What probably happened is Corporate overlords leadership opted for an easier-to-create game direction while also attempting to diversify the game’s base. Basically, and I may be eating my words as we learn more about the game, I’d expect them to have reduced the cost to create while also attempting to increase profit.

I base this off of other games which have attempted similar feats, and I’m not sure of a single one that was part of a larger series that has turned out well.

Must be owned by the cousins of Boeing.

I’m sorry that’s a red flag. Some of us honestly just want to share what excites us with the person(s) who we are excited to be around.

Oh I promise you that isn’t the point.

Yeah, but…that sounds like effort. Much easier to slap a stabby bit on the end of a stick and only occasionally accidentally kill a random goat.

There were other ways to successfully play base Skyrim??

State actors? Maybe.

It’s a bit tinhatty, though I’m betting on something akin to corporate espionage pointed at the Internet Archive.

Could just be a 14 year old kid with a bit of talent too. Wouldn’t be the first time.

I don’t have resources in front of me and shitty internet, so if I’m wrong here call it out and continue the conversation. Just a heads up. Gonna off the top of the dome on this one. Also, I do agree that methods which can reduce actual exposure or action should always be seriously considered, regardless of social outcry.

What you are largely referring to are taboos that also fall under other categories. Someone with a rape kink or fetish are in reality into a gaining of, or loss of, control. People who fall into these categories may also fall into some psychosexual disorder category, I’m not sure. What I do know is paraphilia is a recognized class of mental and sexual disorder or extreme deviancy. Does this mean we fully understand it? Nope! It’s just where we are right now in understanding, though my concern is always whether that understanding has been tainted by the knee jerk reactions surrounding the disorders themselves.

Anyway, I’m digressing a bit.

My larger point is that Paraphilia is understood currently as being outside of typical, or even atypical, sexual deviancy. We literally perceive and understand it as a legitimate mental disorder. Moreover, people who suffer from pedophilia and other recognized sexual disorders do struggle with their feelings and desire to act, even if the majority never do. Some even manage to lead healthy lifestyles around children or objects of their desire. Which brings up the concept of risk.

This is because as humans we can disconnect the real from fantasy. The issue with mental disorders though, and the reason they are disorders, is due to the severity of what is present. Which brings me up to another point: I don’t disagree on a fundamental level. I just worry that when it comes to a basic human need that people will find a way to excuse because they’ve been repeatedly introduced to stimulation that could exacerbate something they may already struggle to not take even the smallest of actions on.

This is a rocky subject that should be explored. Just done so carefully. That said, and I want to be clear, I do not blame any person for a desire, only action. Whatever sexual deviancy may exist, the most important things are safety and harm, and being able to provide appropriate care to those who are victims of their own mind.

So it’s less about outlets and more about progression. The concern is while plenty have an outlet they can use, we can’t know how many also choose to escalate because of these outlets.

That said, I do agree with you. However, I will always be more for understanding the disorder when no act has occurred and finding treatment.

Pokemon effectively makes them all the money they need and all they need to do is sick one of the rabid lawyers they keep in the basement on anyone even remotely infringing upon what they think they own.

They’re like a litigation equivalent to McDonald’s land ownership twist to company financial equivalency.

That is shit, but also just a little funny.

Then again I love Dark Souls so this may just be the ptsd talking.

Good point.

What’s the alternative?

What this post doesn’t tell you, dear reader, is how Frostpunk will kick you in the dick repeatedly and you’ll learn to like it. It is a fascinating and difficult game, and not one to take lightly if you struggle separating digital game characters from real life empathy.

If society has gone a different direction what you did do may have been just as condemnable.

It doesn’t need to meet outstanding expectations, TODD, it just needs to be a good fucking game…TODD. Skyrim isn’t good because it has the best fighting mechanics or most outstanding AI or anything like that. It has stood this long because anybody can turn it on and literally just pick a direction and exist. The world that was crafted is still interesting to this day. We don’t need a game that is better than Skyrim, we just want something similar, updated, and worth stepping into for the world and our own imaginations. Modding support not put aside.

The first thing I did when I was issued a laptop for a job was check for monitoring software of any type. The second thing I did was become extremely suspicious when I couldn’t find any. I suppose the rule is “most likely” or “more often than not” while also being “always assume”.

I feel it’s rather fair to give them a pass on this one. Games with a player base and longer than a passing fart of time in the market? Sure. This was a failed product. They issued refunds. This is a situation where pushing your luck just backs someone into a corner.

We can hope they’ll flip the assets and remodel into another title.

Authoritative knee jerk with a bit of ignorance thrown in.

Not sure why heavily leaning to one side or another is so popular nowadays.

Anyway, I don’t know how individual companies do what. I don’t work for them. I don’t have insider knowledge. I do know how companies are typically structured and the traps nearly every company experiences as they grow, both in revenue and often consequently in manpower.

I’m not going to dive into it. This is a pretty easy topic to find on many search engines and Youtube where they’ll probably go more in-depth than I can with a limited attention span and two thumbs.

The high base level costs aren’t due purely to development, I’d wager. How many admin staff, redundant management, petty meetings, and exorbitant costs go to overhead that could be solved with a 20 minute meeting and less triple expressos for the executive team?

Moreover, chances are we could find several issues with the flow of work around the development of the game itself. Poorly optimized communication, for the win.