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THE DIGITISER2000 FRIDAY LETTERS PAGE

17/11/2017

37 Comments

 
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As you may be aware, Digitiser is 25 years old on January 1st 2018. Alright, it hasn't been around for the entirety of that time, but the memory of it has, at least, been a constant. Thus, it seems as good a time as any to celebrate that memory, and this weird little community that has built up around Digi in the last three years.

Plus, there are clearly a lot of ex-Digi readers out there who don't know that I'm still around, so it might be nice to use this opportunity to see if we can reach out to some of them too. Be nice. 

I've got some ideas for what we can do to mark this momentous occasion, but I also asked you lot what you'd like to see. Which was probably a bit stupid of me, given that nobody knows what they want until they get it.

Anyway, a few of you chipped in, and I've published the responses below. Along with the usual guff and stuff. Incidentally, I've had a dire cold for over a week now. That's apropos nothing, but I feel like mentioning it.

If you'd like to appear here, or you've something you'd like me to give some attention to in our occasional Plug Zone, please send your filthy emails early to this place here: 
digitiser2000@gmail.com
PLOT TWIST
One of your recent articles got me wondering, but I thought I'd give it a week or two so you don't think I'm trolling...

So here is my question - have you always followed the plot of games? Thanks!
John
Yes! I think I have. I mean, in the early days, games didn't have much in the way of plot... but... yeah, I tried to. For me, though... plot has to be told differently in games to other mediums. If there are too many cut-scenes that go on for too long I switch off. I think you can convey a lot in the game itself. 

That said, a good cut-scene will keep me watching, but I don't think it's the most effective way of getting plot into a game. Or, at least, an action game. 
INTERIOR HULU
When I picked up my Switch earlier this year, the reason I quickly became a fan of how portable the device was Hulu.

It’s lighter than its predecessor, the Wii U’s GamePad, and moves seamlessly between living room and anywhere else I’ve brought it.

My TV habits — like many others — aren’t limited to the living room. I’ve got the Netflix app on my iPhone and iPad, and those are used everywhere the TV isn’t: I’ll frequently throw something on one of those while I’m working around the house, cooking, or eating lunch. But my iPad is one of the original ones, and it’s getting old.

And while the Switch’s screen isn’t that much bigger than my iPhone 8 Plus, the slightly larger size is noticeable. One downside of watching TV from your phone is also that it’s not all that uncommon to get a push notification while I’m watching something
Michael Hyman
Press reveal to see another way you can watch TV.
REVEAL:
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REED AND WRITE
I have only just come across Digitiser 2000, in all honesty I had completely forgotten that I regularly read Digitiser on Teletext back in the day. It definitely had an effect on my sense of humour and coming across the site has filled me with joy!

Oh and I see you are a Marillion fan too. Only over the past year have I rediscovered my love for the band and have been listening to them pretty obsessively ever since. I have even got myself a ticket to see them in Bristol next April, hurrah!

Anyway just wanted to share that with you.
Steve Reed
Welcome back! And yeah, everyone needs to listen to Marillion at least once, if only to have all their jaundiced pre-conceptions confirmed. Their stuff is not always easy to get on the first listen, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded. Or maybe you'll just run back screaming to something less threatening, like Coldplay or U2.

Actually, that reminds me of something else...
RIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
The world needs Ridge Racer now more than ever.

I know you don’t like racing games very much and that’s okay because I didn’t like Half-Life 2 and that somehow makes us even.

I’ve said before how much I love Ridge Racer - even when you had the wrong-headedness to flag the PS1 original as little more than a demo because it only had one track. Well, Mr, what it lacked in tracks it made up for in this: fun.

It’s not the fastest, prettiest or most realistic and although it eschews marques and actual physics, it does so because both of those things are boring and detract from what it most certainly is - the purest arcade racer ever ever ever.

I’ve never enjoyed Granny Turismo and I think Forza is a load of Forzing Shit. Just saying.

There was that entry not so long ago that wasn’t Ridge Racer in anything but name and then there are the poor as piss IOS iterations - it’s almost as if they’ve tried to run the franchise into the ground. Bastards.

Drifting around corners in Ridge is like conducting an orchestra (by my reckoning) and when I play games like The Crew, Project Cars, Need for Speed… my heart breaks a little because I know it doesn’t have to be like this - it could have been good.

Such is my love for Ridge Racer that I’m going to throw down a string-backed driving glove with this - yes, I do hate Microsoft BUT if the next Ridge game was an Xbox One X exclusive then I’d cough up the 500 quid for the privilege and I’d even throw an open tin of green paint right across my living room for some reason.

I’ve gone to the trouble of including a photo I took of a Spock toy I thought you and your fine readers would definitely like.
DEAN
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You don't like Half-Life 2?!? What's wrong with you?! Anyway, for the record - I don't hate racing games. I like Mario Kart, I loved Burnout. I don't like "serious" racing games, like Gran Turismo and that. And I only disliked the PlayStation version of Ridge Racer because it was a rip-off!
D-25 IDEAS
Mainly I would like:
  1. All contributors present, so that I can ask about different characters that you didn't do personally.
  2. Name check song that includes every character, sung in that really fast style.
  3. Digi merch. 
  4. Interactive quiz. Something surreal/creative then you can read out the funniest answers later in the event.
  5. A sing-a-long of FF songs.  Live performance, Chris?
  6. Really little known facts, like did the weird faces on the index page have names? That kind of thing.
  7. You and Horsenburger illustrate some Digi stories that you can then tell on stage?
Glyn Heaviside
1. Hopefully.
2. Dunno. If someone wants to do that they can, but the thought of writing that makes me cringe.
3. Deffo.

4. Probably will do a reprise of Quiz-Me-Do at next year's as-yet-unscheduled Digifest.
5. Unnnh. That's up to Chris.
​6. I'll do my best to dig out some Digi facts.
7. Illustrated stories? I dunno...
STICKER-UP
For your 25th anniversary of Digitiser I would enjoy special sticker sets of 25 Digi characters like Man with the Chin, Predict-a-Ham, sicking up Turner, Mr Nude, Fat Sow, Chart Cat and Ring Sir. Maybe we could all meet and worship some of these characters IN PERSON at your Blackpool party! (Could we at least have an epic game of pass the parcel in Blackpool?)
AGeekyGirl
@1waytofindout
Stickers are very likely to be offered. We might also have a little freebie something coming your way very, very shortly...

​Incidentally, the Blackpool thing Geeky Girl refers to is the Blackpool Play Expo, happening in February. I'm going to be there, doing a talk, but please do come along if you're more or less in the area and fancy hanging out. I'll be there all weekend, so if enough of you are coming we can, I dunno, go and play on the Penny Falls together. 

Also: the last time I was in Blackpool I got the runs, and it's highly likely that I'll be mentioning that on stage, because I can't help myself when it comes to stuff like that.

Anyway, later in the year, as mentioned above, it's looking likely that we'll be organising a big, celebratory, Digifest. Details will follow in due course.
PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED
I bet you get loads of folk asking you if they can have their content shared or published by by Digi2000. If that assumption is true then my suggestion is a Digitiser 25th Anniversary Takeover day or week. Between now and then take submissions, and vet them then publish them on the relevant day/days.

Some ideas: 

1. Review Revenge - where readers submit a game review in response to one of your reviews from way-back-when. 
2. Comics and cartoons - done anyhow, so long as you and you alone find them funny.
3. Brilliant/terrible jokes; top-tens; letters from Mr Biffo to your readers; one-page spoof scripts for games cut-scenes.

And when its all done you will realise what an awful idea it was and that the reader really is always wrong!
Kevin
I do get a lot of people asking for me to publish their stuff. I did a bit of that early on, but it opened the floodgates rather, and I ended up having to read a lot of submissions, which took up a lot of time. Plus, we've got lovely Patreon and PayPal donors, and I think - on the whole - they kindly give their money to read my words. You can become one of them too if you like! Please?

So... alas, probably won't be featuring any of your ideas any time soon (barring the occasional appearance from the excellent Super Bad Advice). Though that's also why I started the letters page; to give the readers a chance to appear on here. 
THE 50 Q'S OF WHYTE
1. 
What is your favourite incongruous guest appearance in a computer game? I'm torn between Fred Durst in 'Fight Club' and, of course, David Bowie in 'Omikron: The Nomad Soul.'

2. Who is the greatest British games designer, in your opinion and what makes you choose them?

3. What do you think about government assistance for computer games makers? Canada, in particular Quebec, has had much success by offering tax incentives for games firms to locate there. As someone who is dismayed at the lack of genuinely British content and character in games part of me thinks that anything that could help the industry here is worth a try. Having said that, we generally don't like tax incentives being given to banks, coffee companies of popular search engines so should it be acceptable just because I like playing computer games? I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.
John Whyte
1. I don't know if I have a favourite. Though Mr Game & Watch in the Smash Bros. games is sort of pleasingly random.
2. Um... well Ultimate Play The Game for me, probably. Less so Rare, as great as Goldeneye was. I'm looking forward to Sea of Thieves, though.
3. Oh gawd. I don't think about this at all. It would be nice to think it could be offered as a way of making games which reflect the UK more. A lot of financial incentives for film and TV makers work this way, but... the benefit of that might end up being off-set by the games selling worse in the US and Japan because everyone in those countries is racist.
PSP-NIS
I just got a Sony PSP and am keen to know what are the must have games for it? Also is there porn on UMD so I can secretly watch a bit of blue in the toilet?
The Porridge Master
Why would you ask either of those things?
POKIN' AROUN'
I come to answer your request for suggestions for the Digitiser anniversary. Which is probably not a good idea on my part because, as I have mentioned in the past, I do not remember much about the Teletext Era, mostly due to being 10 when it ended... I think.

​However, I did some poking around the internet and have come up with some suggestions, in the vain hope you won’t dislike all of them.

- Man’s Daddy Plushies (OK, did ask for this on Twitter already and you said Nay due to lack of demand, but I need a kick off point).

- A dramatisation of Mr. PSBs memoirs on the life of Mr. Biffo.

- DJ Stringy Hobo talks about the gaming cabinets he stood near this one time.

- Morse, Lewis and Cracker investigate the history of teletext.

- 3 hour Tea Prancer Movie

- The Man of Zinc takes some vitamin C and we guess the results

- Clothes Shopping in the 90s with Mr. Nude

- Party of Five Review. ... actually, scratch that. Might go against type a little too much.

- Some sort of Quiz Show involving Turts, Golden Amigas and YouTube’s Big Clive. (Or Mentski, if he’s available.)

- A revisiting of the characters of Digi. (Yes, this may be the one serious suggestion.)

Hope that helps!
El Greenio Screenio
The current plan is to have a week of classic-style Digi in January, with as many of the former contributors involved as possible. That might change... but right now: that is the plan. And then - yes - a big Digifest later in the year, which, possibly, might broaden out a bit to talk about 90s games journalism a bit more generally. That's what I'm thinking, given that I'm still in touch with a few well known 90s games journos.
HALF A SIXPENCE
Given that I only write in letters about Half-Life 3 and Nintendo’s mobile games, I thought I might as well write in about Half-Life 3 again.

Did you read Marc Laidlaw’s thinly disguised outline of the plot? See here if you (or your lovely readers) did not: http://www.marclaidlaw.com/epistle-3/

This is old news which didn’t exactly set the gaming press alight at the time, and I’d forgotten about it til just now. But I’m glad we didn’t get the game in this form... It sounds cinematic and all, but not much different structurally or mechanically from the previous games. And the open ending: blahhh.

I’d like some closure. Who is the G-man? What have Aperture Science got to do with this? And so on, and so on...

(Why do I even care all these years later?)
Richard Morrison
It is weird that there has never been a Half-Life 3. I do wonder what the real story is there; they've clearly explored it, so what the heck really happened? It's so sad.
BASE-LESS ACCUSATION
I am an idiot - do not listen to me. But i thought I'd tell you why i didn't enjoy Found Footage as much as your other stuff, like Biffovision. And I'd like to do it with a poorly thought out metaphor. I think it was a pizza that was basically all topping and no base.

​Biffovision had the studio "base" and the segment "cheeses", and i could pick up a slice and enjoy it. Found Footage was delicious cheese, but made my hands gooey and dripped on my slippers. And after a while with all cheese and prawns with no base, i felt queasy.


I want you to make more, but package it differently, so if you do another kick starter I'll back it.
bulbous receiver.
In case anybody is unaware, I made the near-fatal error last weekend of suggesting a list of things I might possibly do next year as a follow-up to Found Footage, and asked the viewers of Found Footage to give feedback on this.

Unfortunately, what this led to was a barrage of emails and comments from people telling me what they didn't like about Found Footage, and advising on what I "should" have done differently. Which wasn't what I'd asked for, because - y'know - who asks for that, especially when they're really proud of the thing they've made, and it has taken up a year of their life?!

Normally, I can take this stuff on the chin - I write professionally for the TV, and I get notes on everything I do telling me that it's wrong, which builds something of a thick skin when it comes to criticism - but perhaps because of the very personal nature of FF, this was a bit like having an involuntary nervous tic, and someone suggesting I "should stop all that twitching".

On the one hand: fine. People paid money for it, and if they didn't enjoy it as much as they'd hoped then it's their prerogative to moan about it. I get that the feedback was given with good intentions. And I admit that FF was kind of designed to be challenging; it's prog-comedy, man! I never expected everyone to love everything about it. But... there are pop songs in there amid the longer conceptual pieces!

On the other hand... I started receiving these messages on the day I'd spent hours trying (and failing) to fix a leak underneath my kitchen sink, harming various parts of my body in the process, all because I can't afford a plumber, because I'd spent so much of my own money (and time) on Found Footage. I could've taken the family to Florida for the summer, or gotten married! 

That was stupid of me, of course, but I felt guilty that people would throw so much money at me to do a thing, and not make what I felt was a comparable sacrifice of my own. My ambition was borne from a sincere and well-intentioned place. So, it felt a bit like, I dunno, carving something out of a tree trunk to give to someone as a gift, and when they unwrap it they just shrug, and find fault with it, and say "You should have given me something else".

With regard to bulbous receiver's issue, that FF didn't have a "base"... the whole underlying Xenoxxx  conspiracy was intended to be that base, but I got told a number of times this week that the Xenoxxx stuff was the reason people couldn't get into the series, and a "barrier" to the comedy. Even though that was kind of the point, but it was evidently a point that wasn't appreciated by all.

So, in summary: I can't win, and shouldn't ever try to tailor what I do to what people want, because that's just going to result in something watered-down and anodyne and devoid of its own personality.

I still love what I made, and I'm sorry if what some of you wanted was a series of six, ten-minute episodes of random silly sketches, rather than something a bit more challenging and ambitious.

​Anyway. Right now... if I'm honest, I dunno if I'll do another Kickstarter next year. But I also know that I'm as stubborn as they come, and if you tell me not to do something I'll just do it even more the next time... The inner troll... he stirs!
LIMP AND BLOODY
As we limp bloodily towards the end of the year, we start to come across lots of “Best of” lists and the like, and I’ve been trying to think of my favourite games of the year. And to be honest, my favourite new games that I’ve played this year have been Titanfall 2 and Doom. Both of which came out last year.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, or part of a problem of growing up/growing old, but I maintain the same level of interest in gaming that I had when I was 14 and building levels for Duke Nukem 3D, but I have substantially less free time to enjoy it in. Plus games keep getting bigger and longer, and I have more and more demands on my free time.

Somehow I’ve ended up with three other human beings in the house, two of whom often need help getting dressed or going to the toilet, which seems awfully selfish of them when you consider neither of them would exist in the first place if it wasn’t for me.

​Plus I’ve got a job, I’m trying to write a book, and also (ahem), trying to edit the behind-the-scenes Found Footage doc. And (and!) those Marvel Netflix shows aren’t going to watch themselves, are they?

I guess what I’m saying is I don’t understand how on earth people have time to play games when they actually come out.

In the past this bothered me, but I think I’ve kind of come to terms with it. It’s nice to be able to contribute to discussions I guess, and vote in end-of-year polls and the like; no one wants you to interrupt their Horizon/Zelda/Mario discussion with your opinion on a game that came out nearly two years ago. But I’m absolutely, thoroughly enjoying myself regardless. Have I finally grown up? Have I achieved a modicum of peace and perspective? Dunno. What do other people think?

Oh, hold on – Thimbleweed Park. That came out in 2017. I’ve played that, it’s ace. There you go, game of the year.

TTFN
David Heslop

PS. Idea for Digi’s anniversary: get some contemporary kids to try to navigate Teletext, then point at them and laugh. 
I'm glad you wrote in, David. Do you remember when you did the voice of Sting in Found Footage, and I told you that your voice gave me AMSR when I was editing it, and you were probably weirded out by that? 

Well get this: I had a dream about you the other night. We were on some bus tour in Switzerland, and you and I decided to explore the town while the rest of the tour group went up the mountain, but then we got bored in the town and decided to walk through the town to meet them.

We were having a breather and trying to catch our bearings in a square in the middle of the town, when we heard a roar.

"What was that?" you asked.

"I think it was a lion," I replied.

"Nah, I think it just sounded like a lion," you said.

So I climbed some nearby steps, and looked out over the square, and there was a little zoo in the middle of it, and there was indeed a lion in the zoo, roaring.

"Yeah, it was a lion," I said, smugly.

I appreciate that it's really weird of me to tell you this. I don't fancy you! 
BEST OF THE WORST
What is the worst video game you ever did play?
​
Chinnyhill10
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on the Game Boy.
FRONT BOTTOM
I was wondering about your opinion on the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle, in particular whether this qualifies, as it does for me , as to EA "messing around with your star wars" as you put it recently, I think it is shocking myself EA really do know how to be a shitty company at times don't they?
Paul Morris
I tried to write something about it earlier this week, but couldn't quite work up sufficient ire, so I thought I'd wait until I got the game. Unfortunately, as stated above, I'm broke - FF-related residual poverty coupled to later-than-expected payment for some freelance jobs - so that'll have to wait.
37 Comments
Jareth Smith
17/11/2017 10:55:23 am

On my 25th birthday I got drunk, so that's always a possibility.

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Chris JC
17/11/2017 11:06:36 am

I think a live performance would depend on a number of factors, such as me being able to afford to attend the event in the first place. Then, if we disregard my lack of confidence at doing music in front of people (I can’t imagine what it’d be like for people hearing me try to hit the high SINCLAAAAIIIIRRR in a live scenario), then we also face the idea of whether it’s just me with a backing track and maybe the occasional keyboard or guitar part or an actual live band, and because of some of the nonsense I put together, that would soon spin into needing accordion players and brass sections etc. Also amplification and other live music things.

And that’s disregarding the larger point that we’re talking about a Digitiser event rather than a purely FF one, and as such a performance of this nature might be baffling to a lot of the audience.

Still, never say never and that.

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Glyn
17/11/2017 11:36:48 am

I imagined it be you, with a guitar and the lyrics projected up on screen and we all sing along.

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DEAN
17/11/2017 11:40:50 am

Chris, the songs are strong enough that any 5 piece band (keys, drums, guitar, bass, vocals) could deliver them with enough potency and they're so strong that anyone hearing them for the first time would enjoy them - no FF required!

I wouldn't use back tracks, though - a live band would go over so much better and it'd be way more fun for you!

I think you're a perfectionist and that's cool but you shouldn't let it hold you back from performing - you've got a great voice and the way you deliver lyrics is brilliant. You owe it yourself to get out there and be heard, man!

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Mr Biffo
17/11/2017 03:17:33 pm

Suffice to say, I would love it to happen.

John Veness
17/11/2017 03:28:55 pm

There must be enough (amateur?) musicians amongst Digi fans to make this happen? I can do one-finger keyboards if pushed and with plenty of practice!

If FF songs would seem out-of-place in a Digifest, just rebrand it Biffofest.

Harry Medium
19/11/2017 02:14:02 pm

Chris/Biff, I think this would be pretty easy to do justice to, especially in front of a baying Digi audience. Let me know if I can be of assistance on guitar, vox or poor fashion sense.
Harry

DEAN
17/11/2017 11:18:35 am

Well thanks for clearing that up!

The gravity gun was pretty cool BUT I thought the original Prey game was considerably more fun, made a better toy out of gravity and was less serious.

I dunno why really - FPS games - heck, I've played loads because I sort of feel like I should like them and on rare occasions I do but they're not a staple for me.

Possibly it's a spatial awareness thing - it's like I'm deep into Odyssey now (I gave in and bought another Switch) and brilliant as it is (loving it) I always seem to think Mario is standing somewhere he's not quite at yet - same with New Super Mario 3D World, Galaxy... the only one I seemed to not make a total mess out of was Mario 64 - but I was younger then....

Do you or anyone reading this remember the flower boss on Windwaker? I struggled like my brain was damaged trying to beat that thing; ultimately I think my eventual success was luck and nothing more.

I am, by my own admission, a cack-handed dolt and relate strongly to your descriptions of DIY attempts. Mine extends a little further, though.

For example -

My 1st driving instructor 'expelled' me - his as exact as I can remember words were - "If you don't kill yourself, you'll kill somebody else."

My father abandoned any hope of helping me after our first outing - it ended with the car stuck in a hedge.

To be clear, I was not fast or a showoff and was genuinely trying.

So maybe that's what's wrong with me, Mr!

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Neptunium
17/11/2017 11:53:44 am

You said what NEEDED to be said about Ridge Racer. I respect you, brah. I wrote to Namco to tell tell them they should make a new Ridge game for the Switch and they very politely told me to go fornicate myself :-(

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DEAN
17/11/2017 04:05:25 pm

Thanks, Ridge Brah!

The Switch would be a wonderful 'vehicle' for a new RR!

I'm surprised and frankly disgustingly outraged that they didn't launch the PS4 with a new one - it's a tradition!

I read the other day that Bandai Namco are in the midst of an aggressive expansion (like what I do when I spot a bar of Dairy Milk) so I guess their eye's on a bigger prize. Even so, the franchise is surely too valuable to be left dormant for long - I live in hope!

John Veness
17/11/2017 11:56:41 am

I've been meaning to ask, who is Super Bad Advice? I've not been able to find a Twitter (etc.) presence.

Or is it, like Lloyd Mangram, just you really?!

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Mr Biffo
17/11/2017 01:27:32 pm

That would defeat the object! I'm not saying, but if SBA ever wants to reveal himself - that's up to him. So to speak.

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Toddy
17/11/2017 01:42:37 pm

Iain Lee I reckon

S Hawke
17/11/2017 03:33:37 pm

it's Jeremy Vine

Starbuck
19/11/2017 07:58:39 pm

Took me ages to see the anagram in Lloyd Mangram Melissa Ravenflame. I was more clued up with Melissa Ravenflame.

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Reversible Sedgewick
17/11/2017 12:20:37 pm

I like that Spock. It looks like that one boss fight that Nintendo put in every game they ever make.

And I wish that the Marvel Netflix shows would go and watch themselves. I started with them and got as far as an episode where Mr. Daredevil had a nice lie down on a sofa while his workmates went to the pub. Frrrg thrrrd. Not going to encourage that sort of silliness, no one needs to see Spiderman treating his fungal nail infection or Bruce Banner emptying the understairs cupboard to take a meter reading.

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DEAN
17/11/2017 04:08:26 pm

You're right - they have a thing for massive hand clapping monsters.

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Spiney O'Sullivan
17/11/2017 05:21:27 pm

I am so burned out on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I grew up watching the X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons and have spent far more money than I'd like to count on comics that ultimately got rebooted and made pointless over a few decades, but this last few years has just been too much of a constant hype and marketing cycle.

The Netflix shows and Agents of SHIELD seemed like too much of an investment of time so I skipped them, and now I'm probably not even going to see the new Thor in cinemas, which is the first one I've skipped since... well, the first Thor. Maybe I'll see it on Blu-Ray or streaming before Avengers 3 come out and has Thanos actually get out of his chair to use those Infinity Gems that definitely aren't getting slightly tired as a plot point.

Thank goodness this definitely won't happen with Star Wars.

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Reversible Sedgewick
17/11/2017 06:14:17 pm

I've still enjoyed the films so far. The new Thor's an odd one. Lots of articles were referring to it as a "standalone" story when it's anything but. You need to have seen probably at least five of the other films (particularly the last Avengers one) or there'll be big chunks of it which won't make a lick of sense.

RichardM
17/11/2017 12:27:47 pm

The thing that genuinely surprised me about FF was that Mr Biffo put so much of his own cash into it: can’t think of any other Kickstarterers who’ve done similar. Much respect.

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Mr Biffo
17/11/2017 01:31:01 pm

Well thank you. I'll probably spend much of 2018 still paying for it, so... in that respect... not all of it was my "own" money so to speak. Not yet anyway.

Some of it was unavoidable - the finale filming ended up overrunning far more than expected, and there were tons of hidden costs - and then I paid for all the stock footage/images/music I used as well, so that I didn't get into trouble. That was a massive unexpected expense.

Yes, I could've budgeted better... but mostly, it was done out the fact I wanted to repay you lot who backed it, as much as possible, by putting as much on screen as possible.

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Bingo Rose
17/11/2017 12:34:30 pm

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was only a SNES/Megadrive game... No?

Correct-me-do!

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Mr Biffo
17/11/2017 01:27:57 pm

What the heck am I thinking of then?

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Dr. Franken
17/11/2017 01:44:26 pm

Dr. Franken?

Mr Biffo
17/11/2017 02:04:22 pm

Nope: got it. Bram Stoker's Dracula!

Biscuits
17/11/2017 03:07:46 pm

Bram's Drac on MegaCD is one of the worst game's I'VE ever played! I was only 11 but it's shittiness did not escape me

Evil Keg link
17/11/2017 02:17:13 pm

Should be up for Blackpool in February as I don't work Saturdays and live in Preston. They've shut the rail line until May, but I can find my way there.

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RG
17/11/2017 02:45:17 pm

I also should be up for Blackpool in February as I don't work Saturdays and live in Preston. Are we the same person?

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Evil Keg link
17/11/2017 05:40:03 pm

Not sure. Do you drink in the Moorbrook on North Road too?

RG
20/11/2017 04:44:30 pm

Haha - Yes I do!

Nick
17/11/2017 04:05:02 pm

Here's some more feedback for FF you didn't ask for:

I loved it! Watched each episode like a straight sketch show first and then went back to take in the "base" (didn't know that was a term) conspiracy.

In awful DIY related antidotes. Available cash has been very tight this year as we try to complete the near impossible and buy a house in South Cambridgeshire. With this in mind when I found out I needed two new drop links and track rod ends on the front of the car to get it through the MOT I thought I'd have a go myself.

They seemed pretty easy to do, it generally took people on YouTube about 25 minutes per side and I've recently acquired all of my Dads old tools so I had everything I needed. I finished 8 hours later covered from head to toe in grease and grime with various cuts and lacerations on my hands. The mechanic still had to re-change one to pass the MOT. Ed China can do one.

Reply
Spiney O'Sullivan
17/11/2017 05:10:48 pm

I avoided giving feedback on whatever Biffo's next project is, in part because I was surprised he asked for it at all.

Found Footage is clearly something very personal, and while that means it'll be unlikely to be huge and will have many things that not everyone will enjoy (or even bits that only a very specific few will), it also means it's the result of a singular vision and not committee-designed in any way. There were bits of the show that I might not have appreciated as much as other parts, but overall if it was true to Biffo's vision, then I'm happy.

Most of my favourite shows are things that definitely weren't committee-made, and that nobody else I know has seen unless I make them watch them. Adult Swim stuff like Frisky Dingo and Superjail is very much my thing, as is Wonder Showzen and Twin Peaks. They tend to be made to a pretty singular vision, and are all the better for it, if incredibly niche (though Rick and Morty somehow blew up to the point that I had to force myself to watch season 3 because now there was all this expectation around it).

Basically Biffo, whatever the next project is, don't ask the internet. We're mostly idiots and would probably only ask for stuff that would result in a show filled with quotable catchphrases and overuses of recurring bits. Just make whatever you think is amusing to make.

That's why Steve Jobs once said something about not asking customers what they want because they don't really know what they want until you show it to them, in between the parts of his day dedicated to whipping a caged Wozniak and forcing overseas employees to swallow wads of money in plastic bags so their respective tax authorities couldn't find it.

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Spiney fan
18/11/2017 11:06:38 am

10/10 comment from the spinster

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Mr Biffo
20/11/2017 10:05:18 am

Noted! I've really enjoyed involving everyone along the way, and feeling like we've been part of a community, but - yes - when it comes to what the idea is, that I'm asking for support with, that probably needs to come from me.

Had a bit chat about it yesterday, and I do need to have something for next year rumbling along. But anyway, that is all I'll say on it for now.

Keith
17/11/2017 05:35:32 pm

I think that eventually an etiquette will develop(or should, anyway) whereby it’s inappropriate for someone who donates to a crowdfunded project, to review it or offer criticism, even constructive, unless it’s asked for.
The spirit of crowdfunding is about supporting people to be creative, and there really does have to be a divide between providing that support, and then giving a hot take about how it could be better. Crowdfunding isn’t commissioning, or getting some humour made to order.
For me, the beauty of watching FF get made this year has been seeing it come to fruition and developing, and feeling like I did a tiny bit of help. (and drew a poster for it that, due to my tools letting me down, ended up being about 500% worse than it should be, I felt bad submitting it) Like with most things I liked some bits of FF more than other bits (in the sense that I have favourite parts of it) but as crowdfunders we have to let the thing go once it’s out there, otherwise the model is no different to the norm, aside from there being a multitude of different opinions to listen to

Reply
Chinnyhill10
17/11/2017 11:40:31 pm

I now need to play Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on the Game Boy. Is it Count Duckula 2 bad? Rik The Roadie bad? I must know!

Reply
THX 1139
20/11/2017 10:39:10 am

FF made me laugh and gave me weird dreams. I don't get that with The Punisher. Trust your feelings, Lu- er, Mr B.

Reply



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