The Rise and Fall of the “Deep Dive”

I had what I thought would be a great addition to the Daily Blogroll. There’s been many times where bloggers talk about the same subject, like World of Warcraft or EVE Online, but just not on the same day. What if I could have a broader index of recent posts on the same subject so that someone interested in the subject could just see, in one place, all the recent blogs on that subject?

That became a really interesting exploration of just how that could be accomplished. I would have AI write the summary, of course — all of the Daily Blogroll is AI generated — but gathering all that data would be a struggle.

Step one was to figure out the categories. I run each day’s summary through ChatGPT to generate hashtags, and I figured those hashtags would form the base categories. Next, I already read everyone’s RSS feeds to make the Daily Blogroll. Instead of just using and discarding the posts, I’d save them in a database, and use GPT to save which categories each post belonged to.

Then I’d see which posts that had not been part of a deep dive had common categories that would pass a threshold of number of posts on a topic, read the full text of all those posts, and send it all to GPT to write an article, with links, that brought all this together.

Problem was, the AI writing stinks. I hated it. I kept trying to adjust the prompt to make it at least slightly readable, but I failed. All the trips to the AI to get to the “deep dive” were pretty expensive and the result was unreadable trash. From an economic sense, it made no sense. From a creative sense, it was just further tarnishing my reputation as someone who uses AI on a day-to-day basis.

So, as of tomorrow, no more “deep dives”. I still think there’s value in there somewhere, but I don’t think the current state of AI can produce readable prose.

It was a fun experiment, even though it didn’t really work out like I’d hoped.

6 responses to “The Rise and Fall of the “Deep Dive””

Scopique

July 27, 2026

Way back in the data I was trying to set up a gaming new website before they were a dime a dozen. But as it wasn’t my day job I needed a way to get news without personally getting news so I relied on RSS feeds of other sites which would filter into a parser. This would pull out common names — specifically games — and present the tally of those names. I’d then look at which names were showing up the most, follow the relevant RSS feeds and manually (i.e. me) get the gist of what everyone was saying. Then I’d just write something in my own words.

That kind of thing would put a lot on your plate, but with AI summarizing things to give YOU a rundown, putting things in your own words with attribution to the original sources might be an option if you really want to write stuff, but don’t want to have to come up with topics, I guess. It still presents the summaries, but only relies on AI to “distill” the common points; it ends up in your voice in the end.

Tipa

July 27, 2026

I could definitely do a better job; it would just BE a job. It would take a couple hours each day, and I just don’t want to spend that sort of time working for free on something few people would read. And would probably assume I was just using AI anyway 🙁

I might try it. I did enjoy it when I was doing it back in the day, but it really just took up a lot of time.

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bhagpuss

July 27, 2026

AI writing is getting worse. I imagine it’s because the people tweaking it for public consumption now have had to put so many guard-rails on it there’s no room left for the quirkiness it used to have.

Does that audio thing still exist, where you can get an AI to produce a podcast from your blog post, where two imaginary people discuss it and cover all the points? I did that for one of my posts a couple of years back and in was uncannily naturalistic. And pretty accurate as a summary, too. If AI could do that, then, why can’t it produce a pleasant-to-read summary now?

I’m going to go see if that audio thing is still around…

Tipa

July 27, 2026

It still exists, though they now call it Gemini Notebook. https://notebooklm.google/

I really did like that when I tried it. I suppose I could try running the summaries through that…

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Tipa

July 27, 2026

I ran today’s sources through NotebookLM. Is it better?

The world of retro gaming is more than a simple exercise in nostalgia; it is a deep-seated exploration of design philosophy, the preservation of physical artifacts, and the evolution of genre-defining mechanics. From the “rumor-mongering” secrets of 1990s arcade cabinets to modern indie titles that meticulously recreate the “bare-bones” simplicity of the 8-bit era, these sources provide a multifaceted look at why we look back.

### **The Power of Narrative and Mystery**
In the retro era, storytelling often happened outside of dialogue boxes. **Mortal Kombat II** (1993) is cited as a prime example of a game that used its roster and environment to build an “event” atmosphere. By removing popular characters like Sonya and Kano and showing them chained up in the background, the game conveyed the villain Shao Khan’s power without saying a word. This era was also defined by **secrets and urban legends**; the inclusion of hidden characters like Jade and Smoke, who were teased via cryptic messages and brief glimpses in background stages, fueled a “mystique” that persisted long after official secrets were revealed.

Similarly, the visual novel **Umineko: When They Cry** utilizes a complex meta-narrative where the player must navigate “Red Truths” and logic puzzles to solve a series of murders on a secluded island. Much like the arcade mysteries of the 90s, the game challenges players to distinguish between what they “see” (which may be a magical illusion) and what is factually true, a theme that resonates through decades of mystery-focused gaming.

### **Physicality and the “Feelies”**
Before digital downloads, the physical package was a crucial part of the game’s world-building. **Infocom** was the master of this with their “feelies”—physical objects included in the box to enhance immersion. A deep dive into the matchbook included with the 1983 mystery game **The Witness** reveals the level of detail designers poured into these items, including subtle nods to Infocom executives and mathematical prodigies. Even a single Chinese character on the matchbook, *shòu* (meaning “long life”), was an intentional piece of decorative lettering designed to ground the player in the 1930s setting.

### **The Arcade Spirit: Innovation and Evolution**
The 1990s arcade scene was a laboratory for technical innovation. **The House of the Dead** (1997) stood out in a crowded market of light-gun shooters by introducing enemies that shambled toward the player, growing larger and more dangerous as they approached. To maintain difficulty, developers designed zombies that required multiple hits to bring down, ratcheting up the tension compared to the “one-hit” criminals of games like *Virtua Cop*.

However, sequels sometimes took unexpected turns. **Get Bass 2** (the sequel to *Sega Bass Fishing*) famously stripped away the “Sega-blue skies” and frantic arcade timers of its predecessor in favor of a **slow, sim-like experience**. By leaning into the “spirit of real fishing,” the game required players to make tactical decisions based on water depth and weather, proving that even arcade franchises could evolve into “opaque puzzle boxes”.

### **Modern Homages and Skeuomorphic Nostalgia**
Modern developers are increasingly looking to the past not just for inspiration, but for specific aesthetic “vibes.”
* **Moose Life (2020):** Created by Jeff Minter, this game features **trippy 80s arcade visuals** and audio samples that evoke the trance-like states of classic shooters like *Defender*. It is described as a game that does its own thing while remaining deeply rooted in the arcade craft Minter has practiced for decades.
* **Warp to Sector One:** This title is a direct homage to the **BBS door game *TradeWars 2002***. It rejects the “overwrought standards” of modern 40-hour sci-fi epics, focusing instead on the “vapid” but addictive loop of buying low and selling high in a space-trading sim. Notably, it includes **skeuomorphic CRT options**, allowing players to simulate the visual imperfections of an old monitor to complete the throwback experience.

### **Source Links**
* [Get Bass 2: Absolutely no rushing through the rushes](https://kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2024/07/26/get-bass-2-absolutely-no-rushing-through-the-rushes/)
* [Moose Life thoughts | The Virtual Moose](https://virtualmoose.org/2026/07/25/moose-life-thoughts/)
* [Mortal Kombat II: Superb](https://kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2024/07/22/mortal-kombat-ii-superb/)
* [Retro spotlight: The House of the Dead](https://retroxp.beehiiv.com/p/retro-spotlight-the-house-of-the-dead)
* [That’s It. I’m Done. Full Circle Achieved – Scopique’s](https://scopique.com/2026/07/20/thats-it-im-done-full-circle-achieved/)
* [Zarf Updates: Good luck, everybody](https://blog.zarfhome.com/2026/07/good-luck-everybody)
* [《海猫鸣泣之时》出题篇](https://tofutush.github.io/posts/2026-07-21.html)

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