MIDI Week Singles: "Tristram" - Diablo (PC)

"Tristram" from Diablo on the PC (1997)

Composer: Matt Uelmen

Album: The Music of Diablo 1996 - 2011: Diablo 15 Year Anniversary

Label: Blizzard Entertainment

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Developer: Blizzard North

I've been playing a fair amount of Diablo since it was released on GOG a few months back, and by fair amount I mean that I still have yet to defeat the Butcher.  On this current playthrough, I decided to forego my normal use of the Warrior and instead decided to use the Sorcerer, which ends up being my staple in Diablo II.  So with the Sorcerer, I have found that I end up going back to the town of Tristram quite frequently.  Especially in the early game when gold is a hot commodity and buying potions is somewhat out of the question (because paying to recharge the Town Portal Staff is more important) and healing from Pepin is free.

So I spend a lot of time in Tristram, and when you spend any time in Tristram, you end up listening to "Tristram" a lot.  Which is far from a bad thing because I love this song.  There is so many elements to this song that just click for me.  The guitar work, the lonely/breathy flute/whistle instrument at 1:40, the bassoon (or bass) that crops up frequently, the first appearance of the melody at 1:10 that Matt Uelmen has used again in Diablo II and Torchlight.  I could go on for a while longer, but then we would just end up with a bullet point list and that is rarely a good idea.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Our Chief Weapons are Surprise. . .

Game EXP: The Way Remastered (NS)

I picked up The Way Remastered by SONKA on the Nintendo Switch back in November of last year, and along with a handful of other games, I finally finished it; finished it quite a while back in fact.  The main hold up to finishing the game was one particular puzzle about halfway through the game; I will get to this puzzle a bit later, but I just wanted to bring it up at the start since it was something that nearly kept me from completing the game.  If you are not familiar with this game, I recommend you read the First Impressions article I wrote last December to get you up to speed because this ship is 'bout ready to leave the space port!

Maps Are Always a Good Thing. Especially in Unfamiliar Space Ports. That You're Breaking Into.

[I also wanted to note that I ended up taking very few pictures after I finished with the puzzle mentioned below.  I think I just ended up being too engrossed in the game itself and not really thinking about what I might need for this article (which is probably another reason why it has taken me so long to write).  I ended up stealing/borrowing the last two screen shots from CMD07's walkthrough (with their permission) when needed, since they also played the Switch version.]

So now that you are all caught up-to-date with my trials and tribulations with I. The Abyss, I will say that someone over on Reddit helped by sending screen caps of each solution to the four different mirror puzzles.  Then when I decided to pick up the game again, I realized I was on our couch away from my computer and my phone does not have access to Reddit (which is probably a good thing) so I ended up fuddling my way through the puzzle to the solution.  And you know, now that I know the solution and really paid attention to how to solve the puzzle, I was quickly (relatively speaking) able to figure out the remaining puzzles.  Kinda made me feel like a bit of an idiot.

I. The Abyss

And really, apart from I. The Abyss, the remaining puzzles while not easy, did not cause me as much anxiety or frustration with the precision needed that the Switch controller (or probably really any controller for that matter except maybe the Steam Controller) was not able to muster.  There was two other puzzles that I could not initially figure out, one due to the screen/area being very dark (even after turning the brightness all the way up), and only after watching (another) walkthrough on YouTube; the second was not recognizing what I was supposed to be doing was not too clear.  That was it really as far as difficulty goes.  There were a couple of times I did get turned around and lost, but most of the levels in the game are linear, so after some backtracking I managed to figure out what I was supposed to do in order to continue.  I do not recall there being any other issues I had with the game.

It was during this, I Need Help phase, that I learned about how the Remastered version differed from the original game.  From what I gathered, one of the biggest changes was to the omni-tool you pick up during the second third of the game.  In the original, there was an energy bar which was drained with each use, and then would slowly fill back up.  In the Remastered version on the Switch, you could use the omni-tool as frequently as possible.  This definitely made figuring out puzzles like I. The Abyss a lot easier since I did not have to sit and wait for the tool to fully recharge before attempting the puzzle again.  I can understand the reason for the tool to have an energy meter, but eliminating it definitely felt like an improvement.  It is also mentioned on the game's eShop page that there were some ". . .level design changes based on players' feedback."  It was also pointed out to me that there were some puzzles that were taken out in their entirety due to feedback, which is probably what the level design changes were all about.  Speculation though.

There was one section in the game that felt like it might have originally been a bit more action oriented (but I was glad that it was not).  During this section (as pictured below), your character was being hunted by multiple enemies, but since the game operates closer to a point-and-click adventure game than it is like Mega Man or Metroid, the slow paced events operated more like a 2D side scrolling Portal, were still a lot of fun.  I was actually thankful that it was not as action-y as it could have been exceedingly difficult and taken away from the fun that I had with the majority of the game.  Coincidentally, this was the same section that I used the music from in the MIDI Week Singles back in February.  It was then that I entered into a conversation (via Twitter DMs) with the composer Panu Talus about "Untitled Improvisation 2011" being included in the game instead of the song that was originally written for this section.

Who needs weapons when you have a shield!? (Screen Capture Taken from CMD07's Walkthrough).

And speaking of lack of action in the game, I have read some localized upset voices about how the game ends, in that seemingly out of nowhere the game kind of turned into a bullet-hell-type shooter/avoider.  I admit that this style of play did not seem to fit within how the rest of the game operated (almost that traditional game elements were shoehorned into the finished product) but after two or three retries I was able to finish the game.  While it was quite different from the rest of the game, I felt that with the right frame of mind, it could fit into the overall story the game was telling.

And that really is what the game boiled down to for me, the story.  There were times when it felt like all I was doing was going from Point A to Point C by way of Point B.  But there were so many moments that came about naturally that reminded the player why the character was on their mission.  That being said, there were a couple of areas in the late game that felt like they could have been trimmed a bit.  Being so close to what felt like the end of the game, and having to play through platforming elements that were a callback to all that you learned earlier in the game did feel a little bit like padding.

More Platforming Action Which May or May Not Be for Padding (Taken from CMD07's Walkthrough)

In the end, I believe I ended up with the "not-so-great" ending thinking that that was what I might have done in the situation presented at the end of the game.  I did save the game right before committing to the decision but when I chose the different of the two options I still ended up with the same ending.  I feel like this might either be a glitch or something programmed into the game to prevent what I tried to do because I have seen screenshots of the other ending and it was different.  I guess I would need to play through the game all over again?

Although composer Panu Talus has suggested that when/if I replay The Way, that I play the PC version that's available on Steam in order to play the game in its original form.  Which I may end up doing, but not today.  I might need some more time before tackling this emotional journey again*.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Everything's Alright


*P.S. I would also not look forward to completing all three of the trials, of which I. The Abyss is a part of all that.

MIDI Week Singles: "Neo World" - Fortnite (NS)

"Neo World" from Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One (2019)
Composer: Unknown
Album: No Official Release
Publisher: Epic Games
Developer: Epic Games

I had concerns about publishing this MIDI Week Singles article, partly because of all the vitriol hate that Fortnite gets in nearly every corner of the Internet, but mainly because my attempts to find out who wrote the music have lead to only unanswered questions.  For a game that has very little music to it, and assets designed (and stolen?) from a large number of sources, it would make sense that the different selections for lobby music are not all composed by the same person.  My only knowledge about the music for this series is that Pinar Toprak wrote music for game back in Season 3, 

But I am using this song, "Neo World," which was released during Season 9.  At first, I did not particularly care for the song since I associated it with the Neo Tilted area that I do not care at all about (both in design and landing in).  Then one time while browsing what I wanted my emote loadout to be (extra?), this song was playing and it was not until about 0:45 I actually started paying attention.  I think it is just something about the upbeat-ness of the song, its unabashedly optimistic outlook, and whatever the chord progression that sticks with me.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

And I Do The Best I Can

Demo Time: "Puzzle Puppers," "UNO® for Nintendo Switch," & "Word Wheel by POWGI" (NS)

Not 100% Sold on this Logo/Font & Could Change Before The Next Demo Time Article.

As this the first "official" inaugural issue of Demo Time, I ended up playing the demo for three games that I picked haphazardly while browsing what games had available demos on Nintendo's eShop.  Originally I had just picked these because on sight, they were games that  publicly stated that I did not think that I would have any interest in and  that I would not normally be attracted to any of these titles if I were looking to buy a game.

So let us get down to it.

Puzzle Puppers.

Puzzle Puppers by indie game company Cardboard Keep was originally released in 2018 on the Nintendo Switch, and before that was also released on PC, iOS, and Android devices. This game ended up being a lot more fun than I had originally thought I would have.  The game is essentially like the Nokia phone game Snake, except all of the stress is taken out by the fact that you can move the dog at will, one square at-a-time.  You are also able to reverse/undo moves if you do not like the path that you directed your pupper to take.

The inclusion of hams in the game, which is a requirement to pick up all of the hams if you want to get the nefarious 3 Star rating.  The difference here though, at least in the demo, is that none of the levels were locked behind needing a set number of stars.  Or maybe there was a Star Wall (let's just call it that from here on out) but the fact that I was able to earn three stars on all of the levels mean that they were already unlocked?  Either way, the demo for Puzzle Puppers came with 20 levels and did a great job of introducing the mechanics of getting your pupper to its food bowl, how to navigate to pick up all the hams, introducing a second dog to the levels (and even a third dog in one level), and introducing holes that "transport" your pupper to a corresponding hole elsewhere on the map.

Only Way to Figure Out the Holes is Trial and Error.  Giggity?

Again, I probably will not pick up the full game of Puzzle Puppers because the puzzles were not overly complicated and I only needed to spend a few minutes on some of the harder ones with the holes, most of the time spent figuring out which hole lead to which other hole.  However, I am not the target demographic, but for someone who has a smaller child it might be an option?  It was fun though.

UNO® for Nintendo Switch

The UNO® for Nintendo Switch demo by Ubisoft has very little to offer in the way of showcasing all of the extra features that you can use in the game.  The game comes with three play modes, only one of which is playable in the demo.  Here you can play a game (a maximum of three games before the demo tells you where/how you can buy the digital version of the game) of UNO® against three computer controlled AI opponents.  Now, if you know anything about me, you will already know that playing card games and board games against a computer opponent fills me with paranoia.  So you, dear reader, should not be at all surprised that I lost all three games of UNO® to the character of AI Luna.

The thing about UNO® is that it plays the same as the physical card game.  Cards are dealt out, one player goes and you play the appropriate card at the appropriate time.  One nice addition to the game is an opaque spinning arrow showing the direction of play, which comes in handy when you want to play a Reverse card or if you do not want to give AI Dusty on your right four cards when they already have 8, but AI Pudding on your left has only two.  One thing that I have never seen before is the ability to challenge another players' call of "UNO!"  Apparently that is a thing that if you lose the challenge, I think, will result in a +6 card penalty?

Not a Surprise: I Lost T/his Game.  And AI Luna Won.  Again.

As far as demonstrating what UNO® for Nintendo Switch has to offer, there does not seem to be a whole lot, especially for $9.99.  The other two (unplayable modes) just seemed like the same game but played against online opponents or [other explanation]

Word Wheel by POWGI

Based on the pictures and description of Word Wheel by POWGI, I was pretty sure I had played a game like this before on Conklederp's phone called Word Warp.  What you are essentially doing is playing a Boggle-type game where you are given a set of letters and you have to make words out of the included letters that have at least four letters or more.  The twist to this game compared to Word Warp and Boggle is that you are required to use the letter in the center of the wheel in each word.

The demo itself does a pretty good job of letting you get a feel for how the rest of the game is played.  Here you are given four wheels, which conveniently, have D, E, M, and O as the required letters for their respective wheels.  One option I did not see in the demo that I saw in other screenshots of the game was the ability to play with more than one player either alternating or possibly at the same time.  I guess having a competitive option would amp things up a bit here, but since there is no timer or score keeper, Word Wheel by POWGI definitely seems geared more towards players who just want to sit and relax with a word-puzzle-game.

I Don't Know What I Was Trying to Spell With "SEEPR" But I Promise I Wasn't Under Any Influences.

Although, if you are like me, in that you feel like a complete idiot when it comes to word puzzles like this, crosswords, and games similar to Boggle, then maybe it is not as relaxing as it could be.  But despite my inadequacies, I probably spent the most time on this game and only finishing one of the four puzzles with Conklederp's help.  My only critique is not with the demo as it is with the words allowed in the game.  There was one puzzle that used both UDON, and WONTON which seemed odd since they are non-English words and the rest of the accepted words were only English.  Plus, the game also has a "Bonus Words" score which counts recognized words like RAPE but doesn't list them along with all of the other words; possibly to avoid a different rating from the ESRB?


So those are the three demos that I decided to feature in this first Demo Time for Stage Select Start.  The biggest let-down was definitely UNO® for Nintendo Switch if only because it really felt like a stripped down version (that somehow came across in a condescending manner) compared to the other two demos coupled with the fact that there were limited number of plays before you were forced to stop.  Puzzle Puppers offered the most content what I assume are the first 20 levels in the game and Word Wheel by POWGI had dedicated DEMO wheels which felt like a personalized touch.

In the end though, none of these demos managed to change my mind on whether or not to buy the full game.  Puzzle Puppers and Word Wheel by POWGI both felt like they were converted mobile games meant originally for smartphones and if I were a huge fan of  UNO® and did not have anyone else to play with, then UNO® for Nintendo Switch would be a viable option.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
But Where Are You

MIDI Week Singles: "Last Respite" - Moss (PC, PS4, OQ)

"Last Respite" from Moss on the PC (2018)
Composer: Jason Graves
Album: Moss (Original Game Soundtrack)
Label: Materia Collective
Publisher: Polyarc
Developer: Polyarc

If you are only familiar with Jason Graves from his amazing work on the Dead Space soundtracks, then not only are you missing out on some fantastically serene music here, but like me until semi-recently, you may have unintentionally written him off as someone who primarily scores dramatic music to be played while ripping through a malformed mass of flesh and bone; the track "Sarffog's Domain" does contain some glints of Mr. Grave's past with the Dead Space series though.

Moss is a game that I have not played, but just listening to this soundtrack has made me seriously consider (just casually) picking up an Occulus Quest (because we obviously have $499 just sitting around with nothing else to do with it).  I do not even know how "Last Respite" fits into the context of the game, but the title alone is a bit foreboding.  And if this is the last time that our little mouse protagonist is able to take a breath before the finale happens, then it this is something that would remind me of the peace a quiet of home.  Basically Hobbiton.

There are two primary aspects of this song that first pulled me in.  The first was the warmth of the solo flute at the beginning of the song.  I can clearly picture a person sitting next to a glowing fireplace in a cabin-type setting playing this melody.  Then a [instrument] comes into view , The second is the melody itself, and how the it dips down to the leading tone before it resolving back up to the tonic (the resolution note).  I am actually going to stop the explanation there as my music theory is about 21 years rusty.

You know what, I am just going to stop writing alltogether as I feel the more I try to explain this particular piece, the more it will come across like trying to explain a perfectly crafted joke.  So listen to the song if you are trying to figure out what I am babbling about.  And after that, listen to the rest of the soundtrack.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Instrumental

Resurrecting Demo Time?

Back in May, 2013, I had considered starting a column where I played and rated demos that came out, primarily demos that were released for Nintendo's 3DS system, although I had also downloaded a few demos from Steam as well.  I even wrote one article under the Demo Time header back in March 2013 for the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate demo on the 3DS.  My plan was to name the series "Demo Time" as it was the only thing I could think of that captured what I wanted to do.

So nearly six years later, I think I might up and resurrect this as I have been playing a number of demos on the Switch.  Titles like Pokkén Tournament DX, Mario Tennis Aces, Trials Rising, and recently  Hob: The Definitive Edition,  and Ape Out.  In a world where renting video games as a way of testing them to decide if it is a game that you would want to plunk $60 down on is not a world we live in as much any more, being able to play a demo of a game is all the more important.  I do know that Redbox carries a selection of games to play, but those are only for physically released games whereas digital games do not have that luxury.

So Demo Time might make a comeback, if only because I spent some time this last weekend with Ape Out and had a really good time playing this well received indie game.  And I want to talk about the game, but presently I am not in the position to buy every game I play a demo for.  And as I had mentioned back when I was considering Demo Time as a regular series, is that I actually do love the idea of playing games that are so far outside my wheelhouse of games that I would normally buy.  Titles like Puzzle Puppers, Uno® for Nintendo Switch, or Word Wheel by POWGI.  

Presently, I do not know how frequently I would post about playing demos, and I almost think that my/our Twitter account might be a better source for that.  OR, and bare with me as I figure this out in real time, that I will post pictures and videos (when applicable) on the Twitter account that I have our Switch hooked up to, but I will only post a couple of times a month if I play a game that either has an amazing demo that has convinced me that buying the game is inevitable.  Or maybe it is a horrible demo that does nothing to entice me to pick the game up.  Or maybe it is actually a well made and presented demo of the game, but I still feel that I would not want to spend real money on it because I got all that I would want after playing for 30ish minutes.

And you know what, to kick off this Demo Time (unless I come up with a better name later??), I think I am going to download and play Puzzle Puppers, Uno® for Nintendo Switch, and Word Wheel by POWGI.  If only because I just publically declared that I would not normally buy/play either of these games as I do not feel that I am the target audience.  

Okay.  It's settled then.  See y'all Monday.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
I Want to Show You

MIDI Week Singles: "When I Was a Laddy" - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (PC)

"When I Was a Laddy" from Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs on the PC, PlayStation 4, and XBox One (2013)
Composer: Cameron Clegg and the Lardons (w/ Jessica Curry)
Album: Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (Original Game Soundtrack)
Label: Self Released (Bandcamp)
Publisher: Frictional Games
Developer: The Chinese Room

I've only played through Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs once, so I have only heard this song in-game once, but I have played it outside of the game a number of times.  "When I Was a Laddy" plays during the credits at the end of the game, and when the song faded in, it reminded me a lot of "CIA Man" by The Fugs that plays at the end of Burn After Reading.  Not in the way that the songs are similar tonally, but how they are used.  In both cases, there is music that plays while the credits scroll, and then in the last third or so, this new song fades in.  There is probably a word for it, but I cannot locate it right now.

What I love about "When I Was a Laddy" is that it legitimately fits in with late 19th / early 20th century bar songs.  It really sounds like the whole sound crew took over a pub and only after their fifth round did they start recording.

The story told in this song, reminds me of something that either Bruce Springsteen or Flogging Molly would have written had either been around at the turn of the previous century.  A boy is brought up in a boarding school only to end up working in a factory under abysmal conditions (probably should get around to reading The Jungle) and living a life that ends up feeding the same machine where he himself is a lowly cog.  It is a great song that could easily have been written before any kind of labor laws went into effect when the profits of the owners outweighed the health and care of the working class.

I am going to stop now before I end up writing about the workers controlling the means of production and the development of the industrial bourgeoisie.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
And That's Where I Long to Be

Monthly Update: August, 2019

Bloody fookin' 'ell it's August already.  By now you should just expect that nearly every one of these Monthly Updates is going to start with an exclamation and show of astonishment that we are in a new month.  You think I'd be used to it by now, but nevertheless, I am still over here like, "How the hell is it August!?"

But here we are.

Let us start off with some sad first world problem news.

I had pre-ordered the Bayonetta amiibo that I thought was Player 2, being the design from the first Bayonetta game and when I picked up the order at Best Buy, I found out that what was actually shipped was the Bayonetta amiibo from Bayonetta 2.  And. . .motherfuckers!  Okay, sorry.  That stemmed from me going into my email to pull the image showing the amiibo I had ordered but Best Buy have now updated the image link embedded in the email to the correct amiibo so you'll just have to believe me that the image that was sent was not the image of the product that was received.  To note, I immediately returned the figure since it was not the one I had wanted.  But what really gets my ungulate is that this was originally a Best Buy exclusive amiibo back before I had any interest in a Bayonetta amiibo since I did not yet have Bayonetta on the Switch, and then sold out semi-quickly.  This, I thought, was a second release of that, but then it turned out that this turned into a GameStop exclusive instead of a Best Buy exclusive.  Back in April.  What this really boils down to is the same issue that has been plaguing the amiibo accessories since day one, coupled with one company purchasing exclusive rights.  Like I said, first world problems here.

But for new purchases for the Switch, there's Fire Emblem: Three Houses that I had pre-ordered back in July 2018 came through but I am holding off starting that beast until after I finish Octopath Traveler.  Oh, this game.  There is so much that I love about it, but there are things that I wish Square Enix had done differently that I will get to in probably two articles, hopefully after I finish it later this month.  I mean I am 96 hours in and will definitely be finishing the game with all eight characters.  It has definitely been a ride.

And Fortnite Season X started yesterday so I used my V-Bucks (earned free through playing mind you) and picked up the Season X Battle Pass.  I do feel a little shameful having put in over 250 hours (over the course of more than a year) into this thing, but I enjoy playing it as a way of de-stressing either before/after work, and inbetween playing heaving RPGs.  If Left 4 Dead  or an Ace Combat game akin to Ace Combat X (on the PSP) were on the Switch, that would easily take over as a fun short de-stressing title to not think too hard about while playing.  But for the time being, my $9.99 that I gave Epic Games last year has definitely been worth it; I mean it comes out to about $0.03/hour which is a pretty decent investment.

Lastly, the game that I started back in June and finished mid/late last month was What Remains of Edith Finch, which I have already talked about earlier this week.  That is a game that I really loved, both for how unexpected the game was (not surprising since I did not really have many expectations going into it), and all of the emotions it made me feel.

Oh!  And Conklederp and I just started the Curse of Strahd campaign with Elvisish DMing!  I am playing a Halflight Lightfoot Wild Mage Sorcerer.  We had a Session 0 last week and began the adventure, so I am pretty excited about finally heading back into Ravenloft after an absence since 2nd Edition.  We'll be meeting once or twice a month which I feel is pretty standard when you have a DM and five PCs.  So look out Strahd von Zarovich, we're coming for ya!  And we're probably going to die in the process.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
I Am Your Pin Boy