Lurker > Cheese_Crackers

I have the worst sense of direction in history and love WiFi. I like the escape once in a while, but no, I'm not outdoorsy.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

This was pretty much the sentiment in Canada this past Canaday Day (July 1st). Many places had their Canadian flags either flying half-mast, or down altogether. The reasons were different, but every first world country has plenty to be ashamed of.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

YoungMutual posted...

Well yeah but that's because that's the in the nature of JRPGs, but other genres are fine

RE Village is another example that comes to mind. Way too many cutscenes for an overall very weak story anyway.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

tremain07 posted...

I'm perfectly calm. Since when does bringing up a discussion, albeit one based on a negative opinion, mean that someone is mad?

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

AsucaHayashi posted...

it really doesn't imo.

jprgs and souls games are like two stupid extremes with no middle ground.

souls is all about the imagination without having to go through the effort of realizing its grand tales while jprgs go into way too much detail when realizing said grand tales including every type of filler imaginable for developing its characters.

I don't agree at all, well, for Dark Souls 1 anyway. DS2 and 3 leave something to be desired with their world. Haven't played Bloodborne. It's hard to compare Sekiro with them since it's a historical setting.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

YoungMutual posted...

Modern *western games.

Which are mostly crap anyways, play better games

Or developers can make better games.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

There are certain genres that have traditionally been heavily story-focused, mainly JRPGs, and I think this is fine. It's a style of storytelling.

But not every game can and should be like this.

I think one reason that Dark Souls was so groundbreaking (difficulty complaints incoming) is that there are almost no cutscenes, and all except a few are boss introductions which don't play on repeat attempts. The player becomes immersed in the world due to the uninterrupted gameplay. And this isn't to say that Dark Souls has no storytelling - the dialogue is minimalistic and the developers utilize visual storytelling to the fullest extent. And of course, there's plenty of worldbuilding for those that want to read item descriptions and finish every NPC quest. Speaking of, it's also nice that the NPCs don't treat you as the center of their world. You might as well be an NPC in their story, as they make decisions without your input very often.

In short, Dark Souls does an excellent job of creating an immersive world without interrupting the player's gameplay all the time.

Of course there are other games that do this. That's just the example I'm most familiar with.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Anyone that calls me ugly isn't worth the time

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

DeadBankerDream posted...

Tagging TC as Duncan alt.

Don't know who that is

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

FL81 posted...

This is a pretty common take on CE nowadays, but it's still not a good one.

Why not?

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

The Inheritance cycle is very poorly written, both in terms of worldbuilding and plot. The magic system is a pretty blatant rip of Earthsea's but with much less competent execution. Harry Potter isn't the most original idea by any means, but it refined the "orphaned boy with powers" story rather well, and the progression from young to old readers was well-done.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Spidey5 posted...

I realize objectively the bad points of gen 2, but damn am I nostalgic for it.

I don't know, I played it a ton as a kid, but I can't seem to feel any nostalgia for it anymore. Probably because I realized most of that nostalgia was just displaced gen 1 nostalgia.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Haven't played gen 7 or 8, but among all the others, 2 is the second worst, followed only by 6. Note that I'm talking about GSC specifically. The remakes fixed some things slightly, but not that much. But they're not gen 2 anyway.

The starter designs are all trash, both aesthetically and gameplay wise. They're all mono-types which is boring, and the entire Cyndaquil line literally has its stats copied from the Charmander line. The Totodile family suffered from the type-stat mismatch that all physical Water types had until gen 4. Chikorita and its evolutions were horribly boring to use in-game due to their bulky nature.

Actually, what I said holds for almost all gen 2 Pokemon. They either look dumb as hell or have stats that make them bad for in-game runs. And when there are cool ones, you can't even get them in Johto (Houndour, Larvitar).

The level curve is garbage. You become the Champion and go over to Kanto, and what level are the wild Pokemon that you run into? 20-30, even less on some routes. How are you supposed to add new members to your team when they come like 20 levels below the ones you just fought? Tough luck, anyone that wants a Houndoom. Even within Johto, the level curve is pretty bad. It's hard to feel like you're progressing when the Pokemon you catch right before the League are, on average, mid-30s.

Speaking of, people cite revisiting the Kanto region as a huge positive, but all it did was add constraints to the Johto design that made the whole region suffer. Johto is a tiny and short region compared to all the others, and like I mentioned already, some of its new Pokemon aren't even found in the region. And what's the gain? Playing through a stunted version of a region that you've likely already played through. It was cool to fight Blue and Red, and the Kanto gym leaders with stronger teams, but they didn't need to include the entire Kanto region to have those.

The games aren't all bad, of course. They introduced rematches via phone calls and the day-night cycle, both of which were positives. The bug catching contest was a cool concept, although I wouldn't want certain evolution stones locked behind it. Revisiting other regions isn't inherently a bad idea - the execution was just lacking.

And before people jump to conclusions - I loved the games as a kid. Silver was my second game, and I got it on release, Red being my first. I had as much nostalgia for Kanto as the next kid. But it doesn't hold up.

So what should they have done differently? First, made Johto longer. It was the new region and should've been the focus, not nostalgia. Add some routes and towns - including ones where you could actually find all of the new Pokemon. Balance the game so that you were about level 60 when you beat Lance. Honestly, with this change they could've cut Kanto altogether, and maybe made the old gym leaders into battle tower fights.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

billcom6 posted...

Any movie review over 15 minutes is bullshit.

Could not disagree more.

GirTheRobot posted...

No...Nerrel makes a really good case for why that movie is actually pretty good. I went from thinking the movie was complete and utter trash to thinking it was actually fine. He makes good points.

I basically hate all the stuff with Fin and Rose which was just dumb filler. The stuff with Luke, Rey and Kylo was actually really good though, and I think it pushed Star Wars in a direction it hadn't been in before.

It's pretty rare to find a positive take on TRoS, so maybe I'll give it a watch.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Cemith posted...

I haven't seen anything by Just Write but I can vouch for HiTop only ever being okay. I don't agree with a lot of his perspective.

In case you wanted to try out the positive guy my favourite of his is the Scott Pilgrim video:
https://youtu.be/4jEEk41W3DY

I gave this a watch and I enjoyed it! Certainly more than the Sins counterpart.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Quicksilver posted...

I don't watch movie reviews on youtube because why would I. But I do agree with you on the use of hiding behind disclaimers I was watching a top 10 video game list and the guy rambled off this long disclaimer so we would know the list is merely his humble opinion and not a definitive list. So I closed the video.
YouTube sucks for content anyway thanks to the algorithm and people who chase trends to play it for views that is why you see so many similar thumbnails and videos that are similar in presentation. If you want to be successful you better conform to the algorithm.

Not sure what you mean by this comment. But yes this issue seems to extend to YouTube critics of any kind. I think YouTube being free to watch is a double-edged sword. The good critics on the site are loads better than most professional movie critics.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Delirious_Beard posted...

hate to say it but the plinkett reviews seem like the obvious culprit for popularizing a lot of this garbage. inspired millions of people to think that nitpicking and pointing out minor inconsistencies is legitimate film criticism

I think it's an issue of degrees. There's no problem pointing out inconsistencies if it's part of a more substantial criticism. But obviously saying that GoT is trash because of the Starbucks cup is pure hyperbole.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Solo_Wing posted...

Is this including Critical Drinker? If not give him a try

He's been recommended to me but I haven't checked him out yet. Thanks for reminding me.

Cemith posted...

Which creator inspired you to make this topic?

I remember I used to watch an amalgam of movie channels, but they all started the sound kind of samey and negative, now the only one I watch at all in the Everything Great about guy. It's much more pleasant hearing someone gush about a movie than be a prick about it.

Just Write and HiTop are two that come to mind. HiTop's video on WW84 was pretty bad.

(EDIT: Patrick Willems too)

I don't mind one way or the other if they're negative, I just want something with substance.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Oh boy, where to begin?

The obvious flaws first: they tend to speak with a really strange cadence, pausing before the final words in their sentence as if that adds clarity or emphasis to their point. "Wonder Woman 1984 is... wonderful."

They also have a remarkable habit of plastering their current talking point in huge white letters. Oh, good thing they wrote "DIALOGUE" on the screen, otherwise I would have no idea what they're focusing on!

But a bigger trend I've noticed is that they all hide behind the catchphrase "this is just my opinion". They're scared stiff of commenters disagreeing with them or pointing out flaws in their reasoning, so they either focus entirely on their subjective feelings about the movie, or worse, make totally non-subjective arguments but preface with "and this is only my opinion". "In my opinion, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is 152 minutes long."

On the subjectivity thing... do I really need a dozen video essayists telling me how exciting Avengers: Endgame was? I guess I just don't see the value of the content if they only talk about their personal experience with it. Shouldn't the job of a critic be to point out the technique, the craft, of the thing they're criticizing?

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Kajagogo posted...

Or they really don't know who it is. Do you know every actor and actress?

No but saying "literally who?" instead of Googling it is snarky

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Lost_All_Senses posted...

Do you understand how respect works?

Please explain why modding is disrespectful to game developers.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

There's really no way to know. But probably little difference.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Lost_All_Senses posted...

Don't mod. respect developers

Do you not understand how modding works?

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Vicious_Dios posted...

Literally who?

I don't know if you think it looks cool that you don't know who she is, but she's a fairly well-known actress.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

RE4. I have it on GameCube, Wii, and now PC (I think there may even be 2 different PC versions? Unsure)

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Wouldn't a scene from the Purge be the opposite? Like everyone having guns and ransacking each others' houses?

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Dorfmann_ posted...

Literally advocating for mob justice based on hearsay.

At this point there are more posts saying this than there are supporting what happened.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Cloud Atlas. I eventually started it again and finished it, but yeah it was pretty terrible.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

PoundGarden posted...

A vast sweeping majority of people who would punch a pregnant woman in the face cannot be fixed and see nothing wrong with their actions

So where'd you get your criminal psychology degree?

Posts like this make me so thankful that no single person has the power to decide who lives and dies.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

_Sazando_ posted...

What do you say to people when they bring up Garbodor and Vanilluxe.

They're no more "uncreative" than some previous gens. Seel and Dewgong are literally real-world animals with some letters changed. Grimer and Muk are amorphous piles of purple sludge. And let's not forget the evolutions that are just "three of the same thing stuck together".

People love gen 2 and it introduced by far the worst Pokemon.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

People have a narrative in their heads about lazy millennials / gen Z-ers and will take any opportunity to spread it.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Sounds like there's too much context for me to really know what you're talking about here.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

PoundGarden posted...

Disagree. Very few people who would strike a woman (pregnant at that) change their ways and invariably end up killing/maiming their partner. Fuck him, don't downplay domestic abuse.

At the same time, don't downplay death. That man's life is literally over thanks to word of mouth.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Spider-Man
Bloodborne

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

I feel like we're going in circles here.

I understand that the Marvel comic lore has certain aspects that have been mainstays for some time, including time travel and the multiverse. But that says absolutely nothing about the implementation of it in other media. I'm arguing about the quality of the writing in Loki as an MCU property. "It happened in the comics" is not a defense of the writing, just like changing the lore from the comics to the MCU is not a criticism of the writing.

How many tweaks to the lore have been made in adapting the comics to the MCU? Infinity War is clearly an adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, but the movie is extremely different. Thanos's core motivation was changed, and I'd argue all day that it fits the MCU better.

I don't care if they leave time travel or the multiverse out of the MCU. Whatever they do, just make it good. Hell, most of the good MCU movies make no reference to it (Civil War, GotG, IW).

For the record, I have read some standalone comics like IG and Civil War, but no, I wouldn't consider myself a comics fan.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

BigB0ss13 posted...

How about the question of how do you stand out from the rest of the candidates? What would you guys say? I don't really have anything unique I did

There must be something unique about you as a candidate. Re-read the ad that you originally applied to, look for keywords, and think hard about how something you've done in the past relates to that. Work-related or otherwise.

If they say they like team players, talk about the time you were on a hockey team. If they like organization, talk about your obsession with Excel. Stuff like that.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

daynlokki posted...

Yes and those comics were before Disney. This was always the direction it had to go to get everything in the same universe.

Huh? I don't get your argument. Are you saying that their plan has always been to have the comics and MCU take place in different universes in the same multiverse? Because there seems to be little evidence for that.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

So they are making a live action saga based on those very same comics, but you want them to what?

No one forced them to choose that specific comic storyline to adapt. At some point an exec or writer said "the TVA are cool, let's do that". So I want them to not choose terrible comic plots. Or adapt them to fit the established MCU canon.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

Are you under the assumption that comics and the movies are the pinnacle of writing or something?

No? I'm not sure what would give you that impression. The point of my previous post is that the "it comes from the comics" defense isn't a valid defense at all.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

daynlokki posted...

This is based in the comics well before Disney even touched the MCU.

That has nothing to do with it. They're writing properties for the MCU, not the comics. And if the same thing happened in the comics then it was bad writing there, too.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

JoelMiller95 posted...

Whiny entitled nerds go on my ignore list, bye.

Well, it's too bad we can't have genuine discussions about media without people calling each other names.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Medussa posted...

i think a major issue here is that we're working with unreliable narrators for the first time in the mcu. nebula and hulk explained time travel in endgame, but did it actually work the way they thought it did? miss minutes explained the purpose of the tva, but is it truth or propaganda?

these kind of discussions are awesome, but everyone needs to keep in mind there aren't always correct answers. sometimes they come eventually, sometimes all we'll ever get is speculation.

Yes, I'm enjoying the discussion as well, even though I obviously don't care for the show.

Unfortunately, it seems like all of the Disney+ MCU shows were written by people who had cool ideas and gave no further thought to the way that they fit into the MCU itself. "What if everything was a sitcom? What if Sam and Bucky fought crime? What if time cops?"

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

You understand that every single thing has happened has happened because that's the way they were written, yea?

Of course I understand that. The difference is that the writers aren't a functioning part of the universe. We could imagine before that Loki's character was so well-cemented that he would only ever use the Tesseract to escape to the Gobi desert. But we know that's not the case now, as there must be a non-variant Loki that stole the Tesseract, otherwise the TVA would surely deem the Avengers's time heist as "off-script".

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Zeeak4444 posted...

you guys keep saying that and yet the only justification you have is they time traveled!!!

(1) It's an explanation that doesn't use previously established rules at all, and this makes it unsatisfying. For all its flaws, at least Endgame's time travel mechanic used the quantum realm, which was something that we knew about already. Not to mention that it directly contradicts the Ancient One's explanation of branching timelines to Bruce.

(2) It retroactively asserts that no characters in previous MCU installments have any agency whatsoever. Loki had agency, and look where he ended up. Tony didn't attack Bucky and Steve in Civil War because of deeply repressed emotional trauma caused by his parents's deaths or a profound sense of betrayal on Steve's part - he attacked them because if he didn't, the Timekeepers would've been upset. Gamora didn't dance with Quill in GotG 1 because he provided one of the only positive, carefree interactions that she's had since her people were slaughtered in front of her - she danced with him because if she didn't, the TVA would've melted her.

Nothing that happened in the MCU is due to character decisions anymore. It devalues the rest of the series to a degree that I didn't even think was possible.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

I've seen your writing on CE, your opinion on what is good writing is irrelevant.

Luckily we can criticize things without doing them ourselves. Otherwise the overwhelming majority of opinions are irrelevant.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

The idea is probably that civilization would be hard to establish with dragons raining destruction down on humanity. Same reason that humans couldn't have evolved during the age of the dinosaurs.

In the lore of Game of Thrones, for example, they were only widespread in places where the Valyrians lived, who had the magical ability to bond with them. Once the dragon riders brought their dragons to Westeros, the latter was hopelessly outmatched. Any setting without such a magical race would be pretty fucked by the existence of dragons.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

If Loki was a tailor he'd be Sewki

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

A question I've heard a couple times is "give an example of a time where you went above and beyond at work".

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.

Medussa posted...

sure. but to me, the person, there is no functional difference between falling asleep and dying, beyond any uncertainty of what comes after. so, the end of my existence is not at all hard to imagine, which is what i was replying to.

fun fact. one of the very few dreams i do remember was of me dying. i literally felt the warmth drain out, and there was a moment where it seemed like my consciousness had ended. literally the void. could have been a nanosecond, could have been eternity, there was no longer a sense of time.

I had a similar dream. My most apt analogy is that I felt like a candle going out. Not necessarily unpleasant, but I was pretty scared when I woke up.

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Though the fear of death is a common one, the fear of life is a more rational one.