site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2290 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 13, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

You're almost selling me on those games, but you've got the wrong man for subtlety. What you need to tell me is whether, unlike Dark Souls, Elden Ring is meaningfully playable with KB+M.

Other than that, I wonder why the Souls games and Red Dead never held much attraction for me, while they get that much love from you. You've written out the second part, but allow me to have a brief look at the first: I played but never finished Dark Souls - at some point memorizing attack patterns just became boring to me and I felt like it gave me too little for how much effort it expected. I had seen the setting, and sure enough I appreciate the excellent craftsmanship behind the map, but lore-wise it seemed to be all style without substance. You call it subtext-based, but to me it was just vague and meaningless. And I adore westerns, but I just don't trust a big company like Rockstar to tell a good western story. I expect it to be modern cinematic tripe wearing a cowboy hat and a gravelly voice. An overrated deconstruction like Unforgiven, maybe, or even just a tale of social justice given some token masculinity to help it sell. I know you just said it isn't so, and I'll certainly place that on my mental scales, but right now they're still inclined in favor of generous cynicism.

(It also doesn't help that those games are expensive.)

Thanks for explaining your view!

Oh hell no, Elden Ring is a complete bitch to play without a controller. Rdr2 is great though, really customisable but even the default is well thought out.

The thing about rdr2's story is that it is written by gen xers, so it absolutely deconstructs the hell out of everything. So it depends on what aggravates you about deconstructions - if it's any kind of pomo meta bullshit that annoys you, you are going to have a bad time. But if it's the fact that everyone deconstructs everything the same fucking way to get the same pat globohomo message of 'peace and love and consume and victims are wonderful' then you might actually enjoy it, because it's not that. There are elements of that - it's a triple a game, but Rockstar put a lot of effort into working them in as a natural extension of the story, like with Lenny your black protege, and Sadie your female protege.

I know I'm being very forgiving but my rationale is that big companies like Rockstar have to pander to the woke a bit, they are beholden to investors and can't afford to be crucified by 90% of their advertisers (the gaming press). So I can tolerate the diversity bullshit, because they put a sincere effort into making it fit the story and setting. Like I said, rdr2 and elden ring are immersive in very different ways - in rdr2 you feel like you are in the world because you have so much input, whereas in er you get sucked in by the environmental storytelling.

But shit man, if you nailed dark souls so hard you can no longer not see the seams, you probably will bounce off er. It's significantly more refined and there are more systems at play, but if they don't distract you from the loops I know it's not going to be any less frustrating. I do think you should give rdr2 a go though.

I'd say our main point of divergence is that I like vague and meaningless storytelling. I like putting my own ideas into it and especially figuring out what the author was going for.

This is kind of disjointed, sorry about that - this is actually my third attempt writing it because I guess brave really doesn't like android 14 - I can't even change tabs without it refreshing since I updated. Largely I agree with you though and I think we should get a thread about indie games going.

Hah. I don't do long posts on the phone because I tend to fatfinger the back-button, thus deleting it all. Sorry to hear that your digits, too, are too clumsy for your device!

And alright, alright. No Elden Ring for me, I won't be getting a controller, but you sold me on RDR2. I'll get it when it's cheap enough for my slim wallet.

I'd say our main point of divergence is that I like vague and meaningless storytelling. I like putting my own ideas into it and especially figuring out what the author was going for.

Absolutely fair assessment. I for one can't stand that kind of thing - on finishing any book by Gene Wolfe, I have to simultaneously admire his craftsmanship and curse him for leaving me with a giant mess to sort out and not enough information to do it with.

I think we should get a thread about indie games going.

I might do that when next I feel the need to review something. Might be a while yet because my gaming budget dried up. Or I could drag out one of my more readable steam reviews and freshen it up a little. Hell, I'll certainly join in if you start it first. Games are just much nicer than culture war, lately.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats