Love the show, but a lot of audio issues with this one -- maybe because of so many people? Lots of moments of voices getting raised and the audio cutting out on them. And the draft was not a great audio experience -- I'm guessing the picks were clear on the video, but people kept saying "okay I made my pick" and everyone erupts in reaction, but, sitting in my car, I have no idea what was picked.
"People Over Rich Corporations Act" is a better name than it comes across because the newsreader says "or P-O-R-C Act" when she should've pronounced those letters as a word, thus sounding like "PORK" Act.
Thanks to the Albummer crew for a great show, and hope to see you all again here or elsewhere! I hadn't heard of TMTLN before this and have really enjoyed both this show and catching your other stuff out on the internet.
I was feeling very good about the new GB crew, until realizing we have majority pro-used popcorn bucket crew. Gross! Thank you, Jess, for holding strong. If you are a child or a teen or if $8 for a bucket of popcorn is just unaffordable for you, I won't judge you, but if you are a grown adult who can afford their own popcorn, don't be gross! Yes, other things can be gross too, but taking a stranger's used food container out of the trash to scam a movietheater into giving you free popcorn is shameful! For shame!
I had not ever looked at how many episodes remained in this season on Netflix, so I assumed given the previous seasons' lengths that we were nearing the end. I was shocked when it was mentioned in this discussion that there are nearly 50 episodes of Stardust! That's...a lot. I worry I might lose interest by then, but we'll see.
Nevermind, looking at other parts of the community, this issue is very weird and hostile, and while I am confused by GB's policies and think they should be clearer about them, I don't want to participate in more mess! I hope GB uses good judgment and is fair to people and truly have no position on this specific person, the end!
It's helpful to see some context from folks who support Merritt. I agree the stuff about her living situation or her professional situation struck me as vague and personal in a way that was not relevant to me. Stuff about offensive jokes I can't weigh without seeing the jokes, but I gather some people were offended and some not. For me the real issue is that GB had her on once, then said oh God so sorry we won't do that again, and then had her on again without comment. Different people, different era, but still, confusing to see from a viewer perspective without any explanation.
I don't know what to make of merrit - she's someone I've been vaguely aware of for a long time, and I've been aware that some people think she's bad, yet other people I tend to think of as not associating with bad people are friendly with her... But it definitely came to mind that Abby had her on a GB show and then apologized for it and said it was a mistake, which made it real weird for her to show up on this show without comment. Feels like it has to be addressed.
It's totally valid to like or not like Immortality. I'm not sure why we need to spend so much time talking about whether *other people* like it the right amount (why are people calling it a masterpiece when I don't like it?!) or making guesses about the real intention of the creator (they definitely must be taking this seriously even when it seems silly and are surely just trying to win awards!). I'm interested in everyone's feelings about the game, not their feelings about other people's feelings about the game.
First, thank you for the apology for all the papyrus at the end of the video -- I immediately hated it, but also knew I was being trolled. It was nice to receive the confirmation!
I think this is a well-argued video about problems with the visual design of Horizon, and Jess really captures a lot of the issues I've had in my time with the game -- including a couple clips of areas I very specifically remember being completely baffled by, like that early relic puzzle with the keycard locked door and lots of places where it feels like you should be able to jump into another section but can't. This put into words a lot of issues I've had with the game but hadn't thought through. I'm glad I spent my time watching the video and feel like I understand the game better because of Jess's analysis. I do wish the title were different, though.
Setting aside that most of the arguments in the video relate to function rather than aesthetics (I agree with all the criticisms about the cluttered environment, unclear climbing paths, over-reliance on the focus, etc., and yet I was constantly taking screenshots because I thought it looked so pretty, so I don't view "badly designed and difficult to follow" as working on the same axis as "ugly"), the title "Horizon is Ugly and Here's Why" feels designed to engender bad feelings. Like headlines telling you "You're doing it wrong" or "Sorry, [thing you probably believe] is bullshit," it feels intended to make people to say "What?! How dare you!" and generate engagement from that reaction. If I didn't trust Jess and GiantBomb, this would be the kind of YouTube suggestion that would make me roll my eyes and move on.
I don't want to overstate the case -- I still watched and appreciated the video, and I don't think there's any danger this a sign that GB is going to start posting "The Angry Gamerz 100 Gaming Sins that show why you suck!" or something -- I just feel if this were titled "Horizon's Visual Design is a Mess, and Here's Why!" it would be the sort of video I would be more eager to click on, and I suspect Jess would not feel nearly as much need to lay in comments like "I'm not saying you're dumb if you like this!" or "Don't be mad at me!" I am sure some of that anxiety about hostile reaction goes with the territory of criticizing a game on the internet, especially as a woman, but I wonder in this case if it isn't also a reflection of the sense that maybe your title was more provocative than your arguments required.
Even if I don't love the title, and even if I do not support Kinkade shaming, I did think the video was a really great look at how visual design can and should work. I do hope that the next Horizon game finds a better way to filter through all the world barf. I would appreciate it if, rather than making the focus a "click every few seconds" pulse, they used it as an in-world reason to just put the damn "this is a climbing spot" markings on everything, while dialing back the intensity of that contrast and lowering the saturation of the world. But also, I've still got 30+ hours of this game to play, so I'll keep my fingers crossed it might improve. Thanks for the video and I look forward to more!
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