The Community Spotlight 2023.05.20

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the best community-created works from the previous week! We have notably more positive site-related news this week, especially regarding the video player, so, let's jump right into it.

Another site refresh hit went out this week. Hopefully it has resulted in even more people being able to watch videos on site. If that is not the case, the workaround I described last week is now confirmed to work on all browsers where videos are not playing, and not just Chrome. That work around is:

1. Clear all cookies
2. Click on "Show Purposes" OR "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" at the bottom of the site
3. Enable "Performance Cookies" only.

The last two steps on that checklist seem to be what is helping most people. As I said last week, the engineering team does not view this workaround as a permanent solution. If you are still not able to watch videos even after enabling these Performance Cookies or do not wish to, please drop a comment here.

There are multiple reports regarding podcasts missing on third party apps, being impossible to download, or being completely missing. Please continue to use the Bug Reporting boards to relay these issues but don't forget to ping Dylan by including @dtoast in your bug report.

For those wondering about Part 2 of the Universal Road Trip video series, Jan confirmed it will likely go up during the weekend.

Also, one quick note about Dylan. Some people have commented that they feel like he's been less visible on the forums lately, and you are right. But, I'll let you in on the reason for that. GameSpot, GameFAQs, and Fandom, with the near universal support of their staff and moderation teams, decided to shut down their Off-Topic political discussion threads. This decision has no bearing on the Giant Bomb forums and Fandom's current plans for them, but be aware, this is a net positive for society. Nonetheless, Dylan has been "busy."

Tweets

Activities

Immortality Is The 10th Game Of UUGPGC Year 2. Finish By May 22. Mark All Spoilers! +

Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club Voting Thread For Cycle Starting May 22, 2023 (By: @bigsocrates)

Don't forget that the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club is for Immortality! If you have any non-spoiler thoughts about this controversial title from Sam Barlow and Half Mermaid, feel free to share them!

There's also a new batch of games to vote for as part of the Community Game Pass Game Club! Here are the nominees. Remember, you can vote for TWO GAMES!

The GB Album Club 032 - Disorganized Fun by Ronald Jenkees (By: @unclejam23)

The latest edition of the community Album Of The Week Club is for Disorganized Fun by Ronald Jenkees! Do any of you have thoughts about this indie album from the well-known YouTuber keyboardist? Join the fun NOW!

Art

Poop City Slamma Jamma! (By: @jearum)

Taking inspiration from a recent Voice Mail Dumptruck, jearum makes a valiant return to Giant Bomb fan art creation with an imagination of what Dan and Robo-Mitch would look like if they were playable characters in NBA Jam.

Gallery

Jeff Grubb's REAL 2023 Award (By: @kone)

After Grubb made a joke on Twitter about being the "Best Husband of the Year" after an especially long session with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Kone snapped at the opportunity to make a better award.

Metal Solid Tears +

Tamoor x Scorpion (By: @MOHAMMEDFI10)

Over on Twitter, MOHAMMEDFI10 continues to make fan art for Tamoor. First, they played around with the font in Tears in the Kingdom and then they imagined Tamoor as Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat series. If you can think of any creative ways to incorporate the staff and guests into fan art, feel free to give them suggestions.

The Legend Of Giant Bomb (By: Chroneus)

Many thanks to Chroneus on the Giant Bomb Discord for making this AMAZING work of Dan-inspired Photoshop goodness! If you want to see more staff-related goodness, join the Discord using the link provided above.

Blogs

What's the Greatest Video Game: Lonesome Village (By: @imunbeatable80)

For this edition of imunbeatable80's "What's the Greatest Video Game" feature on the site, they checked out Lonesome Village! Does this game properly mix its town sim and puzzle solving elements well?

May Magnanimity: Week 2 +

Indie Game of the Week 320: The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories (By: @mento)

Mento continues to plug away at the MANY titles they have picked up from various Itch bundles they bought to support a variety of social justice fundraisers causes! Read all about the latest batch of games they played.

Mento also has another edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature on the site and this one is about Hidetaka Suehiro's The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories!

Giant Bomb Crew RPG Stat Sheet (By: @topcyclist)

We have someone attempting to make tabletop "character sheets" for each member of the staff and even recurring guests. Here's what they have made for Dan but they need suggestions for Jeff Grubb, Jan, Mike, and Jerf!

Lo-Fi Plays V: Five Obscure Indie Games (By: @gamer_152)

This week, Gamer_152 is looking at five more bite-sized indie games you might not have played, including a visit to an occult grocery store and a marble game about social alienation.

Discussion Threads

Mortal Kombat 1 Is Real; Trailer Drops; Is An Assist-Based Fighting Game; DLC Fighters Possibly Leaked (By: @zombiepie)

How many of you have seen the trailer for Mortal Kombat 1? Have you pre-ordered to get Shang Tsung? How do you feel about these potential leaks and do you think Ed Boon is doing tricks again?

EU Regulators Approve Microsoft Purchase Of Activision-Blizzard; Appeals Elsewhere Gain Steam (By: @zombiepie)

EU regulators approved Microsoft Corporation's proposed merger with Activision Blizzard, Inc.. Does this mean MS has more ammunition to appeal the FTC's lawsuit or the UK's CMA decision? Does MS have an ally in Rishi Sunak?

Your Most Hyped Up Moment/Release For A Video Game? (By: @tp0p)

People were REALLY hyped for the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. People even lined up to get copies of the game. When was the last time you got super excited about a release and which game got you most hyped?

Never Meet Your Heroes; John Carmack Throws Lot In With Anti-Woke Convention (NEW: Carmack Issues Statement) (By: @zombiepie)

Have you been following the controversy surrounding John Carmack and his attendance at an "Anti-Woke" convention called BasedCon? Do you think his statement/response to the backlash was satisfactory?

Has Anyone Played Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous On A Console? (By: @sombre)

Have any of you played the console ports of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous? What was your experience and how well does the gameplay translate to a controller? Share your impressions here!

Would You Have Actually Played Overwatch 2's Now Cancelled PvE Hero Mode? (By: @zombiepie)

Overwatch 2's PvE Hero Mode is cancelled, but would you have played it if it did come out? Did this mode make sense to you? Vote and discussion on the forums and also get a link to an AMAZING report about this topic by Tamoor.

What Show Or Game Do You Recommend Marathoning Through Or Pushing Past The Start Because The Opening Bit? (By: @topcyclist)

What is the video game or TV series that you love, but constantly need to warn people about being slow, whether it be a bad first level or a sluggish first season? Star Trek: The Next Generation is what comes to mind when I think of that topic.

Lists

Free Deez 3DS Games (By: @mento)

There are plenty of Nintendo 3DS games that are basically "dead" thanks to the shuttering of the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Moderator Mento is here to discuss the ones they most would like to see make a comeback.

Retro Achievements Masteries (By: @bobafettjm)

bobafettjm LOVES retro achievements, so he's created a list to annotate all of his Retro Achievement Masteries! If you have dabbled in Retro Achievements as well, consider creating a list of your own.

Ranked, Played Games of 2020-2029 +

Ranked, Worst Games of 2020-2029 (By: @ginormous76)

Ginormous76 has really been enjoying the titles that have come out during the 2020s even after less than four years! So, they have already started work on a list annotating their favorite and least favorite titles from the decade.

Wiki Of The Week

John Romero

John Romero (and his hair) was just recently presented the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2023. Our John Romero wiki page is shockingly in-depth and gives you and exhaustive review of his career ups and downs.