Yeah, this is basically a lot of how I think about things as well, so it’s part of why I enjoy his stuff so much.
haha whut
I think a lot of the perceived dismissal of the witness by certain writers has been a combination of a) poorly motivated pieces that are way more about jon blow’s character and position in the games industry (I like ella guro a lot but she definitely wrote one of these) than about the game itself – which, as doolittle mentioned, is actually very purely mechanical rather than being about anything in particular (other than process of creating it) and offers very limited opportunity for real criticism on aesthetic grounds, leading to b) a lack of things to say. I don’t know that it’s been explicitly called “shallow” as such but I would agree that’s a nearly pointless criticism in this case
i am going to sit down and beat my copy of argus no senshi (the ps2 rygar game) in one sitting. i have never played it before and know very little about it except that it’s supposedly not very long. will report back 
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I’m thinking of that one angry piece 2501 posted by Lulu Blue which posts its entirety when you paste the link (???)
It’s hard to find a piece of writing about The Witness that isn’t taking it to task for being aesthetically insubstantial but the game itself is clear that there’s nothing behind the curtain. If you want something to be there that’s something you brought with you. The “readings” are masturbatory, the piss jar FMV is a middle finger, and there is literally only one way to interact. If there’s a criticism of it that’s focused on puzzle design I’d love to read it, but all that I’ve seen are hit pieces about Blow himself.
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I frankly didn’t expect my explanation of that mode of criticism to be so novel, it’s something I’ve always sort of held at arm’s remove due to knowing I’m not that guy but not wanting to bounce off of good writing for no good reason. glad y’all liked it.
this is still basically hearsay though! just play the game. honest. you will be less sour over it.
also totally fair point re: early RE4 previews
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I’m almost certain it doesn’t even render at 720p (though it might support a 1080p framebuffer for the UI elements and whatnot which makes a big difference) but it’s a minor thing
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that’s what I meant about the framebuffer. apparently it renders at 1024x768.
Does it really run at 60 FPS? I thought it had some hinky v-sync solution that dropped frames like crazy.
The “readings” in The Witness are dumb and I would prefer the game was completely wordless. There’s a thing later on that implies that at least some of the readings are supposed to be self-conscious and dumb. The substance of the game is in the rules of the environment and the big secret. It’s very visually plain to support this.
The mine carts have Wankel rotors for wheels, is what I’m saying.
Also, generally y’all, I have no critical background at all. Tiny things like Felix’s frame for Adi are helpful.
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argus giving me my daily dose of vitamin d with all these blue skies!
tackled two bosses so far, there’s a tiny hub world that leads to all the little levels. metroidish design in giving you abilities that let you traverse new places within that hub world. it’s very simple and straightforward, but not bad at all.
main character looooves giving dramatic monologues! one of the best so far:
was that the guard dog of hades? no, it was not. it was the fang that rages against injustice. fang of rage, fight with me!
having a p good time so far
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That probably means Snake is a bunch of polygons and the viewmodels for weapons aren’t a bunch of polygons and the hardware is getting a boost from that
that is a really nice display
what the hell is an “adi”
has adilegian even posted on SB2 yet?