#Another unique Puzzles design that I really like

[hyperions-light]

A home in life, a berth in death, a house of many mansions: the Necropolis fucks

Before the game came out the Necropolis was one of the top five places I was hoping they would let us visit in Thedas and I'm so thrilled it did not disappoint! The architecture, the atmosphere is impeccable, the reactivity everywhere (cleansing the Vault of the Beloved, the secret room that appears, the skeleton workers that begin cleaning different areas as the game progresses), the detail in everything. Did you know that in the room where you get the codex entry about the flesh-eating beetles, you can look down and see them running across the floor? Love it!

But the environment itself is only an aspect of what makes the Necropolis so much fun; the insight we finally get into Nevarran culture is possibly the most important thing that comes out of it. The only Nevarran we've really met before was Cassie (love her, she was not very informative, though), so to actually get to meet people who serve as stewards to one of the most sacred cultural rites is incredible and exactly what I wanted from this game. I loved discovering their unique perspective on magic, and how they handle their Templar Order.

It's also a fascinating lore point to discover that Emmrich can speak to the dead; we've never actually encountered a REAL ghost in DA, I don't think. There have been things which appeared to be pieces of once-living people, but it could always be explained by 1) weird magic causing them to live past their normal lifespan 2) a spirit acting as a dead person. Emmrich makes a distinction between speaking with real dead people and imbuing a once-living body/articulated skeleton with a spirit. This is so cool and interesting! And they've been doing this consistently and regularly, to talk to the late King Markus! All the magic applications in this game make the South seem so boring lol (but that's for another post).

And I love that the Necropolis itself is considered alive by the Watchers! It moves and rearranges its own configuration in accordance with some sort of unknown will; is it partially built inside the Fade? Is it imbued with magical energies, like Arlathan was? How old is it? Is the reason it functions this way because it's so old that it predates the separation of the Fade from the material world, or is it just that the Veil is thin there? Are the Lichlords the ones directing the Necropolis? How? So many interesting implications and questions brought up by just the building itself!

I think my favorite thing about the Necropolis and the Watchers, though, is how they present death. Most of the cultures that we've encountered so far in Thedas view death as a universally negative thing, but the Nevarrans celebrate its place in the cycle of existence. In the gardens, which are such a beautiful, peaceful location, there's a puzzle you can do where you have to turn on a series of meditation bells in a specific order to get into a treasure room; when you put together the poetry accompanying each bell in the correctly, they describe (metaphorically) the movement of a person through life and into death. It's such a gorgeous little detail, and I love the way the Necropolis is designed to encourage the player to think about death (it also folds in so neatly to Emmrich's personal plotline!), especially since it is so integral to the game as a whole (yet another different post).

Visiting Blackthorne Manor and picking up mementos in the Necropolis shows that, this death positivity is, in fact, a pervasive cultural attitude. Nevarrans believe that they have a duty to each other that persists after they die; that the body can keep being useful; that the living should honor the dead. It's such an interesting perspective that was missing from the DA series; people die all the time, and, of course, it's intended to make the player sad, but DA has never seriously discussed death, its implications, what it truly means or how it affects those left behind. They've never really made you sit and look at it as the player. There are some sad lines after Leandra dies in DA2, but it's mostly in the narrative to give Hawke a reason to hate blood magic and stuff. There's no funeral. There's a few lines from Gamlen, Hawke, and your companions, and then the game moves on. It's always like that; the game gives you a moment to be sad, and then it moves on. There's no mourning. But this game is partially about mourning! It's about people being gone, and it being too late; it insists you look at death and deal with it, and the Necropolis is the epitome of this.

The game asks the question over and over what you think the characters should do in response to their own losses, and the Necropolis represents are really interesting, nuanced, answer to that question. They're not gone; they're right there. They're still with you. You can go and visit them and celebrate who they were in a place that honors and cares for them, still. It's so beautiful and interesting and full of love, for the living and the dead.

I didn't even talk about Emmrich's plotline or the class differences in the Necropolis, or how everyone there is a weird goth nerd and I love it so much, but I think that's really the important point: the symbiosis. The living; the dead; the spirits; the corporeal, all finding a way to be together.

[meg-girumi]

📺Hybrid AU Spider-Puzzles🕸️

Hybrid AU belongs to @cookiepopcat

Reference used: link

✨Bonus:✨

[ganondoodle]

one of the things in my totk rewrite that im most confident about is removing the building gimmick (to put it in another game truly build around it, its such a waste here imo) to add the hookshot instead

everyone loves the hookshot, i have never heard anyone say they didnt like it

in a world like botw it would be a perfect fit- it adds a unique and different movement option while-

it does not destroy the world design (like the building aspect does, though the towers also need a different function, letting you fly anywhere and skip everything everywhere all the time, including puzzles in both shrines and dungeons, something like that in a world thats build around climbing and gliding WILL end up destructive to the world design without really careful changes and balances .. that absolutely werent done in the game)

opens up a whole new way to think and do puzzles in a way that wasnt there in botw

preserves the feeling of dread when high up or in the sky, since falling is still a danger even with the parasail ( bc removing almost all warp points up there makes the danger being loss of progress rather than the fall itself- removing the parasail as a whole for the entire game is not an option and it will always be a security to not die by fall damage, so there should be a different danger even if im usually not a fan of loss of progress pressure, the bird mechanic i mentioned in other post would also help you not lose everything even if you make a mistake)

it makes climbing easier WITHOUT making it obsolete or skippable, especially with adding the main way to get up to sky islands as islands to climb up via the hookshot, its just adds another way to interact with the terrain instead of .. not interactign with it at all, the range is still limited and you still have to cling to the wall and get down to shoot it again

it being built into links prosthetic shiekah arm makes it more unique both in looks and mechanic/narrative aspects so i dont think it would be boring to have an old 'item' reused in a new way, especially together with the rest of the abilities- like it being not an instant 'pulls you to the thing' but a reactivatable one instead (so you can grab things to move them if lightweight enough similar to ultrahand)

bosses can benefit from it too, imo one of the coolest things in twilight princess was grabbing onto a boss to pull yourself to and onto them, being able to do that even to smaller ones shadow of the colossus style would be so neat

grabbing onto something moving and not pulling yourself immediately to it opens up not just fun but also funny scenarios aka you being flung around by whatever you grabbed (grab on a dragon ...weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee- on a lynel ...'ragdoll chaos')

(with the removal of building and thus the majority of all the puzzles being fly thing from point A to point B not being a thing it also makes way for cool kinds of ways to get to the next sky island for example- a thought i had was making the reason they fly and are practically invisible from most angles being that they are swimming in a special kind of cloud that hides them due to breaking of light in certain ways withing them- thus hiding it from below most of the time, eliminating the problem of 'sky too full' which was apprently a reason why they removed alot of them too, and it would be incredibly fun to be able to poof into little clouds (they look a certain way so you know which ones you can swim in) also! lil cloud bridges between islands! a boat to surf on them high up in the sky! mario galaxy vibes!

probably more im forgetting

anytime i think about the hookshot mechanic i get so sad bc i just keep imagining how much you could have done with in totk and desperately want to play that :U

[s0kkix]

Would it be too much to ask, how do you draw your faces? / avoid same face syndrome ?

etc etc

not too much at all, thanks for the ask !

the way i think about faces is like a puzzle - the eyes, nose, lips, ears, chin, etc. being the puzzle pieces. it's a sort of "mix and match" game.

for example, these three characters all have a similar, strong nose and droopy eyes with puffed eyebags (except for azariel in the last pic), but thanks to different face shapes, body builds (how a character is built also reflects in their face) ears, hair and other details the characters can be told apart.

incorporating your character's personality into the face design is a great idea. perhaps the way they express a certain emotion is different to the way other characters do. maybe their resting face is happier-looking than another character's. the face is a big element of character design, because it's a tool of storytelling on its own.

take a look at my lucifer, for example. woah ! what the hell happened to them ? (he's still pretty though)

the face should entice, force the beholder to ask questions about the character and be curious about their story. i'm not saying every face you draw should suggest the oddest of backstories and personalities, but give each of your characters something unique to their face that would spark someone's interest.

now, i haven't exactly checked how well they stand out amongst eachother by removing the hair and the rest of the body, but i did draw a bunch of my characters together without colour on one paper.

my biggest tip is - exaggerate ! find a feature you want to stick out in your character's face and construct the rest of the face to compliment it. matching a face with the character's personality is also something you should know how to do, so i suggest doing research on shape and colour language.

it's important to take note of how faces look as people (or humanoid characters) age and grow older. wrinkles are one of the main ways i add character to ... well, my characters.

as much as i enjoy drawing wrinkles, i usually save them for "wise old" or nurturing characters. but of course, wrinkles appear on all sorts of people, especially if they have a fuller face.

(i am speaking specifically for my stylization which often strives to be somewhat anatomically realistic)

another tip is to reference life when you study ! human people have such a wide array of features you can utilize, it's amazing and beautiful ! just make sure you do research on ethnic features and when they appear on which face (unless you're going for something supernatural/humanoid, then the nose gallery is all yours /j).

also, don't drastically diversify faces all the time. siblings and family members often have similar features and it's okay to repeat them in these cases.

(this artwork is pretty old)

if your character and costume design is good, "same face syndrome" shouldn't worry you at all. avoiding this art community boogeyman is just one way of diversifying your art and adding spice to it. lacking this diversity really is no sin.

at worst, it's just going to look odd. for example, if you're so used to drawing young, wrinkle-less characters and attempt to draw an older character without any exercise prior to that, chances are this character is going to look oddly youthful, resulting in a sort of silly outcome.

but just like with everything, take your time ! changes and improvements don't happen overnight, and it takes time for you to get used to new things. with all that said, i'm wishing you the best of luck and happy drawing !

[4thwallbreakerdraws2]

NEXT BATCH IS HERE!

Submissions are closed for now!

It’s been fun y’all!! Stay tuned to for some projects of mine >:)

This is imagine what I imagine he looked like when he landed. Bro was probably thinking something along the lines of “Wtf are these weird people.” Ofc he has to meet the weird TV head of all people, ah maaaan. I love Star’s character development throughout his story! Like yeaaaaah, BEAT HIM UP!! SHOW HIM HE DOESNT CONTROL U ANYMORE!!

@blveblvrr

Been some time since I drew anthros so I hope this one looks good lol I love her ability, it’s very unique and the fact that she’s based on cat memes is also very cute haha. Love the small pop cat doodle too!

@sydsfandomhub

AN ANTAGONIST HELLO THERE

Man I love the stoic guys , they are always so entertaining to watch and I can just imagine how fun it is to have this guy in the SMG universe with all those chaotic people around haha I also love their design a lot!! If the wings look weird it’s because I haven’t drawn those a lot in my life kskssl

@kittykibbl

YOUUUUUU…

I said so often I would draw this guy AND THEN I NEVER DID. But now finally….I mentioned it before but I love his looks. He gives me Fresh and Party MK vibes and I ADORE IT. Let this man make the world into a musical, I don’t care if he’s a tad antagonistic. He’s just sill your honor!!

@strange0-0storm

I chose 7 because he just spoke to me lol He gives off menace vibes and embodies the Luigi feeling while still being original! I also love how you messed with the numbers on the head! Makes a lot of sense with the being viruses!

@bear-boi-5

Silly little goober we’re the first words that came into my head lmao

I love your artstyle by the way, it makes your drawings look really alive! As for this guy, they were a challenge but also a joy to draw.

If I pat them, will I get bitten?

@troubldteenz

Another silly guy…I love creatures who have floating hands or other limbs and I love cats. So yeah, save to say I loved drawing this dude haha. They look really sweet!

@tophatwearingidiot

Another SMG who needs a serious and long nap, where is the chloroform /silly

Nah but seriously, I can see you put work into his design and story. (I still need to get caught up with the revelation arc) but I would love to hear more about his story!

@oddopossum

Menace material spotted!! Again a character that was super fun to draw, especially the hair. I love how long and fluffy it is!! The doodles you sent were also really funny to look through. 6 appears to be a force to be reckoned with lmao

@echostarsys

MR MONITOR MENTIONED!! This dude is probably fed up with all the traffic rules Puzzles must have broken every time they cross paths. I say they are allowed to send Puzzles car to demolition when he parks in the middle of the street the next time /silly

@vertical-tacos

PIRATES YESSSS

I was missing my pirate content in this fandom but low and behold, someone made a character based on those after all! I love how you designed the guardian pod! It looks very cool to me!!

@p0p33-k3da

[howlingday]

Velvet's... Shampoo?

Juniper

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Velvet opened the door to her shower. As she exited, she noticed her body had changed drastically. Using a unique mixture Jaune's shampoo and experimental goo found at the fiendish Dr. Merlot's lab, Nora had unwittingly created a mutagen just to prank her team leader. Unfortunately, Velvet had asked to borrow Jaune's shampoo for personal reasons.

She stepped out of the shower, feeling the heat of the bathroom drain her body. For some reason, it felt like her body was unreasonably warmer, wetter, and dragging behind her. She let out a yawn as she shook her heavy head. "Maybe I need a nap."

The rest of Yeam CFVY had left for a sale on designer outfits. In other words, Coco needs new boots for her already bursting wardrobe, and Velvet lucked out on being in the shower when Coco learned about it. Fox and Yats, not so lucky.

"Still, I've never been this tired before." Velvet yawned again. "Maybe I'm getting sick?"

Velvet took a dry washrag and wiped away the steam fogging the mirror. Through the smeared glass, she saw her face, which seemed normal, but as she smeared outward things took a turn for the weird. He ears were still the same, but they had company. Standing between her brown rabbit ears were a pair of golden deer antlers.

She jumped, launchibg herself high into the air, smashing her newly grown crown into the ceiling above! As she fell down on her backside, she kicked her legs from the pain. She noticed an extra amount of movement and stopped, looking down.

Beyond her exposed chest and stomach, she found her lower region, including her legs, were covered in fur! And where her rear end was had extended to another set of legs! She was like a centaur!

A centaur who screamed bloody murder.

"HEY!" A voice called through two doors. "ARE YOU OKAY, VELVET?!"

It was muffled, but Velvet heard him clear as day. It was Jaune, and he was at the door to the dorm.

Velvet ran for the dormroom, racking her, well, rack on the door frame. After a wince and a grumble, she awkwardly returned to her closet.

"J-Just a minute!" Velvet had set out clothes for after her shower, but her recent changes made them all useless. With no shirt to cover her body, and no pants in size stupid, she tossed on her jacket and prayed it would be enough.

"Everything okay, Velvet?!" Oh, yeah, no, everything is just fine, except for the fact SHE WAS A FREAK OF NATURE! Oh, if Cardin or his cronies could see her now.

"Everything's fine!" She lied.

"Are you sure? I thought I heard a scream."

"I, uh, saw a spider!" She lied again.

"Uh, okay." Jaune agreed. "Hey, uh, you mind if I come in?" NO! "I really need to grab that shampoo bottle from ya."

"O-Oh, really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You haven't used it yet, have you?" Velvet stayed quiet. "Nora put something in there to prank me, but she didn't expect you to borrow it from me. She's also very sorry."

"What, uh... What did she put in it?" Velvet's curiosity piqued.

"Well, she S

Says it's some kind of goop she found at that crazy scientist's lab." Jaune explained. "Y'know, the one experimenting on Grimm?"

"The mutagen from Dr. Merlot's lab?!"

"Yeah, that stuff!" Jaune snapped his finger. "You didn't use it did you?"

Velvet was silent for a long time. Slowly, as time went on, the pieces fell in and came together, making the puzzle all the clearer. But this was the end of the road for now. Until she figured out how to change back, she couldn't leave. Not without some kind of help.

"Jaune, I need you to come in." Velvet gulped. "And you can't say anything. Okay?"

"Uh, o-okay." Velvet pressed the button to open the door, and then stepped away as quicklu as she could. She fell back hard on her rabbity rump, sitting as Jaune walked in. He saw her, turned around, and shut the door. "Uh-"

"You can't say anything!" Velvet shouted. Jaune shut his mouth. Oh, this was a disaster. What would her team think? What would the school think? Could she still go to her classes? Could she still fight Grimm? Everything started to look sharp and dangerous, and she just wanted to cry.

"Shshshsh..." There was a soft, rattlng his like a snake and she felt some touch her head. With a shriek, she turned away and kicked her attacker away, slamming him into the wall. Looking back, she saw Jaune in a daze. "Y-Yeah, I get it. I shoulda asked first."

Velvet cautiously approached the junior and instinctively knelt down in front of him. In a slow, yet steady pace, she was starting to understand her body more and more. She sat in front of him, all four legs folded so she was only a few feet taller than him. Some small part of her liked feeling tall.

"I'm sorry for kicking you." She apologized.

"No, no, it's my fault." Jaune held up a hand. "Should know better than to spook a horse... bunny... girl..." Jaune rubbed his head. "Uh, you. I'll just say than to spook you."

Velvet gave a small giggle. It felt good to be understood the way she was. Outside her team, the only few who understood her this well were the Professors at Beacon, and, to an extent, Blake, and apparently Jaune, too. Everyone else just saw her as "the rabbit girl at Beacon".

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Just a little bruise." Jaune winced as he touched the lump on his head. "My aura'll heal it. How are you feeling?"

"Better now, thank you." Velvet sighed in relief.

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked. "Do you want a hug?"

Velvet nodded. She opened her arms a little, and Jaune scooted closer and placed an arm over one shoulder and under the other. He pressed his body to hers, and Velvet felt a warmth and kindness so rare in her life. True, she did have her team, but with them, it felt like they were walking on eggshells around her. Jaune was here as a friend, helping another friend, and asking for nothing in return.

"Uh, Velvet?"

"Mm?"

"Are you... chewing on my hoodie?" Opening her eyes, she looked down to see the cloth being pulled by her teeth. "Uh, could you not do that? It's kinda important to me."

"S-Sorry." Velvet pulled away, releasing his garb from her maw. "It's close to lunchtime, and..."

"No, no, I get it." Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah." Velvet smiled. "You do."

Suddenly, Jaune was lifted off the ground and found himself pushed against the wall. Lips crashed into his, smacking his head and dazing him once more. Jaune wanted to push back, but Velvet had a little more weight on him than she did before. Not to mention, he really liked the juniper wafting into his face from her hair.

"So help me, if you did something to hurt Velvet, I will- WHOA!" Out of the corner of her eye, Velvet saw the rest of Team CFVY, accompanied by Jaune's teammate, Nora, entering with surprised looks on their faces.

"Huh." Nora looked her prank result up and down. "Always figured he liked them bigger."

[sasaranurude]

I'm a loser who both spends too much time playing gacha games and loves to hear myself talk, so here's another game review style post, this time covering my first day playing Break My Case. This time I'm not even being a little hater! I'm a lover! I'm cringe! I'm free! I love you Coly! I love you ikemen gacha games!!!!!!!

Break My Case is a new puzzle-music-adventure mobile game from Coly, the developers behind Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku and On Air. More relevant to BMC/BreMai is their game Stand My Heroes, with which it shares a writer, some gameplay elements, and of course a naming convention. Coly has developed a bit of a cult following for their unique status in the Japanese mobile gaming world: they're a company that was founded by women and hires women to make games for women. They put a lot of soul into their games. From the start, BMC is no different!

"Could you have pulled a clean version of this image from the internet so it didn't have all the game junk" no. it's my tumblr and you get my screenshots.

I (with help from friends) overviewed the initial Break My Case announcement back when it dropped. You can read that here! I said in that post that I thought a "dark rhythm game" would be a really cool direction for the game… and that's more or less what we got! GO ME!!!!!

First: the game's presentation is fantastic. Super slick graphical design and just amazing atmosphere. The sound design of this game is incredible. Genuinely. Really, really, good. All the music is amazing—I'm not knowledgeable enough to say anything other than "IT SLAPS!", but it totally does slap. The illustrations for the cards are all wonderfully atmospheric in and of themselves, and are just a delight to look at on the homescreen with its chill background music. Even just navigating menus is a sleek, seamless experience. The live2d is well-done, although it clashes a tad with the art style for a bit of an uncanny look at times. 

The atmosphere! The atmospheeeeeeere!!!

Of course, the draw to this game is the characters and story, so let's jump into that. I'll admit right now that I read the story through a machine translation—I have aaaalmost enough Japanese knowledge to fill in the gaps, especially since the story is fully voiced, but I'm definitely not getting the full nuance of the story that someone fluent in Japanese is going to get. THAT SAID, after completing the prologue, I was definitely intrigued enough that I want to continue slogging through the MTL just to read more! There's a great setup, centered around the bar Aporia and its three modes—a daytime cafe, a nighttime members-only bar, and, secretly, a "fixer" service who'll help anyone with any problem. Our main character, a woman who was just forced to quit her job at a corrupt company, gets hired to replace Aporia's eccentric owner while he goes on a who-knows-how-long vacation. The owner also has the role of "tail"—as in, the tail a lizard sheds to avoid being eaten. If anything in the fixer service goes wrong, it's the owner who takes the fall and the blame. This hasn't come to mean much in practice yet in the (quite short) prologue, but it's a fascinating setup. The story promises to touch on themes of the threads that weave our lives together, how small meetings can lead to massive life changes, and whether any human being is truly replaceable, even in our modern corporate world where people are treated like cogs in a machine. According to a staff interview, there are a handful of references to Stand My Heroes in BreMai, but the games' settings aren't otherwise closely linked.

Rough translation in alt text. The Aporia manager Ai may be the most mysterious, intimidating character, but he also beefs with a parrot the first time you meet him, so...

All the characters are staff at Aporia with various unique roles and background. The prologue just gives you a little bit of each of them, but everyone does show up, and they all have interesting dynamics with each other already. Ai, the stern manager, has some history with the MC that he refuses to divulge, and goes so far as to force psychologist Riku to agree to not look into it. The range of relationships among the staff run the gamut from the calm and mature friendship between fortune teller Kiho and art teacher Kyoya, to the unfaltering dedication of Yu to his ex-mafioso savior Tomose, to the ridiculous Takeru and Soyogu who spend their first appearance waking up after having gotten black-out drunk together the night before. My favorite dynamic of all so far is that of Kou and Mao—Kou is a playboy who insists he's not a playboy, and is introduced evading a woman by… asking the icy Mao to pretend to be his boyfriend so that she thinks he's taken and gay and leaves him alone. Which Mao exasperatedly agrees to, telling Kou that he's used up his allotment for this month which ohmygod how often does Kou do this. Kou if you're asking this guy to pretend to be your gay lover so often he gives you a monthly limit I think you might just have to admit you want him to actually be your gay lover, Kou, oh my god— 

Rough TL in alt text. Kou is letting the implication do all the heavy lifting here. He technically never said he was dating Mao. Technically. 

On to the gameplay. There's gameplay! Unique gameplay! Good unique gameplay! Oh my god, uncharted joseimuke territory! The main gameplay mode is a match-3 puzzle game with rhythm elements. As in other rhythm games, each song in the game is its own level, more or less. (Each character has two unique songs, and three songs shared with the other members of their unit.) You set up a team with cards you've collected from the gacha, which determine your power level and special skills. The "leader" of the team has to be the character whose level you've selected. The puzzle gameplay is a tile-swapping match 3—think bejeweled or candy crush—but the tiles you've matched are only cleared once a bar sliding across the screen hits them, clearing them in tune with the song. Everything cleared in a single swipe of the bar ups the combo counter. There's also a life system, where if the bar slides across the screen without clearing a single match, you lose a life… But the bar moves pretty slow. You're not likely to game over or even lose a single life any time soon. There are more difficult versions of the levels I've yet to unlock, so I'm sure the life meter becomes relevant then. There's also "auto" and "loop" features if you want to grind a level over and over for exp and items, but, of course, the computer can't score as high as you playing it yourself.

And, really, it's fun to play, so why would you want to!? The sound of matches clearing with the music is so satisfying and really makes you want to combo as high as possible. Once you've matched some tiles, you can't move them again, nor use them in a second match (eg, in a cross shape), so if you want to maximize your combo and make as many matches as possible with what's on the board, you have to think ahead about which matches you're going to make. The bar slowly crossing the screen adds a visual timed element that gives some urgency to putting all the matches together. It definitely feels like a game you can pick up an instinct for over time, which is super fun. 

All in all, a really solid, enjoyable little puzzle game. It would be fun to play even without the promise of anime boys. Stand My Heroes is also a match-3, for the record, which is what really cements the two games as being part of the same series.

Admittedly, the anime boy staring at you while you play musical candy crush is a little disconcerting.

The second gameplay mode is "Snap'n Spin", a… gameplay-lite mode that just puts chibi characters in random strange situations and lets you take pictures of them. The mode is explained to be a video game within the world of BreMai, so it's not even trying to be realistic or relevant to anything else in the game. Once you take your pokemon snaps of the boys, they get a fun little caption. You can save up to 40 pictures in your album. Other than being cute, the main way this mode interfaces with the rest of the game is that it's the primary way to unlock card stories for the cards you pulled in gacha. 

This gameplay mode is... cute? I guess? It being so disconnected from the style and aesthetics of the entire rest of the game felt weird. The chibis are adorable, so it has that going for it. And I do like some of the captions you get on the photos afterwards. My favorite were the scenes you catch of a character drinking, and then the caption reveals their current favorite drink. That's a delightful detail for a game set in a bar. Mostly, though, this mode left me wondering "why?" ...And I imagine the answer is something like "because merchandisable chibi characters are a requirement for joseimuke games." This mode could've been anything so long as these cute, starry little dudes were in it.

Urara here hated the drink and the caption revealed that, lately, his favorite thing is sparkling water. He's the youngest character in the cast, so I guess he hasn't grown into booze yet...

One last feature I want to mention is the jukebox. Like many games, BreMai has a music player that lets you listen to tracks from the game… But its music player is, genuinely, a fully-featured music player app with shuffle, repeat, lyric displays, and even background play that works when you're in another app or your phone is off. What! Wild! When I first learned a few days ago that BreMai had a built-in player for its BGM tracks, my first thought was "Well, what's stopping someone from downloading the game just to use the music player and never spending a cent on it? Wouldn't you rather have the songs on spotify so you at least get a pittance of ad revenue, in that case? It's more than nothing."

But having played the game now, I see what they did to prevent that, lol. You don't unlock the songs in the jukebox until you get an SS score on the song's level. Which, I mean, that's normal rhythm game stuff, of course. Can't fault that decision. But, as in other gacha rhythm games, your score in a level depends on the power of your team of cards, and the cards you get from the initial handful of pulls aren't gonna get you anywhere near an SS score without significant investment. So you're either buying in-game currency to buy upgrade items, more gacha pulls, or both. Of course, you can also put a bunch of time into grinding for upgrade items—they drop from levels. Gacha currency is harder to come by. So you're not getting songs in the player without actually playing the game lmfao. The character solo songs in particular (the ones with vocals rather than just instrumentals) also require you to build up rapport with that character—the game calls it "Nice". You build up Nice with them by playing their other songs and using their cards in levels. It takes 1000 Nice on a character to unlock their song. In my first day of playing, I was able to get one character to about 250 Nice, another to 200, and a handful more with a few points, so it builds at an okay pace. There's ways to pay to speed up the grinding for Nice and for upgrade items with things like level skip tickets. So, basically: you're not getting that music player to a useful state without investing either money or time, lmao. Is paying-or-grinding to get cool music you can listen to while not playing the game more "worth it" than the usual freemium game goals of better units, new in-game outfits, or prettier card illustrations? ...Honestly, maybe it is? It's novel, at least.

All gacha rhythm games have the same card select screen, don't they. These were my cards' levels after my first day of play, and you can see they didn't quite reach a suggested score of "A", much less the maximum "SS".

But I do want to stress, the monetization is, for the most part, pretty easy to ignore. Nothing in-your-face. The button to go to the shop screen is a different color, but it's not flashing with an eternal indicator, it's not popping up at every second, it's just sitting there alongside all the other menu buttons. The game isn't shoving timers in your face at all times—there's a stamina meter, which is mildly annoying, but you get ten plays when it's full, and if you're just playing casually you're probably not going to want to play the puzzle game over and over enough to fully deplete that. I know the bar is on the damn floor here but Tokyo Debunker seriously made me realize how bad it can be with mobile game monetization. BreMai is freemium, yeah, but as far as dark patterns go, it's not egregiously bad.

So, the verdict: if you're a joseimuke game fan and aren't afraid to play a game that probably won't get an English port and doesn't even have a fan translation yet (which I realize is already counting out 99.99% of people), definitely give this one a try. See if you like the gameplay—it really is worth trying—and do check out the story if you've got the ability. Or just look at the pretty anime boys. 

[tokiro07]

That reply I got on my last Zelda post made me realize that I was only thinking about the story elements for potential Zelda-led games and not the mechanics of those games. I touched on it a bit in my reply, but I wanted to dive a little bit deeper into it here

As in Echoes of Wisdom, the goal here is to find gameplay styles that de-emphasize direct combat or physical dexterity, though we don't need to completely eschew them either (even EoW Zelda throws boulders around, after all)

Skyward Sword: a common complaint with Skyward Sword was the lack of content in the sky, so I think revisiting that through Zelda herself would be a great idea. Getting to spend more time with the Loftwings would be fun too, so I'd like them to play an active role within the dungeons. To that end, I'm thinking something inspired by Team Ico's The Last Guardian would work well, with the goal being to guide and instruct the Loftwing to perform tasks, requiring the player to pay attention to its mannerisms in order to gain some semblance of control

Minish Cap: the shrinking mechanic in the original was already a game-spanning puzzle in and of itself, so revisiting that could work well for Wisdom gameplay. To differentiate it, though, I might recommend expanding it to include shrinking and growing other objects, maybe a little bit like Superliminal but on a smaller scale. Or Zelda could just be shrunk down the entire time and needs to figure out how to navigate the world around her

Four Swords/Adventures: FSA ended with Zelda talking about learning a lesson about teamwork and some such, so this could either be another co-op game where the players need to coordinate with each other, or one player would be given multiple characters to work with at once and need to keep track of them all, like the single player in Tri Force Heroes. Honestly, my problem with TFH was that it was clearly not designed for single player, so if they revisited that concept with that explicit intention, I think they could have something solid

Ocarina of Time: obviously this would be Sheik stealth game. Oracle of Seasons already had minor stealth segments, so if you expand that concept into something more akin to the classic Metal Gear games, being more focused on observation, reaction and improvization than pure memorization, I think you'd really have something

Link Between Worlds: again, the 2D/3D puzzles of the original were already exactly the kind of thing we're looking for, so if the developers felt in any way that they hadn't fully explored the concept, like giving Zelda the ability to actually perform actions in 2D rather than simply moving, I think it would be worth revisiting

Zelda 1/Adventure of Link: similar to my idea for Four Swords, I think this one would best focus on the dichotomy between the two co-existing Zeldas, so perhaps an It Takes Two approach with each character having unique abilities would be best. Again, this is a good opportunity for co-op, but I'd like it if they could be controlled simultaneously, like in FSA. Maybe something more like Mario & Luigi's overworld segments, where they're both moving at the same time and different buttons are assigned to each character to activate their unique abilities. We don't really know enough about either of these Zeldas to conjecture what powers they'd have, but if we go off of Zelda I being under a sleep curse, maybe something to do with stillness vs. motion? Like one can make things stop and the other can make things speed up? It would take some workshopping, but I see potential here

Twilight Princess: knowing so little about the Twilight Realm, I'm envisioning labyrinthian architecture, where pathfinding is the name of the game. Given the predilection for darkness, perhaps light-based puzzles would be in order

Wind Waker: this one has the best reason to expand into combat for sure since Tetra is a fighter, but coordinating with her crew to perform tasks either for puzzle-solving or combat would be a perfect way to incorporate her Wisdom into the gameplay. Maybe there would be naval battles where steering the ship in the right way or firing the cannons at the right time would help fend off enemies. Maybe on land, resource management of ammunition and other supplies would be something the player has to be mindful of, or Tetra can bring two or three of her crew along at a time like the Sages in TotK to use their abilities

Spirit Tracks: the Phantoms were already pretty much exactly what we're looking for, so I think just coming up with new Phantoms and level designs would be sufficient. Rearranging the Spirit Tracks themselves for more efficient navigation could also be fun, but I don't know if most fans want land development in their Zelda games

Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom: I already said in my last post that the Ancient Power system in TotK would have worked as a Wisdom mechanic, so again, any enhancement or refinement therein should probably go to Zelda

If I were a professional, I'm sure I could come up with something a lot more workable than these high concepts, but my main goal with this thought exercise was just to see how the extant stories could be used to make new ones, and I definitely see a lot of areas of opportunity

Of these, I personally like the Skyward Sword idea best, I like what Last Guardian was going for and would really like to see the concept explored by other developers

[journalsouppe]

Ever since I accidentally picked up and played DGS, I knew I needed to play PLVSPW. I decided to alternate playing ace attorney games with professor layton games until I finished the main trilogies for both and could finally play plvspw, and it was so worth the wait. I love this game so much it is everything I could have hoped and more, so so so much more. Highly recommend to honestly anyone!!!

All of the Professor Layton stickers are from jordydrawsmerch which can be found here and here. All of the Phoenix stickers are by Peachcott!! Every other sticker is from Daiso!

Writing typed below!

Rating: 9.7 Played: Fa 2023 Port: 3DS Favorite? Y Replayable? Y Recommend? Y

Comments

AA stickers by Peachcott, PL stickers by Jordydraws

THE MUSIC???

WITHCES??? TALOS???

HIS NAME IS NOT FUCKING CAR ACCIDENT

I like the UI esp with how the stylus interacts with the screen

Omg the yiga

Omg traveling is easier AND they give you coin and puzzle hints

OH IM JUST NOW IN CORT AFTER THAT INSANE SEQ

WHAT IS GOING ON

LOVE maya’s model

THE REUSED ASPECTS IN DGS OMG

THE CUNTY POSE AAAA

THE PIPE WHACK LMAO

WHITE PAYNE

Love the design of labyrinthia

Im curious if nick and maya will be bombarded with puzzles

I LOVE how the 3D and tech of the 3DS are used to make more dynamic puzzles

A LIVE EXECUTION?

Lmao B&W LSOH moment (Kira ate flowers which is smth that happened in the original non-musical little shop of horrors movie)

SOME GUY

WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYA AND NICK HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 5 YEARS

Cinderellia lol

Omg the book roof

Labyrinthia at night music is sooo pretty

Kira is the killer… right?

I am so stressed about Luke and maya

Hershel to see the storyteller??

THE PRINCESS TUTU AND DROSSELMEYER VIBSE ARE OFF THE CHARTS

Luke is too small for the defense table T_T

THE STORYTELLERS DAUGHTER??

THE BELL TOWER??

Curse…

LUKE NOOO

WHAT IS GOING ON?? T-T

LMAO NOT ANOTHER PARROT WITNESS

BARNHAM NOO

Top of town so pretty

Major shrek 2 vibes

Is that a bust of cabanela

Layton said lets go somewhere more private LMFAO

I love the nick and Luke dynamic… but at what cost T_T

LAYTON’S ??? AND HIS THEME AHHH

HERSHEL NOOOO

Obsessed with rouge’s design and tattoo

THE WAY I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW HERSHEL AHHH

Love the assistant/mentor switch

MAYA EATING RAMEN AND HERSHEL DRINKING TEA IN THEIR PIXEL ART

^ Maya copies other idles! luke writes in his journal and nick reads his paper!

LOVE darklaws claws!

the vigilante witnesses....

is it really a layton game if there's no tower

GOD DAMN HERSHEL love his sword fighting

omg who is bezella

will layton act as the prosecutor??

the battle against the professor is so nerve wracking

just learned why its called pl VS pw

GO OFF KIRA

ESPELLA AND DARKLAW AS KIDS AWW T^T <333

ooo darklaw's laws have the eyes on them

the "magic" is so complicated

i feel like eve the cat is v important but overlooked

WHERE IS LUKE I MISS HIM T^T

love the belfry search

ooo this is like princess tutu x tunic

this took a sharp turn omg

THESE LADIES T~T

FORK LIFT CERTIFIED LUKE LMAO

BARNHAM!

love eve's black outfit

YURI LETS GO

PROF??

EDGEWORTH??

Summary

This game is everything I hoped it would be. yes it's a Professor Layton crossover, but it also has the charm of DGS x Princess tutu x tunic. The ending was very layton-esque, along with all the reveals. I truly had such an amazing time playing this game. I was initially introduced to this because I heard that DGS was inspired by it, so it was my mission to play both aa and pl's original trilogies before playing. And I am so glad I did bc the wait was so worth it. You can absolutely see the influence this game and professor layton had on Shu Takumi. There's so much passion and creativity between plvspw an dgs that makes playing them all the more enjoyable. I loved how all the main characters interacted with each other, I especially loved how hershel and phoenix swapped assistants. The new characters were also so fun. Espella, Barnham, Darklaw, the story-teller, they were all so unique and enjoyable to interact with. The animation was stellar. This 3D style really works for both PL and AA and im so glad both series took inspiration from it. The music and art was phenomenal, this game honestly should win awards if it hasn't already done so. I also love how any character pulled into an aa game will have their gay moments: phoenix x hershel and espella x eve especially. I can't wait to make art or even write for this game, I will definitely add scenes from this to my ballet au ^^! What a phenomenal game, what a fun premise with the most convoluted layton-esque ending. It was so perfectly I highly recommend!!

[ichijager13]

A Trip To the Bookstore

Fandom: Attack on titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)

Rating: General Audience.

CW: really none, just me getting my Dad!Eren scenarios and exploiting my baby fever.

Family fluff, Fater-daughter moment

Word Count: 770 words.

Summary:

For her fifth birthday, Eren takes his daughter Nina to the bookstore.

Standing in front of the bookstore’s door, Eren looked down at his daughter and asked, “Are you ready for this adventure, little one?” Unable to contain her excitement, Nina nodded vigorously. “Then let’s go,” the young father cheered, pushing the door open.

For her fifth birthday, Eren promised the young girl to take her to a bookstore nearby after work. The previous night, before going to bed, the two of them made a deal. They agreed that she could choose up to four books and that they would stop by the neighborhood’s bakery to buy a birthday cake.

Nina’s big, jade green eyes, which she inherited from her father, wandered around the place. Taken aback by how big the store was, she scanned the multiple floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books of all sizes and colors. A few minutes later, she glanced at her father, silently asking with her round, emerald-colored eye for permission to let go of his hand and go explore every corner of that magical place. An encouraging smile brightened Eren’s features as he slowly released the small and delicate hand he had been holding since they left home.

The little girl’s steps were hesitant at first, but when she noticed there were other kids around, exploring the store, her attitude slowly changed. She started picking up books and flipping the pages.

From time to time, she would turn to check whether her father was tagging along. Each time their eyes met, she would flash him a wide smile with her tongue poking from behind the missing tooth she had lost a week ago.

“Daddy,” Nina called for her father minutes later and pointed out one of the shelves out of her reach. “Can I have dis one, pwease?”

“Which one, darling?” he asked, studying the books lined on that shelf.

“Da one with snow.”

“Nice choice. I’ve read those when I was your age,” he commented, picking up the first book of the Tomten series. “How about we check if they have the whole collection before we leave?” The little brunette hummed in response, visibly happy. “Wanna look for more books?”

Nina nodded as her father pushed the strands of brown-colored hair that escaped from under her hat and partially covered her eyes. He then watched her go back to her book quest.

“Did you find anything?” he asked when he noticed she had been staring at the same shelf for several minutes.

She nodded before bending to grab a copy of The Giving Tree and handing it to him.

“Another nice pick. That’s my girl,” he approved, going through the pages of one of his childhood reads.

Eren knew that this experience was going to be unique. However, he didn’t expect it to unlock so many memories from his childhood.

“Thewe’s anotha’ one too. It has a gween dwagon with blue hownes hiding in a pocket.” She tugged at the hem of his dark gray duffle coat.

“Whatever my princess wants,” he said, gently squishing her rosy cheeks. “Where did you see it?”

“Thewe.” She designated a shelf behind him.

He grabbed the book and showed it to her. “This one?”

“Mhm!” Nina responded, giddily smiling.

“That’s all?”

She nodded once again before asking, “Can we stay a little longa’, pwease Daddy, pwease?” She looked up at him with big, round, and pleading eyes.

“Of course, my dear. I love this place so much. I have so many lovely memories here.” Noticing her puzzled expression, he explained dreamily, “Oma and I used to come here a lot with Uncle Armin. It was our favorite place,” he voiced, embracing the whole place with his loving gaze. He could’ve sworn he could hear his mother’s voice chatting with the owner as Armin and he were looking for their next reads. “And I wanted my little princess to discover it as well. Do you like it?”

“I love it, Daddy! Can we come back soon?”

“Of course, we can visit whenever you want.”

“Thank you.”

Nina spent the next thirty minutes happily wandering around and inspecting every nook and cranny of the store.

Once they asked for the remaining books from the series, they headed to the cashier.

“Is it your birthday, sweety?" the checkout girl inquired when Eren asked for a birthday card. She offered Nina a bunny shaped balloon when Nina bobbed her head.

Later that day, both dressed in their pajamas, Eren and Nina ate their cake slices while going through the pages of the books they bought that day.

Nina listened to her father tell her funny stories about the place and the old owner.

[midnighttrain-project]

Hello everyone! It’s time for another development blog!

Thank you very much for the support I received in the previous post! This time, the focus will be pixel art! In particular, we will talk about the creative process behind the new sprites of the remake.

As some of you may already know, MerúM is the artist in charge of the pixel art in Midnight Train. Let’s ask him some questions about it!

🌙🚂 Interview with MerúM 🚂🌙

Lydia: First of all, could you introduce yourself?

MerúM: I call myself MerúM. I am the pixel artist of Midnight Train: New Moon, and I am in charge of the sprites and animations of the characters. I also worked on Aria's Story and the previous version of Midnight Train doing the same job.

Lydia: The character sprites in Midnight Train: New Moon look quite different from the original version. Is there any reason for this change?

MerúM: Well, before the switch to RPG Maker MV, I was already working on the new sprites and animations for the Midnight Train remake. However, once we changed programs, I noticed that the character sprites were very small compared to the current screen dimensions. I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to redo the sprites from scratch as well, increasing their dimensions and detailing them more than the previous version allowed me, without wanting to move them too far away from the previous chibi style.

Lydia: Right now, you already completed all the characters sprites for chapter 1. Was there any challenge or something you’re really proud about? 

MerúM: After changing the sprites, the expressiveness of the characters has improved a lot. Characters now have many more unique animations and expressions, solidifying their personalities. I think this new style works very well with the aesthetic of Midnight Train’s world and makes them look quite unique from character to character.

Lydia: Could you describe your workflow and what programs you use to create your work?

MerúM: For my sprites, I use Aseprite. Before starting with a specific character, I tend to draw their base sprites and their walking animations. After this, I receive a list of events that will occur in the game related to those characters, and then I create the sprites and animations that fit into said scenes using the base sprites as a reference. Usually, I am in charge of designing how these scenes will look in pixel art, but with some more specific or complicated scenes I have received a quick sketch of how the sprite/animation should look like as a visual aid, and thus arrive at the version that best suits the scene.

Lydia: I’m just curious about something… Who is your favorite character from Midnight Train?

MerúM: I think all the characters are fantastic, maybe I could consider Neil Lawton my favorite. I think, in the end, we should all be a little like Neil. Even if you are afraid at first to move forward, just do it. This is what Neil does, he may be afraid, but he faces this fear to survive.

Lydia: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

MerúM: What else could I say? I think Midnight Train: New Moon brings a story that will appeal to anyone who is passionate about mystery stories. By the way, it's fun to mention that in addition to Justice, Purity and some secondary characters, I have been the main designer of Larissa, one of the new characters in this remake. I hope you play Midnight Train: New Moon and get to know her!

🌙🚂 Progress 🚂🌙

I hope you liked the interview with MerúM! I wouldn't have been able to create my games without his help, as I'm pretty bad at pixel art. I'm excited to see all the sprites he will create for chapter 2! I personally can't wait to see Apollo's animations. Now, I want to report about the development of the game. I’m almost finished with the maps of chapter 2, so I expect to start programming this chapter very soon! Literally, there is only one map left…! I wanted to add a new puzzle to this map, so I’ve been stuck brainstorming ideas… Ahh, it feels like facing a final boss before proceeding to the next step.

Thank you a lot for your support and patience! See you next time~

[musicfranchisetournament]

propaganda under the cut !!

break my case :

The music variety is so fun and the rhythm-puzzle gameplay is so engrossing!! The depth to all the characters in the story with a setting that's very down-to-earth makes it feel like these guys are my friends and coworkers for reals.

hanadoll :

MY FAVORITE MUSIC PROJECT OF ALL MUSIC PROJECTS EVER. the basic premise is that there's this idol agency ( amagiri production ) looking to create the "perfect idol" and in order to achieve this, they developed a flower implant technology to nuture the potential of their idols. it currently has three seasons of voice dramas ( the fourth one is coming soon, which they just announced along w an anime for the s1 dramas in 2025 !! ) the first season follows the "main" idol group, anthos, in their predebut days and their struggles of "blooming" their flower seeds in order to become a full fledged idol group. season two adds another group, louloudi, and follows both them and anthos after their debut ( s2 also adds a new member to anthos !! ) and finally season three is well. i shant say but it's so good you gotta trust me i've been a fan for like. three or fourish years now its been great<3 aside from the story content though, the songs are truly so good !! i'm rather partial to s1 and s3 anthos music but basically everything slaps rlly hard wehehehe :] the lyrics are also insane and there's lot's of hint and puzzles/riddles/clues abt the story presented in them and in the mvs themselves !! also the art is gorgeous thank u teita <3 overall the project is just really really cool and honestly i think everyone should give it a try. trust :] ALSO last point but if anyone cares abt seiyuus here they have SUCH a good vocal cast its insane. in anthos we have seiichi, massun, itoken, tokishun, horie shun, daiki hamano, and wataru komada . . . then in louloudi we have tosshii, yamashita daiki, and takeuchi shunsuke . . . soooo good ouhh

Beloved silly crazy science media where a bunch of guys are implanted with a seed that blossoms when they reach their true potentional. The media is dark delving into different forms of trauma as we navigate the relationship ships between each of the members. The concept is super unique and the description of the blossoms blooming sounds so painful that I was shocked to read about it in a silly music franchise. The songs are ... so good lyrically and make you stare at a wall for a while.. the designs for all the characters really stand out. It's got some strange slightly immoral human experimentation science in a music media what more could u want.

[theresattrpgforthat]

hello! i have been really enjoying your suggestions so far, and i have bookmarked a lot of them to try. thank you for putting them together! i do have a question/request that i didn't find an answer to after searching your blog.

i really like the strategy and worldbuilding aspects of ttrpgs, but to be honest, i think my very favorite parts are the social situations, character-building, and friendship-building. fleshing out characters by having conversations and making decisions as a team, creating vivid stories together, solving puzzles using character or team traits, that sort of thing. i don't know if that's too general of a concept for a ttrpg to focus on, since most games in general have a social aspect, but i figured i'd ask if there were any that do focus on that part, just in case.

anyways, thank you again for all the work you do! <3

THEME: Character Growth and Spotlight.

Hello, thank you so much! I am very excited to get down to this ask. I was thinking about what might scratch this itch here; I have a lot of similar goals when it comes to playing TTRPGs. Watching a character grow over the course of play and learning about who they are is so satisfying, and putting them in situations where they interact with other characters in a meaningful way has created some of the best moments in my games this year. Let’s pull from a couple of different places to see if we can get what we’re looking for.

Spectres of Brocken, by ehronlime.

Spectres of Brocken is a role-playing game about making friends and then years later going to war against them in giant mechs. Make up some young, naive, messy trainee mech pilots. Find out who you are. Find out who you are to each other. Find out what you want in the world. Years later, find each other on the field of battle, each in your own fearsome custom mechs. Find out who you've become. Find out what you've all done to get here. Find out what costs you would pay to get what you want in the world.

I was clued into this game by @monsterfactoryfanfic's video about the two phases of play replicate the transition from high school to real life, and the strain it can place on your relationships. In Spectres of Brocken, your characters are experiencing that in the context of a large war, with the possibility that they are fighting on opposing sides. This game gives you character advancement, but it’s not like the other games on this list: advancement is a phase of the game that brings you from one half to the next. The most powerful move gives your character the ability to heal from wounds from the past; it gives this game a sense of hope, and I think is perfectly reflective of the character growth that you’re looking for.

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes and Watson, by Martian Machinery. (Requires Good Society to play)

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes & Watson is a role-playing game about a crime-fighting, mystery-solving team. Players can roleplay their own take on the famous partnership, taking the roles of Holmes and Watson and putting their own spin on the story, or they can create original investigators and navigate either the Holmes casebook or cases of their own design.

Explore a Partnership. While the characters are tasked with solving mysteries, the partnership itself is the focus of Holmes & Watson. Is it a smoothly efficient operation, or does it buzz with chaotic energy? Are the partners the best of friends or do they just barely put up with one another? The cases they undertake together will test their relationship; it may draw them closer together or push them apart.

Good Society has a unique mechanic in its Reputation tracker that can wax or wane throughout play, and I think it might replicate the character growth that you’re looking for. What Holmes and Watson brings to this game is the intrigue and action of a murder mystery - and the teamwork built into running a detective agency. A Holmes and Watson campaign includes slowly uncovering your arch-enemy, a nemesis who is a true master of crime.

The Watch, by Ash Kreider.

…your people were semi-nomadic, living in clans with an ever-shifting network of alliances and enmities. Although one people, the clans were diverse in tradition, outlook, and custom. Those along the old border were traders, prosperous and widely traveled. Those living in the central plains were gatherers and trappers. And those living furthest from the outside world were mountain herders, solitary and secretive. And then the Shadow came.

Powered by the Apocalypse games are known for the complex relationships between characters and the moves that make your social connections a treasured resource. The Watch takes these relationships and strains them by placing the player characters into a world tainted by a chaotic, toxic force that has stoked rivalry and feud. The Shadow is a thinly veiled metaphor for patriarchy, so expect some heavy moments in this game. Your characters will be disappointed. That being said, this feels like a game where each character will have a moment to shine, using moves to evoke really powerful moments.

If you want to hear The Watch in action, you can check out the actual play podcast Trials of the Apocalypse, which has a short series of The Watch in their feed.

Alchemistresses, by Gal Pal Games.

Alchemistresses is a tabletop roleplaying game designed to let you play out a season of a magical girl anime. Players will take on the role of everyday teens going to high school and dealing with all of the shenanigans that ensue. But there is something very special about these particular teens. They are the reincarnations of very powerful magical beings from the ancient past. They are the Mistresses of the five elements - the Alchemistresses. 

The Alchemistresses have forgotten who they were and what they could do. But when the world needs them again, their magic starts to return, along with tantalizing glimpses of their past lives. 

Play Alchemistresses to find out: who were you then? Who are you now? What will you give to save the world? And by the way, who are you going to ask to prom?

Another game about self-actualization, Alchemistresses combines the cycle of high school with legendary adventures of mythical beings. You’ll have moments where you’re stressing over classes and crushing on a classmate, but you’ll also have moments when you’re fighting the forces of evil and wielding great magical powers.

Neon Black, by NotWriting.

Neon Black is a role-playing game about a community of poor people fighting back against tyrannical corporations and the indifference of the rich, as well as surviving in a dystopian city state. It’s like real life, but in this world you can kill the CEO’s, rob banks to pay rent, and help your friends do the same. You'll help your community, go on dangerous heists, explore artificial realities, and encounter friendly and nefarious machines. We play to find out if the community can survive amidst warring corporations, an unforgiving climate, and the negligence of the extravagantly wealthy.

Forged in the Dark games’ biggest strength is the ability to build something as you play. In Neon Black, the thing you build is a community. Your community is under threat, usually from a large corporate power, and you’ll be crafting missions to get your community necessary supplies, dealing devastating blows to corporate threats, looking for allies and in general trying to make life better for your neighbours. As a cyberpunk game, this goal is going to be a struggle, and death is looming in the background. I think that this game has a lot of potential to watch something that is bigger than your characters grow, and your characters will undeniably be changed in the process.

Additionally, there are a number of other Forged in the Dark games that will give you a chance to really revel in your character's cool abilities and the building of something great. I'm going to list a number of other games I've recommended in the past below.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Moth-Light, by Justin Ford.

Bump in the Dark, by JexJThomas.

Brinkwood: Blood of Tyrants, by Far Horizons Co-Op.

Slugblaster, by Mikey Hamm.

Songs For the Dusk, by Kavita Poduri.

[switch]

it’s that time of the year again, it’s

Switch’s List of Halloween Games

games on this list are all 10+ years old, mostly on the more obscure or niche side, and if they’re not outright horror games they have a tone or theme appropriate for the season. because of their age, many have not been re-released, but if you know what you're doing that won't stop you. obligatory disclaimer to check content warnings for all of these games if interested. screenshots distributed randomly as i didn't want this post to be any longer than it already is.

The Residents' Bad Day on the Midway (1995)

a rather free-form black comedy point-and-click game set in a creepy carnival. you can freely swap between any characters that show up onscreen, read their stream of consciousness, and get different endings (or die) with each of them. this game makes full use of the setting, storytelling format, and uniquely repulsive art style established in The Residents' Freak Show, but now with more game to actually play, including minor puzzle-solving, even if a lot of it is optional. the game runs on a relatively short timer, and is intended for multiple quick replays.

The Dark Eye (1995)

The Dark Eye comes from our old friends at Inscape (who also made Bad Day up there and the infamous Drowned God), and is best known for using grotesque-looking stop-motion clay figures for its cutscenes. it’s a point-and-click adventure game that plays through multiple nightmarish Edgar Allan Poe stories across a single framing plot. the game can be a bit obtuse mechanically to play, but is another strong pick if you want a more artistic, psychological, less cheesy tone (and paint thinner that destroys your bones) than some of these other games.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1995)

one of the best point-and-click adventure games out there from a narrative and character standpoint, and a fantastic adaptation and expansion of the original story. the psychodrama device is something i’m a big fan of and they make full use of it. actual mechanics or methods of getting certain endings can be rather obtuse, but if you're familiar with this genre it’s par for the course, and it's such a worthwhile and cathartic experience. very strong voice acting performances all around in a genre that tends to be associated with the opposite of that. either way, I consider this one a must-play game in the genre whether you've already read the original short story or not.

GARAGE: Bad Dream Adventure (1999/2021)

a Japanese point-and-click psychological horror adventure game with a storied history, formerly widely inaccessible until 2014. GARAGE has been re-released in English on modern platforms by its original developer, something i'm very grateful for, and with new endings. GARAGE has an art style like nothing else I've ever seen before or since, with 90's 3D graphics depicting claustrophobic industrial spaces and alien-looking biomechanical characters that can be deeply uncomfortable to even look at, while the game challenges you to look past that surface. it also features some resource management and a fishing minigame! fascinating, genuine, hard to swallow, and a very strong recommendation.

Sanitarium (1998)

another very strong entry in the point-and-click adventure game genre, and it’s an isometric one this time. its puzzle design in particular is well-regarded for the genre, and its absence of any kind of game-over/softlock system unlike its more punishing genre cousins, as it really does want you to experience its whole narrative (although, it can be prone to crashing or breaking progression. save often). each level is highly and uniquely themed, though the tone is consistently more surreal than horror. the overarching story is much more cohesive and heartfelt than the initial apparent premise and setting might make you suspect.

CarnEvil (1998)

a classic, darkly comedic on-rails Arcade light gun shooter. CarnEvil is just a blast to play, set in a variety of attractions in a demonic undead carnival, with responsive gun controls, an adaptive goring system, and highly memorable enemy variety and scripted set-pieces all absolutely full of personality, all backed by fantastic sound design. power ups are dubiously balanced and the difficulty, while not blatantly unfair, becomes roughly what you’d expect for a game made to eat quarters, but you’d be playing this on an emulator, so that’s only a factor for self-imposed challenges. comes built-in with a menu to disable or enable things like various gore settings or tone down the appearance of certain enemies to your preference level. whether you’ve played a lot of arcade shooters or want to give the genre a shot, you can’t go wrong with CarnEvil. never a dull moment in this game.

Illbleed (2001)

a campy, unconventional, third-person survival horror Dreamcast entry that's gained somewhat of a cult following, you may primarily know it as "that game with the demonic sonic the hedgehog boss in it." another game set in an evil theme park, with attractions based on horror movies, but all of which feature fun and surprising spins on their premises and mechanical shakeups suited to each level. the mall and woodpuppets are my personal favorites. multiple playable characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, and NG+. the game can have a bit of a steep learning curve and somewhat obtuse mechanics, and you'll certainly want to read a guidebook (lest you commit the mistake every youtuber who plays this game ever makes and miss the horror monitor entirely), but it's quite generous with providing funds to access items and upgrades once you're past that. the unique, meticulous gameplay style of managing your stats and sweeping for traps inbetween high-risk combat encounters has been both praised and criticized.

Harvester (1996)

it's Harvester. you might have heard of it. a shocking, gory, cheesy black comedy horror point-and-click adventure game. the game infamously utterly falls apart in both mechanically and narratively its final third, but there really just is nothing else out there like the first two-thirds of Harvester, and i think that alone makes it worth playing at least once if you have the stomach for it. i’m tempted to call it a classic, but i’m still not fully sure how to regard this game. Harvester is Harvester.

Shivers (1995)

a Myst-like that surpasses all other Myst-likes, if you ask me. Shivers added just enough QoL improvements and just enough tension to the formula to be enjoyable by both people who normally like Myst games and people who might normally not. features an auto-memory for puzzle hints and the possibility of death without ever being unfair. limited item management is the main thing still applying here. light use of FMV. the varied museum settings, rich use of colors and shadows, strong soundscapes, audio cues, and fun voice performance by the recurring narrator really makes the whole thing memorable. spooky in a fun way.

The 7th Guest (1993)

Myst's CD ROM drive selling cousin, you probably won't get more pure Halloween-y than with this game's theming, haunted mansion setting, and use of FMV. the game can be a bit incoherent at times, and it's a point-and-click adventure puzzle game with heavy emphasis on its relatively challenging puzzles, which is either a good or bad thing depending on what you want. features a very fun soundtrack and fun story.

(as an aside, i've also heard the VR remake is good. haven't played it myself, but its use of FMV actors in VR is certainly praise-worthy when Myst ended up dropping that particular ball.)

Phantasmagoria (1995)

while i've never personally been a fan of this one, Phantasmagoria was objectively a landmark entry in point-and-click adventure games, in horror games, in FMV games, and in Sierra On-Line's/Roberta Williams' whole catalog. in terms of its genre, it's actually on the approachable end in terms of puzzle difficulty! it's known for its extremely over-the-top gore and violence, but it takes itself more seriously than the likes of Harvester, or it at least tries to. if you're someone who can enjoy a messy, gross, gory horror movie, you might enjoy Phantasmagoria. i can certainly respect its use of practical effects...

even people who like this game don't tend to like Phantasmagoria 2, though.

The Path (2009)

a full-on walking simulator art game that tells an overarching Red Riding Hood-themed story with almost no dialogue. multiple characters and endings to go through, and lots of collectibles, some of which do things and some don't. if you just don't like walking sims it's unlikely this would do it for you, but if you're someone who does enjoy a good walking sim, this is a classic entry. the forest is a beautiful setting to explore and the soundtrack sells the uncomfortable and somber tone well.

American McGee's Alice + Alice Madness Returns (2000/2011)

action-adventure platformers. american mcgee's alice features fantastic setpieces and level design, responsive controls yet somewhat slippery platforming, an arsenal of highly unbalanced but fun weapons, good enemy variety, a fantastic soundtrack, and a high level of challenge. alice madness returns heavily tones down the challenge and former emphasis on weapons, enemy variety, and boss battles in exchange for highly responsive platforming, a rewarding collectible system, and a deeply cathartic story. they're both games i repeatedly come back to for their own reasons. i'd recommend getting the original version of AMA and not the 2011 re-release if you can help it, but it's not a dealbreaker.

The Colonel's Bequest (1989)

another Roberta Williams classic, it's a charming and detailed murder mystery graphic adventure game that has an emphasis on discovery and characters more than puzzles. the game is split across multiple acts with various characters on schedules, and is full of conversations to eavesdrop on, clues to find, and notebook entries to fill out, or not find. there's multiple endings and multiple ways to die, and you can complete the game even with varying levels of overall notebook completion. it’s a game designed for replays, and it’s still arguably one of the most well-made and most complete games of its kind out there. it's got a good sequel in 1992's Dagger of Amon Ra, which isn't on this list purely for not feeling very Halloweeny.

you can play this one in-browser through archive org! just look for the manual for both the game and the emulator to make sure everything runs smoothly and that you don't get walled by the copy protection...

Honorable Mentions:

Troubled Souls (1994, Classic Mac OS)

troubled souls is, admittedly, ‘just’ a little ol pipe-style puzzle game, no story here like the others. yknow, it’s like pipe mania. but, it’s a highly themed, creepy-looking pipe game. plus, it's got an absolutely killer BGM loop. if you’re ever gonna play any time-killing dedicated puzzle games this October, it may as well include some Troubled Souls.

Pathologic Classic HD (2005/2015)

It's Pathologic. you've almost certainly heard of it. i hesitantly dropped Patho down to honorable mention just because it's exploded so much in popularity these past couple years compared to the others on this list, but i'm recommending Classic HD specifically because i think a lot of people these days might only play 2, but i can't overstate what a wonderful and all-around complete package Classic is. it's a challenging survival game, but i don't find it the unwinnable, hyper-obtuse, archaic, anti-game it gets hyped as. the ebb and flow of its VN-influenced storytelling format and slower, meticulous, moment-to-moment gameplay that will then spike into being utterly frantic just often enough is highly engaging, as is its stat management. look, you can use a walkthrough/hint guide if you want to not get locked out of an ending, it's fine.

Shivers 2 (1997)

another game i'm personally not a fan of, but it's well-loved by the people who do like it. it's really Shivers in name only, but it preserves the improvements made to the Myst-like formula, so you can't go wrong if you enjoy a good Myst-like. i also can't deny that the game's rock music theme, desert setting, and overall presentation has its charm.

Dark Seed (1992)

another point-and-click puzzle adventure game, most noted for its H.R. giger designs, though its tone is ultimately less horror and more subdued and genre-conventional quirky than that initial selling point might have you think. the game runs on a persistent timer, and both the puzzles and click areas can be difficult to parse, making for a game that isn't interested in not being dated and induces tension more through frustration than through actually being horror, and it doesn't do much that any of its numerous genre cousins don't do better. still, an interesting if dated game that one can get a kick out of, at least once. there's not much i can say about this one that Majuular hasn't already explained better.

Dark Seed 2 (1995)

this will explain everything.

The 11th Hour (1995)

The 7th Guest's very bad, no good, utterly tonally inexplicable, terrible sequel. only worth playing if you want to see even more cheesy FMV, more mansion, or more Stauf.

Zombieville (1997, EU)

an overly-ambitious oddball point-and-click action-ish-adventure game that went through development hell. most notable for its system wherein characters (including yourself) can turn into zombies, using the rare 'return of the living dead'-style of intelligent zombies, and also for featuring Greg Proops in one of his only video game VA roles, ever. massive disclaimer that the game is extremely buggy, unpredictable, and unfinished in many areas, even if it is possible to reach its (thematically strange...) ending with a guide. an interesting time capsule of missed potential, but unlikely to be enjoyed in any capacity unless you have a very specific kind of technical or genre curiosity.

[eccentric-nucleus]

actually if i'm gonna make a games rec post.

here are some games i have enjoyed recent-ish.

kenshi. an open-world squad-based rpg with base-building elements. get stronger by getting beaten up. lose a fight and get knocked out, have your weapons and food taken by the bandits that mugged you and left you bleeding to death. get rescued by some slavers that capture you and sell you into slavery. free yourself from slavery and limp away until you roll in hours later with a whole squad of overpowered fighters. then head a little bit too far south and get murdered by skin bandits. they take your skin. this is a completely self-directed game; there's no "main plot", although arguably "figure out the history of the world" is kind of the main 'story' mystery. there's also a bunch of unique recruitable characters with custom-written interactions. i usually recruit exclusively from freeing slaves but you can do w/e.

wildmender. a survival gardening game. this one came out recently and the devs are still releasing bugfixes; it's unclear if they'll make large content patches in the future. apparently multiplayer can still be pretty glitchy, and there's a water flow bug that i've been finding very frustrating. the way biomes work is kind of unsatisfying. kind of slim content-wise, but still, i really enjoyed what's there. out of all of the climate change terraforming anxiety games i've seen, this has been the one i've most enjoyed.

hellpoint. a scifi soulslike made by a team of like 12 people. previously i had thought things like "it would be neat if dark souls was less linear". hellpoint is a great example of why that might be a nightmare. the areas are connected in such a complex way, with one-way routes and branching unlock keys and secret paths and hidden doors behind hidden doors that it gets profoundly disorienting. a hint: almost every single hidden door in the game (there are a lot) is the middle panel of the same exact three-paneled-wall geometry. once you notice what it is you will see it everywhere. also, the enemy designs are hot.

crystal project. remember playing fan translations of final fantasy v? remember wandering around in old mmos? crystal project is kind of a... turn-based rpg mmo-influenced platformer. with a job system. you can sequence break the game from the tutorial level and also at basically every other point in the game too, although until you know what to look for it might seem like there's a linear critical path. but there's a lot out there. hint: play on easy mode. the combat gets tough later on and the game absolutely expects you to be finding and exploiting some class combinations.

astlibra: revision. a sidescrolling rpg. it must have been released episodically originally or some of the chapter pacing makes no sense. also it was originally released with a mess of art sourced from all sorts of places; 'revision' is a re-release with a more unified art style. it gets extremely anime all the time. there's a whole obligatory section where you have to ask all the women in a town about what kind of panties they're wearing. it's rough. i enjoyed how chaotic the systems are and how much Stuff there is to pick up and upgrade and unlock. the plot goes some unexpected places though it doesn't quite stick the landing, i still enjoyed what it did. also karon should be the love interest instead.

silicon zeroes. a cpu-building puzzle game. this straddles the line between the tech/code games that are literally just "learn a new language and code in it" and ones that are more structure-themed like, idk, spacechem. connect modules to assemble solutions to problems. it takes too long to get to chapter 3, which is where they start asking you to make entire cpus.

ashen. another souls-like. i just really like the environments in this one. the initial area looks gorgeous and the way it changes through the game is really neat to see happen. the seat of the matriarch is wonderfully awful to traverse and i wish there had been two or three more dungeons like it in the game. you can't level up; you gain stats mostly by progressing sidequests and the name quest. i eventually ran out of things to spend money on AND inventory space to store items. the late-game tuning is a little rough but until then it's great. a hint: there are three weapon types and within that type nearly all the weapons are identical. you get thrown so many weapons that don't matter; don't worry about collecting all of them. see above re: running out of space and things to use money for.

i guess it would be cheating to recommend minecraft regrowth or morrowind but i have also been playing those.

[roguerevieweradl]

Heathers Review (Pelican Productions) - 12/09/2024

Stepping into Heathers, I knew we were in for a wild ride, but I wasn’t prepared for the sheer power and presence of this cast. 

Tayla Prime as Heather Chandler was an absolute force of nature. She dominated the stage with so much authority that I found myself genuinely intimidated from the audience! I wouldn’t dare cross her Chandler—if I were in Westerberg High, I’d be running for the hills. It was a performance that oozed confidence and power, embodying the iconic ‘mythic b****’ perfectly.

Teagan Garvey as JD had some great moments, especially in the beginning where he played up JD’s charm to a T. His descent into madness was compelling, with Garvey really showcasing the complexity of the role. There were a few moments where his vocals fell a little flat, but overall, he was stellar and brought a lot to the table.

Then there’s Samantha Keough as Veronica—wow. I have never been so in awe of a voice. She didn’t just deliver; she owned the character, adding her unique vocal flair rather than just doing a by-the-numbers version of Veronica. I’d go so far as to say she’s one of the best Veronicas I’ve seen in Adelaide!

Caitlin Laventure as Heather Duke was a standout for me. Talk about a triple threat—the dancing, the singing, the acting, all flawlessly executed. I honestly can’t believe she isn’t already a staple in the professional scene. It was hard to keep my eyes off her whenever she was on stage.

Lily Horton-Stewarts Heather McNamara was another highlight. "Lifeboat" was a real emotional journey, and she took the audience right along with her. I could feel her anxiety bubbling under the surface, and when it broke, it was powerful. A beautifully crafted performance.

And then, Darcie Yelland as Martha—my heart. She brought so much warmth and life to Martha that you just wanted to give her a hug. By the time "Kindergarten Boyfriend" hit, I was a complete mess. It’s a challenging role to pull off, but Yelland absolutely nailed it.

I have to mention my favorite duo of the night: Zach Bartlett and Freddie Windle as Kurt and Ram. These two bounced off each other perfectly, delivering the humor and energy the roles require. They’re an iconic duo, and I truly hope to see them working together in the future!

Hannah Brown as Ms. Fleming brought so much life to the ditzy teacher role. You could really sense how much she cared about her News Crew… which made for a lot of laughs. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her performance!

The song of the night had to be ‘My Dead Gay Son’. The dads, Leo Sage and Hanno de Klerk, absolutely nailed it! The audience couldn’t stop clapping, and we just wanted more. Well done to both actors for a standout performance.

The ensemble deserves massive credit as well. The choreography and vocals were tight and well-constructed, with each piece fitting together like a perfectly synchronized puzzle. You could just feel the joy radiating off the entire cast, which gave the performance an extra spark of magic.

As for the set design, it was nothing short of spectacular. I loved the concept—especially how the brick wall split apart, and the two-story levels made the stage feel dynamic and immersive. I found myself wondering how long it took to build because it was just so beautifully crafted.

The lighting was also brilliantly executed. I loved how they played within the scheme. My favorite moment had to be during the bomb sequence, where the stage transformed into what looked like a disco ball for just a moment, symbolizing the explosion—it was an inventive and effective choice.

Sound was mostly on point. While there were a few minor issues with mics not being turned on in time or some effects coming in late, the sound mix overall was fantastic. Missing a couple of lines didn’t take away from how well everything sounded.

Big shoutout to the creative team. You’ve put on an amazing rendition of Heathers, and I’m excited to see what you all work on next. Overall, this cast for Heathers knocked it out of the park. From powerhouse performances to stellar ensemble work, this show was a treat from start to finish.