Bougie_Birdie

@Bougie_Birdie@piefed.blahaj.zone

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Settle a debate can potato's and noodles go together and taste great with sauce and other things? (I say it can) However my mother says two starches should never be cooked because it's too much.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  You have nothing to apologize for, my guy

  I’m just watching the language I grew up with shift while my bones turn to dust

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Settle a debate can potato's and noodles go together and taste great with sauce and other things? (I say it can) However my mother says two starches should never be cooked because it's too much.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  it bombs pretty well

  This threw me off because when I think of something that bombs it means it didn’t go over well. Unless it’s “the bomb” which means it’s “the shit” which means it’s the opposite of shit

  Your mom’s soup sounds pretty sick (the good sick)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Radicality⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Well you can’t just drop a bomb like that without backing it up

  What the actual fuck is this misbegotten creature? It pumps blood into its hair, and it can break its toes to make Wolverine claws

  Nature is metal

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If it were suddenly revealed that a significant number of questions posted in this comm were ai bots would that bother you?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I see basically two nefarious reasons for bots to pretend to be people on lemmy. I can’t think of a good reason why you’d want them.

  A company shilling it’s product by appearing like a regular person. Bots have already ruined user reviews for products in basically every consumer industry. The best way to discover decent products now is word-of-mouth, so I could see a bot that pretends to be a user so it can show up in recommendation threads, like in Ask Lemmy or Buy It For Life.

  The propaganda potential for bot users is tremendous. Kind of like the company shilling its product but on a grander scale. This could be orchestrated by those with economic interests, like promoting car-centric culture or climate change denialism which is of great interest to the oil industry. Or it could be as grand as foreign or domestic influence interfering with elections.

  The fediverse isn’t a huge place, but it’s not nothing either. Operating costs are technically lower because you wouldn’t need to use as many bots to infiltrate communities. You could even spin up your own instances so that your own bots don’t get banned. I’m not really sure how you’d go about countering this sort of problem.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Shrinkflation hits again!⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve worked for Loblaw (They own this brand, President’s Choice, and are probably Canada’s largest grocer).

  They have this line of product called Always $10. It’s a package of food that’s pretty much devoid of branding except that the $10 price is part of the packaging and not a sticker. Twice a year we get planograms (a merchandising guide / map to make sure all displays across the company are the same) where we have to change all the Always $10 stuff.

  It’s always the exact same product, but smaller.

  Loblaw’s in the news recently for settling a class-action lawsuit over colluding with other retailers to fix the price of bread. That’s right, a bread cartel. And like, sure, a settlement isn’t an admission of guilt. But a monolith like this doesn’t settle unless they think they can lose, and they wouldn’t think they could lose unless they did a bunch of illegal shit.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Tale of Pangram Jeeves⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Well, pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs! Who doesn’t like a pangram?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  This is the first I’ve heard about the reaction from BZZZT - which is a shame because I thought it was a cute game. In any industry customer feedback should be taken with as much grace as you can manage. You don’t want to alienate your community even further. Then again, with a solo developer and the sort of people this industry attracts, I’m not surprised to see an emotionally driven response to negative feedback.

  I’ve dabbled in game dev, and I have to say that - especially as a solo developer - localization is an intimidating problem. Ignoring the technical concerns, for me the biggest problem is in being assured of the accuracy of the translation. Getting that right is important to me, but I don’t have a very good way of verifying that a language I don’t speak has been accurately translated. I’ve played lots of games with poor English localization and it can be quite jarring, especially when the rest of the game is quite polished.

  This is a tough problem for me too, because like, accessibility is super important to me. I want everyone who wants my game to be able to play my game. But at the same time, I’m intimidated into inaction when it comes to localization. It feels paradoxical.

  As far as how to localize your games, I like the community-driven approach. Sooner or later, I’ll have to take it on faith that the quality of the translation is good enough for the community, and if the community does the translating, well that makes me feel better about it. I could also see hiring a professional translator, but I’m not really sure how you vet those services, nor do I have the budget to hire them. You’ll definitely see AI grow in this area, but I’m staunchly against its use so it’s a non-starter for me.

  A question for you: how do you feel when a game provides no localizations? I understand feeling slighted if other languages are included while your market is excluded, but if the game is only available in the developer’s mother tongue does that bother you too?

  ---

  Okay, I’ve completely derailed that without addressing what you actually asked.

  Your reasons for leaving good and bad reviews resonate with me. I feel the same way about most of them, although not being Chinese I naturally don’t have a particular draw to Chinese culture and localization. Marketers who misrepresent their games and the betrayal aspect definitely motivate me to leave a negative review.

  To your point 3: I don’t automatically feel that way about my own country’s games and culture. However, I do thoroughly enjoy a game that feels culturally significant while being authentic to its people. Particularly if those stories feel deeply personal or are an underrepresented culture - especially indigenous peoples or queer stories. I also thoroughly enjoy a game that is satirical or otherwise critical of the establishment.

  I’m far more likely to leave a good review than a bad one. Reasons for a bad review:

  • The game is no longer playable. Either because of OS incompatibility or required online services are defunct
  • The game disrespects my time. This is difficult to quantify exactly, and the things I have gripes with I could be forgiving of depending on implementation. Things like endlessly grinding to upgrade a piece of equipment that works the same but a little better, so you can now endlessly grind to upgrade it again. Constant long loading screens and other breaks in the action. Poor management of inventory/collectibles/maps
  • The game grossly misrepresents what it is

  If the game is good, it gets a good review. Goodness is entirely subjective. Sometimes I think about value for time/money, sometimes I think about how fun it is, and sometimes it’s about the level of polish on the little details. A game that is a joy to play is ideal, so a game that is accessible and has low friction when interacting with its systems. Bonus points for cozy games.

  For me, the best reason to leave a good review is if the game evokes an emotional response. For me this is commonly a heartfelt story, or a plea for activism.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Load me up⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Mozza sticks (breaded, fried cheese) are frequently seen as a restaurant appetizer

  So the idea is that six string cheeses is too much food, but if you dress it up somehow it becomes a first course

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can I trust things)/people as far as I can throw them?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  As confusing as it might seem, “I trust you as far as I can throw you,” and “I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” essentially mean the same thing.

  One could probably argue that the negation is explicitly saying “I don’t trust you,” while the standard phrase implies a limited amount of trust. But in practice, throwing ability is never considered, and both mean that trust is in short supply.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Put your seat back or no?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m actually guilty of skipping to the end of the post, but it looks like maybe you didn’t make it that far.

  The point still stands though: if one does not want to be ejected from the plane, one ought to listen to the directions of the cabin crew.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Put your seat back or no?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  If the cabin crew tells you not to put your seat back, then don’t put your seat back

  You don’t want to be kicked out mid-flight

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨truth⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Actually I think you’ll find it was the chemicals in the frogs that turned the water gay

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is it weird that I cringe whenever someone calls my name and I avoid using peoples names when talking to them?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  When I worked in sales, it was in our training to try to use the customers’ name once you found it. It was supposed to establish a rapport, but it always felt forced and manipulative to me.

  I bet it was one of those things where there was a study or focus group that suggested it increased sales or customer satisfaction. I also bet it’s one of those old business stories that hearkens back to the 60’s, or the sample size was tiny, or it was some CEO spouting bullshit that was taken as fact. My point being that it’s one of those oft-repeated sales techniques that may not be based in reality.

  Even if it’s a real thing and statistically more people either like it or don’t notice it: I always found it super alienating and I know I’m not alone in that opinion. When I notice someone using too many of these little psychological tricks, I’ve gone to shop elsewhere because I just don’t trust those people.

  When I call into a call center, I try to close the conversation by repeating your name. Like “Thanks early_riser, you were a big help today.” I hate the phone, so I probably don’t actually want to talk to you again (no offense), but somehow that feels more human to me.

  Then again, I’m also paranoid that I misheard your name at the start of the conversation. I hope you don’t take it too personally if I call you Thagomizer because it sounds similar.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is the point of abbreviations for short words when they do not reduce times significantly when you type?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  IPA is also the International Phonetic Alphabet.

  I’m all for recycling, but sometimes it feels like it never ends.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is the point of abbreviations for short words when they do not reduce times significantly when you type?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I thought spelling ‘through’ was tough enough though

  To a non-native reader (and maybe a few natives) that sentence is insane. It makes more sense as “I thot spelling ‘thru’ was tuff enuff tho,” although I admit I don’t like that very much either.

  Aside, if something gets abbreviated a certain way enough times, it might become the word. Like when you want to get dinner at the drive-thru. Also, nobody wants pornography anymore, we’re all into porn now.

  –

  Not exactly what you’re asking, but I have a peeve about acronyms. I suppose acronyms are a kind of abbreviation for common phrases, but often people assume you know the same acronyms as them and start throwing them out like some kind of word salad.

  It’s not very hard to make sure everyone is on the same page with whatever TLA (Three-Letter Acronym) you want to use. See how easy that was? Now when I want to talk about my issue with rampant abuse of TLAs, you have an idea what I’m talking about.

  You see this problem a lot in academia, software, and honestly probably any industry or hobby space. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s totally fine to use TLAs, brevity is useful in reading and writing. But sometimes those acronyms overlap with other acronyms and add to the confusion. Searching for shows with the BBC might get you the British Broadcasting Company - or pornography. Or if you’re looking for an Automated Teller Machine near you - and get porn again instead. Gosh, is there anything porn can’t do?

  Some acronyms are so ubiquitous that it feels silly to define them. Like everyone knows what LOL means, right? Well, unless you’re talking about League of Legends. Or you’re my grandmother who never learned it means “Laugh Out Loud” and signs all of her letters LOL because she thinks it means “Lots Of Love”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨the more you know⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Split it, lick it, dip it

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Don't be a coward⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Some grocery stores only give a staff discount on certain days of the week. But the five-finger discount works every day

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Arc raiders is a horrible game⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I respect that it’s a populat format, but as soon as a game has both PvE and PvP the game is just PvP in my opinion.

  I don’t like most PvP games, so seeing both tags scares me off of most titles.

  Sometimes you’ll see a game like that where you can disable PvP, or host a private lobby, or some other compromise. Most of the time doing so reveals just how shallow the PvE content really is

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Disney says Google AI infringes copyright “on a massive scale”⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Disney just announced yesterday that they were investing a billion dollars into OpenAI. I have a hard time believing any AI company is respecting copyright because infringement is their business model. This sort of reads like “the competition’s product is worse than ours.”

  It’s hard to know who to root for in a battle between giant AI firms and equally giant entertainment companies.

  You’re allowed to root for nobody. Sometimes everyone sucks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Existential Questions⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  God, I hope not

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Well do you?⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s either that or fisting

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨In everyway⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  In this case, they’re related by being played by the same actor. This incarnation of Puss n Boots was definitely influenced by Antonio Banderas’ Zorro

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I think the reason we evolved 5 fingers is so we can carry hot serving dishes farther by alternating which one is in contact with the hot thing.⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  “There’s no way we evolved from monkeys, and I’ll prove it: humans are good at holding bananas!”

  Can’t make this stuff up

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Bad person, probably not

  I'd call this behaviour to avoid though. Most people don't like being lied to or ghosted

  Sometimes you can't really avoid it, like if safety is a concern. But if you lie and ghost because feelings are messy then it causes other people to have messy feelings

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Laser ⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I think in Cube it was razor wire, but they may have upgraded to lasers for Cube 2

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dying Light 2 Removes Stamina from Parkour System⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Credit where it's due, around the time Dying Light 1 came out, Roger Craig Smith was lending his voice to Chris Redfield, one of the more iconic zombie guys from Resident Evil.

  My favorite Redfield moment was when, without a shred of irony, he talks smack about the villain acting like a comic book villain. Then in the same breath, he punches a six-ton boulder into submission.

  Dying Light also really kinda shook up the zombie slaying dynamic with parkour. It seems like a fairly minor thing now, but that freedom of movement was a pretty big deal at the time, even if it was pretty janky.

  Narratively, I agree that Crane isn't a very strong character. He's a dime-a-dozen government goon turned idealist. I don't even remember how the story ends, or even most of the major beats except for a couple of major characters.

  But at the time, to kick zombie butt while scooting around the rooftops and listening to Chris Redfield quip one-liners: those were special times even if it was a decade ago. They're probably trying to recapture that magic, but I don't know. It was lightning in a bottle and you can't always get that back

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨It looks scared⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I'd be scared too if I had to come back to work after being a victim in a hit-and-run