I prefer not to talk about a game that is not fully released, let alone a demo, but Fear the Timeloop seemed to have positioned itself in a different spot. The reason behind avoiding making a comment on a game before the full release often comes from the common practice amongst the developers not to reveal critical game information, such as gameplay or basic lores. Fear the Timeloop seems to have warranted enough talking point, though I do wish to see some major polishing work before it can be launched.
Tagged Windows
How to Band-aid Fix SDR Brightness Glitch on Windows
HDR is all the hype in current generation of displays. I am genuinely looking forward to see more manufacturers and operating systems take advantage of it. It’s quite the standard on the entertainment side of the business. Smart TVs, streaming apps, and consoles are already equipped to handle HDR. I don’t see why it’s not more prevalent on PCs — not everyone works in professional capacity, let alone creative environment.
How to Troubleshoot USB-C Connection on Dell U2725QE
This is yet another post for safe keeping. I don’t intend to dig deep into what caused it, or let alone start combing through drivers. But I can say two things for certain: a. the same setup worked on macOS without any fixes, so it is an issue on Windows, and b. I’m not entirely certain this is a problem a mere mortal can find a proper fix. I do have a hack, but some may not like it.
App to View USB in Trees on Windows
I’m still in the process of rewiring a standing desk, and it’s giving me enough nightmares on the Windows side of the business. On macOS, there is a similar tool already included inside the System Information. The app prints the tree hierarchy of USB devices to troubleshoot where the bottleneck is. It is paramount to understand where it could be, otherwise it is simply impossible to find which adapter, which cable, or which hub is the faulty one.
The King is Watching Spiel
I have lost much hope for RTS genre. I am growing too old for it. Starcraft II was one of the recent real-time strategy I enjoyed, but that game came out in 2010. I recall the game and the genre in general progressively becoming more physically demanding to add more contents, until we saw Overlord or a game designed to automate or pre-program combat encounters. The King is Watching, in many ways, sits in between. It has a tick-based clock, but the game enforces the progress of “real time” in its own right.
Shinkansen 0 Spiel
I am always bit confused about Chilla’s Art games. The developer has published many retro styled Japanese horrors, and as far as I could gather, games are never set post 2010s, the age of smartphones. There is always a digital camera, a flashlight, or a camcorder. The supernatural horror as we know it, or at least the one I grew accustomed to, rarely functions within the boundaries of current technologies. Shinkansen 0, as far as I know, is the only game that is set in contemporary world with onboard WiFi.
Faceminer Spiel
AI was the talk of the town during Christmas dinner, so I thought to give Faceminer a chance. Even before AI was such a hit, we — everyone who has seen the crypto ads on social media — have seen the whole mining rig as a business opportunity to ‘work from home’. It has been always been a brief talking point during light hearted dinners. What if we had bought ourselves a powerful workstation fit for crypto mining or local AI training to switch jobs?
The Operator Spiel
As a fan of Orwell series, a similar game released in 2016, The Operator immediately had my fullest attention with its retro take on agent-handler system. The retro futurism from the 90s was wild, and the game does not shy away from it. The media thought ancient computer systems hooked up to a CRT monitor could handle nation-wide surveillance and advanced softwares to zoom in beyond the tinest pixels.
Routine Spiel
Routine is, or was, a game in development hell for 13 years. Announced in 2012 with the release window set in 2013, it is no wonder the talks I could find on the game are largely the pure surprise on the mere fact it had not been fully abandoned. No doubt with 13 years of development the game has gone through major changes in directions as well. As a gamer, fortunately, I was not waiting in limbo for 13 years as some of the eager players must have been.
Pools Spiel
There is a new subgenre of horror which most horror lovers would have already seen one way or the other — liminal horror. Some of the liminal spaces went viral online, such as the Backrooms, for invoking sense of eeriness or uncanniness to the space itself. It is an acquired taste, even in the world of horror.
How to Rename Multiple Filenames on Windows
One of the GUI features available on macOS side is its automation. I often contribute Mac’s near-obsessive focus on user automation has to do with the early days of PC experience, experimenting with BASIC for the first time on a computer. That being said, on Mac, if you select multiple items to “rename”, Finder gives you a list of options as to how you would like to rename them: replace, add (or remove), or format. Unsurprisingly, Windows simply does not have the GUI equivalent renaming tool.
How to Fix New AirPods (Buttonless) Playing One Channel Only on Windows
The new AirPods, AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3, do not have a physical button on the case — both AirPods now have capacitive touch sensor on the front of the case instead. Personally, I prefer where the sensor has been moved; simple tapping motion on the front of the case puts the device in the Bluetooth Pairing mode.
Parasocial Spiel
I was waiting for Chilla’s Art to make landing on non-PC platforms for a while; any other successful horror indies have ported their games over with or without the help of porting studios. That hasn’t happened as of yet. Regardless, Chilla’s Art titles have special place in the indie horror scenes of serving realistic modern Japanese horrors.
App to Convert PC Xbox App Saves for Different Platforms
I’m on the process of writing a similar themed op-ed that highlights the exact issue I am having with the Xbox App. One would imagine save files on all PC games would be platform-agnostic, so long as the platform in question has a Windows presence. That is simply not the case with the Xbox app for PC. Xbox uses its unique save file structure, possibly for cloud support.
Fears to Fathom – Home Alone Spiel
The second season of Fears to Fathom series is already underway, and I thought to come back to the series as it is slowly being released on other platforms. Currently, only the fourth episode is available on the PlayStation with DualSense support. Fears to Fathom is an anthology; the episodes are not connected from one another, as of yet. Home Alone, the one this piece is about, was the debut title of the series and also available for free.