Goafer

I started playing Dungeons and Dragons, with my first session being just before the lockdown. Been playing over Skype since then and will hopefully be starting a podcast very soon. Also, not a new hobby but I've got back into cycling after a 8 year or so break.

My long cycling route (22 miles) has now become fairly comfortable. Previously I've limited it to once a week and then a few days recovery afterwards, but this week I've managed it twice and the second time was still fairly easy.

Favourite Awful Game Anthem Given how much hate and "worst game ever" this game got, I actually enjoyed it. The gameplay was fun, if a little repetitive and the large mech (forget what it was called) felt nice and weighty. Didn't deserve anywhere near the hate it got.

Favourite Town/Village Crescent Isle: Skies of Arcadia It starts off as an desert island that you get stranded in and you return later in the game to build it into your home, complete with customisation options based on the regions you've visited.

Was going to with Nier:Automata (saving it for a later category) or Smash Melee for the interactive elements, but this is a great shout, so I'm going with this for mine too.

Scary Moment Arkham VR Ending (From about 2:30 onwards in the video) Peering into the cells is bad enough, but then you find yourself in one, with the things around you changing as you look in different directions. It's so tense, as you have no idea what you'll turn to face next. Superbly done. The video above really doesn't do it justice. It's truly unnerving in VR.

Best Musical Moment Saints Row 3: Holding Out For a Hero The perfect use of the song. It matches the silly nature of the game, whilst also adding impact to the scene. Anyone that plays this mission and doesn't get completely pumped has no soul. Honourable mentions: Red Dead Redemption 2: Unshaken/Arthur's ride home, Persona 5: Life Will Change/Final dungeon rush and Sonic Adventure: Open Your Heart/Intro and Ultimate Chaos.

Favourite Ranged Combat Virtual On Basically a ranged fighting game. The lock on was generous (it locks on every time you jump or dash), allowing players to concentrate on dodging and positioning. Honourable mentions to Zone of the Enders and Phantasy Star Online 2 for similar systems.

Thanks. I've still got a way to go, but it's another benchmark and a sign that my new routine is still working. And well done with the exercises. I find indoor exercises boring as fuck, so nice one for finding the motivation to do it.

Just making room for the 2 stone cake I'll be eating later.

Most Relaxing Navigation Journey. Such a good game and the way the character floats around the levels is just so peaceful.

A day later than planned, but hit the 2 stone lost mark today. Feels good man.

3D Platformer Jet Set Radio Future Probably the only platformer that I've completed 100%. Spent ages collecting absolutely everything. Plus that soundtrack.

Had an excellent bike ride today. Did my long (20 miles) route and normally the last 5 miles are a bit of a slog and I have to take a few breaks. Today I didn't have to stop at all, although they were still the hardest part of the journey. Cardio during my cycling has now become trivial. I rarely get out of breath and can pretty much breathe out of my nose whilst keeping a good pace. Where I still need to improve is my muscle stamina. Much better today, but still some way to go to get back to how I was about 10 years ago, where I could pretty much cycle indefinitely. I remember being able to cycle 40 miles and still feeling like I could do it again. I normally lose about 3lbs over the weekend as I tend to have a lie in, skip breakfast and do my long cycling route. If this weekend follows suit, I'll have lost a total of 2 stone. Fingers crossed for tomorrow's weigh in I guess.

Favourite Villain/Antagonist There's only one choice for me. The fact that I'm just going to leave their theme here and you'll all know who I'm talking about is testament to how iconic they are. I was almost tempted to go with the Colossi from SotC, but I have a feeling I'll need to save that game for a later category.

Local Multiplayer Halo. Played no end of it with Happenstance and have fond memories of buying a share size bottle of Coke and big ol' Dairy Milk each and settling in for a long session of the split screen campaign.

This was almost mine too. It'll almost certainly come up for me in a later category.

Opening Section of a Game The Last of Us. Dang, right in the feels. Sets the tone for the whole game and the voice acting for Joel's daughter is spot on and utterly devastating.

Earliest Gaming Memory Kikstart on the Spectrum and the Spectrum in general. Games took forever to load and half the time they'd fail. Good times. Still have my Spectrum and Kikstart somewhere.

Wind is a bastard. Was blowing my front wheel all over the place yesterday, which was especially fun when combined with the fact that cars didn't seem to want to give me as much room as usual.

Yup, lost 3lbs. Just 3lbs more and I'll be at 2 stone lost.

I hate cycling in wind. Did my weekly long route today (20 miles) and despite the wind, I think it was the easiest it's been yet. I even managed to get up a fairly decent hill in one go this time whereas it normally requires a breather half way up. Weight wise, I've lost a stone and a half overall and annoyingly seem to be hovering around that mark, as I've been a bit slack over the last week as I needed to recover from last weekend and the weather has been shit. I normally lose a few pounds at the weekends though, so fingers crossed I'll be closer to the next full stone lost at tomorrow's weigh in.

You're right, it does. But as the stats I posted show, minorities are more likely to be born into a "lower class" and have less opportunities. They're still recovering from the racism of the past. Just because the actual racism is over (which I'd argue isn't the case, based on the police treatment of black suspects vs white, amongst other things), doesn't mean the effects aren't still being felt. And saying things were worse before (or elsewhere for that matter) doesn't make things great now. I'd argue this case is wholly irrelevant. You've picked very specific, hypothetical examples. Of course a middle class person is going to do better than someone with the odds against them. That's not the point. The point is how likely you are to be born into either of those scenarios. Again, just because it's worse elsewhere, doesn't mean things are perfect here. You just need to read about the treatment of black people by police to see that things are far from great. Also, as a general point about this thread and not aimed specifically at anyone: calling things "nonsense", "bollocks", "pathetic" or "fools" is just abrasive and argumentative. Try to keep things civil, yeah?

I think you're interpreting it all wrong/twisting the message. It's not "Buy from black people because they're special", it's "Rather than your usual habits, why not check out some black sellers/authors/suppliers etc to support the black community?". No one's forcing you to "buy black" so to speak, it's just reminding people that they're there. No, I'm saying that consciously people need to address the subconscious racism and bias that currently exists. White people have a societal head start and until a conscious shift is made, treating everyone equal won't change that. Racism isn't always a conscious process. It requires definite, conscious action to force people to rethink their habits and how it may perpetuate bias. I can't comment myself, as I've never been a black business owner. But if the black person who created it deems it necessary, I'll trust his judgement. My own opinion is that black and minority people are more likely to come from a poorer background, so may not have the same resources to set up and market a business as a white person would. By giving black and minority businesses a bit of free advertising, it could help level the playing field and bring us one step closer to actual equality. TLDR: When something is unequal, giving both sides the same treatment doesn't fix it. Redressing the balance does and in this case it means giving black and minority businesses a bit of free advertising IMO.

No not really. It's the same as any marketing day. Out of curiosity, if you oppose patronising "special days", do you also oppose black history month, mother's/father's days and any other day that celebrates a certain demographic? Good for you that you shop around. A lot of people don't, or don't even think about it. Again, I can't possibly see how something that might encourage a bit of diversity can possibly be seen as "pathetic". It's easy to say things akin to "I don't see colour", but a chipper attitude isn't enough to fix things. Things need to change in a societal level and "be nice" just won't cut it. Sure, a day or two of free advertising for minority businesses won't change the world overnight, but if minority owned businesses get a small boost and are more visible to the general public, it's a start.