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Oxyclean posted:This is actually covered. His response is almost literally "oh, just that? I suppose in a world where brains can be popped out just by sneezing, it's probably not that big of a deal. But you'd still think doing it to unwilling children would be worth at least a suspension.
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Sep 6, 2021 01:10
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CuwiKhons posted:I suppose in a world where brains can be popped out just by sneezing, it's probably not that big of a deal. But you'd still think doing it to unwilling children would be worth at leas (t a suspension. Agreed on the suspension, but more broadly the thing with Psychonauts is you're looking at it through a lens of Punitive American Justice, which is to just put someone away for years on end and make them feel bad for the bad things they did in the hope they won't do it again. (At least on paper and not getting into the whole quagmire of the actual US prison system). Sending a Psychonaut in just resolves the root cause in their psyche so they won't reoffend immediately and recognise they did something terrible. What's the point of putting an old woman in jail compared to staying in Green Needle Gulch for her final years when she's demonstrably not the monster who drowned Grulovia?
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Sep 6, 2021 02:56
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Here's a hot take on this whole argument: BLAME GRISTOL'S DAD, HE'S THE ONE WHO TURNED LUCY INTO MALIGULA
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Sep 6, 2021 03:24
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I'm going to steer this conversation in a whole new direction, because I am bothered the gently caress by it but can't figure it out. So the Quarry theme song, it might have an odd time signature AND has an odd melody. I've played sax for 12 years. WHY do I recognize the leitmotifs of it compared to a song I've played before? I think it's because of individual measure breaks where it changes time signature for a moment, but the end of the recurring melody reminds me of another work that I either have seen in concert or played, and it's driving me mad that I can't place it.
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Sep 6, 2021 04:04
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thecluckmeme posted:I'm going to steer this conversation in a whole new direction, because I am bothered the gently caress by it but can't figure it out. This is a deep cut, but I'm gonna guess it's Early Light by Carolyn Bremer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjiLXDh9-Q4 Btw I'm SO grateful they had more than like $20 to throw at a composer this time 'round. The music in general is fantastic but I'm mostly just grateful/sad that the 1812 Overture remix in the original game was both my favorite track by far and also so short that the repetition was driving me slowly insane. The tracks are much longer and have an amazing whimsicality about them, I adore it.
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Sep 6, 2021 07:19
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I'm honestly kind of split on the music. Yes, the music itself is performed well, and during gameplay it's a treat, but there are so many cutscenes where it isn't being used to underscore what's going on in the scene at all. Like two characters could be talking and there's no music at all or some faint plonking here and there, or the music swells and dips with no relation to the intensity of the action.
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Sep 6, 2021 07:33
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Yeah, I loved the music in this game. I went and explored the Questionable Area for collectables after every brain I did in the middle section of the game just because I wanted to keep listening to the music there. I'm really hoping that they release the soundtrack soon, right now the only way I can find to listen to it is stuff people have ripped from directly in the game on Youtube.
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Sep 6, 2021 07:35
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Oxxidation posted:the role of the psychonauts is to "fix people," or at least to give them the means and support to overcome their mental demons, which is exactly what raz helped nona/lucrecia do. forsyth was a step too far because he wasn't actually fixing her, he was making her dysfunctional for his own ends. the luctopus is basically a far more benign maligula that he personally manufactured and let loose inside forsyth's mind here is a question i never understood the entire game through; does hollis have a history of problem gambling, or not. because all sorts of related imagery seems to pour out the microsecond you connect money and risk my assumption would be that she has or had a problem. but the game never explicitly states or even implies it; she repeatedly shoots down the concept that she could have one given she's got a math degree, etc. and despite the fact that whole sequence feels like it comes from another game (you never use mental connections for plot at all again after afaik) it's really important for this discussion. because if raz is awakening either a managed problem behaviour or some problem behaviour her personality is susceptible to as is consistent with most of the rest of the game, ie, that we are helping people address their own problems, a bit like sasha's level in 1. or raz totally implanted the gambling behaviour and we have a totally different moral calculus- it is in fact possible even likely for psychonauts to implant radically out of character behaviour and as such the denomount makes sense. CoolCab fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 08:37
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oh my god I rewatched the scene where the the 6 remeet and Nona comes in and when she says that they "used to fool around on the bean bags" Ford glances guilty sideways drat, he and Lucy must have got it on.
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Sep 6, 2021 08:49
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Junpei posted:oh my god I rewatched the scene where the the 6 remeet and Nona comes in and when she says that they "used to fool around on the bean bags" Ford glances guilty sideways The postgame talk 
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Sep 6, 2021 11:44
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CoolCab posted:you never use mental connections for plot at all again after afaik . They apparently chose not to use it like that again got story reason. Raz sincerely promised never to alter a person's mind like that again. Didn't make sense to have those scenes then let you still do that constantly throughout the rest of the game
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Sep 6, 2021 12:16
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I do wish they had done more with the Dark Thoughts than just put a few extra collectibles behind them.
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Sep 6, 2021 12:38
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:I do wish they had done more with the Dark Thoughts than just put a few extra collectibles behind them. Yeah, I was hoping originally they'd lead to memory vaults at least but nah, all of them except Hollis's are for a figament or two
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Sep 6, 2021 12:42
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It would have been a good way to hide high level challenges in early brains. Currently losing my mind trying trying to find the last figment in a couple of levels.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:42
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sirtommygunn posted:It would have been a good way to hide high level challenges in early brains. i kind of assumed they were using it like they did in 1 to gate off plot sensitive stuff so you can come back later with the relevant power after a reveal and learn more. nope, another figment.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:47
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I would have loved to see more with Mental Connections. I said it earlier, but it doesn't even need to be a puzzle about changing someone's connections, just make the traversal paths begin and end in concepts so we get more dialogue about their mental state.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:58
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i was thinking about it and i wonder how much of the weirdness was down to issues with the vocal talent. both jack black and elijah wood i would very strongly guess got levels designed to play to their strengths and i would say they're widely considered both the best and worst of the game.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:04
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It depends on what we're considering the "best" and "worst" here, because IMO the Psy-King's Sensorium is the worst stage in the game and... Gristol's mind isn't the "best" but it's really good despite having barely any gameplay to speak of. But even the worst level is still a good level so 
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Sep 6, 2021 15:27
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Barudak posted:Yeah, I was hoping originally they'd lead to memory vaults at least but nah, all of them except Hollis's are for a figament or two Given how long the game has probably been kicked around, I wonder if there's a more Inception-esque plot draft from around the time of the movie, and Mental Connections had a larger focus to build upon.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:34
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I was totally expecting it to be something like a certain mind from the first game.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:44
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CoolCab posted:here is a question i never understood the entire game through; does hollis have a history of problem gambling, or not. because all sorts of related imagery seems to pour out the microsecond you connect money and risk my assumption would be that she has or had a problem. but the game never explicitly states or even implies it; she repeatedly shoots down the concept that she could have one given she's got a math degree, etc. it's the latter. the luctopus was the result of a chain reaction from raz's brain rewiring (kind of like how forsythe drove her supervisor loopy with careless connections in her old job), and nothing in forsythe's past suggests she had a gambling problem or any of its associated neuroses before he went spelunking in her brain. it could be argued that her anxious, meticulous personality left her more vulnerable than average to the positive-risk association raz created, but that's just another point in the latter argument's favor. forsythe had it together pretty well before raz messed her up! she's under a lot of stress, sure, but she has her personal demons under control and a well-secured "happy place" where she can make decisions unaffected by any negative influences what raz did to forsythe was almost exactly what ford did to lucy, augustus, and himself with the astrolathe, and it's a deliberate parallel - ford even laments that he was too young to understand the implications of what he was doing at the time
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Sep 6, 2021 16:27
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King Vidiot posted:It depends on what we're considering the "best" and "worst" here, because IMO the Psy-King's Sensorium is the worst stage in the game and... . You stand alone on this hill and you really need to know that.
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Sep 6, 2021 16:57
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Asema posted:You stand alone on this hill and you really need to know that. i kind of hated that stage too. the final sequence was great and all, but the aesthetics are a total face-ache even when you don't factor in figment-hunting (built-in chromatic aberration? god help us), the king's soundbites repeat too much, and it's so loving long. it reminded me of the stages from alice: madness returns with how much it stretched everything out
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Sep 6, 2021 17:03
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Oxxidation posted:i kind of hated that stage too. the final sequence was great and all, but the aesthetics are a total face-ache even when you don't factor in figment-hunting (built-in chromatic aberration? god help us), the king's soundbites repeat too much, and it's so loving long. it reminded me of the stages from alice: madness returns with how much it stretched everything out That's fine and everything but I don't believe even with those complaints that it's the worst stage 
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Sep 6, 2021 17:42
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I mean I guess Nona's stage might be the worst just for being a mostly-empty exposition dump but I was really annoyed by Psy-King's Sensorium, aesthetics aside. It looked great I just didn't enjoy playing it
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Sep 6, 2021 17:45
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:I do wish they had done more with the Dark Thoughts than just put a few extra collectibles behind them. There seems to be a lot of wasted opportunities like this. Dark Thoughts only lead to figments. Locked chests only have cash. Most pins are mediocre and you have to share combat pins with aesthetic pins between limited slots. The reward for collecting everything in the game is completely useless because you already have everything in the game.
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Sep 6, 2021 19:03
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King Vidiot posted:It depends on what we're considering the "best" and "worst" here, because IMO the Psy-King's Sensorium is the worst stage in the game and... Gristol's mind isn't the "best" but it's really good despite having barely any gameplay to speak of. But even the worst level is still a good level so I think most complaints about this game (and the first one... Meat Circus aside) would be fixed if they just added a post-game gadget or power that acted as a radar to find the last few figments in each level. Even if it was limited in some way, like only being able to activate it once you had found 90% of the figments yourself, it would still be enough to keep people from pulling their hair out when they're down to two neon-colored doodles spread out somewhere across four sub-levels made entirely of neon colors, moving textures, and psychedelic lighting effects. Also, I adored the Fatherland Follies level, it was one of my favorites. It wasn't the strongest (or weakest) gameplay-wise, but part of why I love Psychonauts is the interesting level gimmicks, and setting up this mind as a twisted, narcissistic, jingoistic version of "It's a Small World" is some straight-up perfect Kim-Jong Il/Un style insanity, and it's brilliant. Plus, I just love theme park and carnival rides, so I'm already biased in favor of the concept. There's the repeated rule that a Psychonauts job isn't to "fix" someone, it's to remove the obstacles in their mind that prevent them from fixing themselves. Most of the brains Raz dives into are good people, deep down, and once Raz removes those obstacles, they become better people outwardly. That makes the "we don't fix people" speech sort of pointless... until Gristol. He's just a bad person to his core, and he's 100% sure he's in the right and everything he's doing is justified. That's why he's the one person who, after Raz deals with him, has no change of heart. He has no desire to be better, he's not a better person deep-down. He doesn't have inner demons he's struggling against, he's just all demon. Robot Hobo fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 19:21
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Might want to fix your spoiler tags mid post there. I don't personally like Fatherland Follies simply because it felt like it went way too long. While I get it was the theme of the level, being unable to do anything for long stretches of time and then just a general lack of actual gameplay length made it feel a bit bad to play IMO. Def the weakest level to me.
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Sep 6, 2021 19:23
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Fatherland Follies is actually one of my favorite levels just because the concept is really neat and encapsulates its owner so well. The weakest in my mind is probably Cassie's level, mostly because I think it's kind of extraneous and doesn't contribute to the greater scheme of the game much. That doesn't mean it's bad. The game is very, very good. But in a long list of good levels, it sort of just passes by as kind of... unremarkable. I get why people think the former level isn't great though, it's definitely bogged down a bit by long stretches of non-interaction.
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Sep 6, 2021 19:33
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Spoiler image, but I love this one memory vault cell: https://i.imgur.com/ditSgPi.png Oooo, free brain!
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Sep 7, 2021 01:25
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(late game, after the trio of minds) I've spent a little time dicking around and falling off the globe so now I'm just mad at it; how do I get to the top part of Cassie's library?
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Sep 7, 2021 01:49
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Hawkperson posted:(late game, after the trio of minds) I've spent a little time dicking around and falling off the globe so now I'm just mad at it; how do I get to the top part of Cassie's library? Have you gotten the power from that mind yet? If not, you need to progress through that level first a bit and pick it up. If you have, then just climb up to it and target the lever with your power from up above before jumping on it.
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Sep 7, 2021 01:52
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Evil Kit posted:Have you gotten the power from that mind yet? If not, you need to progress through that level first a bit and pick it up. If you have, then just climb up to it and target the lever with your power from up above before jumping on it. yeah I'm in endgame but I don't see a lever to use? I mean the star figments and stuff that are waaaay up near the constellations and stuff. it's an optional section
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Sep 7, 2021 01:58
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Hawkperson posted:yeah I'm in endgame but I don't see a lever to use? I mean the star figments and stuff that are waaaay up near the constellations and stuff. it's an optional section It's on the floor, you need to send your archetype to actuate it.
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Sep 7, 2021 02:00
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Speaking of her mind, how in the hell do you get to the island-rear end island in the water area? I could see stuff on it and had all the verbs the game has, but I could not figure out how to get there. I thought maybe Levitation would have a buff to remove the limit but I never figured it out.
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Sep 7, 2021 02:03
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thecluckmeme posted:Speaking of her mind, how in the hell do you get to the island-rear end island in the water area? I could see stuff on it and had all the verbs the game has, but I could not figure out how to get there. I thought maybe Levitation would have a buff to remove the limit but I never figured it out. I don't recall which specific area you mean but most likely the answer is using the thought tuner nearby
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Sep 7, 2021 02:45
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Hub Cat posted:I don't recall which specific area you mean but most likely the answer is using the thought tuner nearby You can't use the thought tuner inside someone's mind. When you're at the cannery(?), there's a tucked in corner that leads up a climb. When you get to the top there is a vault, and if you look out you'll realize you're suddenly on that island.
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Sep 7, 2021 02:48
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Evil Kit posted:You can't use the thought tuner inside someone's mind. When you're at the cannery(?), there's a tucked in corner that leads up a climb. When you get to the top there is a vault, and if you look out you'll realize you're suddenly on that island.
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Sep 7, 2021 02:52
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thecluckmeme posted:Speaking of her mind, how in the hell do you get to the island-rear end island in the water area? I could see stuff on it and had all the verbs the game has, but I could not figure out how to get there. I thought maybe Levitation would have a buff to remove the limit but I never figured it out. There is a portal door in the counterfeiting area that leads to that island
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Sep 7, 2021 02:53
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kazil posted:It's on the floor, you need to send your archetype to actuate it. ohhhhhh. ty
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Sep 7, 2021 03:42
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