My brother told me to play this, possibly in revenge for all the weird games I’ve made him play.
You know that fanfic that newbie barely teenage boys have, the one with the new region and new pokemon but this time it’s got ALCOHOL and SEX REFERENCES and ZANY unlike those squares at Nintendo? It’s that. Like, beat by beat. If that’s you? Well, you’ll love this.
This is a book about a bunch of beauty queens whose plane crashes on an island that was supposedly good. It is by the “gypsies speak Romanian right?” author.
It is actually a cute book that said a bunch of nice, thoughtful things about race and gender and family and a bunch of very mean things about corporations.
I am confused too but it’s a thing I didn’t hate so I thought I should share. (more…)
It is worse than the prophets foretold.
Hard to pick a best part.
The bit where the show makes a woman explain that no actually it is you who is the sexist for complaining about her being supergirl and not superwoman?
How all women exist to tear each other down and/or fuck things up for each other?
How her dead mom’s pep talk is, “Hey, so remember you can always get back to being your cool fearless child self, because I’m sure you’ve fucked up this whole time, but I believe in your ability to not be a fuckup forever.”?
The idea that misogyny is a universal constant throughout the universe?
How everything is her fault?
How the US government already knows who she is and can take her out any time it wants?
That fucking skirt?
A deeply unsettling setting that left me equal parts disturbed and depressed by the end.
However…
The previous horror I linked to was someone recounting what they remembered of an improv RPG one-shot.
The Sick Lands is objectively put together far better, better hits stuff that disturbs me and avoids things I’m pretty meh about (IN SPACE is science is more of an uphill battle for mysterious horror) and has a real conclusion…and yet, overall is less satisfying.
The Sandman is very sort of a sequel to The Crooked Man. It’s is pretty solid in story terms. There’s some stuff in the initial setup that seems clumsy, but it actually pays off very nicely in the second half. It rerminded me of The Witch’s House in that there actually was a reason for seemingly incongruous stuff like putting the frog in the slot.
Designwise, eh, random RPGmaker style flaws. There’s cutscenes where actual gameplay stuff is accomplished and “gameplay” that is figuring out what part of what room she needs to stand in her house to get the next thing to happen. Also one of the puzzles requires numbers and you’re supposed to look at your phone and use the time despite that having nothing to do with anything as far as I can tell, they just share letters involved.
But wow, the story was really worth it.
(If you play, make an extra save right before showing the pink gem, that’s one of the two decision points for the endings.)
Middens is an unsettling, surreal game that it turns out I can’t play. (more…)
So, personal story time, DQ readers: I’m simultaneously fascinated by and terrified of death. Not of the physical act of dying in itself (although that also disturbs and intrigues me), but of the idea that once I’m dead, that’s it, my consciousness – everything that makes up who I am – will be gone. I’m actually a bit jealous of more spiritual people: they know what will happen to them in the afterlife, while I only have this vague hope my loved ones and I will continue to exist in some way that’s still discernible as us (not just in a vague “Oh, you’ll still exist, only without any sense of self”, for example).
This isn’t just me being candid. This fear of mine is partly why The Return of the Living Dead is one of my favourite movies, even as it’s also one of the few that has genuinely scared or disturbed me even as an adult. (Or perhaps it’s the other way around – maybe my fear can be traced to having watched this movie as a child? I remember taking a long time to fall asleep that night.) So, this being October, let me see if I can’t spread some of that around, eh?
So, before I talk about Dresden Files RPG, I think I should take a look at FATE, on which DF RPG is based to see how well the foundation is implemented.
FATAL (Fantasy Adventures to Adult Lechery) is generally considered the worst TRPG ever made.
The second worst TRPG ever made is called Racial Holy War.
(more…)
Midnighters posts are still on hiatus since I don’t have much free time recently, so let’s talk instead about my favorite horror writer.
Hello, everyone! Sorry for not posting anything lately, but you know how life goes sometimes (and how it will keep on going for the foreseeable future, unfortunately). But I’ve missed writing for DQ, so much I even considered writing a recommendation post for assorted “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” media, especially the first two live-action movies – they both just ooze* so much personality! -, but those aren’t that interesting, academically speaking.
* Hah! I made a funny!
Instead, I’m going to talk about the third “The Gamers” movie, The Gamers: Hands of Fate. (more…)
Midnighters post is postponed because I suddenly have a lot of new stuff to read. It should be ready somewhere this week, but no precise date.
Plus, I thought this blog can use a bit more vitriol.
(more…)
