They don't usually deal with social issues, true, but when you frame your game as dealing with masculine relationships in a way that can only be done between a group that's made up exclusively of men, you kind of automatically set yourself up to be held to a higher standard
It's possible I'm being too harsh on them, but I'd rather be too critical rather than not enough (not to say that anyone else isn't being critical enough, this is just how I want to be when I look at this kind of dynamic in games)
In fact, here's Tabata's quote:
Speaking honestly, an all-male party feels almost more approachable for players. Even the presence of one female in the group will change their behavior, so that they'll act differently. So to give the most natural feeling, to make them feel sincere and honest, having them all the same gender made sense in that way. The world might be ready to see the curtain lifted on what boys do when girls aren't around, when they come out of the tent all prim and proper. That's kind of the idea behind it…we think, male or female player, that everyone will feel a certain connection and bond with the four characters.
Maybe you interpreted that with a bit more optimism than I did, but I never got the impression that they cared at all about addressing the idea of masculinity and the presentation thereof.
This isn't to say I think you're being too harsh. You aren't. I'm just surprised you had higher expectations than I did.
Yeah, that's the quote I was referring to. On some level I guess I wasn't expecting it, but it was one of the only explanations that would have made that statement mean anything that wasn't stupid, so I hoped for it! I expected all the characters and dialog to range from OK to schlock, and for there to be no real narrative justification for what they were doing outside of demographic appeal, which is more or less what we actually got.
And demographic appeal isn't really a bad reason to do anything? But the way they handled it was still kind of lazy, and never tried to live up to what that kind of story can be
My guess, it was content that was actually "finished", so they weren't going to ditch it.
The whole back half of the game, from Altissia onwards, felt to me like they scavenged whatever assets were presentable from god only knows how many dead ends and restarts in the development process, and then figured out how to string them together as best they could.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I really want some disgruntled employees to go on record about some of this stuff.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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PiptheFairFrequently not in boats.Registered Userregular
Chapter 13 could have been incredibly atmospheric, if the chapters surrounding it hadn't felt so brief, and if
Ardyn's taunting over the intercome were a little better written. It was like he had a 6th sense for going off on his "You're so weak and helpless, how will you ever survive alone?" speech exactly when I was making another dude implode with my Ring of Murder Magic.
The only stuff that I actually stealthed was one Iron Giant who respawned too quickly to make assassinating him worth the time, and the Daemon who turned out to be the Emperor.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
could've done with just one less hallway of soldiers to hide from. That would've shaved a few minutes off the section before you get your shit back and made that part feel like less of a slog. I loved the exposition dump and think that Ardyn is actually one of the better villains for the series.
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PiptheFairFrequently not in boats.Registered Userregular
Chapter 13 could have been incredibly atmospheric, if the chapters surrounding it hadn't felt so brief, and if
Ardyn's taunting over the intercome were a little better written. It was like he had a 6th sense for going off on his "You're so weak and helpless, how will you ever survive alone?" speech exactly when I was making another dude implode with my Ring of Murder Magic.
The only stuff that I actually stealthed was one Iron Giant who respawned too quickly to make assassinating him worth the time, and the Daemon who turned out to be the Emperor.
I've sunk about 20 hours into this game and I'm still on chapter 3.
It is such a fantastic 'fucking around' game, I love it!
@Wyborn , it's definitely a game that gains a lot by actually playing it instead of watching a playthrough. Something about actually travelling around with your crew for an extended period of time (along with all the missable quips and cutscenes when you camp or wander around) does a tremendous amount to endear the characters to the player. Just mentioning it since you had said you're watching a playthrough and seem to have a poor impression of the game.
I'm still pretty early on, but it does seem like it's not a game that's terribly interested in examining the problematic aspects of society's expectations for masculine behavior, though I don't know that it needs to be. There's not a ton of gender-normative behavior on display here anyhow, from what I've seen. The most is that Gladio called Prompto a wuss for complaining about bugs, I guess?
Honestly if Cindy was wearing ANYTHING ELSE I wouldn't have a problem with the game's portrayal of female characters (or lack of them in the main party) at all.
Plus the combat is a blast! I really like it, probably my favorite combat in an RPG to date.
I'm definitely missing out on a lot of the tactile elements of the game, and am failing to appreciate some things the way I would be if I was playing it. The combat does look interesting, and it's weird to have seen as much of the game as I have without having a good sense of how it feels to play.
I hope you keep posting your impressions of the game!
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that I would stop hating prompto
There are so many little touches this game gets right, it's incredible.
I'll have to compile my thoughts after I finish it (which is probably going to be a while since I enjoy fucking around the world in this game so much), but one of the standouts is the atmosphere in dark dungeons.
I don't think I've ever felt as tense when exploring a video game mine as I have in this game. The personal flashlights illuminating just a few feet ahead of you, the stellar sound design making you jump at every creak and distant echo, the way you have to shimmy through cracks which means your flashlight is rendered useless and you have no idea what you're making your way towards in the darkness
I've never enjoyed dungeon crawling as much as I have here. Most of the time I hate dungeons in games, or view it as a tedious obstacle so I can get back to the story/ character stuff. Here, I'm always delighted when I stumble across a dungeon when lazily exploring the overworld.
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DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
Ok question. Got lv99. Got my Zwill Crossblades. Got my crit food. Is trhere anything else I should get before attempting Adamantoise?
It's not a hard fight at all.
It's just a little time consuming. There's almost no threat. So anything that can increase your damage is good because it will go a bit faster. But you could beat it with like a level 1 weapon just as easily. Would just take longer.
So I guess equip the +100 STR accessories as well. Or whichever the highest lvl STR accessories you have are.
Oh yeah I did it. I was amazed how easy it was. Also how BUGGY it is! When you see those 5 minutes kills they don't tell you you have to smash attack instead of holding it.
There are so many little touches this game gets right, it's incredible.
I'll have to compile my thoughts after I finish it (which is probably going to be a while since I enjoy fucking around the world in this game so much), but one of the standouts is the atmosphere in dark dungeons.
I don't think I've ever felt as tense when exploring a video game mine as I have in this game. The personal flashlights illuminating just a few feet ahead of you, the stellar sound design making you jump at every creak and distant echo, the way you have to shimmy through cracks which means your flashlight is rendered useless and you have no idea what you're making your way towards in the darkness
I've never enjoyed dungeon crawling as much as I have here. Most of the time I hate dungeons in games, or view it as a tedious obstacle so I can get back to the story/ character stuff. Here, I'm always delighted when I stumble across a dungeon when lazily exploring the overworld.
Yeah, the dungeon design in this one was really immersive. I just wish more of that had been a part of the actual story. All the side quest dungeons felt like very believable spaces, and then the chapter 13 sprawl was just incredibly Video Gamey, completely improbable as a space designed by people for an industrial purpose. The only other place where I wasn't totally on board with the dungeon design was the block section in Costlemark Tower.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
Huh, little bit of Relm from FFVI's theme in the end of the music there. I wonder why.
Edit: Oh, durr, because it's actually Mog's theme and I'd confused it with Relm's.
Desert Leviathan on
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
My chocobo was named Dennis Kwehd, and I also never left his back unless required.
I did use the walk toggle on a couple occasions though, when I felt Noctis would be feeling the weight of a somber event. My commitment to RP generally lasted about 10-15 seconds at most.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
It was going to be either that or Kwehstlove, and that just looked awkward written down.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
Trying to avoid spoilers here as I've barely started playing XV, but I've heard about this Festival thing. Is it time-limited? When does it end, and how far do you have to be in the game to participate?
Trying to avoid spoilers here as I've barely started playing XV, but I've heard about this Festival thing. Is it time-limited? When does it end, and how far do you have to be in the game to participate?
It's apparently in Altissia, and lasts from today till Feb 20th.
Trying to avoid spoilers here as I've barely started playing XV, but I've heard about this Festival thing. Is it time-limited? When does it end, and how far do you have to be in the game to participate?
It's apparently in Altissia, and lasts from today till Feb 20th.
So I've literally just started, and still need to earn gil to repair the car... How far is that?
Posts
Yeah, that's the quote I was referring to. On some level I guess I wasn't expecting it, but it was one of the only explanations that would have made that statement mean anything that wasn't stupid, so I hoped for it! I expected all the characters and dialog to range from OK to schlock, and for there to be no real narrative justification for what they were doing outside of demographic appeal, which is more or less what we actually got.
And demographic appeal isn't really a bad reason to do anything? But the way they handled it was still kind of lazy, and never tried to live up to what that kind of story can be
How was that allowed to happen?
My guess, it was content that was actually "finished", so they weren't going to ditch it.
The whole back half of the game, from Altissia onwards, felt to me like they scavenged whatever assets were presentable from god only knows how many dead ends and restarts in the development process, and then figured out how to string them together as best they could.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
The only stuff that I actually stealthed was one Iron Giant who respawned too quickly to make assassinating him worth the time, and the Daemon who turned out to be the Emperor.
he wants you to succeed
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
It is such a fantastic 'fucking around' game, I love it!
@Wyborn , it's definitely a game that gains a lot by actually playing it instead of watching a playthrough. Something about actually travelling around with your crew for an extended period of time (along with all the missable quips and cutscenes when you camp or wander around) does a tremendous amount to endear the characters to the player. Just mentioning it since you had said you're watching a playthrough and seem to have a poor impression of the game.
I'm still pretty early on, but it does seem like it's not a game that's terribly interested in examining the problematic aspects of society's expectations for masculine behavior, though I don't know that it needs to be. There's not a ton of gender-normative behavior on display here anyhow, from what I've seen. The most is that Gladio called Prompto a wuss for complaining about bugs, I guess?
Honestly if Cindy was wearing ANYTHING ELSE I wouldn't have a problem with the game's portrayal of female characters (or lack of them in the main party) at all.
Plus the combat is a blast! I really like it, probably my favorite combat in an RPG to date.
When I put gas in the car at Hammerhead I immediately go "fuck goddammit noooo"
I'm definitely missing out on a lot of the tactile elements of the game, and am failing to appreciate some things the way I would be if I was playing it. The combat does look interesting, and it's weird to have seen as much of the game as I have without having a good sense of how it feels to play.
I hope you keep posting your impressions of the game!
I think Ignis is my fav though.
she likes noctis a whole lot
Indeed
I still really like it anyway.
What you dont like bad window washing cutscenes
I'll have to compile my thoughts after I finish it (which is probably going to be a while since I enjoy fucking around the world in this game so much), but one of the standouts is the atmosphere in dark dungeons.
I don't think I've ever felt as tense when exploring a video game mine as I have in this game. The personal flashlights illuminating just a few feet ahead of you, the stellar sound design making you jump at every creak and distant echo, the way you have to shimmy through cracks which means your flashlight is rendered useless and you have no idea what you're making your way towards in the darkness
I've never enjoyed dungeon crawling as much as I have here. Most of the time I hate dungeons in games, or view it as a tedious obstacle so I can get back to the story/ character stuff. Here, I'm always delighted when I stumble across a dungeon when lazily exploring the overworld.
It's not a hard fight at all.
It's just a little time consuming. There's almost no threat. So anything that can increase your damage is good because it will go a bit faster. But you could beat it with like a level 1 weapon just as easily. Would just take longer.
So I guess equip the +100 STR accessories as well. Or whichever the highest lvl STR accessories you have are.
Yeah, the dungeon design in this one was really immersive. I just wish more of that had been a part of the actual story. All the side quest dungeons felt like very believable spaces, and then the chapter 13 sprawl was just incredibly Video Gamey, completely improbable as a space designed by people for an industrial purpose. The only other place where I wasn't totally on board with the dungeon design was the block section in Costlemark Tower.
Wh......what
SteamID: Baroque And Roll
Edit: Oh, durr, because it's actually Mog's theme and I'd confused it with Relm's.
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
I did use the walk toggle on a couple occasions though, when I felt Noctis would be feeling the weight of a somber event. My commitment to RP generally lasted about 10-15 seconds at most.
It's apparently in Altissia, and lasts from today till Feb 20th.
So I've literally just started, and still need to earn gil to repair the car... How far is that?