Incline Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children - isometric tactical Korean SRPG

[Damned Registrations]

Typical 17-19 year old-appealing stuff.

You can also say that about swords, space, robots, monsters, guns, boobs, fighting, war, wealth, competition, heroism, villainy, and fart jokes. Unless your only hobbies are reading War and Peace and gardening, complaining about any videogame being 'immature' is throwing stones from a glass house.

Also, 'young man building his own business' has to be one of the least typical premises for a story I've ever seen. Not that it even describes the game well at all. You're more akin to a licensed bounty hunter or mercenary, and the game barely has any business aspects at all.

 

[Roguey]

You can also say that about swords, space, robots, monsters, guns, boobs, fighting, war, wealth, competition, heroism, villainy, and fart jokes. Unless your only hobbies are reading War and Peace and gardening, complaining about any videogame being 'immature' is throwing stones from a glass house.

There are games for adults. There's XCOM of course. FromSoftware makes a ton, which is part of why they're so popular here, most jrpgs are targeted at teenagers or kids.

Also, 'young man building his own business' has to be one of the least typical premises for a story I've ever seen. Not that it even describes the game well at all. You're more akin to a licensed bounty hunter or mercenary, and the game barely has any business aspects at all.

Not in the gameplay, but as far the story goes, yes. Don't get hung up on the details, the key part is a young man going off on his own for the first time and making something of himself.

 

[Abu Antar]

I know at least 30 kids who love and play Soulsborne games. They play God of War, and other things like that. They also loved the Arkham games. The games are still not targeted at kids. Before you ask how I know so many kids, I work at a school, and video game discussions come up often.

 

[Damned Registrations]

There are games for adults.

Sure. There's scrabble, shuffle board and solitaire.

The fact that XCOM has faceless expendable grunts instead of flamboyant super heroes doesn't mean it doesn't appeal to kids, it just means it appeals to the ones that like blowing up 50 little green army men more than ninja turtles. Mechanically it's far more shallow and streamlined. Thematically it's about campy sci-fi with greys and zombies and laser guns.

Don't get hung up on the details, the key part is a young man going off on his own for the first time and making something of himself.

Ah yes, like Star Wars, a film no self respecting adult could possibly enjoy or respect.

The games are still not targeted at kids.

This isn't an either/or situation. Stuff that appeals to kids appeals to adults too. At best you can make the argument that edgy stuff like Warhammer, God of War and the Souls games are designed to appeal to people too insecure to admit they like fantasy. But that applies to teenagers and kids too; there's plenty that want everyone to know they like the grown up stuff with blood and guts. The 12 year old playing Mortal Kombat is not more mature than the one playing Pokemon, and the same is true of adults. Maturity is about experience and wisdom, not preferences or being fashionable. Tic-Tac-Toe is a game a mature person can't enjoy because it's so simple it's not even a game at that point. A lot of modern Disney slop is stuff a mature person can't enjoy because it's inane writing clashes with the experience and wisdom of a mature person that will find the whole thing too implausible to care about. Lion King, a disney film full of bright colours, talking animals and musicals, is something an adult can absolutely respect and enjoy because none of those things can truly detract from what is essentially Hamlet underneath; a story of betrayal, cowardice, growth and revenge. The same is true of games with excellent mechanics or timeless stories clothed in fantastic elements.

People pull this 'I'm too sophisticated to enjoy that aesthetic' with everything. This is the kind of shit those losers buying blank canvas for a million dollars tell each other. Having preferences is fine; thinking something is shit is fine. Thinking your preferences are a result of you being a generally better person is pretentious.

 

[Roguey]

I know at least 30 kids who love and play Soulsborne games. They play God of War, and other things like that. They also loved the Arkham games. The games are still not targeted at kids. Before you ask how I know so many kids, I work at a school, and video game discussions come up often.

Adults play kid games and kids play adult games all the time.

Sure. There's scrabble, shuffle board and solitaire.

It's not the 20th century anymore. Adults have changed, they're not their grandparents.

The fact that XCOM has faceless expendable grunts instead of flamboyant super heroes doesn't mean it doesn't appeal to kids, it just means it appeals to the ones that like blowing up 50 little green army men more than ninja turtles. Mechanically it's far more shallow and streamlined. Thematically it's about campy sci-fi with greys and zombies and laser guns.

A game being shallow doesn't preclude it from being for adults.

13 years ago this was how it broke down:

35+ year old Gen Xers were really into that Indiana Jones-esque cinematic mole-popper. That was a game for adults. Meanwhile, kids wanted that Call of Duty.

Ah yes, like Star Wars, a film no self respecting adult could possibly enjoy or respect.

Star Wars is a movie for children, yes. Tons of adults also enjoy it, so? Doesn't make it any less of a kids' film. Same deal with the early Harry Potter books/films.

At best you can make the argument that edgy stuff like Warhammer, God of War and the Souls games are designed to appeal to people too insecure to admit they like fantasy.

I'm not even talking about edgy content (Warhammer is also for teens, the first God of War trilogy was for teens, the new ones are for adults) but story, subject matter, and how it's presented.

Saying something is meant for kids/teens/adults is not an indication of quality which is the impression I'm getting from the people getting upset with me. There are good and bad examples in all categories. I think Troubleshooter is an all right enough teen's game.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I think that picture kind of says it all actually. Zelda (a terrible Zelda game focused on gimmick controls at that) rated higher among adults than CoD did among children.

Saying something is meant for kids/teens/adults is not an indication of quality which is the impression I'm getting from the people getting upset with me. There are good and bad examples in all categories. I think Troubleshooter is an all right enough teen's game.

I think the point we're talking past here is that Maturity =! "Made for adults" Marketing for an age demographic has nothing to do with maturity and everything to do with fashion. Plenty of juvenile fun shit is made to sell to adults, and plenty of mature, sophisticated stuff is made to sell to children. And I don't think either of those things are necessarily indictors of quality, either. Dumb shit can be low or high quality as well, as can sophisticated shit.

I also just flat out disagree about Troubleshooter being intended for teens though. The gameplay is too complex for people without years of experience with a variety of games, and the writing is full of deconstructions and lampshading jokes, like Irene right out of the gate. It's clearly a game made for people who've already seen years worth of stories using these sorts of tropes. The characters are over the top because the whole game is, just like Warhammer but from a different angle, poking fun at comics instead of Tolkein.

 

[Roguey]

The gameplay is too complex for people without years of experience with a variety of games,

Teenagers into tactical rpgs aren't so thick that they wouldn't be able to get it.

and the writing is full of deconstructions and lampshading jokes,

Went over my head, but teens love this stuff.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Teenagers into tactical rpgs aren't so thick that they wouldn't be able to get it.

If only. Damn miscreants barely bother reading.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Teenagers into tactical rpgs aren't so thick that they wouldn't be able to get it.

Sure they'd be able to play, but this kind of over the top complexity doesn't become a selling point until you've played the normal stuff so much it feels banal. The older you get the more likely you've played more stuff and gotten bored of simpler mechanics. "Teenager who has already played a dozen different tactical rpgs" is a wildly narrow demographic. The complexity and higher difficulty options are clearly there to appeal to adults. The character designs go either way; people familiar with the tropes can take it as ironic, while others take it at face value. Same with the goofy writing- younger people will take it as 'lol so random' while long time genre fans will get the specific references or irony inherent in the genre.

 

[Roguey]

Sure they'd be able to play, but this kind of over the top complexity doesn't become a selling point until you've played the normal stuff so much it feels banal. The older you get the more likely you've played more stuff and gotten bored of simpler mechanics. "Teenager who has already played a dozen different tactical rpgs" is a wildly narrow demographic. The complexity and higher difficulty options are clearly there to appeal to adults.

I disagree with the notion that adults want more complexity and that teenagers can't handle it.

The character designs go either way; people familiar with the tropes can take it as ironic, while others take it at face value.

It's not remotely ironic in tone. Troubleshooter comes across as very sincere to me.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I disagree with the notion that adults want more complexity and that teenagers can't handle it.

It's not an absolute rule but the trend is obvious. Nobody comfortable with complex games as a kid stops being able to handle it as an adult. Ergo, adults include a higher proportion of people that can handle complex games/have become bored of simple ones. The only way this isn't true is if there are more adults entering the hobby for the first time than teenagers continuing it, which seems absurd.

It's not remotely ironic in tone. Troubleshooter comes across as very sincere to me.

I mean, I'll take your word for it. But I think your irony detector is broken if you think the chainsaw wielding little girl and cult of "Spoonism" is meant seriously. Feels like pretty obvious pokes at child heroes, chainsaws as weapons, and big bad evil cults to me.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

cult of "Spoonism" is meant seriously

Wasn't that an actual thing?

 

[Damned Registrations]

cult of "Spoonism" is meant seriously

Wasn't that an actual thing?

What in like real life? I've never heard of it but Scientology is a thing so it wouldn't be beyond belief. Quick web search was unhelpful; seems like lots of people have used the idea for memes/jokes.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

It's not remotely ironic in tone. Troubleshooter comes across as very sincere to me.

I mean, I'll take your word for it. But I think your irony detector is broken if you think the chainsaw wielding little girl and cult of "Spoonism" is meant seriously. Feels like pretty obvious pokes at child heroes, chainsaws as weapons, and big bad evil cults to me.

 

[Zumbabul]

cult of "Spoonism" is meant seriously

Wasn't that an actual thing?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_class_theory

 

[Reinhardt]

There are games for adults. FromSoftware makes a ton

nigger you wot. from is perfect example of games for manchildren. it's japanese star wars with bunch of fat and smelly retards screeching HOW DEEP AND PROFOUND! description of that particular hidden piece of cow dung is and how improtant it's for understanding WHY YOU NEED TO KILL A GOD! and making 4h long videos about it.

people laugh at trope in jrpg about killing a god and how childish it is, but when miyazaki pulling this shit in every single game everyone is clapping and in awe how MATURE his games are.

 

[Elttharion]

From games went from a genuine and innovative way of storytelling to a parody of themselves. I dont think Memezaki ever intended for the games to be taken that seriously, he just added what he thought was cool. I think his reaction when he watched first a Vaati video for the first time was 'Wait, what?'.

Now I almost feel like I will soon see a headline saying 'Miyazaki was found dead from suffocation after trying to suck his own dick'.

 

[Grunker]

This is my second playthrough and I only now noticed that the game has a food buff system if you combine different foods. This game’s system overload is so fucked I love it

 

[Grunker]

Right. Yeah. Totally. Now get back in and tank some hits cannon fodder VHPD guy

 

[Damned Registrations]

Pro tip: There's some sort of hotkey for dismissing them from battle iirc, so you don't need to waste time taking their stupid useless turns later on when they're totally irrelevant.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Pro tip: There's some sort of hotkey for dismissing them from battle iirc, so you don't need to waste time taking their stupid useless turns later on when they're totally irrelevant.

You can also set them to AI control.

 

[Abu Antar]

Or use them as cannon fodder.

 

[Reinhardt]

or win mission with them

 

[Grunker]

I guess with this game's writing quality being what it is, the bizarre ending (with the final mission being the arrest of what is at that point at most an irrelevant side-villain) leaving almost everything unresolved was to be expected. Do the DLCs resolve anything or is 95% of the game's story left in the dust?

EDIT: 49 levels and the complete game later, and Albus is still the same beta cuck he started out as

 

[Zumbabul]

I guess with this game's writing quality being what it is, the bizarre ending (with the final mission being the arrest of what is at that point at most an irrelevant side-villain) leaving almost everything unresolved was to be expected. Do the DLCs resolve anything or is 95% of the game's story left in the dust?

It resolves something. Probably at the end of the DLC2, it will be 75-85% of the story unresolved instead of the 95%.