Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Nitro Indigo]

I don't like it when people think that the Pokémon world is perfectly analogous to the real world. Can't this fantasy world have its own identity?

 

[canisaries]

one simplifying factor about having pokemon world be homologous to the real one: can actually use terms such as stockholm syndrome, can joke about real life affairs

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I'm watching DidYouKnowGaming's new video about Mewtwo, and they mentioned the whole "Mew contains every Pokémon's DNA" thing, which just bothers me. That's not how evolution works!

Idea: Pokémon reimagined as Digimon.

 

[canisaries]

I'm watching DidYouKnowGaming's new video about Mewtwo, and they mentioned the whole "Mew contains every Pokémon's DNA" thing, which just bothers me. That's not how evolution works!

but a single specimen evolving into another species is? [thinking emoji intensifies]

Idea: Pokémon reimagined as Digimon.

but that's just normal digimon /bait

 

[Nitro Indigo]

But Pokémon evolution is clearly only called evolution because it sounds cool. That's different.

Here's something weird: Digivolution is temporary in the Adventure anime, at least, but it's permanent in the original VPet.

I've been watching a let's play of Digimon World recently, made by people who have concurrent let's plays of Pokémon Blue and Yo-Kai Watch. Interesting.

 

[canisaries]

stiiiillll think you're reading a bit too much into a franchise that actually looks you in the eye and says that "yes, this creature can soak up electricity from the ground". also "this creature has neurotoxins that controls minds"

you say ultra beast, i say ultra BS

 

[Beth Pavell]

I'm a big fan of bringing realism into fantasy - if nothing else taking cues from the real world builds a fantasy with greater depth than pure invention could ever do. What bothers me is when authors, or reviewers for that matter, start to insist on their own ideas as canon. Pokémon fandom is especially prone to this thanks to the real world inspiration in the regions, but it is just that, inspiration. You can't insist that Kalos = France when there are huge, native pandas wandering around in the wild. If you want to write Kalos as distinctly French - which I wouldn't blame you for, since I do - fine, just don't pretend it's anything more than picking up a theme

 

[CrystaI]

Idea: Pokémon reimagined as Digimon.

Here you go.

Spoiler

 

[Nitro Indigo]

You know what I'm feeling nostalgic for? Getting lost in video games. I remember getting really frustrated at all of the roadblocks in the vicinity of Valor Lakefront in Diamond when I was little, but once I finally got past them, I felt accomplished. I don't get that feeling anymore.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I kind of know what you mean. I was never much of a gamer even when I was younger, but I haven't really got right into a Pokémon game since ... well, Soul Silver, I suppose (Not to say X wasn't fun, but it wasn't quite that feeling).

Breath of the Wild has been a breath of fresh air in that regard

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I could never connect to SoulSilver. I restarted it several times when I got stuck at the league, and have sold and re-bought it multiple times. Nowadays, I know that HGSS haven't fixed several problems from the originals: Gen 2 Pokémon having 1% encounter rates in one location, overleveled bosses, and said bosses being really cheap.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I think not being able to get lost is a symptom of modern gaming. Everything these days is so easy and hand-holdy, and if for some weird reason you happen to get stuck on something, there's a guide or wiki that you can find in under a minute. I went back to some older games recently (Saints Row 2, Dragon Quest III, Link's Awakening, X-COM: UFO Defense) and jesus christ, the disparity in difference between older games and modern ones is shockingly staggering. I never noticed so the decline in difficulty must have been a gentle slope over the years, but it was brutal getting back into those.

 

[canisaries]

me: i should take my fanfiction and characters seriously
also me: *draws this*

Spoiler

 

[UselessBytes]

I think not being able to get lost is a symptom of modern gaming. Everything these days is so easy and hand-holdy, and if for some weird reason you happen to get stuck on something, there's a guide or wiki that you can find in under a minute. I went back to some older games recently (Saints Row 2, Dragon Quest III, Link's Awakening, X-COM: UFO Defense) and jesus christ, the disparity in difference between older games and modern ones is shockingly staggering. I never noticed so the decline in difficulty must have been a gentle slope over the years, but it was brutal getting back into those.

Contrasting this, Metroid: Samus Returns released on Friday and it's completely isolated. Any and all exploration is on your own and without any sort of guide. It's good to be back to classic Metroid, folks.

Also, jesus christ I haven't been so challenged by a game in a long time. This game is the embodiment of "Nintendo Hard".

 

[diamondpearl876]

I like video games less for a challenge and more for entertainment. I want a good story and at least tolerable fighting mechanics if I have to do them, and nothing impossible to beat. I never even finished Chrono Trigger, one of the most popular RPGs back in the day because the final boss didn't seem worth trying over and over, and just watched the ending on YouTube. So, yeah, I just stick with visual novels or games where there's a lot of choose your own adventure stuff, like Dragon Age, which also has an immense amount of worldbuilding and an amazing story to boot.

 

[AetherX]

I'm right in the middle as far as entertainment vs challenge goes. I like games that feel immersive, and if a game is too easy then it breaks immersion. I want to struggle and work really hard, but I don't want to die a thousand times before I beat something, because that breaks immersion even more. I really do like getting lost in adventure games/RPGs, though. Part of my love for Gen III and their remakes comes from how many random side routes Hoenn had. People bitched about the water routes, but those were the best! You could get lost really easily and end up finding a random dead end island off in a corner with some rare berries and a TM or something.

Speaking of classic Metroid though, I recently replayed a bit of the original NES Metroid on the GBA port that they released a long time ago. I love the franchise, but I'm going to be honest. That's an awful game. Beyond just being hard, it's confusing, repetitive, unintuitive, and really grindy.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Found this amusing and relevant image:

Spoiler

Speaking of classic Metroid though, I recently replayed a bit of the original NES Metroid on the GBA port that they released a long time ago. I love the franchise, but I'm going to be honest. That's an awful game. Beyond just being hard, it's confusing, repetitive, unintuitive, and really grindy.

Yep, having to spend two hours going back through Ridley's Lair and Norfair just to get enough missiles to take down Mother Brain was the absolute bane of me back in the day. Even now I don't think I'd have the patience to finish that game without putting in the Justin Bailey password.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Not being much of a gamer, I also don't have the time to sit and plug away at a game for hours at a time - especially if it's not so much hard as time-consuming. I'll bet everyone can remember a game where a puzzle solution was irritatingly obscure or based on silly logic. Damn that, I say, off to net for the solution before I throw away an hour being frustrated rather than entertained

 

[Misfit Angel]

I'll bet everyone can remember a game where a puzzle solution was irritatingly obscure or based on silly logic. Damn that, I say, off to net for the solution before I throw away an hour being frustrated rather than entertained

Point and click puzzle games were the worst for this.

"Use the gum on the innkeeper's ear to grab his earwax and fashion it into a candle that opens the door in the cavern when lit with the wet match that must be dried with the wool obtained from the sheep that's hidden behind another locked door."

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Food for thought: action-adventure games are a lot like action games, but very different to adventure games. I want to make a video about how video game genres make no sense. Besides the one I just mentioned, there's also people sometimes calling Spyro games (3D platformers) action-adventures, and how vague of a term "RPG" is.

In one episode of chuggaaconroy's let's play of Superstar Saga (when they're in the ocean), he talks about how when you're a kid, you sometimes play a game without making any progress.

I want to find out what makes Sinnoh special to me, beyond nostalgia. The song "Together" is so Sinnoh-ey in a way I can't explain.