Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Here's the thumbnails for both Origins videos without the blur in the background. Each background element is meant to represent a feature discussed in the video. There's 2 very obscure references (one in each image) that i wonder if anybody's picked up on...
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Happy Birthday Sonic!
So the video i've been working on is a Sonic-related one. And i wanted to have it done by today. It's so close, but it's not going to hit the deadline. It involves some speculation towards the frontiers DLC as well as the future of the series. With the 2nd DLC releasing, and a Sonic Central later on, there could be some exciting revelations. So i decided to release some drafts of the video to celebrate the hedgehog's special day, but moreso to cover my own tracks in case i guessed something right. There's 3 drafts altogether linked to one another through the description tabs. The first 2 were made available already, hidden where most people won't read. But i figured i'll make them more accessible since you decided to read this update. The 3rd draft is basically the full video with quite a few gaps. Treat it as a sneak peak if you want, though the better polished version will be out soon so you should probably rather wait for that. Anyway thanks again for stopping by. I'll see you soon and don't forget to buy Sonic a cake, okay?
https://youtu.be/LkjKQLzY1Wk
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I figured i might as well post this here. This is the full text i wrote out for the description of my latest video on Forspoken. I ramble alot, i know. I've always done that in the descriptions, but sometimes it's just too much for the character limit provided. Anyway, it's just some extra context to the video itself, the process of making it, and whatever other thoughts i had at the time.
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If i sound tired in this one, it's because i am. I'm not too happy with the voice over. I know i've said that same thing for many of these videos, but i'm finally getting the quality closer to where i want it. The problem in this one is the performance. My voice has various limitations. It's something i've always been super conscious of (well that, and just about everything else.) But it's something that just takes time to get to work in my favor. Most people can't even hear their voice in a candid video without commenting on how they hate the sound of it, so i think i've made good progress. But man does it take some energy to read these lines right. It really is a performance in front of the mic. And i can't finish a session without being exhausted. I've always wondered how voice overs are for other creators. It probably comes more naturally i would guess. The point is with this particular video i didn't put forth the amount of effort i typically do in a recording session. Just factors of life there's no reason to get into. But countless line re-reads wasn't going to happen. Not to mention the extra editing going through each additional take. Sometimes it's the most liberating feeling when you're editing and you only have one option to go with, even if it's not perfect. And i wanted to get this video out of the way as soon as possible.
You may be wondering why i wasted my time reviewing a game like this. I didn't plan to. But i had so many conflicting feelings once i got towards the endgame. It's kind of reminiscent of when i wrote my Kingdom Hearts 3 review. A good amount of things i liked alongside a good amount of things i wish were different. I think that criteria makes for the most interesting reviews to write. I see little point in reviewing a game to only say positive things about it. And if i genuinely had no enjoyment playing a game, there's no reason to subject myself to that game even more in order to do a review. Even still, i got burnt out fast towards the end. This goes for many of these projects, but i essentially relive the experience of a game 5 times doing these videos. 1 in my original playthrough, 2 writing everything i thought about it, 3 recording all the footage in a second playthrough, 4 editing that all down and filling gaps with more new footage, and 5 rewatching the video to make sure it's presentable. I hit the ground running with this one. Had the voice over recorded by Feb 18, which was 8 pages turned into 16 files. And i'd edit 2 files a day, along with fitting any footage i had to it. So in just over a week i had the meat of the video done. Then i hit that burnout wall. It took me 3 days just to get all the external (non-Forspoken) footage. And another few for the finishing touches and music bed. I wanted to get this out within two weeks, but still three is not too bad.
If you were expecting my Frontiers video next, then my bad. I know i said it would be next. But i don't think it would have been the quality i'd be happy with if i jumped right into it. So i fixed this one together instead, and i'd rather Forspoken take the hit than a review i actually care about. But don't worry, it is in the works. And i'm happy with what i've got so far. Hopefully i can have it out by the end of April realistically (though i'll certainly try for sooner.) I'm looking forward to what i've got cooking for this year. I pretty much have my videos planned down to the months. I just really with they didn't take so long to make. But i still have some catching up to do.
Coldly Warm. That line is so incredibly stupid, and i heard it so many times in my first playthrough. Though in some weird strange way it became the perfect description for this game. It didn't turn out great. But there's genuinely some things i quite enjoy about it that wish could've been fitted to a better experience. And it's not as easy as the 'Game Bad' or 'Game Good' category every modern game is forced into. Video games are complex by nature. Sometimes the bad outweighs the good. And saving $70 by not buying something you might not enjoy is reasonable. I just think more nuanced discussions should take place instead of repeating the same tired points. I'm already fearing the reception on this one. Maybe i'm just jaded, but it seems you get more flack for liking something most people don't than you do for pointing out flaws in something most people love. Or maybe it's all shit whichever way you spin it. Either way i'm moving forward at the same rate. I have scripts written from over two years ago that still need produced. And a series of videos i've had planned for just as long that certainly fit into the 'criticized for liking it' point i mentioned earlier.
There was a section i redacted from the script pertaining to the open world trend. Something about the pressure to release a game in that style just to market it as Open World. Or the expectation that open world is the only suitable way to design a game anymore, or else it's antiquated. But mostly something about not forcing a concept to be something it's not meant to be. I think this game would have been better suited for a less-than-open-world. Remember when a ps2 or ps3 game would have wide open areas that were (well, usually) more that just a plain to throw some waypoints onto? Or you'd enter say a forest area, and that forest would serve as the dungeon as well as a unique landmass that makes up the world. Would Praenost be better as a dungeon? Or should they have went the other way instead and actually filled the world with important places and events? Having the whole world instantly kill anyone who's not the hero is definitely limiting. Though i've got some ideas on how i'd like to see things done instead, if anyone's willing to hear them. I usually include that kind of thing in my videos, but i didn't want to drag this one out anymore than i had to.
I did end up finishing the post game though. And it was alright. Like the annotation says in the vid, you re-fight each of the core bosses. It wasn't much of a challenge, though that's fine because i was only doing them to see if anything happens. Does it? No. I mean there's a trophy, and a couple lines form Frey and Cuff about the boss at hand. But nothing more. Finishing Pilo's quest is a feel-good conclusion capped off with another dance. Well it's the same dance unfortunately but with an increased difficulty. That last one's difficulty was agonizing. I've perfected hard mode songs in Project Diva and i'm having trouble with this? Well before you can really see the button prompt you lose. But it's actually quite simple once you learn the pattern through trial and error. Lastly returning to Cipal after the Junoon closure will reveal Janesh had escaped from prison. And there's an ominous blood splatter on the jail wall. They say he's escaped but there doesn't seem to be more to it. I looked around for him but didn't see him. Even looked online, but of course not many people would have stuck around to that point of the game. Oh well. Not much more too it i guess. That completionist part of me feels a bit odd leaving this one as is. But there's no way i'm going to explore this whole expansive empty world just to check off waypoints for no reason. And i usually love doing that sort of thing. No joke, i've gotten every single treasure chest in every Assassin's Creed game i've played. But even that didn't feel as empty as forspoken's world does to me now, so it's not happening.
There's a bit of some "justification" in the early parts of my review. Like many of my videos, i set things up to kind of align with my original thoughts i had when i was first at that particular part of the game. The Frey characterizations and cringy dialogue? I can deal with it because i like the people of Cipal and Cuff. The long and slow start to the game? It'll all be fine once that leash is gone and i can explore the world. Praenost being visually dull? There's so much world out there, just imagine what the other places will look like. And the formulaic approach to our objectives? It's fine so long as each land is interesting, each Tanta battle is epic, and there's good story revelations to come.
I can look past flaws in hopes something greater is to come. And that's been the case for many games. But when there's already a good number of them to start, and they don't exactly lead to what i was hoping they would, that's where the whole experience falls apart. My tolerance is set pretty high. PS2 RPG's almost always have rough edges, and i grew up loving them and still do. But there has to be some pay off to sticking around through it all. Forspoken doesn't much of have that. So all of that tolerating and justification just kind leaves you feeling empty when it doesn't deliver. Even still, there's a bit of charm left over in the game. I genuinely do like the characters in Cipal. I didn't even think i would at first but they really grew on me. And the combat in this game is alot of fun, assuming you actually learn to use it. And the world may not have been utilized much, but it's not ugly. It's strange they'd have you start out heading to Praenost, the most dull of the 4 provinces and also the one you spend the most time in. But there's some nice sights elsewhere. Especially Avoalet. But unfortunately nothing waits for you besides ruins and more battles.
Okay, enough rambling. Thanks for watching, i mean it. If you read this far, let me see some "Coldly Warms" in the chat.
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Uh oh. Director Lazard might put me out to pasture for this mistake. This is what his office comparison is meant to look like:
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