Actually, I'll expand one point about the "immersion" issue. So, I talked about the hand-painted backgrounds and such as part of the GA aesthetic, but it's not even the painterly/cartoony effect (the former more characteristic of Sierra and the latter of LucasArts) that matters so much as what we might call the…

I don't actually remember the games clearly enough to give them a solid endorsement now, but as a middle-schooler I enjoyed two Sierra one-offs that seem to have largely disappeared from collective memory: The Adventures of Willy Beamish, and Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist.

I've this claim before (on this very site, I believe) that it was the unintuitive puzzles and increasing difficulty that "killed" graphic adventure games. But that seems like a very weak claim to me. I might buy it for killing off Sierra's particular franchises, but even then, I think Sierra had more internal problems…

My question would be, though, if it's really "the studios" that are refusing to embrace a new model. Are the studios really saying "We don't want to make our content available to Canadians"? Or is it more likely that it's the Canadian distribution channels that are telling the studios "We demand that you give us…

Ah, I had not considered the problem of non-U.S. access to those services. But what is stopping a native company from matching Netflix — or even Amazon? Is it restrictive government policies? Or is it just a failure of the big media producers to have good distribution contracts? Or is it local distribution channels…

And, of course, the other aspect that is frequently overlooked in the focus on the bottom-line that so frequently dominates this kind of discussion ("does piracy hurt artists/industries financially or does it not") is the basic idea that creators should have some rights over the use of their creations. It really…

So do you reject the very idea of intellectual property? Do you reject patent law? Should all software be public domain the moment it's released? Or are you only objecting to the legal protection of "content"? If you reject it all, then fair enough, but I have doubts that eliminating the concept of intellectual…

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime (which combines subscription content with individual rentals). How are these not what you're describing? And Steam has no subscription content, so I don't see why it is your proposed role-model — the iTunes store (and Amazon digital video) basically offer direct downloads of a wide catalog.…

There was also a wonderful sort of "I'm doomed" feeling that you got in those turn-based games that doesn't really happen in real-time combat games. With real-time games, you can get a "Oh no, I'm getting overwhelmed!" feeling, but that's just not as cruel or heartbreaking as having just run out of movement points…

"While Flirt Off’s lovelorn bobble-headed pixel hipsters look like
actual sweaty twentysomethings at actual parties in the present day,
the game’s fashion sense will serve as a hilarious and embarrassing time
capsule by the time 2017 rolls around."

Also the original X-Com/UFO game had missions frequently set in suburbs or farms that could nonetheless be absolutely drenched with dread and tension.

I'm not entirely convinced that a season-long arc was such a radical thing as the review seems to want to make it out to be. I mean, you're already looking at a serialized show, with storylines routinely running 5-6 episodes. That's a month of viewing that you couldn't just drop into at any point and easily find your…

I haven't seen any other Silurian stories besides this one and the first NuWho 2-parter. Is there ever an explanation for why the "third eye" goes away?

I absolutely agree about the creature design here. If you picture the Silurians with make-up jobs rather than masks that would allow you to see the actors' eyes and mouths, the improvement to the overall drama of the story would probably be enormous. It's not just an issue with the suspension of disbelief; it's that…

On the other hand, in RTS games like the old Age of Empires, you could actually deforest the map and mine up all the gold and find yourself in the late game with no more resources. Apparently people found this "not fun" and so most RTS games now feature bottomless resources that you merely have to control and defend.…

Of course,etymologically, hypocrite means "actor."

Another Joubert doc on lions and hyenas called "Eternal Enemies" is on Netflix streaming, and is one of the most captivating and emotionally wrenching nature docs I've seen. It definitely puts you in a Hobbesian mood though, contemplating the brutality of the "state of nature…"

"Sometimes it really can just be someone not wanting to get brutally raped by a Minotaur."

One rephrase and I'd agree: "Any cinematic joke that revolves around a male character being humiliated by a sexual power dynamic is a variation of 'gay panic.'" Or, more accurately, "gay panic" jokes are just some of the most common examples of jokes based on how American straight male sexuality tends to narrowly…

A Note: I haven't seen "Your Highness," so I can't specifically comment on its jokes. They may well work differently.