Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

maybe it's supposed to be kept basic and simple for the next generation. i mean... it's pokemon? i don't think it's one of those thing that's is supposed to grow with you. it's supposed to catch a new generation into merchandise submission.


*Edit* like blue clues or dora the explorer isn't supposed to evolve with you, you're supposed to evolve passed it.

Dexit.

I pretty much loved Gen 3, but didn't play Gen IV+. I played this for 8 years instead of keeping up with the handhelds.

From a certain point of view, sure. I don't think games should be subject to that sort of thinking, because games can be for all ages whatever their aesthetic.

If you find a game fun, then it can be a lifelong hobby/passion. No one really out grows games, in general. Humans have made myriad games, and have venerated and pedestaled many of them (Football, Soccer, Golf, Battle Royales etc).

The unhappiness comes when the sport inherit in the game is altered or reduced. It changes the game.

Although, unhappiness with a game can also come if it's in a series that keeps teasing innovation and new things, but then fails to deliver.

By growing up, games do become easier to play. Particularly anything involved on a table top or in a digital interface.

However, video games have the unique problem wherein part of their appeal are the things not directly related to the gameplay. They also suffer from the unique problem that different people have better or worse ability to interface with and play them. This generally results in the "dumbing down" of games, which changes the game enough to make it less fun for veteran enthusiasts. They also can suffer from graphical choice / operating engine choice impacting the gameplay itself, too.

Pokemon was initially aimed at kids in the 90s, and the premise was bug collecting, but with fantasy interpretations of animals with battles to give it an obvious, easily engaged with competitive aspect. A lot of small changes over the years have brought the competitive portion of its gameplay on stage, getting everyone in on effort values and the like, while the elements around the game have had little to no input, instead opting for weird mini games.

A ton of people love pokemon, and they just want a basic game with the ability to catch every single pokemon. There's like 900 pokemon now. Instead of doing this, though, they continue to steamroll out remakes and games similar enough to the old that you might as well still play any of the Gameboy color ones and have a superior experience.

So a lot of folks want something from the series, and they have the fear that they'll miss out on getting it if they put the series down. They also like to see what new things get added.

I think the TL; DR is, Pokemon fans love Pokemon and always will on some level, and they still want to have fun with the series. They can't anymore though, because it's become obvious that production of the games is not about creativity or fun but profit. The idea that they are only for kids is an excuse.

The original games weren't even as easy as they are now... Nowdays you can just mash the A button and win. I honestly don't know what age group they are aiming for, seems like toddlers at this point. What a shame because I'd say the overwhelming majority of their fans are adults, I don't have the data to be sure but it seems that way at the least. Digimon seemed to have caught on to that already, the majority of their fans are adults, and they have kept going with that in mind.

Pokemon were always easy for anyone minimally invested on RPG/grind.

For example, you didnt even need to be much over lv50 to beat the game on the original version.

Gold and Silver actually brought the only real challenge with the fight against Red, who had lv80 pokemon in its arsenal (IIRC).

There was the magical concept of the extra super rare stronger version of the pokemons, but again, it was just for collection purpose (I will never forget catching shiny Lugia then forgetting to save and reseting it. I also think I found a shiny weedle or caterpillar but then, those pokemon are too weak for endgame. Finally once I got the pokevirus that I read could make pokemons stronger but I also reseted the game before knowing it).

Patient zero.

Kinda reminded me of Digimon - Digimon World 1.

That was a messed game for me.

Visually pretty funny, good concept of exploring the world to recruit new villagers so they could improve the city.

My only issue was the *** up Digimon developing system. That I had to spend some time doing boring training to increase its stats, undertake some obscure paths to digivolve then seeing the fighting for of the Digimon just lasting a couple of hours before regressing to child stage.



And I think I kinda beat the game just using spitfire because it was the fastest / cheapest technique I could pull off. The rest either was too slow, being constantly interrupted by enemies, or too expensive that I could just use one or two and running out of "mp" would spell failure because the Digimon had no option to fight back.

Pokemon has always been one of the most accessible franchises on the planet. Isn't it the most successful IP ever made or something?

I get quality-of-life, but at a certain point that just means that the game no longer requires player input. Why do they need to make Pokemon of all things more accessible?

Part of the fun is making those fifty-fifty decisions and calling your opponent's strategy. But who needs that when all of your Pokemon are 12 levels higher and the game graciously offers you to swap out in response to your opponent's next Pokemon? Who needs to know that water is super-effective against fire when the game highlights Water Gun instead of Tackle? Where's the satisfaction of beating your rival when now they choose the type weak to your starter and fully restores your whole team before fighting you? Why even buy potions when every 100 steps there's another Pokemon Center?

At some point "QOL" improvements get in the way of having fun.

Pokemon was always a collectors game where the real goal was catching all the monsters available, even if that mean catching that near end game species that just get to the last stage after lv40 meaning you gonna be grinding it just for the sake of evolution.

IDK how are the current game, catching 150 pokemons in the original was great challenge (not hard but enough to entertain for long hours - well actually quite hard at that time as it wasnt that easy to find another GB to trade, at least at my town it wasnt like everyone had a GB neither that they had Pokemon and were willing to trade. Communication was nowhere near what we have today).

But then every game there was more hundred of new pokemon so that you suddenly stop caring about the new ones introduced. You are surely very fond to Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pikachu, then you are kinda interested in the next three one which names I already dont remember, then all the pokemon introduced after that was just a disposable image. No attachment at all.

It like those long running series/manga where the story goes that much far that you end with dozen different new characters to develop and care, leading to many episodes being wasted just for whatever random filler to give some spotlight to a newly introduced character just because its new, while negleting the original one, that normally are the ones the public relates more.

Thats kinda whats Pokemon (IMO, at least what I felt after Ruby/Sapphire). That long running series with thousand of new character that you dont care at slightest.

And you bet, if I get to play a new pokemon, my main party certainly will have Charizard, Blastoise and Venossaur if it allows. Not Raichu/Pikachu because I always thought they were weak pokemon.

The cool thing about Pokemon though is that with each new batch, at least one or two will catch your eye. Unless you're extremely hardcore, "catching 'em all" is pretty far out of reach. But the idea that you can get a full party of your favourites is pretty fun.

The problem is that if you aren't overcoming obstacles with your Pokemon then it feels pretty empty. Starting out with Charmander and having to overcome your rival's Squirtle and then the Rock and Water gyms before you really filled out your party was difficult but rewarding.

That game was the best!

So, just finished Cowboy Bebop. I'm lowering my previous score from a 4/10 to a 3. The portrayal of Vicious is really terrible, and it just drags the show down. They softened him up so much that his character doesn't even resemble the source material.

Not just that but they rip so many of his lines out of the anime and drop them into this show and every single one of them sounds terrible. It's pretty mystifying how they can focus so much airtime on this character and yet completely miss the kind of person he is supposed to be.

He doesn't fear death, at all. The anime ends at the top of a staircase with him squaring off against Spike, and Spike literally says let's kill each other and Vicious says okay! And yet in this tv show he flinches repeatedly at the prospect of dying.

Despite all their promises to honor the source material, referring to it as "hallowed ground," they don't get a single aspect of the characters right. Even Jet, who is cast perfectly, does not resemble the original character.

So, maybe next time, Space Cowboy. Or better yet, maybe not. Leave Cowboy Bebop alone.

We're 4 or 5 episodes into new bebop, and I don't like that vicious basically pops in on every episode to make sure you didn't forget about the cartoony villain

I haven't watched the original in some years but if I recall he had like maybe 5mins of screentime in the entire show lol and Julia you just saw her hair until like the final 5 episodes, left it more of a mystery piecemeal

Other than that, I think it's fine so far, they couldn't have found a more perfect jet, I don't expect it to be a 1 to 1 (or I'd just watch the orig), but spike/jet/fae seem to at least keep the spirit of the old cast

Warcraft 3 stuff,

Dunno if any of you are familiar with the Youtube channel, "Townsends," but they're an channel dedicated to old timey cooking/building etc. Historical reenactment type stuff.

Absolutely fascinates me!

Next time take it in the buttcheek to avoid that.

Hmm. Sore butt, or sore arm...?

Damn, mine took 2 months to recover (pfizer).

It was a hassle doing gym with my arm like that.

Me, first shot sore for a few days.

Second shot sore for a week.

Booster sore for a few hours.

My first and second shot I was sore for less than 24 hours. Though the night after my second shot I did have chills for about an hour.

Still ineligible for my booster. Manitoba government flubbed distribution really bad at the start, so we're really behind.

Not sure which American horror story of the day is worse. The guy that drove into a crowd with an SUV killing a bunch (at least 5 at current count) of people or the 7-month-along preggers Philadelphia mother that was executed after her own baby shower with one in the head and one in the belly.

If there was a mass school shooting, I would have had America Bingo too.

Awe ***. Ghostbusters and the new RE, it's a gooooood movie week.

YouTube reviewer channels this weekend were like:

Thats every week just with the new movie/show.

My youtube feed doesn't have a single RE movie "review" in it though. A billion manage to pop up before every movie but RE stayed totally under the radar.

I've suddenly become addicted to sound equipment why didn't anyone warn me

I haven't seen a lot of critic reviews that love Bebop, it's coming in at a sub five rating. The most they can say is the music is great, which, duh. It's Yoko Kanno.