Comments 2,199

Re: Nintendo Is Handed Another Lawsuit Win After Accused Switch "Pirate" Fails To Plead

Burning_Spear

Just to be clear: A plaintiff almost always has to prove damages, even if the defendant defaults. In this case, unless this idiot can show a legitimate reason for his default (maybe he was out of the country or hospitalized, for example), Nintendo must still prove why it is entitled to the amount of damages it is seeking (or entitled to any damages). In many instances, the defaulting defendant does not appear at that proceeding either, meaning Nintendo would face the easier prospect of arguing against an empty chair. But it's not likely that a judge would simply give Nintendo the damages it's requesting without a hearing on the evidence.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (9th November)

Burning_Spear

@Ganner First off, Completionist status was finally reached this weekend, in addition to gold-staking a seventh deck and (so far) closing in on the eighth.

I have no idea when this obsession will end, but it often does when I'm sitting around on a Friday night, ready to jump back into my current game, and then say, "I'll just play an hour of this other game first." And then OCD and ADHD take over, and the "other game" becomes the go-to and the game on the hundred-hour run becomes a dust collector.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (5th October)

Burning_Spear

I started with more than six hours of Balatro last night. I'm working my way up the ladder toward Gold stake on the Checkerboard deck now, having hit Gold on two others. I also unlocked three more jokers on the way to Completionist.

It's a beautiful weekend here, and there's playoff baseball in this house, so that may be it. I probably need to get away from this Balatro addiction for a couple of days!

Re: Atari 50 DLC Adds 19 Games And Launches Later This Week

Burning_Spear

@EarthboundBenjy Agreed. Atari has mastered the practice of getting folks to continually repay for the same things. I still have my 2600 and cartridges, in addition to a few Atari collections and the PS2 Activision one, but it's so much more convenient to have them all in one space on the current console.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)

Burning_Spear

@Ganner Oh, man, glad to meet a fellow Balatro addict. What are you working on now?

I've unlocked all the decks and beaten every stake but Gold, which I've been attacking for a few weeks. Last week I had it. Perfect joker build. Six hands available for every round. Everything in order. I was there. At the finish line. And then the Ante 8 boss was The Violet Vessel, with its insanely large blind. The cards went cold, and I narrowly lost. If any other blind had popped up, I'd be a well-rested man today. Alas, Balatro.

Gold stake has opened a whole new world for me. I'm now figuring out ways to use and weaponize jokers and tarots I never previously considered.

Re: Random: "The Time Players Spend In A Game Is A Cost" - Sakurai Talks Long Runtimes

Burning_Spear

I like the idea of designing games so that they can be entirely completed in a manageable amount of time.

One of the things that's difficult for me — particularly as someone with OCD — is maintaining the mindset that I won't complete every objective, see everything there is to be seen, etc. I often say I will just play for the core experience, but then it becomes a quest to do everything that ends with 75 hours played, a bunch of stuff still undone, disappointment, and other games that were never played as a result. So, for me personally, if completionist times were reduced, I'd be happy.

Re: Soapbox: Why I Love A Good Map, And That Time I Mapped Yoshi's Melons For Nintendo Power

Burning_Spear

The original Metroid gets a lot of criticism, but one of the things I enjoyed most was mapping it myself. Same for the original Zelda. I think that's what you would do it if you were actually in such a situation in real life. I realize modern games are more convenient and probably more fun with easily accessible maps, but I found the cartography of Metroid and Zelda a big part of the fun. As for Kraid, well, that's another story.