April is upon us, b. Which means You’ll/I’ll be reading A Game of Thrones for the First Time.
Why Are You Doing This?
Mostly for the love of the game of baseball. But also Leia [Name Redacted] threatened my life.
How do You Plan to Survive?
My expectations re: survival are low. But if I do, it will be because I have a lot of free time for reading and very little desire to die. I have a strict reading regiment planned out, and I’m using a high school reading template I found on google images to keep track of my thoughts and responses.
High School? Aren’t You Better Than That?
Uh, no. I’m not. Well, I mean, maybe. But this is a first read-thru. I’m here to experience and share. It’s bad enough that my co-workers all have stars in their eyes about this series, I don’t need to try and grapple with complex philosophical questions regarding these awful fictional humans.
So What Happens When you HAVE Complex Philosophical Questions?
I dunno. Adopt some wolves? Shove a kid out a window? Make out with a sibling or murder a friend? I learn by example.
Hey. Those Are Pretty Specific Examples Of Things That Happen In The Book. Are You SURE You Haven’t Read This Before?
Yes. I watched the first season of the show because I was promised boobs and dragons, but I don’t like anyone except Dany and there isn’t nearly enough dragon action going on to keep me watching the show. So I dropped it. But like I said–everyone’s got stars in their eyes for this noise, so I’m being strong-armed into reading the first book.
Do You Expect Your Feelings to Change After Reading the Book?
No. Probably not. The characters kind of piss me off and there’s no costume design in books. Also there’s no fold-out of Jason Momoa. I know my priorities.
So Like Are Your Reviews Going to Be Spoiler Free?
hecka no. But I’ll try to keep spoilers under the cut.
Will Jen finish the book? Will she enjoy herself? Where will she land on the never-ending Catelyn debate? And where will her allegiance lie?
Tune in every Tuesday to find the answers to these and many more questions.
The global fantasy phenomenon returns to HBO April 12th, but Sub-Cultured’s month long celebration of the production and reach of Game of Thrones will hopefully make the wait until then more bearable. We plan on producing a king’s wealth of content as well as a facilitating some fun conversations for super-fans and filthy casuals alike. Check out some of what we have planned for Game of Thrones Month
We plan to roll out our first major youtube project, Game of Theories, which has been a pretty epic work-in-progress here at Sub-Cultured. The series will examine popular theories in the book fandom and will attempt to make some predictions about the fates of major characters. We promise to shred your favorite hypotheses and kill your hopes of dead characters returning to life. Should be fun, but beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the A Song of Ice and Fire books!
Be sure stop by later in April for reviews and articles about our favorite tie-in merchandise like Game of Thrones Beer, recipes, and the Telltale games series (definitely expect live-streams on Twitch!).
We’re really excited to announce that our favorite Westerosi virgin, Jen, will be diving into the series for the first time! Jen will be powering through A Game of Thrones, the first novel in the book series by George R. R. Martin, all during April and will be keeping and publishing a journal of her experiences. Our other writers are on board to be her gurus in her epic journey. Make sure to check up on Jen’s progress and relive your favorite moments through new eyes!
Also expect new updates of popular columns including Dress Like Your Favorite Character and Nice Guys of Ok Cupid as well as cosplay features.
This is only a glimpse at our plans for April, but of course join us on twitter for live tweets of every new episode and of course hit us up to talk GoT any time!
Just so you know that we mean business, read up on some of our past Game of Thrones content.
Staff
@sub-cultured
This week Gen Con LLC (the company that runs Gen Con) sent an open letter to Indiana Governor Mike Pence threatening to look for a new state to host their conventions, due to the passing of SB 101 through the Indiana state legislature. SB 101, which is making the rounds in the media affectionately referred to as a “religious freedoms” bill, could offer protection to Indiana business owners to deny service to same-sex couples. The bill is entitled “Religious Freedom Restoration,” and the Governor plans on signing into law on Monday has been signed into law as of this morning in a private ceremony at his statehouse office, according to IndyStar.
Gen Con LLC owner Adrian Swartout sent an open letter to the Governor regarding SB 101 over Twitter this past Tuesday, asking him to withdraw his support for the bill (which apparently had no effect on the Governor’s decision).
In his letter he stated, “Legislation that could allow for refusal of service or discrimination against our attendees will have a direct negative impact on the state’s economy, and will factor into our decision-making on hosting the convention in the stats of Indiana in future years.” He closed with a simple request – “We ask that you please reconsider your support of SB 101.”
Swartout seemingly saw that the only way to be heard wasn’t to appeal to a sense of human decency, but instead to fire a warning shot at their bank accounts. Sadly, in some matters, usually political, that can count for way more. Take a look at his full letter here.
Pence used Notre Dame University as an example for this law, namely their taking issue with a part of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance coverage for contraceptives.
In his news conference this morning, he stated, “Today I signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, because I support the freedom of religion for every Hoosier of every faith,” he said in a statement. “The Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion but today, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action.”
Local companies like Salesforce, and even Republican Mayor Greg Ballard of Indianapolis spoke out against the bill. “I had hoped the Statehouse wouldn’t move in this direction on RFRA,” Mayor Ballard said. “but it seems as if the bill was a fait accompli from the beginning. I don’t believe this legislation truly represents our state or our capital city. Indianapolis strives to be a welcoming place that attracts businesses, conventions, visitors and residents. We are a diverse city, and I want everyone who visits and lives in Indy to feel comfortable here. RFRA sends the wrong signal.
In response to criticism that it could in fact lay a groundwork for discrimination, Pence had the following to say:
“This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it. In fact, it does not even apply to disputes between private parties unless government action is involved. For more than twenty years, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never undermined our nation’s anti-discrimination laws, and it will not in Indiana.”
So that being said, I don’t understand the motivation for this bill. If both the United States Constitution and the Indiana State Constitution both provide “strong recognition of the freedom of religion,” and that the federal version of the law never undermined any anti-discrimination laws, then why was this bill even needed? I’m reminded of the last scene in A Few Good Men, when Colonel Jessup was being questioned:
Kaffee: That’s not what you said. You said he was being transferred, because he was in grave danger.
Jessup: That’s correct.
Kaffee: You said he was in danger. I said “grave danger”? You said…
Jessup: I recall what I said.
Kaffee: I could have the court reporter read back to you…
Jessup: I know what I said! I don’t have to have it read back to me, like I’m…
Kaffee: Then why the two orders? Colonel?
Jessup: Sometimes men take matters into their own hands.
Kaffee: No, sir. You made it clear just a moment ago that your men never take matters into their own hands. Your men follow orders or people die. So Santiago shouldn’t have been in any danger at all, should he have, Colonel?
Jessup: You snotty, little bastard.
So why the two orders, Governor?
Tushar Nene
Staff Writer
@tusharnene
When the lights came back on, and the excitement began to wear off, several things lingered after I had time to digest The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. Firstly, the very obvious, and widely noted, lack of female characters lingered, like a bitter aftertaste. It’s no secret that the addition of Tauriel was widely criticized for not being “canon,” and although her character was reduced to that of a love interest in the third movie, it was refreshing to see her get a piece of the action. Elven ruler Galadriel was also given a fight to be part of, albeit again, not canon, and even the women of Lake Town took up arms in the grand battle. It’s a sloppy step, but times are certainly changing. There’s hope for equal representation in fiction now, especially with the announcement of all female Ghostbusters, and an all female version of the Expendables, and women are clamoring to see themselves on screen. There are scores of book series, mountains of graphic novels, hours of vintage films, all in need of a movie, just like the Hobbit, so here’s a look at my top favorite women led properties for a cinematic adaptation (or in one case, a remake)!
Tortall Universe
From our own interview with the prolific Tamora Pierce, we know that the author has some apprehension about adapting any of her beloved Tortall universe into a film. Fifteen published novels currently follow several young heroines on their paths to adulthood through a medieval world of magic and knightly martial arts. Her beasts are fantastical and her queer representation is notable, but one of the reasons we love these books the most is for the diverse featured females characters. While there certainly hasn’t been a dearth of these sort of female-led young adult adaptations, the dystopian future science fiction universes will fall out of fashion soon. It would be legendary if films like the Hunger Games and Divergent were to end up as more than a fad and actually pave the way for other genres like Pierce’s medieval-themed fantasy to get adapted for the screen, especially after the success of the definitely more adult-oriented Game of Thrones.
ODY-C
If anyone told us that we could grant a title of masterpiece to a comic series with only 3 published issues…well that’s as ridiculous as demanding a film adaptation of a series with only 3 published issues. But ODY-C really is that good. We’d actually pay money to attend the pitch meeting to see comic super star Matt Fraction summarize his book as a retelling of the classic homeric myth in space and with all the major characters depicted as women (because that sure went well for ghostbusters). Actually, a more truthful summary would also include that men have been declared taboo by the gods in all of creation so a third gender was created by woman. Science fiction in film deserves to be as progressive and groundbreaking as we expect it to be in other mediums. Let ODY-C take it there.
The Books of Magic
If we didn’t love Harry Potter as much as we do (and we do, oh we do), we’d say it’s a shame that this comic series would appear to movie goers as a rip-off of J.K. Rowlings popular novels, even though it was written first. However, be-speckled teen magician, Timothy Hunter, was created by Neil Gaiman, to introduce readers to magic in the DC/Vertigo comic universe, with inspiration from T.H. White’s The Once and Future King. Tim was given his own ongoing series that took us to the classical world of faerie and the nightmares of young teenage fear. One of the most endearing parts of the early comics penned by John Ney Rieber were the supporting cast of female characters, some magical and some not, that shaped and influenced young Tim’s life. So while not technically a women-led property, The Books of Magic would be a treat to see on screen.
The Mayfair Witches
For too long the witch archetype has been that a decrepit old crone, a negative vision of what a woman in power can end up as. Anne Rice turns this on its head with the matriarchal led family, the Mayfairs, in her mid-90s book series. Taking place in New Orleans, the story centers around the successful neurosurgeon, Rowan Mayfair, as she comes to terms with inheriting the legacy of the Mayfairs, including the family “spirit,” Lasher. The Creole culture is also prevalent, giving ample room for people of color to be cast, as well as having a whopping THREE male characters in the varied cast of characters. A few of Rice’s works have been adapted in the past for the big screen, so why not this one?
Young Wizards Series
Wow, we seem to really like our youngsters when they dabble in the arcane arts. This YA series crossed all sorts of genres, while still capturing adolescence and just how freaking unfair it can be to be a teenage girl. Our main chick Nita receives her calling to be a wizard from a library book, but really learns her craft through out several volumes of sublime examples of urban fantasy, space operas, and natural wonders. If only a studio would be willing to commit the time and money to really flesh out the oceans depths and starry cosmos in the series, we’d really see something spectacular.
Have I missed your favorite series? Is there a classic that should be revamped? Let me know in the comments, or tweet it my way (@deadrabbit92)!
It’s 2006, and Square Enix has big plans. Big plans, I tells ya! After riding high on the wave of high grossing mediocrity that was Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the development company decided to keep going with this series thing. They announced Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a fancy way of saying Three Kinda Related Final Fantasies. The idea was simple — three games taking place in distinct worlds, but sharing a common mythos of powerful crystals tied to deities. When it was originally announced, the three games to be in this series were Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and Final Fantasy Type-0.
Of the three, Final Fantasy Versus XIII held the most promise. It was headed by Tetsuya Nomura, the designer behind Final Fantasy VII and lead behind Kingdom Hearts, the gameplay team was to be the one that worked on Kingdom Hearts II, and the cinematics team was to be the one behind Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It was like a super group of game development rock stars!
But as the years wore on, we got very few confirmations that the game was still in progress. Besides a few screen shots here and there, the project was all but slated as vaporware. But then in the summer of 2013, Square Enix showed off new footage of the game. It looked slick, the gameplay was unique from any other Final Fantasy, and the graphics were gorgeous. And at the end, the title Final Fantasy Versus XIII gave way to its new moniker Final Fantasy XV.
They then announced that Final Fantasy Type-0, the bloody, more mature entry in the Three Kinda Related Final Fantasies series was getting an HD remake on PS4. And if opening cut scenes of people actually dying (with actual blood) wasn’t enough to get you hyped, a preorder of the game included a demo of Final Fantasy XV called Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae.
Not only was this a genius marketing move to try and garner more sales for Type-0 HD, but it ties back in to the Fabula Nova Crystallis series nicely and give the development team an insight in to what works and doesn’t work about this radical departure from the classic JRPG series.
I told you that story to tell you this story.
So far, what we know about Final Fantasy XV you play as a prince named Noctis who’s on a road trip with his friends Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus. I’m assuming the world is ending or something and they’re going to go save it, since that’s the plot of every Final Fantasy, but the other title of this game could be Four Buddies Take a Road Trip for as much as we know.
This demo is an example of how to do a demo right. We’ve been given a part of the game that has nothing to do with the story, featuring all the things we wanted to know about like combat, leveling, and quest systems, set in a humongous map. By my estimates, you can spend well over six hours just finding stuff to do, exploring new areas, or challenging monsters. I know full games that aren’t this detailed or extensive, and this came free with another game!
In this demo, we find out friendly foursome with a broken down car trying to find ways to earn the money to get it fixed so they can keep getting Slurpees and playing punch buggy. The first thing you’ll notice about this game is how Final Fantasy it both is and isn’t. The clothes and hair of the protagonists are a little out there, but not overly strange. They look like you could reasonably see one of them and think, “That guy’s dressing really flashy” instead of, “That guy loves LARPing.” This vibe carries over to their interactions with one another. They don’t yell things at each other like “WE’RE FRIENDS, SO THAT’S WHY I’M HERE TO PROTECT YOU!” or “WE’RE GOING TO SHOW THE EMPIRE WHAT WE’RE MADE OF!” They talk to each other like a group of adults, and that’s so terrifically refreshing for a series that’s notorious for its overacting. There’s very little over the top gestures or snarky one liners to nobody in particular. It actually feels as if Square Enix had some tact with this one. Either that, or their English voice cast is pulling a lot of weight. Trust me, it’s a lot better than the trailers.
And now we dive in to the big differences. The ways in which you’ll think “Did they really just make a Final Fantasy game with Kingdom Hearts gameplay?”
Yes. Yes they did. And here’s why that’s not bad.
A lot of people enjoy turn based RPGs. My most favorite games of all time are turn based RPGs. Hell, one of Square Enix’s bestselling RPGs in years, Bravely Default, was a turn based RPG. And of course you’d expect Final Fantasy to follow suit. But just like a favorite pair of underwear, that formula has worn too thin. Final Fantasy has almost been a joke the past eight or so years. The series that refused to push itself in to new areas. The company who found a formula that worked on NES and thought it’d keep working all the way to Playstation 3. Sure, combat systems had been updated a little here and there. Attempts were made to conceal its turn-based nature behind moving characters or MMO-esque battle systems. But at its core, Final Fantasy remained a game about a group of ragtag adventurers going up against impossible odds to do something (likely with crystals) to save the world by beating the crap out of enemies, waiting until they took a turn or two, then beating them up again.
Conversely, Final Fantasy XV is about motion and fluidity. The four face buttons are mapped to attack, special, jump, and warp. You can customize your attack patterns within a menu and your special is selectable on the fly during battle, allowing for change of strategy where needed. Noctis has a couple of special things about him. For whatever reason, he materializes different weapons to fight will at will. This ability means you can lead off your attack with a powerful greatsword attack to break their defense, follow it up with quick successive shots with a short sword to get in multiple hits, and then finish them off with a pike to push them away, all in the same combo. And the weapons seem tied to him somehow, so if he materializes a sword somewhere far away, he’ll warp to that sword. Using warp, you can quickly attack enemies that are far away, transport yourself out of battle quickly, or even use it to dodge. Holding L1 will keep Noctis dodging for as long as he has MP to spare, which is an invaluable tool if your teammates are healing up while you distract the enemy.
Speaking of your teammates, one of my favorite features is what happens when you’re KO’d. Once your health gets to 0, you can no longer attack and enter a kind of emergency mode. Your life bar fills red and if you continue taking damage until you’re at 0 again, you get a game over. However, in that time, your teammates can come by and rescue you, bringing your health back up and putting you back in the fight. And don’t worry, if they’re all incapacitated too, you’ll come back to life after enough time has passed anyway. It’s similar to Army of Two or Call of Duty in that you have to rely on your teammates to bail you out if you get overwhelmed and make a bad combat decision.
So what’s the common theme here? It’s all radically different from every other Final Fantasy. You can exit fights without entering in commands, you can dodge if you’re fast enough, your attacks depend more on speed and reaction than planning, and you have to rely on AI to do the right thing because you’re too busy trying to stay live yourself. The common thread?
Engagement.
In games like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, or most other RPGs, you’re not acting dynamically. You’re telling your characters what to do and watching them do it. There’s no opportunity to change strategies in the middle of an execution because you’ve already written the script of how this is going to happen. And that’s a completely valid formula, one that’s worked for many years, and one that a lot of people enjoy. However, by doing a more dynamic combat system, you’re not telling characters to do things, you’re doing them. If in the middle of what you think is going to be a barrage and the boss does that one move that you hate, you can change your strategy simply by no longer pressing attack. If one of your teammates crits and knocks the boss in to a prone position or stops them when you weren’t expecting, you can let loose your techniques, attack as hard and fast as you can, then warp away when he realizes you’re the one who’s been stabbing his butt when he couldn’t fight back. At every point during combat, you’re engaged, and that’s not something Final Fantasy has seen in some time.
The demo takes place in a huge, continuous area that seems to maybe have other areas connected to it that you could access through certain points, but can’t because of the limits of the demo. Think Borderlands. You could easily spend upwards of six hours just exploring the whole map. There are main quests highlighted on the map and side quests that you can pick up by being in proximity to the quest start, incentivizing exploration by rewarding you with the chance to get more loot or experience.
You can camp overnight at any of the campgrounds around the map, get in a good dinner and replenish your health. Campsites also act as areas to use the levels you’ve gotten throughout the day to get different abilities or choose how your character will grow through their system. The meals you eat also give you slight buffs for the next day. All the meals I’ve eaten so far look like they came out of a restaurant, I’ve been getting some nice buffs. But you can imagine a situation in which the Friendly Foursome are in some desolate area eating bread and drinking water, so there aren’t any buffs, or maybe there are even debuffs.
As with all demos, there are some issues. At one point during a mission, I got on to a platform I shouldn’t have been able to get on and into an area I wasn’t meant to be in yet. The result meant that I actually had to die and redo the whole area before being able progress. I’ve also found issues running in to trees and not being able to get around them effectively, having my teammates ignore me when I was dying, or not facing the right way and attacking nothing because the camera was being weird. All these things can be improved by the time the game is released next year.
If you haven’t gotten your hands on Type-0 HD yet, hope you can get a Day One copy of it so you can get this demo. I didn’t think I could get more excited for this game, but after this, I’m actually confident in the next game. I don’t have to say things like “Well, let’s hope the next one is okay.” Because the next one is going to kick ass. So much ass.
If you don’t have a PS4, I’ll be streaming the game later on this week, so keep an eye on our social media pages for when that’ll be up. Trust me, you’re going to want to see this.