Urban Exploration • How Video Games Make Cities [In-Depth Analysis]

[@AesirAesthetics]

how 'bout you EXPLORE that like button, huh? also subscribe perhaps? geez

[@coreyrachar9694]

I'll like before even seeing the video! I don't need confirmation before believing my theories.

[@Mikolaj1334]

For most creators my answer to that is 'how 'bout shut the feck up, huh?' Normaly. But Christ, Lord... Your analyses are so in-depth and well-prepared that I have no conscience to even think so. PS: Any plans on making Ever Grace or Silent Hill 4 videos?

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@coreyrachar9694 this guy gets it!

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@Mikolaj1334 Silent Hill 4, yes

[@Mikolaj1334]

@@AesirAesthetics It's good to hear (read...?) as I'm in the process of going through SH3 again (I'm about to see your video on it once I do) and revisit SH4. Thanks to you I was reminded of what a magical time for gaming the PS2 era was (Silent Hill series, Ico, King's Field and so on).

[@mrfreddorenton]

If anyone else has tried to collect ALL the riddle trophies, you would know that it is possible to get fatigued with exploring the arkham games

[@AesirAesthetics]

This is true of every city I mentioned in the video

[@aport2]

@@AesirAesthetics kinda~ most dishonored levels holds up so well even after a 1000 hours I really find arkham games exhausting post-campaign cause theres none to do but beat up random dudes and googling riddles

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@aport2 You know what, fair. Dishonored's levels dont wear out their welcome nearly as much. I wonder how much of that has to do with how tedious the AC riddler trophies are and how much is from Dishonored bieng an immersive sim where the elvels allow you to squeeze so much value out of them

[@tristankendrick2582]

​@AesirAesthetics are "elvels" like, levels made by elves?

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@tristankendrick2582 yes!

[@SmoughTown]

Made some awesome points re Yharnam dude, will defo be referencing when I go back to Bloodborne Lore. P.s. Glad Kegare made it in

[@AesirAesthetics]

I deliver kegare 💪

[@deliriushunter]

Omg smough i love your ER lore, but i can't wait for your Bloodborne Videos 😄

[@SmoughTown]

@@deliriushunter Thanks my friend! Hopefully in the next month or so!

[@deliriushunter]

​@@SmoughTownHoly shit no way, can't wait!

[@lizabee484]

Found you through Sin and Sophie, and am glad I made the leap over here! I love how goofy y’all get on the Snack Covenant podcast, but this video really proved to me how fascinating this topic of urban ex in games can be, as well as how much smarter you are than me, my dude. XD Many instances of blinking owlishly at my screen and going, “I don’t quite understand what he just said, but it sounded very interesting! How cool that he knows so much about this stuff!” Lol Thanks for giving me a great deal to puzzle over! :)

[@AesirAesthetics]

welcome :D

[@lizabee484]

@@AesirAesthetics Thanks! Happy to be here! :)

[@vladimirsabol808]

This video was really interesting to watch and listen to, you have a lot of insights on how different developers use open and closed environments for the purposes of the stories they wanted to tell and how they make use of the gameplay and the exploration aspect of their games to help them do that. I also like how ludocentric your approach to analyzing video games is, it really makes you stand out from the crowd in a positive manner and makes your videos a lot more interesting in certain aspects, too. Those 72 minutes flew by and it was well worth waiting for you to finally get this one out. I also just want to state that the longer you're in the KZbin game, the better your videos get. Good job, Aesir!

[@AesirAesthetics]

Thank you :D

[@primarchlogarius]

Dude the use of audio for the transition from one game to another is brilliant. Well done Aesir. I was busy catching up on the chat more than watching your video but a second viewing was what I really needed.

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@rchassereau2]

I know some find them a bit overwhelming, but I really enjoy exploring cities in RPGs like Baldur's Gate - I know they're really not that much different in practicality from a dungeon, but they are filled with people to talk to and different kinds of secrets to find that you can't really get in other environments.

[@mauletable]

Thank you for this video. Exploring has always been one of the most exciting activities a game can offer and It was very interesting to listen to your thougths about it, especialy on games I never got to play. I wish to this video and to your channel all the success it deserves (a lot)

[@AesirAesthetics]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bobbo8074]

your channel has easily become my favorite gaming analysis/commentary channel. The amount of effort you out into each video is outstanding.

[@AesirAesthetics]

thank you :)

[@Shezmen88]

Another absolute banger. Thank you for the video Aesir.👍

[@AesirAesthetics]

My pleasure :D

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

I really liked the editing in this video, started really noticing it around the Dishonored section

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@Wallguardian]

Your channel is one of the few that makes video game analyses that are unpretentious, insightul, charming and actually good to watch! Ever since i saw your Silent Hill video on Kegare, I knew you were the one! 😎

[@AesirAesthetics]

Thank you :)

[@doma3554]

To this day, nothing feels like Dishonored 1, not even Dishonored 2 nor Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, though they are close for sure. It's not only the visual aspect, and gameplay aspects, but also the sound design.

[@DirtyMike124x]

Oh God I'm excited! Can't wait to enjoy this when the workday is over. As usual, you da man.

[@AesirAesthetics]

❤️💪

[@ostrichlord9097]

You brilliantly illustrated why I was so amazed by discovering areas like Ash Lake in DS1 but only pleasantly surprised by the underground cities of Elden Ring. In DS1 the player has to progressively make their way downwards; from the Burg, sewers, blightown, swamp and great hollow, moving for hours in cramped and dank areas. So when it opens up to an entire other world on the underside, we are left breathless from the journey and cyclical structure of the world. We are physically and emotionally intimate with it. But in Elden Ring, we are just cast on an elevator ride and watch passively as the world goes down, leaving us detached from the descent. Theres no room to think, or feel or enjoy the significance of the cities placement underground.

[@senseweaver01]

Yeah I feel like it should've been a case where the elevator was only activated from the bottom, and you had to find a more complicated way down so you're earning it at least. But no, just ride the lift

[@ostrichlord9097]

@@senseweaver01 honestly, the elevator could have been avoided completely when you consider how Sites of Grace work, with teleportation being available 24/7. If teleporting was locked like in DS1, then the elevator would be a QoL feature. In DS1 the devs were open to the risk of players finding Ash Lake before the lordvessel and still said "F*** you! You climbed down, now climb back up!" like a real explorer would have to. It was a legit journey 😅

[@senseweaver01]

@@ostrichlord9097 Sure, but you're focused on purely gameplay. From a story or worldbuilding perspective, the things down there still would've needed a way back up. Besides, this world is huge, I think fast travel being available from the get-go is fine

[@NeverduskX]

I've always had an itch for cool video game cities and urban locations, so I'm definitely excited to see this. This video must've been chaos to edit. Awesome work!

[@AesirAesthetics]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@TheWorstDuelist]

your work rules man these are some of my favorite videos i have discovered this year thanks for being the shit dude

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@captainfach]

Great, now I want aesir to talk more about silent hill.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Soon......👀

[@captainfach]

@@AesirAesthetics hell yeah, I'll be there!

[@thmistrapillay1811]

Great video, I think you should make one on Natural environments in games. I feel Monster Hunter World Iceborne's level design needs to be talked about more as it perfectly blends higher realism, beauty, danger and the sense of the unknown all together into useful intricate space

[@AesirAesthetics]

Hmmm, maybe I should make a video on Natural Exploration 🤔 Good Idea!

[@Xxandrew01]

My top 10 games with exploration 1. Saints Row 2 2. Dragons Dogma Dark Arisen 3. Any Square Enix RPG (Mainly Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy) 4. Yakuza 5. Any Fromsoft game (Mainly Dark Souls 1, Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro and Elden Ring) 6. Shadow Of The Colossus 7. Nier Automata 8. Sonic Frontiers 9. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot 10. Spiderman

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@Synchro-tq1mo]

Excellent video essay as always , as expected of yhe channel

[@AesirAesthetics]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed :)

[@drone124]

The stillness of an empty urban environment is mastered in STALKER. It bathes in atmosphere. It is an FPS so there's nothing special about movement but the tools given to the player character are built for exploration

[@TheL1arL1ar]

I still own the physical….overall pretty good…I did need to go online, also I played vanilla and the aiming was utter shit😂.

[@Pedro_Colicigno]

Hey Aesir, great video as always. I figured you next video would be in another armored core (I'm the guy who suggested the mech building, deck based game on a stream, maybe that one will come after the urban exploration game), but I really enjoyed this video. I think Assassin's Creed is another series where urban exploration is very interesting to observe. From the first game, it was... akward to say the least, but from 2 onwards it was much better. Considering the parkour mechanics (i'll be mostly talking about the ezio saga), making you feel that you are in rome, or Venice, or Firenze. I think those games show a lot how you can make traversal interesting. I'm not that good at describing, but you can easily see the shift in black flag. The urban areas, even having the same mechanics, are boring. The layouts, accurate as they were, made traversal a hassel. The wide streets and the one story only houses in most towns made it umbearable. Now comparing it to florence, with its narrow streets, tall buildings, crowded squares, and many balconies... Or even Contatinople's tall architecture and grandiose buildings. It just hits differently. But, your video mate. Just something I think it would be nice to point out. Keep the good work.

[@AesirAesthetics]

I'm currently mapping footage to the Armored Core 2 edit :D Also, we need to get working on that card based mech game ASAP!

[@Goknub]

A great deep dive but no Night City? Cyberpunk 2077 is focused entirely on the city and its impact on people. It's a complex urban environment with plenty of visual story telling and exploration. I think that is really worth a look if game urban design is a topic of interest.

[@AesirAesthetics]

lol, there's always another game that could've been included.

[@Goknub]

@@AesirAesthetics It was an excellent video regardless...more please!

[@Dracobyte]

You deserve way more subs and views!

[@AesirAesthetics]

Thank you :)

[@Drraagh]

Love the video. I have studied various game design elements as I find them useful in running my TTRPG games, and modern day city design is one that I have found lacking, as I guess people just assume 'You live in a modern city so you can understand how it works', but there is a lot to think about with actually implementing a city playground for players. For any RPG people out there, check out Damnation City by White Wolf, it is a really great book, even has a districts section going over different neighborhoods with a focus on layout usefulness. Also, the Dishonored bit of 'It's either a Road or a Wall' for traversal elements is a great way to sum up the whole concept. It is either there to help you get around or stop you from getting around. Love that idea and should be a key focus for anyone building a game with free navigation in it. I remember some commentary with the original Assassin's Creed and Watch_Dogs games about how only certain things were climbable but there still was the waist high fence stopping progress, an issue that stands out when you can climb buildings.

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@NeverduskX]

It's interesting how you focused on level design in the perspective of gameplay rather than aesthetics. While I would've liked to hear a bit more of your opinions on how art and sound contribute to these cities (and potentially their emotional impact on the player), it's not often that someone analyzes the "gameplay" side of open world level design as deeply as you do here.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Level design is the application of extracting behaviours from the player, so the most important thing is for it to congeal with the gameplay to deliver on the intended experience Aesthetics and Sound are supplementary.

[@NeverduskX]

@@AesirAesthetics That's a good point. I do think art and sound contribute a lot as well and are definitely worthy of discussion alongside game design and level design - though I understand that they weren't intended to be the focus of the video.

[@sleepinthemorningcalm]

My favourite will always be Novigrad. (And Beauclair / Oxenfurt)

[@pinkemoslayer6337]

Much watch, much like. Good job, Aesir.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Much appreciated!

[@scotcheggable]

The isometric fallouts are really good if you get along with the gameplay style. They are unfortunately a bit unfinished, but they're a lot of fun and have some great moments and characters.

[@StiffAftermath]

2 seconds in. Auto-liked. No sense in waiting. It is always a fantastic production. Now onto the video.. "A forest, desert CAN tell a story, but urban locations WILL tell a story" very well spoken.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Thanks :D

[@StiffAftermath]

@@AesirAesthetics you are welcome :)

[@scotcheggable]

Jak and daxter was one of my favourite games as a kid, I was gutted when I got jak 2 and realised it was just GTA for kids

[@AhmadAlmilli]

elden ring points and laughs at the older fromsoft games in this regard, lyndell is like what central yharnam and anor londo wished they could be.

[@victorbianquini3636]

Amazing video as usual, I wonder if we gonna have a video on swamps also...

[@AesirAesthetics]

I do love swamps :O

[@VonZanT]

I just ruined the 420th like... but it's worth it. KEEP ON KEEPING ON Aesir !

[@AesirAesthetics]

thank you for doing what others would not do :)

[@gankspanker4204]

On the topic of New Vegas and exploration. I have to disagree that it can't compete with 3 and 4. New Vegas as a lot of fun overworld locations to check out. The issue is that that game explicitly tells you to just stick to the roads. Both in character dialog and the presence of tough enemies. For instance going to Novac without going through Nipton there is Primm Pass. It's by the NCRCF, the big jail with powder gansters. Primm Pass has a rare blind deathclaw, a unique challenge for the player, that you can either sneak passed or attempt to fight a unusually strong enemy. New Veags has tons of locations like this but most players just can't get off the main roads, and depend too much on the little compass ticks rather than their own eyes.

[@AesirAesthetics]

I should've been more clear on that part but I was specifically talking about the strip as being uninteresting urban design. Overworld is good :)

[@collapsiblechair9112]

Fallout 4 and its environments are well realised and it was absorbing to explore, having similar effect on me as any of the 3D GTA games.

[@shipwreckedonapopulatedisland]

For me Fallout 4 was quantity greatly over quality.

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

You should do more videos on level design. I first found your channel back in the day because of a Super Mario video that I’m pretty sure focused on level design. I just tried to find it but I think you might have deleted it or something. I just don’t think level design is talked about (competently) nearly enough. It’d be nice to hear more of your thoughts on that aspect of games.

[@AesirAesthetics]

I might

[@clvr51]

I haven't played any J&D game, but I'm confused as to how building level designs that don't complement the movement abilities of the protagonists in the sequels might be a good thing. Sounds like the opposite, at least on paper.

[@aaronbuffalo7769]

Also , Speaking of Level design etc, I wonder what your take would be on BANJO-KAZOOIE, which i argue is the best/2nd best game on N64, then compare it to Banjo Tooie which i felt got too bloated despite some neat gameplay ideas.

[@Malisteen]

engagement, for the rhythem.

[@AesirAesthetics]

💪

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

rithm*

[@blahblah14722]

How the heck did Cyberpunk not make this video

[@AesirAesthetics]

didn't play it, also video was already very long

[@blahblah14722]

@@AesirAesthetics it's very worth it, great game. Like the perfect in-between of Interplay/Obsidian and Bethesda games. Also I love all your content! The Silent Hill 2 and MGS 1 videos in particular.

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@blahblah14722 Maybe I will check it out? now that the bugs are seemingly all fixed thanks for liking the videos fren :)

[@blahblah14722]

@@AesirAesthetics the underrated aspects of the game are the world and the character build system. If you play around with play styles based on your upgrade path, you start finding all these unexpected ways the game was built for all of them. But it is still a mostly unsatisfying RPG experience, like most Bethesda games.

[@scitchmunkey5587]

Hey I enjoyed your video dude

[@AesirAesthetics]

Hey, thanks

[@aaronbuffalo7769]

It shows how badly the new pokemon games have got the City urban rules, compared to previous pokemon cities. Black/white 2 had the best, such as Nimbasa City, then in the older you had places like Goldenrod, Heck even Sword and shield early towns were not too bad in that they had houses, people and roads to traverse. But it shows how WYNDON was so unfinished and the larger parts were screwed over in that regard with the closed off areas and lesser care taken to the interiors. It is also why i disagree about how people praise Breath of the Wild , where i found it Utterly devoid of anything meaning ful to explore or reward the adventuring it sets out for you. It is just a vast empty sea of bare bones nothingness, the 'towns' are uninspired and not engaging, when you explore, you are met with : broken weapons, Repeated enemies, repeated shrines, pointless korok seeds, over and over again. No secret special treasure, no plot thread, no dungeons , no cool NPC that drops some lore or worldbuilding, it was all completely pointless. It is where i hope Tears has taken note of the 6 years of other Open world games that have come and gone since then, and taken better cues about how to create engaging worlds. I mean hell they already had world of warcraft and skyrim to bounce off of, I can't understand how they got basically everything so wrong in the first place. All I basically want is Ocarina of Time but updated, Breath of the wild was basically, if you took Ocarina, and had ONLY the middle hyrule field part, and took away everything else. It was just ended up feeling like a tech demo for physics gameplay.

[@JackChurchill101]

Loving fallout 4 is indeed controversial. As a sci fi comedy shooter, it's grand, but as an immersive RPG it's trash. However, I had not considered the "exploration" as a pro/con. The exploration in New Vegas is still amazing however, and the developers find subtle ways of forcing you towards "correct" story paths. You can have both.

[@AesirAesthetics]

I do like the exploration in New Vegas, but in the context of the video I'm specifically comparing Washington and Boston to the Strip in New Vegas. I should have clarified that better.

[@mynameisozymandias7150]

Where is Postal 2!? I'm disappointed. Jokes aside, great video.

[@AesirAesthetics]

thank you, there was a lot of cities I wanted to add but at a point I just needed to get the video out :D

[@daques]

My g

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@rondobrondo]

Extremely based

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@x_12unknown10]

I am scared to watch cause I don’t want spoilers on Eldem ring. Is anything too bad?

[@QuantumTelephone]

I would honestly just give up and start watching analyses now. You might as well because you're sure as shit going to be doing it after you beat the game anyways to understand what the hell happened. I think it can actually enhance the playthrough once you have an idea of what you're looking for the first time around. But it might spoil the mysterious vibes a tiny bit if you get off on that shit

[@AesirAesthetics]

There is some Elden Ring talk in the "From Software" section, but you can skip that one

[@Leahi84]

Yikes. I'm too afraid to admit I like Fallout 4 anywhere. The amount of hate is extreme.

[@AesirAesthetics]

this is a safe space :D

[@TF-iz4my]

algorithm

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@IamLmoon]

Couldn’t enjoy this one, found it unfocused and disorienting.

[@AesirAesthetics]

:(

[@Foogi9000]

@AesirAesthetics The video itself is good I just kinda wished it went into more detail. I personally loved Leyndell.

[@Funko777]

Fallout 4 is the best somehow and Demon's souls has the best level design (specifically Latria lol) of Fromsofts games and leyndell/ER is bland? Gross dude. I knew I should've clicked off after your fallout opinion 🤮👎

[@AesirAesthetics]

Yes, yes yes and yes you should have

[@jeremyweaver5639]

Man, this channel just rocks. Period. There are just so many surface level, same-y video game channels out there, and this one just doesn't fall into the "45 minutes of just reading of the Wikipedia page and then describing the plot of the game" pattern that so many others do. The structure of this video is a little more... Experimental? than many other videos and I'm not sure it's the easiest to follow, but I still enjoyed it as a trip through different games.

[@danielchequer5842]

What I like about aesir's content is that he puts his insights onto his videos, we aren't just watching someone give a cold black and white analysis of some game everyone already analysed before. Heck, this video was basically 1hr+ of aesir just giving his interpretation on the subject

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@JuliusCaesar103]

I found Dragon's Dogma's cities to be a breath of fresh air. As opposed to other big cities at the time (I think, don't know for sure since I don't pay much attention to many games), its focus was on exploring every part of its walls and houses, climbing onto the buildings has such a tactile feel that you could climb for hours just looting away, ignoring all NPCs and still not get bored. Also this video is another certified Aesir banger.

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@NeverduskX]

Definitely. I'm not sure how historically accurate Gran Soren is, but it feels like a real, believable place. You can genuinely get a bit lost in certain areas, and each district just seemed to fit naturally together. Then you also had the smaller towns and forts that just felt like they belonged. The whole world felt like a real place rather than a collection of video game regions and levels.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

@@NeverduskX Shadiversity has a pretty good video on Gran Soren, check it out if you're interested.

[@NeverduskX]

@@JuliusCaesar103 I think I did see it a long while back - but maybe I'll rewatch it. Though that might come with the risk of wanting to do another playthrough haha.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

@@NeverduskX do it. Try the Bitterblack Isle challenge if you haven't already. And go with the Warrior.

[@DirtyMike124x]

I enjoyed this a lot. Had not considered much of what you brought to my attention. Thank you kind sir.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Glad you liked it :)

[@cyberninjazero5659]

In only one of these games can you drive a car therefore this list is based walkable cities propaganda Also I just realized I missed my chance to suggest Empire City from Infamous or New Marais in the sequel.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Arkham Knight, GTAV, Jak2 & Jak 3 all have cars

[@cyberninjazero5659]

@@AesirAesthetics Ok I'll give you Arkham Knight but Jak 2 feels like you're expected to walk most of the time and the vehicle is more seasoning than the expected mode of traveling the city

[@zwhsantwnopoylos5972]

I enter goblin mode when i hear fallout 4 get any praise

[@AesirAesthetics]

Lol

[@V_y-r_e]

Okay I’m gonna watch this and like it

[@AesirAesthetics]

:)

[@rutsugo]

omgggg sameee

[@ieatatsonic]

Have you played the Hitman World of Assassination trilogy? That has some of my favorite urban settings in any game. They're very realized, with things like bathrooms and utility closets, all to help players intuit things like where they can find a given tool or disguise or where to hide bodies without them being found. They also do a good job of incorporating them into the story - Marrakesh is a pretty nifty one, where the layout of the city leads to the city's bazaar, which in turn leads to the embassy that's at the center of the mission's conflict. However the actual mastermind behind the events leading to the mission is tucked away in a corner, leading to a level where the player's focus is drawn in the same direction the NPCs are.

[@AesirAesthetics]

Bafflingly I have not touched Hitman since Absolution even though I was super hyped for the new line of Hitman games. Loved Blood Money back in the day though

[@ieatatsonic]

@@AesirAesthetics I didn't play much before WoA but I've heard they're much closer to Blood Money than absolution. I can at least say I think the new trilogy is really enjoyable and well-designed

[@egoborder3203]

LOVE the video, but needs a part 2, 3, etc. Spider-Man ps4 needs an entry!

[@AesirAesthetics]

lol, there's a lot of content on the cutting room floor!

[@reflectionist]

Aw, no Vivec?

[@AesirAesthetics]

No!

[@reflectionist]

@@AesirAesthetics Haha, I don't blame you one bit.

[@AesirAesthetics]

@@reflectionist lil

[@reflectionist]

@@AesirAesthetics Personally, when it comes to cities in games, I've always thought the apotheosis would be... Like Assassin's Creed : Brotherhood and Revelation. Districts, faction influence, renovations, upgrades, tunnels, etc. But extrapolate that to a "ground-level" perspective on Age of Empires, with buildings having very specific uses, donating to a Barracks has a different outcome than donating to a Temple. Thanks to your donation, the city can afford to give all of the town guards a slightly better set of armor or something. (And circle back to TES for guild halls and such.) Then add in your Fable-esque real estate system. Storied historical locations like you expect in Gotham City, there's an asylum, a prison, some rich dudes, lots of corruption, organized crime, etc. Town Guards can have actual shifts, potentially leading to some near-GTA-esque "heist" missions, or... I dare say, Goldeneye / Perfect Dark 64-esque objective-based quests etc. Movement abilities kind of splitting the difference between AC (Syndicate), Arkham, Morrowind, Majora's Mask / Paper Mario, Diablo 2 / Dark stone, .. There's a whole hell of a lot that you can do. I mean, and that's not even getting into games like The Sims, where you have characters with careers, bills, and raising families. Some of that stuff's already made its way back to the RPG genre... Skyrim and Fable definitely include that aspect of urban living in those games. I know your video doesn't commit to a particular genre or time period, I'm not trying to just assume a medieval fantasy for the sake of enjoying your Morrowind / Link to the Past / Ocarina of Time / Majora's Mask videos. But you know... there IS a "Gotham by Gaslight" but there aren't a whole lot of Hacktivists in Whiterun or Baldur's Gate. Then, there's also the whole aspect where something that's really dumb in certain genres / mediums is actually really cool for game design. Take Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons" books for example. I'm not sure if I liked *either* of those books, I didn't care for the movies, and I think the controversy was kind of ridiculous, because obviously the contents of those stories should never be taken as a serious argument... but when it comes down to being 80% into a game and looking for that, "Holy shit, was that there the whole time? I must've walked past these manhole covers fifteen thousand times, and had no idea they were markers!" feeling... that's a job for Dan Brown. Why the hell is this guy not designing urban environments and location-based quests for Ubisoft, Bethesda, Rocksteady, Insomniac, or Rockstar Games? Shit, that would almost single-handedly fix the issue with Skyrim's Radiant Quest system and almost gives it a systemic design - built almost entirely on a roll-table that works almost like "Chance" and "Community Chest" cards in Monopoly - instead of it being a "Bounty" mission slaughtering an entire randomly selected cave of some no-name characters, it's "this store has like sixteen items to buy, because the caravans keep getting raided by bandits along this path. You clear the path, recover the loot, and trade can once again resume, and NOW the shop has more stuff. YEAH. Holy shit. Sorry about that, lmfao.

[@cheaplyskate4088]

1. *Burps* 2. *Self-rubs belly* 3. *spreads legs* 4. *Falls backwards into bed* 5. *Body ready for Aesir video* 6. *Makes comment* 7. *Waits for Ice(land)man’s soulless reply impatiently*

[@AesirAesthetics]

lol :D