Monthly Archives: June 2017

Ranneko Plays Technical Difficulties – Channel Update 2017-06-30

The Ransistance wraps up prematurely this week. I was having a great time, but unfortunately, some interaction between mods and my install has resulted in significant instability. I have recorded a couple more episodes but then I encountered a landed UFO mission that always crashes XCOM 2 when I finish up the mission. I spent way too much time trying to either fix the initial interaction or at least avoid the crash trigger, and I found a way to partially avoid the initial crash, but even loading an old save and playing normally will have the game crash after 15 minutes or so. I could restart the campaign, but with War of the Chosen only a couple of months away, I figure I should way for that to release and start a campaign then. If you have signed up to be a soldier don’t worry I will export all of the characters so they will show up in the next run!

As a result, from next week Ranneko Plays Massive Chalice will run three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hopefully, that will take us roughly to the release of War of the Chosen and then that will run 3 days a week.

The current schedule is:

Saturday: Syfro Saturdays – Ranneko and Syfro Play Thimbleweed Park
Sundays: Ranowned Explorers: International Society
Monday and Friday: The Ransistance
Tuesday and Thursday: Torment: Tides of Ranmenera
Wednesday: Ranneko Plays Massive Chalice

After the break, more about the videos that released this week!

Indie Shortieland: OneShot

One particularly neat aspect of running a small video games website and indie game review column essentially as a hobby is that I get a lot of opportunities to chase down and play that catch my eye for silly reasons (and then write them off as Patreon business expenses). This was the case with Little Cat Feet‘s OneShot, where I was drawn in the esoteric-sounding Steam blurb:

OneShot is a surreal top down Puzzle/Adventure game with unique gameplay capabilities. You are to guide a child through a mysterious world on a mission to restore its long-dead sun. The world knows you exist.

And just like that, onto my list of To-Play Text Files it went. Including, just maybe, a little *sneak peek* for the coming weeks?

Conversely, one aspect that people rarely tell you about is when you sit down with a game, pour two or three hours into it, and only then realize, quietly, “I can’t actually review this game“.

I mean, obviously I can write about OneShot. I’m doing so right now, as evidenced by the fact that you’re reading this. But… Regular readers will know I have a reviewing style that could be described as ‘exhaustive’. I’m a scientist by trade, after all, and what do scientists do when faced with something new and unknown? We dissect. We prod and poke and take things apart as far as possible, then describe the individual pieces, as a process of building up to describing the larger whole. Yes, even in the social sciences. Especially in the social sciences.

Some games can withstand this sort of clinical analysis with their gameplay experience intact. Other games can’t. OneShot is such a game. It’s a really interesting game, and I really want to talk about it in more detail. But if I just tell you all the cool things that happen, there’s a good chance that will come at cost of spoiling those cool things for you.

Hence, a Shortieland. I’m still gonna talk about OneShot, because like I said, it’s really interesting. I’ll just… try my best to hint at the specific things that make it cool. So if you’ve ever wanted to see me very obviously dance around an issue for a little under two thousand words, you’re in luck, I guess.

(Spoiler levels: Narrative, as low as I can get it. Mechanical, as limited as I know how to convey.)

(Game source: Patreon funds.)

After the break: I’m only gonna get one shot at getting this review right.

Ranneko Plays Forgetting To Post – Channel Update 2017-06-23

A habit once broken can be pretty hard to rebuild. I used to ensure I wrote these posts on Thursday nights in preparation for Friday, with the intent that at least the video links would be ready so that some of my lunch break on Friday can be spent doing any last minute revision. On Thursday nights I now have Karate which disrupts that schedule a little bit, and I of course then followed this up by having Friday off due to Midsummer here. What I am saying is that life is hard and sometimes I don’t prioritise.

The current schedule is:

After the break, more about the videos that released this week!

Ranneko Plays Runs The Buffer Down – Channel Update 2017-06-16

This post was a little delayed. It turns out getting everything coordinated again after a break is trickier than I would like. I managed to bleed my buffer almost completely dry. My buffer lasted through to Saturday the 17th, and on that day I finally edited and uploaded the video for Sunday. I have managed to sort out a number of recording sessions though and, with some effort, I have recorded and edited episodes that will last through to the 28th.

It is still shorter than I would like of course. I will work on expanding it in the comings weeks.

The current schedule is:

After the break, more about the videos that released this week!

Indie Wonderland: Splinter Zone

Have you ever heard of a gateway to the Splinter Zone? I hadn’t. The only reason I even know about (primarily) Eric Merz‘s opus is because some well-wishing soul retweeted a call to review action onto my Twitter timeline. Which is perfect, honestly. I’ve reviewed mostly higher-profile stuff the last few weeks, which is fine, but it might be nice to go back to my original roots and really dip into the indie. Look at a game that’s happy with even my C-tier level of extra exposure. As long as the final verdict isn’t ‘this game made me want to claw out my own eyes’, it’s a real win-win situation.

(Spoiler levels: Narrative, low. Mechanical, high-ish.)

(Game source: Developer review key.)

After the break: My eyes are still intact. Is that good news for Splinter Zone? Or does that mean it just didn’t try hard enough?

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Ranneko Plays Returns – Channel Update 2017-06-09

I am back! Spain was lovely, though while I was away I of course did done precisely zero recording.

I did try to keep an eye on the blog and channel while I was away, though with only a phone it was harder than I had hoped. It looks like The Ransistance has started off fairly strong for my series, gathering a couple of dozen views for the first couple of episodes.

In general, the first couple of episodes of most do a lot better than the rest, it makes sense to start at the beginning and give 1-2 episodes a try I guess. Unfortunately, I have seen no new volunteers to join the ranks. If you haven’t done so already, remember you can sign up here.

The current schedule is:

After the break, more about the videos that released this week!

Indie Wonderland: Scanner Sombre

I’ve been eyeballing Scanner Sombre for a handful of weeks now, ever since a random Rock Paper Shotgun news announcement that I since haven’t managed to find again. The theme of exploring dark underground caves through the mechanism of rainbow lights appeals to me, what can I say. I’m a sucker for some solitude. Plus, Scanner Sombre is developed by Introversion Software, the people behind such big names as Prison Architect, Darwinia, and a personally formative title of mine, Uplink. They’ve got a history of games that I find neat or at the very least interesting, and they’re applying this to a theme that I can see myself literally and figuratively get lost in for a while; I don’t want to say that Scanner Sombre was made specifically so I’d review it, but the numbers don’t lie.

Though it is interesting to note that for the longest time I mentally referred to this game as Scanner Sombra; maybe my subconscious is telling me that as much as I think I’ll enjoy a solitary cave dive, I might enjoy it even more with a cast of diverse and colourful fightin’ dads.

(Spoiler levels: Narrative, low-medium. Mechanical, high.)

(Game source: Patreon funds.)

After the break: Scanner Sombre, which I hope doesn’t actually end up making me somber. But hey, only one way to find out.

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Ranneko Plays Holidays – Channel Update 2017-06-02

I am still on holiday! I am trying to sort out these posts before I head off because ideally, I would like to just leave my laptop at home. I have am terrible when it comes to traveling light, normally I have a minimum of half a dozen different devices in my carry-on just to cover any entertainment possibilities. If I can leave my laptop at home… I will still have half a dozen devices on me but the bulkiest one won’t get in the way.

For the record, the devices I have taken with me are:

Switch
Vita
Phone
Kindle
Pebble
Bluetooth Headphones

This week brings new series! In the Monday/Friday slot I will be fighting the alien overlords in The Ransistance (you can sign up to become a soldier here). On Wednesdays, I revisit my favourite game from 2015 and play through Massive Chalice for the first time since I wrapped up my Massive Tips series.

The current schedule is:

Saturday: Syfro Saturdays – Ranneko and Syfro Play Pit People
Sundays: Ranowned Explorers: International Society
Monday and Friday: The Ransistance
Tuesday and Thursday: Torment: Tides of Ranmenera
Wednesday: Ranneko Plays Massive Chalice

After the break, more about the videos that released this week!