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Weeknotes 3

I finished playing the Skate 4 (“skate.”)… campaign? Missions I guess? Not even sure how much you can say one can “finish” an early access video game, but there’s certainly very little to do in the game now at this point. Really feels emblematic of the current states of Big video games, a pretty popular game series finally gets the sequel that everyone wanted, but it’s a free-to-play skinner box treadmill with horrible writing, no soul, and so full of bugs that I’m shocked it shipped like this, even in early access. Did I enjoy my time with it? Sure. Can I see myself going back to it for any reason other than as a mindless hangout vehicle for conversation game? Not really!!! And that’s super disappointing since I was a big fan of Skate 2!!

The one upside to it being a live service game is that theoretically they could update it further down the line to patch in everything the game is missing, but I kinda can’t imagine it will when so much of what it’s lacking is fundamental design choices (like all of the art direction and level design). Like where’s the low, fisheye lens camera? Where’s the blown out lighting and camera shake?? Where’s the variety in environments??? OH WELL

It’s kinda crazy going on youtube and watching videos of Skate 2 and remembering just how interesting the level design was in that game. Such a huge variety of environments that flowed together so well, like being up in the mountain area and bombing a hill down into the city is so sick, or the tunnels that lead to the school area, so cool!!!! The entire Skate 4 map just being a city downtown isn’t interesting at all.

A few days after writing the above, I got a copy of Skate 2 in the mail for PS3, so much of it feels like a relic from 2009 (the wild FMV intro, the bloom and blown out highlights, the weird way it handles player gender (by simply always using male pronouns)) but there’s such a strong hook and the way that it just throws you right into the game without a really long tutorial is nice. Not to mention, I think there’s something cool about not having every inch of the map covered in challenges. It makes you see areas the game itself isn’t pointing out and makes you want to skate it, adding a sense of discovery. I’ll probably just keep replaying Skate 2 instead of going back to 4, unless someone wants to play multiplayer I guess

Speaking of video games, I started playing Stray Children which I think I’m enjoying? The art and world and music are really nice, but not being able to quick-retry a fight is really annoying when the whole combat system is figuring out the puzzles, but you aren’t always given those puzzles. I’ve since learned to just run from anything I don’t have the book page for yet, BUT it’s taken me like 2 hours of gameplay to figure that one out lol. I’ll come back to it for sure!!!

I finally replaced the battery on my iPhone 12 mini that I’ve had since 2020 (though the battery, and entire phone, was replaced 2021). Four years for that tiny battery to get to 79% capacity isn’t bad!! Hopefully it’ll last another four :’)))) Maybe now that they have the 17 Air they’ll make another small phone, or at least I can dream………….

Extra Life was on Saturday! Our annual work event where we raise money for the boston children’s hospital, this year we raised over 3000 dollars (thank you to Allie, Ethan, and Sean) and it was such a good time! Love to introduce my coworkers to the Peak of local multiplayer games, Videoball and Towerfall. I need to have people over for like a board game night but instead it’s 2014 local multiplayer video game night

I finally got Mariah’s gift box from her trip to Japan :’) so many cute nathan-core stickers and this art book by 横 yoko who i had never seen before but WOW it’s so nathan-core, i love it so much, and the nanga x duckhead umbrella that i requested lmao, thank you mariah!!!!!!!!!

Things I’ve been into this week!!!