Sientir's Blog

I made a LOT more progress in this week's Hollow Knight episode than I was expecting! It starts with the Lost Kin fight, which was significantly easier for me than I expected. This meant I could make my way to the Super Meat Boy inspired White Palace! The second video is the Guild Wars: Factions mission of Unwaking Waters with the story quests surrounding it. It was a much needed bit of relaxing after the challenge of the Hollow Knight episode! Direct video links: Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 6: The White Palace - https://youtu.be/geARdXOTz8g Guild Wars 1: Unwaking Waters (Luxon) - https://youtu.be/YySjYO74uMg

I ended up recording another two episodes of Hollow Knight this week. Unfortunately, something was off with my microphone settings, which resulted in it being too quiet and cutting out in spots. This isn't helped by the fact that the game was way too loud. That's something I'll have to fix for the next time. Anyway, I went after the last two spirit warriors I'd previously missed, then took a stab at beating the White Defender. He proved...challenging. In the Sunday video, I return to Guild Wars 1 and doing stuff on my Ranger, this time the Gyala Hatchery mission, though the episode itself starts with the prerequisite quest wherein I retrieve a chest of turtle eggs. Direct video links: Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 4: Galien and Gorb - https://youtu.be/2EjIOA9LFf8 Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 5: The White Defender lives up to his name... - https://youtu.be/rwIIM_pEPjA Guild Wars 1: Gyala Hatchery - https://youtu.be/-7X96p5UcMs

I didn't feel like starting a new thing for one episode, so Friday gets to be an honorary member of the weekend this week. At least for my video series, at least! The first two of these are continuing my journey in Hollow Knight, as I pursue the requirements necessary to get a better ending. The third video is more Guild Wars 1 stuff. Specifically, I continue what I'd started last time with the pursuit of 10,000 Luxon faction, except there's no anniversary celebration weekend to distract me! Direct video links: Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 2: The Traitor Lord - https://youtu.be/2b0EnpqvKEE Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 3: Markoth - https://youtu.be/Iq9el5timXc Guild Wars 1: Getting to 10,000 Luxon Faction! - https://youtu.be/vMp4PWA3cs0

Guild Chat is gone, so the weekends are now whatever I feel like them being. For right now, Saturday is going to be more Hollow Knight, at least until I get a better ending than I did during the main playthrough. The Sunday video is just some Guild Wars 1 stuff, because I love that game. :D Direct video links: Hollow Knight Epilogue Ep. 1: Into the Abyss - https://youtu.be/Ptl3L0xGM4w Guild Wars 1: Accidental Anniversary Celebration! - https://youtu.be/dW76h3zTpPk

The first video this weekend is an epilogue to the The Magic Circle playthrough. Given the ridiculous length of that game's finale, I didn't really have time in the final episode to give my thoughts on the game. Also, I wanted more time to digest and process it. So I decided to share my thoughts here. The second video is a Guild Chat on scope creep, which is when a project slowly balloons to ridiculous proportions to the point where completing it becomes too resource intensive to do well. This weekend also marks a bit of a change in the weekend video slots. I've decided that, in general, the Guild Chat videos are a bit too much of a content mismatch between the audio and video portions. As such, I'm discontinuing the idea. While I may still make videos on random discussion topics, I want to handle them in a more cohesive way when I do make them. Moving forward, you can usually expect edited gameplay with live commentary, but unlike the Let's Plays, these videos will...

In the first Guild Chat, I discuss how the ways we exercise change as we grow up. In the second Guild Chat, I explain why I think the Original and Prequel Star Wars trilogies are in different continuities. Direct video links: Playgrounds to Gyms: How Exercising Changes As We Grow Up - https://youtu.be/xSl0Gqkx4Kw Why I think the Star Wars Trilogies are in different continuities - https://youtu.be/w6-zCOAwJn0

In the first Guild Chat episode this week, I give my thoughts on the philosophical question of "Are humans intrinsically good or intrinsically wicked?" As you might guess from the title. Anyway, this requires me to talk about morality a lot—my thoughts there should be nothing new for people who've been listening to my content for a while, though. In the second (much shorter) Guild Chat, I share some personal stories about pets my family had back in the day. Direct video links: Are humans intrinsically good or intrinsically wicked? - https://youtu.be/Fy-Iab5yOu8 Personal Stories: Pets - https://youtu.be/Z2R1B8MZBjE

In the first of this week's Guild Chat videos, I explore the idea of a hero-driven 4X game. In the second, I analyze a problem that can crop up in game design, where you focus on things that sound cool, rather than on the hard details of how a game works. I also examine the idea of what it is like to experience game worlds, since that is a big part of this issue. Direct video links: What Might a Hero-Driven 4X Game Be Like? - https://youtu.be/pX5ErukdUTg Game Design, "Wouldn't it be cool" syndrome, and the Experience of Game Worlds - https://youtu.be/H5dwDo1OQRs

In the first Guild Chat this weekend, I talk about the unusual paths the led to me getting into some of my favorite games. In the second one, I talk about the challenge of handling an IP that you didn't create, primarily by examining the challenge Disney has when it comes to managing Star Wars. Direct video links: How I started playing some of my favorite games! - https://youtu.be/r0cHFGkxM74 Star Wars and The Challenge of Managing a Legacy - https://youtu.be/a4IUdWENrpE

In the first Guild Chat this week, I look at some of the possible benefits of Universal Basic Income from a human empowerment standpoint, an angle that I feel gets less focus than the direct financial aspects of the concept. In the second Guild Chat, I examine the idea of "opportunity cost" as a way to balance stuff in games. This topic is inspired by design decisions ArenaNET made when creating Guild Wars 2. Direct video links: Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Human Empowerment - https://youtu.be/0Dv1pMTppRc Opportunity as Cost: A Guild Wars 2 Inspired Analysis - https://youtu.be/f_d6m_A7pCI

The first Guild Chat this week is about some of the analysis I've been doing regarding the way combat works in Hyrule Warriors. While I'm overall enjoying the game, I can't help but find the controls get in the way sometimes, especially for certain characters. The second Guild Chat is about the challenge that Wizards of the Coast has when managing Magic: The Gathering, as the game is both a game and a collectible. These two things push the game in different directions, which is what this video is about. Direct video links: Analyzing Hyrule Warriors' Controls - https://youtu.be/54YNc46znHg Magic: The Gathering and the Tension Between Being a Game and a Collectible - https://youtu.be/yJfSD2xH_HA

This is a script to the Guild Chat video of the same name. It can be found here . Many Christian leaders present homosexuality as inherently evil. This results in many Christians treating homosexuals poorly. But what does the Bible actually say about homosexuality? Is it as clear-cut as these leaders present it? Or is it more complicated? In this lengthy video, I want to investigate these questions. Before I begin, a few things. First, I’m reading this from a script and I unfortunately don’t have the bandwidth to edit the audio. I’m probably going to make a few mistakes, so I just want to apologize in advance for any flubbed lines. Also, there will be a link to the script in the description, so if you’d rather read this (or if you want links to references), you can check it out there. Anyway, the first thing I need to do is start with some definitions so that we can all be on the same page. I want to start by defining “homosexual.” This might seem strange, but it’s necessary because it...

The first Guild Chat this week examines how my personality affects how I approach my faith. The second Guild Chat is on a topic that's been a long time coming. I've posted the script for it, which can be found here: https://www.geekdomofgod.com/2019/03/guild-chat-script-homosexuality-and.html Direct video links: On Being a Sultai Christian - https://youtu.be/K4WDI4cvBi4 Homosexuality and the Bible: An In Depth Examination - https://youtu.be/MBTJ8oub92Q

In the first Guild Chat this week, I talk about assumptions I had in childhood about how the world works that have been frustratingly corrected by reality. In the second one, I talk about what I think is fair to tax and why I think that way. Direct video links: Assumptions Wrecked By Reality - https://youtu.be/imqNRsxJUvE Meta Thoughts About Taxation - https://youtu.be/ZyV7fvoC_kI

In the first Guild Chat video this weekend, I rant about patents, specifically some problems that they have. At least, in my eyes, anyway. I don't pretend to have heavily researched them, hence the subtitle. In the second video, I talk about my top 5 superpowers. It was fun to come up with a list! I probably should've ordered them from number five to number one, but I didn't think about it until late enough in the process that it really wasn't worth trying to reverse the order. Direct video links: Problems with Patents: A Poorly Informed Rant - https://youtu.be/eM8h_TF1gRU My Top 5 Superpowers - https://youtu.be/oL4Dzs3sSj0

In the first Guild Chat this week, I talk about the difference between Time Management and Energy Management and how Energy Management doesn't get enough attention. In the second episode, I explain why I dislike the phrase "think of the children." Direct video links: Time Management vs. Energy Management - https://youtu.be/tyPLGYML-VY Why I dislike the phrase, "Think of the children." - https://youtu.be/LlMjypE8snc

In the first Guild Chat video for this week, I compare commuting to video games. It definitely deserves the title of "The Worst Video Game" in my opinion! In the second video, I talk about some of the mechanics of capitalism. I try to do this from a game designer's perspective, but I might wander a bit on that over the course of it. The consequence of not using a script, I suppose. Still, I hope you find it interesting. Direct video links: Commuting: The Worst Video Game - https://youtu.be/Jty3M9HVPow Capitalism and Incentive Systems - https://youtu.be/9fUWaXnvPV8

In the first of these, I talk about my annoyance with super powers that only manifest when the plot wants them, and thus get used in an unrealistic way. I also delve some into hard and soft magic, which is an important related concept. In the second video, I talk about the incredible depths of each person's humanity. This is an important subject, I believe, and I'm hoping that this video can help people to view each other as the full and complete human beings we each are. Direct video links: Forgetting The Force—Unless the plot wants to use it - https://youtu.be/7yobFYrBQuY You are you & I am me - https://youtu.be/00IcOxG2024

Worldbuilding Thoughts is a new Guild Chat feature that will appear irregularly. I love worldbuilding, so it makes sense to talk about some of my thoughts regarding it. This idea was spawned with what is more or less a two-parter on deities and religion. This pair of episodes was originally inspired by thoughts I'd had about the way faith appears in games, but it grew from that seed idea into something that I think is greater. I hope you all enjoy it! Direct video links: Worldbuilding Thoughts: Deities - https://youtu.be/JXMiwZ-Fn7M Worldbuilding Thoughts: Religion - https://youtu.be/7QFbcrGEOsQ

In the first Guild Chat of this week, I talk about a pet peeve of mine: when people use "cussing," "cursing," and "swearing" as synonyms. I go into the differences in that video. In the second video, I talk about why I think the way memory works is responsible for the perception that time passes more quickly as we get older. Direct video links: Cussing, Cursing, and Swearing - https://youtu.be/MhzYLzk4zTc Memory and the Perception of Time - https://youtu.be/GZAsM-2pxRo