Torment: Tides of Numenera

A Kickstarter game based upon Planescape: Torment.


(And yes, I've already pledged, the $125 digital.)

I felt like updating the journal...of my soul.

DO THIS.

ME3: Extended Cut Analyais Part 6

Here we look at the many, many types of problems of the Synthesis Ending to the Extended Cut DLC from Mass Effect 3, ranging from science, logic, lore, grammar and ...well, just about everything, really.  The Stupid is strong in this one.

Took way too long for me to do this, considering the actual length.  There was many a drinking, game playing and sleeping in attempting to write for it.

I do have another Smudboy Smash coming up, so hopefully that'll be posted soon.

Smudboy Smash! Ep #2 Paragon Lost Smashed

A quick breakdown of the major errors we found in Paragon Lost.  We found 69 problems.  Maybe you found more?

Turns out the shuttle isn't a Kodiak; it's just a new type of Alliance troop transport.  The pilots simply like flying upside down in an atmosphere.  Hopefully after their team has geared up, and then locked themselves back into their safety harness, do they do this.

For the part of the anime that has some value, dramatic or otherwise, that is, Vega's choice, I still wish I knew 1) why and how the Collector Cruiser crashes into the planet, 2) how they actually saved Tria, and 3) how and why they ended up in the atmosphere.  Without showing or explaining why those things happened, the value of the choice -- it's believability -- is circumspect.

Saving Blue Vagina

Here I do an off the cuff review of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, aka, Mass Effect: Deception 2.0.  With special guest, Yuli!

It's fun, easier to make, and didn't take that much time to produce.  However, the next vid, I'll be back to my anal self, finding all the faults and problems in the lore, line by line.

Don't worry, I'm still doing the EC analysis.  It just doesn't suck my soul away as much as these.

A writer's reaction to ME3: Absolute Hilarity Edition.

http://writersdisease.blogspot.ca/2012/11/the-mass-effect-3-ending-character-or.html?showComment=1353796309692#c8911009002833989190

Apparently, this fellow is a writer, and I couldn't help but respond to his post.

I'm hoping this is all satire and I'm totally missing the joke.  (This is a fellow who seems to enjoy The Star Wars prequels and dislike Skyfall.)

There have been a number of odd reactions to the ending of ME3, because it's absolute rubbish.  But I've yet to hear even one, sensible, intelligible, positive one, without having the individual profess some self-interpreted subjective rambling about ...well, incomprehensible schtick, really.  Are people just dumb?

After reading "In Defense of Bioware" by OsirisLord Games, Art, and the Art of Game Design" that youtube poster EmperorOfLols made, I couldn't believe it could get worse; but to a writer?  A person who studies and makes fiction?

Will the wonders of ME3 never cease?

ME3: Extended Cut Analysis Part 3

Once again, I've trudged through the musings of insanity.  Special thanks to the various youtubers for raising legitimate questions I otherwise would've looked over.

It took longer than usual; not because it was an almost 40 minute video, but because of how depressing and painful it was to go through, as before with BoD.  I could've added more jokes, referenced the ME games with clips, taken more time, but I just wanted it to be over with.

Generally, I love analyzing things, critiquing them.  This started in college, where colleagues and myself would look at our own work, fiction, code, or otherwise.  There was a good sense of satisfaction and a feeling of helpfulness, when you can not only point out a problem, but recommend a solution.  Our stories would get published, our code would work more efficiently, hostilities would increase: things were fun.  We'd play Three Corridors -- a custom Reign of Chaos map on Warcraft III, a precursor to Defense of the Ancients fame -- late into the evening.  (I'm a bit of an elitist MOBA player, having played with Eul, and hosted about 2 years worth of RoC DOTA/Doomsday Stand games with custom banlist, back in the day.)

The ME series?  It's bad.  Illogical.  Incomprehensible.  Drawn out ramblings amidst a protagonist who shouldn't even be there, yet is.  And is no longer the character they were.

Writers, whatever you do: don't create "Question Explosions."  When every sentence uttered or behavior taken by a character, whose scope is the galaxy, whose timeline is billions of years, and is supposedly the most intelligent being to have ever existed, please have a way to subvert all that in a simple, intelligent way; else you're on a sinking ship to nonsensical rambling and lore destruction.

Despite my Bookends of Destruction series, I feel like I was looking at the ending yesterday.  It is still the worst thing my brain has touched.  So bad, had I forgotten most of the nonsense?  Luckily, my regiment of Baldur's Gate 2, and recently Icewind Dale, (and LoL for fun), has kept my otherwise painful month of critique in a high spirited gaming experience.

I suddenly remember I haven't touched Peace Walker in months...

ME3: Extended Cut Part 2

Here we look at the joys of apparently the most dramatic scene(s) in the Extended Cut, the goodbye to our most talked-up squadmate.  And the other one...who leaves with them, too, for some reason...?

It might've been somewhat dramatic if the entire scene wasn't completely contrived, impossible, and actually made some modicum of sense.  Like, some suspense, from the massive building shooting everything that moves?  Like large objects, like the Normandy?  It would help if Harbinger didn't turn into a massive statue, either.  But then, this scene wouldn't be possible.

Which makes the whole scene absolutely ridiculous. All for getting characters off the stage.

This is the equivalent of filling in one plot hole, by filling it in with the shit from several others.

In regards to my Project Eternity's Kickstarter contribution, all that money came from you, via Google Adsense.  My latest check from Google ended up being $243.69.  Hate or love my youtube vids, every view adds up, so thank you all for watching my ramblings.  One thing we can agree on is good storytelling in gaming, which has always come from the Interplay/Black Isle folk.