dwarf

Reading your comments?

It's the game Peter Molyneux wished he'd made.

@Kaepora_Gaebora Nice. Although it was a bit twee I agree with almost everything he said. I still would've welcomed a few more 'earworms' as he calls them. Thing is, BotW's length makes this kind of subdued soundtrack necessary. You can't expect them to compose triple the amount of theme music. Plus, open worlds are full of liminal spaces where obvious transitions between themes would be inappropriate. OoT is split into smaller, discrete areas, so it can get away with bigger jumps in the tone and style of its music. And while the themes in OoT are iconic, they also grow hellishly repetitive and irritating after a while. BotW did well to modernise the series with ambient sounds and context-specific music, it just could've done with an extra moment of triumph here or there.

Moonlighter looks pretty dope. That indie list reminded me of a game that @Ashley alerted @The Bard to on Facebook. It's been kicking around on Kickstarter since February but they recently released a new trailer, so I'm delighted to see it's still on track. Coming to PS4 as well. Fucking mint. Original Trailer: New trailer:

Not to mention the sitter he missed. I wanted Morata before the season started and feel the same way now.

I will from now on.

DLC is fine if they want to test the waters with an idea in preparation for the next game, but personally after a huge RPG my head's in a different place by the time extra content comes out. Unless they add several dungeons or transform vast swathes of the landscape in some way (populate it with new sub-bosses, add mini regions, etc), I don't really understand the point of the extra content in a game like this. They're effectively adding a self-contained level to a game whose selling point is its open world. I bought the GotY edition of Fallout 3 after selling on the standard version, which meant I had a chance to play all the DLC for that. Thing is, it didn't change my opinion of the game, if anything it was an unnecessary drag. Granted the DLC itself was poor, but if you're relying on DLC to fix a game or change the story, you're doing something wrong. The boat has sailed. In the case of Fallout 3, they actually made a mockery of the original ending by rewriting it, which really ticked off the fans. I doubt Nintendo would do something as heavy-handed as that though. I might be in the minority here. Plus, there's every chance Nintendo proves me wrong.

Hmmm I'm really not on the DLC hype as far as Zelda is concerned, feels wrong. The Switch has legs so I think they could do one from the ground-up for it, and then launch the following Zelda on the Switch's successor a year or two into launch. Neither scenario is ideal, but I think it would be a mistake if they didn't capitalise on the great work they've done with the engine. It means they can focus their efforts on refining all the important stuff that they didn't quite manage in BotW. That's if it is an either/or thing. Hard to see what other direction they could take.

Correct. I imagine BotW will see a sequel on Switch. Nintendo have ploughed so much time into the engine and art design that it would be a waste not to reuse some of it, especially given the rave reception. My prediction is that we'll have another open world game but with new abilities and traditionally-themed Zelda dungeons, which will win over some of the people who didn't enjoy this one as much.

Hey c'mon @bob, there's no need to call me out or belittle me.

You're right, it probably doesn't change minds, but some criticisms are more valid than others and I think it's interesting and useful to discuss them.

Consensus is overrated. People should feel free to make criticisms, but bullshit criticisms should be shot down too. When I said 'the cultured folk among us,' I wasn't being serious. It's fun to get away with though because fans of the game greatly outnumber the naysayers

I can't make you like the game, but I can call you out for being flagrantly reductive. Zelda's innovation isn't found in a single mechanic. It's innovative in the way it combines all of its mechanics in a new way, particularly in the open world genre. Also, many of its innovations aren't mechanics as such, in that they aren't simple actions mapped to a button. One innovation, if we're talking open-world RPGs, is the integrated physics system. Another innovation is giving players every ability from the beginning. And an innovation can be something a game doesn't do that all other games do do. For example, Zelda doesn't litter its open-world map with side-quest markers, or reveal the number of collectables you haven't found yet, etc. There are actually loads of little innovations in BotW, from the map system down to the sound design, but really it comes down to the effect that all of these changes have on the player and their approach to the game. The freedom of play is Breath of the Wild's biggest innovation. I feel like a mug for pointing this out, but BotW isn't clearing up at this year's awards because it has a somewhat innovative climbing mechanic. It's clearing up because it's fucking epic. P.S I promise not to argue with you about Zelda any more. Clearly none of it is going in.

For the cultured folk among us who appreciate Breath of the Wild for the stand-out game that it is, I've aggregated some of the best analysis of its design below. Most of the videos have been shared on the forum somewhere before but don't feel the need to cry about it: 1) Some interesting summaries of Nintendo's approach to game design as taken from their dev talks. I've listed the posts in order of accessibility, as some sections of the third and fourth summaries are a bit dull and technical. They were originally posted in a twitter thread which explains why they're truncated. How Nintendo guides players: https://medium.com/@gypsyOtoko/this-is-a-reposting-of-my-twitter-thread-summarizing-articles-written-about-the-cedec-botw-dev-266c34fd30e8 Sound design: https://medium.com/@gypsyOtoko/this-is-a-reposting-of-my-twitter-thread-summarizing-the-botw-cedec-talk-on-sound-design-which-can-7a5ea894e701 User Interface and Fonts: https://medium.com/@gypsyOtoko/this-is-a-reposting-of-my-twitter-thread-summarizing-articles-of-the-botw-cedec-talks-which-can-be-91e9be85de51 Project Management: https://medium.com/@gypsyOtoko/the-final-botw-cedec-session-as-far-as-i-know-is-from-the-engineers-botw-project-management-c30f4e42598e 2) Developers discuss the inspiration they've taken from Breath of the Wild http://www.gamesradar.com/were-all-talking-about-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-developers-explain-how-its-shaping-the-future-of-games/ 3) How will Breath of the Wild change the open-world paradigm? I love the point made below - it isn't necessary for every mechanic to be a game-changer. They don't all have to have big pay-offs in a boss battle or a certain level. They can be used for texture instead. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-06-05-how-will-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-change-the-open-world-paradigm 4) In this article a writer from Borderlands 2 discusses why BotW 'dunks on most open-world games.' It perhaps isn't the most insightful piece in this list, and it's a little guilty of hyperbole, but the quoted part is worth highlighting: https://www.destructoid.com/how-breath-of-the-wild-dunks-on-most-open-world-games-446857.phtml 5) Other developers discuss their impressions of Breath of the Wild. I can't remember who says it, but someone makes a good point about how everything in the world is well proportioned - the world gives an impression of vast scale, and yet if you see something in the distance you know you can probably travel to it fairly quickly. 6) More from Nintendo themselves in their development diaries: 7) Good ol' Mark Brown: 8) Matt Lees analyses how BotW keeps our attention drawn to the world (& also makes some great points about the map/waypoint system) If you guys come across any like-minded analysis please share it, because I love to love this game.

@Nicktendo Any chance of reviving this? I'm only pestering you because it's been good fun.

It's cool but I only have frustrating memories of the PS2 start-up menu. If you made it to that screen with the hovering dots it usually meant the game had failed to load, and you'd have to keep resetting until it worked. (Or hope the golden disc icon would magically appear) S'all about the PS1 boot-up.

Hmmm it wasn't especially malicious but at the same time he could've mitigated some of the force of the challenge. Thought it was a red myself, can't see the FA reducing the ban. Thought the ref was spot on with the yellow for Koscielny against Lukaku too. Fortunately for us he missed 2 penalty decisions late on for Arsenal.

Any hope of winning the derby has officially died with that rash tackle. What do we have in midfield to contend against du Bruyne, Silva and Fernandinho now? We'll be chasing them all game, looking at each other for someone to step up and dictate the play. Not optimistic at all. Agree about the game though. Watched it down the pub with a group of united fans and went nuts after every goal. Lingard's first was exceptional, a definite goal of the month contender. So satisfying to see slick attacking football played like that.

Dude, have you seen Argentina play in the qualifiers? They're a shambles.

Rather them than Germany, France or Brazil, who were also in pot 1. I think we're capable of beating them if we're up for it on the day.

TOTAL: £47.97 TOTAL: £69.99 Oooooh but dat 'Triple Pack' prestige tho! (the idea of playing three Assassin's Creed games in a row makes me feel nauseous)

For anyone who's pissed off with Brexit, I recommend the Remaniacs podcast. A weekly discussion of the catastrophe as it unfolds, and particularly worth listening to for Ian Dunt's comic disbelief about the way UK MPs are handling it. https://player.fm/series/remainiacs-the-brexit-podcast

You are a bit though aren't you? Let's be real bruh.

@Glen-i You're a hilarious person. Not because of your dislike for the game, but because you're clearly so angry with the people who do like it. That use of 'principle' tickled me good.