LazyBoy

He's an exceptional salesman with a sociopath's lack of conscience, conducting himself with a bully's mentality and invested with a sense of exceptionalism that only a child raised in wealth can posses. For anyone who really wants to dig deeper on the mans character I cannot more strongly recommend The Dollop's 2 part Trump special, which is unique in that all it does for 2 hours is list the various things the man had been accused of pre-Presidency - at a rate of about 1 a minute (maybe slight hyperbole). Here's a link: Part 1

My 2020 vapourware nomination.

Mirror's edge? First one was great but undercooked, and second one missed the point entirely. Bring back the tightly constructed linearity, fix the combat, and add more content. Maybe add a chase mode?

Absolutely, and if I may expand I think that has to be put down to changing methods of communication - i.e. the internet. It enables reductive forms of interaction, stripping away so many of the subtle methods of communication we as humans employ - intonation, body language, even pheromones. These things have been left in by natural selection for a reason - they provide us important information: about the true intentions of a person, their feelings, their emotional state. All these, lets say data points, contextualize everything else that is said. As forum members we know sarcasm is an early victim to this, but it effects everything we say. When we don't have these data points we have ambiguity, and it is left to the reader to fill in those gaps. Is this person sincere? Are they winding me up? Are they coming from a place of concern or cruelty? We would like to think we think the best of people, but in reality we most often confront the unknown with fear, and when we get scared we lose the ability to act unemotional and instead cling to a moral high ground, reassured within ourselves that whatever else is said at least I am in the right. And then that becomes self defeating - we seek out the facts, the truths, the arguments that reinforce that standpoint, safe in the knowledge that you'll never have to climb down from that mountain. Why? Because you're no longer confronting actual people - people in whose faces you might see pain and sadness and then by mere fact of being human feel sympathy - instead you're arguing with trolls, fake news, libtards, nazis, SJWs, and so on. Put them in a group that you can write off. If we want change we will first have to change how we communicate.

I would say the Trump phenomenon is not as simple as one or two factors. Polarization is key, but not unique to Trump. Christian/social conservative identity is significant, but no longer the be all and end all I think it was in the GW Bush years. You have to look at the sense of American exceptionalism he trumpets (much the same as Bojo in the UK), which imbues in his followers a sense of self-worth that has been criminally eroded by 30-40 years of neo-liberal economic policy (honk if Thatcher's dead), a result of the removal of industries that once provided jobs and pride to those regions. Also the power and reach of both right wing media, combined with the transformation of the mainstream media and its integration with social media. This has created a clickbait driven & anger fueled opinion engine that no longer has the patience to do considerate analysis, instead producing a 24 hour cycle of bad v good. Demagogues thrive on that stuff where the kind are drowned out. It goes a step beyond polarization into something more dangerous. Both of those factors have combined to form a dangerous rise in the conspiracy mindset as well, that at its basest level provides comic book storylines as a more palatable version of the truth then reality can provide. The reason life is shit and you are powerless is 'because bad people', and not due to a vast multitude of factors that would take more than a 'one-cup of tea' post on a video game forum to detail. Instead there is evil out there, and you know that truth and you are on the right side of the fight, and that makes you feel good. Most importantly - and this is where it becomes relevant to politics - it means anyone who disagrees with you is either misinformed, or they're corrupted, and cannot be reasoned with. No nuance or room for debate and compromise. Good v evil, pick a side.

I'm worried, we don't play well against lesser teams.

Hades is a bargain at 18, get it.

@bobYour verdict so far?

Does look incredible, first time I've been wowed by something next gen. I played the original before Dark Souls, and I'm glad I did because I don't know if I could have gone back to Demon Souls. Dark Souls ironed out a lot of the concepts in Demon's, and was far less opaque (which is saying something). Lots to love though still in Demon's, and one of those things is the aesthetic designs of the levels, which as opposed to Demon Souls (which has to abide by a modicum of continuity due to the connected world), is diverse and brilliant. Whenever it is I pick up a PS5 (probs 2-3 years down the line) I will be picking this up too. Highly recommended

He's a diamond of a human being. Faith-restoring.

Don't think we got the numbers for tonight.

8:30 CET?

Nooooo. I play docked 80% of the time, but handheld is essential if I go on a plane journey. Keep it the way it is.

How alive is the crowdfunding scene these days? Has it died down at all from when it exploded a couple years ago, or is it still going strong? Has covid hit the traffic behind it at all? Asking because I may be listing something on it (or an alternative site) very shortly.

Monday next week?

Villa for the league

The lack of crowds, the VAR, the disgusting naked greed of the people at the top of the game. I'm really falling out of love with this game. Being a United fan right now doesn't help.

I've ruined my controller playing this game. I've broken the analogue stick into having a drift to the left cause I've been gripping the damn thing so intently. Still fucking love it though, more so the more I've played it. Still haven't beaten the final boss (I came this close), but every time I die I face a personal battle to have the self control to not go again. My favourite Roguelike bar none. Again its the balance that makes it. Every time a boone comes up I'm weighing my strategies, balancing possible enemy types and certain bosses. There's a power you unlock that gives you a bonus for stacking statuses, so now every time room bonus flashes up I am trying to figure out what the best way is to construct a build that allows me to do that with whatever weapon I am running at the time. They've nailed that core gameplay loop, and better yet they've perfectly designed the rest of the game around that - the metal soundtrack fires you up, the graphical presentation is clean but emotive, the story is rich enough to lend weight without overstepping. Brilliant, just brilliant. Top of my recommend list. @dan-likes-trees always got to call out a Banner Saga mention, good man.

When we starting?

Is that what you guys normally do?

I'll have the discord channel open tonight if anyone wants to join

I'll take Megaman then. By your criteria G&W is a better fit, but I don't think he'll hold up well against Steve

Oh yeah forgot it was themed. Would you permit me a different character if I can come up with a decent link?

I'm going to be rocking either Samus or Megaman tonight as I try to come up with a counter. Might try a couple others as well

Is anyone following this 'Project Big Picture' story? I need to rant, but I'd rather make sure I'm not yelling at clouds first.