I remember as a kid I tried forming a logic quandary like this that so I would gain superpowers in the real world via my dreams by canceling out the dream/real world barrier.

Yeah, I'm fine with leaving the difficulty subject alone; as you said, it becomes pretty polarizing.

What you describe about a more individual, self-owned experience is often what makes novels/writing so compelling to people, since they generally come from one crazy mind, undoctored. Even then, you might be surprised how many different professional editing roles tend to go into a very refined book.

Movies and games tend to involve an order of magnitude more people, not all of them holding the title of "Game Designer" but all having a very important form of input to the end product, both for effort and for decisionmaking. If the studio's lawyer takes a look at a virtual vending machine's set of drinks and says "No, change those two, they run a risk of lawsuits from Pepsi", is that "outside censorship", or does the lawyer count as "part of the studio" because he's at the same risk of publisher layoff as everyone else?

The hazy answers to that question, in my mind, are part of the reasons I don't find the "Author vision, unfiltered" argument so compelling, especially as games involve larger studios. I think you're right at least that it does create something more unique when a smaller, talented team is given reigns, eg Half-Life 2 or Expedition 33.

It's not the first subject where I've heard that sentiment, the other big one being difficulty in video games. But it's pretty disingenuous, since most great media authors I know seek some level of feedback on their creation, and adjust based on how people have perceived it because some part of their work isn't quite coming across how they'd hope. Valve famously does oodles of QA testing on all their properties.

The question isn't just between "Is providing attractive characters good/bad". It can also be more nuanced, like "I want to make this character really attractive, but some people feel soured by the designs I've given where she has a bikini. Is there some way to design her that's still really visually appealing, in a slightly sexual way, but also feels enjoyable to people who view her more as a role model?"

A great example of that nuance was in the "Tracer victory pose debacle" in Overwatch. Tracer had a victory pose that was just her, facing away, shoving her butt out. Someone commented that it felt off-kilter for her personality, and Blizzard ended up replacing it with another one. A censorship crowd wailed on the occasion, but when comparing the two poses, there's a more reasonable take there; the ass-centric pose didn't fit the character much, and the new one was both cute and still managed to show off her slender legs while also fitting the "pilot" theme. It also helps that media of that type has a lot of character designs on offer, so it might just be a matter of hitting more archetypes correctly, instead of everything leaning in the direction of "big booba no clotha".

There’s probably a good opportunity for a more detailed discussion on sexuality in media here.

Several things are true. One, I think most commenters agree the guy posting this is likely a sex-obsessed misogynist. Two, some people do get uncomfortable, or lose immersion in media, based on certain costume designs. Three, some people would like to see more sexualization/attractive characters in media for their own enjoyment, and in certain contexts that’s not always a harmful thing to ask for.

It’s also made trickier because for groups both for/against sexualization of various forms, they’re often shy about discussing it. It’s a subject that leads to fast accusations of censorship, prudishness, or misogynistic deviancy or gender hatred.

Still, I do think there’s better balances to achieve by allowing a bit more communication. Wonder if this makes sense as a YouTube video or just a more open-ended thread question starting with a poll.

I gave up on Monster Hunter almost entirely because of Roars.

It’s one of two things; either it’s a non-forecasted dodge roll moment, boiling down all of Souls design to “Use roll iframes at the exact right moment 8 times in a row”…OR, it’s a flow-breaker to the battle where you and the opponent are both stunned for about 5 seconds. Doesn’t matter what combo you were eager to practice with your 8-foot tuning fork-crossbow, all goes on hold because the monster wants a break.

Sorry, probably not so relevant but it broke me off the series so much I wanted to mention it.

I think because they’re an indie dev attempting the discussion as a form of self-promotion, by filling the page with topics that lead towards their own work.

On some level, I can understand as I have works I made that were hard to advertise - but there’s a lot of slop that can push to the front of a page of social media if self-promotion is allowed. If it’s partially allowed, it’s favoritism.

I finished this game, and I kinda hate that so many people get locked out by gameplay and performance issues. By the end, your unlocked abilities are great, the story and character development are very well-done, and there’s a lot of optional stuff if you like.

It’s especially impressive given the writing task is “The Empire is winning, there’s no imminent disaster, no sequels can mention anything Cal accomplishes, make an interesting story from that”. It even handles topics like the Dark Side a bit better than other Star Wars media.

I have no interest in any of those solutions. You can only form your build for one specific task, and Earplugs are just one that requires dedication to it. Basically “you can play the game, but can’t experiment”.

Applying a counterattack against a non-physical action that is extremely difficult to predict is counterintuitive and unsatisfying. It also kind of funnels you into weapons that can take that action.

If I could mod the games, I’d just make roars a “taunt” that has no effect on the hunter and lets you wail on them. Or, cancel that behavior.

Keep talking if you’ve ever taken offense to the way Orlando Bloom has been depicted, or been made uncomfortable by his depiction. Otherwise, I’d say let it go.

Same. I’m a gooner. But I like building into the fantasy. I like the role play starting with “Ooh, I’m a tough mage overestimating herself, here I go in this dungeon” - but starting that mage out in nothing but a thong pulls me out.

Write situations where it makes sense to briefly see someone in their underwear, I won’t deny being satisfied. But you’d have to write. People still need regular clothes

Irony doesn’t make it better. Every self-censor is trying to use irony.

I never did quite get much visual appeal to Code Vein. The character design is still very gray and dark to my eyes, as is the environment.

Eh, I will admit I tend to notice poor takes from people who refer to half the population as “females” routinely.

It’s accurate, in the same way “a bag of flesh” is accurate. But it’s also strictly “othering” for many phrases where you could just be talking about all people, or use the simpler “women” or “men”. Besides, it’d be perfectly fair to knock a lesbian for being excessively horny to the point she wants Supergirl to look sexually exposed in a fight.

I will apologize for nitpicking words, though. It can get grating.

How can AAA games all be soulless if they’re all Soulslikes?

Some games on Steam are actually run without DRM; so if you find that out for some set of them, you can likely back them up as files.

Would Days Gone count for this? It didn’t hold my attention, but it seems pretty centered around a motorbike.

If I’m guessing right from the faded gray color scheme, Arknights Endfield, a very graphically detailed gacha about 4-person teams and factory-building.

Yeah, key detail being, if we started listing car crashes from the past month, it would take up the whole thread.

It’s claiming to be 6 times faster, and then it’ll turn out to be an Electron app.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope otherwise…

This is a writing scenario I’ve envisioned in a book (in part because said book needs a villain, and villain bad)

A dad realizes on some level that his son isn’t just “gruff” like he is, but just plain mean and evil, and that none of the moral core he’s instilled has made it in - it’s not even upbringing, just that the kid is hateful and never self-reflective. And for a very short moment, he thinks about violent action.