WTF Happened May 2024
This is the second recap post, affectionately titled "WTF Happened," so hey, Syrsly here! This is a monthly news post of sorts. I'll use these recaps to briefly cover cool, exciting and also bad events in my personal life and in society in general. I'll cover things like world news, movies, TV shows, tech, VR, personal projects, cool game releases, and anything I find out during the month that I personally think is worth mentioning. I ask around on social media toward the end of each month for ideas, and I may or may not steal credit for the news I place here. I will cite references when it suits me.
Let's start with the sad news...
- The studios behind Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2 are gone.
- Microsoft praised a studio they fired.
- Twitter domain finally redirected to X domain... sort of.
- Samsung mocks Apple's AI commercial then advertises their own AI.
- Sushi Ben timed exclusive for Meta.
1. The studios behind Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2 are gone.
The studios behind Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2, Roll7 and Intercept Games respectively, were taken out and shot by Take-Two. Roll7 has picked up multiple prestigious awards over the years, including recent wins at BAFTA and DICE. As the studio name implies, Roll7 developers know how to make incredibly smooth action games.
2. Microsoft praised a studio they fired.
Soon after the Take-Two debacle, Microsoft reared their head again and shut down the studio behind their sleeper hit right after praising the studio as their golden goose. If you ask me, this is a sign of the times. Xbox is becoming Microsoft Gaming. Everything is about Game Pass to them, and they're thinking about short term gains to offset the costs of all their acquisitions. Unfortunately, they're not thinking long-term, and shutting down their best performing studios probably does them more harm than good and definitely demotivates those who still works for the company.
Reference: "Microsoft says it needs games like Hi-Fi Rush the day after killing its studio" by Ash Perrish
3. Twitter domain finally redirected to X domain... sort of.
Now, this is embarrassing. Elon Musk made an announcement tweet/post about Twitter being known as "X" from now on months ago. It's only in May that he finally started trying to redirect the old domain to the new "x.com" one. I rather like the new domain but feel it should be reserved for the XCOM games. Just sayin'.
Reference: Elon Musk's May 2024 tweet
4. Samsung mocks Apple's AI commercial then advertises their own AI.
A lot a embarrassment to go around on Twitter/X these days! Samsung mocked Apple's controversial "Crush!" iPad Pro ad, saying "Creativity cannot be crushed," and then immediately mentioned their own AI. To add some context, I'd like to note that they only mentioned their AI in the very end splash screen of their commercial and it wasn't really focused on for the commercial itself, though some could argue that makes Samsung even worse seeing as they're being very two-faced about AI.
Reference: tweet by Tom Warren
5. Sushi Ben timed exclusive for Meta.
This highly anticipated Steam release was released toward the end of this month as a Meta exclusive. I refuse to promote this as good news, because I've wanted this game for years and originally wishlisted the Steam version of the game. However, if you want the game and don't mind it being a standalone Meta app, here's the store page:
https://www.meta.com/en-us/experiences/sushi-ben/5459391390744272/
Now for the good news!
- WTF Happened's first post got over 6K pageviews in its first 2 weeks!
- Eurovision was big this year!
- Amazing new game demos/betas!
- New game releases!
- Red VS Blue: Restoration finally available for purchase!
- The Goldfish Trailer
- Trump convicted 34 times!
- Sony's State Of Play: Finally, we get more Astro Bot!
1. WTF Happened's first post got over 6K pageviews in its first 2 weeks!
I'm rather proud of this number as it's my first time promoting my blog anywhere! 6K views is a lot. Funnily enough, even though it did so well, it didn't affect the most popular posts much as the viewers went to other blog posts, usually the popular ones! XD
I plan to keep building up this website to be something really special. I'm now putting more effort into this blog than I put into my Twitch stream, which is to say, I'm making a small effort at least. I will be covering more news and trying to expand the site to accommodate game reviews. Not sure what'll happen after that, but if you like what I'm doing, bookmark the site and check back weekly.
2. Eurovision was big this year!
Windows95Man was a huge hit at Eurovision 2024! John Oliver took the first part of Last Week Tonight on May 12th to talk about the Eurovision Song Contest, which lasted May 9-11, and highlighted the act from Finland, known as Windows95Man.
Windows95Man appeared on stage singing "No Rules!" written by Henri Piispanen, Jussi Roine and Teemu Keisteri. His act had very little to do with retro Windows aesthetics and a lot to do with guys being less afraid to strut their stuff, but I found the act very funny anyway. Definitely worth a watch!
Reference: "John Oliver Calls Eurovision's Windows95man His Champion" by Armando Tenoco
3.Amazing new game demos/betas!
Demos this month which were noteworthy include Solar Raiders, a roguelike third person shooter with optional coop features, and Stick It To The Stickman, a single-player brawler with roguelite elements and tons of comedic value. You can also check out a demo for Robobeat, which is rather lengthy but ends awkwardly. Robobeat looks very promising!
Toward the end of the month, I noticed demos for Tiny Glade, ASKA, Wizard of Legend 2, and Camper Van. I'll play these demos later today on my Twitch stream.
In VR land, we also have demos for Masternoid, Subside (released in April, I missed it in last month's post), "Assemble!", and Marble Mechanics. I'll play these someday soon, too, but I might save that stuff for during the week.
@The_MrX_, one of my Twitter mutuals, recommended Arena Breakout Infinite and BetaDwarf's "F4E". If you're in the market for a new top-down MOBA, F4E might be the game to check out. I'm not well informed about titles in these genres, so I appreciate the recommendations! I unfortunately didn't have time to get into those betas to check them out myself.
4. New game releases!
Some new game releases I was at least somewhat interested in include Infinite Survivors, a roguelike wave shooter similar to Vampire Survivors and Soulstone Survivors, and Robobeat, an amazing spiritual successor to Bullets Per Minute. There's also a new platformer, RKGK/Rakugaki, which looks very cool. I'm not going to buy these games right away, because in the Summer months, all my spare funds are filtered into vacation goals. However, once vacation is over, I'll definitely grab at least Robobeat. I was very impressed with its demo.
5. Red VS Blue: Restoration finally available for purchase!
Red vs. Blue: Restoration is a comic science-fiction film that serves as the series finale to Red vs. Blue, written by Burnie Burns and directed by Matt Hullum. Before the shutdown of Rooster Teeth, it was considered the twentieth season of Red vs. Blue.
For long time fans of the Red VS Blue series, this movie has been anticipated for quite a while. On May 7th, it was finally made available for purchase/rent on Amazon, Apple, Google Play, and Vudu. I personally will be patient with this and watch it free-ish someday soon.
Reference: The RVB Fandom Wiki
6. The Goldfish Trailer
Maxon Red Giant released a "Meg 2: The Trench" parody trailer where they replaced the sharks with Pepperidge Farm goldfish cracker demons. This is somehow even more scary than the original trailer, and you can bet I'm gonna remember it years from now:
Direct video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khantp-NQxs
Reference: tweet by MaxonRedGiant
7. Trump convicted 34 times!
This is actually a really big piece of politically charged news, and I wasn't sure if I should put in in the good news or the sad news. I don't think people should be emotionally tied to politics unless the politics affect their lives, and this news wasn't really affecting me or my life or my friends directly, but it'll have huge rippling effects in everyone's lives, likely positive effects.
Following the news of Trump's unanimous convictions, "There is a god" and "No one is above the law" were trending. It was quite the sight to behold. All things considered, I personally think this counts as good news, but the context behind it, like how long it took to happen and how many people seem to support the losing side after the fact, is kind of sad. That's as far as I want to go into U.S.A. politics today. I already have a headache from it.
References: tweet by @FroggyBottomPnd and tweet by @JohnLeguizamo
8. Sony's State Of Play: Finally, we get more Astro Bot!
I watched Asmongold and a few other big react YouTubers watch State Of Play, and none of them seemed to know anything about VR. Some of them even dissed VR and called it a waste of time or a joke. This was disappointing, but it was irrelevant to the big takeaway of State Of Play: a new Astro Bot game!
Unfortunately, it isn't a made-for-VR title and has no official word on whether it will support PSVR2 features. Regardless, Astro Bot is an IP near and dear to my heart, because it started on PSVR. Astro Bot's new title will be releasing September 6 of this year.
I'm also intrigued by the Overwatch-like game titled Concord. I hope that turns out to be a great game, but I'm jaded by the way Overwatch was handled, so I'll be hesitant to spend money on it.
Reference: Sony's official blog post
Let's wrap this up with something personal.
During preparation for our first ever Steampunk Renaissance Faire event, I felt a need to document my wife's outfit. We'll be actually going to the event in the later half of June, so I'll take more photos there! In the meantime, here's a photo of my wife's WIP outfit:
The idea is we're time travelers from a steampunk era visiting a medieval era. I managed to find this rather nifty fanny pack that looks like it'll work for my needs at this upcoming event, but her finds for her belt are honestly way cooler and in a lot of ways, more authentic to the eras we're aiming for. Makes sense she'd be better at this, because she's a history major!
Update on the fair thing, June 2024:
I loved dressing up and taking part in the festivities, but for the most part, these fairs are excuses to sell medieval/fantasy themed trinkets at a considerable mark-up. It was nice weather on the day we went to the fair: mostly sunny but also not incredibly hot and spots of rain midday. I ended up not taking many photos, because we were constantly moving around between shops and food stalls. I'll try to take more photos, especially group photos, the next time I attend such an event!
Okay! That is all I got for the second "WTF Happened" post. I'll see you all again in a month!
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