Lurker > HaRRicH

Just wait until he lands that upcoming SMRPG remake.

Won't help with his bracket placement, but just you wait.

Propublica has been great with coverage on the Supreme Court this year. Major props to them.

WazzupGenius00 posted...

You guys are crazy, even as single player this game sucks. I just love one way doors all over the map in my Metroidvania games

Only played this single-player and can confirm, least-favorite Kirby game out of the six or so I've played.

Cool for the people who like it, just not gonna be for me.

So many games. I'll say

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

The Binding of Isaac, I actually prefer playing it on keyboard

Though this is even better with a Steam controller. Keyboard's great though.

Johnbobb posted...

Todd in Breaking Bad

This was my first thought too AND I kinda disagree with my first thought. He didn't become great in my mind until El Camino, and that's blurring the line enough for me here unless we count Breaking Bad/El Camino/Better Call Saul as the same series...which has valid reasons to count like that, but it's a little blurrier here given those structural divisions of story-telling and when Todd's character elevated in story-telling.

My more clear answer: South Park - PC Principal.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-voter-registration-sign-up-fans-b2415156.html

"On Tuesday (19 September), hours after the pop star, 32, called on her US fanbase to register to vote in honour of National Voter Registration Day, Vote.orgs communication director, Nick Morrow, announced that our site was averaging 13,000 users every 30 minutes."

That one more push has another year to come. Gotta beliiiiieeeeeve.....

Thorn posted...

https://twitter.com/ECaliberSeven/status/1704308533527712140

Worth noting Tennessee's 2020-2023 numbers shown there:

+9.3% in a blue area
+13.4% in a red area
+14.2% in a blue area

All three easily beat the +6.1% national average.

All three areas also improved from 2016 to 2020 in their Presidential elections as well (where the state overall gained +2.8% between 2016 and 2020)...so between those gains and these gains, this seems encouraging as a trend.

Who was it that landed the +14.2% gain, which was also the second biggest gain in the nation this year? Tennessee Three's very own Justin Jones.

Why is this worth bringing up?

Marsha Blackburn beat Phil Bredesen for the Senate in 2018 by 10.8%...and while Blackburn will have the power of an incumbent in 2024 -- a year Donald is likely to be on the ballot this time -- she is facing fellow Tennessee Three member Gloria Johnson now.

Nothing guaranteed by any means, but Tennessee might have a real chance for a Democrat as Senator.

I think that's gonna be it for updates on this topic. Let me know if ya'll got any remaining questions, otherwise just know it's been fun on my end and I appreciate having people around who enjoy these stories!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/1/AABgm0AAE20h.jpg

Makers of the thirteenth best-selling game of all time coming out with money and a statement.

lol all good, that checks out more.

Colegreen_c12 posted...

I'm pretty sure you are underestimating the salaries, (unless they are paid under the table which they might be) since you aren't including workmans comp or anything like that and acccording to some googling the average page is between 9 and 17, as well as the day the spend picking everything up.

Also, am I understanding this correctly as a typo for age? I knew a person who worked the fair at the end of or right after high school once, and many people working there are young...but otherwise, for those facing the public, I am unconvinced that I've seen anyone work the games there in this age range (would have guessed lots of 18-25 year olds)...plus there are a lot of older folks working there too to bring the average up more.

I think I see this 9-17 range more with the food stands, but still talkng like high school probably and not like...nine year olds. Never seen that at the fair.

All anecdotal and all guesswork, of course.

Those are fair points Colegreen. For what it's worth, while I've seen some mentions before of paying under the table, I did just now find this:

https://api.seasonaljobs.dol.gov/job-order/H-400-23184-164089

Arizona ain't my state, but that's $15.27 -- more than double the minimum wage here -- for thirty-five hours a week.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Wait, are you still banned next year too? If so, that's competely unfair, and shows you how they're con artists. You need to come at night when it's busier next time, maybe you can get away with more.

I really have no expectation of a forever-and-ever ban as the actual intention, and I have never seen them keep the same staff year to year anyway...so even if they intended to ban me forever, in practice it would be unlikely for them to follow through with that. That said, I technically can't rule it out as a possibility.

So I'm keeping the blue snake as the last prize that got me banned -- first time I'm keeping one of these. Gonna give the other prize which was the bull as a birthday gift to someone who was a tremendous help when my friend last year passed away. I just don't think I can fundraise off of two of these enough for a billboard like I wanted at first, since I was counting on having many more to sell to make that happen. This will have to suffice.

Colegreen_c12 posted...

Still, that tells me the fair made ~$6,400-$6,925 to then split their other costs like wages.

To your point, I'll recognize this sentence is carrying a lot of weight. S'all good on disagreeing, let's hash that out and see where that lands.

(showing my work and figuring this out here)

Wages theory #1: if hourly, it's probably minimum wage for the hours they're open -- maybe more time for open and close duties like moving their stuffed animals to and from each day. The fair was usually open noon to 10:00 PM, and I'll add an hour each day for extra work. Eleven hours of work for ten days is 110-220 hours (recognizing they have two employees regularly working the game but not always together). Minimum wage is $7.25, so that's ranging between $797.50 and $1,595 to cover their staff for this game the ten days.

Wages theory #2: if commission, quick Google search suggested carnival game workers get 20% of commissions -- I don't know if that means per person or split between everyone working. Returning back to my estimate that the fair made ~$6,400-$6,925 to split costs like wages...this could be one extreme of 40% for two employees from $6,400 to equal $2,560 (leaving $3,840 with the fair after wages), or it could be something else as different as the other extreme of 20% for one block of employees from $6,925 to equal $1,385 (leaving $5,540 with the fair after wages). I don't know.

Making a range out of the middle of each of these ranges so far because I don't really know for sure and these numbers need to be contained...simplified estimate here:

Fair made: ~$6,662.5
Hourly wages theory: ~$1,196.25
Commission theory: ~$1,998.25
Averaging these two theories: ~$1,597.25

Fair's ~$6,662.50 minus wages' ~$1,597.25 equals the remaining amount of ~$5,065.25

---

To the rest of your point: let's hit this again with corporate income taxes this time:

Fair's taxed to ~$6,229.44 minus wages' ~$1,597.25 (employees will see ~81% of this) equals the remaining taxed amount of ~$4,632.19

Transport fees: no idea

Days off between fairs: this seems like they would have Monday-Thursday every two weeks where the fair is closed, assuming they are staying with the same fair and not like freelancing between different fair companies. I don't know if they have four days off after ten days on, if they're working for "free" like it's salary during these four days, if they're working hourly during some portion of these days, or what. Those fairs move during that timeframe, no doubt, but I don't know what pay expectations are for them.

Lodging: here's a reddit link asking a similar question:

https://reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/s/Q89Hokbi06

Sounds pretty common for people to sleep on-site or in vehicles, but those are only a few responses and some are old.

Food: not listed here, but that above thread made it sound like food banks are a thing and then if you're living on side for minimum wage I have to imagine the food has a discount or is maaaaaybe even free.

Regardless, definitely some other costs here and that's just for this game. I'm sure that goes for all games to some degree and also has to account for the fair's bigger picture like marketing, land rental, etc. as well as the fair's potential for subsidizing costs like entry fees and parking. I just don't know how those numbers turn out.

Colegreen_c12 posted...

Would you have the same kind of reaction if you went to build-a-bear or target and asked for stuff animals to donate and they said no?

Asked for donations many times and have been turned down many times, I respect that. This is a game and a contest though...little different, and I have seen them change the rules as a reaction to me (which I'll own, I know I am hard on their business model despite my belief they plan around people like me for their business). That said, Build-A-Bear would also still sell me a stuffed animal -- the fair's choosing not to sell to me after banning me from playing their game. No further official interaction with their business, in that sense, and that's more messed up.

Kathy got back at me about a detail I didn't expect.

Where we last left off:

HaRRicH posted...

I also asked her if she had anybody else prepared for the game in town this year, or if I was the one weird guy.

The conversation went to silence.

Broke the silence.

"I had a couple people but only like 5 winners the whole fair"

So...about five winners over ten days, and at least one of them were a prize-hunter besides me. I also won two prizes, so like...maybe only four people won?

If so, man, I have to believe the public has done better in the past. Poor the public.

Also, the game-runners were saying previously they make about seven hundred bucks a day through the game. They played ten nights. ~$7,000 estimate then during the fair, right. Each of these stuffed animals could sell for $100+ individually -- I've seen similar items in person at Rite-Aid for $120 plus I have seen one of my donations go for $476 in a fund-raiser -- and I know they have bulk prices straight from the makers to lower these expenses. I heard in the past they could cost the fair as low as $15 each to buy in this way, but I haven't verified that. Still, that tells me the fair made ~$6,400-$6,925 to then split their other costs like wages.

That's ~$1,280-$1,385 the fair made per stuffed animal they lost.

That's ~256-277 attempts for a prize with $5 per try...and ~384-416 attempts per prize with $10 for three tries.

Can I tell you something? They're doing fine, even with me coming in to win. That's a lot of profit margin they're making on most of these, and these are numbers that already include me winning my prizes quickly and having at least one other prize-hunter there. Vary the estimates as you see fit, but money's being made.

And Kathy's boss said they didn't have enough prizes to "give away" or even sell. Don't tell me there couldn't have been a reasonable price. This was a rejection based on my skills, not some business acumen or supply-side struggles.

Just worthy to note.

Doing a remaster like Live A Live would be cool.

Alternatively, I've been wishing for awhile Square would try a Deltarune-like path for a Chrono-sequel since Life Is Strange first showed me Square's trying the limited episodes-business model. That would be rad too.

GuessMyUserName posted...

https://www.humblebundle.com/software/everything-you-need-to-know-about-godot-4-encore-software?partner=wario64

Suh-weet.

Great title and OP.

Don't fuck with theatre.

TheRainandFire posted...

4. WWF No Mercy

Respect.

TheRainandFire posted...

12. Madden NFL 2003

Ouch. ESPN NFL 2k5 all day.

Forceful_Dragon posted...

provided they are not directly coordinating with the candidate

You are legally correct but I have to lol at how this is enforced.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/02/05/exp-george-w-bush-ad-praising-jeb-erin.cnn
(can't find the full ad anymore but there's a clip here)

One brother is campaigning for another on national television. They only talk about this indirectly with the PACs? It's just a stretch if true and a farce either way.

foolm0r0n posted...

What about basketball? Both teams play offense and defense, but at any given time, one is on offense and one is on defense. They're never simultaneously playing the same game.

Tip-off.
Loose ball.

I'm glad basketball is more than just those elements though.

Howdy howdy.

Sub-Zero VS Scorpion is a rivalry best known for their asymetrical'ness.

More seriously, there's room for two-player modes to be asymmetrical, but the gameplay has to be functionally different. I wouldn't call Mario Kart asymmetrical just because someone picked Bowser while someone picked Toad. That said, if someone makes a level on Mario Maker and then someone else plays it? I'm...not certain that is multiplayer, necessarily, but I think it gets at the point of gameplay-based asymmetry.

wg64Z posted...

This wont piss anyone off...probably?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/3/4/AADVe6AAE2Qy.jpg

Gambling with your MMX-retrospective-making video essayists in your audience, be careful.

Nah, it'll be fine.

https://shop.thetoyfactory.biz/21x0394.html

Found my bull! Speaking of bull, however, look at that statement at the bottom of the page -- WE DO NOT SELL TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. Not ideal!

http://www.goffausa.com/products.html

Found real similar-looking snakes on Page 7 under Little Toys.

FINAL PRACTICE NUMBERS:
Normal stands: 250/307 - 81.43%
Hard mode with backwards bottles: 90/190 - 47.37%
Ten-second stands I practiced once a day: 28/36 - 77.78%

COMPARED TO NUMBERS AT THE FAIR:
At the fair: 2/6, 33.33%, $30, two prizes, one ban

ALL TOGETHER:
Total final number: 370/539 - 68.65%

My fair-numbers had too low of a sample size to really be free from statistical variance...but it's less than half the percentage of everything I've practiced here and is 14% under hard mode practice.

Chalk it up to lights, sounds, friends, employees, heat, money, and differences in our devices like different string length, different rod, different platform angle, etc. Still...gah.

I'm gonna practice on bottle-standing speeds off and on over the year. Me being stuck with ten seconds only affected my percentages a little bit without having nearly as much practice as the rest. I think I can go faster and stay pretty good.

I HEARD BACK FROM KATHY!!!

"Oh sorry I forgot I just talked to him and he said no we don't have enough prices to just sell them or give them out"

Nobody's asking to sell or donate as the first move here -- just let me play. Not pushing that point with them because we know I was gonna keep winning for small amounts of money, but...still, come on.

She did advise to contact the makers of the stuffed animals though...might not be able to get a great deal without a corporate account, but maybe! It's a busy week for me so I won't research right away, plus I remember getting stonewalled a few years ago trying something similar...but I'll leave these here so we're on the same page:

Plush Paradise (makers of the red bull)
Goffa (makers of the blue snake)

I also asked her if she had anybody else prepared for the game in town this year, or if I was the one weird guy.

The conversation went to silence.

I don't know why you wouldn't count COVID as a national crisis unless it's exclusively being placed as an international crisis.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/2/AABgm0AAE2JG.jpg

We have a winner.

LightningStrikes posted...

Chrono Trigger.

This isn't #1 for me, but I feel like this is valid to say for people twenty years ago.

Social media is a tee-total bitch in that way. My belief is that natural growth as we think of it has changed from like 6-8 years ago to now. I figured it out before with my food blog -- steady posts, hashtags, outreach, good unique content --and it worked then...but good lord, nowadays it's like a brick wall trying. All this experience is around Instagram, but still.

That's fair -- I've seen wg around awhile (been watching his channel since before #snowdick), but could not ignore the clickbait title.

Also MMX1 is good. OG >> X in terms of the series at large, but MMX1 stands among the best of any of the MM games even when I prefer a few others over it.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Ron Burgundy to the rescue? I'd watch that

Aqualung 2.

Tag for incoming clickbait title drama.

Probably ought to try playing it twenty years before playing the remakes.

Fifteen if you're in a hurry.

I GOT TEXTS!

...

...aww, they're just from friends and family. This isn't the time!

Texting Kathy one more time, we shall see what happens.

I didn't include this part, but it is true: "Also, quick heads-up, I've shared my story of getting banned and have received word a local marketing team's interested in picking up the story for publication. Let me know please if you or your boss would like to be considered for interviews."

Felt too much like strong-arming to actually include that...plus now that I'm not getting more than half of the prizes I could have gotten, I don't think I can do what my original goal was anymore regarding the billboard for my late friend...so I don't want to push the point like that.

But I could.

BUT I WON'T

But I could, even though I won't.

Probably Ace Attorney, but nobody's mentioned Undertale yet and that's in the same tier for me.

jcgamer107 posted...

Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes came to mind first

A good answer here.

Johnbobb posted...

If this includes 2player co-op, then It Takes Two is pretty much untouched

I really liked what I played here, but I didn't play much.

I don't normally enjoy them in their entirety, but I can dabble with some...thought I'd ask what the highlights are in this genre of game.

As a full game: Evolve (never could grasp being the monster, but the humans were cool)

As a mini-game: Conker's Bad Fur Day - Beach (hitting the button to destroy the attackers was satisfying)

Mario movie was huge this year. I could see more Mario games coming to capitalize on that.

Me too, yep. GameFAQs ads have gotten more egregious.

guffguy89 posted...

why do you limit it to just this one fair every year? Surely there are other fairs/festivals/carnivals within an hour's drive from you that go on throughout the year that might have this booth there.

Oops, overlooked this -- I always mean to look more into these, but I never find out until it's too late to go. I need to plan harder here and just see what other fairs nearby have.

Tifa >> Aeris in FF7og

Tifa > Aerith in FF7R

Aeris >>> Aerith just as far as names go, forever and always.

'Poooooooooooooot siiightiiiiing! What's up hoss, been a minute since we did the Mario. Hope all is well!

A guess for a game I haven't played: Assassin's Creed 2. Just seems like a lot of modern games have absorbed what the AC-series brings to the table, and I don't know what fans of AC2 when it came out would think upon replaying it now.

My closest example I can think of: don't know that Bastion truly fits, but what once seems very specific and innovative with the narrator discussing your actions now feels much more common. I also had a hard time replaying it a year or two ago.

Okay I have bad news for those of you the fat suit baited. The implication that I would wear a fat suit to the fair is not happening.

It's hot.

Also that sounds legally dicey when they just banned me for the year. No me gusta -- shan't do it.

Shortly before the fair though, ideas of ways to be funny this year crossed my mind and I do have a fat suit. I thought about wearing that for my first day at the fair...then go back as my usual self for the next nine days looking totally different from the first day just to see if they ever catch on. That seemed like an interesting experiment. When thinking it through further, however, that feels less like Nathan For You and more like The Rehearsal.

Also it's hot.

Also-also I was meeting friends. That seemed like a weird thing to bring unannounced.

But still, I tried it on since it's been a long time.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/0/AABgm0AAE1Ua.jpg

I look like a rotisserie chicken, or if Meat Boy controlled a mecha.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/7/1/AABgm0AAE1Ub.jpg

Turns out I ain't really got much to fit it.

Thorn posted...

Not thinking big enough.

None of ya'll are thinking big enough.

One of the biggest and most unfair things the carnival workers have to deal with is the underestimation of their intelligence. It's easy to joke about the reasons and write them off too fast...but when you talk with the people, you see real problems with that mindset. We're still talking about people of all ages and backgrounds travelling around to deal with the public most nights of each summer. Like when Kathy said she's seen my kind before, come on, she read me from my stance because that's what these people do. Cynically, it's a group of con artists on their home-turf, or more positively they're salespeople and entertainers who probably enjoy the people-watching aspects here...but in any of those perspectives, the point is they know how to read people.

Coming in every other day, shaving the beard...these things each help, kinda, but realistically they don't solve much after I stand a bottle and they size me up and down. They'll know. How much can I get away with talking before they recognize my voice? I can't just go in with the mime treatment and not set off some red flags, right? I'll have to talk. My wallet doesn't look like everybody else's either. Have any of you thought this through beyond the word "disguise?"

It's time to treat these people like the professionals that they are.

I have a fat suit.