Splatoon 3 - Foggy Notion

Описание: I was pretty active in video gaming during the 5th generation. You know, the era of the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation 1, and the Sega Saturn. Most developers, major and minor, were learning the limitations of 3D graphics (3D gameplay itself was not new by that point--the first 3D platformer, Alpha Waves, was released in August 1990, two months before Super Mario World), and one of the major limitations was draw distance. The more detailed the game world, the shorter the draw distance. So to mask that, games like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Crash Bandicoot, and Snowboard Kids would throw in fog everywhere. The player would never know the game couldn't render anything more than a dozen meters in front of them because anything further out was concealed in fog. At least until you learned why the developers did that.

Fast forward to today (2023), where video game technology has become advanced, powerful, and quick enough that draw distances can now be as far as the eye can see, allowing the open world games that have become oh so popular today. (As someone who doesn't care too much about open world gameplay, I have to smirk a bit seeing Final Fantasy XVI get high praise being a JRPG with a linear structure.) So when you have fog rolling in nowadays, it's an additional effect, with the game world still fully rendered and presented before the player behind that fog. So to me, as someone who grew up on games from that 32- and 64-bit generation, it feels ironic that an environmental condition in 3D gaming was once a technique once used to compensate for limited processing power but now is likely to draw more processing power than without the fog.

And so, here we have the Challenge "Foggy Notion," which ran on June 27th, 2023 for three two-hour sessions. Under Pacific Daylight Time, it's 7 to 9 PM on June 27th, then 3 AM to 5 AM and 11 AM to 1 PM on June 28th. They're Turf War matches at Eeltail Alley and Hammerhead Bridge, the two longest, narrowest stages in the game, and fog will roll in and out at fixed moments. I didn't really analyze when exactly they'd roll in or out, but the lack of visibility does dramatically change what's useful and how you'd fight. for one thing, sub and special weapons that mark oppponents or otherwise identify their locations become incredibly useful, like Point Sensors, Ink Mines, Angle Shooters, Wave Breakers, and Killer Wails 5.1. Though as you'll see every now and then in the matches I chose, ambushing also works just fine.

Match #1
Hammerhead Bridge
Turf War (Foggy Notion)
Neo Sploosh-o-matic
Color Scheme: Action Movie Poster
Song: "Sea Me Now" by Front Roe
Octolings: 5
If you were wondering If I even have any of the branded weapons, indeed I do! This is the Neo Sploosh-o-matic, which I decided to try out because it has Squid Beakons (good for sneaking up on opponents from unexpected angles) and Killer Wail 5.1 (as it can identify opponents from far away and follow them around). Turns out I couldn't mount quite the offensive I normally can with a Sploosh-o-matic. The unbranded Sploosh-o-matic will be the next weapon I cover, by the way!

Match #2
Hammerhead Bridge
Turf War (Foggy Notion)
Custom Splattershot Jr.
Color Scheme: Field of Flowers
Song: "Tentacle to the Metal" by Damp Socks feat. Off the Hook
Octolings: 5
I switched over to the Custom Splattershot Jr., because it has both Torpedo, a sub weapon that can identify opponents and goes in their direction, and the Wave Breaker, which excels at marking opponents' locations AND can deal enough damage to splat weakened opponents. That being said, the Splattershot Jr. isn't that great at direct fighting, so I would need help if I encountered opponents. I've seen enough Custom Splattershot Jr. users to know how the Torpedo spam works, and I do some of it towards the end, but under normal conditions, when I can see around me, I wouldn't be so reliant on them.

Match #3
Eeltail Alley
Turf War (Foggy Notion)
Splattershot Nova
Color Scheme: Action Movie Poster
Song: "Triple Dip" by C-Side
Octolings: 6
I decided to also try out the Splattershot Nova, as it has Point Sensors and excels at marking opponents with them relentlessly. You'll see a teammate using "This way!" a lot from behind us. Don't pay them any mind. They just got splatted, and they seem to instinctively say "This way!" as they Super Jump back to the action. (They never NOT Super Jump after respawning.)

Match #4
Eeltail Alley
Turf War (Foggy Notion)
Painbrush
Color Scheme: Candy Pumpkins
Song: "Sea Me Now" by Front Roe
Octolings: 4
Finally, this is the Painbrush. It's got the Wave Breaker too, and I figure a short range weapon that also marks opponents might be more helpful if it has better offensive power than the Junior, though at the cost of way less mobility. The Painbrush will be the weapon I use in the next Splatfest (Vanilla vs. Strawberry vs. Mint Chocolate). I'm still practicing with it!