For information on the "20 Days of..." contest, please see https://n4g.com/user/blogpo...
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Congratulations to oasdada, our tenth day winner!
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On the eleventh day, the question we have for you is "Who do you think designs the best characters and worlds for video games?"
This one is extremely easy for me, Chris Avellone.
Let's just list those credentials: Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment (my favorite game of all time), Icewind Dale, SWKotOR 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin II.
The guy has his hands deep into some of the all time best RPGs out there and it's uncommon that the issues with a game are from his designs and world building, but typically from other elements of the game. Chris Avellone has been a household name for me since Planescape and has rarely disappointed me. Even Alpha Protocol was an enjoyable game for me, and I didn't even know he had a hand in the game until years after its release.
MonsterVine: "Duck Detective is short enough to feel a bit lacking, and some of its mystery-solving gameplay could be polished into a more satisfactory experience."
Bliss Brain has announced that Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is being censored on PlayStation owing to changes demanded by Sony.
Complete BS. I hate their recent censorship crusade. I used to back Sony pretty heavily, but I am not cool with any censoring. Let art be the art it was intended to be. I'm an adult. I promise I can handle gore, boobs, cussing and anything else thrown my way. If Sony continues down this route, I seriously doubt I'll be purchasing their next console. Hell, it took me until just recently to buy a PS5... I bought PS1-PS4 pretty much the day they launched. I just don't like the direction Sony is going lately.
At the end of the day, you're speaking for yourself here. You make it sound like the policy is wrong because Snookies12 can handle boobs and gore.
In reality, I think you miss the point that the censorship is unnecessary because, well, there is such a thing as the ESRB. Sony or any company applying their own censorship policy is just redundant and adds a layer of needless oversight, regardless of whether people can "handle" the content, made much worse because it is applied asymmetrically. Ultimately, the ESRB will do its job in informing the public about content included in games generally. From there, it's up to the parents to decide whether their child can manage the content. Because really, in a society without children, I reckon ratings boards and censors would be out of jobs.
If they insist on this kind of silliness, if there is anything I've learned from Stellar Blade (and Steam games, apparently), all you have to do is:
(a) launch without any censorship and allow for an optional patch to be downloaded to censor it;
(b) Launch censored but allow for users/main console account to remove the day one patch;
or
(c) Do nothing. ESRB and caregivers can figure it out.
I'm partial to (c), but any kind of enforcement is just weak.
Apparently they are removing the 2 endings where you marry your father and your caretaker. And boob slider.
Reading that and seeing that thumbnail...do platform holders have to allow anything to be in a game?
They shouldn't. There should have to be some limits. And Sony may not want the trouble involved even if they aren't making the game themselves. News media would have a field day with it. And you know there's going to be someone who hates PlayStation that will contact the media and tell them about a game on the system where the anime girl gets big boobs and marries their adoptive father or butler. Which we have seen that butlers are like father figures too like in Batman.
And, apparently, we have Woody Allen's on N4G who don't mind at all.
"But but but I can handle it." Sony's going too far."
Sometimes, games go too far. Have some ever thought of that?
Sony: Stellar Blade can have sexualized outfit it's alright, The Last of Us Part 2 can have rape that's treated as romantic
Also Sony: Wait this game is Japanese, CENSOR IT RIGHT AWAY
While most would prefer a new one for the PC; this is not a bad option. Level Infinite and Electronic Arts have begun pre-registration for Command & Conquer: Legions, a mobile strategy game coming to the App Store, Google Play.
Yoshitaka Amano. His work on Final Fantasy is legendary. He also designed one of my fave characters in the series. Vivi. Before Nomura mucked up the series with belts and zippers. We had Amano. His art is not just great in gaming but is legit museum-worthy art pieces. Anything from Japanese cover art of the games to the characters. They always had a poetic flow to the art. Full of detail yet elegant.
Fumito Ueda. Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian all have his distictive style stamped on them and are unique gems.
Warren Spector. Ultima VI, Wing Commander, System Shock, Thief, Deus Ex. Dude has been around quite a while and still makes great games.
Yoji Shinkawa
Hideo Kojima, the man is a genius.