It really is strange to me, just how much it affected most people not being able to go outside (well, actually being severely restricted from outdoor activities).
Here I was though, doing everything as normal and not noticing much of a difference.

I get that it's probably because I'm introverted and all that crap. But honestly, it still strikes me as being odd. Like whenever people go on about brain freeze, and I'm just sitting there thinking that they're making it up. Why would your brain hurt when you eat something cold? Your mouth hurts, not your brain (well actually the back of your throat, but you get the idea).

In other words, I know I'm the odd one out for not experiencing it, but it really is odd to hear other people talk about it like it's normal.



Ah well, at least it gave me an excuse to finally play through Dragon Quest Builders 2. Which then led me onto the other Dragon Quest games, and then made me want to play some modern JRPGs which led me to the Neptunia series. Speaking of which, the latest entry Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters might just end up becoming my favourite entry in the series. I've been playing it recently and the increase in budget is definitely noticeable and welcomed.

On a somewhat related note. A couple of days ago I was thinking to myself how this year had been a great year for video games. But then I stumbled upon a post where someone talked about how this had been a terrible year for video games, and as well as a bunch of replies agreeing with said post.
I sat there thinking for a moment and realized something. This year has been a great year for Indie, B-grade, and A-grade games. But it's been a terrible year for AAA mainstream games, and I just didn't notice because I usually avoid those games like the plague.
As I usually say, I live under a rock. But my goodness I never realized until now that it's a very cozy rock. More people some come under here with me. I think you'd like it.

When the lockdown first began, no one quite knew what it meant. Was going outside strictly prohibited? What about food shopping? What about work?

It turns out it didn't really mean anything. People who were terrified of dying (which turns out to be most people) were already set on hiding in their homes for the year, and everyone else just slowly started going about their business as usual. The streets were very quiet though, especially during that first week.

So during the pandemic, I wrote down a whole bunch of scripts for comics, detailing the absurdities that happened at the time. There was after all a lot of material, and I wanted to record the stupidities that happened which would no doubt become lost to time (like HD Sunglasses and the PS4's forwards compatibility).
But I didn't want to make the comics at the time, because almost everyone was making stuff related to the pandemic. I personally wanted everyone to shut up about it, so I figured that I'd carry on as though everything was normal so I could be that one place which isn't shoving the latest thing into your face. In other words, I wanted to give people a break from that ongoing crap.

So I put the scripts to one side and slowly added to them and improved them, waiting for the inevitable day when it became old news, so I could finally have an excuse to unleash them onto the world.
Today is that day.

So for this first comic strip, I can't be the only one who noticed that the news for Covid was everywhere, but no one gave a crap about it until it was officially labeled as a pandemic, right?
I mean, personally for me. My interest in it stayed the same from day one all the way to today, which is mild indifference. But everyone really seemed to start panicking as soon as that label was attached. It was weird. Maybe it has something to do with the game Pandemic, since people seemed to talk about that a lot at the start as well.
And then there was the toilet paper thing, which I still don't get. I remember before people were panic buying, that I told my dad that I'd heard that people in China were buying up all of the toilet paper, and that I figured that chances are it was going to happen here. He didn't understand why people would buy toilet paper unless it gave you diarrhea. None the less, I was right, and I think he's still equally confused, as am I.
Maybe everyone took that one Supernatural episode to heart. (I wonder how many people will understand that reference?)

So I played Tunic and instantly figured out how to do a dodge roll and how to use those teleporter pad things. I mean my first manual page was the table of contents. I then immediately found the secret passage behind the waterfall. I think you can see where I'm going with this.
I mean seriously, if people struggle with this, could you imagine if they played an actual obtuse game without a manual? I mean Duck Tales for the NES is more difficult to learn how to play. Because how do you do the pogostick attack? You've got two buttons, one jumps and the other does nothing. Pressing down in midair also does nothing. So do you know what you have to do? You have to hold in the button that does nothing while in midair while also holding down. Now THAT'S obtuse, and is nothing on the crap I've had to deal with in other games.

In Atari games, you literally only have one button, and while I've slowly been going through all of the Atari games (yes, I've been trying to play them all, I've even found a couple that aren't terrible), there have been a few games which I've been unable to figure out the controls. AND THIS IS WITH A CONTROLLER THAT ONLY HAS ONE BUTTON!
Obviously I try the usual, tap, double tap, triple tap, tap and hold, hold and tap, tap and direction, direction and tap, hold and direction, direction and hold, hold and double tap, double tap and hold, tap hold tap, ect. I think you get the idea.

Moving on from that, usually the first thing I do when I put on a new game is to get acquainted with the controls. It's one of the reasons why I prefer to skip tutorials. Since it lets me get straight into the thick of things with all of the controls available, and therefore figure things out for myself. Like most people, I learn from doing, so I'll learn much quicker if I just press a button and see what it does rather than reading a text box explaining what that action does and why it does it and when you would used it and so on. If for whatever reason I can't figure things out, then and only then will I load the tutorial up. The success and praise I've seen from Tunic, shows just how much in the minority I am, and why games are very tutorial heavy.

Now as for my thoughts on Tunic itself. Personally it's not to my taste. But I will admit that it held my attention longer than most games that I'm not particularly fond of. So it's definitely a good game. If you think you'd enjoy it, chances are, you probably will. So despite not personally liking it, I would recommend it.
The only negative I have to say about it, is that I feel as though it really needs some catchy overworld music (perhaps something chiptuny), you know, like The Legend of Zelda games. It feels quite empty without it, which I get is probably the point, but the point also seems to be to look like an obscure rented cartridge game reminiscent of B-tier Japanese games from the 3rd to 5th generation of consoles. So catchy adventure music for most areas would definitely be more fitting than only having ambiance. In other words, I think the ambiance should have been the exception, not the rule, in order to lend more credence to the areas which shouldn't have music. But that's just my humble opinion.

Good eye. That is indeed the Chron-O-John from Day of the Tentacle, just red instead of green. (I'm glad it was noticable.)
I like to include little references like that. You'd be amazed at how often they go unnoticed.