Recently, I decided to give Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica a watch, since it was written by Gen Urobuchi, who also wrote Psycho-Pass, my second favorite anime ever. I absolutely loved it, but it wasn't actually Urobuchi's writing that caught my attention. It was the art direction. It had such a unique feel to it, and I don't think I've heard much in praise of it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that art design really isn't discussed much when it comes to anime, which is odd considering how much more important it is to good ol' Nippon than it is in the west, generally speaking. So, I thought I would outline a couple design elements that I personally think are really important, and don't get as much discussion as I'd like.
I've always loved the ideas behind Pokemon. It's the pioneer of the creature-collecting subgenre, and its popularity comes with good reason. It's a jack of all trades, the perfect turn-based game for people who aren't even interested in such RPGs in the first place. When a new game in the series is about to come out, chances are, I'll be looking forward to it. However, for those who are unaware, it's pretty surprising to hear that I've never played a main series Pokemon game to completion. I'm always having a good time playing for quite a while. My starter (or in the case of Pokemon X, starters) gets somewhere slightly above the level 20 mark, then I get to a point where the type charts really matter. The rest of my Pokemon are somewhere lower, and I have to grind. That's the furthest I ever get, every single time. The reason? At that point, the game just isn't fun.
Contains Spoilers for Inside Out Every once in a while, my family has a Christmas gift labeled "For Everyone", and it usually means a game that everybody wants, a rare occurrence now that my older sister isn't very interested in some of the games my brother and I want, or a movie. This year, it happened to be Inside Out on Blu Ray. I wasn't expecting to like it that much, but since I was already loaded with the entirety of K-On and Psycho Pass, I was set anyways. I guess I was surprised by how funny the movie is, because I'd honestly recommend it solely on the comedy, but I was right about my suspicions. It was narratively weak, with a decent framework but painfully empty execution. I think it's a prime example of the problem I have with Pixar's writing nowadays.
If you listen to people talk about games in the way I do, you've probably heard the term "elegant" or something similar used to describe an indie game before. I've heard it for everything from Super Meat Boy to Fez to Cave Story, and every generally well-reviewed game in between. And while I wouldn't consider all of those games fitting of that description, I understand what the word means in such a context. But what does it mean if somebody calls an indie game "elegant"? I mean, they're all simple games, right? What makes the difference between something "elegant" and something just plain? Well, I'd like to take a quick look at a couple games to demonstrate what this means, and when it is and isn't applicable.
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Chase Moran
Your local weeb trash. I like video games, long walks on the beach, and sarcasm. Archives
January 2016
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