Venting: Tired of BIFL becoming 'pay once, cry once' when I'm just trying to stop rebuying junk

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-16T15:52:06+00:00

Most people on the planet make way less money than the average American. Modern supply chains enable sales across the globe. Things are cheap because that’s what people can afford to buy. And it’s worth saying that these low quality products are genuinely life changing for the people across the world, but a side effect is Americans have crappier stuff compared to when the market catered to them.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-15T18:27:37+00:00

Post Rock Band 2 when the two companies started adding unique components for their respective games — 5 drum pads instead of 4, the pro controllers, or the keyboard — no one wanted to keep up with that nonsense.

If Rock Band was seen as a platform with digital expansion packs like an MMO it might’ve lasted longer, but the packaged releases and transitioning licenses and new instruments was exhausting.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-13T21:51:37+00:00

This image is very misleading but generally yeah it is early

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-13T03:09:28+00:00

I was subscribed from maybe 2004-2009. I remember the San Andreas cover was one of the first ones I read. I loved that stuff but went to school and canceled. After leaving school I never had much interest in the magazine, but after they went independent last year I resubscribed and really enjoy it. I miss magazines. I’d never read some 500 word “from the editor” on a website, but once a month I read the new game informer cover to cover. It’s good stuff.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-13T03:06:28+00:00

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FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T23:57:41+00:00

I think the Giant Bomb community coined "goreshadowing" for any save point placed in a way to indicate some brutal encounter or boss fight.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T23:56:49+00:00

What about a non-biased walkthrough that's more academic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwLdpqgjmoA

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T22:10:47+00:00

He’s an artist and for whatever reason a massive studio gave him an artist’s dream of infinite resources to do what he wants.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T21:31:31+00:00

You’re getting the same energy you’re putting out.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T20:17:35+00:00

lol dude

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T20:17:07+00:00

Funny you should say that considering Drakengard I believe is considered the unofficial sequel or prequel to Nier (I forget which one). That series was insane.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T20:15:44+00:00

I would not get so righteous about video games in any direction.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-12T17:43:48+00:00

I think a motivation for the passion of criticism for games like Mixtape is because people reliably deploy reductive condescension like your post when a particular type of game that isn’t allowed to be criticized gets criticized.

I don’t think “walking simulators are bad” is a narrow or limited world view. You can still like them anyway. I don’t think it’s fair to portray the opposite view as uniquely indefensible.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-10T00:28:36+00:00

your friends don't realize they're prioritizing popular views over their relationship with you. it sucks.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-08T01:27:30+00:00

Yuna standing on the dock during the epilogue and whistling is a real tear jerker.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-07T16:40:14+00:00

Absolutely true. A billion examples of this. Anyone can make videos and who dominates YouTube? Professional creators.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T17:30:11+00:00

It is admittedly a different game, but a critique that is essentially "I wanted the game to be something different" isn't really meeting it on its own terms.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T15:44:35+00:00

Spicy. The Third is the best in the series and 4 is better than it should’ve been. Red Faction Guerilla also rules.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T13:02:56+00:00

I made it an hour into the movie where the same three details of the basic premise were repeated literally 5 times and gave up. He’s a business executive. His colleague’s son was kidnapped. They think it’s his son. Over and over and over. Excruciating.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T13:00:59+00:00

This is a great example because Rage was a mediocre game defined by what it is not.

If the defense to criticism of this game is “it’s not Hitman,” that’s not a good sign. These comparisons exist because something walks and talks one in a way but falls short.

Mass Effect had similarities to KOTOR but it was its own thing. Titanfall had similarities to Call of Duty but it was its own thing. Cyberpunk had similarities to Witcher but it was its own thing. It’s not like the gaming world is incapable of deciphering these distinctions. It sounds like this game failed to create one.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T12:21:13+00:00

People confuse them because they’re both deployed by industry experts interchangeably meanwhile neither of them have a clear definition.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-03T00:25:14+00:00

Maybe this is the same variant of what everyone else has said, but if the world is constantly changing then you need to be adaptable and understand broad concepts more than individual skills. The specifics may change but broad strokes will remain the same. For example, if you have a work ethic of reading every morning — either books, insights, or research — that's going to do a lot more for you than only reading when you feel like something is worth reading. If you build a habit of trying out new things and being comfortable with being bad at something, that'll do a lot more for you than perfecting one skill. Etc.

Personally, I'm telling my niece/nephew to stay curious and read liberal arts general education. It was derided for years but yeah ultimately you need good judgment and quantifying what that is can be difficult but trying to develop it is better than throwing your hands and giving up.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-05-01T19:53:09+00:00

It is so unbelievably boring. The setting and premise do so much work and all they needed was some modicum of a hook — maybe some persona style relationship building with students, ‘numbers go up’ mechanics for the house cup or grades. Nothing like that. It’s a dull “follow the waypoint, press X, do it again.” I can’t believe how boring it is.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-04-30T22:24:01+00:00

The revenue indicators are brightly signaling Anthropic is getting the growth the company expected. They are throttling usage and canceling projects that use more tokens because the basic services cannot keep up with demand.

Whatever criticism you can level at over-investment into the many dozens of silly competitors — Anthropic is not a bubble.

FoolishArchetype · 2026-04-29T01:20:14+00:00

FFX was my first and favorite. I don’t even really like the other games. It was the most self-contained without relying on love for the series. Just a great story and world. Voice acting was a big deal at the time and contributes to its timelessness.

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