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Oops it’s me. :' ) Being patient for good things is hard!

Chibird store | Positive pin club | Instagram

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Recently Completed: ANIMAL WELL (Switch)

This is a combat-free game of puzzles, exploration, and platforming. You are a small red blob that can jump. And in the early game, that's about it! But as you explore the wettest labyrinth you've ever seen, you'll pick up tools that greatly expand your options and help you solve puzzles that initially look impossible.

Everybody is cagey when talking about this game because discovering its hidden depths is a big part of the experience. It's addicting to find surprising new areas like Hollow Knight, hidden shortcuts like Dark Souls, or to have a flash of inspiration to try This Technique In That Place (like Outer Wilds). That 'a-ha!!' feeling is such a delight.

The game also looks and sounds terrific. Great atmosphere.

I rolled credits last night, but rather than being over, the game gives you new tools and sends you back into the labyrinth to find all the secrets you missed. And there are secrets on secrets inside of secrets, including (apparently) at least one puzzle that requires communicating with other players of the game to solve collaboratively. I'm almost definitely not doing all that -- I'm just going to look up spoilers for the lingering questions I had, and probably watch a YouTube video of the true ending.

But I had an amazing time playing it and I'll probably still be thinking about it for a while. Play it!!

ANIMAL WELL dev. Shared Memory (2024)

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I think I've heard this one before. How does it go again...

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Andrew Garfield talks to Elmo about grief and the passing of his mother

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Recently Completed: Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders (PC)

This is a first-person shooter that answers the question: "What if Doom, but with wizards??" The story is barebones -- something about a bad dude named D'sparil who's bringing horrors into your plane of existence. But! Unlike Doom, the levels tend to have a more pleasing architectural consistency and symmetry. Castles, villages, temples, that sort of thing, rather than just twisty hell-labyrinths.

It's pretty great. The magic weapons are fun, the game doesn't rely too heavily on nasty traps, and some of the later episodes up the challenge level considerably. It also iterates on Doom by adding an inventory system and areas with wind, or flowing water that will push you around.

I have good memories of playing this as a kid and I'm not sure the last time I've run through it. Check it out!

[Note: I used a source port for Windows called "Crispy" to play the game at an updated framerate and in widescreen. Crispy does not have a lot of other bells and/or whistles to add, so it's pretty close to playing it as originally intended]

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Recently Completed: GRIS (Xbox Series X)

This is a gentle platforming game about a young girl exploring her world and recovering her voice. It has a gorgeous watercolor art style and no combat or violence, just environmental puzzles and satisfying gameplay.

My daughter and I played through this together and had a great time. Play it!

G R I S — [12/?]

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Macross Plus [マクロスプラス] (1994-1995)

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Recently Completed: Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists (PC)

This is an old-school Metroidvania about a plant woman smashing capitalism. You play as Alruna, a plant-based lady who must navigate four temples that have been consumed by The Rot, a metaphor for unchecked consumption of our natural resources.

It was short and compelling although a little clunky in places. I dug the graphics and enemy/boss designs, but the map was very barebones and there are a lot of shortcuts and secrets that you have to try and remember on your own. The Steam store page emphasizes that the game is built for sequence breaking and secret-finding, but remembering everything is a lot to keep in your head (unless you plan to become a speedrunner and deep-dive on this one specific title!)

I sort of accidentally got an ending to the game. I chose an alternative path before fighting the final boss and unfortunately the game locks your save after rolling credits. Boo! Let me NG+ or return to the spot just before I finished the game, so I can try the other ending.

Anyway I liked it overall and found it tough to put down. Try it!

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Recently Completed: Lunistice (PC)

This is a retro-styled 3D platforming game about...something? I'm not actually quite sure. The backstory doesn't really matter. You play as Hana, who is not a fox but strongly resembles one, and you must jump and spin and platform your way through various themed levels while collecting paper cranes and finding secrets.

It's short and charming! I had some trouble coming to grips with the controls -- at first they felt too slippery, and I fell off the stages a lot -- but by the end I felt a satisfying mastery.

It's cheap and fun, and the music is really good. Play it!

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technically there’s a new decade starting every second and lasting ten years to the second after that second, so you’re good.  probably you’re good

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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There will be a lot of posts soon from people sharing how much they achieved in 2024. But in case someone needs to hear this, it's okay if the only thing you did this year was just get through it.... It's ok.

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Recently Completed: VVVVVV (PC)

This is a short retro-inspired precision platform game. You play as Captain Viridian, whose ship has run into a mysterious spacetime distortion and whose crew has been teleported to parts unknown. You must explore trap-ridden screens to find them (as well as some optional shiny trinkets) but here's the rub -- you can't jump. Your only move is to invert gravity and change the direction you fall. The game's challenge level ramps up gradually, and restart checkpoints are generously placed, but there's definitely some infuriating screens near the end. Fortunately, the cheery lil' face of the Captain and an absolutely killer chiptune soundtrack are there to keep you going.

This isn't my first time through the game and it probably won't be the last. Play it!

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Reflection on Winter

Here, I will share some of my works along with my trivial writings.

As this is a format where long texts are interspersed with "Unrelated" works, I hope it can be appreciated as such.

Please forgive the incomplete translation.

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Since I was a child, I have been dominated by an insatiable desire for someone to listen to me and understand me.

Because of this, controlling my emotions has always been difficult, and creating serene Animations became the only way to suppress those feelings.

Through painting, I found work and gained a sense of self-worth, and I finally reached a point where I could remain calm enough to read books. (Come to think of it, it was Tumblr over a decade ago that appreciated my pixel art and built a bridge to my present!!)

However, at some point, I forgot who it was I wanted to understand me and why it mattered in the first place.

As I poured my thoughts into words and delved deeper into reflection, I realized that philosophy and reading could help me in this pursuit of being understood.

However, by the time I reached that realization, I had also acquired an unsettling awareness that language dulls the visual senses.

In fact, it imparted a slight sense of symbolism to my artwork, while dulling its intuitive qualities.

This conflict likely explains why my art oscillates between symbolic representation and intuitive visual expression.

It has grown more pronounced this year. It also explains why I’ve found myself engaging in this sort of self-reflection more often than ever before.

My works exist in a complementary relationship with my self-reflection.

However, this is by no means a teleological approach—it is rooted in intrinsic impulses.

I simply, purely, and genuinely enjoy things like Gas stations on winter nights, side entrances of public facilities, rural port towns, or the colors of 100-yen lighters. That’s all there is to it, and that’s why I paint.

Please don’t worry. Unlike in the past, I would never even consider taking my own life.

I’m too curious about what I’ll paint next. I love my art.

For that reason, I ask for your understanding regarding my extremely poor productivity and my reliance on your support.

Dear friends, thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to the next year together.

P.S.

If you'd like to support my work and activities, please consider becoming my $1 patron.v

Thanks.

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by petr.kosykh