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South of Midnight (Compulsion Games - Xbox/PC/GamePass) - First Previews Going Live

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
This might be the single ugliest main character I've ever seen in a game. Not because she's black. Because she's ugly.

I will never understand GAFs obsession with needing to want to fuck the main character of whatever game they're playing.


And she looks just fine? In what world is this the "single ugliest main character I've ever seen in a game"?

54137426318_11f2003932_o.png
 
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Kvally

Member
I will never understand GAFs obsession with needing to want to fuck the main character of whatever game they're playing.


And she looks just fine? In what world is this the "single ugliest main character I've ever seen in a game"?

54137426318_11f2003932_o.png
She looks better than the lead for the new Fable and Horizon. But she is the product of Sweet Baby 🤮
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
i agree with you , a black protagonist fits in that world but the problem was not the race swap , the problem is that the swap was made for diversity ( the community manager's words not mine )

they could have just said " hey we are making a game about black people folklore and its only natural to have a black protagonist" instead of " cis white males shouldnt be the majority , we need more black people "
Was it just "black people folklore" though? The Cajun south, the Appalachian south, the Antebellum South, LOTS of stuff that is not specific to just black people. It is a shared mythology thus the ethnicity of the main character isn't set. Besides, pretty sure I saw a screenshot of the MC standing next to a GIANT PLAYING A GUITAR, so it's fantasy. MC probably should have been a Japanese woman, historically there were some in that area, and the trailer could have her jumping around to jpop music!
 
Not much of a fan of the artistic direction. Nor what I’ve seen of the gameplay, really. I like what I’m reading about the narrative though, but I doubt that will get me past the look. Oh well. 🤷‍♂️

I started watching the documentary and the voice actress looks waaay better than the main character.

I'm guessing they had the character model done first, but they should've gone back and modeled it after the actress.
Is it some weird requirement these days that the characters have to look like the actors? Fuck that, it’s voice acting.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Is it some weird requirement these days that the characters have to look like the actors? Fuck that, it’s voice acting.
I think the trend towards facial motion capture is driving the game character to look close to the physical actor. And if they do that, but then "downgrade" the game characters looks versus the (usually) stunning VO actresses then you gotta wonder why. Now there is rarely a technical limitation, so its an aesthetic choice (in this case to have the MC look more like a scrappy type versus the actress). Funny thing is Rae is a yankee who only came to the South as an adult so hope she has a good accent coach :p

PKB9wT3.jpeg
FgkCSJD.jpeg
 
That’s (sort of) my point. Aesthetic choice should really go before likeness, as that is a proper strength of animated characters.

Besides, who the fuck wants every character to look like a dolled up model?
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
I think the trend towards facial motion capture is driving the game character to look close to the physical actor. And if they do that, but then "downgrade" the game characters looks versus the (usually) stunning VO actresses then you gotta wonder why. Now there is rarely a technical limitation, so its an aesthetic choice (in this case to have the MC look more like a scrappy type versus the actress). Funny thing is Rae is a yankee who only came to the South as an adult so hope she has a good accent coach :p

PKB9wT3.jpeg
FgkCSJD.jpeg
look-how-they-massacred-my-boy-meme.gif


Bitch is fugly :lollipop_squinting:
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Artistically and visually, this is shaping up to be incredible.

The game play looks standard, nothing out of the box, platforming and combat with powers.




NyYJ9NO.gif


ipLLPFB.gif


FzwCA5l.gif
That middle one looks like a slightly improved Forspoken.
 

shamoomoo

Member
Do you think only black people live in the south or something? I don't mind the choice, but a story about Southern lore only starring black characters is not "the norm."
Black people mostly live in the South of the U.S before the great migration with rest living in large cities. I'm assuming you aren't American.
 
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Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I will never understand GAFs obsession with needing to want to fuck the main character of whatever game they're playing.


And she looks just fine? In what world is this the "single ugliest main character I've ever seen in a game"?

54137426318_11f2003932_o.png

You do realize that there's such a thing as nuance?

I don't have to want to fuck the main character, but it'd be nice if I didn't look at it and constantly think "wow, that's ugly."
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Black people mostly live in the South of the U.S before the great migration with rest living in large cities. I'm assuming you aren't American.
But neither Mississipi nor Lousisiana are majority black, not even close. Both are around 55-58% white and only 31-36% black. Georgia and Alabama are not much different. So there is definitely no "automatically MUST be black" requirement for the setting.

Now if this game is specifically about Creole mythology with all the Haitian and African influences then a black lead would fit, though I'd say a mixed race, much like the VO actress they hired, would be even better. Though digging deeper, they had a different mo-cap actress, Nona Parker Johnson, who IS from Mississippi and looks much more like the MC, for at least some of the work.

sHdl6RA.jpeg


Anyway, the marketing for this just says "Deep South" which is not, as far as I, a life long Southerner, am aware is a code for anything other than just the more southern, primarily gulf states though Georgia and SC are sometimes put in there as well, off the Mason-Dixon line. It doesn't specifically mean voodoo or whatnot, so there can certainly be plenty of white people involved in this story and it still be 100% authentic to the region.

Since it is on GP its an easy play. I'll wait to see how much SBI taint is in there before I give it a go, but juuuuuust from the visual aspect it does look pretty cool if that frame rate jank can be turned off. But if it gets preachy (and everything suggests it will be) then its DOA as far as I'm concerned.
 
The pivot Xbox seems to be making to short games that are all about presentation and purposefully deemphasizing gameplay... who is this for? Who wants more of this?
 

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
The pivot Xbox seems to be making to short games that are all about presentation and purposefully deemphasizing gameplay... who is this for? Who wants more of this?

Call of Duty? Starfield? Avowed? Perfect Dark? State of Decay 3? Gears of War: E-Day? Outer Worlds 2? Clockwork Revolution? Flight Simulator 2024? Ara: History Untold?


what are you talking about lol. Hellblade II? Sure. South of Midnight? Maybe. But that's about it for games that "purposefully de-emphasize" gameplay.
 
Call of Duty? Starfield? Avowed? Perfect Dark? State of Decay 3? Gears of War: E-Day? Outer Worlds 2? Clockwork Revolution? Flight Simulator 2024? Ara: History Untold?


what are you talking about lol. Hellblade II? Sure. South of Midnight? Maybe. But that's about it for games that "purposefully de-emphasize" gameplay.
Only the first two games on your list are even released? lol

And those are the two that were basically grandfathered in during the acquisitions.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Presentation, sound, art, setting all look great.
I also recognized that this game wasn't for me when the CE includes physical records. Not an audiophile or music aficionado so I think their efforts will be lost on me.

Ya'll enjoy!!
 
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Ozriel

M$FT
Only the first two games on your list are even released? lol

As against South of Midnight that has been released?

and purposefully deemphasizing gameplay...

Compulsion: “we expect gameplay to be engaging, but the major headturner about this game will be the presentation and music”

Doesn’t exactly say ‘gameplay has been de-emphasized’.
 
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Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
As against South of Midnight that has been released?



Compulsion: “we expect gameplay to be engaging, but the major headturner about this game will be the presentation and music”

Doesn’t exactly say ‘gameplay has been de-emphasized’.
Hellblade isn't a game. South of Midnight is trying to de-emphasize gameplay. Indiana Jones should have been 3rd person. MS Flight Simulator has too much flying and not enough land vehicles. Too much focus on visuals and presentation. Too much IHOP promotions, not enough Taco Bell.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
Compulsion: “we expect gameplay to be engaging, but the major headturner about this game will be the presentation and music”

Doesn’t exactly say ‘gameplay has been de-emphasized’.
Eh, what that says to me is "Expect some really loooonnnnnngggg cut scenes with a bit of button mashing between them"
 
As against South of Midnight that has been released?



Compulsion: “we expect gameplay to be engaging, but the major headturner about this game will be the presentation and music”

Doesn’t exactly say ‘gameplay has been de-emphasized’.

Compulsion Games says that while they expect gameplay to be engaging, it isn't nearly as much of a focus as the story, music, and other elements they've clearly put the lion's share of work into.

Yea, not what I want out of my video games. Especially when they are trying to hype it up, and they still downplay the gameplay.

It’s very clearly not a priority for them. And I disagree with that strategy and wonder who likes that. You can be the example I’m looking for, and feel differently about what they should prioritize.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Eh, what that says to me is "Expect some really loooonnnnnngggg cut scenes with a bit of button mashing between them"

Sure, if you ignore the gameplay we’ve seen, and the previews that discuss the gameplay and combat

🤡

Yea, not what I want out of my video games. Especially when they are trying to hype it up, and they still downplay the gameplay.

It’s very clearly not a priority for them. And I disagree with that strategy and wonder who likes that. You can be the example I’m looking for, and feel differently about what they should prioritize.

Again, it reads more like they’ve worked on the gameplay, but the true magic is in the presentation and audio immersion.

None of that suggests the game will play poorly or won’t be fun to play. The IGN preview says as much, that the combat doesn’t seem to tread new or innovative ground.
 

Zacfoldor

Member
Artstyle is Coraline mixed with Big Fish mixed with Beetlejuice. Tim Burton Southern Gothic Americana.

I promised I would not be jumping this game or its development in any threads not dedicated to discussions about the game so I'm going to let this pass over me without lashing out.

My one question would be about the gameplay. In every game, gameplay is king, if gameplay is boring the game will be bad, no matter how good the graphics are. Remember that. Name one game that had bad gameplay that is not bad. Difficult, no? That said, we will need to see more to determine that.
 
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This game is teaching me that if you hire blatant racists at your company, people won't harp on the SBI connection as much.
As terrible as SBI is, they're not Compulsion community manager terrible.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I'm aware, but people should know far and wide and avoid supporting Compulsion.

Because their community manager made some posts on Twitter before being employed by them?

I’m old enough to remember all the sneering here at the reactions to Hogwarts Legacy, as well as the furore over comments made by the Cyberpunk 2077 community manager.

Can’t be that hard to vote with your own wallet and stay out of SoM threads.

Again, wrong thread.
 
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nnytk

Member
I kinda loved the aesthetic, if only this had more depth in the gameplay/interactive department.

I think the trend towards facial motion capture is driving the game character to look close to the physical actor. And if they do that, but then "downgrade" the game characters looks versus the (usually) stunning VO actresses then you gotta wonder why. Now there is rarely a technical limitation, so its an aesthetic choice (in this case to have the MC look more like a scrappy type versus the actress). Funny thing is Rae is a yankee who only came to the South as an adult so hope she has a good accent coach :p

PKB9wT3.jpeg
FgkCSJD.jpeg

Lmao, I think the main character looks fine, but I cannot unsee her looking like Snoop Dogg in that picture 😅
 
Because their community manager made some posts on Twitter before being employed by them?

I’m old enough to remember all the sneering here at the reactions to Hogwarts Legacy, as well as the furore over comments made by the Cyberpunk 2077 community manager.

Can’t be that hard to vote with your own wallet and stay out of SoM threads.

Again, wrong thread.

For having blatant racists represent your company. If it was a white guy with old Klan photos online before he got hired be ok with you?
 
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