Category: Opinions

The exact moment I got invested in Life Is Strange

In which I wax lyrical on the opening scene.

I picked up Life is Strange earlier on this year to play it on streaming in conjunction with The Playthrough Podcast with the full intention to play it on stream. Alas, I never got around to playing it on stream, but opened it offline for a new game to play in the evening.

The problem with narrative games is me getting invested into the story. I try to set up my system to minimise distractions as I play, to stop my mind wandering when playing. I did the same with Life is Strange.

The game begins with a tutorial teach you basic controls of movement, framed as walking to a lighthouse in a thunderstorm to find shelter. After lightning destroys the tower causing it to collapse on you, the scene changes to a classroom: the protagonist – Max – wakes up. It was all a dream.

Another brief tutorial introduces you to Max’s camera and journal, and you’re thrusted into a chaotic sequence where you have to answer questions and you weren’t paying attention. Discussions and arguments take place, and then – the school bell rings. Max is free for a break, and walks out of the classroom, into an equally chaotic corridor where you’re asked to complete the first mission: go to the bathroom and freshen up.

At this point, the game really hit me, as the sound design is excellent.

As Max puts on her headphones, the outside world dies out, and Max – takes a deep breath – and walks to the bathroom. You can interact with everybody outside, or you can go straight to the bathroom. At this point the game hooked me. Here’s the scene in full.

I don’t know why. It’s something about the music that plays, to go from the chaotic school hall, to a calming introspective. It feels a bit Dawson’s Creek or The OC. I think the tune that plays – “To All of You (American Girls)” by Syd Matters – is from one of them. It just made me sit up and take notice, and had me hooked. Also the framing on the title screen and introducing the title and the development house is done in a non obtrusive way. It was wonderful, and – now on episode 2 at the time of writing – it made me want to see this game through to the end. (UPDATE: I’m now on episode three and I love it). Although the voice acting can be a bit janky at times and the way in which people speak can seem a bit disjointed, the ambient sound effects/music and the way it interacts with the dialogue is perfect.

I often think about the openings of games that stuck with me. I have the nostalgia of watching Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter 2 on demo mode in Tandy. The first notes of “Baba Yetu” (Civilization 4) and “Vigil” (Mass Effect) make my heart skips a beat. But I struggle to think of a better opening segment of a game. Batman: Arkham Ayslum is decent (but only becomes important later in the game). The best I can think is Final Fantasy 7. The close up shot of Aeris’ face, zooming out to Midgar, only to zoom back into AVALANCHE’s exploits as they smash into the reactor is the only thing that comes close.

Although that came out 18 years prior, it shares the same publisher: Square Enix. I wonder if somewhere in Dotnod they were aware of Final Fantasy 7 and wanted to create a similar opening. If so, they nailed it.

What is your favourite opening to a video game ever?

The Desire to Disenshittify

“Disenshittify” may be my word of the year.

I read with interest from Tim Nash’s Newsletter (you should subscribe to it) Cory Doctorow’s “Disenshittify or Die” article (also a talk – hopefully available soon), and it resonated with me with how there is a movement to make things less shit, and how things have become so bad.

I was going to talk about it in my newsletter (again, you should subscribe to it), but thought I’d talk about it here instead. Noticing how crap Twitter has gone, how Threads is barely functional (sorry Threads, I really want to like you, but eh) and how things online have – with a few exceptions – have gotten worse. Chuck in the collective hard on services have for AI* and the desire to disenshittify and retrieve focus for my online habits has become a focus for the year.

Becoming Leaner Online

Rather than rant about how online services have all gotten worse, I’ll share how I’ve become to be more lean online. It’s still a learning process, but here’s a few things I’ve found useful.

First off – I am subscribing to newsletters now! Newsletters are actually wealths of information (or try to be), and I try to subscribe to them. At the same time, I’m unsubscribing from ones that are either spamming their products or affiliates – looking at you Marriot Benvoy who wanted me to join a betting site recently. They seem to be following the b3ta model of newsletters with a lot of useful stuff with the occasional sponsorship. Straight into your inbox.

Secondly, I’ve really enjoyed The Disenshittify Project, which creates and curates lists of projects that are not bloated mess. These are small things that do are simple and do not need to be bloated. Two they have are a password generator and a QR Code Generator. Excellent. They also have suggestions for where to go next. I’d particularly like a JSON Decoder that isn’t ad supported.

Maybe one more to my to-do list?

EDIT: Thirdly as a Brit you have a wondrous version of Amazon that is so much better. Argos! Bezos has his billions and he can’t get folks to deliver to same day? Pish. You can get a couch the same day from Argos. A fucking couch. No knock off products, everything is of reasonable quality, and it isn’t noticeably more expensive.

Where do I see this going? I’m not sure. I would love people who create things to make the internet be supported for their work, as the reason advertising is so prevalent is creators are not being supported. Patreon systems? I don’t know.

I’m not against advertising. A lot of newsletters I do subscribe to have advertising. Or against affiliate marketing. High quality services I’m more likely to support.

But at the same time the AI, bloated tracking mess is – I feel – unsustainable. I’d love to get back to a more simpler web. Where folks own their content, and share with smaller, like minded communities. Hopefully I’m not the only one who believes that.

Featured Image: “With Glass-like Clarity” by JFXie is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

* It was on the Giant Bomb Podcast that we are about two years into the “AI Revolution” and there is a lot of friction still to it. I’m still not 100% sold on it, though I do use it. But like everything, I don’t want it shoved in my face at every opportunity. I want to choose to find it useful, not be the default.

Content Creation Ramblings from an Nerdy Elder Millennial

Or: Finding out how my plugins helped out a British celebrity, and yours can too.

Content creation is a weird phrase isn’t it? It can mean anything. From a well crafted blog post, to an hour video on how the Super Mario Brothers 3 record dropped over time, to those videos that crop up every 3 or 4 videos within my TikTok “For You” page that make me embarrassed to watch them in public, to those Facebook memes your racist auntie’s shares on Facebook. Every one of those things could be classed as “Content Creation”. Invariably when I see a talking head with job title of “Content Creator” mentioned in the media by I think one of these roles.

I may sneer a bit. Largely because like other things I sneer at like Formula One or Cody Rhodes’ booking strategy post Royal Rumble 2024 (NB: I wrote this sentence before Thursday 8th February, and publish it on the 9th. Holy shit it’s box office again and consider me a fully paid up member again the Cody Rhodes train again), I don’t really understand it. I yearn for a simpler time.

Rhys laments the old internet…again

Then I’m reminded how the old internet used to be. The one I’ve talked about on this site before. How as creators in any way shape or form we’re just a few steps from connecting with people. How it was a great time.

I saw a toot from Frank Goossens about how his plugin – Autoptimize – was used on Taylor Swift’s website. Taylor Swift! A content creator I have heard of! Using WordPress! There’s hope for me yet.

I remember the brush with celebrity I’ve had using my WordPress plugins. Stacey Solomon – an X-Factor contestant who has carved out a niche as a TV presenter in the UK – used WP Email Capture for a while on her (now defunct) website. Although I’m not an X-Factor or TV junkie, I did remember at the time I thought it was quite cool.

As I’ve gotten older, having somebody invest time as opposed to money into something I’ve created, fills me with a warmth that contracted work can never do. I did lament a few weeks ago (something I talk about in my 40th blog post) about the paradox of how this blog suffers when I’m mentally in a good place. However occasionally, a great read – “Why Personal Blogging Still Rules” by Mike Grindle – will provide me the inspiration to rattle off these few 100 words, such as these.

It may be harder for us to connect off the major platforms (and – if you decide not to pay Elon Musk $7 a month – on it as well). Hopefully something: be it a plugin, an article, a silly video or a meme, made by us, can light the day up and connect a bit closer. We connect, we may drift apart, but eventually remember.

Remembering Jase

I found out a few days ago that a bloke I knew online in my mid 20’s passed away in 2016. We connected through a TF2 community that had a server that was voice only. A ridiculous server with drunken Friday nights sniping on 2Fort. Never spoke to him after I moved to Manchester in 2010. There for a season and left. I knew very little of him, but what I remember sticks with me. He was Irish, and he used to sing karaoke over the server. He introduced me to The Velvet Underground and I knew his favourite song was “I’ll be Your Mirror”. I guess the above 600-odd words are for him. How somebody who entered my life for a few months, yet changed it for a lifetime.

And I guess that’s the power of blogging, or forming communities off of walled silos. Maybe in ways you’ll make something that does for somebody else. Be it a tribute singer from Ireland, or Taylor Swift. You won’t know until you try.

Header image: “IMG_0351 (Copy)” by paisleyorguk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

On Alexa, ChatGPT & AI Programming

Let me begin with a little story

On the day Donald Trump was formally arrested, I did what any sane person would do. I went out for a few beers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqn5EQYoBgH/

After coming home, I popped a pizza in the oven, which took 13 minutes to cook. I have an Amazon Echo in the kitchen, so I said the words “Alexa – set a timer for 13 minutes”. Of course my comprehension skills weren’t great so I wasn’t sure if the confirmation timer was 13 minutes or 30 minutes, so quick as a flash I said “Alexa, reduce my timer by 1 minute”, before asking for how long was left.

Why? Well, if the timer was on 29 I’d hear “Twenty Nine”. If 12 minutes were left I’d hear “Twelve”. Easily to comprehend for my slightly sozzled celebrating a crap president being impeached.

Why am I telling you all this? Well I feel like it shows how my brain works to find a creative solutions to real world problems, something as a developer I do on a day to day basis. I’m not saying I’m the best developer in the world, but I’m pretty good.

Like most developers, I’ve been hit recently with the downturn in tech. Not as much as some, but I’ve felt it. Furthermore in the past six months we’ve seen the rise and rise of AI so I’ve been thinking – am I safe for a job? Or should I look to retrain?

What I think the future holds for developers

I don’t know what the future holds for developers, but I’d be silly if – as a luxury of being a business owner – I don’t diversify a little bit. I can’t remember who said it but I feel more secure as a business owner having 4 or 5 clients that cover the mortgage than working one place that does. It makes sense to look at other opportunities.

With that said, development is my bread and butter. Whether it’s my own site or clients, 5 days a week I come up to solutions to problems. Sure there are similarities, but nothing is ever quite the same. Is that safe?

I think so, and whilst I did have my heart sink when I saw the Tom Scott video about AI, I was reassured when WordPress said that Use of Code Generators must remain GPL compatible. In short, if you write a plugin to put onto the WordPress plugin repository, you must be sure where every line of code comes from. I’m sure with mine, because I wrote it, but there is no guarantee that AI code is. Mika Epstein in their post then ended with the cheery line:-

Robots won’t take our jobs yet.

This reassured me as you see, code does go wrong. I prefer if it didn’t, but things do go wrong. Part of my job is putting things right. People will use your code in ways you’re not expecting to, or view your code on a Commodore Amiga, or (like I discovered in Neverspoons recently) that searching for Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch causes crashes. It can take time to figure out what goes wrong, and part of the joy (if the 25 thread email chain is anything to go by) is to figure out what the route of the problem is. AI can solve the problem, but may not be able to diagnose why it’s a problem to begin with.

Those problems need the human touch, and familiarity with the code. Familiarity that doesn’t exist when somebody typed “Code a Facebook clone” in ChatGPT. Sure ChatGPT may write code. However it doesn’t come with the learned and community knowledge that comes with developing it

Where I do use AI

I do however use AI for my business and programming. No more than I use automated tools to build CSS files and minify JavaScripts, or Google problems that I have that end up on Stack Overflow . Developers should at least look to use it to generate code and data structures quickly.

To give you an example, this was something similar I used for a project recently. I needed the international dialling code of every EU country, stored in an array.

A graphic of Rhys Wynne asking ChatGPT for an PHP associative array with the dialing code of every EU country, and an ISO 3166 alpha 3 code as the key

It’s simple code, but for me to build would take at least half an hour. Maybe I’d find a quicker way to do it, but even just finding a table, extracting all the EU countries, and putting it into a format I’d use would take time, and also be prone to mistakes. This was 30 seconds for the AI to build, and quick for me to check and cross reference.

Furthermore, my knowledge as a developer using the words “key”, “value” and “associative array” meant the AI Bot was able to build it to spec quickly. Similarly to knowing how to Google and what to Google makes problems easy to solve.

The Developer/Client Relationship with AI

So I guess I’ll end with the fact that this is an open admission I use AI for my job to deliver results for clients. Not much, but occasionally. Some things a computer is better at doing than my easily distracted brain, but I believe in being honest with people. After all, my freelance face is literally named after me.

AI is here, but at least with Dwi’n Rhys, you do speak to a human.

For the love of The Last of Us

And all other video games

One thing that has filled my heart with joy recently has been a lot of people enjoying the drama series The Last of Us. For full disclosure: I’ve never played the game, nor seen the TV show, but I live vicariously through tweets such as this one from Dan Walker, who doesn’t strike me as a gamer.

Video games, for me, is the only piece of media I regularly consume. I don’t read. I rarely watch movies (I watched Terminator 2 for the first time last Sunday – it was great). My TV viewing is comfort viewing of Red Dwarf & Phoenix Nights, along with sport and game/antique/cooking shows. That’s really it.

Video games and me

Video games however are my comfort art form, and I always feel like it gets a bad rap. They provoke emotions in me like no other art form. Be it the pangs of nostalgia from playing Tehkan’s Bomb Jack which takes me back to playing it in Rhos-on-Sea seafront arcade with my grandparents, to the endorphin rush of solving another three fates in Return of the Obra Dinn. It has been my comfort blanket for such a long time. Even during lockdown – when we couldn’t go anywhere – me and pals regularly met up in Sea of Thieves to consume (real and fictional) grog. It beat a Zoom call.

That’s just the games that don’t necessarily have the strongest narrative but evoke happy memories. Stories in games have really gotten better and better. The twisting narrative in The Detective for the Commodore 64, through to the RPGs of the Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger games, all the way to modern day classics like Mass Effect, Horizon: Zero Dawn. Stories can be told, with wonderful deep characters and meaning. I enjoy the interactivity, but I understand many don’t. Which is why you’re catered with the compelling stories in walking simulators, such as Firewatch and To the Moon.

I always take it a bit personally whenever it isn’t given the due I feel is deserves. At the time of writing I’ve 3 games on the go. A short blast in RC Pro-Am on the Nintendo, and two story driven games (Metal Gear Solid & Red Dead Redemption). If I said I had three books on the go, nobody would bat an eyelid. Or spending a weekend watching three shows? That’s fine. But I do feel at times occasionally I have to justify spending a weekend resting playing video games. Maybe it’s in my head a bit. It’s for kids, it’s violent and rots your brain, etc etc. Things like that. I’m reminded however of an OkCupid question of “how would you feel if your partner spent the weekend playing video games?”. I feel like no other art form would ask that question.

The main culprit I find is in mainstream media. Not in terms of attacks but, it doesn’t really penetrate into the public consciousness like other things. Take for example quiz shows. When was the last time you had a video game question of reasonable difficulty on The Chase or Pointless? However when was the last time you had a question on TV. Or a film. Or books. There’s probably a reason financially, but another reason could be the folks who are in the positions of power don’t really understand it, and haven’t grown up with it.

Video games in other media

Which is why I welcome TV shows like The Last of Us, as hopefully exposes more people to the art form. Like Marvel, that began it’s success with comic book fans watching their movies, I suspect HBO have made the decision to commission the compelling story because it would get fans of the show to watch first, causing a groundswell, and then get people into the story (the story – if it follows the games – is apparently excellent. You should listen to the Playthrough Podcast that deep dived into both games, and only really criticising the actual game).

With the success of The Last of Us, I hope some of the people who may not have been exposed to video games much, play the games, or indeed other games. I hope other franchises get converted into video games as there are so many stories to tell to new audiences. People missing out on the gripping finale of the reaper invasion in Mass Effect because “they don’t play video games”, I don’t know, just makes me a bit sad.

I’m sad as it’s people who willingly shut themselves off from an art because they don’t understand it or dismiss it for kids. Like people who don’t listen to Rammstein because they don’t speak German. I’m probably a massive hypocrite in this regard as I do the same with books, TV and movies.

But I don’t care. I’ll just get back to John Marsdon galloping around Blackwater in Red Dead Redemption. I’m getting to the the good bit.