Yoshi! Got a new one coming up over here.

https://youtu.be/37-sh2SaVfk

This week we're having a look at:

A seaside adventure - CLONE_CMDR_LOGAN
the wind waker - nekodamsi
"Stamps collection - patricao73
Spiders and Fire - DeadmaN2112
The Grim Journey (ch1) - ZombieSlayer_5

A pretty decent set of levels here, nothing stand-out bad, and a couple that were standout good. All of them deserve at least a play.

Behind the curtains stuffs: i have no idea why it was so hard to get the outro of this one recorded. There's a little, bonus outtake at the end of the episode. It's probably the only one that didn't involve me swearing.
So, i spent most of yesterday hiking out to the impound lot to pick up my wife's bike. It was, of course, raining. By the time i got home, i was feeling pretty punk and kind of spacey. Not a condition improved by watching Meat Ball Machine (note: not even remotely safe for work, or if you have a low threshold for squick). So basically yesterday was a wash for production, which kind of sucks, but is also kind of ok, i guess? Oh, Dead Rising2 was 250yen at the local used place. Having played the first 30minutes or so, i can say that is a completely appropriate price.

Well, well, well, if it isn't Tuesday Takeaway time.

A seaside adventure - CLONE_CMDR_LOGAN
Yeah, not a lot to say about this one, really. It remains what it is: a fun enough, quick platformer, with a few interesting bits of detail, but a relatively flat over-all look. The cameras still feel a bit unfair, and there ought to be something to give the impression of ground. On the other hand, i think the amount of work needed to really spruce this into something nice is probably fairly minimal. It certainly doesn't need a complete overhaul or anything like that.

the wind waker - nekodamasi
It's so rare to see a level that actually makes good use of the blow-dryer. Seems like it usually shows up as a throw-away, clear this one obstacle kind of thing. Parts of the level are a heck of a challenge, though; momentum is always threatening to throw you into some kind of hazard. Still, providing you have the time (this is about 10-15minutes give or take), it's definitely worth a few plays. Super digging on that big robot at the beginning, and the way nekodamasi's hidden their checkpoints behind roulette wheels.

"stamps collector" - patricao73
Still kinda sad i couldn't figure out how to pronounce this creator's name. Patric-AO? Patrica-O? Bob (hey they could be Welsh, where spelling bears no apparent relation to sound). Wasn't super surprised to see the team pick here, for once; it just had that feel to it, it was picking up too many plays too quickly to completely escape notice. One thing i noticed this time, though, was that the hazards are a bit inconsistent in their presentation. Sometimes the white (should be safe) floor will just kill you. It's not just the stamp edge, like i thought in the episode.

Spiders and Fire (and fire and fire and fire) - DeadmaN2112
So much signposting, and it's so out of place looking. Also, i really got slammed by lag/load this go about, which makes an already long level that much worse. On the other hand, aside from the sign issue, it's got a nice enough visual design, and some decent gameplay elements and set-pieces. i imagine they broke the level into three to deal with a thermo pushed to the limits by all the decorations, but i wonder if there couldn't have been a little fat-trimming and compromise to get this into one, more smoothly flowing level.

The Grim Journey (chapter 1) - ZombieSlayer_5
This one's definitely the stand out for me this go around. The environment is solid, the gameplay is simple, but fitting for a tutorial level. The special abilities are well-handled, and the power-ups, except for the switching issue, are pretty cool. Death's kind of a jag, but that's forgivable, and i really liked Right Hand Man (though ZombieSlayer forgot to make him non-grabbable, oops). Really the only downside is that it was published a year ago, and it makes me wonder if we'll be seeing a chapter two. i really hope so, though.

Behind the Curtain Stuffs
So the good news is Episode 046 is wrapped and uploaded, so there's one thing i don't need to worry about. Got to try a couple of new (for me) things, and they mostly worked out the way i wanted them to. i have to say, i'm really liking this hub, it allows a pretty decent amount of freedom, for being such a open and kind of featureless space. i think it's a keeper.
The bad news is, i was all set to record the levels for 047 yesterday, and my headset decided it wasn't going to work with the PS4 again. No matter what i did, i just couldn't get that buzz out. This is really an issue for me. There's something about dysfunctional audio devices that just slams on my irrational anger button. Really, the needle's well past anger and buried somewhere in wrath. Someone on Penny Arcade suggested Sony's super-duper-platinum-deluxe wireless headphones, and while they look very nice, they're also 24,400yen. Now, i do have a kind of sort of bonus coming up, but for that price, i could buy a Switch (if i could find one). i mean, that's a really hard price to justify, especially since, in the end, this isn't a job. i guess i'm just going to have to keep trying, and hope i luck into another on day (and to be honest, most of the time i record, there's no issue at all, it's just when it comes up, there's no way to fix it). The really weird thing is this never happens anymore when i record on the laptop.


Geeky Aside
The Grim Journey got me thinking on fictional representations of Death. It seems a little rare (at least in the media that i consume) to get a real jerkface Death. i guess Tony Todd in the Final Destination series is the closest, though that's mainly in that he seems wildly unfair in the context of the rules as presented (this is why diegesis is improtant!). It also got me thinking of Thanos. Man, that guy is a jerk (leaving off the quasi-tragic "this guy is literally chasing after death" take). i mean, look at the set up for Infinity Gauntlet, yeah? His big idea to get Death to notice him (Sempai noticed me!) is to kill half of the inhabitants of the multiverse. It's like, dude, barring A-rank book-anchoring characters (they all get reincarnation as a perk during char-gen), she's gonna get everybody in the end. Are you trying to tell her you think she's impatient? And it's her job. Do you think being reminded of work is a nice Valentine's Day prezzie? What, you couldn't try flowers or something? Do you have no ideas what she might be interested in? Have you ever even thought to ask? C'mon mate, i've got the social skills of dead walrus, and even i'm not that bad.