The "Breath of the Wild"ification of games nowadays (particularly first party Nintendo games) is legitimately one of the most frustrating trends in all of gaming imo
No, I don't want my Metroid game to have shrines in a big wasteland with nothing in it to be more like BOTW. No, I don't want an open world Mario Kart if the actual track design is going to suffer because of it. And certainly no, I don't want games that would work fine if they were linear (or even just open zone instead) being open world for no particular reason.
Legitimately it is hard to play any game that comes out these days because everything must be a giant open world with small mini challenges on the map because "Well Breath of the Wild did it! We can too!" No! Stop it! Genuinely please stop! I'm tired of every game being open world! Limitations on what the player can do or where they can go can be a good thing! I will take cohesive level design over massive worlds that have nothing to do in them!
Profanity filters on single-player games are just so... incredibly performative. They don't 'protect' the player from seeing the word (you have to type it in order to activate the filter), the only thing they do is scold the player.
My favorite solution to people who get offended at the things they themselves typed is a disclaimer on a puzzle page that said "If you type profanity you will see it."
Out: Can you pet the dog?
In: Can you name yourself Fuckface McShitass?
It's really funny and jarring when you encounter a profanity filter in a single-player m-rated grown-up game for adults, but I don't think they even make sense in kid's games. If anything I think "If you tell the computer to call you FuckNugget it will do that" is exactly the sort of obvious, low-stakes 'actions have consequences' lesson that's perfect for kids.
"This impacts nobody but yourself, and even then it does not alter gameplay or the intended experience, however we cannot allow it and you need to know we disapprove of offensive language. Anyway have fun in Gorequest 4: The Tittening."
Join the Bird of the Month Club before 1/30 and you'll receive the Hooded Crow in February! Crow mail will go out 2/2. 💌
working at an exotic animal hospital has its ups and downs but genuinely one of my favorite parts is when the Techs walk up to me and present a bird like this
Apparently ICE now has agents posing as utility workers to get into people's homes. The electric and gas companies have posted information on how to tell if it's one of their workers, and numbers to call to confirm whether they've sent someone to do utility work on your house.
Stay safe, friends.
Some people have shared stories of suspicious “sales representatives” knocking on homes, asking about the home owners and who lives there, fishing for phone numbers, but do not provide business cards, company id, company phone numbers, etc when asked.
They come in pairs, never one person though one may hag back a bit. They have been seen using cars with significantly tinted windows, no business logos anywhere on the vehicle, or parking close to the home they walked up to only to drive away right after without visiting other homes, almost as if they’re not real sales people.
True door to door salespeople need a sort of peddler’s license, subject to city and county law, to solicit at your door. You can ask to see this permit. If they don’t provide one or make an excuse, they are likely bogus.
They wear a jacket with a company logo but likely don’t wear name tags and the Don’t provide id.
Tell them you’ll call the company about a noncompliant representative. Make them leave. Better yet not to open the door to them, and tell them nothing.
Actual sales reps also generally do follow “no soliciting” signs. Be aware, be safe, don’t give out your information or that of others under duplicitous means.
