Agreed, and I also think part of it is that the videogame medium is linked so closely with consumer technology. I would guess that people who talk this way about games don’t really pay much attention to them, and assume that newer games are “better” in the way that the new model of smartphone is better.
4 Likes
People think things are better now because it’s now, because things get better the closer we get to now
8 Likes
and that’s why we can’t use emulators without having long discussions about positivism
6 Likes
To me gamers who have not interrogated their teleological assumptions about history and progress are the real “casuals”
18 Likes
causal gamers
16 Likes
been playing too much kiwami 2…
1 Like
i mean there are definitely people who sincerely think that every marvel movie looks better than every black and white movie too
5 Likes
Peak iPhone experience was the iPhone 4 with ios6.
2 Likes
I’ve been trying to tweak OBS for streaming on my PC, so that I can stream Soul Caliber 6. Its a demanding game to stream, due to 60fps and very high amount of motion/screen movement.
However, OBS seems to perform relatively worse on my system, compared to others. I think its due to my old video card, a 7870. I think there’s something about the way OBS accesses its resources, which are not well optimized due to its age and likely dated driver calls. It (OBS) seems to perform differently, when connected to different displays. and even the “fast” downscaling introduces some occasional slowdown. I otherwise have pretty nice hardware.
BUT, I finally got the idea to turn off the screen preview feature, and that gave me a noticeable amount of extra performance to play with. Things still aren’t perfectly smooth. But, its now a lot more workable.
Words on difficult video games
I haven’t been able to go to the arcade to play IIDX because I am out of liquid money and not having an insurmountable wall to throw myself at repeatedly has been doing a number on me. I pushed myself and ran for 8 miles thinking it would help and it did in some ways but it wasn’t the same. IIDX has both a physical component (improving hand dexterity and stamina ) and a mental component (committing visual patterns to muscle memory) whereas when I run it’s almost entirely physical other than focusing on my posture and breathing pattern. It is good and an important release but not satisfying in the same way.
I’ve been thinking over what it is about IIDX that gets my brain in that perfect spot and I think it’s that there are very few mechanics but it explores them to such a deep level that I have to move beyond consciously processing them. This is in contrast to say, FromSoft games or competitive FPS where although they are challenging and mechanically complex, there are so many factors to consider at once that though I can get into the zone, I can’t entirely zone out.
In considering what could potentially scratch the same itch and get me into the same mental space I’m lead towards the other infamously challenging arcade mainstay: scrolling shooters. I don’t have any real experience with the genre but I’m hoping that it might do the same thing for my brain. My only holdups are that 1) it doesn’t really include a physical component whereas in IIDX I can only play for about two hours before my arms are just too exhausted to perform at an optimum level and 2) it seems very highly focused on rote memorization whereas IIDX is entirely muscle memory, to the point where I play every song every time randomized so the notes are in different columns every time and I’m reacting to a new set of patterns every time I play a song even if I play the same one repeatedly.
I’ve been trying out the 360 port of Radiant Silvergun and having a good and humbling time with it. The chaining mechanic is what’s really getting me! I’m continually pushing to see how far I can get in the game on one credit, and if I don’t focus on chains I can usually make it to the end of the first level but when I try to optimize chaining I am regularly getting my first death as early as the second group of enemies in the game.
I can’t tell — does chaining enemies also make your weapons level up faster, or is it just the perfect destruction rate on bosses that benefits that? I really love the way weapons and upgrading them is handled in this game, as I find even from session to session I gravitate towards different weapons and I’m constantly trying new approaches to situations.
Later this week I’m gonna try out the 360 port of Ikaruga as well, and soon I’m gonna see what Dodonpachi Daioujou and Espgaluda are like at a friend’s house. I recognize I’m jumping in the deep end with those two but I want to at least try them out!
The other game I’ve been playing is MGSV, which I beat on launch and haven’t touched since so I’m giving it a fresh playthrough. This is my open world game of the generation, as I find that every named area on the map really would stand on its own as a level and I love how many different approaches to any given situation the mechanics afford me. The side ops do a good job of feeling optional enough to not come across as filler, and as they repeat objectives across different areas I take each one as an opportunity to try a different method of approaching the situation. The game comes across as a little bit bloated as they keep introducing more and more systems but fortunately I find most of them satisfying to engage with in some way. The story is Kojima, I’ve forgotten most of it so with where I’m at right now it’s an interesting geopolitics techno-mystery but I remember being disappointed with how it all wraps up, curious to see if I’ll feel the same this time around.
11 Likes
As I recall, chaining improves your weapons faster due to them getting more EXP (tied to score), but it has been awhile. I remember that the Ikaruga chaining system (which is available in 360 silvergun if you have bought ikaruga) is a lot easier to work with, but again, it has been awhile.
Daioujou is…interesting. Don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work, and certainly don’t judge the rest of Cave’s games based on it. I would recommend the XBLA port of Guwange if you want another one that can be had pretty cheap (I think it is like 10 bucks?). Deathsmiles is also really good as a place to get started if the moe doesn’t bug you too much.
2 Likes
I really want to try Deathsmiles as I’ve heard that same thing about it, that it’s a good starting point — unfortunately the only game playing device I have is an Xbone and it’s not on the backwards compatibility list. Guwange is, though, so I’ll check it out soon! Thanks!
Ah yeah, the BC issue is somewhat limiting. If all the Cave games got BC on the XBone, I might be more inclined to pick one up.
Yeah, it’s a big bummer because they recently announced they’re done with the Xbone BC program and they’re putting all their work in on the next generation system, so there are a ton of games I was hoping would get BC but never will.
Yeah, MS’s piecemeal approach to the whole BC thing has always been annoying.
I prefer Microsoft’s approach over Sony’s
2 Likes
Who would want to play old games? Here’s a shiny Crash Bandicoot remake you ingrates.
2 Likes
I think yakuza 0 was definitely the best one. The story was better, just about a shady land deal. but kiwami 2 at least had improved substories over 1, which were almost all just person trying to con you, usually a Tricky Woman. also zero had hardly any guns, which I liked, 1 and 2 people are constantly pulling out guns or getting shot. I haven’t decided if I’m going to try to play through 3 in an emulator or wait for a pc release. I think 3’s the one I’ve heard that’s the boring one or something isn’t it?
1 Like
Eh. They are both not great about it, really.
I mean, Sony did well for the PS2, then screwed up in phasing it out in the PS3 (it was really good until then though, dammit Sony) and then not even trying with the PS4 (wtf), though they have said they are going full BC for the PS5 (I am assuming just to the PS4, though).
MS always wavers on this “maybe it will, maybe it won’t, or it might but not well” on a per game basis for the past two generations. I got really annoyed at it on the 360 (where Outrun 2, for example, actually ran worse than it did on a regular Xbox). I’ve heard decent reports on the supported games for the Bone, but at the same time, there are a lot of games that just aren’t even supported, which sucks.