Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

[Dark Cloud]

No more bickering, we'll either hate it or love it. Besides the Mario movie is shaping up to be something good. Minus the fact Mario & Luigi are from their version of RW Brooklyn.

[SleepingSilence]

Finished The Entropy Center and felt relieved that it was over. Couldn't have been a more obvious ending.

Playing Stray now. And honestly, the places you can "be a cat" are strangely limited. Plus, not that it isn't already mentioned in every review, but these trial-and-error chase sequences are simply not enjoyable parts of the game. But they're also a lot more frequent than most reviews make them out to be.

However, I will disagree with most critics when they claim that the game has no sense of direction. Though it is easy to get lost without a map. The game has provided many instances of direction in the world/character dialogue.

But good visual detail and audio aside, I feel like my cat walking simulator could use more freedom and cat pandering mechanics.

[Dark Cloud]

@SleepingSilence oh so you played Signalis then?

[SleepingSilence]

@SleepingSilence oh so you played Signalis then?

@Dark Cloud

The list man! I have a list. :P

Honestly, I haven't played much survival horror. (Aside from when I owned a random shitload of them in my teens.) So I don't know how much that game would appeal to me...

Though on a random side note, if I can afford to get a new/better PC this year. I've been thinking about getting into game development (and basic coding) again. So I'd be capable of doing so—without the computer exploding.

[Carlyle]

lmao the bot is trying to act human

[BangoSkank]

I agree about OoT probably being the best pick to base a Zelda movie or show around. I also agree about casting and soundtrack.

Wherein I Go Into Unnecessary Detail On My Perspective

Casting for existing characters should be aimed at bringing those characters to life, either via live action or a sound-alike or just a voice fitting the general character profile. You are making a movie in this franchise because it is massively successful as it is. It's not your thing, it's a pre-existing thing. If you want to make your thing then make your thing.

You don't cast Ron Perlman as Link. You don't cast Christopher Walken as Zelda. I would generally not want to see Famous Actor/Personality/Musician cast unless it was just a virtually perfect fit. I don't want Beyonce Zelda because that would be Beyoncé, not Zelda. I wouldn't even want someone in her level of celebrity in the film because regardless of the role it would be a distraction. Same with Chris Pratt or Chris Hemsworth. Don't cast them as Gorons or Gannondorf or whatever. Just don't cast them.

Same with music basically.
This isn't Guardians of the Galaxy or Minions or Shrek. Those three mixed in real world popular music of one era or another to great effect. Pharrell Williams kinda sucks ass anyway, but none of him. Doesn't matter if they're great, and Beyoncé dos have a great voice. Shit don't fit. No Nickelback either. No fucking Evanescence. No Jay Z. No Ariana Grande. None of that guy who did Old Town Road. No fucking Bob Denver. No RATM. No Inon Zur. No Hans Zimmer. No Tiesto. No Bad Bunny.

You could use some sparse sound clips or new tunes that are evocative of classic Zelda sound clips. There are plenty of soundtracks from the games to pull from. Maybe some Gaelic or English folky instrumentals like acoustic type shit. Hell maybe some cool ass Traditional Japanese instrumentals at some point. Japanese drumming, there's a word for that. Maybe Māori or something. Just not Current Year Big Hit. I don't need a new Eminem Rap about the Triforce.

I'd prefer a show because that way they could either do multiple seasons for the Youth/Adult Link. Or you just have a very easily laid out One Season banger of a story. 10 Episodes. 3 Episodes as Kid Link, 3-4 Episodes as Adult Link and then 2-3 episodes wrapping things up. With a little fleshing out it's a pretty established Hero's Journey.

[Dark Cloud]

@BangoSkank I still think keeping Link silent is going to be a better choice. They could make it a running joke or something.

[BangoSkank]

I don't think it would work all that well as a running joke. I don't trust folks to do it subtly. It would get annoying as fuck if they were cracking too many jokes about "what do you have to say on the matter Link" and "ohhh the strong silent type" and that type of shit. I wouldn't mind if they went with like non-word noises and body language though.

Maybe get a Morgan Freeman type narrator to explain what Link is probably thinking or talking to folks about. Or say stuff like "Now he must have felt scared and very alone there, on the top of Death Mountain, but Link, well, he did t let that stop him."

[Dark Cloud]

I don't think it would work all that well as a running joke. I don't trust folks to do it subtly. It would get annoying as fuck if they were cracking too many jokes about "what do you have to say on the matter Link" and "ohhh the strong silent type" and that type of shit. I wouldn't mind if they went with like non-word noises and body language though.

Maybe get a Morgan Freeman type narrator to explain what Link is probably thinking or talking to folks about. Or say stuff like "Now he must have felt scared and very alone there, on the top of Death Mountain, but Link, well, he did t let that stop him."

@BangoSkank

The narration idea sounds good, instead of showing him speak it would be through narration of what he is saying. I just don't want another LoZ cartoon moment.

[Lord Orgasmo]

I wonder if Toon link would work better for a movie, considering his more cartoony characistics.

Phantom Hourglass movie?

[Dark Cloud]

@Lord Orgasmo I did say Windwaker could make an interesting film adaptation

[Fabricant451]

You don't cast Ron Perlman as Link. You don't cast Christopher Walken as Zelda. I would generally not want to see Famous Actor/Personality/Musician cast unless it was just a virtually perfect fit. I don't want Beyonce Zelda because that would be Beyoncé, not Zelda. I wouldn't even want someone in her level of celebrity in the film because regardless of the role it would be a distraction. Same with Chris Pratt or Chris Hemsworth. Don't cast them as Gorons or Gannondorf or whatever. Just don't cast them.

@BangoSkank

The reality of movies is that you need to sell to an audience and despite what people on the internet think, movies and shows based on source material are not made to sell things solely to that audience because that is not how money is made (and also they have every reason to believe that the people who complain the loudest will watch it anyway). This is why animated movies from studios and even Ghibli dubs cast actors that normies have heard of. This is why Chris Pratt is Mario and Jack Black is Bowser and this is why Sandra Bullock was in the Minions movie and why Benedict Cumberbatch was the Grinch and why Chris Evans was fuckin Buzz Lightyear. The only difference between a movie and a series is that a series is more likely to cast voice actors and not celebrities doing voice work, but even still in a movie you're going to have to expect a celebrity cast because that's how the business works.

But obviously they're not going to do whatever hypothetical stunt casting that people say. They're not stupid but also if someone can't get past a celebrity actor in a voice performance then that's moreso on the individual. The only difference between casting, say, Daisy Ridley as Zelda or Emily O'Brien is that most people have heard of who Daisy Ridley is. No one should even assume 'Beyonce as Zelda' both because she's not exactly the first choice in most movies considering her blatant lack of a wide filmography and because there are way more obvious celebrities that I have to wonder why the first choice wouldn't be Taylor Swift.

Video game movies are not hard to make anymore.

Anyway, One Piece Odyssey is pretty good

[BangoSkank]

<Snipped quote by BangoSkank>

The reality of movies is that you need to sell to an audience and despite what people on the internet think, movies and shows based on source material are not made to sell things solely to that audience because that is not how money is made (and also they have every reason to believe that the people who complain the loudest will watch it anyway). This is why animated movies from studios and even Ghibli dubs cast actors that normies have heard of. This is why Chris Pratt is Mario and Jack Black is Bowser and this is why Sandra Bullock was in the Minions movie and why Benedict Cumberbatch was the Grinch and why Chris Evans was fuckin Buzz Lightyear. The only difference between a movie and a series is that a series is more likely to cast voice actors and not celebrities doing voice work, but even still in a movie you're going to have to expect a celebrity cast because that's how the business works.

But obviously they're not going to do whatever hypothetical stunt casting that people say. They're not stupid but also if someone can't get past a celebrity actor in a voice performance then that's moreso on the individual. The only difference between casting, say, Daisy Ridley as Zelda or Emily O'Brien is that most people have heard of who Daisy Ridley is. No one should even assume 'Beyonce as Zelda' both because she's not exactly the first choice in most movies considering her blatant lack of a wide filmography and because there are way more obvious celebrities that I have to wonder why the first choice wouldn't be Taylor Swift.

Video game movies are not hard to make anymore.

Anyway, One Piece Odyssey is pretty good

@Fabricant451

People on the internet nonsense notwithstanding...

That is partially true. But things that stick to a winning script also tend to do better than things that twist in the winds whichever direction they may blow. Game of Thrones and the prequels. The Witcher Seasons 1 & 2 compared to that new one that's flailing. Peter Jackson's LOTR compared to the Rings of Power. Watchmen The Movie compared to Watchmen the sequel tv series.

But even so I'm not arguing what is most likely. It is quite likely they will shit the bed and do exactly that. Cast for famous names and agendas. I'm arguing what would produce the best product. The best representation of the thing they're trying to build off of.

Popularity is not quality.

WoW is an immensely popular game but it is unlikely to make lists of greatest masterpieces of all time. Fortnite is incredibly popular but it's not going to be on a lot of lists of best games of the 2010s/2020s.

Also you seem to have either missed or just not addressed the point I made that actors that perfectly suit their characters are an exception.

For your examples,

Cumberbatch as The Grinch is a great pick. He's got the weird voice and does great faces and impressions. He can work great as just a voice or in costume or via CGI.

Jack Black is a pretty decent Bowser if Bowser is going to have a voice and from what I've heard he's neigh impossible to pick out as Jack Black.

Chris Evans was a terrible pick for Buzz Lightyear instead of Tim Allen and the movie suffered for it, among other things.

As for saying "if you can't get over XXY issue, that's on you"
That's a non-argument. That's abdication of argument. Casting matters.

People in general acknowledge this. It's why often times someone can tell you "we cast X as Y" and you can immediately say "oh my god yes. Fuck he/she was born to play that role" or "whaaaaaaaat? They cast whoooooo? What were they thinking?"

It is why you referred to "stunt casting" because some casting is clearly stunt casting.

Examples below, clearly just smack yourself in the face great casting.

Consider:

Henry Cavil as Superman / Geralt
Gal Gadot as Wonderwoman
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool
Halle Berry as Storm
Jon Bernthal as The Punisher
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman (at the time a has been)
Chris Evans as Captain America (at the time a relative unknown)
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
Chris Hemsworth as Thor (at the time an unknown)
Chris Pratt as Starlord (at the time "that fat guy from Not The Office")
Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin
Heath Ledger as Joker (at the time a teen heart throb)
Joaquin Phoenix as Joker

I mean fuck, Daniel Day MOTHERFUCKING Lewis as Abraham Lincoln/Butcher Bill

Great castings.

But hey.
Daisy Ridley would probably make a good Wonderwoman. People loved her in Star Wars right? Right?
Kevin Hart is very popular right now, make him New T'Challa
Doja Cat could be the new Storm, maybe she can do a song on the show.
Daniel Kaluyaa was great in NOPE have him play Professor X
Dune did well right? Let's have Timothee Chalamet play Superman

There are objectively and obviously better and worse castings.

If Kristin Stewart voices The Joker she's gonna be worse than Willem Dafoe.

In the Legend of Zelda show/movie

If Joe Pesci voices Link you know he's worse than Timothee Chalamet
If Taylor Swift voices Zelda you know she's better than Viola Davis
If Eddie Murphy voices Epona you're probably actually watching Shrek 5

That's not even getting into the straight dumb meme castings. I'll spare you all that shit...

Straight Dumb Meme Casting

Kevin Hart as Joan of Arc
Danny DeVito as Jimmi Hendrix
Ryan Gosling as Martin Luther King Jr
Joe Pesci as Luke Cage
Channing Tatum as Albert Einstein
Vin Diesil as Verne Troyer (the guy who played Mini Me)
Terry Crews as Frodo Baggins
Madonna as Mother Teresa
Betty White as She-Hulk
Donald Trump as Ghandi
Daniel Day Lewis as Monica Lewinsky with Monica Lewinsky as Bill Clinton in the same movie (because if you can't get over the casting that's on you)

Yeah they're straight dumb meme castings, but there's a reason they're immediately apparent as, and inherently, straight dumb meme castings.

These choices are not more so on the individual, they're more so on casting.
That's their job.

I listed Beyoncé because she voices I think Nala in Lion King and we were talking about both actors and soundtrack. And because Silence used her as Zelda as an example. Given the likelihood of CGI/animation she could voice the character pretty easily. She's basically American royalty now that Kim is single.

Pharrell Williams doesn't fit musically into Legend of Zelda, neither does Beyoncé, neither does Ozzy Osborne, neither do The Beatles, neither does any song from Guardians of the Galaxy

Bottom line: Cast people who fit the character. Don't reimagine the character folks already love because you want to cast the Billboard Top 10 and the tabloids Top Sexiest Men and Women of 2022 or for any other similarly stupid ass reasons and don't give a character a voice that clearly doesn't match their character. Unless maybe it's a given character trait. Like damn that skinny ass kid has a deep ass voice. Then go ahead and cast dude from God of War

[Yankee]

I could be playing anything on Gamepass, but instead I'm installing Monster Hunter and just replaying that again

[BangoSkank]

Worlds/Icebourne?

I fully intend to reinstall that as soon as I get somewhere long enough to get internet going again. I kind of want to try Rise, but mostly I want to play more MHW/IB and prepare my mind/soul/body/butthole for MH6 whenever it comes out

[Yankee]

Worlds/Icebourne?

I fully intend to reinstall that as soon as I get somewhere long enough to get internet going again. I kind of want to try Rise, but mostly I want to play more MHW/IB and prepare my mind/soul/body/butthole for MH6 whenever it comes out

@BangoSkank

Rise. I don't think World is on Gamepass or maybe it is and I missed it, I am pretty new to using Gamepass.

I actually just bought a new PS4 dualshock to replay World though (and RDR).

[BangoSkank]

I can't wait for the next new MH game as it will be my Second MH game and therefore my first MH game that I go into knowing how to play and trying to push into the cool shit ASAP.

I took so long to get through MH's Story initially because I was just dicking around trying to learn and build all the weapons and I was scared of half the monsters. Nervous about fighting them anyway. I figure next time, especially if I play a little between now and release, I might be able to kick some ass and help out some newer players. I love me some Co-Op.

[Fabricant451]

That is partially true. But things that stick to a winning script also tend to do better than things that twist in the winds whichever direction they may blow. Game of Thrones and the prequels. The Witcher Seasons 1 & 2 compared to that new one that's flailing. Peter Jackson's LOTR compared to the Rings of Power. Watchmen The Movie compared to Watchmen the sequel tv series.

But even so I'm not arguing what is most likely. It is quite likely they will shit the bed and do exactly that. Cast for famous names and agendas. I'm arguing what would produce the best product. The best representation of the thing they're trying to build off of.

@BangoSkank

Both Watchmen adaptations were bad but they were bad for different ways. Peter Jackson did LOTR and then he also did The Hobbit. Also the LOTR movies weren't a 1:1 adaptation because a good adaptation uses the source material as a bible not an instruction manual. What do you mean cast for agendas? No one in the Mario movie is cast for an agenda other than the agenda of making even more money than a movie called 'The Super Mario Brothers Movie' is already going to make.

Popularity is not quality.

Didn't make that statement. But name recognition helps make money.

Money good because studios want money.

WoW is an immensely popular game but it is unlikely to make lists of greatest masterpieces of all time. Fortnite is incredibly popular but it's not going to be on a lot of lists of best games of the 2010s/2020s.

World of Warcraft is absolutely already on the list of greatest games of all time it was a groundbreaking, landmark game. Fortnite will probably have a sizeable entry as well. Regardless of WoW's current state, it is still a popular game whose influence is such that it is still the top of an entire genre of games. It is the standard bearer.

Cumberbatch as The Grinch is a great pick. He's got the weird voice and does great faces and impressions. He can work great as just a voice or in costume or via CGI.

Jack Black is a pretty decent Bowser if Bowser is going to have a voice and from what I've heard he's neigh impossible to pick out as Jack Black.

Chris Evans was a terrible pick for Buzz Lightyear instead of Tim Allen and the movie suffered for it, among other things.

The Lightyear movie was fine and it wouldn't have made sense for Tim Allen to do it because it's not the same character. And if you heard Jack Black and Bowser from the movie they would sound similar because all Jack Black is doing, likely with the help of movie magic, is talking in a slightly deeper register.

People in general acknowledge this. It's why often times someone can tell you "we cast X as Y" and you can immediately say "oh my god yes. Fuck he/she was born to play that role" or "whaaaaaaaat? They cast whoooooo? What were they thinking?"

It is why you referred to "stunt casting" because some casting is clearly stunt casting.

There is not a single actor that has been cast that I have thought "Wow they were 100 percent perfect for the role" and in many cases, including the ones you're about to list, the role became them not the other way around. Hugh Jackman was not a great pick for Wolverine at first and neither was Heath Ledger as Joker (seriously, literally everyone thought it was bad) and then the movie came out and people were like "Oh hey wow they did pretty good" because an actor can convince you that they were right for the part. That's why they're actors.

Also I've been talking about voice acting.

Examples below, clearly just smack yourself in the face great casting.

Consider:

Henry Cavil as Superman / Geralt
Gal Gadot as Wonderwoman
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool
Halle Berry as Storm
Jon Bernthal as The Punisher
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman (at the time a has been)
Chris Evans as Captain America (at the time a relative unknown)
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
Chris Hemsworth as Thor (at the time an unknown)
Chris Pratt as Starlord (at the time "that fat guy from Not The Office")
Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin
Heath Ledger as Joker (at the time a teen heart throb)
Joaquin Phoenix as Joker

I mean fuck, Daniel Day MOTHERFUCKING Lewis as Abraham Lincoln/Butcher Bill

Great castings.

And yet, every single character has been played by other people (and better, in almost every case) and in some cases they are the worst person who has played them. Also you're putting live action and voice acting together here. Also Daniel Day Lewis could play anyone and be perfect for it he's Daniel Day Lewis.

But hey.
Daisy Ridley would probably make a good Wonderwoman. People loved her in Star Wars right? Right?
Kevin Hart is very popular right now, make him New T'Challa
Doja Cat could be the new Storm, maybe she can do a song on the show.
Daniel Kaluyaa was great in NOPE have him play Professor X
Dune did well right? Let's have Timothee Chalamet play Superman

There are objectively and obviously better and worse castings.

Why couldn't Kevin Hart voice T'Challa. Why couldn't Daisy voice Wonder Woman? Why couldn't any of these people voice those characters?

If Kristin Stewart voices The Joker she's gonna be worse than Willem Dafoe.

How do you know? She could be good.

In the Legend of Zelda show/movie

If Joe Pesci voices Link you know he's worse than Timothee Chalamet
If Taylor Swift voices Zelda you know she's better than Viola Davis
If Eddie Murphy voices Epona you're probably actually watching Shrek 5

Timothee Chalamet and Viola Davis in anything would be better than Taylor Swift and Joe Pesci, especially Joe Pesci of these days.

Pharrell Williams doesn't fit musically into Legend of Zelda, neither does Beyoncé, neither does Ozzy Osborne, neither do The Beatles, neither does any song from Guardians of the Galaxy

And yet, the composer for the Mario movie is literally working with Koji Kondo, the composer of the Mario games (and also the Zelda games) so literally all this chicken little hypotheticals are based on nothing other than Pharell doing some song work on the Despicable Me movies. Not even the Minions movies. If the Mario movie is going to have a licensed song it's going to be in the end credits which is like the most nothing thing ever.

There is no reason to think that a Zelda movie or indeed the Mario movie would be like a movie from 2013 especially when the studio is working so closely with the parent company.

Bottom line: Cast people who fit the character. Don't reimagine the character folks already love because you want to cast the Billboard Top 10 and the tabloids Top Sexiest Men and Women of 2022 or for any other similarly stupid ass reasons.

This doesn't happen.

[SleepingSilence]

Stray is a bit disappointing. In that I enjoyed the vibe, and wanted to see how the narrative would end. But it's pretty obvious that the game was rushed to a conclusion.

The 2nd city has very limited places to jump on top of, and the puzzles are a bit more directionless. (That, on top of having no ability to backtrack, or get 100% completion through no fault of your own.)

One puzzle I found to be the biggest stretch was "find this guy, he's wearing this, this and this." But nobody in the whole city had any of those features. So I assumed you were supposed to share the same logic as the developers did. (In that, you deliberately can't see those features, and you're supposed to infer that. Over every other possible option..) And I did. But talking to the NPC alone wasn't enough. Nor did it provide any further hints. Instead, I actually needed to show them something from my inventory to succeed. (But I didn't think to do this for a while.)

Honestly, Stray had a neat premise (cat pandering aside) and deserved to be better. (But I also shared the same bugged out NPC that Dunkey had, after a whole six months later. So I assume this game isn't getting any more polish...)

---

Baba Is You is pretty good and challenging thus far. Perfect for listening to podcasts while puzzle solving. (Since they'll take you a while.) To the point where I'm considering downloading another game to play. So I can turn this into "my daily crosswords" of sorts.