Though sadly any game officially including Thrawn is out of the picture now that Disney kinda killed the EU. Any post ROJ game would be set during the awful First Order era.
Your video game hot take(s) thread
- Thread starter Dany_the_penguin
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Well, it's been hinted on the Mandalorian that Thrawn is gonna show up again, which means it'll probably be a follow on to his disappearance at the end of Rebels. Presumably that'll be one of the focuses of the Asoka show, if he doesn't end up taking over for Moff Gideon in Mando Season 3.
Or they pull a fast one and try to say "GIdeon was actually Thrawn in Disguise all along"(Wierder shit has happened, honestly. If Palpy can still be alive in RoS, then I guess Thrawn can be pretending to be Giancarlo Esposito), though I think it's more likely they'll reveal Gideon was one of Thrawns students or something like that, considering his penchant for always thinking ahead.
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True but there's a limit of what Thrawn can do in such a setting. He could hardly get defeated by the same New Republic that got easily crushed by a collection of joke villains. If that happened Thrawn would no longer be a big deal. He would be the one who failed at what a tantrum throwing teenager, the incompetent dark lord slain by the tantrum throwing teenager and a laughing stock officer easily accomplished.
The only thing I can think of is since there's like a 20ish year gap, they could have Thrawn show up, tear the NR shit up for a few years, finally get taken down and then the NR is still hurting when the First Order shows up. Or somehow explain that Thrawn killed all the good admirals and that's why the Resisty in the ST seem so dumb. I don't know. I'd like some explanation how the FO can asmass massive fleets and huge ass starships and apparently nobody in the NR seems to take this threat seriously. Either we believe the NR was napping for 20 years or we have to assume something else was at work for how easily get got owned in TFA.
Kinda like how the Rebel Alliance now are shown to have taken heavy losses in Rogue One, which is why the defense of Yavin in A New Hope(which took place immediately afterwards) was a couple fighter squadrons(yes, it's a retcon but not a terrible one).
No idea if that's what they end up doing, just throwing ideas out there. Maybe they'll give it to Dave Filoni and say "Do what you want. Just make it work".
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I want more games to let me play Wingman to my teammates. That was the single enjoyable part of The Outer Worlds for me, getting Pavarti hooked up with her platonic main squeeze, and I've found myself highly motivated to hook up all the "tragic love stories" in Hades, WAY more than trying to get Zagreus a bunk buddy. I mean considering what he's doing to pull it off, it's pretty badass, but also hilarious, from a romance comedy perspective. "I will smash down the machinations of HELL ITSELF in order to get you to shag damnit!" And I just find that hilarious xD , and very satisfying.
So yeah, more games with romance options for your friends, and someone ELSE. Watching two people awkwardly flirt with each other from the sidelines (which let's be honest, it's what happens in EVERY game as YOU are sitting on a couch, not actually there in the relationsip), is just a lot of fun.
So yeah, more games with romance options for your friends, and someone ELSE. Watching two people awkwardly flirt with each other from the sidelines (which let's be honest, it's what happens in EVERY game as YOU are sitting on a couch, not actually there in the relationsip), is just a lot of fun.
I've wondered for some time why no one has made a VN where you don't take the role of one of the people in a romance but just play matchmaker for people.
I'd wager it's because most of the VN crowd use the medium as a personal form of relationship escapism, and so moving the focus another layer out (Player to character, changed to Player to character to other character), makes it less engaging? *shrugs* That's just a guess.
Hence my disdain for RTS games; telling others to "do the things" tends to be far less engaging that actually doing the things. When I play a game, I want to PLAY it, not "manage" it.
I've never been big on dynamic, romantic relationships that a lot of RPG games shoehorn in; always feels silly; I can't imagine one where I've no direct stakes would be any more appealing. Though I do recall being particularly off-put when my actions in Dragon Age unintentionally netted me the affection of another man. I wasn't purposefully going for anyone (really just wanted to reach the end of that slog,) then this dude starts "rubbing my thigh" for all intents and purposes. Had me wondering how I'd somehow managed to play the game "the gay way."
Eh, I mean if the game is designed to be a management simulator, I'm ok with it. Like the RTS's you mentioned, I just see myself as the leader/general or whatever.
Personally I like managing people, and trying to care for them. I do get satisfaction in helping people out, so a game that allows me to build up a sustainable society, and make people happy and content, yeah I dig that kind of vibe in games when I've got the mood. But I do know what you mean about being "in it." My only point is that I've found that, for whatever reason (perhaps the above mentioned helping people vibe), I've been way more invested, as a player, in romance storylines, when it's my crew, and not me. I'm not opposed to playing a relationship, and usually do. But it's more just sort of, I dunno, mandatory in a way? I feel obligated to do it. But with Goofy Comic Relief Ally, who I enjoy bringing into combat and helps me out, hell yeah I'm down for getting them a shag partner! So, having recently discovered this joy, I find myself at a loss for games that would actually provide that escape.
You talking about Dragon Age 2? 'Cause it sounds like DA 2. And yeah, that one was....poorly designed when it came to how the one openly gay character behaved. I just chalk that up to some poor writing and poor implementation of player choices. With that one, it often seemed to come down to "if he's nice to me, that equates to love points", so if you were, you know, just not being a dick to the guy, this also made him like you intimately. Which, honestly, as a straight guy, who has had gay guys do that very thing to me on multiple occasions, simply because I was being nice and friendly and accepting of them, it didn't feel really too out of place? If that makes sense. I've mentioned this before, but I've had a guy, who from MY side, I was just being friendly, chit chatting with, ask me, out of nowhere, while leaning in the passenger window of my car "would I be his boyfriend". And when I politely told him "Sorry man, I appreciate it, but I'm not gay." His response was "So? You don't have to be gay to put your dick in my mouth." This ACTUALLY happened to me. So, the accidental "play it gay" thing, I mean, I can see it, I've lived it. The issue I had with that, was when I, politely turned him down in that game, and I specifically chose the least mean response, he got REALLY vindictive and cold. THAT annoyed me more than me attracting a dude without really noticing it. As that shit happens all the time, from what I've heard from gay guys who discuss it on YT. The whole "Only 10% or so of the population shares your sexual orientation, so, ergo, 90% of the people you are attracted to, probably won't be into you." thing. But how Anders (his name was Anders right?) was suddenly like "Fuck it! Burn the world!" I was just like "ujmmmm....wut?"
While that's probably true, if I've learned anything from fanart and fanfiction, it's that people LOVE to ship characters together, so I feel there's surely an untapped market there.
Yeah but I think in a lot of that fan/fic shipping, most of them are doing a self-insert with one of those people. But yeah, I think it could be a popular market to tap into, especially if you keep it light and comical. Like have plenty of drama, because well, romance story, but have it be a lot of just goofy interactions, and facepalming on the part of the MC, at the utter ineptitude of the people around him, to clearly see they are perfect for each other.
You could prolly make a pretty good NTR themed VN with those themes. Though you'd have to be playing matchmaker for your own partner.
Thing is, while people love to ship chars, they HATE any other ship but theirs, and in a game where you're forced to play matchmaker, you run into the issue of you hating the ships that you are allowed way more than finding good ones.
The thing with playing matchmaker is that you have control over it, while shipping is more like...observing organic chemistry and in some cases jumping to the logical conclusion, in other cases filling the blanks with your imagination and in other cases just making shit up cause you delusionally think it'd be cool. Like for a recently-controversial example, I think it was an obvious thing to ship Sesshomaru and Rin in Inuyasha, not because I was particularly fond of that relationship, but because that's where it was going and I could just see it clear as day, but now that in Yashahime Rin has had his babies you get all these angry shippers making noise about it as if it wasn't obvious. Like...Sesshomaru was not gonna date Inuyasha no matter how many fanfics you write lol.
But yeah I mean, you could make some sort of game where the main char is an old king marrying of his sons or daughters to neighboring families and so on and so forth. Could definitely be a lot of fun.
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Nope, I'm talking about Dragon Age 1 ("Origins", I think?) Yeah, got hit on by some elvish looking dude.
But insofar as REAL life encounters, I've been hit on quite a few times by dudes. Never as overtly as "You don't have to be gay to put your dick in my mouth," Jesus, #MeToo. Funny story, I met my girlfriend in a local pub we'd both frequented for a while and a gay dude who'd hit on me a year or so prior ended up being a friend of hers. He came to the house a few years ago, and we're both like "I remember you!" We're actually really good friends now with a running gag that he's a "shitty Mary Poppins," causing more havoc than good when he visits.
*shrugs* Honestly that was by far the most laid back "hit" I've had. Compared to the teenager who pinned me down when I was in middle school (like 13 years old or so for those outside the US) and tried to take my pants off because she wanted to see my junk, or the drunk middle aged woman who, when I was in my 20s, just grabbed my dick at a party, and pinned my neck place with her other arm so she could drunkenly whisper in my ear.... compared to those, I'll take a guy just happily offering to blow me, just because he wants to, regardless of my orientation any day. But that's a topic for a different thread!
That reminds me of a slightly different, but similar experience I had. One of my best friends, to both me and my wife, is the mother of our god daughters, and back when she had her first child, she was separated from the baby daddy. He lived in the same apartment complex as her, that's how they met in fact. And we went over to visit her one night. She told us that the baby girl, was over at her dad's place that night, but that it was time for her to come home. I forget the details but basically the baby daddy couldn't bring her over, I think work related issues or something (he worked as a grounds keeper in the apartment complex), and so he asked if she could come get her, his current girlfriend was babysitting her. Well the mother wasn't feeling well, and asked us to go pick her up. We said sure, no problem. Their relationship was strained, but civil, and we were on good terms with the guy too. So we walked over there to pick up our god daughter, and the door opens...and it's an ex-girlfriend of mine. Hadn't seen/heard from her in like....a decade or more? And so she had the baby, we started chatting, not really connecting who she was, and then I just sort of tilted my head and looked at her and was like "Lisa?!" and she blinked, looked at me and was like "Steve!?" (not real names), and we just sort of stood there, dumbfounded for a minute and then I was like "Um yeah! Hey uh, we're here to pick up a baby! So, hand her over!" and made exaggerated grabby gestures at the bundle that was our god daughter.
So that was weird, and also funny.
Eh, pass. Not a fan of NTR. Not a fan of the intentional degrading/humiliation aspect that usually shows up in that kind of kink. I'd probably frame it as either the MC is either 1. Asexual, but appreciates romance and such, and just really wants to see others hooking up. Or 2. Is already established in a relationship with a partner, and this is just like the MC's "sacred duty" to get their friends laid, or die trying! With option 2, you could still have the MC having kinky time to satisfy the player's emersion needs or whatever, but it would be sort of like , interludes between the game sections. Like the MC goes home, tells his partner, who is equally eager to see their friends finally hook up, and hearing about the progress turns them on, so they jump you there or whatever, cue kinky scene.
*shrugs* I mean I'm never going to make that kind of game, but I do think it would be funny to do. If just for the novelty of it.
Not my cup of tea either but rather what I see as a likely thing somewhat akin to that to actually come to pass.
You know, there is this one VN called Bokuten about a protag who has to take up the job of a cupid he accidentally stole the powers of, but he isn't exclusively pairing other people up but is also getting some action himself. I've not played it but the description of it sounds like the main char is misanthropic/cynical and through his encounter with the cupid ends up accepting affection and waifus like a normal VN. Not sure on the ratio of how much matchmaking vs first person fantasy is there but it's at least more than what you find in most other VNs.
That does sound roughly like the idea I had, though mine would be more comedic in nature, very lighthearted and humorous. Maybe that one is also funny, who knows.
- DmC's Demon Evade is a great dodge mechanic and it's sad nothing similar is used in 5. Dante and Vergil not having it in 5 makes sense, but Nero could have used it. Also, DmC: DE has the best use of Dante Must Die/Gods Must Die against lesser demons or mini bosses. When they are hit hard enough or parried, you can knock them out of Devil Trigger breifly. Why they never brought this back is baffling. I hate damage sponge enemies and bosses and is one the few things I can't stand about DMC 3 & 5.
- Asura's Wrath is the best FMV game ever made. Also, Asura is the best father in video games ever. Followed by Harry Mason and Lee.
- OverWatch should have been a multiplayer brawler a la Anarchy Reigns.
- Mark of the Ninja is the best ninja game ever made.
- Killzone and Resistance > Halo.
- Killzone and Resistance deserve ports on modern PS4/PS5. There's not reason not to do it Sony.
- The Legend of Korra game on consoles/PC was not good. Not even decent. The fact it got delisted, while sad, did not bother me in the slightest.
- Ikaruga is the best bullet hell shooter ever made.
- Bloody Roar series (not counting 4) > Dead or Alive.
- Shinobi series > Ninja Gaiden.
- Comix Zone deserves a remake.
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