Bad news! No stream tonight.
Good news! I wrote six Blaster Nation pages, Leslie thumbnailed the entire second Space Mechanic Slipshine story, inked tonight’s Blaster Nation page, and in a little bit, I’m gonna flat-color it and Leslie’ll finish it up soon after!
Super productive day today.
We got our very first batch of games from a super cool guy named Dru! He was so cool, we had to give him three unique titles to express his glory! We’ll get around to streaming these games eventually (not tonight because BOY I SHOULD BE WRITING BLASTER NATION INSTEAD OF ARGUING ABOUT GONE HOME) and we will make sure to always remember that this wonderful bounty was provided by the great Dru in the sky. Seriously, man, we can’t thank you enough!
If you ever want to send us a game, get your own unique title, and have your gift placed within the very dangerous radius of a chihuahua, then you can always check out our Amazon wishlist! One day, maybe you too will be just as cool as Dru!
kotaku commentors
Actually, it’s Polygon comments. I know because I was reading these comments on their GOTY award for Gone Home and slowly losing any love I had left for this industry.
Yeah it really is completely devastating that somebody thinks that not all games HAVE to be FUNNY/LIGHTHEARTED/AMUSING.
Y’know, because ‘entertaining’ is literally the only definition of the word ‘fun’, amirite >:V
Games evolving as a medium where art could potentially be means that we do have to shed that notion. Its still GOOD for games to be fun, but how many movies that people consider “Art” lack fun in any way?
Treating games as an interactive medium instead of “just games” means that things like Gone Home and Spec Ops: The Line, and Papers, Please can exist, and provide us with an experience we would not have had otherwise.It doesn’t have to be FUN to be worth “Playing”. Gone home is an interactive narrative where the pieces must be sought out by you and assembled, and that’s the “Game” part. There was hardly anything “Fun” about walking through that house but the experience was worthwhile.
See? This guy gets it!
And I mean, c’mon, after Proteus and Gone Home I’ve seen wayyy too many nerds acting as if people trying to tell a serious story or create an (ambient) experience with your favourite medium is suddenly magically gonna KILL OFF FUN GAMES FOREVER or otherwise take away your toys. Siiiigghhh
See, the difference here is that games like Papers, Please and Spec Ops: The Line make full use out of their medium. They deliver an engaging narrative THROUGH gameplay elements. Neither of them delve in subject-matter that is light-hearted, amusing or funny, but the way it’s presented to you is still very entertaining. You can still have “fun” playing games that aren’t rip-roaring hilarious or dudebro shooters because those games still have relatively “fun” game elements to them.
In Papers, Please, every character has a story, and every life is essentially in your hands. Each person’s paperwork is its own puzzle. Many people will plead with you to do the opposite of your intended job, and it’s up to you to decide whether or not that person’s life is more important than the lives of yourself and your family who are dependent on your job performance. The gameplay and narrative melds BEAUTIFULLY together in this game, and that makes it “fun” despite the oppressive atmosphere.
In games like Tell-Talle’s Walking Dead series, many of the game’s most critical moments require input from you, whether it be during heated conversations where anyone can snap at any moment or during a QTE sequence where you or someone in your group is in danger. Most of the game is still walking around a desolate, ruined area and partaking in some very depressing scenes, but the game is still “fun” because of your active role in the plot.
Hell, even in The Stanley Parable, the video game cousin Gone Home most resembles, utilizes it’s game-like nature MUCH better. It plays almost identically to Gone Home in that you walk and sort of interact with things and that’s about it, but it still plays with the video game nature of itself and puts you as the full driving force behind a constantly-shifting narrative rather than use you as a vehicle to drive home the already scripted single plot. It’s use of player-driven choices is pretty brilliant and the whole “timer” scenario is probably the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen thrown at any gamer ever simply because it plays directly against the instincts of anyone who’s played a puzzle game before. It’s still a “fun game” by those standards. Arguably, it’s a much better value than Gone Home at $15.
In Gone Home, (spoiler alert) you walk around the extremely large house of a rich white family, picking up narrated journal entries to find out your sister has a relatively consequence-free relationship with another girl. Outside of the spooky rainy empty house ambiance, the game does not make use of its medium. Much like Dear Esther, you’re simply on a museum tour with a guide telling you why you should care.
Is Gone Home the worst thing ever? Of course not. It actually has some really charming writing thrown into a rather mediocre teenage soap opera. But I think it’s sad that when people are fighting over the artistic merits of a game, they champion what’s essentially a 3D virtual real estate tour with ~atmosphere~ instead of something like Papers, Please: A game that has an incredibly oppressive backdrop, provides plenty of food for thought, and is without a doubt a fun, enjoyable video game. Somehow Gone Home is topping the GOTY charts based solely on “artistic merit” while Papers, Please is lucky to be within the bottom five of any list. That’s just a little concerning to me.
kotaku commentors
Actually, it’s Polygon comments. I know because I was reading these comments on their GOTY award for Gone Home and slowly losing any love I had left for this industry.
A brand new chapter needs a brand new chapter cover on today’s Blaster Nation!
(Source: blasternation.com)
Mighty Switch Force: Hyperdrive Edition on Wii U
DOIN’ A TEST STREAM OF TOKYO JUNGLE, LESLIE’S GONNA UNLOCK SOME DINOSAURS
COME MAKE SURE OUR AUDIO AND SHIT IS WORKING
Hey, if you guys bought us something, let us know exactly what it was you bought! That whole thing about writing your name and putting it on the cover of the box? WASN’T LYING.
AAH PEOPLE ARE BUYING US STUFF NOW
WE FEEL BOTH AWFUL AND GRATEFUL
WHAT HAVE WE DONE
Anonymous
Of course we did! Hell, staying up until midnight to watch those hardcore uncensored Gundam Wing episodes where they say “damn” and bleed a little more was the pinnacle of our childhoods!
Unfortunately, we haven’t had cable TV in over, what, five years now? So we haven’t had a chance to watch new Toonami at all.
Ah, shit! Sorry about that. I think it might be fixed now? Really have no idea how these work.
http://amzn.com/w/2FJT5ITTT2UCH
Seriously, thanks again, man. We’re gonna try streaming tonight so you guys can see what terrible things you guys are supporting!
Playin’ some Ducktales: Remastered and oh man I feel like a kid again in the best way possible
This game is fucking magical, Wayforward did an amazing job AS USUAL
What the hell is THAT on today’s Blaster Nation?!
(Source: blasternation.com)
Anonymous
Well, I’m flat-coloring tonight’s Blaster Nation, Leslie’s playing Tokyo Jungle, and our pet chihuahua Maggie is laying on her sidegut being fat
That’s pretty much been every Saturday for the past three years now
Aw, man, thank you so much! Nah, we haven’t gotten anything yet. Not sure how Amazon works, but if someone buys us something and it’s NOT automatically taken off our wishlist, then we’ll quickly go and do it ourselves. I’m sure there’s a way to cancel it otherwise! No matter what you choose to get us, we’ll be eternally grateful for it! Especially the ones you’ve picked out, I’ve been meaning to get around to playing Dark Cloud again for awhile.
Monster Rancher is indeed a classic. I actually went and got my old copy of Monster Rancher 2 repaired so that hopefully we can stream it or do an LP or something!
