Blips: Minesweeper Roguelikes, Soccer Coaching, and Ecological Disaster!

[@Gledster]

I love your perspective on games, especially how you find titles I never would happen across on my own. Thank you.

[@GoodJamSpiteHouse]

I will maintain that the best take on the minesweeper formula I've played is Hexcells

[@charlieni645]

Holy shit it's another Blip episode already? Holy shit this decade is ending!! I need to lie down...

[@jordantm16]

Am very much considering flagging up Football Drama to an old friend who religiously played the old championship manager football games. Would be fascinating to hear what they think of it. Lovely selection of games as ever, and delightfully presented. Thank you for the wonderful video!

[@glilimith]

love these videos, but as someone who's played a lot of minesweeper, it is endlessly frustrating watching your gameplay footage, lol

[@ErrantSignal]

Oh, I improved so much that *I* was being driven nuts by it while editing. Like, I'm watching myself mark that one level where there's some 2's in the lower corner and I'm going "NOOOO THAT'S TOO MANY" but alas, past me was bad. Unfortunately most of the footage was from when I was still learning. Like, I'm *still* bad, but at least now I have a baseline for what bad even is. I'm past Dunning-Kruger on the Minesweeper skill scale now.

[@CaesarsSalad]

@@ErrantSignal When you're not trying to get a low time, any normal board is trivial aside from guesses. You recommended the second game for Minesweeper veterans but you never explained, I think, why a good minesweeper player would find solving a board interesting unless it's against the clock. It seemed to me the first game was much more fitting for a veteran. Am I wrong?

[@panchorosselli]

@@CaesarsSalad Yeah, the first game is mostly small boards with some RPG stuffs, it kinda feels like a little of 2 things. DemonCrawl is pure minesweeping with really cool powerups and items. It helps you trivialize the 50/50s and having some failsafes if you missclick/messup. It really feels like an amazing iteration of a game you played a lot giving you more tools to min-max and rely on while also faceing some minor obstacles (like monsters or things that cover tiles, negative statuses, to name the ones I've found so far). Most of my loses are product of missplays because the game almost always gives you the tools to avoid the RNG aspect of Minesweeper (like shields, ways to check the tile, etc). It's honestly one amazing change, with its pros and cons. And coming into a pretty well though "mod" of a game you have "mechanicly mastered" is really really REALLY fun. tl;dr: DemoonCrawlers is more minesweepery.

[@corvidcall1025]

i LOVE blips. you always find games i would never have found and i love to hear your perspectives on them

[@fortunatesoul12]

I love how in a couple of episodes you presented dozens of recent games I never heard off, and some of which I really want to play and others are fun to look at or think of

[@aylin8619]

yay love this series, glad you found the time :)

[@kobito1176]

This video reminded me of an old flash game I used to play a lot called PitSweeper. It's another Minesweeper roguelike, but it actually plays like a proper roguelike, except you can reveal any tile on the current floor and the game tells you how many points of interest are around each tile, just like Minesweeper. What's cool about it is that it playing it as a standard roguelike or a standard Minesweeper game are both viable options, since you get bonus XP each floor based on how many treasures you uncovered and how many monsters you left undiscovered.

[@ClemmyGames]

Wonderful video! Thanks for showcasing some smaller indie games!

[@PaxPirate]

Perfect timing, I JUST finished Eliza - and it was so damn good. It really resonated with me very deeply. Thank you so much for the recommendation!

[@SnowTerebi]

Came in give a thumbs up, gonna watch after work.

[@LucidTech]

Just wanted to say that I"m really enjoying this blips series. I just caught up on it and I really love a kinda of light lunch in between your more in depth reviews. I think it's really neat.

[@neutralnarwhal8184]

I'm 21 and I grew up playing minesweeper and pinball on my family's first computer. Last year, I actually figured out how to play the former...

[@NextianGeometry]

If you can still play Flash games, Super Samurai Sweeper was an interesting twist on Minesweeper-ish grid-clearing. All Feudal Japan all the way with cherry blossoms blowing across the menu screen, you click on the grid looking for the Daimyo whose troops destroyed the Samurai's village, following their footsteps to the boss battle and also finding benefits to buy persistent upgrades and camps of the daimyo's forces. The more you beat them (in auto-resolved battles) the fewer henchmen the daimyo has when you face him, but if you run of moves before finding him, you fail. I like how it used the Minesweeper base to make this archetypal story.

[@axelprino]

A rogue-like minesweeper sounds so weird but when you explained how they work it makes a lot of sense, it just was a really unexpected mix that never crossed my mind. I actually kinda love those obvious but slightly off-brand types of references. I was reading some of the text on screen and the chaos emeralds one is such a nice on point meta joke, they're usually required but for what exactly is never quite clear untill it happens.

[@leekalba]

Something you said about Some Distant Memory made me think you'd really enjoy the Heartbreak Soup stories from Love and Rockets, if you've not read them. Beto Hernandez jumps around in time and space to give snapshots of characters' lives, spanning decades. While his brother Jaime tended to keep his stories pretty linear, only spanning decades in print-time, Beto would introduce a character, then flash back to their childhood, then flash forward to their old age, within a few stories.

[@kuroboshi5030]

Thanks for the video! Another Minesweeper related game I've enjoyed is Mamono Sweeper, which (after the opening) is generally solvable without guessing and comes in various difficulties.

[@henatatorplays]

Minesweeper is like the only game I can play on my school-issued computer so I’ve lost countless hours to it. Very funny to see this video pop up.

[@raiden-og6mg]

When you showed the FIFA footage and the title of the game popped up, I was almost certain that you had somehow fallen in love with FIFA 20.

[@bnjkf9u3]

He tripped us up good

[@XRXaholic]

I wasn't even aware of minesweeper rougelikes... good stuff. Some Distant Memory will absolutely scratch my Tacoma reconstructing history itch (bad humour aside).

[@JaesadaSrisuk]

“Football Drama” sounds fascinating. I’ve never been a fan of sports game itself, but I love the culture, history and drama that surrounds sports games, so this sounds right up my alley!

[@baronohm2569]

I love these videos! I'm consistently surprised by the games you've found.

[@canadave87]

Seeing Football Drama made me think a bit of Football: Tactics and Glory, another little sports game you might be interested in checking out. It's more Football Manager meets XCOM, so it doesn't have that same level of mood and personality, but it is another neat example of taking a sport and distilling it down into something that's totally different from the real thing but with the right feel.

[@Harukurochan]

I just wanted to say "Thank you" for this video, not just because this series continues to introduce me to interesting games worth checking out, but because it led me to a Christmas present I plan to give to my brother! :)

[@IXPrometheusXI]

Yeah, I still really appreciate you pointing out these smaller titles I otherwise might never have heard of. Thanks!

[@notfruit-shaped4856]

as an avid minesweeper player i never knew those logical answers were documented online. i always just logiced it out.

[@Bobo011]

An Errant Signal video, a surprise for sure, but a welcome one.

[@Arashmickey]

Oh look, of course there's a Minesweeper VR. I wish they'd port games like Sunless Sea or Arctic Baron to VR instead - beautiful environments to admire and a touch of rogue-like adventure/rpg. Admittedly I do like this trend of adding layers of progression and randomization to old formulas.

[@brunoberti8790]

If anyone is looking for alternative minesweeper I recommend the Hex cells collection. It's like Minesweeper but hexagonal and with pre made levels. No guessing is needed to complete any level. Slowly the game introduces new mechanics. If anyone is interested I highly recommend you play them in order, since the later games are much much harder

[@whinegummi6329]

I am not big in terms of complementing. Let me just sat i am freaking binge watching. Thank for your work.

[@Felixicity]

I love this series so much, and all of these games seemed right up my alley this time. Thanks!

[@jonskowitz]

"It's not random!" cries the developer. "For all the transparency within this insanely complex system it might as well be!" cries the player. I kind of get it though, while it may be effectively impossible to know for certain which actions will be successful on any given play, players putting in enough reps should start to see some patterns in some situations to start really influencing the game.

[@MemeticMutant]

I concur with this one. If you have to make an in depth video essay on how your soccer sim functions, it doesn't fulfill its purpose as a game system.

[@bnjkf9u3]

@@MemeticMutant depends on the goal - do real coaches really have a "deep insight"? Maybe ist just a numbers game and with enough coaches there always is a positive outlier like Klopp...

[@panchorosselli]

As a minesweeper lover, I thank you for finding some for me.

[@panchorosselli]

Holy fucking shit DemnCrawl is PERFECTION

[@nupinoop296]

Oh no, Some Distant Memory sounds like it's right up my alley! I'm gonna have to look at it later...

[@Encypruon]

Last month someone released a minesweeper clone that solves the RNG-death problem. If it is impossible to find a square that is safe, you are allowed to click any square (adjacent to at least one discovered square) that does not necessarily contain a mine. You can find the game online by searching for "pwmarcz kaboom". It can be played in the browser. Internally it does this by making up the positions of the mines on the fly and using a SAT-solver to figure out what you can possibly know. It's interesting from a CompSci perspective because Minesweeper is a NP-Complete problem. This also means that some of the puzzles presented by the game can be extremely hard to solve.

[@Shilag]

Radical Dungeon Sweeper basically just looked like Runestone Keeper with minesweeper elements. Would recommend Runestone for a tile-based roguelike, I had a good time with it.

[@antfer1976]

Also in the same genre, Dungelot: Shattered Lands. It is a little less punishing than Runestone Keeper.

[@ErrantSignal]

I am having my mind blown that there are this many variants; I had no idea this was an entire subgenre.

[@galvanicgames]

Thanks so much for talking about our game!

[@MichelMohr]

Aaah, I was secretly hoping Dungeon Squeaker might come up in the roguelike minesweeper segment haha.

[@KeldNeedsCoffee]

Thank you, do much, for focusing on games that touch you. It's unique and appreciated

[@joezabrowski803]

The first Minesweeper roguelike I can remember was actually the official Windows 8 version of it that included an adventure mode with keys and chests, enemies and weapons, and maps and levels.

[@MrSpikebomb5]

Noice, there are so many games on steam with sub 50 reviews that need love

[@pedroscoponi4905]

Some Distant Memory is definitely going into my wishlist. It seems extremely my speed, specially considering how much I liked Outer Wilds.

[@vladkostin7557]

You refined the format into something very palatable!

[@Goblin4Coin]

Th-That's what the numbers meant?!! I've waited 22 years to learn this information!!!!

[@Furore2323]

Hey I en't mentioned it lately but I been watching since your first ep and you are doing really great work.

[@nexra0]

Man, I didn't knew minesweeper was this hardcore... Also fuck yea, more Blips!

[@levilukeskytrekker]

Always a highlight when Errant Signal posts a video!

[@caseycoker1051]

These are great videos. Keep em coming, I'll keep watching.

[@moeezS]

Some Distant Memory sounds great, thanks for covering it!

[@rerere284]

Momano sweeper is a minesweeper variant I've encountered, it's pretty much just minesweeper, but you have the ability to delete all of the lowest level of mines before deleting the next highest level, and the numbers for them are based on their level. A level 2 mine has 2s around it, etc.

[@VahnCruz]

Oh look, another episode of Blops from Error Rant Signal!

[@HitPointsLovecraft447]

don't cut yourself on that incredible edge, friend!

[@VahnCruz]

@@HitPointsLovecraft447 No edge, just a playful jab at one of my favorite content producers.

[@HitPointsLovecraft447]

@@VahnCruz ah balls i thought you were being serious, ignore me

[@Nixxen]

Re: minesweeper. Check out hexcells infinite. It is a hex based minesweeper with some extra details that make sure you almost never have to guess. Quite addictive though.

[@Amonimus]

Always liked Minesweeper. Bet you never seen a 2004 version with three types of bombs. Can't believe there's Minesweeper Honest Trailer.

[@MurkonTrow]

Keep making these blip videos please. Just all of your content. Give it to me.

[@rattenusrattoonus1880]

Football drama is on sale on the playstore today!

[@KuraiMuin]

Cool, love to see you uploading again

[@megi_w]

Will you ever talk about Presentable Liberty and it's spin-offs Menagerine: Archive and Exoptable Money?

[@V_y-r_e]

Yes, PLEASE do

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

I thought Presentable Liberty was a spin-off of Exoptable Money (Albeit a little bigger)? Tho it doesn't matter. And I actually haven't heard of Menagerie so thanks for the recommend, I always liked Wertpols games.

[@megi_w]

@@kayeplaguedoc9054 Presentable Liberty is the main one, other two were the spin-offs. Yo no problem. Idk have you heard, but the developer of those games killed himself in 2018. Which makes the meaning of Presentably Liberty all the more sad.

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

@@megi_w I wasn't aware of that. I was aware he tried and failed to create a kickstarter for remakes of Presentable Liberty/Exoptable Money but that was the last I had heard. That is definitely quite a shame - those little indie games left more of an emotional mark on me than most games do.

[@megi_w]

@@kayeplaguedoc9054 Yeah, shame indeed, those game left an emotional mark on me too.

[@Renken_]

Thanks for making these videos!

[@rdominick]

Wait, wait ... you can click on numbers in DemonCrawl to show the tiles they look at and auto-reveal them if you've already marked enough monsters? I did not know that, and I wish that I had.

[@BottleWaterson]

If suggestions are being taken, some neato games ive come across are Crying Suns, Noita, Rakuen, Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, Cogmind, Yuppie Psycho, Break Arts II, and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, these arent quite invisible but thought i'd share some off the beaten path.

[@sylvanvixen6887]

Some of these games look quite fun, If I have some spare change I may check one or two of them out

[@BobbyOxygen]

Not even an honorable mention for Mamono Sweeper? For shame! Otherwise perfectly enjoyable.

[@Medytacjusz]

Puns are not goofy! Puns are the absolute pinnacle of highbrow humour for laughter connoisseurs!

[@KarolaTea]

Those are some interesting sounding games, thank you!

[@pirateray]

as a minesweeper fan i genuinely love demoncrawl the item system within it affords you a way to reduce the chance of being killed by the 50/50 chances that are inherent in the game, and the devs recently patched in a mode where every board is completely deducible

[@churibman]

Damn, I'd love to have Radical Dungeon Sweeper on my phone. Weird that it hast been released on mobile.

[@bigblueshoe777]

Your description of Some Distant Memory makes me think of To The Moon. Have you played it and can you comment?

[@LeftClickShift]

I like how this series is less thorough than your other videos, it's a good companion piece. That sounds kinda weird.. But, like normal errant signal episodes walk you through a huge chunk of the plot, dozens of mechanics, design ethos, all nipping at the one central "theme" the video endeavours to reach.. alternatively these feel more like hors d'oeuvres than meals. We get the jest, and a few stand out aspects you noticed and on to the next one! Really really solid work!!

[@alan2here]

Almost nothing seems to be doing it, but you can generate only possible levels of a given difficulty. A clumsy but straightforward approach could be the matrix, vector, system of equations solver thing to see if the board is possible and how many steps or similar it took the solver to get there. While it's impossible or trivial then generate again.

[@danielemazzali9810]

I really like this kind of video, keep doing It :)

[@andrewgeary415]

Football Drama sounds like a game for people who don't like sports, but do like jon bois, and that's great because I'm one of those people

[@TwelveGallonBee]

Since you're doing indie games I'd love it if you checked out the Skautfold series. It's done by one dude who manages a dev company called Pugware and I'm in love with the stories it tells. I just think he really needs more exposure

[@20xd6]

id like to pass away and become an artifact for futer explorers hue heu heu hue hue

[@halfpintrr]

Minesweeper was never my thing. I preferred the Galaxy pinball on Windows 98. That was my jam.

[@JosefTrejbal]

Since you have mentioned Football Drama mixes a sports game with a visual novel - have you played Pyre? If so, what did you think of it?

[@needycatproductions6830]

Love your blips.

[@Desirsar]

"Roguelike influences" makes a roguelite. Roguelite is not a slur or insult, and "minesweeper roguelites" sounds like an awesome subgenre.

[@krrrcht]

If you got a taste of the weird conundrum soccer managers have, the Football Manager series is hugely popular and tries to sim as much as possible. I'd be interested to hear what you think of it compared to Football Drama

[@65yearoldgoldfish]

I don't know if you are open to game suggestions but Return of the Obra Dinn is a very good puzzle game.

[@Dayglodaydreams]

There needs to be a turn-based strategy game about dressing in a locker room with people of your same gender. It can use stylized 8-bit sprites with a simple binary walking animation. There can be a counter at the top of the screen for each phase. There can be speech bubbles, and a set of choices to make that have consequences for you and the group. Maybe there can be different chapters that come with a goal: such as coming out, being a good ally, or defending the trans. man. Or better, these can be ethically neutral situations where you have to make a choice, and those choices effect the resolution you come to. This can be like Agosto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed gamified. Call it Dressing Out.

[@Majromax]

The mistake at 4:37 is irksome. There is no mine in the bottom right square.

[@ErrantSignal]

Yeah, it bothered me enough while editing that I debated changing it, but the episode was already late :( But you're 100% right, and it bugged me every time I saw it while I was editing the video.

[@ItsTheFizz]

Revisiting Star Wars? Well... Condolences to your comment section in advance...

[@phanphy290]

I think it would be interesting, if you made a Blips-episode about small mobile games, since the mobile game market is full of the same stuff all over again, even though phones are as powerful as ever. :) Maybe you could bring some light onto some good indie titels which deserve the attention.

[@HotRossBuns]

I Love You.

[@tsartomato]

so it's dungelot

[@carlietheanimator]

would love to hear what you have to say about Star Wars!

[@ErrantSignal]

The new video looks to be a bit of a continuation/sequel to this very old (and therefore kinda rickety and badly produced) video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ7JgWZmaK5_bdk

[@garrett123456789t3n]

Nothing I'm super interested in but interesting set none the less

[@politicalnerdV]

Have you heard of/played The Wanderer: Frankenstein's Creature?

[@BoredReaper777]

As someone who got into soccer through FIFA and the 2014 world cup, I'm curious if this game caused any further interest beyond simply as a mechanical/video game stand point?

[@FlunderingChipper]

minsesweeper is for tough kids who grew up on these mean streets.

[@zeikjt]

1:29 The menu is widescreen but the game isn't? Why not just pad out the sides with art like they did before...

[@qxyw]

Last video of 2019 👍

[@40Kfrog]

[@blarg2429]

[@politicalnerdV]

[@liscer6812]

POGGI! ahahahahahaha

[@samkirkegaard4316]

Errant I love most everything you do... But damm you're bad at minesweeper

[@ErrantSignal]

I will not contest this

[@Mossmyr]

9:29 I think MochaScript is a parody of CoffeeScript.

[@NeoShameMan]

It's the development name of javascript, which was released as livescript, then changed to javascript because java was popular at the time

[@vaimast]

I like your videos, make top videos

[@umangmalik]

Forgive the irrelevant comment, but is life is strange 2 worth playing? No good reviews have covered this in the context of all 5 episodes, and given how important LiS 1's last episode was, I don't want to watch an analysis or review of the game that excludes that.

[@ErrantSignal]

I have yet to touch it, unfortunately! Maybe I'll get a chance when things settle down!

[@umangmalik]

Thanks for replying! I love your perspective and your content. would love to hear what you have to say, but if that's not possible, cool! Take your time 💙

[@anthonykulczycki5261]

So, "MochaScript" and "Superb Mario" were too much to handle, but "Calchester Assembled" didn't bug you?

[@ErrantSignal]

I don't know enough to know about soccer/football to get the reference, I'm afraid. :(

[@anthonykulczycki5261]

@@ErrantSignal Fair enough. There is a famous English team that is "Manchester United."