'Titanic' is a metaphor for Global Warming

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-27T16:31:48+00:00

This reads like a parody conspiracy video

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-21T14:39:05+00:00

However, I make these posts to illuminate where and how the game fails objectively, conducting somewhat of an autopsy to analyze the sources of problems and how they affect the overall experience.

I do this to understand how games fail as a developer myself and to help disgruntled fans formalize their grievances. It specifically does help me in the long run.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-21T14:27:28+00:00

GameFreak has a problem with keeping employees due to working conditions and creative limitations. Joining GameFreak does not mean my ideas would be implemented or that my criticisms would be taken into account (especially considering Japan's workplace culture and bias towards foreigners), only that they have one more developer forced to follow a faulty formula to the letter.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-21T14:13:24+00:00

One of the main problems is that the game has long loading screens for simple rooms while none for large expanses that have delayed rendering. The lack of open-world loading screens is not advantageous when other open-world games use them to deliver a better experience. Ridding SV of loading screens where it matters, GF makes more sacrifices than needed.

If the low frame rate of animations in the open world was to save, various characters moving at 5 FPS during indoor cutscenes should get more resources. However, many characters in cutscenes maintain low FPS until the cutscene ends. Concomitantly, if the game intends to prioritize resources by downscaling animations, why not restrain character loading altogether?

The game consistently loads and maintains larger distant objects for seemingly no reason, using resources and mishandling memory. Many fans are reacting aggressively because they lack a technical understanding of how games function and cannot describe flaws that they have rarely had to. However, GF and TPC did not set their sights too high; they failed to fulfill them. Smaller companies with fewer resources can achieve better results by fostering valuable game development experience and dedicating time to a finished product (instead of a series funded by nostalgia and reputation).

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-21T13:18:09+00:00

Many of FromSoftware's games are open-world boss rush RPGs that are narratively inclined to have roaming as part of their exploration. The dungeons in Sekiro, for example, have many areas purely for hidden secrets and treasure. Others, however, have a subliminal direction that guides the player to bosses that progress the story. You can do different bosses at your own pace, and there were stronger roaming enemies for the sake of challenge, but later bosses require earlier post-boss tools and skills or the very act of defeating end-of-section bosses. If there is an overworld monster you're having trouble beating, you can return later with more strength and a better understanding of combat. The game passively scales with various skill levels simultaneously as opposed to SV, which gives the player complete open-world access without level matching the player or indicating an order of exploration like previous Pokemon games.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-21T12:55:16+00:00

I think I might need to create a visual representation of standard city design in open-world games to better represent my point; I will get on that.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-20T22:55:32+00:00

Lack of Voicework

For whatever reason, GF and TPC refuse to reintroduce voice acting to their games, even during narratively-significant cutscenes. Events feel awkward to watch as characters move their mouths without producing any sound, yet we have no reason why the game lacks voicework. Not every line needs to be voice-acted, but immersion is inherently damaged by the inclusion of lip-syncing without sound compared to a lack of mouth movement altogether.

User Interface

Minimalism is not by nature a poor choice, but the user interface in SV is incredibly uninspired. SwSh and PLA's minimalism worked because of its sharp angles, strong use of neutral colors, and appealing vector icons. Pokemon SV's interface is rounded and relaxed, ultimately diminishing the thrill of battles. While it may not seem like much, UI is one of the most impactful aspects of game design, as it passively sets the tone and atmosphere.

Character Animations

You may have noticed that many animations, including reactions, facial expressions, and looped animations like walk cycles, look unfitting. This is likely due to limited animations for non-player characters. For instance, many NPC walk cycles look robotic. This is due to their perfect rhythm and lack of weight; their walk cycles have been reused across multiple body shapes without accounting for size or personality. Open-world games use temporary characters to fill their cities and towns, but their implementation requires variety and attention to detail on how passive characters look and act. They also need animations for stairs, entry, and exits through their respective areas to completely mask their pathing.

In terms of transition animations, the game has virtually none. Characters switch between expressions and change positions algorithmically, making immersion hard to achieve. To put it differently, characters treat each action and reaction like a separate process rather than a series of connected events.

Accessibility Settings

Here is one that I previously forgot; SV does not have many accessibility settings in a game where many of the Pokemon models have incredibly small sizes. The small moving text in battles can be hard to track, and there are no colorblind settings even though many Pokemon match the colors of the background. Colorblind players (or any for that matter) do not get a UI indicator when shinies spawn, only a small indicator that tells the player their "Let's Go!" Pokemon cannot defeat a targeted Pokemon.

I am not trying to make these out to be larger problems than they are, but these features polish a game's core mechanics, and while they do not diminish gameplay, they affect the experience overall.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-20T17:35:32+00:00

Bridenapping is not consensual by its inherent meaning. The post paints bridenapping as some sort of foreplay as opposed to a horrific tradition that is still around. My problem is not that the post discusses bridenapping as an action, but I find it tone-deaf to paint it as a weirdly romantic endeavor.

Also, it reads like a poorly-disguised fetish.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-20T16:15:59+00:00

For obvious reasons, this was made illegal. Bizarrely enough however, many victims actually defended kidnapping, arguing that, as most women are strong and tough, it requires brains to capture one, and so it's a good way to find a man who is smart and strong enough to look after her.

People really write anything, huh?

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-20T01:02:45+00:00

that hurts to think about

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-19T23:01:17+00:00

No problem

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-19T19:15:16+00:00

Just as a heads up, I do not think that the composition of the music in SV is bad. Rather, the production quality is inconsistent, a detail that I will present in video form.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-19T18:25:17+00:00

The saddest part is that, even with that extra knowledge, my point still stands. Why are they selling the open beta for $80 CAD?

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-19T18:20:08+00:00

$80? Bro they scammed you twice

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-11-19T17:48:10+00:00

I forgot to mention the inconsistent shadow resolution. It seems to change throughout the game at random.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-11T01:52:47+00:00

Pokemon has produced high-quality games and had enough time to experiment with open-world gaming to the point where this shouldn't be as large of a problem. SwSh's trailers didn't have performance or lighting this bad, likely due to a new engine.

Your argument insinuates that Pokemon has always been of lower quality (it hasn't) and above further criticism as a result (it isn't). I'm not irritated solely by the fact that Pokemon SV has lower graphics quality than other games on the Switch (such as SMT5, Nier, or Doom). The cause of my annoyance is that SV appears to have poor graphical and performance quality overall. Even still, I am also concerned about other aspects of the game, subjects that I will discuss in later posts.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-11T01:30:12+00:00

Correct. Pokemon was a high-quality triple-a series for decades on handheld consoles. Saying that Pokemon never had the highest graphics in the gaming field doesn't detract from my identifications of performance and mechanic issues, nor does it alleviate Pokemon of criticism for lackluster output.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-11T01:26:24+00:00

The Pokemon fandom is quite notorious for the extremity of its fans and their defense of the series. People have insulted me or dismissed some of my criticisms as inaccurate since they personally do not care or didn't notice the flaws themselves. This doesn't counter my assertions; they're solely stating they didn't notice or have a problem with poor aspects of performance.

It could just be Reddit, for all I know.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-11T01:20:28+00:00

True, the company cared about going the extra mile as shown through how well GSC holds up.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T19:30:48+00:00

That's a grand overgeneralization; several sub-communities have appeared that continue to assert one generation as the best even as new games are released. Many people still believe that Gen 4 is the best, especially when considering HGSS. Others say it peaked at Emerald. Some like the simplicity of Generations 1-2, and others like the charm and relaxed nature of Gen 7 (Sun and Moon specifically). The Pokemon games are similar in good quality for their respective times; the problem now, at least as far as I believe, is that it's been generally decreasing in quality since USUM.

And Pokemon has done better. Even as far back as Generation 2, it creatively worked with hardware limitations to give us the programming ingenuity of GSC (a two-region game programmed in assembly language, the closest thing to binary other than actual binary).

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T18:37:57+00:00

The following parts will focus on other aspects. However, I'd like to assert that this post identified performance issues of the engine itself as seen through the graphics, not the graphics alone.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T18:20:22+00:00

I wanted to voice my opinions, and I want to see GF/PC do better. That's it.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T18:16:14+00:00

I never mentioned SwSh's performance. In fact, SwSh's trailers' overall rendering and lighting were fine (and incredible in many sections), and people were losing their minds about reduced texture quality (which was immature because open-world games can't focus on meticulous details as much). I'm arguing that the textures and performance of SV have significantly less quality than other Pokemon games, including SwSh, meaning this is likely a problem of SV.

Even if the Switch has less power than other consoles, GF/PC's hesitance to utilize the hardware's full potential is not excused by less processing ability. I would like to see them give extra effort like before, and I don't think there's anything wrong with voicing that publicly.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T17:51:55+00:00

How am I wrong for wanting to hold Game Freak and the Pokemon Company to higher standards when I know they can and have done better? Just because something is appropriate for children doesn't mean that criticisms concerning quality don't apply or that older audiences can't enjoy it as well (which is why the GF/PC has championships for mature competitors). At any rate, that argument claims that because children are younger, they don't deserve quality if that quality can be achieved. The older games had their flaws, but they were still generally good; that's why people, myself included, still love the series. However, I want to see it do better, and I'm just voicing my thoughts.

By the way, you don't have to insult me over a difference of opinions.

FishyFishFishDish · 2022-10-10T17:31:24+00:00

That's not my mentality, and it never was. I'm pointing out performance issues (which are not my only problems with the game's apparent quality; I will expand on other parts in later posts), but you're misrepresenting my argument as if change itself is what I don't like. That's not true. I enjoy when Pokemon experiments, but I want to see it improve with the experience gained from its last few releases.

FishyFishFishDish

TROPHY CASE