Q&A: April 5th, 2023

Snuron Asks
Have you ever seen Puss in Boots The Last Wish?

I have not, but heard that in this market of "gritty" films that its a breath of fresh air.

SierraTheBlueJ + Jake Malone Asks
Have any experience with fighting games? And if you already play them do you have a favorite game/character?

The most I've played is Soul Caliber VI, absolutely loved its simplicity, flow, and variety of character weaponry. Only problem is the god damn supers. I don't know why fighting games are obsessed with having the most powerful move be mapped to two triggers that plays exactly one animation.

Had it not given into gimmicks like that, I probably would've kept playing Soul Caliber instead of dropping it eventually after two dozen hours.

Same thing happened with MK11.

Favorite character?

Jade.

For both gameplay reasons and shallow reasons.

K The Shy Kat Asks
Are you looking forward to the Barbie movie and will you dress in colorful clothing for the premiere?

Blonde and blue eyed Canadian, I basically am Ryan Gosling, so yes.

andylad Asks
Do you think a story like Spec Ops The Line could be told today with success? Or would it be too graphic or controversial for todays climate? I really want a spiritual successor.

Absolutely.

Call of Duty in-terms of subject matter is as graphic and """"controversial"""" as Spec Ops ever was, only difference was execution and commitment, which is a pretty big difference.

Nuance in storytelling is often something that doesn't get appreciated about art until many years down the road, and what separates work like Spec Ops versus say, Arcane, is that the former is admittedly pretty bland and boring on a surface level.

Should a player not care about its subject matter, they're just playing another 6-7/10 shooter from the 2010s.

Arcane meanwhile can absolutely be appreciated on a surface level with its outstanding visuals and animation, that happens to be supporting work that carries far more detail in its characters, plots, and world than most shows ever bother to do.

Call of Duty often inhabits this awkward middle ground, where it confronts graphic or controversial topics but only on a surface level, and while this makes for great essay content which can effectively make an example out of Call of Duty, fact is, it works for most players, myself included.

It's not that Spec Ops couldn't be done because of content, it's more it couldn't be done because you can't sell a company on the profit of said content.

There was a period after Bioshock that companies thought gritty player-focused tragedies could be a successful formula, which then went out the window after all the inspirations like Spec Ops flopped hard.

The_SurvivOr Asks
Since the subject is popular this week, In order of favorite to least favorite, how would rank the John Wick series? I'd probably go 1-2-4-3. There's something about the simplicity of the first that I enjoy a lot and can rewatch over and over. Plus how it feels more self contained.

As somebody who didn't really like many of the movies except Four, it'd probably be 4-2-1-3 for me. Three does have the best action scene of the series though, that Knife fight is genuinely incredible.

Submit your questions in the comments below, for future Patreon Q&A's.