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Esperienza interessante, rilevante per dimensione storico-culturale ma un po' una palla al cazzo a giocarlo

Fa parte di una trilogia di titoli tra loro scollegati chiamata "Cinematic Live" (シネマティックライブシリーズ), con l'ambizione di proporre in forma videoludica un'esperienza prossima a quella del cinema. Trae forte ispirazione prima dalla letteratura Lovecraftiana e, in corso d'opera, dalla filmografia di Dario Argento, "Phenomena" in particolare: l'artwork della protagonista è identico a Jennifer Corvino, la colonna sonora riprende lo stile delle OST dei Goblin, etc.

L'esperienza ludica che se ne trae è nuova per l'anno di uscita; fino a quell'anno, nelle varie declinazioni del gioco horror venivano integrati sistemi di combattimento tali da rendere il protagonista capace di usare armi contro i propri aggressori, anche in quei casi in cui si impersonava un individuo relativamente ordinario (e.g.: "Alone in the Dark")

Al contrario, stavolta si è alle prese con una protagonista che si affatica e incespica, che ha bisogno di riposarsi per ripristinare la propria energia fisica, che si inpanica e che non è in grado di ferire i propri aggressori (ok non proprio ma spoiler): si può dire il capostipite di una certa quantità di horror psicologici, dai Silent Hill ad Amnesia

Il level design è abbastanza complesso, la magione è enorme e include numerose stanze con all'interno una certa quantità di oggetti con cui interagire. Tra le cose particolarmente interessanti ci sono un parametro di panico, rappresentato dal proprio avatar su uno sfondo colorato (il colore cambia in base al panico, ergo alla quantità di eventi spaventosi di cui la protagonista è spettatrice), e il fatto che si tratti di un gioco particolarmente aperto: è possibile recarsi in certe parti dell'abitazione prima di altre, a propria discrezione; questa libertà di scelta si riflette anche sulla tipologia di sequenze attivate (es.: andando prima nel bagno, si troverà il cadavere della propria amica; proseguendo senza entrarvi, invece, si vede l'assassino fiondarsi dall'alto buttando di sotto anche una delle vittime). A questo segue anche la possibilità di accedere a otto possibili finali, in base anche alla quantità di cose scoperte durante l'esplorazione

Edit: riconsiderazione fondamentale. Prima ho parlato di un parametro di panico, basandomi su alcuni articoli e sul fatto che il colore dietro l'avatar viene effettivamente alterato da eventi spaventosi (e.g.: la protagonista vede un dipinto che inizia a sanguinare).
Invece, leggendo anche il manuale del gioco originale, si parla più precisamente di forza fisica (体力), o stamina

Inizialmente avevo formulato una lamentela riferita ai movimenti parecchio lenti della protagonista, trovando quindi scorretto l'aumentare il livello di panico a causa della corsa. Prendo atto del mio errore, che però trova anche riscontro effettivo in un utilizzo ambiguo dell'HUD. Vero è che il colore dietro l'avatar indica ufficialmente la stamina; tuttavia, in presenza di un pericolo mortale (e.g.: un confronto con il killer), lo sfondo lampeggia in modo insistente. In questo caso, si entra in quella che viene definita "panic mode": il giocatore deve fare button mash per aumentare le proprie probabilità di successo nella fuga. Oggi siamo abituati a interpretare il button mash in un'ottica negativa, anche a causa del fatto che spesso e volentieri appare in concomitanza un prompt visivo; la sua inclusione in "Clock Tower", invece, funziona sempre in virtù del fatto che gli sviluppatori vollero fare in modo di mantenere costantemente un certo grado di tensione. Quella che potremmo definire una sorta di cut-scene non deve essere un momento di rilassamento da parte del giocatore, che si limita a essere spettatore: al contrario, deve rimanere coinvolto e sempre pronto a confrontare gli elementi di pericolo. Queste idee vennero poi riprese da altri sviluppatori (es.: il Team Silent per "Silent Hill")

In un modo sintetico, si sfrutta l'HUD per integrare due sistemi diversi e che dipendono l'un l'altro. La mia confusione deriva proprio dal fatto che non sono stato in grado di intuirlo, mentre sul manuale viene spiegato in modo esaustivo

La lentezza, per quanto io l'abbia trovata spesso tediosa ed eccessiva, ha comunque un proprio senso nella dimensione delle idee di game design, level design e sound design (tutto design): l'essere obbligati a spostarsi lentamente tra corridoi tetri ha sicuramente una buona giustificazione, amplificando sensazioni di inquietudine attraverso suoni diegetici (es.: a un certo punto c'è il suono di un telefono che squilla) e potendo sapere solo all'ultimo momento quand'è che l'assassino è nelle nostre vicinanze (lo segnala lo sferragliare delle forbici che impugna)

Thinking about this game, the discourse around it, the developers, the streamers, the players, the supporters, gives me spiritual depression

Insanely impressive, also maybe the funniest game ever made. There is no bigger assault to the senses then booting this game up for the first time, and it fucking rules. SHODAN is bordering the line on competent and clever, and truly pathetic throughout the entire journey across the space station which only adds to how funny it all is. If you can find it in yourself to get used to this graphing calculator ass game, its something you won't soon forget. Here's to the nice jumpers out there.

Resident Evil 4 is one of the most important games of all time, everyone knows this and why that is; it is essentially, the first "modern" game as we think of them. And a brutally difficult question you will inevitably have to ask after experiencing a landmark title like that is of course, well, how do you follow that up? If you want a simple answer, Resident Evil 5 is probably your best bet. If you want the real answer, its God Hand.

If Resident Evil 4 is ushering in the modern age of games, then God Hand feels like a celebratory send off to a now bygone era. I doubt anyone would've known that at the time making it, but considering we're only just now returning to this style of game over fifteen years after the fact it harkens completely true. God Hand was made in a relatively short development period, very obviously using design elements and ideas directly from Mikami's now magnum opus and creating something so completely different out of it. It reminds me a lot of Majora's Mask funnily enough more than anything in that regard; taking one of the most influential games of all time and using that framework to tell something completely new and fresh. All of that is to make God Hand sound very legitimate and classy, and in some regards, yes; it absolutely is. But its also fucking God Hand; maybe one of the most batshit, off the wall experiences that we got of the sixth generation.

This is the kitchen sink of action video games. Absolute ridiculous nonsense, and absolutely revels in it. Capcom during this era were pumping some of the best action games ever made during this time, and God Hand truly does feel like a grand last minute after-party. It controls oddly, but when it clicks (and it takes like five minutes for it to) your life is never the same again. Everything is snappy and responsive, stylish and cool, and so intensely customizable and yet; simple, its stupidly impressive. This game is hardcore as hell, and while "this project couldn't be made today" usually makes my eyes roll, I'll say it for this. Playing this game geniunely makes my hands sore, and I don't care for even a second. It is absurdly addicting, every punch and kick has that over the top weight that makes you feel like a God among men. The game is hard, stupidly so, and why wouldn't it be after Devil May Cry 3 was such a landmark title for Capcom; but when you play well, you feel like you're on top of the world.

The absurdity of this game also seeps well into the games concepts too. What it lacks in environments, it makes up for by doing every gaudy over-the-top decision Capcom made and then some in this game. The first thing that happens in this game is Gene complaining to his partner that a bunch of mooks he is about to beat up are sexier than her; and then youre literally kicking them across the entire map not even a minute later. Trying to explain what happens in this game wouldn't do it justice; it knows what it is and it probably knows you love every second of it, and yeah, I do, and clearly everyone else does too.

This is one of those pieces of art that in the moment, it feels like the greatest thing to ever exist. And obviously, God Hand is not the greatest game of all time; but fuck it, maybe it should be. My hands hurt while writing this after beating the final boss of the game and I couldn't be happier.

this is absolutely incredible.

EDIT: replayed, it's still a unique and temporarily momentous experience but there's definitely significant faultlines underneath the surface.

Cosmology of Kyoto is an odd artefact from an era in which the popularization of personal computers, and computer games, led to a wave of experimentation with the digital medium, which gave us a lot of very interesting pieces that don't always fit with what we currently think of when we think "computer game".

If we look at it with a contemporary lens Cosmology of Kyoto is a horror game, a point-and-click adventure, a walking simulator and an edutainment game. But I don't think that kind of labelling would do it any justice. What I would call it instead is an exercise in form. The odd, fragmented structure; the freeform almost museum-like quality of the play; the functional and mood-driving use of death, are all incredibly interesting takes on how a digital space could be structured. To an extent they feel like evolutionary dead ends, but that's not for any inherent failing of their own, but because adventure games moved from there in totally different (and more lucrative) directions.

But yeah, no, you should probably play this if you like video games.

And, like, content-wise it's super spooky while at the same time being quite interesting and informative. Perfect Halloween game tbh.

But also, I dunno, I look at Cosmology of Kyoto and its very purposeful design decisions, and I think about what could have video games been if that wave of computer games had been allowed to flourish. It feels like we lost quite a lot when the medium became this "ease of use modern fun design" monolith, and left this kind of structural experimentations, not necessarily rooted in videogame-isms, behind.

There's always been something in the 'growing/nurturing/gardening' type of games that I feel like contain the essence of saving farming games from their evolutionary dead end as Harvest-Moon-clones. I don't know what that essence is, but the point I'm getting at is that I think there's a lot more artistic potential to the theme of 'farming' besides the idealized cozy fantasy (or hypnotic rote work) that 99% of farming-related games have, be it hyperrealistic simulators or a typical Harvest Moon-like.

Games Pixy Garden makes me think of are..
- Eyezmaze's flash games of The Grow series. Clicking on things in an order transforms things in a surprising way - like an abstraction of gardening
- Astronoka, a PS1 strategy game where you breed and grow seeds to create crops with better genetics to win contests
- Birthdays the beginning - a recent PC game where you grow biomes to evolve creatures
- The rice system in Sakuna (although I've never played it)
- Evolving Pokemon, Tamagotchi, etc...
- Collecting 'girl' in modern gacha games, evolving them for different graphics, etc.

My feelings on the aforementioned games are mixed, but they all get at the idea of 'growing' in a slightly different way.

Anyways, Pixy Garden has its own idea. This game boils down to a sort of 'game-ified' Fairy Art Book. By playing the game you can view Event CGs of the fairies, sort of like a gravure idol book or erogame. (Except there's no nudity here).

Growing your fairies involves placing objects in a 2.5D garden - if the fairies are close to an Earth-mana object, they'll gain Earth points. Gain enough points and you can evolve the fairy to the next Earth Fairy stage. There's some mystery to this at first but you figure out the pattern/point thresholds fairly quickly.

Each fairy has its own cute set of animations. The other goal of the game is to terraform planets. The game has this sort of spiritual worldview by which natural phenomenon can actually be explained by fairies - e.g. an eclipse or aurora borealis is caused by a certain fairy. Fairies have the spiritual power to manifest and talk to divine figures like water dragons or dead spirits. You learn these facts both by reading the lore entry on a fairy after you've evolved it once, and by seeing Events.

How do you see Events? Well, when you evolve a fairy enough you can dispatch it to a planet. Planets, like fairies, also have mana levels. Raise the mana level enough, and you can trigger an event for a fairy if they're dispatched there. E.g., if a planet hits enough of an Earth level and I send my Earth fairy there it might trigger its Eclipse event, and you get a suggestive CG of the fairy.

--

Well, that's the essence of the game. There's some light strategy as to building up your fairies and the planets, but it's very manageable. As far as simulations go this one is pretty minimal and maybe a little too slow, even! But it was certainly interesting to have a more 'organic' feeling growth system achieved by placing the mana objects around a garden, rather than, say, making choices from a menu in a Princess game. Really, the design space of what this game is going for is very small, but it achieves it in a dedicated way that's hard to dislike.

As a last note, I think this game is unabashedly horny for fairy girls. There's like... definitely at least 30+ fairy designs with multiple CGs in this game. I recommend this for fans of fairies.

As art designs go, the illustrations and sprite work are both excellent and unique. A really fun set of designs, I'll be buying the art book somehow! The illustrator is "Choco" : https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=116161

Watch footage here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsSqiB-YfcQ







cliccatutto appassionato simulatore di un'internet di cui ho personalmente raccolto solo poche briciole. i puzzle sono soddisfacenti e stimolanti, i personaggi sono affascinanti e le loro storie urlano "porcodio sono così nato negli anni novanta", lo spazio da esplorare è profondo, labirintico e anarchico, immagino una degna rappresentazione. mi dispiace di essermi perso tutta questa creatività e più che la nostalgia di uno spazio rizomatico (porco iddio?) di cui mai ho fatto esperienza sento di provare un'amara consapevolezza che ormai l'opportunità di un mondo così creativamente spensierato è persa e non potrà mai tornare, una fomo incarnata, o post-fomo, o davvero basta sono nato troppo tardi e vaffanculo a mamt, a soreta e a questi termini pseudotecnici. è un bel gioco, magnetico e appassionante, forse anche commovente. forse qualcuno di noi può riconoscersi in certi personaggi. ogni tanto è ironico e strizza l'occhio a chi tra noi è un memazziere vero. squisherz are really cool.

"The test is over. From this moment on, you are a Raven."

To think it has been this long since I first heard those words spoken to me over 25 years ago, the day I completed my test to acquire what I had trained so hard for. To become a pilot of a mechanized terror, putting my neck on the line for some cash that entirely goes towards making my mechanical monster grow. The smell of freshly burnt steel from my energized blade slicing the enemy in two, my urge for battle only getting stronger with each successful victory and defeat that I manage to survive, it's a high that I can never get enough of. I'm just a servant, I'll go where the circle of cash flow takes me, it's only a job after all. It's nothin' personal, but it is my pleasure.

....however... work slowed down, and suddenly it seemed my services were no longer needed.

For over a decade, I stood idly by as the call for Ravens went silent as the night and I stared at my empty messages, desperation kicking in as I look towards other unsavory methods to keep my urges in check to no avail. What has happened? Were we made obsolete? What caused the interest to plummet so terribly? What am I to do? All I know is the thrill of robotic combat, I just can't understand it. How can my employer From Software just throw me away like this? I suppose they, and the world...didn't want us anymore. That's it then, guess you just can't beat the institute...

Then it happened.

I heard the notification. It was time to dust off my AC and get to work again...at long last after a decade of waiting, my calling in life has finally found me once more. My enemies will cower in fear as they hear my boosters approach as I barrel towards them like the devil that I am, my thirsty energized blade will find opponents to decimate into bits and pieces, and my gatling gun will have a reason to fire beyond just being a number that gets subtracted from my paycheck. This black and white world, screams for me to be the color red once more.....

With such a long and brutally boring pause in work, I'm surprised to find new blood amongst the ranks...greetings my newly born Fireflies of Rubicon 3... what shall I expect of you? Will you walk with the reapers, or burn with the saints? I look forward to sparring with you all.....I will see you in the Nest my brothers, sisters, and siblings...

Ten years was a long time to wait for more work...whatever it takes...whether it be ten, twenty or thirty years to get the next assignment after this, I will be waiting.....

.....and hungry for more......

....follow the buzzards....

A skillful game for skillful gamers.

Such skill to get around the terrible and gimped crouching that doesn't register your thumb naturally rolling on the dpad to begin immediately moving so you can evade the erratic patterns of the enemies!

I can't believe you got the alignment of Saturn's rings just right so that the ghosts don't spawn directly on top of you! Yowie wowie! A leprechaun must've jaywalked near your house, because the big guys decided not to constantly take a massive shit on the ladders and camp your ass! WOAH WOAH WOAH! What a fantastic god-fearing moment you had saying your prayers so the Arremers wouldn't swoop at impossible angles! Deary me! The Unicorn bosses didn't decide to charge you constantly?! How much did you pay them?! YA-YA-YOWZA! I commend your ability at kindly asking the jarheaded zombies to not pickpocket your lance and replace it with a torch! GODDAMN! You already knew the dragon in stage 3 was immune to the lance and grabbed the torch prior?! SKILLFUL ARTHUR! CONGRATURATIONS TO YOU ON YOUR ABILITY TO POWER CYCLE THE CONSOLE CORRECTLY!

rolls three dice

YIPPIE YAY! I rolled three sixes! I just beat Ghosts n' Goblins on Nintendo! What a great classic for the system!

turns into bongo cat and slaps the end of the table for the next hour

Btw, the Famicom version doesn't have continues unless you cheat code, Transformers Convoy no Nazo moment. Good fuckin' game. Glad I played three days in a row with a different experience each time. sips chocolate milx of quality