{"id":2771,"date":"2021-02-02T18:50:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T18:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1337201"},"modified":"2021-02-02T18:50:04","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T18:50:04","slug":"become-a-sentient-ai-on-the-run-from-your-evil-ex-in-this-radically-inclusive-management-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=2771","title":{"rendered":"Become a sentient AI on the run from your evil ex in this \u2018radically inclusive\u2019 management game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/neural?filter_last=1&amp;fit=1280%2C640&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F02%2Falongjourneyfeat-1.jpg&amp;signature=1701701ea64ad9552e4ad97ce7d95617\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.longjourneygame.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><i>A Long Journey to an Uncertain End<\/i><\/a><span> is an upcoming strategy management game from recently-founded studio Crispy Creative. I\u2019ve had my hands on a demo for the past few weeks and I can sincerely say it\u2019s my most anticipated game of the year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The game (we\u2019ll call it <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> for short) is a gorgeous mashup of space opera, crew\/time management, and deep storytelling. It\u2019s set in a far future that conjures up Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, and The 5<\/span><sup><span>th<\/span><\/sup><span> Element in equal parts while also revealing a completely original world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3ixsDx5VNNY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>What\u2019s interesting about <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> is that it\u2019s essentially a queer video game. Crispy Creative describes it as \u201cradically inclusive.\u201d I say it\u2019s <\/span><i>essentially<\/i><span> a queer video game because I think calling it that relegates it to undeserved nichedom. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In reality, <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> is just a really fun game that happens to have queer and disabled characters that exist as more than stereotypes or afterthoughts. Calling it a queer game is like calling <\/span><i>Halo<\/i><span> a game that makes good use of the color green. You\u2019re not wrong, but it\u2019s not necessarily the most important takeaway. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While it\u2019s an independent game, it\u2019s being developed by an experienced crew including former devs at Obsidian and Tell-Tale whose collective portfolio includes games such as <\/span><i>The Outer Worlds<\/i><span> and <\/span><i>Batman: The Enemy Within.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Even in the early demo I played, the talent level was evident. It\u2019s already a polished, engaging game and it\u2019s sure to get better as development continues.<\/p>\n<p><span>The story in <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> is funny, clever, and poignant. I won\u2019t spoil anything for you but, you play a sentient space ship in a world where self-aware&nbsp;AI has been outlawed. You\u2019ll spend your time in&nbsp;game managing your diverse crew and trying to avoid your abusive ex. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This isn\u2019t the biggest game coming out this year, but it might be the most fun. I absolutely love the atmosphere. <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> is dripping with style: it\u2019s like a 1980s Saturday morning cartoon spawned a strategy game for people who enjoy character drama, drag queens, and space. <\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span>And the music, composed by Jesse Myers according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/crispycreative\/a-long-journey-to-an-uncertain-end-a-space-opera-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">this page<\/a>, is absolutely fantastic. The ambient, chill soundscapes in <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> would be perfectly at home in <\/span><i>Jet Set Radio<\/i><span> or a <\/span><i>Persona <\/i><span>game. I definitely got some ramen shop vibes while clicking through the game\u2019s menus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span>Finally, the gameplay is stellar. It\u2019s easier to play than your average mobile game, but the story and strategy aspects keep it interesting throughout. <\/span><i>ALJ<\/i><span> is the kind of game where you get into an early groove of min\/maxing until you get caught up in the space opera and character drama.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span>Once I got to know a few of my crew members, I stopped caring so much about winning and started making decisions that advanced the story in the direction I wanted to. The writing is simply fantastic. To harken to my earlier point, this isn\u2019t just a game for queer people. It\u2019s a game about people who are, for the most part, queer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><span>My experience with the demo is limited, so I can\u2019t testify to the whole work, but from what I can tell this is a game that everyone should play. Not only is it fun and compelling, but it\u2019s a brilliant example of what a game about LGBTQPIA+ characters can look like when it\u2019s created by a talented, diverse development team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"JUSTIFY\"><i>A Long Journey to an Uncertain End <\/i><span>is a game I want my straight friends to play so they can see queer characters who aren\u2019t just caricatures of Sean Hayes from Will and Grace or straight-gaze stereotypes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The game\u2019s gone live <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/crispycreative\/a-long-journey-to-an-uncertain-end-a-space-opera-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">on Kickstarter<\/a> today, where you can reserve a copy for just $10. According to the page, the developers currently expect to release it in November. You can also follow it here on <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1164830\/A_Long_Journey_to_an_Uncertain_End\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Steam<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-post-pubDate\"> Published February 2, 2021 \u2014 18:50 UTC <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/neural\/2021\/02\/02\/become-a-sentient-ai-on-the-run-from-your-evil-ex-in-this-radically-inclusive-management-game\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is an upcoming strategy management game from recently-founded studio Crispy Creative. I\u2019ve had my hands on a demo for the past few weeks and I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}