magic_lobster_party

When they started with episode 3 they’ve already worked on Half Life 2 for more than 8 years. Most good ideas had already been explored, and they struggled to come up with new ones.

At that point it’s easier to start with something fresh where they’re not confined with the expectations of what a Half Life 2 should be.

Some that come into my mind:

Sekiro Devil May Cry 1 & 3 Wonderful 101 Armored Core 6

I think these games are better on the subsequent playthroughs. Sekiro also has that itch no other game is able to scratch.

I think it shows that Valve has built a strong culture for creativity that’s hard to replicate. Their approach to play testing. The “flat” company structure.

What’s evident from the HL2 documentary is that there’s no single mastermind behind the game. There’s no Hideo Kojima or Will Wright. It’s the creative output of many individuals.

I watched the full documentary now. It’s clear they were burned out of Half Life when they started with Episode 3. The idea to deliver a new episode every 12 months wasn’t creatively sustainable. So they put it on hold while they worked on L4D and other projects.

They hoped the episodic delivery of games would be the future. Especially alongside a digital distribution platform like Steam. I suspect they realized episodes wasn’t the way after the release of Orange Box, so they moved on from that.

Do you know why?

The type is dynamic. It can be whatever you wish.

Apparently it’s super successful. Has made $3 billion within a year.

The demo they showed is mostly a 1 hour cinematic with barely any gameplay. Fancy graphics, but if I want to watch a movie I watch a movie.

Scope creep commonly happens when there’s no clearly defined scope or vision that keeps the scope in place. Star Citizen clearly suffers from this. It’s a space sim game where seemingly anything goes.

Squadron “Feature Complete” 42

What a legend!

A few years ago it was sensational when someone managed to clear a few levels in max speed. Now all max speed levels have been beaten.

What’s next for NES Tetris? Feels like it’s more of an endurance game now.

I beat him first try before the nerf update. Sounds like skill issues.

For me it’s the opposite. No money no deal.

My body is Water Temple:

• Pain
• Pain
• Pain

Link to the original artist because her art is amazing: https://www.lilyseikajones.com/

I haven’t played Plucky yet, but this is what I liked about Tunic. It gives you a hint, and then trusts the player to experiment with the hint they’re given. It makes it feel like your own adventure.

I agree, and I count that as “key information that’s difficult to understand from the code”.

IMO, comments should be used to provide value to the code. If they’re used too much, then readers of the code will more likely stop reading them altogether. They already got what they need from the code itself and the comments usually don’t add much value.

If they’re sparse, then that’s a good indication they’re important and shouldn’t be missed.

I think comments are good as a last resort when it’s difficult to communicate the intention of the code with other means.

If I find code that’s hard to understand, I’ll first try to find better variable or function names. Often this is enough.

If it’s still too difficult to understand, I try to restructure the code to better communicate the flow of the code.

If that doesn’t help (or is too difficult), then I might add a comment explaining key information that’s difficult to understand from the code.

It was featured in a PlayStation showcase last year. The most notable part of the trailer was a burger. I’m not kidding.