Crossing borders
1) I'm pretty sure I mentioned here before that one of the consequences of the pandemic would be an acceleration of cross border television content which, until very recently, was practically non-existent for American audiences outside of PBS (and even then, again until recently, was almost entirely British or perhaps Australian).
But the writer raises an interesting point about how, even when we know better, we learn about life in other countries from TV in particular, and while this viewpoint is often wrong, it makes a big difference if we have 1 or 2 data points or none at all.
2) A month or so ago I got some LEGO video games, and included Pirates of the Caribbean. I had played it before on the Wii but had originally rented the game and thus never got 100% because I didn't have enough time. I decided to get it for the Xbox and start over because I hoped the graphics would be better and portions of it less dark. And they were, though largely because I kicked up the brightness to 80% or so.
However it was clear to me why I remember this game and why it was popular enough that it's been converted from its 360 version.
This game was, I think, the pinnacle of the early LEGO games. It contained some elements that had been in use before such as gold bricks for level achievements, red bricks (or hats in this case) for improved abilities and stud multipliers, and minikit elements to be collected. But added to this were a few new developments such as Jack's compass items to be found, the use of a spyglass to follow actions (and, often, transition a game from one scene to another) and the beginnings of a "hub world" and a large character set for purchase.
The spyglass and compass features were relatively unique to Pirates. The hub world was also very basic, essentially a primary dock and beach area where one began all the story elements (or free play replays), a tower and dock area where the minikits were displayed, and a "town" area with one building and a cabin. But importantly, all the red hats were found in these areas, not in game, and it was also where one would encounter and buy all the characters. This last process was rather random, in that you had to hope they'd appear, then briefly fight them before you could purchase. But I found it went pretty quickly. I was able to collect all the characters within a single session of about half an hour.
However whereas before about 90% of a game was either the story play or the free play, in Pirates it was about 65% with the remaining content coming from discovery and collection in the "hub." And while one could exit and save the free play at any time, there was enough to do during these expeditions that one still had to play the whole level again minus the cut scenes.
Another thing that made Pirates a standout is that you could, essentially, get the whole story of each of the four films in 5 different story sections. There were no voices or dialogue yet, so it was rather vague unless you were familiar with the canon. But the playable elements tended to recreate action sections of the films or at least moved the story forward. More recent film-based LEGO games have often had long cut scenes with short little interactive elements, some of which seem created more for the purpose of giving the gamer something to do than because the playable sections have that much to do with the movie developments. This is probably because these projects were rushed to release soon after the films rather than focusing on creating a memorable game.
Apparently some of the glitches I experienced were not just because this was a used game, as similar things happened the first time I played. But because this was before LEGO started creating save points within a level, I had to play one level 3 times because in the second section and then the third, things that were supposed to appear didn't, making it impossible to complete. I also had the game freeze up on me several times when I apparently moved too fast for it to make changes, though luckily these reboots were in the hub area and not during a story level.
In this second experience with the game I found much of the play self explanatory, although some bits were confusing enough that I had to consult a walkthrough. Because I was able to get a studs multiplier early I was able to play the entire free play levels with all the characters I needed, plus the red hats activated including invulnerability. This was definitely handy for a number of free play activities, but it having the code for dancing Jack Sparrow was a real life saver. Being invulnerable did not keep one from being inundated by attackers, but having Jack as even a second character would often keep them busy dancing while I'd be searching for an item.
I never got any explanation for why the tower in the town would turn the hub from day to night, there seemed to be no benefit to it. This element was used much more effectively in later games like The Hobbit or Marvel Super Heroes when you could only encounter certain activities during one or the other.
One nice bit though is that there is an extra level upon completion which more recent games no longer offer. Although most of them now have such extensive hub worlds that one can hardly complain about a lack of content.
3) The issue of video game culture and history going away is particularly acute given that it needs to run on specific devices.
"[W]hat is being done to preserve the games and their source codes? No answers currently exist. And, if you believe that video games are a form of art and culture, that's very much a problem. Put yourself in the shoes of a preservationist or museum for video games. What in the world happens to this culture from here? Where does the DLC go, given that it's very much a part of the art of the game? Where does the source code go? How will someone 25 years from now be able to experience this art in the same way you can walk into an art museum and see an exhibit."
Xbox at least is acknowledging that there's an issue, without which I wouldn't have been able to write my review above. Sony, however, is very much not
4) I didn't think I'd be making travel plans this early in the year, and really for myself I'm not. But Mike's vintage baseball team will be trying to play this summer and they begin practice this weekend. And he plans to go to Indianapolis for some auto races next month.
As a result we needed to book him some hotel rooms, some at places he stayed before and a few new ones. It made me realize how much I missed traveling. Their tournament schedule is pretty tentative since it also depends on how many players other teams manage to field. But I'm considering going to the Chicago area with him. I am definitely craving food we can't get locally, as I've tried out a bunch of new places this past year, but it still doesn't change the fact that every 3rd restaurant is primarily a burger joint and every 6th one a pizza place, and we don't eat either very often (or in my case, at all).
We even tried out another new, to us, pizza place today, Jet Pizza after Mike decided he liked the Detroit style pizza we got last month. Yet it was not available at our local Pizza Hut outlet. From what I could tell online this is because it was actually very popular rather than a bust, leading to shortages. I don't get what the shortages would be of since it's not like the basic ingredients are different but that was the explanation. I thought Jet's pizza was ok. Certainly it had a better edge and bottom crust than the Pizza Hut one.
Of course, there have probably been a lot of closures around Chicago too so there's no guarantee some places we've been to before are still open (and we'd be getting food to go anyway). But I'm thinking about it.
5) The Phantom Thread was tedious in its first half. But about halfway through my eyebrows went up. I have not watched Misery and its premise is horror, built on the pathology of a fan. But in some ways, this was just a classier and less histrionic version. We don't get any indication that Alma was aware of Reynolds prior to having him come in the café, or deeply interested in fashion. But frankly that would make more sense given the rapid way that the two connected and he spirited her back to London to serve as a combination of lover and model.
What I found remarkable was that this seemed like a h/c fantasy come to life, with Alma poisoning him (perhaps more severely than she intended) in order to make him pliable enough to have him open to her as she wished. And his hallucination of his mother suggests that his attraction to Alma, who he says is someone he has been waiting to meet, was based largely on her physical similarity to this missing idol. So little wonder that he was more open to her when at his feeblest.
While one couldn't say that his personality changes, his sense of his own mortality makes him break free of some of his most stodgy and finicky traits, and he marries her and she takes a bigger role in his work. But it's a temporary solution, so the movie ends with him willingly poisoning himself again in an effort to meet her halfway. Then Alma imagines what their future together might be like, fairly conventional with a child (and Cyril babysitting) and her being more of a partner in his business.
It's left open, of course, as to whether or not this will work, or if she might end up killing him. But I found it remarkable that I heard nothing about this aspect of the film before watching it. Although it did well in terms of award nominations, the movie barely broke even and the reviews don't seem to have mused much on how the movie turns on this element.
I'm also curious about the title of the film. To me, the Phantom Thread that holds all 3 main characters (and anyone else is just a cameo) together is the dead mother. Cyril and Reynolds are clearly compatible in nature, although I daresay Cyril adapted herself to him early on. I don't see her really wanting a family of her own, but I don't imagine she saw too many options for herself other than working for him. At least that way she has a place in society, likely at least as good as had she married and been on her own. I think dealing with Reynolds' habits was as much mothering as she wanted to deal with. We get no interiority of Cyril at all so who knows how her mother's loss affected her, but it did create her connection with Reynolds, hence the thread.
View poll: Kudos Footer-275
Comments at Dreamwidth
.
But the writer raises an interesting point about how, even when we know better, we learn about life in other countries from TV in particular, and while this viewpoint is often wrong, it makes a big difference if we have 1 or 2 data points or none at all.
2) A month or so ago I got some LEGO video games, and included Pirates of the Caribbean. I had played it before on the Wii but had originally rented the game and thus never got 100% because I didn't have enough time. I decided to get it for the Xbox and start over because I hoped the graphics would be better and portions of it less dark. And they were, though largely because I kicked up the brightness to 80% or so.
However it was clear to me why I remember this game and why it was popular enough that it's been converted from its 360 version.
This game was, I think, the pinnacle of the early LEGO games. It contained some elements that had been in use before such as gold bricks for level achievements, red bricks (or hats in this case) for improved abilities and stud multipliers, and minikit elements to be collected. But added to this were a few new developments such as Jack's compass items to be found, the use of a spyglass to follow actions (and, often, transition a game from one scene to another) and the beginnings of a "hub world" and a large character set for purchase.
The spyglass and compass features were relatively unique to Pirates. The hub world was also very basic, essentially a primary dock and beach area where one began all the story elements (or free play replays), a tower and dock area where the minikits were displayed, and a "town" area with one building and a cabin. But importantly, all the red hats were found in these areas, not in game, and it was also where one would encounter and buy all the characters. This last process was rather random, in that you had to hope they'd appear, then briefly fight them before you could purchase. But I found it went pretty quickly. I was able to collect all the characters within a single session of about half an hour.
However whereas before about 90% of a game was either the story play or the free play, in Pirates it was about 65% with the remaining content coming from discovery and collection in the "hub." And while one could exit and save the free play at any time, there was enough to do during these expeditions that one still had to play the whole level again minus the cut scenes.
Another thing that made Pirates a standout is that you could, essentially, get the whole story of each of the four films in 5 different story sections. There were no voices or dialogue yet, so it was rather vague unless you were familiar with the canon. But the playable elements tended to recreate action sections of the films or at least moved the story forward. More recent film-based LEGO games have often had long cut scenes with short little interactive elements, some of which seem created more for the purpose of giving the gamer something to do than because the playable sections have that much to do with the movie developments. This is probably because these projects were rushed to release soon after the films rather than focusing on creating a memorable game.
Apparently some of the glitches I experienced were not just because this was a used game, as similar things happened the first time I played. But because this was before LEGO started creating save points within a level, I had to play one level 3 times because in the second section and then the third, things that were supposed to appear didn't, making it impossible to complete. I also had the game freeze up on me several times when I apparently moved too fast for it to make changes, though luckily these reboots were in the hub area and not during a story level.
In this second experience with the game I found much of the play self explanatory, although some bits were confusing enough that I had to consult a walkthrough. Because I was able to get a studs multiplier early I was able to play the entire free play levels with all the characters I needed, plus the red hats activated including invulnerability. This was definitely handy for a number of free play activities, but it having the code for dancing Jack Sparrow was a real life saver. Being invulnerable did not keep one from being inundated by attackers, but having Jack as even a second character would often keep them busy dancing while I'd be searching for an item.
I never got any explanation for why the tower in the town would turn the hub from day to night, there seemed to be no benefit to it. This element was used much more effectively in later games like The Hobbit or Marvel Super Heroes when you could only encounter certain activities during one or the other.
One nice bit though is that there is an extra level upon completion which more recent games no longer offer. Although most of them now have such extensive hub worlds that one can hardly complain about a lack of content.
3) The issue of video game culture and history going away is particularly acute given that it needs to run on specific devices.
"[W]hat is being done to preserve the games and their source codes? No answers currently exist. And, if you believe that video games are a form of art and culture, that's very much a problem. Put yourself in the shoes of a preservationist or museum for video games. What in the world happens to this culture from here? Where does the DLC go, given that it's very much a part of the art of the game? Where does the source code go? How will someone 25 years from now be able to experience this art in the same way you can walk into an art museum and see an exhibit."
Xbox at least is acknowledging that there's an issue, without which I wouldn't have been able to write my review above. Sony, however, is very much not
4) I didn't think I'd be making travel plans this early in the year, and really for myself I'm not. But Mike's vintage baseball team will be trying to play this summer and they begin practice this weekend. And he plans to go to Indianapolis for some auto races next month.
As a result we needed to book him some hotel rooms, some at places he stayed before and a few new ones. It made me realize how much I missed traveling. Their tournament schedule is pretty tentative since it also depends on how many players other teams manage to field. But I'm considering going to the Chicago area with him. I am definitely craving food we can't get locally, as I've tried out a bunch of new places this past year, but it still doesn't change the fact that every 3rd restaurant is primarily a burger joint and every 6th one a pizza place, and we don't eat either very often (or in my case, at all).
We even tried out another new, to us, pizza place today, Jet Pizza after Mike decided he liked the Detroit style pizza we got last month. Yet it was not available at our local Pizza Hut outlet. From what I could tell online this is because it was actually very popular rather than a bust, leading to shortages. I don't get what the shortages would be of since it's not like the basic ingredients are different but that was the explanation. I thought Jet's pizza was ok. Certainly it had a better edge and bottom crust than the Pizza Hut one.
Of course, there have probably been a lot of closures around Chicago too so there's no guarantee some places we've been to before are still open (and we'd be getting food to go anyway). But I'm thinking about it.
5) The Phantom Thread was tedious in its first half. But about halfway through my eyebrows went up. I have not watched Misery and its premise is horror, built on the pathology of a fan. But in some ways, this was just a classier and less histrionic version. We don't get any indication that Alma was aware of Reynolds prior to having him come in the café, or deeply interested in fashion. But frankly that would make more sense given the rapid way that the two connected and he spirited her back to London to serve as a combination of lover and model.
What I found remarkable was that this seemed like a h/c fantasy come to life, with Alma poisoning him (perhaps more severely than she intended) in order to make him pliable enough to have him open to her as she wished. And his hallucination of his mother suggests that his attraction to Alma, who he says is someone he has been waiting to meet, was based largely on her physical similarity to this missing idol. So little wonder that he was more open to her when at his feeblest.
While one couldn't say that his personality changes, his sense of his own mortality makes him break free of some of his most stodgy and finicky traits, and he marries her and she takes a bigger role in his work. But it's a temporary solution, so the movie ends with him willingly poisoning himself again in an effort to meet her halfway. Then Alma imagines what their future together might be like, fairly conventional with a child (and Cyril babysitting) and her being more of a partner in his business.
It's left open, of course, as to whether or not this will work, or if she might end up killing him. But I found it remarkable that I heard nothing about this aspect of the film before watching it. Although it did well in terms of award nominations, the movie barely broke even and the reviews don't seem to have mused much on how the movie turns on this element.
I'm also curious about the title of the film. To me, the Phantom Thread that holds all 3 main characters (and anyone else is just a cameo) together is the dead mother. Cyril and Reynolds are clearly compatible in nature, although I daresay Cyril adapted herself to him early on. I don't see her really wanting a family of her own, but I don't imagine she saw too many options for herself other than working for him. At least that way she has a place in society, likely at least as good as had she married and been on her own. I think dealing with Reynolds' habits was as much mothering as she wanted to deal with. We get no interiority of Cyril at all so who knows how her mother's loss affected her, but it did create her connection with Reynolds, hence the thread.
View poll: Kudos Footer-275
Comments at Dreamwidth
.