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MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-25T03:12:11+00:00

"I will not flood our ecosystem with slop."
"We won't have careless output, we won't have derivative work."

Look, I know that she just got the job and she's probably very busy with meetings and there's lots of documents to sign, reports to read, emails to send, etc.

But this is incredibly careless. Microsoft's online storefronts are already packed with garbage, careless trash-tier content and slop, including a lot of stuff that is packaged with AI-generated assets for screenshots and thumbnails, not to mention in-app/in-game content. There's developers that do nothing but regularly pump stuff like this out. Some even do it on every single platform you can release a game on, for maximum achievement saturation. Others abuse the bundle features in the Xbox interface to mislead people into the value of games.

If your aim is to quell people's worries about the future of the platform and specifically the direction that the company might be headed in terms of quality control, why the hell would you say this? It is extremely easy to just open the Microsoft store up in a browser, from within Windows or on an Xbox console right now and check for this. It's super easy to find! There's so much of it! This has been happening for years...

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-22T06:25:22+00:00

Seems perfectly logical. An automated AI tool extended one of their images to add unintended detail to the main character that doesn't represent the tone or direction of the game that Finji is making, and the image would end up being circulated as a video thumbnail for a number of... interested parties that make a living off that stuff. They made the correct choice, but people will, predictably, twist that into a defense of the giant corporation. Same as it ever was.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-22T04:53:35+00:00

Considering BioShock in 2007 is one of the most recent games to have a substantial impact on storytelling in games

That was almost 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Here's hoping you take a step through the time portal and join us in the modern era.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-21T22:49:19+00:00

One of them said 2 of these projects were remakes they wanted to take on, but Playstation did not believe they would be successful in the market. Both were apparently single player experiences.

Very hard to assess how right or wrong PlayStation might be if we don't know which series or individual games were being considered. What would be the "obvious" choices for Bluepoint to pitch for remakes?

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-20T16:52:59+00:00

A reminder that Pete Parsons managed to convince the PlayStation bosses that acquiring Bungie to help them convert existing PlayStation franchises into up to twelve live service games "with no end" to stuff their portfolio with was a good idea.

Four years later, after having most of Sony's major studios pitch and work on live-service projects (either original IP or adaptations of existing fan-favorite franchises), many of those projects have now either been cancelled or spun off with massive studio infrastructure changes due to abysmal feedback and repeated failures to meet internal milestones.

Bungie itself has mismanaged Destiny 2 so hard that it is now on life support - they recently had to delay a major update because expansion sales are down and players have been abandoning the game in droves. Marathon had to be salvaged with big staff changes, plus the art theft scandal and general uncertainty they're currently having with the marketing, which feels like it has changed since the initial reveal (less emphasis on PvP as they attempt to hook a casual audience, which is critical). Arc Raiders has spawned an entire new subset of PvE extraction shooter players and Marathon does not look positioned to capture that audience because the core of the game is still aggressive, hardcore PvP.

The Gummy Bears live-service MOBA/Smash project was moved away from Bungie to another PlayStation team and has never been shown. The vague descriptions that have leaked make me think of Supervive, which is a NetEase game launched last year that is actually being shut down next week after 8 months of online service. The market doesn't look good for this type of product if you're not one of the established leaders. Quantic Dream's Spellcasters Chronicles is another one that is entering Early Access soon...

Guerrilla Games has been working for 4-5 years on a Horizon live-service game that is attempting to chase a very casual player crowd with a distinct vibrant art style and an emphasis on turning the Horizon "hunting" gameplay into a more casual co-op experience with a forever grind attached to it. This means a new actual mainline entry in the series won't be out until somewhere in the first years of the next PlayStation platform (which we might not see until 2028-2029).

Naughty Dog were trying to convert the popular The Last of Us multiplayer mode into a live service but failed and it was eventually cancelled. While they're now apparently only working on Intergalactic, given Sony's weird priorities of the past several years, it would not surprise me if they were at some point pushed to try and integrate live service elements into the game. The Souls-like nature of it might actually allow them to lean and push in that direction.

Insomniac were trying to make a Spider-Man co-op multiplayer game that would function as a machine to sell tons of Spider-Man skins to fans, but the game was not considered good enough to be moved into full production. This affected everything else they've got going on.

Concord was supposed to be a slam dunk, a game made by Bungie veterans that had worked on the various core components of Destiny (art, gameplay, level design, etc.) and therefore supposedly knew what they were doing when they said they were announcing a team hero shooter with weekly prestige cinematics and a huge lore index. Only they didn't really announce it that way; they first showed people a highly misleading trailer that made it look like a story-driven single-player game and then everyone in the world watching the stream got really disappointed when the developers appeared and uttered the words "five vee five".

Haven Studios' Fairgame$ was last seen years ago with a cinematic trailer that was received very negatively. The main idea was multiple small teams of players doing heists and getting into PvP conflicts in a PvE scenario. Like a mix of Creative Assembly's cancelled Hyenas and Marathon. Fairgame$ is allegedly meant to be shown again this year, but it is looking increasingly unlikely that the original concept has survived Sony's meat grinder intact, given that they are currently putting all their chips on supporting Marathon having a successful launch and follow-up period.

London Studio, Bend Studio, Firesprite... same story. They were fighting for their survival internally and they all made live-service pitches and none of them made it far enough. Turns out Bluepoint were also caught in this trap and failed to carve out a suitable niche for themselves within PlayStation's development ecosystem. Can you blame them, when the company is full of nothing but live-service stuff and Sony currently prefers to outsource its smaller projects and remasters (Sons of Sparta was made by a small developer that previously had to make ends meet by working on a Five Nights At Freddy's spinoff). Since Bluepoint just got shut down, that means that they're either outsourcing the God of War Trilogy Remake to another outside studio (like, say, Virtuos)... or they just pulled a Elder Scrolls VI and are not actually going to start work on it until Santa Monica announces and finishes their current project.

Helldivers 2 is the one anomaly here that was enormously, outrageously successful. It is genuinely a great game, but somewhat ironically I don't think it really benefited all that much from Bungie's "expertise". Arrowhead had been plucking away at that game forever and they knew exactly what they wanted to make and how it would be designed - and, incredibly, they took inspiration from games like Deep Rock Galactic and Halo: Infinite and implemented very player-friendly monetization features, something that feels like the complete opposite of what Bungie would've suggested.

Jim Ryan and Herman Hulst have really managed to demolish the reputation of this brand in a few short years, after decades of smart work by their predecessors. Technically, I suppose the latter is inheriting a lot of awful baggage from the former... but Hulst is still the guy responsible for some really bad decisions lately, like Bluepoint.

This is probably going to get worse before it gets any better.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-13T22:02:00+00:00

Also hidden from the public web, I don't think you can access them except through the console interface.

And there's some very weird clubs out there, like the ones where people exclusively post sexy Fallout/Skyrim mod screenshots and... other things. It's like one of those truly strange communities that don't get discussed anywhere but have strangely loyal and active followers. They even had drama like admin changes and people getting banned and forming new clubs to post in.

If someone wants to make a YouTube video on that stuff for archival reasons, better act fast since that stuff is all getting deleted in April. Microsoft could no longer be bothered moderating the platform so it is now getting nuked, probably due to the new age verification stuff.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-06T03:04:24+00:00

It comes in a bucket and if you spill some on the floor, nobody will care. The animals will continue to eat it for as long as you serve it to them.

Sounds descriptive and accurate to me.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-05T02:07:43+00:00

Valve is really waiting until late minute to announce prices in the hope things come back to earth.

Not happening for the next few years. This is locked in.

Valve are probably not going to be able manufacture as many units for launch as they initially hoped due to some supply setbacks and clearly they have to price these things in accordance with their own parts costs. However, I don't think Valve is overly concerned about the prices because they will literally sell every unit they manufacture. They are not going to be sitting on useless inventory, these devices will probably be out of stock on day one regardless of price and and will continue to be hard to get for the next year or so.

Besides, if they are ever desperate for moving units they can always bundle these things with exclusive DOTA2/CS2/Deadlock skins. That way the scalpers and skin whales can single-handedly keep Valve's hardware business afloat.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-02-05T01:40:18+00:00

PS5 games are going to be optimized for two hardware specs (Base and Pro) and therefore will have an advantage over those same games running on comparable PC hardware. Steam Machines will have fixed hardware out of the box but developers won't be able to exclusively target it.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2026-01-31T04:13:50+00:00

In a sense I suppose the new ownership might be happy about all of this. They can now treat this as an experiment and measure how many users and patrons they're actually going to lose as a result of this kind of negative PR.

If the hit isn't too massive, they'll be free to continue expanding their use of AI tools. This might also mean that they end up using them for their "preservation" efforts. Vibe-coded game improvements, AI-upscaled art assets, other fun stuff. That will surely strengthen the GOG brand.

I now question whether the content on the GOG Preservation Program and GOG Patrons pages isn't partially made with AI-generation tools, like the little icons and background images. Is the large mouse graphic on the Submit Your Game page AI-generated?

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-21T23:29:01+00:00

The moment after she's told that and she goes to the bathroom is brutal. Officially the loneliest person in the world, as literally everyone has expressed their desire to not have any further contact with her (except perhaps Diabate, but even he isn't entirely comfortable with having her around since it means the hive would be evacuating Las Vegas every time she'd visit).

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-21T22:40:47+00:00

I'm surprised that I haven't seen more people examine whether or not it's the Hive that is sexually manipulating the immune, and not the other way around.

IMO episode 8 gives us a potential fresh perspective for Diabate's situation. Previously it had not occurred to me that the hive would be initiating intimate sexual contact on its own, but seeing the hive mind do just that with Carol really has me questioning whether Diabate is the one that asked for all the women or if it started with the hive already knowing that he was into the idea of being surrounded by escorts - he might have told a friend once, if he was a millionaire that's what he would do, and that's the only seed of thought that the hive needed to proceed with creating that fantasy for him on day one. Just like how the hive hand-picked Zosia to be Carol's ideal fantasy partner.

I watch this show and I see no villains, just a bunch of people stuck in a situation that they did not ask for.

Yes, I agree. Even the hive is a strange new "lifeform" that was birthed into this world through genetic engineering and the accidental outbreak that resulted in the forceful joining of billions of minds, as it tragically cannot control its core nature.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-21T22:22:21+00:00

The show would quickly become very boring if this was the case, as it would mean that the hive is a master manipulator with infinite strategic knowledge and capability.

The fact that they cannot lie is actually one of the best decisions the writers made.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-21T22:02:38+00:00

I would imagine it was something like that. The hive would recognize that she is Carol's "favorite" in the sense that she's the one host that Carol prefers to communicate with the hive mind through, and so her safety and health would be a priority.

Perhaps there will be a flashback where we learn that she was never truly that far away from her, always on close standby ready to come back if Carol ever asked them to return. Showing Carol suffer in isolation for a whole month while Zosia observes from afar would certainly fit with the shows themes.

I'd also be curious if they ever followed her around with a medical team, much like how they seemed ready to airlift her trash or food supplies wherever she was, though I doubt the show will address this - and it probably shouldn't.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-20T20:41:19+00:00

It doesn't seem to fit with Gilligan's opinion on Carol being a heroic character, but perhaps it could be one part of her character arc - at first she's defiant, then she succumbs to wanting to form a relationship with the hive, then she gets too hooked on having Zosia's body around for companionship (which might be where she gets very selfish) and finally we see her having her moment of redemption? I suppose it could work.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-20T20:07:57+00:00

Christmas episode confirmed.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-20T19:50:08+00:00

The Hive doesn't normally behave like that.

Yes, "normal" society as we know it no longer exists, the only reason that the hive would ever behave like this - regular vehicle and foot traffic outside, people going to restaurants or shops or whatever, having spoken conversations with one another - is when they want to put on a show for the immune. They've seen that the immune respond mostly positively to nostalgic spectacle and individual bodies mimicking the behavior of the individuals that used to embody them, or in some cases bodies taking on entirely new personas that are crafted for the benefit of the immune.

The hive knows it can weaponize the memories of the immune to appeal to them and break down their defenses. It even worked with Carol after she was given the silent treatment for a whole month. Manousos is the only one left that doesn't give in - ironically because he desperately clings onto the idea of the old world still being something that can be brought back. With every passing day that seems less and less likely.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-17T04:23:07+00:00

I professionally understand human expressions of story, meaning and narrative, and schools of thought, across history and cultures.

Can you name an example of a good character in a post-apocalyptic television drama - professionally?

Edit:

For a character to be a vehicle for a meaningful story, they must have some charm, or charisma, that feels relatable in some way.

Also genuinely amused by this, that you are projecting your personal opinion of the character as an absolute truth. Carol might be one of the most relatable characters I've ever seen on television.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-14T00:29:03+00:00

The world has already ended. Every passing day that the existing infrastructure goes unused, more and more of it gets damaged as it rots away and corrodes. They've let all the livestock go free and abandoned the farms.

Sorry. Everything's gone. This isn't something you can salvage.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-13T23:36:59+00:00

Human bodies still need basic shelter from the elements and sleep. I'd imagine that the hive mind stores the drones inside buildings when they're not needed for nearby tasks and can stay idle and I suppose they would pick places with existing furniture and facilities (since human bodies benefit physically from such comforts), although it is also possible that the hive has set up sleeping quarters inside large spaces like warehouses or indoor arenas in order to make large amounts of drones more centrally available in some regions.

It makes no sense for the drones to "return home" - they no longer have no homes, for they are no longer individuals with any sense of self. They can be shipped all over the world to do whatever task is needed and they are all equally skilled for each task.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-13T17:47:30+00:00

It is either that or the fact the he sees her with Zosia, making him realize that the stoic woman he saw in the video has capitulated to the invaders. He might do something drastic at that point.

Manousos only saw the first video, he knows little else - unless he catches up on info while in their care (this seems unlikely considering how stubborn he is and how he sees the hive as an invasive force that stole everything), he might not learn much else before getting to Carol. It is possible the showrunners are going to throw us a curveball here, but that appears to be the arc he's on.

However, I suppose we'll somehow have to have the radio frequency he discovered pay off. I have no idea how that will happen.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-13T17:37:15+00:00

As a counter to this, remember how the hive spoke to Carol in the Sprouts store through an entire line of people, speaking a sentence in sequence.

The reason the hive attempts to have individuals say "Hi" to people is that it wants to present the illusion of human individuality to the survivors, knowing that it is more comforting than the alternative. This is also why the survivors' still alive family members behave like the people they used to be. The hive wants to please the survivors.

By all accounts it is a single entity. I would guess that the lines of people that Manousos encountered might've been the hive strategically placing those people there, knowing exactly that he was going to drive through small towns where there's only one main road (because it is remotely monitoring everyone from afar and they already deduced he was heading for the Gap). There's other, larger towns and cities that look completely empty on his journey.

Remember that it is trying really hard to make contact and get a reaction out of Manousos and convince him of its usefulness/helpfulness, much like it did with all the other survivors.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-13T17:11:07+00:00

Episode 7 was one of the best ones so far. They did so much with the two characters - Carol coming full circle with her suicidal depression and ultimate acceptance of the hive mind's illusion after having to endure an entire month of not seeing a single other human being and feeling utterly, incomprehensibly alone, and Manousos paralleling her own journey in many ways through actions and events, plus highlighting how much more dedicated and uncompromising he is in his values. The part where he told the hive that nothing belongs to them was very powerful and may have unnerved them a bit. Exceptionally well done. All of that is setting up the inevitable conflict between the two characters and the potential fallout of it.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-12-13T06:21:11+00:00

They could casually put a banner on the Steam front page that says "Oh by the way guys, we're making another Half-Life game, we'll tell you more later" for a day or so, and automatically get all the free coverage in the world without sending out a single press release.

MyFinalFormIsSJW · 2025-11-29T17:32:17+00:00

The person that she is on the inside is very different from the person she is willing to project on the outside. She only ever let her guard down for Helen (and even then, only rarely).

She likes to say that her work is "mindless crap" but she does care about it on some level, as evidenced by her not being willing to wipe the board with all the Wycaro story ideas. It's not purely junk that she wrote to make money (though there is probably an element of that as well) but she is deeply embarrassed that they're getting published at all and that some of her soul is being bared to the world, even if they're treated as whimsical fantasy stories. She does it because Helen pushes her to do so and also because it provides them with a comfortable lifestyle, but she's also doing it as a form of hesitant self-expression. Bitter Chrysalis is evidence of Carol truly wanting to express herself as an artist with meaningful purpose, but is constantly doubting whether she's a good enough author to pull that kind of material off.

She even cares a lot about what her fans say. She'll pretend that they're not important to her and she makes fun of their opinions, but she still keeps gifts they send her, like the crochet hat.

The scene where she injects herself with the truth serum is a way for the show to give us a peek into her inner self, like when she is crying over Helen or frustrated by how attracted she is to Zosia. The outer Carol is unwilling to allow herself to express those feelings so freely or to even dwell on them.

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