From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc


Sony is finally doing a little bit of damage control and saying to the
press that they've considered all the options and all the possibilities
and that ending the production of game discs is the best path forward.
Have they really? Their main comparison is to Steam, where 99 percent of
PC games are digital only. In a world where licensing and online
connectivity have created an ecosystem that doesn't support offline
media in any meaningful way. I'm astonished that Sony didn't realise
that they are the standing opposition to that, and that emulating their supposed 'rival' means taking on all their faults and weaknesses too.

Play:
--=--

Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT) - Finished again after all this time. Mild
spoiler for a game from thirty years ago, I love that this game has what
may be the best example of a fourth wall break in the whole of the
medium. And it's subtle and not at all played for comedy, in that the
player is acknowledged as a character in the game who has had influence
over the events that have taken place. Our protagonist Edge turns to the camera once he realises this meta reality and has only the briefest of
moments to thank the player before he's whisked away into a mysterious
life outside of the game setting, never to be heard from again. That's
exactly the right tone and the right amount.

I think one of the things I like most about Panzer Saga is how
restrained it is with its characters. This was likely as much about the limitations of the hardware at the time as it was any kind of artistic
intent, but I want desperately to have spent more time with Azel and
Edge and Gash and Paet and all these bizarre people. Even the villains
are interesting and complex with only a little screen time and few
words, and I have a real fear that any successful remake would pile on a
lot of elaborate and unnecessary detail that doesn't build on what's
good here. Even though we got a sequel in Panzer Dragoon Orta, we never
got to see any of these people again outside of them being mentioned in
the backstories of the new characters. That's maybe as it should be, a
model for a world soaking improperly in nostalgia and regret. Like for
game discs.

Uncommon third paragraph incoming: There is a compelling argument for
digital distribution if you look back at the history of Panzer Dragoon
Saga, whose release at the end of the Sega Saturn's market lifetime
meant that only a few copies made it out into the world. The ideal
scenario is not only for the game to be available digitally, but to
continue to run on all future platforms. But the only thing Sony seems to
have screwed up more than physical media is the support for backward compatibility. The reason that the enthusiasts in our hobby distrust
Sony's decision is because their transparent motivation is to sell us
games at full price over and over again as each new platform comes out. Continued availability of physical media gets in the way of that
idealised seller's market.

Die Hard Arcade (SAT) - I had completely forgotten everything about this
silly game. I claim to love it but I've never made any real progress in
it. I don't think I remembered that the QTE concept really has its
genesis in this game, where in between levels (to cover up loading
times, no doubt) you're asked to react to a prompt to hit exactly one
button before the time expires. And, like it was intended, the input
you're asked for actually corresponds to the action shown on screen
rather than being some kind of arbitrary stupid sequence. I should
really give this more of a chance.

Want:
--=--

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (PS5) - Been after a reprint for a
while now. I have the other Eiyuden game, a sort of weird linear RPG
called Rising that I never did put enough time into to figure out.
Imagine if I had made the decision to return to this older game some
years into the future and didn't have an option to download it. Anyway,
the PS5 disc should be in my hands in a couple of weeks.

Bin:
-==-

Nothing game-related.

-KKC, who also tidied up his gaming area instead of playing more.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc

Kendrick Kerwin Chua <kendrick@nospam.io-nyc> wrote:

Play:

A Little Bit of... Puzzle League (DSi) - some Time Trial in
touchy-feely mode, including a new high score even. Albeit by like ten
points or something.

Keep Sweating and Nobody Explodes (RL) - is it really only my fourth playthrough in the last few months? Feels like a dozen at least.

Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT) - Finished again after all this time. Mild
spoiler for a game from thirty years ago, I love that this game has what
may be the best example of a fourth wall break in the whole of the
medium. And it's subtle and not at all played for comedy, in that the
player is acknowledged as a character in the game who has had influence
over the events that have taken place. Our protagonist Edge turns to the camera once he realises this meta reality and has only the briefest of moments to thank the player before he's whisked away into a mysterious
life outside of the game setting, never to be heard from again. That's exactly the right tone and the right amount.

Sounds like a nice way to have approached that, as I'm sure the reader
will agree.

Uncommon third paragraph incoming: There is a compelling argument for digital distribution if you look back at the history of Panzer Dragoon
Saga, whose release at the end of the Sega Saturn's market lifetime
meant that only a few copies made it out into the world. The ideal
scenario is not only for the game to be available digitally, but to
continue to run on all future platforms.

I suppose there's always a chance that it might not suit every
platform in the future, but either way, you have to wonder how many
more times the game could then be played.

Want:

Maybe to patch up the fourth wall a bit.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (PS5) - Been after a reprint for a
while now. I have the other Eiyuden game, a sort of weird linear RPG
called Rising that I never did put enough time into to figure out.
Imagine if I had made the decision to return to this older game some
years into the future and didn't have an option to download it.

"Write a perfect clone of game X, make no mistakes." :-)

Bin:

Nothing.

-Rus.
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