The Community Spotlight 2023.04.29

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

If you have been heeding my previous Spotlights, then you should know that this weekend marks the Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run, the community-run spring charity drive. For more details, just scroll down.

Before we get into the video issues, there's a bit of good news that comes from Jeff Grubb. Giant Bomb plans to ramp up its coverage of games in the form of Quick Looks in the near future. To help in that, you can expect to see fellow co-workers and friends of the site from Fandom Gaming and GameSpot take up prominent roles in those Quick Looks. This is going to help the site bring more of the same high-quality coverage you want to see. For example, Giant Bomb didn't get a Jedi Survivor code until after the review embargo, so they brought in Tom Caswell from GameSpot to help. Please, be kind and civil and do not be a jerk.

With the video player, there have been multiple tickets filed, the lead engineer has been notified, and the entire team has been working on the issue. They thought that they had fixed the issue, but it appears that does not appear to be the case. Feel free to file a comment in here. Continue to send in emails to support@giantbomb.com and keep dropping comments in the bug reporting threads. As Dylan put it, we want as much ammo to show that this is a priority.

I can tell you that everyone from Fandom I have talked to, whether it be community outreach or the engineering team, has confirmed that they view this issue as a problem that should not exist and can confirm that it's not a sign that they do not care. It's absolutely okay to feel frustrated and angry that such an important part of the site is not working. Everyone there agrees.

In regards to Giant Bomb Infinite, ping the moderators via the PM Mod button on the forums and we can reset Infinite with the help of Dylan. However, just to reiterate a point that can up on the Giant Bomb Discord, Infinite has been "janky" since day one. Full disclosure, former design lead Will Carle made it over a single weekend as a fun design challenge activity.

I was able to talk to people higher up about the bug regarding images not being clickable on the wiki and forums, and a new support ticket was filed that reiterated that the issue is a larger and more widespread issue than initially thought.

When it comes to future Bug Reports, please consider pinging @dtoast in your thread or comment especially if you think the issue in question has not been reported yet. Emails to support@giantbomb.com are also appreciated

Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run

It is time for the Giant Bomb Community Spring-time charity event known as the Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run. If you are reading this on Saturday and Sunday, hop in chat and watch some community members play games in the name of charity!

I (@zombiepie) will be a participant in the Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run, and if you have enjoyed the Community Spotlight feature on the site, please consider donating to my charity page. Even small amounts are appreciated, and if you can't donate, consider sharing the page to someone you think might be able to.

• Announcement Thread
• Team Donation Page
• PersonZ's Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run XIII Shenanigans
• ZombiePie's Streaming Plans For The Giant Community Endurance Run - 2023 Edition
• My Personal Donation Page

Tweets

Video

RoboMitch Wrestling Entrance Theme (By: @csl316)

It's been a while since we last had a fun video on the Spotlight, but this week csl316 decided to write, produce, and edit a wrestling entrance theme for "RoboMitch!"

The resemblance to the works of Jim Johnston is simply uncanny.

Art

The Compadres (By: @jearum)

What can I say other than this is amazing?! jearum combined the Wind Waker artstyle with the manic insanity of the Hyrule Hustle video series on the site and I truly think they hit it out of the park.

Bakalar's Nightmare(By: @kone)

Kone continues to show their mastery of photoshop wizardry by splicing a young Dan into a picture of Bakalar as a child. The results are "something." I don't know how I would have turned out if I grew up with Dan. Bullies, I love them!

Sopranos x RoboMitch (By: @ogto_rt)

It goes without saying that RoboMitch is maybe the most viral thing to come from the site this year. For this image we have a creative combination between RoboMitch and the iconic scene where James Gandolfini lost his shit on set when Steve Schirripa walked into scene with a giant dildo.

RoboMitch x Hyrule Hustle II (By: @BTBullion)

It's the crossover I never knew I needed and now that I have, I can say I am blessed.

RoboMitch Sicko (By: @cosmicrhapsodie)

Ah, yes, memes. This one really works for reasons I don't think I need to detail in-depth.

Mitch: A Dan Ryckert Horror Story (By: @CreakyLegs)

Has Mike been strong-armed into doing a ridiculous food challenge set by Dan like Grubb yet? I wonder what he would force himself to eat on camera if/when that happens.

TolkoCop Boxart (By: @Its_xcore)

So, what if RoboMitch got their own video game? Are there any indie devs out there that want to whip something up and put it on itch.io? That would be amazing.

Activities

Olija Is The 9th Game Of The 2nd Year Of The UUGPGC! All Are Welcome! Finish By May 8, 2023. Mark All Spoilers! (By: @bigsocrates)

Olija is the 9th game selected for season two of the Giant Bomb Community Game Pass Game Club! Have any of you checked out this tale of a harpoon-wielding knight? If so, or you just want to join the fun, clicking the link above!

The GB Album Club 029 - Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age (By: @unclejam23)

The latest edition of the Album of the Week Club has picked a real popular musical act in the form of Queens of the Stone Age! This week the club asks that you feel free to join its discussion of Songs for the Deaf and if the album should be considered an all-time classic!

Blogs

I Miss The Amico And Really Wish It Had Come Out (By: @bigsocrates)

The Intellivision Amico will likely never become a physical product anyone can get their hands on, and bigsocrates comments on why that has deprived everyone from what they think would have been one of the greatest industry endnotes ever.

What's the Greatest Video Game: Kinect Sports (By: @imunbeatable80)

What is it like playing the Kinect for Xbox 360 in the year of our Lord, 2023? Well, check out imunbeatable80's latest blog on Giant Bomb because they decided to give Kinect Sports another shot! Is there something about it that still is fun to play?

64 in 64: Episode 29+

Indie Game of the Week 317: Obduction (By: @mento)

Mento has a new episode of their 64 in 64 series and this one is about Densha de Go! 64 and Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!! Where else can you read about Japanese train sims and movie tie-in games in one spot?

Likewise, this week, Mento played Obduction and penned an impressive essay on why its slight Myst stylings and design did not gel with them.

Terraforming: Imperialism in The Outer Worlds (By: @gamer_152)

Last week, moderator Gamer_152 looked at Umurangi Generation and how it connects to how imperialism is depicted in games. This week, they look at Outer Wilds and its approach to sci-fi's traditional direction with colonies and spacefarers.

The Unofficial Not-E3 Summer Games Presentations Calendar (By: @marino)

E3 is dead and maybe forever. However, there are already a handful of developer streaming events during the week of E3 you might want to consider watching! So, moderator Marino has graciously compiled them on a single spreadsheet!

Discussion Threads

Waypoint Shutting Down Amid Layoffs At Vice (By: @nophilip)

The recent news related to Waypoint is awful and you can join the rest of the community in wishing Waypoint's staff, which are all valued friends of the site, the best. Also, share your favorite Waypoint memories and content of theirs that you enjoyed the most.

For Fun. Explain Why Your Favorite Game, That Most People Hate On Is Worth A Try! (By: @topcyclist)

There's a new, fun activity on the Giant Bomb forums that we want YOU to join! Explain why your favorite game that most people hate is worth a try!

I Think The Minions Are Great (By: @sombre)

The Giant Bomb forums are a safe place for everyone. As proof, here's a thread where anyone can come forward and share that they are non-ironic fans of the Minions and they want more Minions movies and products. I promise we are not sending information from this thread to a database.

How Often Do You Go Back To A Game You Have Not Played For A Significant Period Of Time (1 Year+)? (By: @bigsocrates)

The topic has come up on the Bombcast and forums more than once, but how often do you go back to a game you have not played for a significant period of time? For those of you that consider yourselves "retro gamers," what is your process for selecting older games that you play?

Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores DLC Discussion Thread (By: @nodima)

How many of you have checked out the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon Forbidden West? Do you like it as a post-game follow-up? What are your thoughts about Seyka? Join the community discussion in the thread linked above!

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection - Which Are The Good Ones? (By: @bisonhero)

For those who have picked up Mega Man Battle Network: Legacy Collection, what's the best starting point if you are a newcomer? We have a someone asking this exact question, and they are taking YOUR ADVICE on where they should start with the spin-off series.

Cult of the Lamb Relics of the Old Faith Update Discussion Thread (By: @cyrusraven)

Cult of the Lamb's Relics of the Old Faith update is available NOW! Have any of you checked it out yet? Does it make a good game great? Share your thoughts about it with the rest of the community and if there are any improvements that you still think the game needs.

Armored Core 6 Gets Gameplay Trailer And Release Date (By: @atheistpreacher)

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon just got a gameplay trailer as well as a release date! How many of you are excited about getting their hands on the game after watching the trailer? Share your mindset in the thread.

User Reviews

@infantpipoc continues their coverage of the visual novel genre on the site with a review of the Steam release of Muv-Luv! Click the link below to read why they think you get two seminal works in the genre for the price of one!

Lists

Scoring Systems+ Collectathons (By: @emotiontheory)

EmotionTheory has TWO new game concept lists on the site that need YOUR HELP! This time they want you to share any games you have played or can think of that score your moves or quality of play using points and/or grades as well as games that count or qualify as "Collectathons!" Share YOUR suggestions.

Wiki Of The Week

Water Level

It's one of the most reviled game concepts, but this week's Giant Bomb Wiki Page of the Week is the Water Level concept page! Special thanks to moderator @gamer_152 for rehauling the page!

Also, here's @zombiepie hot take: The hatred for Ocarina's Water Temple is overrated. That level is fine and people are being babies.

Glad so many folks enjoyed my silly wrestling theme. And glad to see I'm not the only one smitten with the glory of RoboMitch.

I'm all for external folks helping with Quick Looks, since it's tough to do the prep work for an informed video when there's so much to play.

My one bit of feedback in advance is to have at least one of the staffers sit in to keep it feeling like GB. As much as I enjoyed Arcade Pit, for example, the episodes where there was no one from the staff made it feel a little awkward. You need someone from here as a glue if they're not the lead, even if it's just a staffer keeping things rolling and asking questions. The Jedi Survivor video is an example of this concept done right.

A++ Minotti stuff this week. Also, jearum continues to do outstanding work. So good.

Thanks for putting my Cult of the Lamb shout-out in the spotlight! Feels like this may be getting overlooked which is a shame.

Oh hey, my comment was featured, cool! As always, thank you for the weekly roundup of stuff! The Robo-Mitch stuff is especially good this week.

Yes, I agree that the Water Temple is perfectly fine and honestly, the hardest part of the stage is realizing that lifting the platform in the center area when you increase the water level reveals a path underneath. It doesn't really occur to me to go lower when the water level gets higher. The instinct is to go up.

Thank you all so much for the amazing community stuff that includes me!! It’s still incredibly cool every time I see this stuff!

Thanks ZP!

• Good luck to the community with the enduring
• Glad to hear that Quick Looks are becoming a thing again

Definitely happy QL's will be getting boosted back to a regular thing. I thought @csl316 had a good suggestion about ensuring at least one GB staffer on as part of it, that would be a good balance in my opinion as well. I am bothered that we have to ask the GB community to not be jerks; I wouldn't have guessed they would be on this site (then again, although a long-time watcher, and a subscriber for a little while, I hadn't paid attention to the comments until recently, so maybe I am just not aware of how some people get on here).

It's weird that there's a section called "Art" when this whole spotlight is art.

Thanks for showcasing my stuff, zombiepie!

-Village Idiot