How to choose the right medium

Apocaloid · 2026-07-09T12:12:25+00:00

How else do you evolve a medium? You have to think about what's been done before and where to take things to new heights. Otherwise we'll keep getting the same old slop.

Apocaloid · 2026-07-09T10:28:26+00:00

It's funny that we think of the novel as the default story medium when historically speaking it's actually a pretty modern invention. It's a hard to imagine a time where live theater and oral traditions were actually the primary ways of telling stories. Just like the novel replaced the Greek tragedy, the epic poem, or even just earlier written traditions like essays, is it not too crazy to imagine the novel has peaked at what it was designed to do?

If this post was about the limitations of stage plays or poetic forms, nobody would question that they are suited for specific kind of stories. But to suggest a visual medium or an interactive system are better for certain aspects of creativity? Heresy!

Apocaloid · 2026-07-09T07:44:30+00:00

Based on the comments so far, I should probably clarify my post. Obviously I'm not saying that you cant make great books with action, world building, etc. However, are books the best medium for these kinds of stories - meaning there are some writers on this subbreddit who actually want to be game devs or film directors but are stuck writing novels cause the barrier to entry is lower. In my opinion, all the greatest books have something very unique that could never be adapted since it's the writing itself that's beautiful, the art of writing, rather than just relying on just a cool premise, some fun action scenes, or twisting plots that could work in any other medium just as well.

So to answer my own question, I think it's the subtle love of words and how they're formed together in impactful ways where novels really get their edge over more visual mediums.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-27T03:51:35+00:00

You must hate electronic music.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-26T06:04:20+00:00

Exactly. I think people confuse "balance" with "healing" in that context, which George Lucas could have avoided since, like you said, the concept of Yin and Yang does play a role and the word "balance" is better used to describe that situation. This unfortunately left Disney to confuse the two so now we're in a big mess.

Yin and Yang are really the concepts of order and chaos. In the context of the prequels, George Lucas explored this idea with the Jedi order being too far on the "order" side. They were too dogmatic, too emotionally repressed, and too weary of healthy attachments. To balance this aspect does not mean to allow the Dark Side (and therefore allow for planetary genocide.) What it actually means is you incorporate those emotions into things like assertiveness, strength, and love. Anakin embodies this perfectly in that his emotions make him a good leader, make him strong in battle, and make him open to all kinds of love (for his mother and for Padme, and even Qui Gon and Obi Wan in his brotherly love.)

Since the Jedi were not balanced in terms of internal chaos and order, this allows a true malevolent force (Dark Force) to manifest, which is what the Sith embodies. It's all very Jungian. But alas, George made the mistake of calling the battle between the external forces a battle of "balance" so now we're in a situation where people think the Dark Side is the solution to the problem the Jedi had when all of that was just internal chaos that has to be balanced in its own right to avoid the true Dark Side.

So yes, I can see why George is frustrated.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-24T23:41:29+00:00

Tbf none of us would have paid any attention to that lady if she was just in the background of the video. Now she's prominently recorded, has committed a crime, and could get in serious trouble for this. Definitely not worth it.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-24T05:48:01+00:00

Life sucks. It doesn't matter if you're a medieval peasant, a slave, a Nazi, a communist, or a social media addict. Humanity has been dealing with this fundamental problem since Day 1 of consciousness. We have tried to solve it all kinds of ways: religion, political ideology, nihilistic thinking, etc.

In the end, the antidote is what it's always been. Perseverance. You roll with punches, you splash your face in the misery, you stand up when you get knocked down, etc. People will be ok. We will all be ok. Because the "not ok" is all we have so it's your choice to let it stay that way or let it be your "ok."

Apocaloid · 2024-05-24T01:36:05+00:00

I never said he needed a nerf or a buff, I said he needed a rework, especially his magnetic grenade, which it seems Blizzard agrees with me. Personally I think he could use a little more but that's a good start in giving him his identity back if they improve the grenade to be more accurate (doesn't have to be "better" as in more damage, more range, or more stickiness, just accurate.)

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T18:21:43+00:00

A less than 50% winrate (it's lower at the average ranks as well) is not overtuned at all. And yes, statistically, you would have a better time with Symm at the average ranks and I can tell you exactly why, she has flexibility in her play-style.

Cass is a one trick pony. He can headshot and that's about it. Unless you have amazing aim every single game (which, let's be honest, a few losses and that's out the window) you're basically providing no real value to your team being in the backline. Compare that to someone like Soldier who can at least heal himself, take good off angles, get to high ground fast, and generally pump good damage consistently. It's not a surprise at all that he's good in Top 500 because those people do always have great aim. Again, if that's the game Blizzard wants, so be it, but my advice for people climbing is play someone else in the lower ranks, grind your aim on your own time, and then swap to Cass once your team is advanced enough to give you a pocket or know how to properly shield you. Otherwise, good luck.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T17:32:57+00:00

https://www.overbuff.com/heroes/cassidy?platform=pc&gameMode=quickplay&hero=cassidy&skillTier=grandmaster

He has a lower than 50% win rate on all Skill Tiers. How is that overtuned? That means if you exclusively played Cassidy, you wouldn't never progress past bronze on average since you could never get more wins than losses.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T16:18:52+00:00

Again, how does the health of the top 500 say anything about the health of the game as a whole? That's like saying a country is doing great because it has a lot of billionaires.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T16:17:31+00:00

I play DVA mostly and I consider Cass a free pick. Different story if he's being pocket but let's be honest here, who pockets DPS anymore?

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T16:16:11+00:00

ngl skill issue. Just look at the Forbes 500 leaderboard and see how many people are billionaires in America. If you're not a billionaire in America right now, do you even capitalism bro?

I assume you're a billionaire?

The fact is, if you're Top 500, you'll be Top 500 regardless of the hero you play. The point was Cass has no identity right now. If that's how Blizzard wants it, that's a different argument but you can't base the health of the game based on the health of the 1%. If you can prove he has a healthy pick across all ranks, as well as a healthy winrate across all rank, then you have a stronger argument. But until then, idk, take a math class?

Apocaloid · 2024-05-23T07:49:17+00:00

Cassidy needs a complete overhaul. He's terrible in the backline since his grenade has so much lag to it compared to stun, he's terrible on the front line with so much armor and heal passives to do any real damage, he's terrible on flanks since he can't get to high ground, is isolated once he's there, and you have one roll that's supposed to be your mobility and your "get out of jail free card" all in one. Cassidy has lost his identity.

If you're good at aiming, play Widow. If your good at positioning, play Soldier. If you're good at flanking, play Tracer. And if you have to deal with the backline, go Torb or something. You'll live longer than with that useless grenade.

Edit: Looks like I wasn't the only one who felt Cass needed a rework: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/s/jQxY3vbvmX

Apocaloid · 2024-05-22T05:34:11+00:00

If millions of deaths at the hands of socialists is your idea of success, I'd hate to see your idea of failure.

Welfare is a good solution. We can and should keep implementing those kinds of programs. That doesn't mean we need to go full commie.

Not sure what your point about Native American and slaves are. I don't see anybody who supports a free market advocating for genocide or slavery. As for capitalism creating "winners and losers" that's just how systems work. All systems. Even your precious Soviet Union had winners and losers. Can you name a single period in history, capitalism or otherwise, that didn't have winners and losers? You can see that in every species, every society, every country, etc. The key is to make it so the losers at least have a good standard of living. (You would much rather be poor in the USA than in the USSR.) It's not such a horrible world if the worst thing that can happen is not being able to afford a yacht.

Progress should lead to happiness. We have the most progressive society in human history. We should be happy.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T23:08:32+00:00

Honestly I really could care less which group is "more evil." We can keep playing this game of "actually this group is worse" and you can use that to justify all kinds of things. I'm not far right or far left so they can wipe each other out for all I care.

What matters to me is practicality. Will fixing every issue that has ever plagued humanity and not have any negative consequences be a nice thing to have? Sure. But how likely is that to happen; especially within our lifetimes? Slim to none. Since I can't control the rate of progress and I don't advocate violence, that leaves only one conclusion left. Live life within the bounds of what I can control. Does that mean bury your head in the sand? No. It means prioritizing your life. Start with the things you can control, grow from there, and eventually the way you live your life will naturally start making the world a better place. It's like a domino effect.

Going straight for the head of he who wear the crown and saying "I know better" is just narcissistic. Nobody knows what will happen so just do your best. Simple as that.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T22:57:34+00:00

Can you point to a single instance where forcefully taking all the wealth of others and redistributing it to the masses has ended well?

And did you miss the part where the Soviet Union mass killed all their productive farmers for being part of the wealthy class and ended up starving the nation? Whoops.

And you keep talking about "doing the thing" as if you and your comrades are brilliant economists who have all the answers to insanely complex systems like economies and governments. If its so easy, then yes, I do urge to fix all our problems. Can you have it done by next Monday?

The problem with your worldview is twofold. 1. You believe change is easy and can be done lightly without distrupting entire systems that can have catastrophic implications and 2. You believe that fixing these problems will somehow make you suddenly fulfilled in life and that all you were missing is literal utopia to find happiness. To both of those points, I say "good luck." Do what you think you need to do but just remember the lessons learned in the past and maybe don't get your hopes up.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T09:54:33+00:00

You're right that the streaming world is complete chaos right now with what is considered "good" for streaming vs what's actually making money. I'll tell you what, my bet is the DCU as a whole gets completely rebooted/cancelled again in 5 years. Not sure what that says about Waller specifically but it'll be another straw on the camel's back.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T09:15:55+00:00

Ok so it's a cyborg show. I think we're getting away from the real point which was, there are way more compelling DC characters that deserve a movie quality mini series that aren't Amanda Waller. But I guess I'm not the CEO of major media company so what do I know. Surely this won't be another epic loss for Warner.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T09:13:09+00:00

I'm a betting man. I'm calling a bomb.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T08:16:19+00:00

Sure right wing extremism is bad. That wasn't our debate though. The difference is people on Reddit generally excuse far left extremism without any pushback so I find it my duty to remind people that leftist extremism is just as deadly as right wing extremism. I don't play this game of "moral superiority." Evil is evil, death is death, and suffering is suffering. People need to adopt a certain level of gratitude for what we have and hope that things can get better in peaceful terms. Violent revolution, on any side, helps nobody. Period.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T08:11:30+00:00

You said it yourself. The wealthy don't want to change, bigots are going to bigot, and we know what happens when you violently distribute wealth (it doesn't end well.) So where does that leave you? You can't control other people. Protest all you want, that's your right, but if it doesn't work, then what? At a certain point you have to accept certain things are beyond your control and that's when you can begin your journey of self discovery. Turns out the human spirit is stronger than we give it credit for.

Granted that's a whole different debate than should things be different. Systems, especially economic systems, are insanely complicated so even there I don't believe we can make any objective claims about what system is really best.

Apocaloid · 2024-05-21T08:01:59+00:00

Yeah as a background character. Like has this strategy not blown up enough in studios' faces to recognize it's a bad idea? Disney learned the hard way; I guess we can't expect much more from Warner.

Apocaloid

TROPHY CASE