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hyouko

hyouko

@hyouko.bsky.social

44 followers 110 following 120 posts

Dad of Layton the field spaniel; data scientist, ice cream maker, hiker, reader.

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hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 1d

I plan to continue to keep my eyes open for a copy any time I am in a Japanese used games store. No luck last time, but I will persist.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 1d

Answer is: sorta? ThecTower SP is a port of the first game, and The Tower 2 / Yoot Tower exists:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoot_To...

But it came out earlier - 1998!

Yoot Tower - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

The smaller size one is actually still kind of my favorite form factor for an easily pocket-able gaming device, and the removable backplate idea was neat, and it's very easy to mod. You can give unpatched games a performance boost if you mod it!

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

Pouring one out for the New 3DS. Technically a massive spec bump (doubled the RAM and processor cores, tripled the clock speed! extra analog stick! bonus VRAM!) that almost no games made any use of because you had to specifically patch in support.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

UI-wise, I'd say radial menus are a good option when you have 4-8 choices and an analog stick. Much past that and I really question why you're exposing that level of choice and cognitive load to the player. Fine for an RPG skill menu, not for a pause in real time combat or puzzling.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

In general, The List is becoming a big UI issue with the recent crop of Zelda games; it also affects BotW/TotK once your inventory gets big. Nintendo needs to sit down and rethink that interface, or move away from mechanics that require navigating dozens of choices mid-action.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

Hello. Is that for me?

#dogs #dogsofbluesky

(Layton had his first day-care day on Friday and will be heading back for more this week. He had a good time!)

Layton the field spaniel is licking his nose and sitting at the dog daycare... I am betting there was a treat on offer to get this pose!

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 6d

This scowling guy in their banner is _extremely_ System Shock coded, though the game itself seems not much like that.

Part of the banner for the game Klostyn, showing a scowling red-eyed cyborg man.

The box art for System Shock, showing... a scowling red-eyed cyborg man.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 7d

I enjoyed the ride overall - particularly that ending! the incredible crafting! - but I have some quibbles. The underground areas were half-empty; I hunted for a mole-person town after seeing the statues to no avail... and the late-game level scaling made standard fights drag unpleasantly.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 8d

Make the time there to go up to the Kasuga Shrine on top of the hill. The dark room with the hanging lanterns is worth the short hike, and it's just generally quite beautiful.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

Hm. I thought they did have item requirements that were posted on a sign outside the dungeon? Though since you'd start with the item it spoiled a little of the fun of getting to the treasure and learning how it worked.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

That's a good one, and it's a shame that the game seems to be locked up on the 3DS with no modern options for playing it.

I'm sure you'll cover this in one of your retrospectives, but it's neat to see how it experimented with ideas that BotW ran with, similar to Link's Awakening --> OOT.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

I mean: it's full of fictional citations and names (mixed with real ones!) and centers on a movie that never existed. Remind you of anything?

No spoilers, please. I think I'm midway through, but it's hard to tell; the content per page varies _wildly_. It's been a fun puzzle to pick through so far.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

This book is fascinating to read in 2025, given that it came out in 2020 yet seems to predict the nature and even form of some of the challenges we deal with in distinguishing truth from fiction in the age of AI-generated misinfo.

"Currently, the greatest threat comes from the area of digital manipulation." A quote from House of Leaves arranged in the book's typically odd typography.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

I realized I described myself as a reader in my profile, yet I've not talked at all about what I actually read.

I've been in a book club with my good friends since 2020. We alternate fiction and non-fiction, and usually try for something spooky in October. This year's spook is House of Leaves.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 12d

feeling a little judged

#dogs #dogsofbluesky

Layton the field spaniel looks side-eyed at me. he wants a walk and/or a treat.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 14d

Unlikely to be a problem with Sugar. Check this song they did for Adventure Time, wherein an immortal vampire sings about how things (don't) change with time:

youtu.be/bNnfuvC1LlU?...

They can do complex moods.

Everything Stays | Adventure Time | Cartoon Network

YouTube video by Cartoon Network

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 16d

Damn. OK, yeah, just started Spring Year 2. Gonna have to add that to the foraging rotation, those purple ore nodes are rare as shit.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 17d

To start I recommend finding a good restaurant that has it on the menu. Making ramen stock the right way is a multi-day process, and I've had the instant noodle version - it's not a patch on the real deal.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 20d

LA remains one of my favorite games, but a nitpick with the OG version is how often it would stop the action dead to give you a dialog box about the power-up or obstacle you just touched. The powerups were great, but no need to spend 20sec telling me about them each time!

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 23d

My mom used to be heavily addicted to the Windows version of this; it's very real. It's a Puzzle Bobble / Bust-a-Move knockoff.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 23d

Mt. Kearsarge with the pup today. It was a lovely day for a hike, and also, boy am I out of shape... #dogs #hiking

Layton the Field Spaniel looks left in front of a stone mountaintop, with New Hampshire landscape in the background.

Some of the trees are turning colors in NH. This was actually the view from the trailhead parking lot; the best fall colors were honestly on the drive up and down here (and as the driver I wasn't in a spot to snap a pic).

A cairn in front of the scrub pines on top of Mt. Kearsarge.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · 24d

My first exposure to this quote was a slightly altered version from the C&C Red Alert installer... still works, but they just had to work in "command" and "conquer" I suppose. Ah, the 90s, when this was all just cheesy video game backstory...

A screenshot from the Red Alert installer, showing Kane from Command & Conquer saying "He who controls the past, commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past."

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · Sep 15

Where you can, please use your platform to call out the failings of our news media institutions in this regard. This isn't a one-off thing; the Times, Post, and others are preemptively surrendering to authoritarianism under their current leadership.

hyouko @hyouko.bsky.social · Sep 9

As others have noted, they appear to specifically exempt (some) political emails from this after GOP congresspeople got pissed about their fundraising emails being marked as spam.