The Community Spotlight 2023.06.10

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am happy to be your host as we look back at the best community creations from the week.

How are we all enjoying Giant Bomb's coverage of NOT E3? The first Talk Over of Summer Games Fest and Giant Bomb @ Nite event were AMAZING! And, as of this posting, we have two more nights of guests as well as the Xbox show on Sunday.

Instead of doing the normal site-related news, I thought I would use this Spotlight to give thanks to all of the people that made the site's NOT E3 content possible.

First, many thanks to Jan for being the man behind the scenes that makes all of video content possible. Even when there might be audio or video hiccups, we all know he's busy working on them so we can fully enjoy the nonsense the staff are up to.

Thanks to Jeff Grubb for scheduling all of the guests and reaching out on the Giant Bomb Discord regarding how the Giant Bomb @ Nite events were formatted in the past, so that he could best tickle our nostalgia while also letting him do his own thing.

Thanks to Windbag for the hilarious transitions between segments. If you're an old school GB fan, you remember waiting hours before the next panel of guests with nothing but a wait screen and music. These breaks are quick AND entertaining. Also, thank you to Dan for tapping into his toolbox of tricks to make every day be a chaotic and hilarious event.

Special thanks to Emma Fyffe and Bailey Meyers at Fandom for making the set for Giant Bomb @ Nite from scratch! They took a massive burden away from the Giant Bomb staff as they planned this bevy of content and deserve props for that.

Finally, many thanks to the guests that add to the fun and the moderators that are ensuring a fun and safe time during this eventful weekend. We're all in this together, so let's enjoy the show.

"Not E3" Prep

Giant Bomb Site Chat

Giant Bomb Twitch Account

Giant Bomb YouTube Live Stream Account

I have seen a lot of people ask where Giant Bomb will be streaming its Talk Overs and night shows. Giant Bomb's chat will be up and every stream will also be on YouTube and Twitch when they go LIVE! For those of you that have issues with one of those choices, you have options!

The Unofficial Not-E3 Summer Games Presentations Calendar

E3 Bombcast / GB @ Nite Guest Tracker (By: @marino)

As he has done for many years, Marino has been keeping track of each guest appearance on the GB @ Nite shows. Over 250 people have now appeared as guests. Check out the leaderboard!

Giant Bomb @ Nite Day 1 VOD +

We Talk Over: Summer Game Fest 2023 (By: Staff)

Hey everyone! Just a friendly reminder that the Giant Bomb @ Nite videos usually require a lot of work in post before they can go up on the site. If you absolutely MUST experience the magic again, or missed a segment, check out the VODs on the Giant Bomb Twitch account which I linked above.

Likewise, friendly reminder for the Summer Game Fest talk over, NBC Universal is blanket content blocking any stream archives of the event that show the trailer for the Twisted Metal TV show. As a result, that segment or portion of the stream had to be edited out.

Tweets

Activities

Diablo IV Community Clan (By: @lamzor)

Are any of you interested in a Diablo IV community clan? We already have one titled "giantbomb" (tag: GB) on PC on Europe. If you want to join click the link, but feel free to offer to create others by dropping a comment.

Mortal Shell Is The 11th Game Selection Of Year 2 Of The UUGPGC. SPOILERS OPEN! +

Merge & Blade Is The 12th Selection Of Year 2 Of The UUGPGC! Finish By June 19, 2023! Mark All Spoilers (By: @bigsocrates)

The community Game Pass Game Club has opened up its discussion for Mortal Shell to spoiler talk! Do you have any story-based topics you want to talk about? Did you finish the game? Join the fun NOW by clicking the first link.

Likewise, Merge & Blade is the 12th selection of Year 2 of the Game Pass Game Club! If you have any non-spoiler early impressions of the game or have already played it and want to discuss its mechanics, here the link!

Art

Mike Minotti x Jeff Grubb Soy Face (By: @reaver_troll, @VinderToma, @patrickleb05, @theinfinitejpe, @mikeyatm, @TurboShawn_, and @AntiMacro)

Over on Twitter TurboShawn_ asked for photos of Mike and Grubb that allowed for community members to have some fun with them in the format of the Soy Face meme. Obviously, they both obliged and the photoshop community on Twitter had a field day.

Gallery

Anime Station Grubb Meme (By: @R4z0rv2, @1upVSCPU, @WiLLoDavisRocks, and @NJShadowReborn)

Speaking of memes of the staff on Twitter, Grubb decided to take a photo at an independent anime and manga store and let's just say the font of the store might not be within the realm of fair use. That said, the images below are a riot.

Gallery

Experience Giant Bomb @ Nite In VR (By: @DigitalLogjam)

Apple is making a VR/AR hybrid headset that will cost people $3,500. The only people I can imagine buying it are crazy people and those that enjoy burning money. Nonetheless, Apple seems to think everyone will want to watch movies and TV shows using this device, and I think DigitalLogjam nailed it in terms of what many of us would do first if we got our hands on one.

Persona User - Tamoor (By: @MOHAMMEDFI10)

Persona 3 Reload is going to re-popularized the art style of Persona 3, so we have Mohammed over on Twitter imagining Tamoor as a character in the Persona franchise.

Blogs

The New Utopian: Social Connections in Bioshock 2 (By: @gamer_152)

Moderator Gamer_152 just published a MASSIVE essay on Giant Bomb pertaining to BioShock, BioShock 2, and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and The Metamorphosis. If you have any appreciation for the written word, this is a must read blog.

What's the Greatest Video Game: Guacamelee! (By: @imunbeatable80)

imunbeatable80 is back with a new edition of their "What's the Greatest Video Game" series on the site and this episode is all about Guacamelee! Does this luchador-inspired game still hold up? Click the link above to read what they think!

That’s Good, That’s Bad: SIGNALIS (By: @purpleshyguy)

PurpleShyGuy makes a valiant return to blogging on Giant Bomb with a new edition of "That’s Good, That’s Bad". This episode looking at Signalis! Check out what they enjoyed and hated about the game by clicking the link.

The Kobayashi Mario: Part 3 +

Indie Game of the Week 323: Mortal Shell (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento continues their quest to get every single star in Super Mario 64! How did the later portions of Snowman's Land, Tiny-Huge Island, and Tall, Tall Mountain treat them? Click the first link to read all about their recent agonies!

Additionally, Mento has a new entry in their "Indie Game of the Week" series and this one is all about Mortal Shell! Did they enjoy playing a Souls-like game with an indie game scope? Read to find out!

Some Musings On How To Think About Games You Played Long After The Fact In The Context Of A Console's Library (By: @bigsocrates)

bigsocrates is here to muse about games they decided to revisit after walking away from them for over ten years. Ape Escape is the first example, but if you have experiences with this phenomenon, feel free to chime in over here.

Discussion Threads

Your Expectations For Xbox Showcase 2023? (By: @gtxforza)

Leaks are already purportedly coming out for the 2023 Xbox Showcase, but what are your safe and wild predictions? Some in this discussion thread are saying they'd be concerned if the Perfect Dark reboot and Fable game aren't there. Also, if you are reading this after the fact, what did you think?

Will New Twitch Rules Affect Giant Bomb? (By: @cubbielover)

So, the situation with Twitch's advertisement rules has a lot of people talking. What are your thoughts about the situation? Would you be open to seeing Giant Bomb streams on other platforms beyond Twitch? Share your thoughts!

VR Strikes Back (Kind of ???): Meta Had A Livestream & Apple Announces A $3,500 VR/AR Headset (By: ZOMBIEPIE)

VR is generating buzz in the world of video games. The Meta Quest 3 got announced and some people liked the games Meta showed during their livestream. Also, Apple is selling a VR/AR headset for $3,500.

Does A Level Of Consistent Emotional Moments Matter To You Liking A Video Game? (By: @topcyclist)

When playing a game with a story, how tightly do you like your emotional or mainline story moments strung together? What are games with great pacing and examples of games that thrive in letting characters breathe?

Le Mans Ultimate (Sim Racing Game) Announced! (By: @gtxforza)

Le Mans Ultimate has been announced and is in development by Studio 397! Are there any simulation racing fans that are thinking of picking it up or are you holding out for Assetto Corsa 2?

Lies of P Demo Discussion Thread (By: @spacemanspiff00)

Has anyone checked out the Lies of P demo? If you did, were your impressions of this souls-like action RPG inspired by the Carlo Collodi fairytale Pinocchio positive or negative? Feel free to share!

Your Most Favorite Song From Tina Turner? (By: @gtxforza)

I forgot to promote it last week, but what are your favorite Tina Turner songs? Maybe Album of the Week Club is already in talks of making an activity thread for Private Dancer, but what are your favorite singles?

Lists

Purple Characters (By: @jacobproper1)

Grimace, the McDonald's legend, is turning 52 years old. To celebrate the occasion, JacobProper1 started work on a list of every single video game character with purple skin! Drop a comment with suggestions!

User Reviews

@pauljeremiah's Under Defeat HD review shares why they think the game was slept on and should be considered a fun modern take on the classic arcade shoot 'em up formula.

@pauljeremiah also reviewed Doom Eternal and discusses why they think the game's pulse pounding action and impressive set pieces still are impressive on top of the game's graphical fidelity.

@pauljeremiah booted up their PS3 to return to 3D Dot Game Heroes! Read why they think it being a "Zelda clone" shouldn't have sunk its fortunes and how it features plenty of fun gameplay hooks on top of its unique art style.

Wiki Of The Week

Diablo

It seems a lot of Giant Bomb members are having a blast with Diablo IV. But, did you know that the first game in the franchise started out as a pseudo-MMORPG? Learn all about that and MORE on our wiki page for OG Diablo!