The Tinkerer #dynart #pmd #pokemon

I have been playing a lot of hacks, mods, and remakes lately. It has me wondering about how opposed I actually am to changing games. Maybe games are built to be changed. nebula.tv/videos/kingk...

KingK — Games Are Built To Be Changed

Maybe it's fun when we change our video games.

nebula.tv

Some time ago, I discussed the final expansion in Wizard101's fourth story arc. I had a great time with most of it, right up until the last few quests. Looking back, I'm not sure I fully articulated the reasons why. Let me try again. youtu.be/5xOvruxAzdU

Wizard101: Rethinking My Wallaru Critique

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

I know it's beating a dead horse wrt Level-5, but I wanted to share this excellent essay by @darrenmooney.bsky.social on the connection between pop culture nostalgia and the broader push for Generative AI. What Level-5 is doing with series like Professor Layton perfectly illustrates Darren's point.

Harry Potter and the Culture of AI | The Backdrop

YouTube video by Second Wind

youtube.com

Despite overtures towards being a "break" in the action, Deltarune Chapter 5 is the first time a Deltarune chapter doesn't hold on its own merits. It's a chapter that's too reliant on its past and too invested in its future to remember to tell an affecting story *right now*. youtu.be/iLg3LFkBxts

So... DELTARUNE Chapter 5 Could've Been Better

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

Finally getting around to Monster Hunter Wilds with some friends these past few weeks. I'd heard a lot of negative things, but I've been having a blast with it. It's also a really beautiful game. Maybe I'm just happy I don't have to go around collecting Spiritbirds every hunt like in Rise lmao

Ravenwood Academy

Escape over Rooftops

My most toxic trait is continuing to watch Star Trek even though I think the new (live action) ones aren't good. Today's Strange New Worlds turned everyone into puppets, but then they do "it was all a dream" unironically because the show doesn't even have the spine to stand by its own gimmick eps.

Spock Is All Ears in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

ALT: Spock Is All Ears in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

static.klipy.com

Wizard101 community not beating the nostalgia allegations with this one Every Arc 4 world obliterated immediately. Darkmoor lost to.... Wizard City. I'll salvage Arc 4's reputation with my bare hands if I have to!

Once, Professor Layton came to offer respite in the realm of bad video game adaptations, or so the story goes. However, I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Eternal Diva, a movie that copies the beats of Layton with minimal understanding as to why those beats work. youtu.be/r8Anfy4YFug

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva's Biggest Problem

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

Powered through Deltarune Chapter 5 today, and unfortunately, I think it's a significant step down from Ch. 2-4. Gameplay-wise, I thought this was easily the game at its strongest, but narratively, it felt like a whole lot of wheel-spinning.

With Nintendo touring its greatest hits like it's 2011 again, I thought it might be nice to re-examine that era. In particular, how me might take from A Link Between Worlds' example, a game which shows just how much old material can shine when put under a new perspective. youtu.be/66Bd7rCtEHQ

A Link Between Worlds Is Searching for Perfection

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

PMD Personality Quiz if it went through a mid-life crisis

spent nearly two hours trying to figure out why my mic wasn't recording audio despite being recognized by Resolve turns out Resolve was having issues because Windows 11 decided to turn on "✨ audio enhancement" on my sound inputs without telling me I'm NOT mad ✨✨✨

I genuinely do recommend playing this, for no other reason than it's impossible not to have a visceral reaction to some of the nonsense this game gets up to in its second-half. Tales of Arise simply operates on levels no human has fully been able to comprehend

Nintendo of America [Twitter/X Mirror]@nintendoamericax.bsky.social · 4mo ago

It's been hours...   SIKE! Time to play more might take a     Tales of Arise - break from     Beyond the Dawn gaming. Edition!!

My hot take is that Valencia, Part 2 is a good expansion and acts as a solid (if undeniably rushed) ending to Pirate101. It's honestly impressive how well it turned out, considering it had the unenviable task of condensing at least five expansions worth of story into one half-expansion.

The Atmoplex@theatmoplex.bsky.social · 4mo ago

[P101] Fun Fact: Pirate101's last big story update - Valencia Part 2, Book 15 - featuring the defeat of Kane and a rushed ending to Arc 1, came out 10 years ago today on Test Realm.

Getting stunlocked by the ending to another Pokémon game has caused to me to reflect on the fact that Gates to Infinity might be the only Pokémon game that gets it. Gates acknowledges that its return to the status quo in the postgame is in contradiction to the lesson it had the Partner learn.

Alexander@aurumalex.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Pokémon Pokopia may appear to be a quaint little spin-off, but don't be fooled: its ambitions are enormous. Let's explore how Pokopia transcends its inspirations, how it remakes a monolith in its own image... ...And how one iPad threatens to undermine it all. youtu.be/l1MqpLImDe4

Pokémon Pokopia may appear to be a quaint little spin-off, but don't be fooled: its ambitions are enormous. Let's explore how Pokopia transcends its inspirations, how it remakes a monolith in its own image... ...And how one iPad threatens to undermine it all. youtu.be/l1MqpLImDe4

Pokopia Is the Pokémon Game I've Been Waiting For

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

it will be very funny (bleak) if Nintendo's big titles for 2026 end up being "that star fox game you played in the '90s" and "that zelda game you played in the '90s"

My dad was telling me about this confusing trailer he saw in the theater yesterday, that characters were made up of random parts, that it "wasn't anime but in 3D," and that one of them reminded him of the spork from Toy Story 4 I realized he was trying to explain to me The Amazing Digital Circus

Posted a new interview on the Gaming Reinvented site folks! This one is with YouTube video essay creator @aurumalex.bsky.social, known for their videos on games like Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and the Professor Layton series: gamingreinvented.com/interview/le...

Let’s Interview: YouTube Essayist AurumAlex

They’re the creator known for those essays on the Mario RPGs and Professor Layton games, among others. Let’s learn more about ’em here!

gamingreinvented.com

🌸🌸🌸 #大神 #Okami #大神二十周年 #大神20th

The funny thing about this is apparently Providence is one of the islands DQVII Reimagined just straight up removed which, like, I get it, but also... Boo.

Alexander@aurumalex.bsky.social · last yr.

What's all this about "streamlining" DQ7 I'm reading? If it doesn't take 20 hours to get vocations and I'm not going through Providence's Mountaintop Tunnel five separate times, am I *really* playing DQ7?

see I can hop on trends too

The AI discourses surrounding things like Expedition 33, Arc Raiders, and Crimson Desert were quaint compared to whatever's going on at Level-5 right now. This company is so shamelessly on board with The Sloppening it puts Square Enix to shame

【PV】妖怪ウォッチシリーズ新企画『名探偵 猫又之助』篇『妖怪ウォッチ ぷにぷに』（LEVEL5 VISION 2026 Ver.）

YouTube video by LEVEL5ch【公式】

youtube.com

OK, I can't lie to you all anymore. I think Dream Team is the best Mario & Luigi. youtu.be/D4z2clVC-FQ

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Is Awesome, Actually

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

Having gone through the Professor Layton series, I felt compelled to fill in the last few gaps. So let's talk about Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, playing on a smartphone, gruesome murders, and my particularly perplexing problems with Placid and Potty Prof. youtu.be/QBJAupTpcE4

Quick Thoughts on Layton Brothers: Mystery Room

YouTube video by AurumAlex

youtu.be

About 12 hours into Pokopia so far, and I'm loving it. I am also very worried about where the story is going. The appeal of a post-apocalypse setting is to re-evaluate civilization from first principles, to look at the rubble around you and ask, "what do we build from its ashes?"

ALT:

media.tenor.com

i'm so glad they decided to make Dragon Quest Builders 3

Alexander@aurumalex.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I keep hearing people say they want Pokopia to be Pokémon Animal Crossing, but, like, I kinda hope not! I need this to be a stealth Dragon Quest Builders 3. The DQB games are fire, and doing that formula and structure with Pokémon is such a good idea.