#3d puzzle challenge

[buildcollect]

Ahoy mateys! Just conquered the high seas and completed this epic Flying Dutchman 3D wooden puzzle! This intricate pirate ship was a true test of patience (and rum-drinking skills ) but the final result is a treasure to behold.

[figs-oliomedley]

Chima: Laval's Journey > Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin

[aestheticsworldasmr]

“The Charm of Jigsaw Puzzle Hyper Casual Video Games: A Digital Retreat”

In the bustling gaming world, where high-octane action and intense strategy dominate the scene, a tranquil oasis exists — jigsaw puzzle hyper-casual video games. These seemingly simple yet captivating games have carved out a niche for themselves, offering players a soothing escape from the chaos of everyday life.

The Simplicity of Complexity

At first glance, jigsaw puzzle games appear straightforward — arrange the pieces to form a complete picture. However, beneath this simplicity lies a captivating complexity. Each piece must be scrutinized, rotated, and meticulously placed, requiring patience, attention to detail, and a keen eye for patterns. Despite their apparent simplicity, jigsaw puzzles offer a deeply engaging challenge that appeals to puzzle enthusiasts and casual gamers alike.

A Therapeutic Escape

Jigsaw puzzle games offer a welcome reprieve in a world of constant stimulation and digital noise. Their serene gameplay and soothing music create an atmosphere conducive to relaxation and mindfulness. As players immerse themselves in the process of assembling the puzzle, they enter a state of flow, where worries dissipate, and focus reigns supreme. It’s a therapeutic experience, akin to meditation, that provides a much-needed break from the stresses of modern life.

Universal Appeal

One of the most remarkable aspects of jigsaw puzzle hypercasual games is their universal appeal. From children to seniors, people of all ages and backgrounds find enjoyment in piecing together virtual puzzles. The intuitive gameplay requires no prior gaming experience, making it accessible to everyone. Moreover, the sheer variety of puzzle themes — ranging from scenic landscapes to adorable animals — ensures that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Social Connection

While jigsaw puzzles are often viewed as a solitary activity, the digital realm has transformed them into a social experience. Many hyper-casual puzzle games incorporate multiplayer features, allowing friends and family to collaborate on puzzles together, regardless of geographical distance. This social aspect adds an extra layer of enjoyment, fostering camaraderie and teamwork as players work towards a common goal.

Endless Possibilities

Thanks to advancements in technology, jigsaw puzzle hyper-casual games offer virtually limitless possibilities. Developers can create puzzles of various sizes and complexities, ensuring that players always have new challenges to tackle. Additionally, features like auto-solving, hints, and customization options enhance the gaming experience, catering to players of all skill levels and preferences.

In a world characterized by fast-paced action and intense competition, jigsaw puzzle hyper-casual video games stand out as a serene oasis. Their simple yet engaging gameplay, therapeutic benefits, universal appeal, social aspects, and endless variety make them a beloved pastime for millions of players worldwide. Whether you’re seeking a moment of tranquility or a fun activity to enjoy with friends, jigsaw puzzle games offer the perfect digital retreat. So, why not take a break from the chaos and indulge in the delightful world of virtual puzzles?

DOWNLOAD NOW: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/hex-nuts-bolts-jigsaw-puzzle/id6478046517

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

The Queen of Sore Losers

It's nice to see that even in a puzzle game, Whitney is STILL a sore loser.

[edithmtl-artmavie]

Le 1er thème du Inktober52, édition 2023, était « build » (construire).

Habituellement, le défi Inktober se déroule au mois d’octobre: un dessin à l’encre par jour, pendant 31 jours, selon le thème dévoilé un jour à la fois. Le Inktober52, lui, dévoile un nouveau thème à chaque semaine de l’année… j’ai décidé de commencer l’édition 2023 du défi le 10 mars, et de le faire à partir du 1er thème. J’ai donc été en mode « rattrapage » pendant plusieurs jours!

Donc, pour ce 1er thème, ce qui m’est venu tout de suite en tête a été le dessin d’une « coupe de mur détaillée »; c’est ce qu’on appelle de la déformation professionnelle 😅 Puis, j’ai pensé à ce que j’ai aimé construire et m’est revenu en mémoire mon tout premier casse-tête 3D, une jolie maison victorienne. C’est ce qui m’a inspiré ce dessin.

[animatingforfun]

This was a pure joy to work on.

For the behind-the-scenes story of how I made this animated mini-short, click “keep reading” below.

I started this 6 weeks ago, just before Nintendo shut down its 3DS and WiiU servers. The server shutdown meant no more multi-player online play for 3DS games, like Mario Kart 7, but also no more uploading to the Butterfly Animation online gallery directly from the app.

As an homage to the Inchworm and Butterfly Animation apps for the DSi and 3DS that I’ve been animating on since 2011, I originally was just going to animate just a single shot featuring something butterfly related.

But the story evolved as I began asking myself a series of "what if" questions that I had fun answering, like, “what if it was a little girl playing dress up as a butterfly?” And then “what if she was first cosplaying as a caterpillar then the butterfly?” “If this is a story of growth, what if she stumbles? What is her attitude when she stumbles?” “What if the design of the girl was something like Isao Takahata or Yoichi Kotabe would draw?”

Making this was the embodiment of everything I hope to achieve with my personal animation: to let creativity flow and just have fun animating and creating.

Since this mini-short was animated on my Nintendo 3DS, there was a memory limit of only 100 drawings, which was a bit of a challenge for longer or complex actions, but was a fun puzzle to solve. Sometimes limitations force you to come up with even more creative solutions. (I was able the squeeze in more drawings than the memory allowed, and filled it to the max!) :)

The song I used is from Rebecca Sugar’s album, "Spiral Bound", and perfectly fit the theme of the short. Initially, while I was drawing the character, I found myself humming a tune from Steven Universe that dealt with beginnings, endings, and not being ready. It’s amazing how the brain can subconsciously pick the playlist!

In the end, that song, sung by Steven’s father in the show, didn’t quite fit, but then I remembered another song by Rebecca Sugar which was more on theme with my story, called “My Own Way to the End”. The whole album is wonderful! You can check it out here:

Painting the backgrounds for this was the most challenging thing for me, but also the most eye opening! After painting, I would look around at the trees in the neighborhood differently. So many colors when you really look closely.

There’s so many talented people at my work and it was great that I could ask them for advice. One person I asked was the talented Tia Kratter, who happened to teach a mini-painting class for the animators while I was working on this short. I asked her for advice on one of the background paintings and she asked great questions which challenged me to try different things, but I still felt like I was having fun and playing without fear of failure. I mean, it was still hard though! Hahaha!

If you’ve read up to this point, thank you for reading this. :) I hope you enjoy this mini-short as much as I enjoyed making it!

[prokopetz]

idk if this is in your wheelhouse at all, but you seem to have pretty broad knowledge on niche video games. so, do you know of any 3d platformers revolving around gliding/flying? something like mario 64’s wing cap but then an entire game built around that kind of movement, or maybe like a king’s bird but then in 3d. or even 2d games. i just want to zoom

Games of that sort aren't a major interest for me, but I'm sure there's something in my library that will fit the bill.

Hmmm... it's not precisely Wing Cap style flight, but have you given Exo One a spin? It may not look like a platformer based on the trailer, but it plays like one in practice because figuring out how to build sufficient momentum on the ground to sustain long glides is the core of most of its challenges. It's a personal favourite, and there's a free prologue available if you want to try before you buy. Wonderful music and visual design, if that's a priority.

AER: Memories of Old might be another one to look at, though it's not zoomy in the way that Exo One is, and the flight elements are mostly for traversal between points of interest; the actual puzzles and such take place in short underground dungeons where opportunities for flight are limited. Still, it has a nice big overworld to fly around in.

I'm going to plug A Short Hike, too, though it's really more of a walking sim than a 3D platformer, because mechanically its flight is probably the closest of any game in this post to matching your cited examples, even if the pacing is more sedate than what you're likely looking for.

If you're willing to let the "platformer" dimension slide and allow pure arcade-style flight games, your options are, of course, much broader, including titles like Lifeslide and Superflight, but I'm not going to go into those at length because I'm not sure how big a priority the platforming stuff is for you.

(Also, I know someone in the notes is going to plug The Pathless if I don't, so I'm going to head that off with a fair warning: it does have speedrun-friendly flying/gliding mechanics, but they're not the game's main focus, and it's not what you'll spend most of your time doing. Lots and lots of ground-based zoominess, though!)

[taffywabbit]

oops i accidentally wrote a review for zelda II: the adventure of link

(originally posted to Cohost on Feb 22, 2024. you can ignore this if you want, i just wanted it archived somewhere before that site disappears)

Finally beat Zelda II for the first time last night (I forced myself to finish it before starting Splatoon 3's Side Order DLC, because I knew if I didn't push through to the end of the Great Palace THIS time then it'd be years before I tried beating it again. This is probably my 4th or 5th attempt at this point). Not that this is a particularly hot take by most people's standards, but I don't think it's all that good, at least from a gameplay standpoint.

I don't regret playing it though, because I think I'm finally able to put my finger on the stuff I actually disliked about it vs the stuff that was honestly fine, or even (very rarely) actually good? I'm kinda fascinated by it, honestly. Sequels where they immediately screw around with the first game's formula (to mixed results) are neat! FE Gaiden is another example that comes to mind (hey they should give Zelda II the Shadows of Valentia treatment, that could be really cool actually).

Obviously Zelda II has a reputation for being kind of a rough experience. It's an NES game, and NES games are often susceptible to being frustrating, buggy, hard to control, or overly punishing. Sometimes, all of the above! And for what it's worth, the original Legend of Zelda was a tough and sometimes very cryptic experience as well. But I feel like the two games are challenging in drastically different ways, and I think TLoZ ended up being the formula that was retained in the long term primarily because its method of challenging the player overall did a better job of inspiring curiosity and exploration. Despite narratively being a direct sequel (with a really badass story premise that is unfortunately not really conveyed at all in-game) Zelda II took a different approach to nearly every element of the original's gameplay, which is a pretty bold move I suppose. Whether or not it succeeds at anything is fairly subjective, but it's undeniably had a lasting impact on the series, as well as the people who grew up with it (and then they went on to make some really excellent mid-2000's flash games inspired by it that I frankly enjoyed a lot more than this... and also a weirdly solid licensed Adventure Time game on the 3DS? I should go back and play that sometime, it's really fun).

Where to start with this...? Uhhh, the EXP-based leveling system where you choose what stats to put your points into is interesting! It creates a risk-and-reward system for fighting enemies instead of avoiding them, whereas in most other Zelda games besides BotW/TotK, the only reward for killing monsters is "they are no longer bothering you while you solve puzzles, and also sometimes they drop rupees/hearts/ammo". It also introduces a bit more player choice in what areas you'd like to get stronger in first, which is cool! I just wish it actually mattered in a way that let you feel powerful for even a moment. Instead, leveling Life (which is functionally just defense) is never enough to actually make you feel like you can afford to take a hit - the expectation seems to be that leveling Attack, Life, and Magic is something you do purely to keep up with how badly every single thing in this game wants to stomp you into the ground and soak up a million hits and waste all your magic. You CAN skip out on leveling one stat to prioritize another, or even try to evade tough combat situations entirely, but if you aren't leveled enough and in the exact things the game expects you to be WHEN it expects you to be, you'll immediately bump into some new asshole who jumps out of nowhere and can cut you down in 2-3 hits. Leveling doesn't make you tangibly stronger, it merely keeps the game barely playable.

This actually ends up being the core problem I have with Zelda II's design, far more than just the combat being clunky and overly punishing or the levels being visually samey and super hard to navigate. In most Zelda games (and also in a lot of other RPGs!), you get a better sword or a new power or item, and it opens up exciting new options for both exploration and combat. In Zelda II, you level up or earn a new item/spell, it's useful for maybe 20-30 minutes, and then it's immediately nullified. Wow, you got the Fire spell! Now you can finally deal with Tektites and Basilisks (which are immune to all other attacks) on the way to the next area! Well, I hope you had fun with that, because Fire doesn't work on most things you run into afterwards.

Easily the biggest game-changer is when you unlock the Downward Thrust sword technique, and finally have another option for combat besides just crouch-hopping and poking monsters with a dull butter knife. It's satisfying to use, it looks cool (by this game's standards), and it even has some utility for crossing hazards or defending yourself against swooping enemies! Cool! Unfortunately, they don't let you play around with that for long either, before nearly every enemy you see starts rolling up with helmets or shells that make them immune to attacks from above, and you never really get anything like that again (the Upward Thrust exists later, but it's far more situational and frankly not very fun or intuitive to use). Rather than feeling like you're being given tools to overcome challenges and stay above the difficulty curve, it feels like you're constantly just slightly underequipped for everything (even if you grind to earn extra stat levels) and any edge you're given is swiftly taken away from you. (Except the Reflect spell, which is ALWAYS a banger after you get it because it makes your shield Actually Do Its Damn Job after nearly every enemy starts shooting projectiles you can't block. Good work, Reflect spell.)

I feel like I grew up hearing plenty of people talk about the overall difficulty of Zelda II, though most of the complaints about its puzzles were surface-level jabs about the short cryptic NPC text, and none of that prepared me for just how ridiculously obtuse its mandatory puzzles/secrets can be. I genuinely have no idea how anyone would EVER find the Life spell - pretty much your ONLY source of healing outside of towns, since there are no hearts to pick up in this game - without some kind of guide. I was FURIOUS when I finally looked up where to find that lady's mirror and discovered that you have to walk into one of the houses, go over to the table that looks EXACTLY like every other table in every other house in the entirety of Hyrule, crouch, and press B, and you'll just pull the mirror out of nowhere. This type of interaction does not exist ANYWHERE else in the game and there's no in-game hint to indicate that you should try this. Absolutely maddening.

This and its predecessor are both games that seemingly expect you to have the physical manual on hand to help you find secrets, but at least in the first game, the way the game was designed was consistent enough that you COULD feasibly find your way to the end of it without a guide. Bombable walls in dungeons always being located in the center, things like that. It had rules and it could generally be trusted to follow them. Zelda II, in comparison, has a final level (the Great Palace) in which there are numerous rooms that look IDENTICAL and if you make one wrong turn you can go through the entire [very difficult and dangerous] dungeon on a path parallel to the one you need to be on, only to hit a dead end and be able to see the spot you're supposed to be reaching on the other side of a wall. Except you would also never KNOW you need to get there, because it looks like another dead end full of monsters but there's actually a completely invisible hole somewhere in the floor over there that drops you into the hallway leading towards the final boss. Also there is no map. TLoZ had a map. I don't know why this game doesn't have a map. Possibly because if you try to look up maps online, most of the dungeons feature non-Euclidean spaces? Idk, even a Super Metroid-style grid map would've done wonders here.

The combat is... fine? I truly don't understand how anyone thinks it's GREAT though. Zelda II is kind of like a version of Castlevania where you don't have a whip and instead have to stab everything at extremely short range, and also sometimes enemies have shields so you have to crouch sometimes to stop them from blocking you. It feels tense and high-stakes but only because, as I mentioned earlier, you really cannot afford to take stray hits in this game. Most enemies chew through your health at an alarming rate, even with the Shield spell active, and there's almost no way to replenish it unless you use a Life spell (which costs a huge chunk of your magic, possibly softlocking you if you end up in a place that requires other spells to progress). I got better at the combat over the course of my playthrough, but I never felt like I got good at it - most of my victories against strong enemies felt like pure luck and there were rarely consistent strategies for success. All of this combined with the fact that Zelda II has limited lives (and I mean LIMITED - there are only six 1-UPs in the entire game, which can each only be collected once) and getting a Game Over anywhere outside of the final palace will send you all the way back to the starting area, and it makes for an incredibly stressful experience. Even making use of savestates to lighten the fear of death can only do so much to improve it.

Overall, I think that Zelda II is a game that has a lot of really promising ideas, but then just absolutely flops when it comes to the execution. I didn't have a better way of organizing these but here are a few examples of elements I DID particularly like, even if they didn't always stick the landing:

I like the idea of the RPG leveling system in theory, but wish it was more empowering in practice and actually let the player make meaningful choices instead of just being required to survive. Choosing to hold off on a Life upgrade and instead save up just a little longer to boost your Attack feels awesome, until you time one of your inputs wrong and get destroyed. In a game with better-tuned difficulty and combat, this system would be great!

I REALLY like that Zelda II introduced a magic system to the series! I think it's cool as hell to have Link learning and casting spells to protect himself, solve puzzles, and exploit enemy weaknesses, instead of relying purely on items. (It's honestly weird to think that a system I associate so strongly with classic Zelda gameplay has only actually showed up in 4 of the games?? I guess you could consider the runes/hand abilities in BotW/TotK to be kind of like modern spells, or the slowly-refilling energy gauge in ALBW to be the most recent iteration of a Magic Meter, but both are highly debatable. Anyways I just think they should let Link shapeshift into a fairy again, that was cool.) But most of the spells in this are fairly situational and your access to magic refills is so limited that you rarely have the freedom to experiment with the spells' secondary functions (hey did you know the Spell spell turns most enemy types into slimes? that's wild. I wish I'd known that sooner).

The overworld functioning like a traditional JRPG, with top-down exploration broken up by semi-random enemy encounters, was something I honestly didn't hate. It's a little weird for Zelda, sure, but I could see it working well to support other systems in a more polished game. Overworld encounters that switch you into a type of gameplay other than turn-based JRPG combat are something I've always been fascinated by!

Anyways, weird game! I'm glad I finally got closure so I could figure out how I personally feel about it, independent of whatever the random youtubers I watched as a teenager thought. And now I never have to play it again :)

[le-pokerus]

LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE WiiU AND 3DS ESHOPS GET SHUT DOWN FOREVER ON 27TH MARCH 2023

That means all digital only games as well as DLC cannot be purchased (they can be downloaded after the shut down but we don’t know how long for). Also all games that have both physical and digital releases, will become physical only if not downloaded before.

All virtual console games also suffer the same fate so get to it!

(Pokémon games to download below)

Gen I and II Virtual Console

(Only repeatable method to get Celebi as well as Shiny Celebi in Gen VII onwards)

Pokémon Bank

(Only way to transfer Gen III-VII Pokémon to Gen VI onwards. Will become free after the eshop shutdown but NEEDS TO BE DOWNLOADED BEFORE)

Poké Transporter

(Only way to transfer Gen III-V Pokémon to Gen VI onwards. CAN ONLY BE DOWNLOADED WITH A PAID SUBSCRIPTION FOR POKéMON BANK BEFORE SHUTDOWN)

Pokémon Dream Radar

(Only way to get Therian Forme Tornadus, Thunderus, and Landorus in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Also bags you hidden-abilty Gen IV mascot Legendaries and other random hidden-ability Pokémon for Gen V)

Pokémon Sun and Moon Demo

(Only way to get Ash-Greninja in Gen VII)

Other 3DS Games

3DS: Pokémon Picross, Pokémon Shuffle, Pokémon Battle Trozei, Pokédex 3D and 3D Pro, as well as demos for Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire and Detective Pikachu)

3DS Virtual Console: Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge.

Other WiiU Games

WiiU: Pokémon Rumble U

WiiU Virtual Console: PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team & Blue Rescue Team, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, Pokemon Ranger, Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Pokémon Snap

[mindblowingscience]

The 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognized Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker for using machine learning to tackle one of biology's biggest challenges: predicting the 3D shape of proteins and designing them from scratch. This year's award stood out because it honored research that originated at a tech company: DeepMind, an AI research startup that was acquired by Google in 2014. Most previous chemistry Nobel Prizes have gone to researchers in academia.

Continue Reading.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC’s Lucien - Strategy Game Date - English Translation (1/2)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a date that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

"Wow, if you remember someone, they must be really impressive!"

"Not at all. In fact, on most of the days we've played, he couldn't even win a pack of biscuits."

"So, about the same level as me then~"

"But MC is special to me. Whether it's ‘biscuits', 'candy', or even 'unreasonable requests', you always manage to win them over in another way."

Translation under the cut!

[T/N: Before reading the date, I highly recommend you all to read this R&S: Regarding What Book Doesn't Say (and while at it read The Victim Who Disappeared too~). This date contains important references to that R&S, and I would like to analyze this date later in comparison with it at the end of this date🥺 There's also some reference to S1 chapter 23 but I'm gonna assume that y'all already read it u.u.]

If you want to follow along with the voice, you can follow it here.

-

[Call- On The Way Home from Work]

Lucien: I just saw your missed call, what's wrong?

MC: [worriedly] I was just wondering why Professor Lucien, who clearly got off work an hour ago, still hasn't come home yet.

Lucien: [chuckles softly]  Sorry, I was held up a bit by something.

Lucien: If you're not too busy, could you bring a trolley and come pick me up at the small park outside the complex?

MC: I certainly can, but what happened?

Lucien: I was stopped by that old gentleman who often plays chess in the park, and he invited me to play a game with him.

MC:  Hmm? Why did that grandpa suddenly "abandon" his friends and come to you?

Lucien: Today, his chess friend stood him up, so he was searching the whole park for a "destined" person who could play chess.

Lucien: And on my backpack, I happened to have a chess pendant that you gave me.

MC: Oh~ But the Xianqi (Chinese chess) Grandpa plays and international chess aren't the same type, right?

Lucien: There are indeed quite big differences between the two, but luckily, I'm not too unfamiliar with the rules of Xiangqi.

MC: Judging by Professor Lucien’s tone, it seems like he has won~

Lucien: It was a narrow victory.

Lucien: However... I'm having some regrets now.

MC: Why?

Lucien: Things seem to have gotten a little out of hand after I won the game. He enthusiastically invited me to solve an endgame puzzle—

[Trivia: In chess, endgame refers to a chess problem where only a few pieces remain on the board, and the challenge is to find the best moves to win or achieve a draw.]

Lucien: And after I solved it, I found out that this puzzle has apparently been around for a few years.

MC: Wow! That's amazing...! So, doesn't that mean the brilliant Professor Lucien is going to become a big celebrity in the park?

Lucien: [sighs] ...But they're a bit too enthusiastic.

Lucien: [he sounds so helpless and dumbfounded it's cute LOL] To celebrate, that grandpa and the elderly watching the game gave me all the eggs, rice, and cooking oil they got from the supermarket.

Lucien: I couldn't refuse at the moment, so now I'm stuck here, overwhelmed by this weighty goodwill.

MC:  Pfft, hahaha~ So that's why you asked me to bring a trolley and rescue you!

MC: I think I see you! Hmm? Are you buying something?

Lucien: [chuckles] Mm, I just found a flower vending machine here.

Lucien: After all, I did ask my girlfriend to come rescue me, so I figured I should at least buy a bouquet of flowers as a thank you.

[Prologue-Surprise Journey]

MC: You're going to compete against the world champion of 3D chess next week?!

When I arrive home from work and step into the entryway, the news hits me like a brick, leaving me frozen in place.

[Trivia: 3D Chess is a variant of traditional chess that adds a third dimension with multiple horizontal layers. It's different and more complex compared with classic 2D chess because besides being able to move horizontally, it can also move vertically between layers, and naturally, it has different rules compared to the classic (I tried to search the rules of one type of 3D chess and ended up being confused at it HAHA). Most ppl def can't easily learn it in one try unless you're Xu Mo]

Lucien calmly takes my bag and nods slightly.

Lucien: Mm, the tournament organizers invited Carl to play a simultaneous exhibition.

[Trivia: In chess simultaneous exhibition means one player plays against multiple opponents at the same time]

Lucien: Besides me, there will also be many 3D chess players and enthusiasts participating.

MC: ...Wait a minute, Lucien, you haven't been scammed, have you?

MC: There are a lot of scams going around these days that seem to trick people with things like registration fees.

[gurl why would you think that the great and mighty™️ Professor Lucien would get scammed🤣]

Lucien: That possibility certainly can't be ruled out, but I've already confirmed it.

Lucien can't help but chuckle a bit and opens the official website of the International Chess Federation.

Following the movement of his fingertips, I quickly found Lucien's name on the shortlist.

MC: So awesome…

MC: You've obviously only been playing 3D chess for a month, yet you're already able to participate in such a competition.

Lucien: This type of game is actually not that difficult once you grasp the rules.

MC: ...That's precisely something a genius would say.

He winks a little smugly, smiles, and pulls me into his arms.

Lucien: So, would MC like to go together?

Lucien: I recall you don't seem to be very busy next week.

MC: Of course, I would like to!

MC: This is your first time participating in a chess tournament, so I wouldn't want to miss it.

Lucien: That's good to hear. Otherwise, I might have to repack my suitcase.

Following his gaze, I notice he's already packed some of my clothes in the suitcase and I can't help but laugh.

MC: You already knew I'd say yes.

Lucien: Mm, after all, it seems like MC can never bring herself to turn down my requests.

[Date]

=[Part 1]=

MC: The guesthouse you chose is so beautiful!

I lean out from the villa window and look outside; the warm breeze passes through the tropical orange trees, stirring sweet orange-scented ripples on the clear pool water.

MC: This garden is exactly like a scene from an American movie, I feel like a pool party is about to start any second now.

Lucien: [chuckles] After I finish my competition, we might as well have a pool party here too.

MC: Sounds good! Then I…

I spin around excitedly, but then my gaze is suddenly caught by a vibrant blaze of crimson, making me fall silent.

Lucien is dressed in a cherry-red suit paired with an olive-green tie, giving off a bold retro vibe.

Complementing this look, a sleek leather belt with a ring buckle and a tilted round hat adds a touch of simplicity and style.

Lucien: [teasingly] If you keep looking at me like that, I might actually get a little shy.

Despite saying so, he doesn't shy away and instead approaches me with a smile.

MC: It's just so stunning... Did this Great Chess Player pick this outfit specifically for the competition?

Lucien: There will be a lot of people at the competition, so maybe this will help me better attract the attention of a certain little lady.

[T/N: Great Chess Player (大棋手 - dà qíshǒu) is how MC teasingly and admiringly refers to him while little lady (小姑娘 - xiǎo gūniang) is Lucien's special term of endearment to MC. So yes, he's the one picking the outfit to attract her attention, just like male peacocks displaying their feather🤣 Please don't be harsh on his color choice because he literally can't see them🥲]

MC: [pouts] Humph, I want to protest~

MC: Even without any help, I can still instantly spot you in a crowd!

Lucien: [chuckles] Of course, I believe that. But I also have a selfish motive.

He gently pinches my puffed-out cheeks and meets my gaze with a smile.

Lucien: [gently and sincerely] Just thinking about you watching me throughout the competition... it'll likely fill me with strength.

✂———————–

In the vast venue, a hundred chess players are seated at their tables, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Carl, the world champion.

The audience seats are already packed with hundreds of spectators, and the broadcasting equipment, along with the commentators, is set up and ready to go.

Feeling the solemn atmosphere, I shrink back a little and quickly walk over to the family seating area within the venue to sit down.

Host: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the International 3D Chess Championship!

Host: Here today, we have chess elites gathered from all around the globe.

Host: They have emerged from fierce preliminary rounds and will face Carl, the champion of the International 3D Chess Championship, in a head-to-head battle.

Just then, on the large screen suspended above the venue, a refined-looking man is waving and greeting the crowd below.

Host: Following the classic tournament rules, each player will have 120 minutes to make their first 40 moves, after which they will have another 60 minutes to complete the rest of the game.

Host: To ensure fairness and smooth progression, a team of referees will supervise the entire match.

Host: Please remain quiet during the match so that the players can concentrate.

Host: We hope you all enjoy this feast of intellect and strategy!

As the match bell rings, the first game appears on the big screen.

Carl opens with a knight's jump, using the black pieces. Time flows in silence for a long while before his opponent finally makes their move.

Just as the unfamiliar and complex cross-layer moves are starting to make my head spin, the game reaches Lucien's table.

Facing Carl's aggressive opening, Lucien doesn't panic. Calm and collected, he establishes his defensive formation.

I quietly note the position of his piece, trying to summon the knowledge I learned from playing classic chess with him in an effort to keep up with the game.

However, as the game progresses, I quickly become lost amidst the complexity of the situation.

Thankfully, that splash of cherry-red color always manages to blur out the world, allowing me to clearly see him every time I look up.

While waiting for his turn, Lucien leans back and intently watches the live screen, unlike the others who are engrossed in studying their own games.

[This passage implies that, unlike other players who are focused solely on their own games, Lucien is observing the matches on the live screen to study the world champion's strategies and gameplay. Also, this passage is an interesting parallel with how Lucien sees the world - to him, her color blurred the world around her, allowing him to see her clearly🥺]

Yet whenever it's his turn to make a move, he does it extremely quickly.

After a few rounds, players on the field are gradually eliminated and leave, but Lucien remains seated, his remaining time nearly equal to Carl's.

Most of the time, his expression remains calm, only occasionally does his brow and eyes curve slightly as if he's noticed some clever moves.

Even though he's far away, I feel like I can see that fascinating and captivating world through his eyes.

I gaze for a long time, so long that I only snap back to reality when Carl sits down opposite Lucien.

The stage is empty, and before I realize it, only that red figure remains.

The black and white sides are locked in a tense struggle, like a small battlefield. Pieces fell constantly, yet new attacks were relentlessly launched.

A hushed silence gradually spreads over the audience. Finally, the timer goes off, and the referee, who has been observing from the sidelines, rises to his feet.

He takes a step forward, waiting for Lucien to put down the piece in his hand, pick up a pen and write something, then seal the paper in an envelope.

As if on cue, the people around me rustle and leave. I instinctively get up as well, feeling puzzled, and head towards Lucien, who is also departing.

MC: Is the match over?

Lucien: Not yet, it's just that the official match time is up. Now the moves are sealed, and the match will resume in an hour.

MC: I see. So, what do you think?

Lucien: Although the situation is a bit tense right now, I've more or less deduced the strategy he'll likely use.

He narrows his eyes, looking like a smug little fox.

MC: Wow, I knew you were good, but I'm blown away that you've been able to hold your own against the world champion for so long…

Lucien: Would you mind holding onto that compliment until the 26th move and telling me again later, MC?

MC: Um?

I suddenly figured something out, and in that instant, I found the answer in those confident eyes.

Lucien: By then, I'll have won.

=[Part 2]=

Lucien wins.

At the 21st move in overtime, Carl topples his cornered king piece and concedes defeat.

It's not that I never thought he would win, but seeing Lucien standing on the podium, the clear reality of his victory washes over me along with the tide of applause.

I clap with extra force, wanting to convey all my heartfelt congratulations to him.

MC: Congratulations, grand champion!

As the award ceremony ends, after waiting by the side of the stage, I step forward and greet the person before me with a big hug.

An icy chill clings to him, yet the voice that falls upon my ear is incredibly gentle.

Lucien: [chuckles] I received all of MC's congratulations.

Lucien: Even though you were a bit far away, the way you clapped so enthusiastically was especially adorable, just like a little seal.

MC: Of course! As your girlfriend, I can't let myself be outdone by anyone else…

??: Mr. Lucien, congratulations.

A stranger's voice suddenly interrupts the conversation as Carl, dressed in a suit, walks over in surprise.

Carl: I'll always remember this match, I hope to see you again on the competition stage someday.

Lucien: Thank you, there will be a chance.

Lucien nods politely, and only after watching the other person disappear into the crowd does he speak, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Lucien: Was that Carl?

MC: Hmm? Even a superbrain like you can have face blindness?

Lucien: Perhaps I was too focused on the chessboard, so I didn't pay attention to his appearance.

Lucien: Besides, his clothes seem completely different from what he wore this afternoon.

Seeing him explain earnestly, I can't help but laugh.

MC: [laughs] If I were Carl, I think I would be more hurt that my opponent, whom I faced for half a day, doesn’t remember me than about losing the match.

MC: Speaking of which, you don't forget everyone you've played chess with, do you?

Lucien: [stunned as if hit by a memory of someone from his distant past] …

It’s as if something leaps into the depths of those dark eyes along with my words, and they suddenly blink quickly.

Lucien: Not quite everyone.

MC: Wow, if you remember someone, they must be really impressive!

Lucien: Not at all.

Lucien: In fact, on most of the days we've played, he couldn't even win a pack of biscuits.*

MC: So, about the same level as me then~

I can't help but curve my lips into a smile, and it seems as though my rising smile also slowly melts that touch of indifference.

Lucien: [chuckles] You're right, it's about the same level. But MC is special to me.

Lucien: Whether it's ‘biscuits', 'candy', or even 'unreasonable requests', you always manage to win them over in another way.

MC: [laughs happily] Hahaha, that friend of yours would probably think you're way too biased if he heard you say that!

Lucien smiles faintly as if my words allow him to vaguely picture that person before his eyes—

Fuzzy... distant... yet somehow a little vivid.

Lucien: Perhaps, but all of those are just assumptions.

MC: Even if they are assumptions, aren't they still based on deductions from the past?

I hook my finger around his, gently swaying our hands together.

MC: Even if the past may be gone, isn't there still “something” from it that continues to run through your life in different forms;

MC: Accompanying you as you pass by and meet many amazing, yet lovely and warm people?~

Lucien: Of course, I have never denied that.

It was as though an imperceptible wound within those profound eyes had been quietly mended, allowing a trace of a smile to escape.**

Wanting to keep that smile lingering for a while longer, I wrinkle my nose.

MC: But... I've clearly played chess with you too, and several different kinds! Yet the first person Professor Lucien thought of wasn't me!

Lucien: …

Seeing his eyes widen slightly, I smile with satisfaction.

MC: Hmph, looks like I need to work harder! In that case, I'll start by learning 3D chess!

I take the prize chessboard from Lucien's hands, giving it a gentle shake.

MC: Please teach me, Teacher Lucien.

✂———————–

[T/N]

*: the biscuits!!! I'm sobbing ;-;, turns out Lucien still remembers Fan Zihang/Zack so clearly... I hope we'll get another mention of Fan Zihang/Zack on his birthday too huhu.

**: I'm taking liberties in translating this one 😂. The original line is “那双幽深的眼瞳里似有道小小裂隙被悄悄填上,终于泄 出一点笑意。” which if literally translated it will be “In that pair of deep and dark eyes, it was as if a small crack had been quietly filled up, finally revealing a hint of a smile.”. The 'crack' can symbolize an unhealed wound from the past. As it gradually fills, this wound is slowly mending, allowing him to release some of his past burdens and letting a hint of joy show through his eyes. Or, you can also think of it as a frozen lake that slowly melts and reveals a small crack, allowing the sunlight to fill in and showing what's in the water all this time (there's happiness from those past memories too).

Next: Part 3 & 4-> [Here]

[pietepiet]

Hey I love your art very much! Just wanted to ask you if you have any ressources/tutorials to recommend for learning Blender?

Hey, thanks for the kind words! Honestly most of my Blender learning has been just messing around with it and looking stuff up as I need it, but here's a couple tutorials that got me started: MortMort's "Blender Zero 2 Hero" tutorials These were very useful in understanding Blender's UI, and come with some tips for pixel art textures in Blender that will be helpful for low poly stuff specifically. Cherylynn Lima's Low Poly Modeling tutorials These use an older version of Blender, so the UI and some shortcuts will be different, but they're great for getting an understanding of the box modeling process used in low poly models. Imphenzia's Low Poly Character Modeling tutorials This is a link to the newer version of his tutorial videos, which goes over the same kinda stuff as the older ones that I used. These were particularly great for getting a quick grasp on rigging low poly characters for animation. Besides those tutorial videos, an additional resource I used was The Models Resource, which collects video game models for viewing in Blender and other 3D art applications. I used this site to study lots of low poly models from stuff like PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS games. I also participated in challenges like #256FES very early on, because I strongly believe that having limitations or challenge goals makes it much easier to learn how a program works. Especially limitations (like 256FES' "use only 256 tris and a 256x256 texture") really force you to learn and puzzle solve to get the most out of your model. My last tip would be: if making your own art is the ultimate goal, then don't feel like you have to learn everything about a program before you start doing your own art. Just get started, then problem solve as you go! It can be fun and gratifying to follow along with tutorials because they produce pretty results in the end, but for me personally I vastly prefer just being creative with a program and figuring out what I need to do as I stumble upon problems. Hope this helps! Good luck on your Blender journey! :)

[maybe-a-dinosaur]

oikawa tooru big fan of puzzles. thinking about how dedicated he is to his craft like he works so hard to be good at what he does he opens a puzzle and locks tf in. pieces scattered across the table his formula is corners first then all the edges he builds the frame then he starts at the bottom and works up. if any of the pieces come stuck together he breaks them apart immediately and mixes them in he does not take shortcuts he likes a challenge. they completely consume him like hyperfocus to the max once he starts he can’t stop glasses on hunched over the table puzzling away. he generally doesn’t keep them once he’s finished he lets it sit for a bit takes a picture for his records then disassembly begins with little to no fanfare he doesn’t really need people to know (unless it’s a BIG puzzle then it goes on his instagram story) it’s just something he does for him he can focus for a while it gives him a sense of accomplishment and he stretches really well afterward. his favorites are pictures of places like scenic shots of nature or cities and puzzles of famous artworks like monet or van gogh or hokusai but if a puzzle comes into his possession he’s doing it at some point no matter what the picture is.

hanamaki takahiro never finished puzzles. he likes them in theory and is super excited to start them but gets bored or distracted within an hour and walks away. he works on them intermittently for a week or so while they sit and collect dust and are inevitably put away before they get finished. his attention span just isn’t long enough anything more than 50 pieces isn’t getting done. the only ones he ever finishes are the 3d like moving puzzles with the ridged pieces the ones that hurt to look at they’re usually less pieces and he likes the texture and they’re stupid pictures he completes them and picks them up of the table then crumples them apart. he really likes the idea of puzzles just doesn’t usually like them in practice, they’re too time consuming need too much focus and he’s a busy man with too much other shit to get into.

matsukawa issei is not a fan of puzzles. like he’ll help put together a piece or two if someone else is working on one but will never go out of his way to assemble a puzzle like he doesn’t care they’re not his thing he’s bored already. however he is a big fan of brain teaser/fidget puzzles like wooden puzzle cubes and puzzle boxes and metal knot things. he knows how to solve a rubik’s cube can do it in under 2 minutes no biggie he doesn’t even own one himself he just goes “can i try” whenever he sees one and flies through it. he can even solve one with his eyes closed just looks at it for a minute shuts his eyes boom solved. all these give him something to do with his hands conventional puzzles are too much sitting still and looking he needs to fidget or straight up not move none of this half and half nonsense.

iwaizumi hajime completely impartial when it comes to puzzles. he’ll help oikawa on one if he’s asked to but never seeks puzzles out he gets the appeal they’re just not for him personally. he saw a comic book puzzle one time that was really cool but that’s the extent of his interest tbh. iwaizumi isn’t a huge fan of sit down activities that aren’t competitive (anti puzzle pro video game) but as nerdy as it sounds has always been a fan of reading . graphic novels real books even the newspaper something about it is engaging and relaxing enough at the same time for him to sit still for an extended period of time. middle aged married iwaoi on weekends tooru does a puzzle at the table while hajime sits on the couch and reads a book they’re both wearing glasses they take a break at 2pm to take a nap together and go on a walk then are back at it by 4.

[tristarnova]

Inscryption headcanons:

I am pretty sure the original version of inscryption before it was messed with would have worked like this, once the chosen Scrybe you wish to replace is challenged, they would have taken over the game turning it 3d for act two.

This would change it to their own version, each version using two of the mechanics, as we know Leshy would use blood and bones, and po3 would use energy and mox, as for the other 2, I think magnificus would use mox and blood, sacrifices are common for those that use magic, and Grimora would use bones and energy, being related to life force if you will for the undead.

they would turn the other scrybes into cards, and steal the new game card, where your goal would be to solve their puzzles to get the new game card back by defeating the scrybe, thus ending the game, and allowing you to take on a different scrybe instead, with them using their subordinates as bosses, aside form po3, since his would have been gone.

As for what card they would use for their final phase, we already know Leshy uses the moon, I think grimora would use the bonelord, magnificus would use Edoxia, by pianting the symbols to summon them, while for po3, I don’t know what big powerful card they would use.

[ndconceptarchive]

Interview with Creators of the original Secrets Can Kill game

It's honestly a very interesting interview about the early days of HI and it includes some foreshadowing to Alibi in Ashes, Tomb of the Lost Queen, and Labyrinth of Lies. (There was also a mention of possibly remastering Message in a Haunted Mansion! Although that likely wasn't in development.)

The following is a transcript from a video titled, Interview with Creators of the original Secrets Can Kill game | Nancy Drew Games | HeR Interactive. Published Aug 20, 2010. It was created in promotion for Secrets Can Kill Remastered, as seen in the video description:

"We interview Megan, Kris, Robert, and Tim about their experiences making the original version of Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill from 12 years ago! They share funny stories and give a few little known clues about the game. It's a look back at how far Her Interactive has come and where it's going with the upcoming release of Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED (PC/Mac, available on August 24)."

Interviewer: Hello, so we are here today, with four of the original people who worked on the very first Secrets Can Kill game: 

Megan, our CEO, what were you back when we made Secrets Can Kill?

Megan: I was the Creative Director when I got hired in 1997, and then Robert was…

Robert: The Program Manager. I had been recruited from the accounting department in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Kris: I’m Kris, I was hired as a 2D artist and I came in to work with Tim…

Tim: who was also a contract artist and then, I kind of took over the 3D part at the very tail end of the project. 

Interviewer: Did you know anything about creating games when you first started on Secrets Kill? 

Robert: I did a little. I made games when I was a kid. When I got my first computer, all I did was make games for it, especially adventure-type of text-based games, so I knew just a little, but definitely not enough. I was really surprised and overwhelmed by the amount of work that it took to make a computer game.

Kris: I used to do computer day camps with my father who taught us to to program to program games in BASIC. But beyond, that no. 

Tim: Oh I played a lot of computer games, but mainly board games was my big thing. I had a little board gaming group that would just play tons of a lot of German board games. And I think that helped because a lot of those mechanics and bargains translate over into, you know, mini games and puzzles and stuff. So that was fun, but I had no design experience or [anything] at that point. 

Interviewer: So what is the biggest challenge that you guys had to face when you were making Secrets Can Kill?

Megan: Well, first, we were a new team and half the team was in Albuquerque. Then it shifted and I guess everyone moved to Bellevue by the end of the game, really, we were all learning how to work as a team and to kind of create this game around Nancy Drew. So communication I think was probably the hardest. 

Robert: yeah, because there there was a lot of assets, but not a lot of documentation to go with.

Megan: No documentation. 

Robert: Yeah, I remember you, you brought down your, the art director at that time, Laura Henion, to Albuquerque so we could all meet. 

Tim: I think the hardest part was just finishing it. It went really long, much longer than we have [now]. I mean, we got it down to a science now. 

I remember [that] I would take my work home. [I would] then get up at like 3:00 in the morning and start another render on the computer, then go back to bed and get up another half hour and check it and make some tweaks and keep running. I was doing that almost every night it seems for a while there just to get it done. 

Kris: That's really true. There were three of us in the art department at that time- counting Laura the art director. So it was a big push at the end to get work finished. That was a challenge. 

Megan: I think you know, communication was the biggest challenge, but the good part was that everybody was so excited and enthusiastic and passionate. It didn't seem to matter what obstacle came up, because we just figured out a way to overcome it. So there's a lot of trial and error in the first game. 

Interviewer: What is something funny or memorable that you remember from the process when you made that first game? 

Robert: So remember we just had a recorder, a voice recorder. So we thought, let's make silly, silly voicemail messages when you would call different places like Maxines or Aunt Eloise. So we all gathered around the microphone and and just add libbed and it was really funny. 

Tim: When I was just basically just kind of an art assitant and helping Laura, the art director, and I just came in and sat down and started doing some work and I heard some rough rustling going on. What's going on? And I looked behind me and Glenn, who was our contract 3D artist at the time (three years at the time) came out of a sleeping bag from underneath his desk.

Interviewer: Kris, do you have any memories? 

Kris: I remember the marketing at the end. When we finished the game, Megan gave me a huge stack of cell sheets to take with me to spread around town. And I remember I was going to visit my family back east, so I was supposed to take them across the country and spread them around. 

And so there was really some guerrilla marketing that went on at that point.

Interviewer: Come a long way for sure. Say, what do you think of the original Secrets Can Kill now that's been 12 years since you've made it?

Robert: It's always, it was, it's very, it was very surprising to replay it when we're when we're looking at it to remaster Master. I mean, it's just it's so much more different. It was shorter. The storyline wasn’t as as intricate as our current ones. The puzzles were pretty primitive and I think there was only like. I don't know, like 7 inventory objects. Now we have at least 30. 

Tim: We also kind of approach it little differently. It was I think the only game where we hid these hidden messages all throughout the game that had really. That we're really outside of Nancy's world and universe. It was just like like the designer hitting hiding messages in there maybe about the game. 

But it was, you know, if you look at different book spine titles in the library, you could actually, spell out a sentence or something that that might say something, mysterious.

Megan: Meaningful? Tim: But it was like, if you were actually a player in the world, you’d be like, “where did that come from?” So we kind of changed our design tactic on that later on, but that was the one game where we did kind of funny things like that.

Kris: A player wouldn’t notice, but a lot of the articles were written by our family members. Or you know, some of the photos in the game, like for example, in the student dome where Hal Tanaka sits, there's the bulletin board for student of the Month.

Tim: That's where Connie was at. 

Kris: Oh, it’s where Connie is. And so that's, you know, pictures of ourselves and our friends and family. 

Interviewer: What kind of other things did you put in there that you don't think our fans would necessarily have picked up on playing through the games that you guys hid in there?

Robert: Ohh, I remember in the opening cinematic Darrell does that, [pulls his ear] which is an old Carol Burnett move to say “hi Mom!”.

Tim: My son Sam is in the teacher's lounge, he’s in a photo, and he was like a year or two years old and now he's like a grown man, you know, it feels like (he's like 13 now). 

Megan: So I can't remember if that's the one my nieces were in, but when I told them [that they were in a game] they said, “do we talk when you press on us?” And I said “no, maybe in the next game.” 

So what was really neat was when we got together with girls to have them play games at that time to see what they thought about Nancy Drew and games in general. 

And girls didn't really play games back then. And so their feedback actually helped us to improve on existing gameplay rather than just perpetuate stereotypes. 

They would say, when they're playing a shooter, “you know, we don't mind shooting, however, we prefer a reason before we shoot. Like if they were beating up my little sister, I'd be all over them.” So they really helped us with their input in terms of making the games, that that they wanted. 

Interviewer: What are some of the changes that you think have made the biggest impact in the newer games versus the original one? 

Tim: I think the design, the tighter design, kind of the overarching puzzle that is woven into the game is very compelling and interesting to follow for this new game. I think. 

The old game was much more open and just kind of, I mean, you could explore, but. There was a little bit more wandering and trying to piece together what was going on. This one, it's just more cleverly put together. Also the graphics. I think make a big difference with the new lighting and just a little bit updated the 3D characters definitely is a huge difference. 

Robert: Something the players won’t notice is that we now use Lua rather than our proprietary scripting language. It was horrendous. Very 20th century, so even though that doesn't affect the players, it really affected us and made it much more easy to put the the games together.

Kris: I feel really nostalgic playing this game going back but as far as the fun factor is concerned, I really liked that the arcade-style mini-games are now included

Interviewer: Barnacle Blast!

Kris: Yeah. 

Megan: I remember when we were on our first or second game people would say so what are you gonna do after that i mean nobody's gonna play a third Nancy Drew game.

Interviewer: Did you imagine that you guys would be still making these games 23 games later? 

Everyone: No [visibly shaking heads]

Tim: It’s pretty incredible just to think about. Every once in a while I’ll just pull up the codes and stuff because I can’t keep track of which games are in what order anymore. I’ll just look through this list and think “I’ve been here for all of these.” It’s crazy. I mean, it’s something I’m really prud of, that we’ve been able to last that long and create just this wonderful collection.

Megan: I think there’s just the team that you know, that we had all these years. Everyone is so talented and creative. There’s this creative collaboration from the beginning where everybody feels comfortable to add their ideas to the mix. 

Robert: The sky’s the limit for Nancy Drew. There’s so many stories you can tell, so many places you can go, so many people you can meet. It’s fun reinventing Nancy Drew for other platforms as well.

Tim: We get feedback all the time from players who are like “I really wanna see Nancy go to Egypt or to Greece” and we 

Megan: We’re all storytellers. We all come from very different backgrounds. Math, architecture, film, art, but we all love to tell a story. And in these Nancy Drew games, there’s a weave of fact and fiction. And it’s a lot of meaningful content. Historical references and characters, cultural discovery, you learn about the folklore. You learn, but you’re having so much fun you don’t even realize. 

Interviewer: What mystery would you like to see Nancy Drew solve in the future now that we’re talking about how the sky’s the limit? Robert: I actually liked going back to Secrets Can Kill. And I kind of wanna do some retro stuff. So I wouldn't mind going back to like Haunted Mansion and maybe something was left unfound. 

Kris: I might like to see Nancy go to Thailand so we could showcase the architecture of Thailand.

Tim: So many great characters.  some of these secondary characters that you never see like Krolmeister and Sonny Joon and all these people that have kind of built up this universe. It's it's great to be able to go back and and draw from some of that and create more content from that. 

Megan: Traveling just to different countries. I think that's so interesting. Egypt would be fascinating. 

Robert: I think it'd be also fun to take her back home. You know, we we haven't explored River Heights and there's just so much there too and this just wide geography of River Heights. It would be fun to look at. 

Interviewer: Do you guys have anything else that you'd like our fans to know about the new version of Secrets Can Kill Remastered? 

Robert: There's clues everywhere so…

[laughter from everyone] 

Megan: What made you give that away! 

Interviewer: We hope to see a lot more games from you guys.  Megan & the others: thank you, Thank you! We hope you enjoyed this.

[elkement]

I've recently started to create geometric drawings (axonometry) of mathematical functions, the same ones I usually tackle with code.

One could say it does not make sense to painstakingly draw what code could create quickly. But for me the interesting thing is to grasp these functions on a different, more intuitive level - compared to mentally processing mathematical formulae or casting it into computer code. After literally decades of dealing with mathematical expressions and code I have rediscovered descriptive geometry, as sort of a "third language" (in addition to math or code) to say the same things. I am also fascinated by the little math puzzles that pop up when I create these drawings, and which require a completely different approach than calculations or programming.

I am usually drawing them at least three times, until I am somewhat satisfied. The journey is the reward anyway :-)

Here is the work-in-progress photo of my taming two favorite functions of mine - often already used in my creative coding art. I called them "Reality and Imagination" as these are two "towers" or "trumpets" that represent real and imaginary part of the complex function 1/z. Grand words, but you also describe them as: Stack circular rings upon each, ring diameter decreasing reciprocally with height, align along the circumference. Then flip over, and then rotate by 90 degrees.

Circles are just ellipses, seems to be easy, but the 2D projections overlap greatly with the 3D axonometric image as I am currently using "small" A4 watercolor paper. The real challenge will be to convey the spirit of this trumpet-like surface without of course create all the giant circles.... as moving closer to the origin of the vertical axis, the radii of the circles get larger and larger, and finally the straight axis is the "circle with infinite radius".

Anyway, I actually do not really want to "explain math", I am more meditating upon these structures :-) I am drawing two versions in parallel - with slightly differently positioned 2D projections, and different sizes of the circles. The version were I colored the ellipses / circles already was the first, more rough one - and I guess I will test something more bold with that one. The other one will maybe become a more delicate drawing. I also admit, that I take a look at the code-generated structures - not for comparing details, but to get the overall look right :-)