Let the Aperture Desk Job chat commence: the RPS Game Club liveblog returns today

Welcome welcome everyone, hope you’ve all brought your Aperture Desk Job opinions! Mine is that it’s well good. In a similar way to how it made Alice B wish Valve made more games, it made me wish literally any well-funded games company would make more super short games.

Godwhacker says: Regarding “video game shorts” – how much gameplay would you expect for a £5 entry fee?

I think I’d probably want 1-2 hours for £5, maybe? ADJ certainly benefits from being completely free. I think £5 would feel a lot for 30 minutes… What do you think, James?

Godwhacker says: Regarding “video game shorts” – how much gameplay would you expect for a £5 entry fee?

Personally, not much. I think Valve made the right call in keeping ADJ free but I’d take an hour or so for a fiver.

Godwhacker says: 55 minutes and still more emotional impact than Starfield will have etc etc

Sick burn (and probably also true, I endorse this take).

Katharine Castle says: Oh man, A Short Hike is just the best.

It’s so smart about how it lays out its tiny island map with winding trails, vertical cliffs and biomes to make it feel like a massive mountain. I love when games are clever with space – it’s something Valve are good at, too.

Lorenzo Urbano says: Good AAA short: MGS V Ground Zeroes? It can be completed in 30 mins or so, but has many variations/side missions

Good shout!

Godwhacker says: What’s your take on the gyro controls, and the microphone, and the track pads? ADJ gets you to use them but have you actually switched them on for any other Steam Deck games?

I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be able to use the trackpads effectively. Never played anything that requires a mic. Have used the gyroscope in a few shooters, though – I was kind of simultaneously sold on gyro controls by Desk Job and this video by TF2 YouTuber SolarLight.

Godwhacker says: What’s your take on the gyro controls, and the microphone, and the track pads? ADJ gets you to use them but have you actually switched them on for any other Steam Deck games?

I don’t think I’ve played anything on my Deck that needs them so far – and I think my tiny hands are too small to use the track pads effectively anyway – but I do still regularly use gyro controls on my Switch.

Lorenzo Urbano says: How’s the learning curve for gyro controls? I tried them for I think Project Warlock, but found them a bit clunky, and never tried them again

Not gonna lie: steep. But rewarding if you’re not into thumbsticks!

Godwhacker says: Perhaps it’s time for them to move on?

I think people will always enjoy returning to that universe. It’s so beloved, and I think ADJ is a great example of building on that world and universe without it feeling like they’re flogging a dead horse with a stick.

Godwhacker says: Perhaps it’s time for them to move on?

They’ve done a lot of Aperture-themed tech demos (like this, I guess) but I’d argue they’re niche enough to have a degree of burnout resistance. Especially stuff like Aperture Hand Lab, which needs even more specialist gear than Desk Job.

I’m always fascinated when big Hollywood actors end up in video games. I wonder how they perceive them – whether it’s just another project, or whether they’re a bit baffled by the whole thing, a la Mads Mikkelsen talking about Death Stranding:

Godwhacker says: So, can we vote for the next game club entry? I would like to nominate Starfield

That’s a call for vid bud Liam, who’s next on the Game Club Organisational Wheel of Responsibility.

quasiotter says: i was convinced to play adj because my friend said there’s mantises in them. i’ve had a few mantis daughters myself. they’re pretty easy to take care of and they’ll just crawl all over you if you want. put a drop of honey on your finger and they’ll nibble it. it’s cute and kinda ticklish

Ah yes, the real victims of Aperture’s mismanagement.

Emperor of the Tuna Fish says: I often find big name actors’ likenesses popping up in games a bit jarring. I find it weird when someone’s actual recognisable face is used in a game for some reason. I remember Call of Duty Advanced Warfare had Kevin Spacey in it (before the whole *thing*) and it just took me out of the game (what little game there was to be had) whenever he showed up. I had a similar problem with Mads in Death Stranding, just makes it feel less of a game to me, somehow breaks my suspension of disbelief. I’m not sure why it bothers me so much. I don’t mind voices, and Cave Johnson was a gem, but people I recognise waltzing about in my vidya game just seem totally out of place.

Having faced several celebrity faces playing Death Stranding, I do agree that it’s jarring to see their exact likenesses in a game. Just voice work is much better, I think.

Emperor of the Tuna Fish says: Oh and Kit Harrington in that other Call of Duty nonsense game, I think he was supposed to be intimidating or something but I just kept wanting to tell him “you know nothing” and shoot him in the face.

Also, and no offence to Kit Harrington, but his face is just too soft for a villain. He’s borderline squishable.

SeekerX says: >I really do like the idea of video game shorts. I also wish more of them existed.

Discussion of short games always makes me think of Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

(I love that game)

I’m taking this as a recommendation, despite Steam telling me I apparently played it in 2015? I don’t remember that at all!

Emperor of the Tuna Fish says: I’d like to play To The Moon for the first time again. (that’s a short game, right?)

Yeah! Four hours or so, I think?

Emperor of the Tuna Fish says: I suppose my definition of short is quite long.

Well good news, because there’s this game called Starfield, right

Emperor of the Tuna Fish says: I don’t think it’s obnoxious, but I do agree I think the humour is lost the harder it seems to lean in to it.

Interesting! Do you think the effect would be the same if the original Portal was also more of an outright comedy?