I had the impression this would happen and backed the NijiCancelled videos. Can’t say I expected an outright wipe of the entire archive. After Pomu I think this is pretty much over for NijiSanji to me, they were both my regular watches.

Hexbear is what happens when kids (I hope they’re all in their early 20s or teens, because otherwise this gets much sadder) spend years reading on leftist theory but have zero real world experience. They get intense, volatile, argumentative and have no idea how those points reflect on themselves and in reality. This is why they go around prancing those absurd beliefs and fencing anyone who disagrees out, while also dogpilling and swarming communities that don’t agree: They only know what its like to be leftists in theory.

The one person who made the “”“”““peace””“”“” thread had an earlier post here in Blahaj saying that since working under capitalism is coercion then everyone who solicits sex workers is a rapist, and that’s basically the level of being disconnected from reality that they operate in. Unfortunately for them, their echo chamber is going to go on and be the equivalent of a left wing /pol/. For us - and hopefully all other major instances - its a relief to be rid of such crowd.

“Show Nudity” is still very vague. For any other videogame, it’d mean at best some nipples. The instance of full frontal in any media is extremely rare, hence the reactions are still justified. It would be a surprise, yes.

I see we have reached the point where people are going to start saying “Okay, its time for everyone stop having fun” and writing about how the game isn’t that big of deal.

Point being: let’s not listen to the shrieking streamers and strange subsection of Japanese game defenders, and just calm down about some naked adult bodies standing around in a character creator, shall we? It’s time games got comfortable with the human form.

Let’s be frank: The real point is that the writer wants to feel superior to both of these demographics. Not that I support either, but this is just someone acting smug and superior and wanting a cookie for it. But I gotta say that the more blatant aspect is this ridiculous take that keeps popping up in modern criticism:

But there’s also plain old casual nudity—something that US cinema has historically shied away from (particularly with the male form), but that European cinema has been way more comfortable with for years. The whole gap between how the US and European ratings boards react to nudity is pretty well documented, and well summarised in this piece written at Quartz. Baldur’s Gate 3 is, of course, a European-made game, and we—yep, even us fusty old Brits—are historically a lot more relaxed about that kind of stuff.

Which is just absurd. I’m not North American, but let me tell you, if I see any plain dicks or pussy in a movie or TV series or game, it will be A Thing for me. I won’t just sit there and act like a robot thinking “That’s just a organic human body, much like mine, there’s nothing unusual about that”. There’s no homogenous understanding in Europe, or South America or in any other non-US country where full blown nudity is just a casual happening that anyone would not bat an eye at, adult or not.

Furthermore:

Streamers are “shocked” by the nudity? Well, that’s because they’re either a) sheltered people whose lives are largely based in their bedrooms and/or b) aware of the fact that looking aghast, being shocked, and squealing at the sight of a willy or tuft of pubes counts as entertainment. It’s a tale as old as PewDiePie: overreact on camera to things that happen in a game, and you’ll keep viewers, especially younger ones, engaged.

Whether it’s a performance or genuine shock, or a bit of both, video game streamers exist in a pretty particular bubble whose reactions aren’t exactly a gauge of society at large.

I won’t deny that streamers overact for views and content, but honestly? Fuck this guy. If I were playing by myself and saw a random cock dangling on my screen, I would have a reaction and feel flustered. If I were playing in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of strangers online? You can bet your ass that I would have a mini-anxiety attack. If the average streamer is a "sheltered people whose lives are largely based in their bedrooms " (again, fuck this writer) then that’s even more reason to not make light of a moment of panic. Having a hobby where you get to interact with people beyond your screen instead of face-to-face can be a mirror, but it also opens you to a lot of repercussions and a human, if overblown reaction like this being talked down is genuinely infuriating.

Frankly, this is just a plain asshole of a person, and the fact that every other writing of theirs on BG3 is “Its not that good, everyone” just solidifies my stance.

Girthyanki

Lucky, rare instance of a cop not shooting a dog

“Bro Explaining” is a meme format where a guy is enthusiastically preaching about a subject to a clearly uninterested woman, in this case transposed to a Space Marine spreading Codex Astartes lore

I only realized it was satire after I opened the thread and saw it was HardDrive, not only did it feel something a game would do (probably a New Blood game) but I was also genuinely stoked

I already don’t like this because this person gives me the vibe of someone who plans a lot - a recipe for disaster in TTRPGs - but what sticks out the most to me is…why have it be a roll? Why not just do the thing that is the most interesting for the situation at hand?

The options listed on the post are

1. The Snogre’s fist smashes through the bridge and it begins to collapse! In D4 ROUNDS, everyone still on the bridge will fall into the chasm below

2. A pile of snow on the bridge has been covering a long length of rope. It still has strength to it.

3. A third Snogre appears, wondering what’s going on. He’s bigger, meaner, and carrying a huge, jagged sword meant for a giant.

4. A ring of keys falls off the Snogre’s belt and lands between the party and the Snogres. Everyone freezes, eyeing each other. Who is going to make the first move?

Which are all fair and interesting ‘spices’, but why leave it to luck? If the combat is already a slog, adding one more enemy will make it worse. So the third option would be a clear negative to the whole situation, yet you have 25% of chance of it happening.

This all feels wild to me because “Spice things up” is just something that I believe is expected from GMs in the first place, not just in combat. Players are lost without direction? Something blows up or a person calls for help. A conversation is starting to become boring and fruitless? You hear an unusual sound or feel the consequences of a previous action. Combat is taking too long? Do the options above.

Reinventing the wheel on something that’s so basic - again, IMO - feels more like a red flag for the article than good advice.