bodydouble Is it a metaphor when that’s literally what the game is?
that’s the story of the game, sure, but the metaphor is in the gameplay of kissing and getting your ass kicked by everyone. if you weren’t such a poor kid, people would be nicer to you and touching poopie wouldn’t be as devastating, because if you had money, you could afford to make mistakes.
@yeso Awe thanks man!
exodus
I’m sure there’s some of that in there, but kimura has directly told me he really regrets making it difficult because he cares more about letting people have a nice time than making people do difficult things, and the difficulty was the result of him being in a bad headspace toward players. If Chulip ever gets remade it will not be so punishing.
Oh yeah, I remember that, but I forgot I probably heard it from you on the pod! But if he said that to me, I’d reassure him it was great; I’m a masochist! I’d buy him a drink about it, Sounds like he’s pretty beat down!
It’s okay to be in a bad headspace and make a punishing game. I personally identify with the core of that game, it’s why I started listening to Enka music. The melancholy of real world struggles of post war Japan, like the alcoholic, film director turned sweet potato salesman, it’s why I started listening to that kind of mournful Enka music the soundtrack calls to. That’s some real Will Smith’s The Pursuit of Happiness stuff!
Easy Chulip, IMHO, would be like the creator of There Will Be Blood saying they were in a bad headspace when they made the film, and for the rerelease, There Will Be No More Blood Actually. IMHO all it needs is a “continue” feature, instead of loading a save when you die.
I’m more interested in games that have something to say, especially at the expense of the player. Maybe where I’m at right now is more like where Kimura was 20 years ago, and when I’m an even older person I’ll regret it too. I really hate the games industry and gamer culture at large. It’s not just for the sake of punking the player either, like I Wanna Be the Guy or whatever. It has a genuine purpose! I don’t see many people discuss the crucifixion scene. I read it as dark humor, but also the symbol of matyrdom is something to look more deeply at. Similar to how Magicant in MOTHER 1-2 is like a Vision Quest, then in MOTHER 3 they just straight up went on a psychedelic vision quest. The main theme, Happy Shabby Life, makes me think of the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi, something there’s no analog to in western culture. I should check what Happy Shabby Life was translated from..
The dad in that game is a lot like my own father. Beat for beat almost. I lived in a two door honda civic with my dad for over 8 months while in high school, and in a lot of other extreme poverty situations after that. I still am, and so was he, until lat year when he made somewhat of a fortune on stocks! Last year, I saw my dad’s entire inside of his van go up in flames, and he didn’t stop living in it for a single night! That’s the core of my obsession with Chulip. Hardship makes you stronger: the philosophy of the Stoics.
I dumpster dived as a kid and found a lot of poopie, but also other stuff like hentai, a vintage reversible N64 cap, and more often than you’d expect I found 50 dollar bills. I played Chulip after I had come full circle from many adventures of my own, and since it was the only game I had at the time from a lucky thrift find, I played it like one would play the only game they had! The only place I had to game at the time was in my step dad’s shed. I was visiting family for the funeral of the old man who raised me the first half of my life.
Is Chulip the Old Boy of video games? Idunno, because I never actually sat down to intellectually consider that film. But I know I super didn’t like There Will Be Blood when I saw it. But I do really like The Revenant, a lot! (TWBB is not intended to be a pleasurable experience though, I think? The person who showed it to me loved it, but they were a pretty messed up individual.)
A lot of my favorite game creators seem like they got chewed up and spit out by the games industry. Poor Swery seems like he’s having a hard time! I think a lot of what he does makes sense when you consider he’s the son of two Monks! You either die a Swery or live long enough to see yourself become Tetsuya Nomura.
(it’s getting late and my brain is popping off the beta waves. sorry for rambling, you’ll understand how impassioned I am on the subject though, haha. I knew I needed to write about Chulip on IC, but wasn’t expecting to do it here and now! I’ll write a whole review at some point, consider this a first draft.)
(somewhat unrelated: I’d like to see a game made by someone who spent a considerate amount of time in some harsh prison in the united states or mexico.)