

I’ve definitely been there. I think it’s like what English teachers say when they see their students reading whatever latest YA drivel has been published (e.g. Twilight):
At least they want to read something.
Encourage their passions, even if you really hate what they’re currently doing with it, and trust that eventually they’ll get a better sense of taste when they learn more about what else is out there.
Take the “lead a horse to water” idiom but add the corollary that the horse definitely will not drink if no one leads it to water in the first place.
Lots of journalists are reporting on this buyout.
But not too deeply.
Can’t find a link to the referenced comic
Got you covered, fam.
There’s other versions around as well and I have no idea which is the original. Just replace “Bioware” with any studio that EA has purchased and chances are there is a version of this comic that followed that news.
Some humor is timeless, like this one from 1921:
RIP Alaska and half of New England (and presumably Hawaii as well).
Except for the history taught in my school.
…Right?
Can’t wait for Ghost of Yotei, Erika is the best.
Not strange at all, it’s not as though it’s a particularly action-y game.
If someone wanted to play FF7 Remake/Rebirth on M&K, I might have a few more questions, but speaking as someone who still plays a lot of FPS games with controller, you’ll never hear me tell someone that their preferred style is wrong.
There is only one set that sorta works this way in theory, which is gold. Often faster than the diamond/netherite equivalents, but significantly lower durability, and has that bonus effect of pacifying pigmen.
I don’t think we’d need to get carried away on effects too much, but here’s adjustments I’d propose:
Wood - Keep as is. This should be the baseline “bad” starter set, doesn’t do anything special.
Nether Wood - Identical to wood in strength, but has the durability of iron. This is your “Oh no I’m trapped in the Nether and my tools broke” fallback. Like netherite, does not burn in lava.
Stone - Keep as-is, though maybe change the materials it can collect. I think it’s easier for kids to grasp that ore in stone can be mined with stone, and then have it be that ore in deepslate cannot be mined with stone.
Copper - Identical to stone in strength, but has the durability of current iron to make it feel like an upgrade.
Iron - Strength stays as-is, but double its current durability to make it feel like a more impactful upgrade from copper.
Gold - keep as-is.
Diamond - double its current durability to make it feel like more of an upgrade over Iron.
Netherite - does not break, ever.
There are a few asset upscaler projects that might be worth looking into, but also be careful which version of the game you play, as not all mods support the same versions.
There is the PC 1998 port. Being from a time before controller support on PC was a thing, you’ll have to really try to weasel in controller support somehow if you want it. Some parts of the PlayStation release (glitches and spelling mistakes) are fixed, but it introduces many bugs of its own. Character models have mouths. Supports mods, but a lot of the go-tos may be pretty old and harder to find at this point, and you’ll really need a lot of QoL mods to make the experience workable.
There is the PC 2012 port, which is a (lightly) remastered version of the 1998 port. Character models still have mouths. Contains further localization changes from the 1998 port. It runs far better on modern systems than the 1998 port, adds some (not great not terrible) controller support, and some of the features from popular QOL mods that people used to add to the 1998 version are baked in. This is the version that is currently sold on Steam. Also supports mods.
Then there is the 2015 mobile/console port, which is further adapted from the 2012 PC port. Character models have mouths removed to be closer to the PS1 style. Introduces achievements, better native controller support (still far from perfect), and slightly better support for larger resolution displays. This is the version you can buy on the Xbox Store for PC. Basically no mod support because Xbox App games are very locked down, but it includes the “boost” (cheat) features that Square Enix has included in other Final Fantasy ports (toggles to speed up time, characters do max damage, no encounters) which some may hate the inclusion of, but do make it easier to just play the game for the story if you’re looking for zero grind.
I feel like Saudi Arabia should be in the middle instead of the left, being the only one visibly pointing at both of the others.