Best and most cool movies from 2015 that I liked - By David

So the year is drawing to a close, and while all those who imbibe are contemplating on which places will be the most effective to become inebriated, I'm engaging in my own annual tradition of deciding which video game/movie I'll be shotgunning all night.

I generally choose something familiar - KotOR, KSP, Firefly, what-have-you - but I do like to at least consider the things that are a little more fresh. As I was going back through the catalogue offered by 2015, I was surprised at how robust the offerings were. All told, this has been a pretty fucking good year for the shit I like to put on screens.

Since I was collating anyway, I figured I may as well divulge some of my insights so that you (the filthy masses) could benefit from my grand, divine wisdom. As I am aware that The Word causes madness in mere mortals, I have transcribed my insights from their pure, majestic form into a more easily digestible "list" for your benefit. It's a convenient form - I'm surprised the internet doesn't use it more often.

(None of this is in any particular order. There's not really a system here - I'm just kind of writing down stuff that makes me feel good when I think about it. Oh, and yeah - spoilers ahead.)

The DC Cinematic Universe isn't "too dark"

So this happened at SDCC:

As trailers are want to do, it reignited a lot of the conversation around differences between the MCU and the DCCU (if that's the acronym we're using?). There are some parts of that conversation I've been meaning to discuss for a while, and this seemed an appropriate time as any to get down to it.

I will admit, "thoughts on trailers" is something I feel ambivalent about doing. I personally can't stand when people condemn a film that's yet to be released based on some microscopic complaint in an attempt to generate rage-clicks, but I do think there can be fun discussions about this kind of thing. 

Game of Thrones - A Telltale Game Series review

Creating good spin-offs can be an astonishingly difficult task. “Passion and love” are the oft-cited secret ingredients to strong reinterpretations, and though they’re undeniably integral, there’s a lot more to it than simple enthusiasm. Loving Star Wars, for example, doesn’t mean I’m capable of making KotOR.

It isn’t enough to just love something, you need to understand why the thing is loved. You need to understand what about it attracts people in the first place, and ensure that element is properly realised in the final product. At the same time, you have to make sure your product is unique and charismatic enough to be something more than a sub-par knock-off.

Thankfully we live in an age now where many licenced games aren’t the dreadful certainty they once were. Gone is the age of Superman 64 and ET, and in its place are the days of Batman: Arkham, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Alien: Isolation. We live in an era where a game “based on the acclaimed [blank]” can actually inspire hope, and Telltale Games are, at least in my mind, the masters of this art.