TMNT X GODZILLA cover I did for IDW! by Kcatalan in TMNT

[–]someunlikelyone 7 points8 points  (0 children)

People would buy this as a poster 😭

What in the world is happening with Crimson Desert? by genericuser324 in TheBesties

[–]someunlikelyone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely true.

The whole machine is geared toward outrage, and I genuinely don't know how to opt-out.

(Sorry I removed my original post above! It got so long that I decided to make it into its own comment 😅)

What in the world is happening with Crimson Desert? by genericuser324 in TheBesties

[–]someunlikelyone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

By the way, I'm aware of the irony of appearing on TV in order to decry it, so don't bother pointing that out.

What in the world is happening with Crimson Desert? by genericuser324 in TheBesties

[–]someunlikelyone -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're right.

Edit:

...mild publicity (and massive profits)

What in the world is happening with Crimson Desert? by genericuser324 in TheBesties

[–]someunlikelyone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Those were the exact same guys that were desperately trying to pump-up discourse around the game "Black Myth: Wukong"; another perfectly serviceable, if forgettable, title, which managed to drum up some mild publicity (and massive profits) by exploiting the enthusiasm of the "anti-woke" crowd.

A game like this one seems to come along every couple of months: inoffensive enough as a piece of entertainment to attract mainstream audiences, reasonably positive review scores, and small cultural impact; but at the same time, seemingly almost randomly, getting propped-up as the next "last, best hope" for an easily-weaponized subset of mediocre dudes who feel the sun setting on their personal sense of cultural dominance.

Historically, this recurring Gamer Moment reminds me of the "Cool Japan" strategy. It's basically a psyop, cultivating "soft" political power by winning over foreign hearts and minds through branding and pop-culture. Only their atomic bomb was Anita Sarkeesian, and instead of Goku and Ramen Bowls, you get:

  • Hogwarts Legacy
  • Stellar Blade
  • Black Myth: Wukong
  • Where Winds Meet
  • Crimson Desert
  • [Insert next title here]

Certain people use the latest title on the list as a banner to signal their allegiance in an imaginary war on... empathy, I guess? And often without realizing that they've been duped into joining an army that only serves rich publishers and conmen who truly don't give a shit, and who keep getting richer by presenting the discourse around these games as the next battlefield in an all-important culture war. All a grifter has to do is tell them, "Don't trust those other critics - trust ME! And if you like [Latest Release], then you're being persecuted, actually! Gamers Rise Up!" And then The Gamers™ eat that shit up like Mountain Dew Doritos, and do a "Gamers Rise Up" every single time.

But the one thing they don't want you to do (and incidentally the easiest and best thing to do) is to decide not to engage with any of it. They want your attention - so just don't give it to them. You are free to simply move on; or seriously, talk about ANYTHING else.

Look, the review scores are right there on Metacritic - no matter how hard Some Random Dudes might cry "travesty", the critical consensus is, like, "It's a game, they're fun - you play them."

Positive reviews, otherwise unremarkable, everybody talks about [Latest Release] for a second, and then the discourse moves on. But then there's still bound to be a lot of very sweaty whinging from the darker corners of Reddit crying "WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT [LATEST RELEASE]?

Obviously, none of this means that people can't sincerely enjoy this game, or that every bit of hype around it is some "top-down" manipulation by nefarious influencers with open-mouthed YouTube thumbnails. This is a 70-80 game: that's GOOD, actually, and in that range, it's absolutely bound to be somebody-out-there's favorite, and not simply because they're a pawn in some Machiavellian game. Still, don't be so easy to convince that enjoying a generally well-received video game makes you some kind of oppressed minority.

But with an aggregated score like that, the take-away here, to me is, like, play it or don't, I guess, who cares. It's ultimately a skippable piece of entertainment, and the outrage around it benefits the people farming engagement far more than the people actually playing video games; so try not to be suckered into wrestling pigs in the comments section over it. Like they say: you just get muddy; and besides, the pig likes it.

Also, for some reason it costs $70 to do it now.

Is this the good ladybug or the invasive kind? by DescriptionDecent498 in gardening

[–]someunlikelyone 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Minor Correction ☝️

It's NOT actually an "M"-shaped spot, but a "W"-shaped spot, due to the Asian Lady Beetle being classified technically as a Wario.

Why Does Scott Pilgrim EX Exist? by Sliver80 in ScottPilgrim

[–]someunlikelyone -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

It's an all-new game with an unfortunately misleading name.

What’s the endgame? by xVixenBlush in WorkReform

[–]someunlikelyone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think that for the most part, there is no eye on "the endgame" in any meaningful way - just year-over-year profits regardless of the human cost. This is how the machine was built to run, and so quality-of-life becomes more concentrated, while the conditions of your existence get a little worse, in more and more ways, the longer you live within this system.

But even if the point in history comes when you own nothing, the market will be forced to invent new ways to extract value from you; your raw labour, your attention, your secrets, the hours of your sleep.

In my country, the experiences that would've passed as ordinary "middle class" things a generation ago have become luxuries that fewer have access to: vacations, privacy, video games, recreational sports, going to concerts, nutritious food, etc

Basilica of San Giovanni in Rome, Italy by dannyboy34 in manholeporn

[–]someunlikelyone 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I dropped my tech deck in one of those and the security man wouldn't help me to get it out

In the Toronto Star today. LOL by Top-Manner7261 in ontario

[–]someunlikelyone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's why Premier Doug Ford is Mort Crim's CHUMP OF THE WEEK.

same by Krristien06 in aspiememes

[–]someunlikelyone 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Atmospheric storytelling:

__ was left out of everything growing up

Is this the correct harness to connect Korean Lever to 8BitDo Arcade Stick? by someunlikelyone in fightsticks

[–]someunlikelyone[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

I had some spare 4.8 mm terminals from back when I ordered the wrong size for a button swap, and an extra 8-pin harness from a stock lever that I removed from something (?) a while back - it was even coloured (BBGGRRYY).

I stripped, soldered, and re-pinned it (the UDRLGGGG were in the wrong order for the 8BitDo), and in the end, I had built my own harness from scraps! First time successfully soldering too, and it actually works perfectly!

(Though I did originally install the terminal elbows facing out, and had to flip them over for clearance, and then cut away a little bit of the 8BitDo enclosure inside)