Mark's Thunks

  (Everett Collection, Deadline) Another year, another movies, eh? I can't get enough of 'em. I love the art, and the craft, and the art of the craft. I love the people you watch movies with and the ways they react. I love hearing unique stories from all kinds of people! This year, I got to see a litany of great movies , many of which happened to be nominated for this year's Academy Awards. I love a contrived opportunity to rank and award random movies, don't you? Let's get in to some of this year's more interesting categories. Best Costume Design Will win: Catherine Martin for Elvis Want to win: Ruth Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Here is the annual battle between the authentic recreation of old outfits and the creative execution of wholly original costumes. Typically, it's the former that wins out in this category- and I think this will be a chance to award Elvis where it otherwise won't win out. Austin Butler's impressive performance ...

Overwatch 2 launched last night, and I managed to get a few games in (while spending most of my time watching my computer attempt to re-connect to their overloaded servers). This complicated mess of a game has spurred a massive amount of discourse online, so I felt it was only right that I add my own two cents into the vat of opinions. Background info for those who know nothing about Overwatch What was the original plan for Overwatch 2? And what did we end up getting? How has the monetization scheme changed? What did I think of the actual game? Overwatch: Origins Edition Let's go over the basics first. In 2007, Blizzard started work on "Project Titan," a massively-multiplayer-online first-person-shooter of sorts, tied to a whole new setting and set of characters– the first original project from Blizzard in decades. After six years of development hell the game was canned, but from the ashes came Overwatch, headed by one of the project's members, Jeff Kaplan. Overwatch...

So, now you've got your own Steam Deck. What is there to know before diving in? The Steam Deck is ultimately a tinkerer's paradise, so I don't want to pretend like there are some definitive steps or applications to utilize. Explore at your own pace, and mess with stuff as you see fit. I've collected a few thoughts below that might be helpful as you go about toying with your new toy. I can't wait to see how quickly this becomes outdated! Contents: What is Desktop Mode vs. Gaming Mode? How does Proton work? What is shader pre-caching? What is Flatpak? Can I use Windows on my Steam Deck? Can I really play games off of the SD card? How can I play non-Steam games on my Steam Deck? How can I emulate games on my Steam Deck? Can I play online multiplayer games on my Steam Deck? Can I mod games on my Steam Deck? Can I dock my Steam Deck, like a Nintendo Switch? What is Desktop Mode vs. Gaming Mode? By default, your Steam Deck boots into Gaming Mode. This is where the Steam D...

Alright, it's finally time to quit screwing around and see what the Steam Deck can actually do. And by that I mean, here's an incredibly dry run-down of how Steam works on the Steam Deck, for people like me that salivate over UI screenshots. When you boot up the Steam Deck, this is the first screen you see- Your most recently played Steam games, across all your devices. Scrolling down shows news, what your friends are playing, what games have been updated recently, and what Steam thinks you should play from your library. At the top is a universal search function, plus easy access to Wi-Fi, battery, and account settings. The universal search function is accessible via most screens and lets you search across all your games, friends, tools, and the store itself. The Steam library looks and functions exactly like Steam's desktop app, whose user interface (UI) was originally overhauled towards the end of 2019. Tags and collections set up on your desktop are also available on th...

Alright, with the history lesson out of the way , let's actually take a look at this thing. What exactly is the Steam Deck?     On the outside, we've got a directional pad, ABXY face buttons, a Start/Menu button and a Select/Back/View(?) button, a pair of joysticks, a pair of shoulder buttons, and a pair of analog triggers- Typical of most console controllers. Underneath each thumbstick is a square trackpad- Just like the Steam Controller, these are usually employed to move a mouse cursor around the screen of a PC game that doesn't support console controllers, but they can be customized for any kind of purpose. The reverse side also sports four back paddles- the Steam Controller had two, but they ended up infringing on a patent that resulted in a $4m fine and the controller itself being taken off the market . These four non-infringing paddles can be mapped to any kind of input you'd expect to find on a computer.   Closeup of the Steam Deck's ABXY buttons, menu b...