Hello, r/HobbyDrama. It's time for yet another writeup (here's some previous ones, 1, 2, 3) where I cruelly mock some poor game developer's hard work without even having the decency to play the game first. This time it's YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, a 2019 video game which is supposed to be pronounced "Y 2 K" but which people generally just call "Yick". Also, trigger warning, this one involves real-life accidental death and fictional suicide, and spoilers for the game.
First, what is YIIK?
The game released on January 17, 2019 on PC, PS4 and Switch. Like approximately 70% of modern indie games (and 100% of indie games that describe themselves as "postmodern"), it's heavily inspired by the popular Nintendo RPG Earthbound. This means that it features bright colors, absurdist humor, and a contrast between lighthearted antics and stuff like this. Starring a man named Alex Eggleston in the year 1999, it involves him and seven friends trying to figure out what happened to a missing woman named Sammy and (of course) eventually saving the world.
Critics and audiences praised the music (including a piece by Undertale creator Toby Fox) and visuals, but were more mixed on the gameplay and story. The turn-based combat involved a minigame lasting up to thirty seconds for every single move, which meant that even the weakest enemies could take as much as fifteen minutes to fight. Characters would tell the game's lore to the player in massive infodumps, including one infamous cutscene that's nearly half an hour long. The writing was occasionally good, but too often featured meme-worthy lines like "the elevator began to shake, vibrating with motion" or "I am telling you the true reality of the situation!" The tone sometimes shifted abruptly, such as having a cha
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I am celebrating my book with essays by philosopher Stephen Hicks just came out. Hicks brings a critical eye to postmodern art and its aesthetics while I offer more meaningful alternatives. I am a romantic figurative artist. No spamming or disrespect is intended with this post, I am not sure of the etiquette of how an author shares their book on aesthetics.
