Master of the Wind

Wow, I have been really bad at keeping up with these episodes lately. Sorry about that. Coincidentally enough, I'm currently working as an intern at a refugee accommodation centre, and while satisfying work, it leaves me with very little time and energy to actually concentrate on more in-depth content like in these videos. Still no reason to take a whole month before getting back into it, but I'll try to catch up on the next episode much sooner, at least.

Gameplay-wise, I don't think I have a lot to add to what I already mentioned in my own playthrough. (Which I need to get back to soon as well, my goodness, it's been half a year at this point.) I think that duel scene with the other gunner in Boreal might have been a bit I missed when I played the game for the very first time, so it was fun to discover this secret during my second playthrough. Grinfrak's fight is also a very well-placed action sequence, since it is preceded and followed by some pretty long and heavy storytelling, so I imagine many players appreciated this little intermission.

One thing I do want to emphasise again though is that I completely agree with your thoughts on the mourning and flashback scene about Dasani. It really is one of the most powerful and well-written scenes in the game. Even as a convinced atheist, Dasani's words in that flashback touch me deeply every time. In fact, it always baffles me that you seem to have gotten so much criticism for supposedly making an "anti-religion" game, since for me, the experience was quite the opposite. I used to have a more negative stance towards religion and religious people before playing Master of the Wind, but your extremely honest and nuanced depictions helped me gain a better perspective. Even a few quite religious friends of mine who played the game agreed with me that it did a good job at differentiating between religion and religious extremism. So while like all creative works, MotW may have its flaws, this really is a complaint I can't understand at all.

Anyway, I'll try to get to the next video within the next few days. I already saw your special guest makes his return again, so that's something to additionally look forward to. See you then!


P.S.: You mentioned ArtBane is currently in a completely different location than you. Did he move, or is he just away temporarily? I haven't heard anything from him for a long time, unfortunately, so I hope he's doing well. And of course, if you ever do decide to get back to work on World Remade, I'd be happy to help out in any way I can.