There's still a difference between a piece of clothing that may or may not have been worn by anonymous women and creations using real people without their knowledge or consent. Not trying to defend those vending machines but these aren't the same in terms of results and potential effects on the victims.
He had more of similar comments throughout the years so... yeah. He's also known for poor management and causing toxic work environment to the point Microsoft decided to cut ties with the studio.
Just in case someone thought these are just some out of context or one-time "jokes"/missteps.
Heck, here are some bonus links for good measure:
TL;DR
It was a surprising experience - in both positive and negative ways. Worth a shot if you like virtual photography and janky indie games.
This game is something I've been eyeing for a few years now but never really committed to actually playing it. I finally managed to snatch the game on sale a few days ago and decided to give it a go.
Umurangi Generation is a short indie title about photography in a "shitty future" as the devs put it. They really aren't lying about that.
Gameplay is pretty fun though FAR from polished. There's a lot of movement and physics jankiness, like getting stuck on or walking through geometry, launching in the air when climbing certain parts of levels etc.
Photo grading (one of the core features of the game) is pretty wonky, with colorful shots often being graded as not having enough color, dull photos being scored as colorful and game treating certain objects as if they were in the frame even if they are completely out of view. The last one is particularly important as the game lowers your score for taking pictures of specific items for example.
Oh yeah, you also can't adjust mouse sensitivity properly for whatever reason. All that's available are a few presets instead of full control with a slider like in any other game.
Story is shown, not told (there are no dialogs at all in fact) - first through background details (like newspaper clippings and whatnot) and then directly by what's going on during the levels. I was going to write it off as "not that important to the game but still an interesting puzzle for those who want to hunt for the details" but after finishing the game I can safely say I was wrong. Heck, I was surprised how emotional the latter half (and especially the final level) felt to me.
It obviously won't be the case for everyone but I ended up liking it way more than expected.
Visuals are rather simple and minimalistic but not in a bad way - they have a cohesive style that works well with game's atmosphere. Soundtrack is also filled with some fun bops and the only negative I can say about it is the fact that some tracks feel way too energetic compared to what's going on on screen.
Levels are small, simple and offer a decent variety. They could use some polish and, maybe, a bit more details in places but overall they aren't bad.
Despite being far from perfect and even feeling like someone's first game project, I can't help but appreciate this title. It's simple, engaging and has a pretty strong direction. It's definitely worth a look (especially for the price I paid for it). It's also short, sitting at around 2-3 hours, so you won't have to worry about having to sink a lot of time for it.
Sorry for the stream of consciousness. I'm still fresh after finishing the game and haven't fully organized my thoughts but I thought this could interest someone in the game (it's on sale on Steam for another day or so).
Edit: Brainfart correction.
Sometimes I forget how unprofessional the game industry still is or how little respect people have for well being of others. I'd like to say I'm surprised but that would require having some expectations towards those companies.
I hope more VAs speak up about stuff like this so we can have some real changes.
Short version: it's a campaign to force publishers to provide some way to play online only games after they decide to shut down the servers. That or letting us know, by law, that games can be killed without repercussion. It's not about forcing publishers to keep the servers alive forever if that's what you're wondering.
Long version: check out the official website for the Stop Killing Games campaign. It has FAQ with all the important info.
TL;DW:
This is a simplified version of simplified version, watch the video for more info.
While I can't provide you with a proper scientific answer I can offer a basic explanation - it's effort.
Browsing through the never ending amount of content online requires no effort but provides you with a dopamine rush as if you actually managed to accomplish or do something with your time. Other stuff, like watching movies, playing games, reading books, etc. requires attention and active participation, the payoff on the other hand is largely delayed (especially compared to the lazy option).
As for hacks... I don't know any. The only ways I know how to deal with it is limiting your time scrolling through this stuff and forcing yourself to do other things - it can be rough early on but you'll eventually get used to the "normal" way of functioning.
They're going to replace them with an AI powered tool, aren't they? If they're going to replace them at all that is.
That's positively surprising, I expected them to leave it at that until petition reaches the second milestone (if that even happens). Let's see if anything new comes out of this.
On the other hand they do have a history of protecting customers (weren't they the main reason behind Steams refund policy?) and that's what this is about.
For those wondering about why such basic features are mentioned here it's because work on Squadron 42 (single player part of the project) moved to the polishing stage and everything created for it is being ported back to Star Citizen (multi player part).
Is it worth an article? It is if you're interested in the game, I guess?
Is SC a perfect project? Of course not, far from it. I do find it interesting however how... angry it makes people and how much they want it to fail. Yeah, I know $1000+ packages and so forth (not needed if you just want to play the game btw).
For those interested in actually checking for themselves whether it's a scam or not, there are free flight events multiple times a year - you get to see the current state of the game with everything good and bad it entails. Surprisingly enough, they tend to bring in more players every single time.
Is this suppose to be an article? Or is posting tweets linked on a website a new fad?
I know SC is a game many people like to dunk on (sometimes for completely right reasons) but let's not pretend like there's absolutely nothing there and CIG somehow scammed millions of players.
If anyone is actually interested in the game, I'd like to stress that you can buy the cheapest package and have access to everything using in-game money. There are also free flight events, available multiple times a year, so you can try the game out and decide for yourself if you like what's there. So far, despite horrible technical difficulties that often happen due to stress on the servers during those times the number of players keeps growing. Take that as you wish...
As for the package... Is it ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. It's 100% worth dunking on.
He actively misrepresented the campaign and spread misinformation about its goals. I don't know if he genuinely didn't understand or if he was too embarrassed to admit to a mistake but he did a lot of damage to the momentum and perception of the whole thing.
It sucks these big creators only now pick up the mantle but it's better than nothing. There's still some time left.