Lapbunny's recent activity
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Comment on Blunt, stunts and Ryan Gosling: how did The Fall Guy flop – and what does that mean for cinema? in ~movies
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentDefinitely leave your questions like the "hoot" for until you've exhausted everything you know to try at all. (If you keep moving through the map you'll probably figure that one out on your own.)...Definitely leave your questions like the "hoot" for until you've exhausted everything you know to try at all. (If you keep moving through the map you'll probably figure that one out on your own.) There's also a discord that's very good about answering questions and giving bread crumbs for things without fully spoiling the puzzle, if you ever need a nudge or want to know if you're thinking along the right track yet want to get to the actual answer yourself.
Re checkpoints, I somewhat disagree because I think the game is generally good at nudging that you have an answer to get yourself out of every situation you get yourself into - so if you bonk your head against something long enough you'll get out. From a convenience standpoint I get it, much like Outer Wilds, but you can just hit Quit and then reload the save if you need to.
I just retired it myself. I got to the "layer 3" bit and found those locations before giving up, then I looked up the "layer 4" stuff because it was way beyond me - that's where it really reaches some other games in the knowledgevania... genre? (Knowledgevania? Eh? ehhh? I really need a word for these games so I can find more lol) Like you said I think The Witness still has a singular moment or two that beats out Animal Well, and Outer Wilds is still the prime one of these kinds of these games in terms of tying its mechanics into a narrative and very powerful thesis - plus some utterly beautiful puzzle moments. But what I think Animal Well carves out for itself is metatextual. I've got a weird phobia of games or programs going awry, so games that break their own rules and typical UI affordances really get to me; something that I think is clear is that Basso really understands video game "prose" via mechanics, and he gets that sense of wonder as we figure out what's really in a game. The "well" here is that ability to layer meaning within mechanics and exploration, and that the sense of curiosity is often what's between the CRT scanlines or unsaid rather than what's in front of us. Literally, unsaid - I found one piece of dialogue and it's an easter egg. Animal Well is a love letter to the medium itself, and it's written in its own language.
...Also it's thirty three point three megabytes. Like, that's part of the beauty of the mystery here. What else did he cram in here? What the fuck??
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Comment on What is a value or belief you have that is extremely outside the norm? in ~talk
Lapbunny Link ParentWhite people with money would just aim these messages entirely at other races. Or, y'know, any mix of any kind of power structures using this as an excuse to sterilize people they don't like.We should literally tell 5th graders, "look, hopefully none of you develop these feelings. But if you do, here is what can be done about it. We can't change them, but we can give you drugs that will kill your libido and allow you to live a peaceful life without hurting anyone."
White people with money would just aim these messages entirely at other races. Or, y'know, any mix of any kind of power structures using this as an excuse to sterilize people they don't like.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
Lapbunny LinkHit a very nice string of albums this last weekish: Feed Me Weird Things - Squarepusher (I've tried Squarepusher before but bounced off. Seeing this was more nu-jazz than IDM made me give it a...Hit a very nice string of albums this last weekish:
Feed Me Weird Things - Squarepusher (I've tried Squarepusher before but bounced off. Seeing this was more nu-jazz than IDM made me give it a shot, really loved it)
Juliana Gattas - Maquillada en la Cama (kinda cheese 00's dance feel, but getting the great parts of 00's dance cheese)
Hitsujibungaku - Our Hope (great j-indie)
Pretty. Odd. - Panic At the Disco (I gave it a shot since I disliked pop punk in middle school - it can't keep the momentum going all the way, but I like their faux-Beatles)
Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory (prefer the less trap-heavy stuff on it, but man are the peaks high)
samlrc - A Lonely Sinner (post-rock typically bounces off me, something clicked here)
DANGERDOOM - THE MOUSE AND THE MASK (wasn't expecting an entire Adult Swim block, god does it work well with Doom's feel)
Black County, New Road - Ants From Up There (The Place Where He Inserted The Blade left one hell of an impression on me, I get the hype around this)
Naked City - Torture Garden (a friend got me into their self-titled hell jazz album long ago - I wanted more of that. Got it! I find it hilarious they ended up in a Sega CD commercial)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentI was along the same thought until I realized I'd played about 50% of the game without even utilizing something in my inventory - to me it feels like it doesn't really gate progress as much as it...I was along the same thought until I realized I'd played about 50% of the game without even utilizing something in my inventory - to me it feels like it doesn't really gate progress as much as it does give you a crapload more flexibility with navigation. It is definitely more traditionally item-dependent as a Metroidvania - but hey, Outer Wilds is item-dependent! Technically. :^)
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Comment on Donald Glover surprise-drops a new Childish Gambino album, Atavista, featuring Ariana Grande, 21 Savage and more in ~music
Lapbunny LinkMan, 19.10 is possibly one of my favorite songs so I jumped to it and can't help think he absolutely butchered it in To Be Hunted. That reverb is awful.Man, 19.10 is possibly one of my favorite songs so I jumped to it and can't help think he absolutely butchered it in To Be Hunted. That reverb is awful.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkAfter being on the fence about the immediate good word of mouth around Animal Well, I read one comparison to "Outer Wilds and The Witness" and immediately bought it. Didn't think it was the best...After being on the fence about the immediate good word of mouth around Animal Well, I read one comparison to "Outer Wilds and The Witness" and immediately bought it. Didn't think it was the best comparison at first, but the game convinced me otherwise. Some of this stuff it does makes me cackle with glee. Like, cackle with glee. Remember that feeling? Christ.
Games like this, Riven, and Outer Wilds aren't just special because puzzles; it's not just that moment you learn something was in front of you all along; it's not just the integration of puzzles into the environment, anthropology, or story. It's getting the hand-turn reveals to make something else click in your head - and making you want to adventure back across the world, and trip on something along the way, and tumble into a whole other rabbit hole. (Literally, here!) There's such whimsy and I have no idea where else it's going. I'm absolutely loving it.
Dunkey picked the right game to stick his brand on, his money's where his mouth is on games bucking AAA trends.
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Comment on Ubisoft shut down The Crew. Here is what we can do about it. in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentThere's a pretty fun analog horror-style channel that's making a ton of videos to spread the word about Stop Killing Games: https://youtube.com/@jakediditagainThere's a pretty fun analog horror-style channel that's making a ton of videos to spread the word about Stop Killing Games: https://youtube.com/@jakediditagain
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentArceus felt like a Pokemon game that would've been in my head when I was 5. I utterly adored it, and I hope it's still a fresh testing ground for ideas in the future that they don't feel mired...Arceus felt like a Pokemon game that would've been in my head when I was 5. I utterly adored it, and I hope it's still a fresh testing ground for ideas in the future that they don't feel mired down in like the main series. Also hoping the major emphasis on Z-A in the last set of announcements means it did gangbusters or they're going to give it the attention it deserves.
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Comment on Revisiting the GBA Castlevania Games (Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow) in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkI got into Castlevania after seeing good reviews for Dawn of Sorrow in every magazine I'd read, so I played that and then worked backwards from there to Aria of Sorrow / Harmony of Dissonance, and...I got into Castlevania after seeing good reviews for Dawn of Sorrow in every magazine I'd read, so I played that and then worked backwards from there to Aria of Sorrow / Harmony of Dissonance, and forward to Portrait of Ruin / Order of Ecclesia - the whole GBA/DS span is pretty much my concept of the series. (Hot take out of the way, I hated Order... Awfully boring maps, found the weapon system pretty annoying, got tired of it very quickly.) Recently going through Backloggd I was checking out Circle of the Moon, since I haven't played it myself and I'd seen a lot of hype after that came out back in the day. I was surprised to see there are a TON of negative retrospectives on it - all pretty uniformly against in particular the controls being awful and the map being a total slog to go back to. I'll probably try it myself sometime just to complete that trilogy and get my own opinion out of it.
Anyway - I enjoyed Harmony! Objectively it's a pretty skippable game and a kind of limited attempt to make SotN At Home instead of trying to strike out on its own merits like Aria really did. But I've gotta almost completely disagree with you on the aesthetics, especially the soundtrack. It sounds like shit on the PSG channel the way it's sampled, definitely - Decisive Battle blaring out when you step into a boss room is about as terrifying as the boss itself. But when it's cleaned up and re-sampled right I absolutely adore it - I've listened to it dozens of times by itself over any of the other handheld Castlevanias. It's eerie and driving like a good Castlevania soundtrack should be, and the compositions have a ton of play going on that shouldn't have been delegated to the chintzy GBA high-pass speaker obliterating your ears. I wish there was some way to magic a better version of it into a hack, but oh well. I also love the wacky color scheme, with the mode 7 clouds flying around and whatnot. Good? Not really! But it had a really unique feel, at least, and they were working with the pre-backlit GBA colors so it kinda had to be saturated to make it pop.
Aria I pretty much entirely agree with you, though I think that lack of friction makes it close to perfect - aside from those little bits you mention. It and Dawn have such good secrets, too; I love the way stuff is hidden. Like, the story is really relevant with that too, for once - even if the twist isn't the most novel thing by itself, the fact that you kill Graham with that set of abilities is a fantastic way to drive it. Stuff like that kept it memorable in my head for me. Dawn is a bit more fun to replay for me, but Aria just stands out as this incredibly well-crafted experience with, like you said, such little gap between what they seem to want you to do and figuring out how to explore the castle in a really satisfying way.
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Comment on Fear the Mad Catz - The worst video game controllers ever in ~games
Lapbunny Link ParentI got one of their doofy shortened and WWE-branded PS3 fightsticks in 2013 for $50 to learn Skullgirls and swapped out their buttons for Sanwas - I still use it today whenever I want to play...I got one of their doofy shortened and WWE-branded PS3 fightsticks in 2013 for $50 to learn Skullgirls and swapped out their buttons for Sanwas - I still use it today whenever I want to play fighting or arcade games. Though The Rock looked at my left hand funny and I ripped the label off, so it's all dusty... Gotta sand it and repaint it.
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Comment on Best "dad" jokes and puns! in ~talk
Lapbunny LinkWhat has four letters, always has six letters, occasionally has twelve letters, and never has five lettersWhat has four letters, always has six letters, occasionally has twelve letters, and never has five letters
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Comment on VR gaming is reawakening my enthusiasm for games in ~games
Lapbunny (edited )LinkPlay SUPERHOT VR. It's such a crazy kinesthetic experience that feels like The Matrix, including every time Neo eats shit because you punch through an IRL wall or a window. Tea For God is another...Play SUPERHOT VR. It's such a crazy kinesthetic experience that feels like The Matrix, including every time Neo eats shit because you punch through an IRL wall or a window. Tea For God is another cool one, which generates a kind of moving, non-euclidean dungeon inside your play space. It uses the inherent limitation in the setup to invoke a mix of urgency and claustrophobia. These are older, I'm sure there's newer cooler stuff.
The problems I found were the setup, commitment, and the kind of novelty that are its games. Enjoy it, but I found there weren't any long-lasting experiences (aside from SUPERHOT and Alyx) which really could justify the physical need to set aside a space in the house and could keep the facade going for over an hour when you do feel like strapping in. People need to have better visions than "what if shooting range, but VR??" "what if boxing, but VR??" or "what if shooting range... zombies, but VR??", and it turns into a money problem unless you're flush enough for the room in your house, the headset hardware, and to keep the interest going by paying for dozens of arcade-y games.
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Comment on Have you had a life-altering change in who you are? in ~talk
Lapbunny LinkI don't think I've ever had the singular coming-to-god moment you're probably more looking for, but... Feeling shy about crying in front of my dad at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, then...I don't think I've ever had the singular coming-to-god moment you're probably more looking for, but...
Feeling shy about crying in front of my dad at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, then looking up at him and seeing him crying at Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, made me feel a lot more open about my feelings for art and feeling closer to him.
Reading about psychologists needing to confirm gender affirmation surgeries scared into me that my gender questioning was something to hide.
Watching End of Evangelion warped my view about signal and structure of everything that affects me.
Reading "nice guy" stuff in college made me realize how passively I assumed things would come to me, and to be more proactive.
Going the opposite direction in a fling with a friend and losing them by being a weird, pushy, clingy asshole trying to spend more time with them got me, hopefully, a little less entitled.
In the middle of the bazillionth depression mode about my gender, reading Bokura no Hentai got me to finally open up to people about being genderfluid.
Spending a night with my one week old baby and my wife back in the hospital made me feel, ironically, like a proper adult and a parent with things under control for the first time.
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Comment on Keanu Reeves joins 'Sonic 3' as Shadow in ~movies
Lapbunny (edited )Link ParentI haven't seen the movies, but while Shadow is about as serious as it comes and typically played straight, he's also the source of 90% of the edgy brooding in the Sonic fandom from the mid-00's....I haven't seen the movies, but while Shadow is about as serious as it comes and typically played straight, he's also the source of 90% of the edgy brooding in the Sonic fandom from the mid-00's. The baggage is incredible. Listen to his theme song. His legacy is being able to Google image search "[your first name] the Hedgehog" and get something back from DeviantArt.
They got Keanu Reeves to play Shadow the Hedgehog in a $100,000,000+ movie! This is one of the funniest things I've seen in my life. The comedy is gonna be him playing this as straight and over-the-top as can be.
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Comment on Keanu Reeves joins 'Sonic 3' as Shadow in ~movies
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Comment on Looking for free or cheap places to learn some SQL and XML in ~tech
Lapbunny Link ParentSeconded, I learned a good number of basic language knowledge off their courses back when. Very interactive and simple. Additionally, I'll say that SQL is probably the most "like English" language...Seconded, I learned a good number of basic language knowledge off their courses back when. Very interactive and simple.
Additionally, I'll say that SQL is probably the most "like English" language I've learned - you can string together sentences, they roll off the tongue, but the important stuff with databases is far from syntax. Understanding what you're trying to return or what you DO return, knowing what you should or shouldn't do in a database or what structures conventionally look like in regards to things like normal forms, good database structure, optimization, etc are all just as important as knowing SQL itself. It's less constrained by the syntax in general, and it's because it's not doing the same kind of stuff as typical programming. If the course doesn't have that, make sure to follow up with some deeper database knowledge if it's relevant to your career.
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Comment on How do I sell a car? in ~transport
Lapbunny Link ParentThey'll typically only budge a bit (like a couple hundred dollars) to make the customers feel like they got their deal. It's their bread and butter, unfortunately they're gonna do whatever they...They'll typically only budge a bit (like a couple hundred dollars) to make the customers feel like they got their deal. It's their bread and butter, unfortunately they're gonna do whatever they can to make as much as they can on both ends. Anchor both the offer and the trade-in value early based on your research so the couple hundred they want to knock off or tack on don't hurt as much. Again, you won't have to deal with them on half of that if you sell private. Walk wherever you don't like the terms, and feel like you can waste their time - theirs is money, but yours is whatever you want it to cost.
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Comment on Tildes is changing the way I use and think about online engagement. How about you? in ~tildes
Lapbunny LinkI feel like I'm getting off of smoking by vaping here. Made me wonder why I do public social media, aside from out of habit. The answer is good discussion crops up, and it feels good to connect...I feel like I'm getting off of smoking by vaping here. Made me wonder why I do public social media, aside from out of habit. The answer is good discussion crops up, and it feels good to connect with people, but... Not enough for the negative parts of everywhere else, or very occasionally even here.
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Comment on How do I sell a car? in ~transport
Lapbunny Link ParentTo be honest I've bought two cars and sold one where I/the seller opened with an offer, said they'll stick to the price if everything checks out OK, asked whatever questions before going, and then...Serious buyers show up in person, cash in hand, and dont bother you with a million questions online. They also dont start negotiating price before they see the car, so answer that with "we can talk price once you've had a chance to see the car in person"
To be honest I've bought two cars and sold one where I/the seller opened with an offer, said they'll stick to the price if everything checks out OK, asked whatever questions before going, and then picked it up with zero issues. Cleanest and best buying experiences I've had, but that was with enthusiast cars where people were more open to talking about the history.
Honestly with kids now the best argument for going to a theater has been FOMO and friends/family. I really wanted to see Godzilla Minus One while it was on a big screen, and there are certain older movies that if you told me were screening somewhere I'd work out time to go with my wife because I just don't know if I'd get the chance again. I also stayed home to watch the baby while my wife went with family to see Barbie. (Still need to see it myself.) Everything else... Yeah, not worth it against a night we can plan ourselves in the house.
Starting to get why everything is marketed to the yoots, lol