And while you’re mulling these questions over… grind will see you through. Grind is easy. It asks no questions of you. It offers routine. It promises progress. Keep all the numbers rising, players love their sultry numbers. But they are a mere illusion of progress, a distraction from the frustration. And there… there is the trap.
Here is the next Electron Dance film, a theatrical re-enactment of Penetrate the Night, which considers the addictive qualities of Cultist Simulator (Weather Factory, 2018).
Watch the film below or direct on YouTube.
FEATURED GAMES
- Starseed Pilgrim
- Cultist Simulator
- Bonbon
- Overcooked
- Minecraft
- The Sense of Connectedness
- Cookie Clicker
- Domina
AUDIO
- Imphenzia Universal Sound FX
- Albert Clock Bell (https://freesound.org/s/433773/)
SPECIAL THANKS
- Andy Durdin
- Gregg Burnell
- droqen
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Nice video. Some day you’ll have to explain your affection for domina. I wanted to like it, but I found the actual fights were just too ridiculous. They were almost always one or two hit kill affairs, which wasn’t much fun even when they were in my favor.
I always really enjoy how you portray the discovery of mechanical complexity. It becomes an emotional experience that you delve with a dark and bitter-sweet irony. Great stuff. I put Electron Dance videos on my mind-shelf beside Cool Ghosts and the Video Gaiden reboot, and I wonder why anyone makes anything else.
I noted the offhand reference to my own work in there. I am of course referring to https://twitter.com/ChefLovecraft
I literally have not had time to answer these comments until now. What with newsletters and Side by Side episodes that won’t make themselves… anyway.
First Dan, DOMINA. I wouldn’t say I really enjoy Domina, but I love the spectacle and atmosphere of it. It’s an astonishing piece of work, with all those animations and I’m in awe that so much has been modelled in the fights. There is a new “blunt weapon” option which can extend the duration of the battles, I understand. The bigger fights are more impressive when there’s something like six or more gladiators duking it out. The chariot race is a lot longer although doesn’t naturally doesn’t operate the same way. So Domina never got a “heart” from me in the newsletters, but I can’t help but think of it affectionately. (And short of it is: I put the trailer in this video as an attempt to “pay” for my use of the Domina OST.)
Second, CHEFLOVECRAFT! If only I’d known about this weeks ago! I could’ve used this for one of the scenes! I’d thought of having a picture of Cthulhu in a boiling pan for my “Lovecraftian cookery” but I didn’t think it was worth it. If only I’d known of this mysterious Twitter account. I also hope someone looks at that giant rat with cake and thinks: WTF was that and which game did it come from?