Selfsurprise

The new Doom.

The Deadspace franchise (I'm talking predominantly about the first two games, the third one was deeply flawed and basically a kind of scary equivalent of Ratchet & Clank only with more half-arsed sitcom-esque drama) is one series that I only ever seem to find negative commentary on. People claim the controls are too clumsy or that it over relies on jump scares. Personally I found the tense atmosphere, sense of lurking threat and the moments of sheer stupid panic in both initial titles to be extremely effective, and the design and concept of the flesh-appropriating necromorphs ticked all of my alien body horror boxes. There's something repulsively appealing about a plague that callously reshapes human corpses into numerous specialised aberrantly nightmarish predatory forms, purely to engender more dead body resources to further propagate the contagion - from a casually evolutionary standpoint, why isn't all life on Earth like this? Also, in regards to jump scares, Deadspace utilizes them in surprisingly unpredictable and unrestrained manner. There are few sections of the game you ever feel truly safe.

"Some people just want to watch the world burn..."

Actual Metal

 

Self explanatory

Really difficult to listen to if you haven't got anything to hit it with.

I hope whatever this is, it's in some way a spiritual brother to what Silent Hills could have been; not because I think a Silent Hills still needs to happen but I would love to know what Kojima was planning on doing in general.

 

Aside from the many joke opportunities this trailer presents, all at Kojima's expense (and Reedus's. Norman Fetus....) I too am very curious and excited to see what an unchained Kojima is capable of. Just wish the trailer had more to go off of.

There may well be elements of horror in this new game, the dead cetaceans, an implication of desperate survival, the mysterious levitating figures point to some rather P.T.-ish uncanniness. I'm enjoying all the rather premature theories the trailer, especially the one that proposes the whole thing was a symbolically coded middle finger to Konami and Kojima's self-imposed severing from his past work (the vanishing infant standing in for the cancelled Silent Hills, the beached whale and dolphin carcasses an analogy for the Metal Gear Solid series). As for the inevitable guffs and guffaws this trailer will no doubt engender, it's best not to pay much heed to that gallery of sneering asses we call public opinion. I'll be keeping a finger on this game's pulse, for now.

I already mentioned one... Christian Death Metal.

I was thinking more positive in the cosmic-meditative sense rather than in the Abrahamic sense. That being said, given the potential of nuerous epic themes and mythology to draw from, Abrahamic Metal could potentially be awesome. A progressively heavy style with doom/melodic influences and Judeo-Christian-Islamic themes. Not necessarily in a creepily optimistic fundamentalist tone (this needn't be "conversion" music) but more terms of the innumerable figures and stories the faiths are associated with.

@ Jeb: The artist Damien Hirst dropped out of high school and only due to his art teacher's encouragement did he take an A-Level course on the subject, which resulted in an E Grade and an initial rejection into the Leeds College of Art. Whatever people think of his work or career trajectory, I can't think of many other artists whose oeuvre has been as commercially and critically successful. If there hope for a YBA ex-delinquent like him then there's hope for us all! :3

Snortz by Capricorni Pneumatici

You might recall that book written by Hal Foster titled Bad New Days, which I talked about in the threads first post, which was an art criticism attempt at defining certain tendencies and occupations in contemporary art. Since reading that I've been rather taken by Mr. Foster's extremely broad minded and cyclical interpretation of art history, he writes a kind of history of art informed criticism and literature that purposefully foregoes the usual hoary cliche of "movements" and individual artists "phases" and instead presents modern art as some inextricably linked to its cultural setting, regardless if it's conceived in establishment (i.e. the gallery and museum, political consensus, even the previous neo-avant-garde) or as a reaction to given set of social standards.

In The Return of the Real, Foster (having written the book in the mid 1990's) Foster reacted to what he perceived as an unusual return to and demand for "reality" in art - often as a adversarial mode held by both an older generation of Greenbergian formalists and latter-day defenders of abject realism (i.e. the one thing minimalists and pop artists had in common despite their antipathy to one another). It's not too often that you come across an art critic and writer beyond the late 70's who presents a genuinely refreshing and original interpretation of the field, even many great writers on the subject who are informed of past literature and discourse tend to fall into two categories; firstly those that experimentally attempt to set a "new paradigm" of thinking in relation to art, or secondly a somewhat those that cast a mournful dejection of what they perceived to be a lost opportunities of past artists and philosophers.

"Since the Industrial Revolution a contradiction has existed between the craft basis of visual art and the industrial order of social life. [...] With minimalism and pop this contradiction is at once so attenuated (as in the minimalist concern with nuances of perception) and so collapsed (as in the Warholian motto "I want to be a machine") that it stands as a principal dynamic of modernist art. In this regard, too, the seriality of minimalism and pop is indicative of advanced-capitalist production and consumption, for both register the penetration of industrial modes into spheres (art, leisure, sport) that were once removed from them." - Hal Foster, The Return of the Real: Chapter 2, The Crux of Minimalism

"[...] this ethnographer envy is shared by many critics, especially in cultural studies and new historicism, who assume the role of ethnographer usually in disguised form: the cultural-studies ethnographer dressed down as a fellow fan (for reasons of political solidarity, but with greater social anxiety); the new-historicist ethnographer dressed up as a master archivist (for reasons of scholary respectability, but with great professional arrogance)" - Hal Foster, The Return of the Real: Chapter 6, The Artist as Ethnographer

"Modernism has never meant anything like a break with the past" - Clement Greenburg

^ It's okay BTG, we believe you...

Capitol by TR/ST

i2nuHEGhwiw

I don't suppose anyone here has seen this trailer of Hideo Kojima's newest to-be-released title, from his new self-titled production company? What do you guys make of it? I have to confess I never fully enjoyed playing any of the MGS titles after the third outing, but I do love the philosophically barmy and bizarrely casted lore of the entire MGS series - I often wish it were a TV series rather than a game franchise.

If this exceptionally mysterious trailer is anything to go by, it seems like Kojima has really taken his newfound creative freedom and slackened the reins on his imagination to town. There's dead sea animals all connected to what appear to be umbilical cords, a naked dude covered in handprints, five enigmatic human figures hovering on the horizon, a vanishing baby... just another day in Kojima Productions offices then!

But is all seriousness this trailer has got my attention. I'd half-heartedly argue that MGS slightly lost it's footing in later iterations, it's cinematic-to-gameplay ratio being disastrously off, the narrative and plot elements having become something of an overinflated balloon animal. Time will only tell if this game will prove to be something as inspiring and ubiquitous as Metal Gear Solid, but I certainly embrace the opportunity to rekindle my gaming homage to Kojima.

Any thoughts on what on the blinkin' blue earth is happening in the trailer though? :3

EDIT: That song is pretty nice, too.

I mean, usually I'm actually quite optimistic - as long as I'm at home and alone... but yes, I distrust everyone and they should distrust me. XD I'm a bitch. A terrible selfish human being.

But you've just listed even more things that I don't want to look forward to. The taxes... the petrol... the fear of an accident. And driving is so lazy! I want to just ride a bike around everywhere, that'll get me fit. But yeah, I can't drive. If somebody tells me to "stop", I first have to run through some reasoning in my head, be all like; "But what for? How fast? What's the situation?" And it takes me WAY too long to actually stop. -.- And then people yell at me for not stopping. So in order to not piss people off and be a good citizen, I want to just NOT drive. But I have no idea how I'll convince my mother that I'm not meant to drive. I piss too many people off. I gotta stop doing that...

Maybe I'm just such a misanthropic arsehole that I sometimes forget that many people are just natural pessimists rather than card-carrying Houellebecqian entropy advocating nihilists like me ;p I know how annoying it can be when people spout chirpy but ultimately unhelpful gibberish about "every cloud having a silver lining" or "looking on the bright side of things" or any other number of overutilized and vomit-inducing platitudes. Just don't let other people's snowflake egos and self-centered slights against you turn into self-loathing. If you are going to hate yourself then do it on your own terms, not on other folks uninteresting and artless standards. Also, though I'm certain you are a civilized and fundamentally kind person who wants no trouble, don't bother trying to not piss off the general populace and even half-familiar acquaintances. They aren't worth the hassle.

"If any of you hairless pseudo-apes ask me if I want a banana one more time, I'm spirit bombing your entire species into the afterlife."

Play them some Deicide. That ought to allay their doubts.

Nobody wants to help me start an Amish Industrial band. How do convince people that it's actually a really great idea?

Nervous Keeper and Feeder of The Title Eater.

Is extremely modest and humble about his digital talents.

Whelp, I've decided - can't drive for shit and should never drive anyway. I don't have good reflexes, I'm not observant, I'm not quick, and I piss everyone off. I want to tell my mother that I don't want to drive and that I want to go on public transport for the rest of my life cause that seems more sane than making stupid slow me drive a car. Or maybe I'll just ride a bike around everywhere. I don't care. I just refuse to drive because I suck so much. I'm just on my L1s which means I only need to wait 3 months before I get my L2s. Then I have to drive for a set amount of hours to get my P1s, then a test to get my P2s. It's been... a YEAR... and the driving instructor still says I need practice. How fucking stupid am I, I can't do anything for shit. It'll take me 10 years to get my full license. I just don't want to drive or be the cause of some guy's completely rational road rage. Why do I have to be the person that decided how traffic flows? That's retarded, I can't do that. I'll be the cause of someone getting fired cause they were too late to get to work. Why can't I just give up and stop trying to achieve something I don't even want. Trains are safer anyway... and being on a train stops me from thinking of driving the car straight into a brick wall or a river to end my own suffering. I think 95% of the road would agree that me driving into a river is beneficial for the rest of the morning and afternoon traffic.

You shouldn't beat yourself up so much Jeb! I don't drive and I couldn't be happier. There are certain undeniable benefits that owning a car has, but it really isn't for everyone. It strikes me that you and I have reasonably similar personality types (i.e. worrisome, a greater-than-average distrust of people, a "the glass is half empty" * outlook, etc), can you honestly say you'd be happy with the many overarching pressures owning a car would entail? Fretting if you've got all your taxes paid off, roadworthiness checks and MOT's, the underlying fear that some human pondlife with vandalize your vehicle, etc - and that's before you even take driving the sodding thing into account! I took driving lessons about ten or twelve years ago and aside from exciting incident where I drove over a roundabout, the only thing I aced at was parking the car. I spent a lot of money on lessons and failed two theory tests to reach the eventual conclusion that driving definitely wasn't for me.

* Or alternatively, a "the glass doesn't exist AND NEITHER DO I" outlook.

RIP Anton Yelchin

3/11/89 - 6/19/16

 

 

Oh no! :c

He's so young. I know the new Star Trek movies aren't to everyone's tastes (personally I really enjoyed them) but I think if you take the whole "alternative universe" sthick it's really not that bad, a bit blockbuster for traditional Trekkie fare actually rather enjoyable. I particularly thought the casting was very spot on, including Mr. Yelchin as Chekov. That's a real shame, thanks for letting us know Daniel.

Hippy Doom Metal

 

Deep, brooding heavy sounds and dark lyrics about there being, like, beauty in death, man.

New age death metal, headed up by Yanni the Damned.

You know, doom metal with an overwhelmingly positive vibe would be pretty dope. Enlightenment Metal? Saṃsāra Metal?

I wanted to make a joke about this thread has become the "Rarity Hates Everything" subforum, but I figured he/she might fly through the internet and punch me into another plane of existence... (you know I'm just kidding, I also apologize for not actually knowing your gender)

This thread keeps me sane and happy everywhere else. Sorta. As for gender, either pronoun is fine.

We all employ ways and means of staving off "the hate". I'll refer to you as "their pangenderness" from now on... :3

I sarcastically replied that I wasn't and was instead planning on starting a back-alley abortion clinic in the produce department.

That was glorious Selfsurprise. I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

I'm glad you saw the funny side of it Helio, thanks mate He found it less amusing. I try not to bring my problems with me when I'm on this forum, it was a kind of a new year's resolution that I'd stop complaining about my job so much. If I am going to whine I should at least bring along a snarky anecdote or two.

I've been on the fence throughout the campaigns. It's hard to even declare a position where I live; you're immediately branded as a racist if you want to leave, or happy to usher in the United States of Europe if you want to remain.

Tell me about it. Talking to most people strikes me as a massive waste of ones own breath, and listening to the campaigners and politicians with their nakedly obvious agendas is even less worthwhile. The recent murder of Jo Cox this week is certain to fuel the remain-fundamentalists fire and insistence that all Brexiteers are right-wing nutcases.

At the moment I'm teetering on the brink of voting to leave; I think the Eurozone will collapse within a generation regardless of the UK's position. From failing economies and bailouts to migration crises and terrorism, the whole thing to me has always seemed like a big mess.

 

Remain campainers seem to think we'll lose all sorts of workers rights if we leave, which I don't believe as the unions and what's left of the lefty parties will always oppose removing them. They also claim that leaving the EU would kill our NHS due to the number of foreign workers in it; the NHS has been haemorrhaging money for the past decade and promises from both campaigns to pump money into it always seem hollow; this is always promised during general election campaigns and it never makes a blind bit of difference then, and won't now. I'm also not sold on voting remain because in my view it essentially tells the EU that we're willing to bend over and accept whatever they throw at us. We all know how poorly Cameron did during his "renegotiation" but yet still declared it a success; this trend would only continue, I feel.

Well that exact sentiment was one of the reasons I've seriously considered a leave vote. Because the EU is a democratic union, it relies on it's members choosing to comply with its policies, and I think with a few major exceptions Britain has abiding rather faithfully to those policies. I don't think any of us can forget the stink kicked up by other EU countries when Cameron made his rather cynical voter-carrot bid to curb EU migration into the country. But the manner in which some the EU's other members implement these policies, arguably leaves a lot to be desired. Do we want to be a sinking ship if the hulks wiser population of ennobled rats are already scuttling off the decks?

The Leave campaign constantly drags everything back to immigration, which isn't really an issue to me; I live in the countryside and aside from a few Polish agency workers, I wouldn't suggest immigration has affected us, certainly not like in the major cities. Another suggestion is that by "closing our borders" we'll somehow be completely safe from terrorism and ISIS will simply leave us alone... sure, as if we don't have enough of our own radicalised muslims, Britain First extremists and Irish car bombers in our recent history. Terrorism isn't just from a single threat and direction that we can shut the door on. Backing the Leave campaign is also seen as a "vote for Boris and Nigel" but I don't see it that way and no one should. The whole referendum has been beaten down to party politics and that's why so many people are undecided and disillusioned.

 

I'm still open to change but I don't really believe in voting for the status quo just for the sake of it. Whilst I'm currently 51/49 in favour of leave, I think overall the referendum will be won by the Remain campaign by around 60/40.

Immigration has never been a particularly pertinent issue for me, both in my personal life and in my ethical considerations. For a large-ish West Midlands town Tamworth isn't a particularly diverse place, bucking the trend for the region somewhat, and it's only in the last ten years or so I've noticed a steady (yet rather transient) community of Polish migrants settling into town. If there's some sort of evil cabal of swarthy-skinned foreign conspirators instigating some kind of cultural takeover in England, I must not be looking hard enough I guess... ;p

10/10, like, seriously...

I wish more people who are fundamentally atheistic would read that quote, and in doing so hopefully reach the understanding that religion and spirituality aren't, in of themselves, the source of all society's ills.

“Joy untouched by thankfulness is always suspect.” - Theodor Haecker

9/10, IT'S OVER 9,MOJOOOOOO!!!

Bolts. It might the Warhammer 40k/Bolt Thrower bias in me, but it has to be bolts.

Pastel Pink or Hot Barbie Pink?

"So this policeman tells me to pullover, but I's tells him that it's actually a starfleet uniform..."