vingiesel.netvingiesel.net, home of vingiesel.net2023-01-20T06:00:00Zhttps://vingiesel.net/Evan Gieselcontact@vingiesel.netFirst Post2019-02-21T16:31:12Zhttps://vingiesel.net/blog/2019-02-21-first-post/<p>Hey there, heres a little introductory post to get things going.</p>
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<h1>Primary Goals</h1>
<p>I've put this blog together to do a little writing practice. Expect some garbage opinions on
programming and video games. My goal is to someday reach the writing quality necessary to get a
contrarian post linked to and then torn apart by hackernews.</p>
<p>Aiding in that goal is the <em>pretty cool</em> <a href="https://jekyllrb.com/">Jekyll site generator</a>. Early on, I
decided that I wanted blog posts to be expressed using Markdown. Despite being comfortable with
React and Vue.js, a component library and SPA is overkill for a site that is entirely static, and
Django, which I love, is too monumental an apparatus for simply storing and serving blog posts.
Jekyll happens to be a static site generator shaped post for this static site generator shaped hole.
Turns out, its a breeze to work with! I've cordoned off a showcase section of the site, which can
link to sub domains with run by whatever extravagant technology I'm infatuated with at the moment.</p>
<p>Speaking of infatuated, <a href="https://getbootstrap.com/">bootstrap</a> sass is also pretty nifty. I've come
to rely on bootstrap's grid system (made so much better recently with bootstrap 4's flex rewrite)
for layout stuff, but I don't need many of its other components. Turns out you don't need to lug
around bootstrap's full bundle! I have a scss file sitting above bootstraps infinity depths which
only includes bootstrap features I want</p>
<pre><code>// @import "bootstrap/modal";
@import "bootstrap/tooltip";
// @import "bootstrap/popover";
// @import "bootstrap/carousel";
// @import "bootstrap/spinners";
@import "bootstrap/utilities";
</code></pre>
<p>Honestly I don't think it even reduces the file size that much, but there is a certain satisfaction
in choosing the destiny of the grovelling files scattered before me.</p>
<h2>Ancillary Goals</h2>
<p>My second goal, perhaps more outlandish than the first, will be to learn to proof-read my own
writing. Maybe I'll start that journey in my next post. Probably not.</p>
<p>-Evan</p>
Godzilla: King of the Monsters2019-08-22T04:40:56Zhttps://vingiesel.net/blog/2019-08-22-godzilla-king-of-disapointment/<p><em>Godzilla: King of the Monsters</em> currently sits at 41% critic score and 83% audience score, as of
August 18th, 2019.</p>
<p>This means, in my estimation, that <strong>83% of the audience are wrong.</strong></p>
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<h2>A Noble Cause</h2>
<p>Every reaction to the movie I see is a variation of this:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/498/835/4f5.jpg" alt="All action, no story? Thats why I'm here" />
<br /><sup>excised from
<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters">here</a>. might,
uh, want adblock turned on for that one</sup></p>
<p>Reading reactions like this in the days before I watched the movie bolstered a particular feeling in
my heart: compassion! Sympathy for an underdog! Critics, enemy of the casual viewer, are too
preoccupied with theory and technicalities to enjoy the simple pleasures we lowly viewers alone can
experience. Surely the critics were out of touch, and the movie was fine.</p>
<p>After all, <em>Godzilla 2014</em> was an excellent movie, and a bunch of people had disliked it as well!
Admittedly, the human sections were aggressively uninteresting. Sure, it was a general waste of Ken
Watanabe-who spent the movie dramatically removing his glasses and murmuring "let them fight"-and
Bryan Cranston-who spent the movie yelling about the government turning frogs gay and then being
dead. When the monsters did show up, the movie used suspense, scale, and sound to elevate an
otherwise boring movie. All 15 minutes of monster action built to an epic climax, with the music
cutting out for Godzilla's fire breath decapitation attack, and then flaring back up to accompany
Godzilla's triumphant roar.</p>
<p>Those fifteen minutes were worth 2ish hours of tedium.</p>
<p>Obviously, critics didn't understand. We fans could wade through a boring story for a few good
monster fight scenes. I fully expected to enjoy the <em>King of the Monsters</em>, and I have no doubt now
that many people like me defend the movie more vigorously to counteract those malicious critics.</p>
<h2>It Goes to 11</h2>
<p><em>Godzilla: King of the Monsters</em> parallels the <em>Godzilla 2014</em> in several ways. Both movies focus on
a human story for the majority of the movie's runtime, and cut back and forth during the climax
between the intertwined monster and human storylines. Both movies have excellent visuals and monster
action.</p>
<p>But in terms of visuals and action, <em>King of the Monsters</em> effortlessly surpasses <em>Godzila 2014</em>.</p>
<p>I was floored by some of the scenes. Rodan bursting from the volcano. Mothra descending from the sky
and dispersing clouds and rain. Ghidorah floating in the middle of the hurricane.</p>
<p>The music in King of the Monsters humbles the soundtrack of <em>Godzilla 2014</em>. Mothra's theme,
especially, needs to be 2-3 minutes longer, so I don't have to keep mashing the repeat button. The
theme from the original 1957 Godzilla movie is incorporated into the score as well, hitting a cord
of nostalgia in my heart.</p>
<p>There was also some cool themes played with, like Godzilla and Mothra's relationship as natural
destructive and regenerative guardians of the Earth, which fuels their clash against the
extra-terrestrial false god Ghidorah.</p>
<p>Ken Wanatabe's Dr. Serizawa's death was a deft subversion of Serizawa's death from the original
Godzilla movie, again hitting a chord of nostalgia for me.</p>
<h2>A Delicate Balance</h2>
<p>One's enjoyment of <em>Godzilla 2014</em> depended on one's personal tolerance for the boring human plot
lines and one's appreciation of monster action. For me, the brief monster scenes outweighed the
surrounding tedium.</p>
<p><em>Godzilla: King of the Monsters</em> contained far more monster action, so theres no way my net
enjoyment could resolve to negative, right?</p>
<h2>Wrong.</h2>
<p>There was a scene early on in the movie that marked the inflection point in the graph of my enjoyment
of the movie.</p>
<p>Main character dude-I've forgotten his name-directs the military and research staff to lower their
weapons and open the observation window, to show a circling, aggressive Godzilla that they mean him
no harm. The soldiers do this, and Godzilla is placated.</p>
<p>There were several things that irked me in that scene:</p>
<ol>
<li>The weapons were fixed turrets on the outside of the station, "lowering" them meant the soldiers
slowly lifted their hands from the controls.</li>
<li>Godzilla, sensing that the teeny human hands that controlled the turrets on this human structure
were lifted, halts his attack.</li>
<li>How did Godzilla know what that meant, let alone perceive it?</li>
<li>Why did everyone listen to this guy?</li>
<li>Why did his plan work?</li>
<li><strong>Why did his plan work?</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>At this point, my heart began to sink, and I tried to convince myself that there was plenty of
runtime left and this movie could easily redeem one stupid moment like this. I was wrong. I would
instead wish to claw my eyes before the end.</p>
<p>Main Character Dude was introduced as having studied the monsters and worked together with his wife
on a device to generate a signal that the monsters would understand. Both the project and his wife
were then abandoned for a career of wildlife photography. Despite being surrounded by military and
scientific personnel dedicated to dealing with these monsters, he alone solves every problem in the
movie. Not just monster biology problems, as his scant backstory would justify. At one point, he
un-jams a damaged hanger door by dropping a helicopter on it, after pushing past a throng of
engineers and crew members.</p>
<p>Every other character is useless. One particularly grating character seemed only to exist to
repeatedly remind everyone else that monsters reproduce sexually, a fact too naughty for all the
military and scientific personnel, who blush and sputter when it is mentioned.</p>
<p>The Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon pivotal in the original <em>Godzilla</em>, is both introduced and proven
useless in a 30 second sequence to show that the military has no idea what it is doing, kicking off
an unnecessary 30 minute arc involving, of all places, the lost city of atlantis (no Megalon to be
seen, unfortunately).</p>
<h2>A Crime Most Heinous</h2>
<p>I'm not sure if I enjoyed the climax of the movie. Sure, there was cool monster fighting and general
destruction, but I was preoccupied by a constant dread. A dread that, suddenly, a scene would be cut
short to focus on a human subplot. A dread that was realized again and again. After all, Main
Character Dude's Daughter was in the middle of the final battle, and it was of utmost priority that
all the humans drop whatever they were doing and find her.</p>
<p><sup><i>aaaaargh I just remembered that there is a scene where the kid outruns Ghidorah's lightning
blasts.</i></sup></p>
<p>By the time Godzilla pulls off his Majin Vegeta Final Explosion attack and saves the day, I just
wanted it all to be over.</p>
<p><strong>I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but I wanted to walk out of a monster movie during the
climax.</strong></p>
<h1>Postmortem</h1>
<p>I'm sure the shock of what I witnessed has left my opinion skewed, so I'll eventually re-watch
<em>Godzilla: King of the Monsters</em> at home. It might be interesting to see how much my opinion
changes, and to examine whether a movie deserves to be judged based only on the initial viewing.</p>
<p>Until then, I guess I'll be a bit more careful when jumping on a bandwagon, because sometimes, the
critics are right.</p>
<p><sup><i>P.S. and sometimes they aren't, The Last Jedi does not deserve a 91%</i></sup></p>
<hr />
<p>Edit 2023: Having realized that one doesn't <em>have</em> to write like the narrator of a pretentious video essay talks, i've replaced all the usages of the word "film" with "movie". I'll keep the word "tedium" in here to remind me of my shame</p>
Star Wars Jedi Colon Fallen Order2019-11-19T06:03:00Zhttps://vingiesel.net/blog/2019-11-19-jedi-colon/<p>I just finished playing <em>Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order</em>, which contains 40% Star Wars, 50% Jedi, and
10% Fallen Orders. The game costed me $60 and lasted about 20 hours. For reference, I played on the
<span title="I'm basically a pro gamer">"Jedi Master"</span> difficulty.</p>
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<h2>A Generous Helping of <em>Sekiro</em></h2>
<p>General gameplay is lifted almost directly from <em>Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice</em>. Enemies have health and
posture bar, where an enemies take chip damage until the posture bar is broken, although there is no
Death Blow for posture broken enemies, only a brief stun. The spirit emblems are replaced by a Force
meter, which is refilled by attacking.</p>
<p>The combat is fun, but the comparison to <em>Sekiro</em> does the game no favors. The game does not have
the fine tuning and polish exemplified by its <span title="Force Ghost?">spiritual
predecessor.</span> In <em>Sekiro</em>, parrying cancels attacks and combos almost instantly and always
reliably. I don't think I ever figured out when exactly <em>Fallen Order</em>'s combo ended and the block
could be started.</p>
<p>I could never pay attention to the force meter, which drained and filled at unpredictable intervals.
Since I couldn't rely on it, most of the fancy lightsaber movers were out of the picture, so I ended
up ignoring them. Sekiro's special tool attacks consumed spirit emblems, but if used strategically,
even they could be stretched out for a whole fight.</p>
<p>The unblockable attacks show up as well, but forgo <em>Sekiro's</em> stylish visual and audio cue for a
jarring and silly looking glowing red texture swap. <em>Sekiro</em> eventually gives the player risky but
exciting tools to counter some of these (jumping over wide sweeps, stomping on thrusts, etc).
<em>Fallen Order</em> has no such tools, requiring the player either roll or sidestep. I found that a quick
force push would sometimes break the unblockable attacks, but that never felt right, and again, was
unreliable.</p>
<p>The game shines most during the several one-on-one lightsaber duals, which are challenging and
satisfying to master.</p>
<h2>A dash of Uncharted</h2>
<p>I've only played Uncharted 1 and 2, but I feel now like I would be content if I never saw another
vine covered wall to climb. Ropes swings are still cool though, especially with the force pull
ability.</p>
<p><em>Fallen Order</em> has a few "cinematic" action sequencies, which are usually pretty neat, and are
infrequent enough to not become a chore.</p>
<h2>Metroidvania-lite</h2>
<p>Progression is ostensibly open world, but is heavily gated by your arsenal of force powers. Near the
midpoint of the game, I went off exploring and was rewarded pretty substantially, but it wouldn't
have been worth it if I didn't have most of the traversal options unlocked.</p>
<p><em>Fallen Order</em> doesn't waste players time with its "open worlds" design. The player's map clearly
marks unexplored areas, and indicates barriers in red and newly accessible areas in green. The map
on every planet can be viewed from the players hub spaceship, so you don't ever have to waste time
on space travel.</p>
<h2>A pinch of Star Wars</h2>
<p>Fan service is handled deftly. Callback lines and characters are kept to a minimum. Instead, players
can walk around in there Star Wars ship, watch the stars blur from inside the cockpit when the ship
jumps to hyperspace, and fiddle around with the build of their lightsaber using parts they have
scavenged.</p>
<p>The world, ship, characters and outfits are heavily reminiscent of the Original Trilogy's grimy look
and swashbuckling attitude, while the plot incorporates some of the better elements from the
Prequels.</p>
<p>While the writing isn't extraordinary, it is perfectly serviceable and rarely irritating. The voice
acting and motion capture performances are skillful and natural (aside from a few brief scenes with
a child character, but thats understandable).</p>
<h2>Play <em>Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order</em> if you liked <em>Sekiro</em>. Play <em>Sekiro</em> if you liked <em>Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order</em>.</h2>
<p>20 hours of gameplay is a sweet spot for me. It took me a few days and a few late nights, but I
completed it. It had some neat characters, exciting set pieces, and challenging-if sometimes
janky-combat. It could have used some more polish on its borrowed gameplay elements, but on its own,
it manages to be a satisfying, well rounded Star Wars game. And no
micro transactions to be seen!</p>
<p>I hold <em>Sekiro</em> to be a much better game overall, but unlike <em>Sekiro</em>, or most games that I own for
that matter, I <em>have</em> actually completed <em>Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order</em>. If that doesn't count as a
recommendation I don't know what does.</p>
<hr />
<p><em>2023 update: I've finally beat sekiro once, and fallen order an additional 2 times, so the point still stands</em></p>
Local Man yells at Franchise (The Last Jedi)2020-01-09T04:51:27Zhttps://vingiesel.net/blog/2020-01-08-the-last-jedi-rant/<p><strong>disclaimer</strong>:<br />
Future me here: what you are about to read is cringe, and I apologize. I cared way too much about this in 2019/2020 and apparently had nothing better to do.</p>
<hr />
<p>As I finish up this post, I am a couple of hours away from finally watching
<span class="hint-title" title="Rise of The War of the Planet of the Skywalker"><em>The Rise Of
Skywalker</em></span>. This is a collection of thoughts I have been adding mulling over and writing down
since early 2018. Best to wrap this up before the deluge of new feelings and thoughts the end of the
Sequel Saga will bring.</p>
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<p>Homework for the writing of this post included watching all the trailers for the Sequel Saga, and
comparing them to the final product. <em>The Force Awakens</em>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE" target="_blank">trailer</a> still holds the
foremost spot in my heart, and I think I have more nostalgia for it than for the actual movie. I
still get goosebumps watching it. The way it builds up to the force theme with the hyperspace visual
is perfection.</p>
<p>I haven't rewatched the force awakens since 2016, but I remember it as a fine movie. Not legendary
by any means. I ranked it just under the OT, far above the Prequels. The characters, banter, and
little adventures were so fun to watch. Kylo Ren's force powers were brutal and menacing. The fan
service (BIGGER Death Star, convenient Anakin's lightsaber, Han shooting a dude behind his back,
bowcaster joke, etc.) was a bit much at times, but it had the BB8 thumbs up.</p>
<p>Force Awakens leaves the viewers with a few questions, mysteries even, to be revealed <em>Next Time on
Star Wars</em>:</p>
<pre><code>- Who are Rey's Parents?
- Who is Snoke?
- Why is Rey able to use the force with no training?
</code></pre>
<p>All these mysteries promised such a wonderful resolution, one which would make up for the
inconsistencies they created with established lore. Surely, the Last Jedi would elevate <em>The Force
Awakens</em> with its new Lore!</p>
<p><em>narrator: it didn't</em></p>
<h1>I'm Not Angry, I'm Just Disappointed.</h1>
<p>After the first showing I sat through, I was in a state of shock. I loudly proclaimed that The Last
Jedi was definitely better than the prequels, maybe even better than Force Awakens.</p>
<p>I was lying to myself.</p>
<p>Second showing left me in true despair. Telephone jargon in space. General Leia "Marry Poppins
Y'all" Organa. Pointless mutinies. <em>Casino Planet</em>. One hit wonder Snoke. <em>It couldn't be real</em>. I
haven't been so disappointed in a movie since <em>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader</em><sup>*</sup>.</p>
<p>Rey is no one, Her force power is a natural reaction in the force to Kylo's training, and Snoke dies
without any backstory or
<span title="worry not, The Rise of Skywalker will fix that! right?">purpose</span>.</p>
<p>The movie that would have retroactively fixed <em>The Force Awakens</em> was garbage.</p>
<p>My hopes were shattered.</p>
<h1>Ok, Maybe I'm Also Angry</h1>
<p>Where were all those hopes and dreams supposed to go now? Over the course of the next few weeks, I
redirected my leftover excitement in a different direction. If I couldn't extract fulfillment from
liking <em>The Last Jedi</em>, I would instead derive enjoyment from hating it.</p>
<p>Fortunately, my feelings cooled down before they overflowed into the territory of clickbait "SJW's
have RUINED starwars" youtube videos. However, the impending <em>Rise of Skywalker</em> has stoked the
dormant embers, so I shall attempt to put my feelings into words.</p>
<h1>Warning: This Movie Contains Elements Known to the State of California To Be Not Terrible</h1>
<p>The thing that hurts me the most about this movie is that parts of it are really good. I personally
loved the idea of the low speed capital ship chase, fuel constraint and hyperspace tracking. Luke's
rant about the force and failure of the Jedi order is great. Rey and Kylo's relationship, with both
genuinely wanting to convert the other is a strong core to the movie. The visuals are a feast for
the eyes.</p>
<p>However, since this is a rant, I will now list the main things I didn't like.</p>
<h1>The Worst Part: Holding for a Better Sense of Humor</h1>
<p>The movies begin with Poe stalling the First Order so that the Rebel transport ships can escape.
Here is the quote from IMDB. It's more terrible than I remembered:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Poe Dameron: Attention! This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic fleet, I have an urgent
communique for General Hugs.</p>
<p>General Hux: This is General Hux of the First Order. The Republic is no more. Your fleet are Rebel
scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess there will be no terms, there will be no
surrender...</p>
<p>Poe Dameron: Hi, I'm holding for General Hugs.</p>
<p>General Hux: This is Hux. You and your friends are doomed. We will wipe your filth from the
galaxy.</p>
<p>Poe Dameron: Okay. I'll hold.</p>
<p>General Hux: Hello?</p>
<p>Poe Dameron: Hello? Yup, I'm still here.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I don't usually like using the word "Immersion", but the modern, earth human telephone jargon
completely Tonya Harding'inged my Immersion's
<span class="hint-title" title="I'll have you know that this sentence was written before the Tonya Harding movie was announced">kneecaps</span>.</p>
<p>This incident was the first of several instances of "Marvel" humor. This particular flavor of humor
relies on building a emotional moment, and then abruptly sidestepping its expected conclusion with a
unexpected alternative.</p>
<p>While ever present throughout the Marvel franchise, albeit in trace amounts, "Marvel" humor is most
evident in <em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em> and <em>Thor: Ragnarok</em>. I personally enjoyed it more in
"Guardians", as I felt the tone and characters were better built around that style of humor.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if a movie is not built around "Marvel" humor, its inclusion feels jarring and
detracts from both serious and humorous scenes.</p>
<p>The
<span class="hint-title" title="as distinct from the joke that is Holdo amiright?">Holding</span>
joke is not Poe's first time <em>subverting</em> a tense moment with a light hearted quip (the discerning
reader will remember a similar situation in <em>The Force Awaken</em>'s opening scene), but soon, even Luke
would be throwing heirlooms over his shoulder for a cheap reaction.</p>
<h1>The Real Worst Part: Casino Planet</h1>
<p><strong>Wherein Finn and Rose visit Casino Nights Zone 2 to find space James Bond, but forget and leave
with an obvious villain caricature.</strong></p>
<p>The reason for this loathsome plotline's inclusion appears be for Finn and Rose to learn an
important moral:</p>
<ul>
<li>The First Order aren't the only people exploiting the weak to gain power and wealth</li>
</ul>
<p>Which is a fine theme to explore, but <em>The Last Jedi</em> has no time for meaningful consideration.</p>
<p>After smashing up the casino, Rose concludes the arc by removing the saddle from a previously
enslaved animal, and triumphantly stating:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Now its worth it</p>
</blockquote>
<p><sup>dredged up from my memory, as--for some reason--this wasn't memorable enough a quote for the
IMDB quote page)</sup></p>
<p>Now, obviously there is a certain futility in extrapolating fictional scenarios to find flaws in the
author's logic. Fiction is, necessarily, an infinite fractal of lies and concessions.</p>
<p>However, because this whole post is already pointless venture, I'm going to extrapolate anyway!</p>
<p>As soon as Rose and Finn leave the planet:</p>
<ul>
<li>The pack of animals that were freed will be rounded up and imprisoned again, now with a taste of
freedom that will never again be sated.</li>
<li>The slave children, after being punished for letting the animals go, will toil away at
rebuilding the casino.</li>
</ul>
<p>I do not wish to imply that noble actions have to be pragmatic to be morally right. I just think
that Rose and Finn shouldn't have left the planet patting themselves on the back. A more poignant
conclusion might have been one where Rose and Finn realize the First Order is a priority and have to
leave, unable to alleviate misery that they witnessed.</p>
<h1>The Even Worse Part: The Holdo Arc</h1>
<p>The Holdo Arc is a dead horse that needs no additional beating.</p>
<p>I think a lot of contention comes from her character design. One part of the audience might see it
as a bold and progressive design choice, and another (the clickbait youtuber type mentioned above)
will see her as a weirdo who doesn't fit the military leader backstory provided. The only possible
story to tell with her character is a subversion of the audience's perception of her. Either she
looks trustworthy and isn't, or looks like she might be a traitor but isn't. One vocal group is
guaranteed to be angry when its all over.</p>
<p>I don't particularly care which twist they used, I just wish it was more compelling.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether Holdo is at fault for not explaining her plan, or Poe is at fault for not
blindly trusting authority, Holdo's plan is only saved because Leia happens to wake up and sort
things out. Not because Holdo is a good leader or tactician, but a coincidence. There is a cavernous
divide between Holdo's backstory and what we see on screen.</p>
<h1>Absolute Pinnacle of Worst: Saving Those We Love</h1>
<p>This one's pretty obvious, but its also a line that I find completely inscrutable. During the attack
on not-Hoth, Finn flies his not-a-snow-speeder at the not-AT-ATs, to take out a battering ram that
will expose his friends to not-the-Imperial-Army. Finn hesitates momentarily, and then accepts his
fate. The music builds. For a moment, I thought that <em>The Last Jedi</em> was actually going to do
something genuinely emotional and unexpected.</p>
<p>Then, to save Finn from throwing his own life away to save his friends, his friend, Rose potentially
kills both her and Finn by crashing her ship into his at high speed, thereby both dooming their
collective friends to the battering ram and dooming her and Finn--in the off chance that they
survive the crash--to be picked off by the surrounding First Order.</p>
<p>Rose clarifies that true victory is found "not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love!",
a victory made possible <em>minutes</em> ago when Rose, Finn, and the Resistance were saved by Holdo's
sacrificial death in the <em>exact</em> maneuver that Finn was attempting.</p>
<p>I can only guess this was a ham-fisted attempt to condemn a suicide bomber type mentality that small
rebel groups so often fall into. Maybe Rose feels so strongly about it was because her sister died
at the beginning of the movie sacrificing herself in the same way. But if you are condemning violent
sacrifices, maybe don't portray 2/3 instances of them as heroic.</p>
<h1>My TLJ fanfic</h1>
<p>I've built a case for why I believe <em>The Last Jedi</em> is garbage. What kind of self important
commentator would I be if I didn't propose a solution?</p>
<p>I think <em>The Last Jedi</em> could be saved with minimal alterations. All I ask is three concessions:</p>
<ol>
<li>The Resistance do not know about the Hyperspace tracker, because Finn was a janitor and never
heard about it.</li>
<li>General Leia is on the last transport off of the Resistance Base.</li>
<li>Let Rey make a more interesting decision.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Act 1</h3>
<p>Simple, Finn doesn't doesn't know that the Hyperspace Tracker exists, because he was a janitor!
Without that vital clue, Poe assumes that there must be a Mole aboard, and without Leia's guidance,
Poe eventually suspects Holdo.</p>
<p>To avoid her space walk later on, we are going to have to find another way to incapacitate Leia.
Lets move her to the last transport away from the Resistance base, where she has insisted on being
evacuating last. The Dreadnaught attack can happen as the transport is headed toward the Resistance
fleet, with Leia clashing with Poe over Radio like before. To expedite their escape, Leia's
transport docks with a different capital ship for the jump to hyperspace, to cement the fact that
the transports cannot make the jump by themselves.</p>
<p>After the space battle and the ensuing jump, Leia's transport leaves its dock to make its way to the
main Resistance capital ship, just as the Super-de-Duper Star Destroyer and the rest of the First
Order fleet arrive. Kylo and Co. deploy as before, knocking out the Resistance hangar before turning
his attention to Leia's transport. The scene can play out in the same way, with Kylo hesitating, and
his Wingmen firing on the transport, damaging it critically and killing or incapacitating those
aboard. The transport is able to limp back to the hangar as Kylo is ordered to withdraw. As the
chase begins, Leia is recovered, unconscious, from the transport. Command defaults to Holdo, who
inspires distrust in Poe as before.</p>
<p>Rey's storyline can proceed as before. With the time saved setting up the
lightsaber-over-shoulder-toss joke, Luke can have time to show how mournful and defeated he has
become.</p>
<h3>Act 2</h3>
<p>With the chase on and the First Order following relentlessly through hyperspace, a suspicious Poe
suspects that there must be a Mole aboard the ship, who is reporting Resistance fleet's location to
the First Order. He and Poe set out to identify the Mole, and without the help of the unconscious
Leia, Poe suspects Holdo, who has refused to let Poe in on her plan to escape.</p>
<p>For simplicity, lets say that they figure out that the First Order is following through hyperspace
too quickly for the Mole to be using a regular tracking beacon, which is exact but works slowly over
long distances. Poe and Finn examining the ship's transmission equipment, where they meet Rose. Rose
can be a low level crew member like before, but now an communication technician. Rose can help the
Mutiny Gang figure out that the Mole must be on the bridge, observing and transmitting the jump
coordinates just before the jump is made. This solidifies Poe's suspicion of Holdo, who was the only
one on the bridge for every jump. Rose can now join the Mutiny Gang, as before.</p>
<p>The Rey and Luke arc can continue on as before, with Kylo and Rey communicating, Rey investigating
the Force Cave, Rey and Luke clashing and Rey setting off to find Kylo, who has retreated to
wherever Snoke is. Snoke can feel free to exposit some backstory, at his leisure.</p>
<p>Also, let Chewey eat the Porg for crying out loud! He can even keep a bunch of them in the
Millennium Falcon like before, now subtly implying that he is keeping them to eat later.</p>
<p>With Poe suspecting Holdo, the Mutiny can proceed as before. Poe, now alone on the bridge, makes a
jump to hyperspace to a system he is familiar with, before Leia intervenes. Leia reveals that Holdo
had suspected a Mole as well, and was therefore unable to let Finn or anyone else in on her plan.</p>
<p>The First Order appears again instantly, and since they followed both Holdo and Finn's hyperspace
jumps, the Resistance concludes that there must be a rumored hyperspace tracker on the First Order
capital ship, making their last jumps worth of fuel useless.</p>
<h3>Act 3</h3>
<p>Holdo adapts her original plan from before the mutiny to a new planet in the system Poe has jumped
to. The First Order seem to jump immediately to keep up with the Resistance, so Holdo will stay
aboard the Resistance capital ship, and make one last jump after the transports are jettisoned.
Holdo surmises to Poe and Leia that because The First Order always jump immediately to follow the
capital ship, they will completely miss the transports, who can then hide away at a nearby planet.</p>
<p>With the transports away, Poe and Leia notice that the First Order fleet has started to break off,
moving to intercept the transports before they reach the planet. The crew of the transport begin to
panic, insisting that Holdo was a traitor after all, and had sold them out. Poe completes his
character arc, and trusting Holdo, points out to the crew that the Resistance capital ship is
turning around.</p>
<p>Over the radio, Holdo admits to the Mutiny Gang that her plan had been a gamble all along, that she
had expected that the First Order might notice the transports. Knowing that Leia would not have
allowed anyone but herself to be sacrificed, Holdo convinced Leia to leave on the transport. Saying
farewell to Leia and encouraging Poe, Holdo executes the Hyperspace attack. With the First Order
fleet temporarily disabled, the Rebels make it to their surface bunker.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rey and Kylo vs Snoke can continue as before. Kylo kills Snoke, Rey and Kylo team up to
defeat the guards. Hux contacts Kylo, who confirms himself as the new supreme leader. Hux informs
Kylo that part of the First Order fleet that hasn't been damaged by the Hyperspace attack is now
battering away at the Rebel's surface defenses.</p>
<p>Kylo ask Rey to join him, maintaining his "Let the past die" monologue.</p>
<p>Rey is still convinced that Kylo can be pulled back from the Dark Side, and Kylo seems to be intent
on cutting away from Snoke's designs.</p>
<p>Rey challenges Kylo to prove his change of heart by letting the rebel fleet escape. Kylo accepts,
contacting Hux again to call off the attack.</p>
<p>The Rebels limp away, and Poe, Finn, Rose and Leia receive a message from Rey, informing them that
she will be fighting the First Order from the inside. The transmission concludes with Rey assuring
Leia that she will bring Kylo back to the Light Side and back to Leia. As the hologram fades away,
The Mutiny Crew are left staring out into space through the <em>Empire Strikes Back</em> window. Leia
comments darkly that Kylo has not changed as much as Rey thinks, and credits roll.</p>
<p>See, that was easy!</p>
<h2>A Saga Subverted</h2>
<p>Rian Johnson's claim that he was going to subvert expectations highlights the source of my
disappointment, and a stab in the side of an ill fated saga. Not because he subverts expectations in
any meaningful way, but precisely because he doesn't.</p>
<p><em>Empire Strikes Back</em> shares a similar climax to <em>The Last Jedi</em>. On Bespin, Luke is tempted by
Vader to compromise his morals and live. Luke sticks to his newfound jedi code and throws himself
off of Bespin rather than take a path that leads to the dark side.</p>
<p>Rey has no such jedi code. <em>The Last Jedi</em> shows that she is a kind and strong willed person, driven
by curiosity, benevolence, and to some extent, loneliness. She adheres to her own morals, ignoring
Luke's warnings about the cave and Kylo, while still opposing the evil that was Snoke and the First
Order.</p>
<p>If Rian Johnson really wanted to subvert expectations, to set <em>The Last Jedi</em> apart from previous
sagas, why not explore a theme of well intentioned compromise, setting up a final movie where,
instead of succumbing to the Dark Side, Rey must triumph over the consequences for her actions, and
ultimately defeat Kylo Ren.</p>
<p>And while I'm stealing the theme from the conclusion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, why don't we alter
the title of this saga's conclusion to reflect it.</p>
<p><strong><em>Coming Christmas 2019: The Skywalker Rises</em></strong></p>
<hr />
<p><sup>* looks like the writers from <em>Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em> moved on to write some competent
Marvel movies. Good for them!</sup></p>
Outer Wilds2023-01-20T06:00:00Zhttps://vingiesel.net/blog/2023-01-20-outer-wilds/<p>it's rare for a video game to tell a story that cannot be told in another medium. <!--more-->My favorite example of this is <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/225080/Brothers__A_Tale_of_Two_Sons/">Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons</a>. If you know me IRL, I've probably tried to convince you to play it. It starts off mundane and honestly kinda boring, but over the course of its 4ish hours, the <em>gameplay</em> ingrains an idea in your head. An idea that you only realize is there when the ending reveals it in an equal part gutpunch and transcendant story telling moment<span title="also please don't play the co-op, it kinda ruins the story"><a href="https://vingiesel.net/blog/2023-01-20-outer-wilds/#coop">*</a></span>.</p>
<p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/">Outer Wilds</a> is a game about, ostensibly, flying around in a spaceship exploring a miniature solar system, to unravel a mystery. Why does the sun explode 20 minutes into the day? Why, after that, do you wake up the morning of that same day?</p>
<p>If the developers were interested in linear story telling, any trace of it disappears after you exit the gravitational pull of your home planet. You won't be <em>playing through</em> a story, but there is some history, written on the sights and sounds of a handful of planets, waiting for you to dust it off and assemble it.</p>
<p>Every planet is a unique physics system that has to be learned and navigated. By the time you have scoured a planet, you've usually learned a principle that can be applied somewhere else, or a connection between two events. You never unlock an item, or upgrade a skill. The only thing you take back to the beginning of the time loop is a slightly better understanding of how the solar system ticks. Because of this, I recommend going in blind, and playing it often enough that the knowledge you gain isn't forgotten between play sessions.</p>
<p>The gameplay, the fascinating environment design, and the lack of an active story means that if you've made it to the end of the game, you have also invested yourself in the world. Instead of being dragged along through an experience by a game that has an exact story to tell, your unique journey <em>is</em> the story.</p>
<p>By the time you learn how to break the loop, you are confronted with the game's last, terrible, inexorable idea. An idea that wouldn't mean much if you didn't have a <span title="yeah yeah or mouse and keyboard you freaks">controller in your hands</span>.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>other recommendations:</strong></p>
<p>Obviously, if you get to the end of outer wilds and like it, go for Echos of the Eye. Its more of the same.</p>
<p>If you haven't read "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis, I also recommend that, for reasons that might be obvious at either the end of the game or the end of the book. I'm probably going to go back and re-read it now.</p>
<p>If you have completed the game, i have a few final thoughts <a href="https://vingiesel.net/blog/addendum/echos">here</a></p>
<hr />
<p><em>footnotes:</em><br />
<em><a id="coop">*</a> also please don't play the co-op, it kinda ruins the story</em></p>