Well damn, here we are again. Another month down, another year gone (almost). Apologies for the late post this month, it's been busy.
There's 20 hours of Monomyth footage recorded, and I'm ready to record the voice-over then jump into post-production. And it's been that way for a week and a half now. Stalker 2 put a hard stop to further progress. You've no doubt heard about the bugs and performance issues Stalker 2 had at launch - they do exist - but this is the real deal, everything that longtime fans like me wanted in a sequel is here. The playtime isn't wasted time as far as the channel is concerned; the next video will be on Stalker 2, whether it lived up to the hype, and what needs to be fixed before it can live up to its fullest potential. It's gonna be an interesting ride.
Back to Monomyth. I have returned to work on the video and it'll be up soon. Not to diminish Monomyth, it's a great game and worth your time.
The Stalker 2 video won't be a deep dive like the Shadow of Chernobyl videos, it'll be shorter (40-50mins) and focus on the pre-release and release debacles, the patches, and how the game is balanced at the time of writing the script, as well as speculating on its future. It's been fascinating to watch everything unfold and to be playing a game day 1 when the criticism is usually harshest. I've seen and experienced everything before it was patched, and because I know the Stalker gameplay well, I can identify exactly what's broken, what's missing, and what's imbalanced.
Looking forward to getting the Stalker 2 video into your hands but I love exploring, and the game is huuuuuge. I doubt there will much change left from 120 hours. Not kidding. Look to January, possibly February for the video's release.
What's Blondie Playing?
Stalker 2
Stalker 2
All Stalker 2 and no vodka makes a Stalker sober.
Seriously though. I loved Pacific Drive but had to shelve it because of it's extraction-style gameplay. I don't always have 90 minutes of uninterrupted time to dedicate to it, and not being able to save mid-mission was a bust for me. I have an eye on a Steam Deck this Christmas, that'd solve many of these save issues.
I also started Drova - Forsaken Kin just before hurricane Stalker 2 hit. Really loving Drova, and it was a shame to drop it, but Stalker 2. If you enjoy the Gothic series then I highly recommend giving Drova a look. Probably worth a video in its own right.
Indiana Jones just dropped and the reviews look promising. It also has the style of gameplay I enjoy, so this may end up being a video next year.
The final update for 2024 will be just before Christmas. Stay cool, my friends, and keep an eye out for the Monomyth video which drops soon. Don't sleep on this one, it's a hell of an effort from a solo indie developer.
There's no sugar-coating this one. July was a rough month. Between a bunch of personal stuff and a busy IRL work schedule all coming at me at once, July has been a frustrating month, a month to forget. There were times I felt like throwing my hands up and giving up the Youtube gig, it felt that hopeless. Only in the last week have I wiped the plate clean and gotten back on track. They say the victories are won a step at a time, but they never tell you how to feel about the times your feet are moving yet the scenery isn't. This isn't a sob piece, but I need to get it off my chest. I have disabled Patreon payments, temporarily at least, until the Marathon 2 video is out. I swear there was an option to charge per video which is feeling a lot more fair than monthly payments at the moment, but I couldn't find it in the settings. I'll have another look soon.
Amidst the chaos of life, I had to face a hard truth: long form videos aren't as fulfilling as they once were. Am I saying anything new in them? Do they still mean ...
G'day, folks. Work on the Marathon video has begun. The playthrough is finished and the draft script is roughly 2/3 done. It's hard to say how long videos will be anymore. I've sped up my voice-over cadence which has compressed video length by around 1/3 to 1/4 but it's an ongoing refinement to find the right balance. The video won't be as long as the Marathon 1 video but I'm expecting at least an hour runtime. A lot of research goes into the Marathon videos because there's so much information out there and it takes time to review the relevant bits.
I got sick earlier in the month which wiped out a week of productivity. Because I couldn't sleep properly during the nights, I spent any and all free time sleeping that week.
What's Blondie playin'?
I finished Atomfall and its DLC this month. Fun game, though not as open and revolutionary as I was led to believe. More interactivity between characters which revolved around questlines would have been welcome. The System Shock 2 remaster came out recently, and ...
