BLIND'S PROFILE

author=Tau

Mapping itself looks good.

There's something...a bit garish about those tiles, but I can't put my finger on it. XD Do you think you'd start a new/short project in MV?

author=Skie Fortress
From what I understand, all of that city footage was cut and put into Kingsglaive. Noctis and his buddies were shunted out onto a field trip to miss the whole thing, while Nomura's initial designs were to have them in the thick of the Niflheim invasion.

It's a bit more boring imo, and it cuts out a huge chunk of the backstory to a movie you'll have to pay to see. But heeeey.

Yeah, I gotcha. I researched it a bit more and I think you nailed it on the head. XD

I'm about twelve hours in...it's a very different sort of Final Fantasy. Most of the main "storytelling" - if you could even call it that, feels very opaque or in the background. I knew the focus would be on Noctis and the party etc...but I didn't realize just how far they were going to take that concept.

Even the game itself, doesn't feel like it takes seriously the events and backstory, if that makes sense - those cutscenes are thrown in very rarely and sporadcally. (And when they do happen, it seems out of left field.) Most of the dialogue in this game is delivered through silly one-liners or side-quests. Perhaps that's the route they needed to go in order to "modernize" Final Fantasy and reinvigorate the franchise; but I also feel like it loses something, too.

On the other hand, I appreciate they at least *tried* to sculpt a larger plot...versus something like Skyrim. Taken solely as a gameplay experience, FFXV is very very enjoyable. You grow to love the combat the longer you play. The environments are gorgeous (if repetitive), and Yoko Shinomura even did a good job filling in for Uematsu.

I'm also not the typical player I guess XD I grew up with the older paradigm of jRPG and maybe I'll always be partial to it. If their goal was to attract a wider audience, and experiment with a new direction for the franchise, they definitely succeeded. I've heard the later half becomes more narrative-focused, so I'll hold off on giving any larger opinions.

Wow, I haven't seen a cheesy live-action commercial for a jRPG since...I don't remember. XD




Has anyone bought/played this yet?!

author=Solitayre

author=harmonic
Wow BM I uh.... didn't expect this level of candor I gotta admit. Well said.

We all saw what happened the other night. You say we live in a bubble and turned a blind eye to everything, but I live in the heart of the Rust Belt. My family is exactly the kind of disaffected manufacturing demographic Trump should have appealed to. You know that I myself was unemployed for many years. I know exactly how they feel. Many people in my family voted Trump. I think they were, very, very wrong to do so, and are going to be betrayed, but I understand why.

They will be betrayed, without any doubt. Trump struck a cord with that demographic - but 95% of it was entirely hollow. Most of those manufacturing jobs are NEVER returning to the United States in the way he so eagerly boasts about. Automation, technology, and simply our "new" economy is not going away, nor is multiculturalism. Entire industries and labor-driven jobs will continue to vanish or significantly change, without having any kind of clear successor.

His isolationist, "back to basics" point-of-view has a clear appeal for people who feel disenfranchised (similarly to Bernie), a lot of families in rural/white America...but his campaign is entirely devoid of actual solutions. This is where liberals need to reach across the line, try to empathize with the existential fears, and come up with real answers.

author=slash
And so I'd argue: these are people worth talking to on a real, personal, critical level. Empathize with their thought process and get them to empathize with you. Some people will never change their minds, but... These are people we share the world with, and I believe communication and critical discussion will help create the bonds we need going forward. Take care of yourself and the people around you who need help, first. But, there is a gap to be bridged, and a bridge that needs building. I can't count on anyone else to build it for us.

Yeah, agreed completely.

If we demonize people only by virtue of voting Trump, we're no better than they are. It's the same as insinuating all Hillary voters stand behind her years of shady hypocrisy, the corporatist agenda, etc. It's simply not true - so to take that stance is a bit dehumanizing/reductive. We have to be willing to listen, and bring the moderates to the side of civility and empathy.

There was a very real, tangible basis for a demagogue like Trump to appear, that some liberals underestimate. He appealed to the mounting populist outcry, their working-class struggle, and in some cases, the rejection of multiculturalism in America. By comparison, Hillary had almost zero appeal for true liberals, progressives, and populist working-class. They simply didn't buy into her schtick.