I'm always initially disappointed when one of the main four hosts isn't there, but this was a great episode. Felt like Josh had been doing this show with you guys for years. And he's smart! Feel free to bring him back in the future.

I made my presence felt. That's all

http://www.stephaniesyjuco.com/jpgs/phantoms/videostill4.jpg


I find it odd that artists would get hung up about aspect ratio being an integral part of their creative intent, specifically because not all people digest entertainment the same way. While 75% of US households now have HDTVs, there's still a portion of the population that hasn't made the switch, and TV channels still operate SD versions. Were broadcasters violating artistic intent by asking production companies for formatted versions of movies that would look well on 480 TV sets back in the day? What about other countries around the world that may have lower HDTV adoption rates? If you have a product that cost a ton of money to make (I assume Evil Within is) you want it to be able to appeal to a large base of people. Getting pissy about aspect ratio seems pointless. Hell, Bethesda can't even get it right, as they insist the ration is 2.35 to 1 when Digital Foundry found it was 2.50 to 1.


Great discussion guys.

Always nice to get a mention on RFN.


Cheers Lindy!

Quoted directly from the official SMash Bros Website
http://www.smashbros.com/us/howto/entry10.html


"In an eight-player battle, the following controllers can be used.
○Wii U GamePad (Max 1)
○Wii Remote or Wii Remote Plus* (Max 7)
○Wii U Pro Controller (Max 7)
○Nintendo GameCube controller** (Max 8)
○Nintendo 3DS series system*** (Max 8)
* Includes expansion controllers (such as the Nunchuk or Classic Controller Pro).
** Two GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii U accessories are required to connect eight GameCube controllers (each sold separately)"
http://www.smashbros.com/us/howto/entry10.html

I usually just tweet cuz I'm lazy, but I guess I'll finally make an account. I tried to tweet once on this subject, but everything just comes out like caveman grunts when you try to express a complex thought. I have a very specific thing to respond to.


Jonny said something like he wished that artists didn't have technical limitations. I disagree, and here's why.
I think limitations are one of the most fascinating aspects of art, and perhaps organic ones are even moreso than those that are self-imposed. It's an interesting thing that The Artist filmed in black and white and silent. Those were choices that were made. They didn't have to do that. I think what's even more interesting is looking at actual silent films and how artists strained against those limitations they had no control over. There's something about that that gives art its character for me. The fact that putting black bars on the game was a concession to performance somehow just makes it more interesting. I have some of the same feelings about the look of Alan Wake, which had to nip and tuck in various ways in order to achieve their lighting and fog tech. The game has a very unique look because of that.
Now it's not always going to be the case that limitations enhance art. It's more about how you address them. Obviously the poor framerate in the original Shadow of the Colossus on PS2 is hard to love and even harder to miss, but I just think there is something lost to the artistic process if our imaginations just became unfettered and never had to go through the sometimes agonizing process of actually being manifested.

"I wish that we could get to a place in video games, where decisions like this are made purely for artistic reasons, there are no technical limitations."


-That's the exact quote, transcribed word for word, so I don't get in trouble for paraphrasing.


Greg Sewart over at Player One brought up another good example - Star Wars vs. Prequels. Freed from technical and financial limitations, George Lucas' artistic intent was kinda poop.

The SW prequels are a good example, I was thinking of those, too.
Another one is Jaws. The shark never worked that well and it was too expensive to constantly fix so they just didn't show it a lot. Which ended up being great because it built up a lot of tension and mystery until the "big reveal" of "we're gonna need a bigger boat".

I think you only skimmed over the best announcement: Tournaments.


Presumably, you can set up an online tournament and then we just enter the one code to "join in.
Why arrange a weekly session with friends, when you can have a weekly tournament with anyone who is interested!
This, combined with what appears to be pretty good online play (if the 3DS is anything to go by), will be a fantastic way to spend an evening. If for example, it was a NWR tournament, I;m sure you could meet fellow Smashers and add them as friends afterwards, if you wanted.
I think ultimately, tournaments is what will give this game some serious legs.

I don't know why John was so impressed with Skyrim on PC working with a controller flawlessly.

As PC gamer who mostly stopped playing on keyboard and mouse, it's a must. Have been that way for many, many, many years.