Procrastination Simulator.

Oct. 18th, 2018 05:30 pm
rionaleonhart: final fantasy viii: found a draw point! no one can draw... (you're a terrible artist)
Q: Riona, do you really have time to write mini-reviews of every game you've ever played?
A: I absolutely don't.
Q: And yet.
A: And yet!

Some of these are more just reminiscences than reviews, but I've said at least a line or two about every game. Possibly. I've almost certainly forgotten about some.

For the most part these are listed alphabetically, so you can easily track down any games you're interested in, but games in a series are listed together, so, for example, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma are all under Z for Zero Escape, and World of Final Fantasy comes under F. I've put a (LP) next to games I've only experienced through Let's Plays. Flash games, text adventures and electronic versions of card, tile or board games are not included.

Games I first played after originally posting this entry are marked with an asterisk.


( Thoughts on every game I've ever played, or close enough. )


I'm glad I've put this very important and necessary entry into the waiting world.
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I'm My Own Worst Enemy.

Jun. 27th, 2018 10:20 pm
rionaleonhart: top gear: the start button on a bugatti veyron. (going down tonight)
Out of curiosity, I thought I'd investigate a Let's Play of Detroit: Become Human to see what the fandom fuss is about. I was fortunate to find theradbrad's playthrough on YouTube, which was ideal: he doesn't talk over cutscenes, he's engaged with the story without being too loud and excitable, and he plays in exactly the same way I would, i.e. wandering around to look at everything and trying not to hurt anyone.

'Oh,' I thought, 'it seems like Markus and Carl have been together for ages. That's really sweet. It must be strange, being in a couple where one half ages and the other doesn't. I wonder how far this game is going to explore tha--'

Carl's son: THIS ANDROID'S NOT YOUR SON AND YOU CAN'T PRETEND IT IS.

'...oh. I may have seriously misread the intended dynamic here.'

The message I sent to [livejournal.com profile] th_esaurus: I went 'hmm, might as well check out a playthrough of Detroit: Become Human to familiarise myself with this android/old dude pairing everyone's into,' and I'm a couple of hours in and have accidentally got invested in a completely different android/old dude pairing that literally nobody has written.

To begin with, I was more interested in Kara and Markus's storylines than in Connor's, but Connor's story won me over (while my interest in the other two slightly declined, as Kara being in constant peril started to wear on me and Markus was separated from Carl). I can pinpoint the exact moment I went 'okay, I get why everyone enjoys the Hank-and-Connor dynamic and I'm looking forward to Connor's scenes now':

Hank: Why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?
Connor: CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration.
Hank: Well, they fucked up.

Although I did also hugely enjoy Connor making a coffee for Arsehole Cop and continuing to hold it out after the cop has left, going '???? take the coffee?? here is the coffee I'm supposed to give you? he's not taking the coffee, what do I do?'

When I think about it, both Markus's storyline and Kara's take themselves very, very seriously, whereas Connor's scenes have a lot of humour. That might explain why people seem a lot more drawn to Connor's storyline, from what I've seen of the fandom. (Humour - or intentional humour, at least - was something critically lacking in Heavy Rain, and its presence in Become Human really makes a difference.)

Here's what I want to know: are all androids fuckable, or just specific androids designed to be fucked? This is an important question and I'm confused that the game fails to answer it. There are different models for different purposes; one is a 'gardener' model, for example. If you want to fuck your gardener android, can you? Or do you have to pay extra for a gardener model you can fuck? Or do you have to get a sexbot and just think of your gardener robot?

(I've written out a list of worldbuilding questions I have about this universe, and maybe I'll talk about them in a future entry (I thought I'd just make a non-spoilery entry for now, and I'll probably make a spoilery one later), but 'are all androids fuckable?' is the one that really stands out.)

My overall conclusion on this game: it's a mess, but it's an entertaining mess, and I actually cared about some of the characters, which suggests David Cage has at least learnt something since Heavy Rain. (It also improves on Heavy Rain by having a female playable character whose story isn't just 'holy crap, look at this guy all lying here unconscious and being the protagonist, I'm in love'.)

I don't know whether I'll write fanfiction - I don't have any clear ideas right now, and I'm a little intimidated by the prospect of writing from an android's perspective - but it might be interesting. There are definitely things I wish the game had done; maybe it's my job to make them happen.
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I Put On My Shoes So My Feet Don't Hurt.

Dec. 1st, 2017 09:29 am
rionaleonhart: final fantasy x-2: the sun is rising, yuna looks to the future. (NOOOOOOOOO)
I've been watching an inexperienced gamer play Heavy Rain, and it's one of the funniest things I've seen in my life. Everything's so needlessly complicated! Ethan constantly fails at simple tasks like sitting down, opening the fridge or pushing his kid on the swing. The actual story is distressing stuff (it's a crime thriller about a murderer who targets children), but it's a sort of magical experience when the characters muddling through it don't have the basic competence to take a sip of orange juice.

I think my favourite part may be the attempt to tie someone else's necktie.

I also enjoy how distressed the player is when Ethan takes a shower and then puts the same pair of pants he slept in back on.

On a note that isn't 'this very serious thriller is absolutely hilarious': the way button prompts get shaky when the character you're controlling is panicking is a pretty neat touch.


The Wind Singer by William Nicholson was one of my favourite books when I was a child, and I've vaguely intended to reread it for... a very long time. I suppose on some level I've been going 'oh, I've read it so many times there's no point in rereading it, surely,' but by this point it must have been well over a decade since I last picked it up, and I think the time to reread it has come at last.

I was a little afraid it wouldn't hold up, but I felt my love for this book surging back almost immediately. There's a strange beauty in the straightforwardness and simplicity of the writing style, and I love the 'you don't have to be the very best; you don't have to compare yourself constantly to other people; you can love the people who are important to you, and that's enough, that's a worthwhile existence in itself' message of it.

The Hath family are a delight; the characters are so well-drawn, and they're all held together by their fierce love for each other. It never occurred to me before, but maybe a part of my love for family dynamics in fiction stems from this book.

I've always remembered how magnificently passive-aggressive Ira is towards anyone who harms her family. I think my favourite instance might be where two officials are waiting in her house for her daughter's return, so they can arrest her, and Ira asks whether they'd like a drink while they're waiting. Then she just leaves them for ages to get thirstier and more impatient, and on her return they go 'where's our drink?' and she acts very surprised. No, you misunderstood; she never offered you a drink. She asked you whether you'd like a drink. She was just making conversation.
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