Rex Zakel
@rexzakel.bsky.social
He/Him
Software Developer from UoG. I play fighting games and I write about action games.
Toryuken 2024 Finalist.
Software Developer from UoG. I play fighting games and I write about action games.
Toryuken 2024 Finalist.
Reposted by Rex Zakel
I'm reminded of MH Wilds doubling down on making the first 20+ hours an implicit tutorial for newcomers even though Worlds and Rise sold so much and guaranteed Wilds would have an install base of at least seven million experienced players. Not every game can be an entrypoint in a series/genre!
I'll keep saying this over & over - nobody got into shmups to play novice modes. They got into them because they saw Hibachi, Larsa, an Ikaruga double play or something like that. Devs gotta be confident & have a punk attitude & spend less time thinking about novices
bsky.app/profile/elmo...
bsky.app/profile/elmo...
Some modern STGs are conscious of possibly being anyone's first arcade scrolling shooter, and bend themselves into knots trying to be an entire genre tutorial before being their own identifiable game.
As ever, make the games/music/videos/writing you'd want to enjoy, and others will enjoy it too.
As ever, make the games/music/videos/writing you'd want to enjoy, and others will enjoy it too.
November 28, 2025 at 6:41 AM
I'm reminded of MH Wilds doubling down on making the first 20+ hours an implicit tutorial for newcomers even though Worlds and Rise sold so much and guaranteed Wilds would have an install base of at least seven million experienced players. Not every game can be an entrypoint in a series/genre!
this is real 100% facts and goes beyond FGs and its so hard to talk about just cuz of how much ppl's framework of judging what is a good and deep game is based on the the amount of "options" provided to the player and that pruning them is always bad and adding them is always good. Tough times.
bruh, after falling in love with Samurai Showdown 2019, I have come to realize that fighting games have wasted literal decades gaslighting people into falling in love with “options” for their own sake, creating tools that ultimately do little else than insist upon their own existence
November 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
this is real 100% facts and goes beyond FGs and its so hard to talk about just cuz of how much ppl's framework of judging what is a good and deep game is based on the the amount of "options" provided to the player and that pruning them is always bad and adding them is always good. Tough times.
idk what i did to motivate the rhenoplos to hate me this much but i probably deserved it
November 16, 2025 at 4:00 AM
idk what i did to motivate the rhenoplos to hate me this much but i probably deserved it
two pages into this MH manga and they are already talking about old gen turn-around punishes this shits crazy
November 9, 2025 at 4:50 PM
two pages into this MH manga and they are already talking about old gen turn-around punishes this shits crazy
Hunting HR Rajang in FU and this happened lmao???
I'm glad they accounted for it at least
(ft. a friend's commentary)
I'm glad they accounted for it at least
(ft. a friend's commentary)
November 8, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Hunting HR Rajang in FU and this happened lmao???
I'm glad they accounted for it at least
(ft. a friend's commentary)
I'm glad they accounted for it at least
(ft. a friend's commentary)
this hipcheck shit is free bruh
November 7, 2025 at 4:43 AM
this hipcheck shit is free bruh
playing Dos hub it was pretty cool to see an event quest for killing three Congas in the arena that gave practically no rewards, but had a subquest for killing a D.Hermitaur that was in that arena as well. The way its setup means you have to kill the monster without killing all the Congas.
November 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
playing Dos hub it was pretty cool to see an event quest for killing three Congas in the arena that gave practically no rewards, but had a subquest for killing a D.Hermitaur that was in that arena as well. The way its setup means you have to kill the monster without killing all the Congas.
The 2nd encounter with Sol Titanion is my fav boss concept in a while. Being in the yellow areas increases the percentage until it burns you at 100, so how you avoid attacks is restricted by needing to minimize the time spent in the heat and route around returning to the shade. Pretty cool!
October 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
The 2nd encounter with Sol Titanion is my fav boss concept in a while. Being in the yellow areas increases the percentage until it burns you at 100, so how you avoid attacks is restricted by needing to minimize the time spent in the heat and route around returning to the shade. Pretty cool!
What a heartbreaking last message :(
It is what it is, so it goes....
Rest in peace the legend, nobody can do it the way you did
It is what it is, so it goes....
Rest in peace the legend, nobody can do it the way you did
Tomonobu Itagaki (creator of Ninja Gaiden 2004, Dead or Alive) has passed away according to his Facebook
October 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
What a heartbreaking last message :(
It is what it is, so it goes....
Rest in peace the legend, nobody can do it the way you did
It is what it is, so it goes....
Rest in peace the legend, nobody can do it the way you did
They got a Solid Snake expy as a boss in this
bro fights like his smash ver with the nikita missiles, mortar, and the side rolls. Crazy fun fight, def one of the highlights of Zero 4
bro fights like his smash ver with the nikita missiles, mortar, and the side rolls. Crazy fun fight, def one of the highlights of Zero 4
October 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
They got a Solid Snake expy as a boss in this
bro fights like his smash ver with the nikita missiles, mortar, and the side rolls. Crazy fun fight, def one of the highlights of Zero 4
bro fights like his smash ver with the nikita missiles, mortar, and the side rolls. Crazy fun fight, def one of the highlights of Zero 4
a moot has asked me to fill out this fgc meme
my type is fairly predictable i think
my type is fairly predictable i think
October 5, 2025 at 11:41 PM
a moot has asked me to fill out this fgc meme
my type is fairly predictable i think
my type is fairly predictable i think
Figuring out how to dodge that fuck ass circular flame pattern was a fun puzzle, cool boss
September 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Figuring out how to dodge that fuck ass circular flame pattern was a fun puzzle, cool boss
Trying to cheese a boss has its consequences
September 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Trying to cheese a boss has its consequences
oh i didn't know combat nerds were in demand right now
September 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
oh i didn't know combat nerds were in demand right now
why is this MMZ boss Terry Bogard
September 25, 2025 at 1:40 AM
why is this MMZ boss Terry Bogard
Reposted by Rex Zakel
Monster hunter theory
September 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Monster hunter theory
Most normal Kaiser Campaign encounter
September 15, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Most normal Kaiser Campaign encounter
This is the biggest issue the medium has to contend with. The designers are the taste-makers, they have trained the audience to like specific gameplay approaches, leading to a negative feedback loop where going outside the mold gets riskier with audiences more easily alienated by something new
From a combat design perspective I love this distinction of rhythm game vs shmup. (Though I'd say QTE rather than rhythm game, esp since most rhythm games are just long strings of QTEs.)
Suggesting that combat design has (broadly) lost its balance between QTE and movement is intriguing.
(But...)
Suggesting that combat design has (broadly) lost its balance between QTE and movement is intriguing.
(But...)
The abstract form of the parry and i-frame style of combat is the rhythm game, which we see demonstrated in Sekiro: attacks are like a rhythm pattern you learn and respond to, with timing paramount. The logical conclusion of avoidance response combat, though, is the shmup, with spacing paramount.
September 12, 2025 at 5:37 AM
This is the biggest issue the medium has to contend with. The designers are the taste-makers, they have trained the audience to like specific gameplay approaches, leading to a negative feedback loop where going outside the mold gets riskier with audiences more easily alienated by something new
Reposted by Rex Zakel
Yeah, the modern "high skill game" player has no sense of spacing and no intuition to solve problems by *not being there*.
"This boss isn't fair it has an unreactable grab"
then why are you standing in its face!!!! 😭
"This boss isn't fair it has an unreactable grab"
then why are you standing in its face!!!! 😭
The abstract form of the parry and i-frame style of combat is the rhythm game, which we see demonstrated in Sekiro: attacks are like a rhythm pattern you learn and respond to, with timing paramount. The logical conclusion of avoidance response combat, though, is the shmup, with spacing paramount.
September 11, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Yeah, the modern "high skill game" player has no sense of spacing and no intuition to solve problems by *not being there*.
"This boss isn't fair it has an unreactable grab"
then why are you standing in its face!!!! 😭
"This boss isn't fair it has an unreactable grab"
then why are you standing in its face!!!! 😭
oh i forgot to post about my birthday until it was a day too late... guess i cant say im early 20s anymore 🥳
September 10, 2025 at 4:07 AM
oh i forgot to post about my birthday until it was a day too late... guess i cant say im early 20s anymore 🥳
Been making a little transformers collection and I think it feels pretty complete now.... the quality for the price of these plastic toys has gotten a lot better over recent years, feels nice to know not all things have succumbed to some form of Enshittification :P
September 5, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Been making a little transformers collection and I think it feels pretty complete now.... the quality for the price of these plastic toys has gotten a lot better over recent years, feels nice to know not all things have succumbed to some form of Enshittification :P
Reposted by Rex Zakel
lost in the noise
September 1, 2025 at 11:35 AM
lost in the noise
Reposted by Rex Zakel
Our thesis film "Aigrefins" is finally out!
Click the link down below to watch it. The team worked really hard on this and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Click the link down below to watch it. The team worked really hard on this and I hope you'll enjoy it.
September 1, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Our thesis film "Aigrefins" is finally out!
Click the link down below to watch it. The team worked really hard on this and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Click the link down below to watch it. The team worked really hard on this and I hope you'll enjoy it.