Editorial The Fanatic and His RPG - Mark Yohalem on The Age of Decadence

[Cosmo]

Wow, fucking good read...
Didn't even object to the implication that games = art, as it is clear that he's talking about creation in general.
Also i winced at the Ursula Le Guin quote, for it immediately reminded me of PoE...

 

[Harpsichord]

The funny thing is, coming out and loudly declaring that your product isn't for the lowest common denominator is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. Just look at it working right now...

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Great read, thanks

An epic dev saga, it's good to see it documented in this way.

Alas, I don't have time to play many games, let alone write articles about them, especially not while attending important world governance meetings with Infinitron.

(Insert 'Please consider doing the next one on Grimoire' joke here)

 

[Cosmo]

The funny thing is, coming out and loudly declaring that your product isn't for the lowest common denominator is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. Just look at it working right now...

Yeah i'm sure they're millionaires by now.
(You fucking idiot )

 

[Harpsichord]

The funny thing is, coming out and loudly declaring that your product isn't for the lowest common denominator is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. Just look at it working right now...

Yeah right, i'm sure they're millionaires by now.
(You fucking idiot )

A disingenuous response at best.

 

[Saduj]

A good read. Although I think the author makes the game sound much more buggy than it actually is. I tend not to notice or care too much about typos so he may be right about that. But I had no stability issues and experienced only one bug that affected gameplay. I did notice a couple of minor contradictions in the narrative during the play throughs where I jumped factions. But those were minor issues that were easy to forgive given the fact that the game was allowing me to jump factions.

 

[Cassidy]

Just read that RPS interview, fuck me talk about a bloke dropping some fucking uncomfortable truths, made me think of that "I'm mad as hell and i'm not gonna take it anymore." Fuck it gonna buy AoD see what the man has to say and demonstrate.

I have a legit copy of The Age of Decadence for only $3. Meet me up in that dark alley if you are interested.

Roger Cardinal, who dubbed the genre of “Outsider Art,” explains that such works open our eyes to entirely new perspectives and possibilities. The outsider is so defiant or ignorant of accepted limits that she will pursue goals that have been deemed unattainable by reasonable, rational folks. She will walk paths that have become overgrown or were never blazed at all. Whether she reaches her destination or not, she serves to remind us that the paths and goals are there.

Sounds like a Depression Quest review

Nowadays works in the same spirit of The Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will are the real outsider art given the prevalence of the librul multikultist zeitgeist in the West. Depression Quest and the likes are as "insider art" as possible.

 

[mondblut]

Roger Cardinal, who dubbed the genre of “Outsider Art,” explains that such works open our eyes to entirely new perspectives and possibilities. The outsider is so defiant or ignorant of accepted limits that she will pursue goals that have been deemed unattainable by reasonable, rational folks. She will walk paths that have become overgrown or were never blazed at all. Whether she reaches her destination or not, she serves to remind us that the paths and goals are there.

Sounds like a Depression Quest review

 

[HotSnack]

Ah fuck it. I was going to wait for AoD to go on sale (my rpg backlog still has both shadowrun expansions to get through). But just for the entertainment value of that RPS interview alone I'll buy it full price.

 

[Irenaeus II]

I'll buy a copy of AoD to the first Latin American who reply to me.

 

[Saduj]

How did post #30 quote post #31? Is this real life?

 

[Parsifarka]

I'll buy a copy of AoD to the first Latin American who reply to me.

Ay ayay Joao pucha la wea sos groso brasileiro sabelo no me llames frijolero

 

[AArmanFV]

Ay ayay Joao pucha la wea sos groso brasileiro sabelo no me llames frijolero

No te sale weon. (?)

 

[Endemic]

Since he mentioned Prelude as an inspiration, I looked it up and found a shareware version.

 

[Gruncheon]

The funny thing is, coming out and loudly declaring that your product isn't for the lowest common denominator is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. Just look at it working right now...

I think that works when you're Donald Trump and you're trying to sell a line of 'elite' steaks to idiots. Not when you're an indie developer repelling literally every opportunity to gain mainstream attention. It's pretty inspiring! Makes me wonder how someone filled with such righteous anger could hold down such an intense day job.

 

[SerratedBiz]

I'll buy a copy of AoD to the first Latin American who reply to me.

Ay caramba. No, really, dame el puto juego.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Ay caramba. No, really, dame el puto juego.

Es tu mucho bukake?

 

[Chamezero]

todos putos

 

[Irenaeus II]

Come on, there are cool quests in Ganazaar. Of course, a bit more would be great indeed.

Other than that, 10/10 post TBS

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

Maybe I'm just cynical, but the author seems way too excited about AoD. No, it's not really art, and no, VD isn't a great artist. A good DM maybe, this I can agree with.

Personally, I can't say that AoD was worth 11 years of development and quiting one's high paying position. But some people have strange hobbies, so whatever. Let's just hope VD doesn't lose his wife and kids over all this obsession with C&C heavy video games.

 

[80Maxwell08]

The funny thing is, coming out and loudly declaring that your product isn't for the lowest common denominator is one of the oldest marketing tricks in the book. Just look at it working right now...

True but usually they don't call everyone who doesn't want their product retards at the same time.

 

[Endemic]

True but usually they don't call everyone who doesn't want their product retards at the same time.

Also, Gillen got mocked enough in the PC Gamer office as it was :p I remember his anecdotes from back in the day, and his Deus Ex review was great (the description of handling a situation in multiple ways which summed up the strengths of DE perfectly - http://web.archive.org/web/20020828...k/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=5413). There's a reason VD hid his real name beyond just contractual obligations...

 

[Irenaeus II]

Maybe I had more fun because of other backgrounds, but I do agree it could use more stuff.

 

[Saduj]

Anyway, I think its a great review, aside from the stuff I outline in my previous post. Definitively above the manboonery and he was clearly somebody who understood what AoD was about and where it wanted to go.

Ganezaar feels empty-ish - needs moar sidequests, also something fun for a combatfag to do. My Kingslayer IG Legatus had an easy time there, with the only exception being when I tried to get in by myself.

The fort fights should be much more difficult, IMO.

 

[Saduj]

I was talking about the "arena". The siege fight could be harder too but I can understand that not being too hard since it is critical path for some chars who may not be 100% combat oriented.