and attacks as a jab in boxing; to put their opponent into places of advantage.
If you have an opening, SF players go into a series of practiced combinations like st. HP, Uppercut, Focus attack dash cancel forward, two quarter circle forward all punch buttons. Boxers often go for their combination punches when you see an openning. Both must be recognized in about a third of a second and for the EVO players many of their combos must be executed in 1/30 of a second precision.
I think she also recognizes and appreciates the 1v1 aspect of fighting games in addition to the cerebral part of baiting (counter-punching) and defending and attacking in the genre it also hits that lizard part of your brain of reacting and being in the now.
Problem is is that you can see Mayweather gracefully dodge a flurry of punches but don't knotice that ChrisG jumped, fireballed dash, fly fireball, unfly shell kick land, call assist, super jump, dash in shell kick about 2 seconds making himself and his assist safe from options in UMVC3. That was over 30-40 inputs on the controller in two seconds. They see it as fireball spam.
ebullientprism
Member
Looks like Chris and Jake are both getting into Destiny. Cant wait to hear their thoughts.