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The point in having things is that they possess some practical value, that to some degree empowers you.
This is no less true of art than of a wrench. A wrench is a physical tool; a novel or a painting or a videogame is an intellectual or emotional tool. Every perspective we absorb further helps us shape our own ideas, much as a hammer and saw help us shape a room full of lumber.
Bangai-O Spirits is like Treasure Sudoku Challenge. No structure, no context; just a smörgåsbord of random levels. It’s… kind of hard, right from immediately. And the controls and rules are both way more convoluted than the Dreamcast version.
It does, however, have the best level editor ever, and (apparently) the best means of sharing. Not seen fit to reach out yet, however. This reminds me of my NES Lode Runner days. All those “programmable series” games with their non-functional save functions, fresh and unedited off of their Famicom Disk System and jammed into a solid-state pre-battery cartridge — who needs a save function? A blackboard and colored chalk did me fine.
I always wanted one of those NES controllers for handicapped people, where you moved a D-stick with your chin and you used a straw for the buttons. Suck for A, blow for B. Imagine combining that with the Power Pad and Power Glove. Eat your heart out, Fred Savage.
(Still need to reply to a few people. Hurm.)
Arrrrffff
I’ve got several people I need to talk to. I’ve been practically dead the last two days, though. I pulled together the energy for the party on Thursday, yet I think that sapped what reserves I had. This past day was spent mostly in and out of bed.
While I lay there, I watched the Netflix DVD of Duck, You Sucker (aka “A Fistful of Dynamite”) that had been gathering dust under my TV table. I’d put off watching it, after being less than thrilled with Leone’s other “Once Upon a Time” movies. I can see why the US distributors went with the title they did, though. Although it’s got some of the unchecked excess of Leone’s later movies, in character types and theme it practically follows right out of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. James Coburn’s character is basically Lee Van Cleef’s (in either Eastwood movie); Rod Steiger’s is basically Eli Wallach’s. All they’re missing is “The Good” — which makes sense, thematically. And there are narrative consequences to that.
Artistically, this hovers somewhere around the same level as GB&U. It’s not as polished or subtle (or nearly as much fun), yet in some ways it’s more ambitious. It grabs the undercurrents of the earlier movie and runs with them — all of which again fits, sort of.
Not sure I need to watch this repeatedly. Still, it’s a heck of a pleasant surprise. He directed something without Clint Eastwood in it that isn’t complete wank!
What the hell? Leone only directed seven movies? The two trilogies, and an early loin cloth epic.
So I guess that gives an idea of where this sits.
Fuf. Maybe if I bake that pizza.
Not as objectionable as most parties! It helps when you know several people, and several others know you even if you don’t know them.
The papercrafts I printed up vanished pretty quickly. Guess they were a hot item; people kept grasping at the table long after they were gone, rooting through scraps and refuse in hopes of undiscovered treasure.
I did not expect the chocolate fountain.
I’m guessing a third of the people there had no clue what Braid was. Either they wandered in off the street or were innocent plus-ones. That’s okay.
I was expecting a wilder mix of Microsoft execs, video bloggers, and ex-Insert Credit forumites. Perhaps we got off lucky.
That was a pretty good idea, all things considered!
