The midterm came and went, and I actually did really well on it, minus that infernal last problem. Mostly it was just the lack of time to do it, everyone in the class thought as much, although to differing degrees. After looking at some classmates work on it though, I found that maybe even with enough time I still might have lost some points on it anyway, as I discovered my understanding of how to use tables was a little bit off.
To ranting!
I'm actually presented with an extra dilemma now because of missing a weeks post, because now I have several games that I would like to rant about, but my policy (for myself) is to only rant about one game at a time, thus rendering a more complete and coherent rant. After much (read as: 5 minutes) thought, I've decided elders get precedence. Maybe not elder in age, but certainly elder in discovery.
Today's game is William and Sly by Kajenx. Since the game was originally posted to Newgrounds and not Kongregate, and is also the place I originally played it, the link is for the Newgrounds version even though there is one on Kongregate now. As you will be told from any comment/review body, the game is beautiful and has a nice fluent playstyle. Having said that, you probably are already well enough informed to know whether or not you actually want to play it. If you can't be brought to appreciate a game for its ambiance, you probably shouldn't play William and Sly, since the games biggest selling point is its atmosphere and the way the gameplay compliments it perfectly. Id Est, you won't like this if you're just an adrenaline junky, so don't bother playing it and giving it a bad rating or review just because you're a narrow minded half-druggie. Really that's what today's post is going to rant the most about, not the game itself since it's really air-tight, but the people playing it. In all good honesty I shouldn't be burning time on this, since for once the cavemen and trolls are actually in the minority, (imagine that), but I needed something to rant about for this post, and I'm not gonna find it in the game.
The deciding factory of whether you like the game or not, is whether or not you
A) are capable of appreciating Serenity, and
B) how well you can immerse yourself in the game.
People looking for a quick thrill, an adrenaline rush, or Zombies, are just not going to appreciate the game. If the games not what you are looking for, don't play it. I don't know how many times I've said something similar to this, but the fundamental problem and phrase in play is "Constructive Criticism". Constructive Criticism is not trolling, being an ass, or insulting something, it's analytically, logically, or intuitively offering suggestions and corrections. There's a reason people employ Critics with a paycheck. It's because they're doing something legitimate. Businesses don't employ trolls, they employ intellectuals who are capable of giving useful feedback on things. Saying, "Oh man this suxors", doesn't do anything. For the person saying it, or for the person receiving it. Well, except make one of them look like an idiot, and I've yet to see an instance of this case that the person saying it wasn't the idiot. Saying, however, something like "the backgrounds could be improved to distinguish them from the playing area", or "the controls could be a bit more fluent for [blank]" is Constructive Criticism. It's providing feedback that is actually useful to the one receiving it. Applying this to the topic at hand, there is actually a great deal of constructive criticism on both websites for the game, and as I mentioned previously already, not a lot of trolling. The thing that really sparks this for me, is the comments and reviews about the Boss. Just because you can't beat it, does not mean it is unbeatable. Before you go posting a comment or review about how unbeatable any boss is, read around. Chances are, there was someone with a similar problem, and someone who provided a solution. Even more though, for this particular game, not only was the boss already perfectly beatable, but the developer went ahead and made him easier anyway. And yet still there are people recently who complain. For this game, the problem is actually ironic. Instead of it being a problem of the wrong audience playing the game, the right audience is playing the game, but is contextualized improperly to work with the last boss. To say that a bit more simply, The right kind of people are playing the game, people who can appreciate Artistic games. But because they are used to playing Artsy games, they're not used to the unique facet of trying to think about something from a different perspective when what you're already doing isn't working. For most bosses in games, the challenge is often just that, that you have to think about, or use, your capabilities in a new way that the regular gameplay hadn't needed you to. In other words, not only do you play a fox for most of the game, but for the last boss you must think like a fox. Rather than just running about blindly, sit down and analyze the situation, which in this case, is watching the bosses movement patterns. And trust me, there is a pattern. Figure it out, and don't whine in the comments and waste space.
[insert default credit claim here]The MOT is mine, the content is property of Extra Credits videos artist.
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