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Captain Scandinaiva
Mar 29, 2010



Backed Pathologic! Read a bit of that LP a long time ago, didn't understand much, looked interesting.

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RadicalR
Jan 20, 2008

"Businessmen are the symbol of a free society
---
the symbol of America."

Mirificus posted:

Agness Kaku now has an archive of correspondence with John Szczepaniak, of The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, on her Versus John Szczepaniak website.


http://versusjs.blogspot.jp/2014/09/complete-message-archive.html

Holy poo poo, their lawyer is going to have a field day.
Isn't this tainting the jury pool?

OJ MIST 2 THE DICK
Sep 11, 2008

Anytime I need to see your face I just close my eyes
And I am taken to a place
Where your crystal minds and magenta feelings
Take up shelter in the base of my spine
Sweet like a chica cherry cola

-Cheap Trick

Nap Ghost

RadicalR posted:

Holy poo poo, their lawyer is going to have a field day.
Isn't this tainting the jury pool?

They're litigating in France and a verdict is scheduled for next week. I suspect that as it's not a felony, so it wouldn't be a jury trial, just a panel of judges.

Modus Pwnens
Dec 29, 2004
Has anyone here watched the DVD? I'd be interested to know if (drama aside) it's worth picking up. (Specifically, how much of it is behind the scenes/interview footage and how much is Japan tourist stuff?)

Modus Pwnens fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Sep 5, 2014

Yodzilla
Apr 29, 2005

Now who looks even dumber?

Beef Witch
Backer survey just went out for SUPER HOT, here's hoping it's coming soonish :getin:

Demiurge4
Aug 10, 2011

Don't know if this was linked yet, but Darkest Dungeon have a gameplay video up on YouTube and it's just really cool.

Pavlov
Oct 21, 2012

I've long been fascinated with how the alt-right develops elaborate and obscure dog whistles to try to communicate their meaning without having to say it out loud
Stepan Andreyevich Bandera being the most prominent example of that

Demiurge4 posted:

Don't know if this was linked yet, but Darkest Dungeon have a gameplay video up on YouTube and it's just really cool.

Holy crap that looks fantastic. I am so glad I backed that. I coughed up enough to design an item, still trying to figure out one metal enough to live up to that.

Demiurge4
Aug 10, 2011

Pavlov posted:

Holy crap that looks fantastic. I am so glad I backed that. I coughed up enough to design an item, still trying to figure out one metal enough to live up to that.

I had a few idea for that but I didn't back for that tier myself. My idea was a locket with the picture of a girl you could find in one of the starter dungeons that would protect against morale loss, like a memento of happier times. Then if you encountered her zombified corpse in the darkest dungeon it incurs a total morale loss on the hero carrying it. If you destroy her and bring her back for proper burial the locket would give the morale protection to the whole party.

My other ideas were all generic weapons crap.

RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


Pavlov posted:

Holy crap that looks fantastic. I am so glad I backed that. I coughed up enough to design an item, still trying to figure out one metal enough to live up to that.
Seriously, this is shaping up to be one of the better Kickstarters. And yeah I gotta think of a non-lovely character and item name, the last update mentioned it'd probably be a few months until they send out the surveys for that so there's still a lot of time. I'll probably just steal something from Norse mythology, that should fit in well.

Original_Z
Jun 14, 2005
Z so good

Modus Pwnens posted:

Has anyone here watched the DVD? I'd be interested to know if (drama aside) it's worth picking up. (Specifically, how much of it is behind the scenes/interview footage and how much is Japan tourist stuff?)

I have the DVD. Not so much tourist stuff, just a lot of interviews and footage of rare and unreleased games. I was satisfied with it overall.

AnonSpore
Jan 19, 2012

"I didn't see the part where he develops as a character so I guess he never developed as a character"

RightClickSaveAs posted:

Seriously, this is shaping up to be one of the better Kickstarters. And yeah I gotta think of a non-lovely character and item name, the last update mentioned it'd probably be a few months until they send out the surveys for that so there's still a lot of time. I'll probably just steal something from Norse mythology, that should fit in well.

A horn full of mead that you can never drink dry so you can always rest the maximum amount in dungeons, but because it's actually just connected to the sea, it doesn't really quench your thirst, so some/all of your rested health sloughs away after you return to town :v:

Drifter
Oct 22, 2000

Belated Bear Witness
Soiled Meat

AnonSpore posted:

A horn full of mead that you can never drink dry so you can always rest the maximum amount in dungeons, but because it's actually just connected to the sea, it doesn't really quench your thirst, so some/all of your rested health sloughs away after you return to town :v:

But then don't you just rest in town at that point, with zero repercussions?

Doorknob Slobber
Sep 10, 2006

by Fluffdaddy
I guess Planetary Annihilation has been officially released now and no longer in early access or beta. Thats the first Kickstarter that I've backed that has finished.

MikeJF
Dec 20, 2003




Reason posted:

I guess Planetary Annihilation has been officially released now and no longer in early access or beta. Thats the first Kickstarter that I've backed that has finished.

Everyone's saying that realistically it needs to be in beta for a while longer, and this might be a money-puller move.

Drifter
Oct 22, 2000

Belated Bear Witness
Soiled Meat

Reason posted:

I guess Planetary Annihilation has been officially released now and no longer in early access or beta. Thats the first Kickstarter that I've backed that has finished.

is it still online only?

MikeJF
Dec 20, 2003




Drifter posted:

is it still online only?

Yep. You can play against AI but it has to be server-hosted; no local games. And no single player campaign.

Apparently there's also some concerns about server stability still.

Drifter
Oct 22, 2000

Belated Bear Witness
Soiled Meat

MikeJF posted:

Yep. You can play against AI but it has to be server-hosted; no local games. And no single player campaign.

Apparently there's also some concerns about server stability still.

Jeeeesus Christ that's.... huh.

S.J.
May 19, 2008

Just who the hell do you think we are?

I thought it was only ever planned as a multiplayer game anyways?

MikeJF
Dec 20, 2003




S.J. posted:

I thought it was only ever planned as a multiplayer game anyways?

Single-player skirmish-mode against AI and online multiplayer are the main playmodes they promised. Skirmish has always been a huge feature of the genre and has been planned since day one. But they did also say they were going to develop the skirmish mode into a kind of procedurally randomised campaign of singleplayer progression through the galaxy.

Apparently the AI kinda sucks rear end right now too, and balance needs a lot of tweaking. I kinda wish they'd set up an AI API so people can write their own, given that the community has spent ages happily doing that for open RTSes in past. And let people have an experimental mode where they can play with unit balance values.

MikeJF fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Sep 6, 2014

S.J.
May 19, 2008

Just who the hell do you think we are?

Fair enough. I backed it at the lowest tier it took to get in on and haven't been paying attention to the updates for a while :v:

MikeJF
Dec 20, 2003




S.J. posted:

Fair enough. I backed it at the lowest tier it took to get in on and haven't been paying attention to the updates for a while :v:

Yeah, the progression campaign was the very last stretch goal they hit. I'm not too bothered by that one to be honest.

Pavlov
Oct 21, 2012

I've long been fascinated with how the alt-right develops elaborate and obscure dog whistles to try to communicate their meaning without having to say it out loud
Stepan Andreyevich Bandera being the most prominent example of that

Demiurge4 posted:

I had a few idea for that but I didn't back for that tier myself. My idea was a locket with the picture of a girl you could find in one of the starter dungeons that would protect against morale loss, like a memento of happier times. Then if you encountered her zombified corpse in the darkest dungeon it incurs a total morale loss on the hero carrying it. If you destroy her and bring her back for proper burial the locket would give the morale protection to the whole party.

My other ideas were all generic weapons crap.

Ooh that's pretty good. Maybe I'll steal that if I can't think of anything better. Otherwise I feel like I'd need to know more about the details of the game system to make a cursed item that fits well enough. (and of course it needs to be cursed look at this loving game)

SaltyJesus
Jun 2, 2011

Arf!
One of the projects I backed mentioned Warlocks in an update, don't think it has been posted here.

Lucy Heartfilia
May 31, 2012


Darkes Dungeon has easily exceeded my expectations. I'm glad that I backed it. And the Weald is also pretty creepy.

PaletteSwappedNinja
Jun 3, 2008

One Nation, Under God.

Modus Pwnens posted:

Has anyone here watched the DVD? I'd be interested to know if (drama aside) it's worth picking up. (Specifically, how much of it is behind the scenes/interview footage and how much is Japan tourist stuff?)

There's some interesting stuff there that won't be in the book (or anywhere else) but it's mostly just small individual snippets of the full interviews, as far as I can tell, as well as some uninteresting tourist-y crap. The production values are non-existent - it's just a bunch of randomly stitched-together handicam stuff, basically, so it looks/sounds quite poor, there are no subtitles beyond whatever's hard-subbed, it all looks like something he knocked up in his bedroom.

The book itself (that is, the first volume) is available for general purchase now, by the way.

lordfrikk
Mar 11, 2010

Oh, say it ain't fuckin' so,
you stupid fuck!
I didn't back it but it looks really intense and atmospheric, will probably pick it up when it's released.

Mo_Steel
Mar 7, 2008

Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together

Fun Shoe

Demiurge4 posted:

Don't know if this was linked yet, but Darkest Dungeon have a gameplay video up on YouTube and it's just really cool.

So happy I backed this, it just loving oozes atmosphere. I love the comments made by the narrator as battles go on. "Even the dead may die again." :black101:

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

Reason posted:

I guess Planetary Annihilation has been officially released now and no longer in early access or beta. Thats the first Kickstarter that I've backed that has finished.

I enjoyed playing it, but also realized pretty early on that I was still completely poo poo at games with that many units and buildings to keep track of.

Heran Bago
Aug 18, 2006



Mirificus posted:

Agness Kaku now has an archive of correspondence with John Szczepaniak, of The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, on her Versus John Szczepaniak website.


http://versusjs.blogspot.jp/2014/09/complete-message-archive.html
Got any highlights?

Jet Jaguar
Feb 12, 2006

Don't touch my bags if you please, Mr Customs Man.



drat, these Satellite Reign images look pretty.

I'd almost forgotten about that one, with the excitement of Planetary Annihilation and Wasteland 2.

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

Jet Jaguar posted:

drat, these Satellite Reign images look pretty.

I'd almost forgotten about that one, with the excitement of Planetary Annihilation and Wasteland 2.

Quite easy to forget since they don't update very often. I mean, for good reason, since they're showing actual progress every time they do.

AnonSpore
Jan 19, 2012

"I didn't see the part where he develops as a character so I guess he never developed as a character"

Lucy Heartfilia posted:

Darkes Dungeon has easily exceeded my expectations. I'm glad that I backed it. And the Weald is also pretty creepy.

Going through a gruelling battle just to have the chest you fought for be empty was amazing.

Also I really like the narrator. Hope they do a Dota 2 announcer pack with him like they did for Rucks from Bastion.

"Hope fades like the light of a dying sun as their mid barracks falls." :getin:

Megazver
Jan 13, 2006
Has this been posted before? Fallen: A2P Protocol. I don't think it has. (Or at least no one posted any screens. Pretty sure I'd recognize the screens, at least.) Travel around a post-apoc world map in a caravan and have combat encounters in XCOM-style tactical mode.

Two hours left. Just over 100%+ funded.





A Fancy 400 lbs
Jul 24, 2008
I don't think it was mentioned, but 24 Killers is fully funded now. I don't think he's doing stretch goals, but there's still 18 days left and you can get some nice swag still.

EDIT: And literally ~20 minutes after I post that...

quote:

24 Killers has broken the funding goal with more than half of the campaign left. What's next? What about stretch goals?

The answer is there won't be any traditional stretch goals for 24 Killers. I don't want to promise any specific features aimed to reel in more funding. With 24 Killers, I only see that leading to bloating and tacked on bits outside of my original vision. What's beautiful about Kickstarter is that it'll allow me to make the game I want without having to cater to anyone's expectations or marketable molds.

Being a one person team, money simply equals time. Any additional funding will allow me to fully realize this island of monsters. It does not mean the game will be completed faster. In fact, additional funding will lengthen development. Though, this is a good thing. Instead of traditional stretch goals, I'll be able to create more interactions, stories, and characters that will feel at home.

A Fancy 400 lbs fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Sep 6, 2014

Mirificus
Oct 29, 2004

Kings need not raise their voices to be heard

Heran Bago posted:

Got any highlights?
Presuming the correspondence is legitimate, the characterization given in the Versus John Szczepaniak blog seems pretty fair for the most part. Here are some of the emails that I found interesting (emphasis mine):

JS = John Szczepaniak
AK = Agness Kaku
HK = Hanako Abe

March 28, 2013 - JS to AK posted:

As for localisation horrors - tell me about it! I love a good rant. I've heard so many stories, and seen so many shoddy localizations, it's unbelievable. And the failures take place on every level. Developers create a game with the language hard-coded in, publishers treat it as an afterthought, and so on. Sometimes consumers can't even tell the difference between a good and poor translation, whining about something small, like an Anglicised name, and then praising something awful. You probably haven't seen it, but someone said I should try 999, a visual novel on DS. Reviewers described the writing as "the best ever", but I struggled to get past 10 minutes the English was so painfully overwritten. I was copy editor on a sailing magA**ine, and that crap would not fly even in the readers' story features.

August 4, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

I was hoping to film as much footage as possible, whenever I can. I foolishly promised my supporters a DVD, and now it's a case of film everything and hope the video editor knows what he's doing when boiling it down.

August 12, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Please, believe me. There are one hundred chefs in this kitchen, and you are genuinely the only one I trust. I will recount various tales when I arrive. I also think Agness gives me too much credit when it comes to articles.

August 21, 2013 - HK to JS posted:

John,

Please find attached N***i translation and tab.

As you saw, I just emailed Ms. N*******a. Just so you know, Ms.N*******a is no secretary; she's the CFO of the company, no less.

I will write Mr. K*******i a profoundly polite email now.

September 24, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

* Regarding Jun M***a at Key Visual Arts - I've no personal interest in him, he was a request from a Guest Editor. Both Ryu7 and U*******i are the same, so this day means little to me. If you're happy to try contacting Key Visual Arts, please do so and hit me with whatever bill is appropriate. If it yields nothing, it does not matter. If it requires many multiple phone calls, adjust the bill.

Ask Jun M***a if he'd be willing to be interviewed with Ryu7, since they recently worked together on a Visual Novel called Rewrite. There's a Wikipedia page. Or perhaps I can squeeze him in for a 90 minute interview before Ryu07, and shorten Ryu's to 90 minutes as well.

I have no intention of booking an additional day for these 3 gentlemen.

September 25, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

I take most things literally. Subtlety, sarcasm, and non-literal explanations are often lost on me.

September 26, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

As discussed on the phone, please adjust your fee accordingly for taking on extra logistics. It's not even the end of September and I'm reaching a meltdown stage. Keep me updated with tab totals, and I will let you know when I'm about the reach my budget limit. As you've seen with the Shade fiasco for 27 which I initiated, I'm losing the ability to make logical decisions. If I suggest something stupid, explicitly say so and offer an alternative.

September 29, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Greetings Hanako,

I want to sincerely thank you for handling the logistics for these tasks. I do not know what I'd do without you (well, apart from get sued for failing to deliver this book).

October 4, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Thank you for taking on additional duties. Although I'm paying a fee, I can't help but feel a little guilty for involving you on a basic level, and them promptly being unable to carry out the rest of my promised duties. It seems we now both have to bail water to stop my ship sinking.

October 6, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Greetings again,

I've had an epiphany: visiting Shade for a second interview is absolutely pointless.

None of his other staff are available, which was a large part of wanting a second booking. Also, he wants questions. I hate that. I need to go to the trouble of writing them, then translating them, then he'll formulate answers. On the day he'll convey these answers, and an interpreter will have to convert them into English in real time, after which I will then need to spend 3 days transcribing them.

He might as well just email me the answers he writes down, and I can pay someone to translate the text at their leisure, and I don't have to do any transcription.

Is it possible to cancel this meeting outright? I will pay N****o's kill fee. Is it 30% or 50%?

I'm also happy to cover an extra fee for your emailing him. Let's make something up about how we know he's very busy, we don't want to trouble him and - if we're going to be sending him the questions in Japanese anyway, perhaps he can answer them at his leisure? Everyone wins.

Especially me, because I don't have to transcribe something he's already written down.

I cannot get my head around every interviewee's request for questions. That defeats the whole purpose of a face to face interview. We might as well just do email in that case.

Best regards
John Szczepaniak

October 6, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Greetings Hanako,

In addendum to what I said on the phone earlier - it's not just time, but mental energy. I'm not capable of writing questions. I spent the last 4 hours sitting at my PC like a zombie, and only managed two emails, not counting the two I sent you.

If I'm covering topics we've already settled, it's because I've lost my mental faculties. It's a miracle I can attend interviews - questions are beyond me at this point.

You're right. The project is a mess - it's my mess, and I hate it. But there's nothing I can do.

---
Mr Y******o (GameSide magA**ine)

...

He introduced me to 3 interviewees for this trip. We met at Tokyo Game Show where I suggested I interview him, since his magA**ine GameSide is basically like what I'm doing with my book. He loved the idea. Unfortunately I do not have the time or energy. Please pass on my regrets. For native English speakers I'd probably add a humorous mention that the only reason I'm declining is due to the project being so successful, in part thanks to Mr Y******o's help. Not sure if this works with Japanese etiquette.

He is welcome to a complimentary copy of the book though (limited edition Hitoshi Y****a version) - I just need an address.
---

---
Mr S****a (very ill)

...

You previously drafted an email for Mr S****a's daughter-in-law. He had a stroke and is still recovering, but was willing to be interviewed. I don't know what excuse to give. I'm too busy? Perhaps in light of his condition I don't want to disturb him.
---

---
Mr K****e
...

I never sent that email you wrote for him. He lives on the far west island. We were going to ask him to travel to Nagasaki.

Please apologise that I've left him hanging for so many months. Unfortunately not only is he very far away, but my schedule does not permit me to travel any more. Furthermore all available interpreter slots are booked. Profuse apologies. He's a friend of Kouichi Y****i who was interviewed.

Offer a complimentary copy of the book if you feel appropriate.
---

---
Takeshi M******a
...

The creator of an "emulator" for use on computers. He gave me his number and I was going to slot him in. Explain that I intended to interview commercial game developers, doujin developers, journalists, and emulation programmers, but due to an unfortunate schedule I have to abandon most of the above. There's no time to include emulation coverage. I'm very sorry to have wasted his time. He is welcome to a complimentary copy if he gives his address.
---

That's all I can think of.

Attempting coherent thoughts is like walking through a brick wall.

Signing off until my return.

Best regards
John S

October 9, 2013 - JS to HK posted:

Greetings,

After this afternoon's phone call I've concluded you have a problem with consistency.

In loose chronological order:

* I suggested noting down interpreter breaks, which you said would cause a hostile environment and I should not do it. Then the next day you suggested I go ahead and do it.

* I spoke with Agness, who said you were concerned by my description of this project as a mess, despite the fact you first said to me: - "I have to sort out this mess of yours."

* Regarding the refund, you suggested that, not me. After I agreed to accept half a refund, which I felt uncomfortable with, you've now changed your mind (for the record I still feel her interpretation was terrible). Did you listen to the entire interview over two audio files, or just the first few minutes?


You said to me that I was difficult to work with. Well the feeling is wholly mutual. You change from one point of view to another like a cat on a hot tin roof. It's frustrating. You've now reneged on the refund idea, after having forced me to accept it.

I am continuously lectured by you, and today was lectured by Agness. If you don't like my work ethic or way of doing journalism, then I respectfully ask: would you like to give a week's notice and part company, or are you happy to stay and put up with how I work? I am stuck in Japan until November 17th, and my loathing for this stressful project is the only way I can cope from day to day. I am paying you well - so you should put up with my attitude. I'm not rude to interpreters, and I always pay promptly, and I don't shout at anyone - so I don't know why everyone is acting like a high strung prima donna.

Furthermore, you and your cabal of "high level" interpreters are not what I had expected. Especially considering the enormous price of 80,000 yen a day. My interpreter in Hokkaido (a professor with 25 years experience) was able to handle group conversations, unlike N**** H******* who refused, and they requested only two breaks of five minutes length during a seven hour session (a lunch break was declined entirely). I know everyone needs a break, but I'm just showing you the other side of the coin. My interpreter claimed the work was extremely easy, in contrast to your description that I was overworking your colleagues and placing too high a demand on them. Plus, this other interpreter was considerably cheaper. I agreed to pay 80,000 yen only because I anticipated the best.

Also, I have doubts that two interpreters are needed for these video game interviews. Having seen the work of an external interpreter, I have regrets over booking two half-days for Arzest, which I only did because N**** H*******a seriously lacks the stamina. I will not do this for the other 8 hour days.

-
John S

October 9, 2013 - HK to JS posted:

Hello John,

Since you are "extremely displeased" with my colleagues and myself, I feel it would be mutually beneficial for both sides if myself and my colleagues withdraw from the project. Perhaps an appropriate time would be before the Arzest interview, since you have regrets about that arrangement as noted below in your email. There is no kill fee for that. But the timing is subject to discussion tomorrow.

I will talk to a lawyer about drafting a mutual non-disclosure agreement which will legally prohibit both sides from disclosing anything and everything about what happened during the course of our working relationship.

Regarding the refund, you didn't let me finish the conversation. H***** still wishes to give you back half which I will honor. I personally felt her performance didn't warrant a refund and it was my mistake to force you to accept that idea and allow my colleague to wire the refund to me. I felt that she was entitled to some defense but perhaps that conversation is useless now. My apologies for the misleading statement, but the 40,000 yen refund still stands and should be taken off from the tab.

So I will see you in front of the blood bank at 14:15 tomorrow.

Kind regards,
Hanako Kaku

PaletteSwappedNinja
Jun 3, 2008

One Nation, Under God.

Heran Bago posted:

Got any highlights?

tl;dr: it doesn't prove or disprove the complaints he had about specific interpreters but it sure as gently caress proves he's a hot-tempered manchild who can't manage his own affairs or play nice with others.

IShallRiseAgain
Sep 12, 2008

Well ain't that precious?

Yeah, the E-mails also prove that the translator decided to cancel some appointments the Kickstarter guy had already made even though he already paid for them. She might be in the legal right to do that, but it doesn't change the fact that its a really lovely business practice.

Uncle Jam
Aug 20, 2005

Perfect
The John dude promised to interview a bunch of people, and then didn't do it, which makes him look like a gigantic rear end even without his other behavior due to the culture.

It looks to be some assholes with a hearty dose of culture clash without anyone trying to rectify it mixed in.

Gaspy Conana
Aug 1, 2004

this clown loves you
An acquaintance of mine just launched a Kickstarter for his adventure game, Paradigm. Despite the somewhat bland name, it's a pretty strange, fun looking little game. The art is fantastic, and the characters/settings are incredibly unique.

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S.J.
May 19, 2008

Just who the hell do you think we are?

Gaspy Conana posted:

An acquaintance of mine just http://kck.st/1tdwBPu launched a Kickstarter for his adventure game, Paradigm. Despite the somewhat bland name, it's a pretty strange, fun looking little game. The art is fantastic, and the characters/settings are incredibly unique.




What the gently caress is wrong with that dudes head.

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