#Not everything has to go on forever

[goombasa]

Embracing Shorter Experiences

So one of the things that I really wanted to do this year was make a concerted effort to try and clear off a lot of the games from my backlog. This has included a lot of older and more classic games, and let me tell you, one thing that I've noticed when going through several classic and older game collections, is that these older games, even earler 3D games, respected the player's time so, so much more.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a longer experience now and then. I love binging older anime that had upwards of near a hundred episodes. I have played a lot of modern RPGs that require something like 60+ hours to just see the end of the main quest. That's not me bragging, I just want to lay down that I have no trouble with longer experiences, but sometimes, it's so easy to get burnt out on them. I can't count how many games I've just dropped because it just took so long to get anywhere or move the game forward that I just sort of drifted away and didn't pick it up again. It wasn't out of rage quitting or anything, it was just taking so long and I wanted to do something else. For someone like me, who prefers to only focus on one or two games at a time at most, it can be real annoying to get a new game, get hooked on it, play it for several dozen hours, and then just drift away from it despite enjoying it and wanting to finish it.

It isn't like all modern games are like this either, there are  plenty of games, and even plenty of genres that essentially keep their playtimes fairly succinct and to the point. I can't recall the last time a platformer required me to spend an inordinant amount of time performing busywork in order to make progress. By the same token, it isn't like every older or retro game was good about respecting a player's time. Old-school dragon quest (Dragon Warrior in America) practically invented the concept of level grinding. If you actually look at a guide or a walkthrough for the original DQ, it's a remarkably short game, but it's runtime is padded out by the necessity to grind out both gold to afford better equipment and experience to level up to get strong enough to actually make progress to the next part of the game.

But I am thinking more of games that aren't necessarily shorter but always feel like you're making constant progress towards your goal. A lot of modern open world games break this rule because so much of what you're doing doesn't feel directly connected to your quest, it's just a load of busywork. And yes, while it does technically make you stronger in some ways, perhaps giving you access to more materials or better weapons, or filling out your map, or whatever it is that the side quests do, so much of it feels like a chore. That's what I mean by not respecting your time. When a game is so thick with story, it can also feel like it's wasting your time as well. That's the issue I had with Persona 5. I did enjoy the game, it was a lot of fun to play, but I ended up dropping the game on two separate occasions because it felt like it was taking forever to make progress… and that's a game that has a time limit, and a definitive end! Time marches forward in that game whether you want it to or not and I still felt like it took control and agency away from me often enough that I sort of zoned out and stopped enjoying it, needing something a bit more fast paced. In the moment, I could have fun with it, but longer stints of playing it really burned me out on it.

A game that respects a person's time isn't necessarily short, but it is one that feels like you aren't being held back by its design. Chrono Trigger is an RPG that I think pulls this off flawlessly. It's not a long game by RPG standards, roughly 15-20 hours or so, but you are constantly moving fowrard, constantly getting things done and moving the story forwards. It doesn't feel like the game's pacing ever slows down or takes control or agency from the player for extended periods of time.

Or how about a more modern game that I feel is good about this: Hades. Hades is a very, very long game if you want to see or do absolutely everything in it. Even getting through the main storyline takes several dozen successful runs at the very least, and that's not counting all of the side content and side stories and hidden dialogue you get even when you fail a run. It's a game that constantly feels like it's moving its plot and its characters forward, even when you aren't managing to successfully finish a run, and I think that's wonderful.

I bring all this up because, thankfully, shorter experiences are coming back, at least in the indie field. We've seen some attempts at AAA publishers to make shorter experiences that are still satisfying; Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush is an excellent, linear rhythm beat-em-up that is just long enough to be a great time without overstaying its welcome and making you feel like the experience is being dragged out, for example. But the indie space is where things like this really shine. Larger game developers, even since the shift to 3D it feels like, have constantly been pushing forward to make bigger, more cinematic spectacles, longer experiences that really push the technology they're on to its fullest degrees, and yet many of the games being put out don't feel nearly as fun or as satisfying to play because they feel bloated. Sometimes, a short experience is the best one.

I think most of us never asked for games to get bigger. It's impressive, to be sure, but it was never meant to be a regular thing. I don't want to read a book that's over 1000 pages unless it is a really, really damn good book. I don't want to watch a movie that's over four hours (or even two hours really) unless I feel as though my time is going to be well spent. I typically will drop a show, no matter how long running it is, no matter how much someone insists that it gets better two season in, if I can't be swayed into watching it after three or so episodes, I'm not going watch further.

Time is a precious commodity, something that I've grown far more aware of as I've gotten older, and so choosing where to spend it is far more important to me. I am someone who often laments when I don't see to the end of something, I always feel bad when I cannot or do not finish a game or a movie or a show or a book, but at the same time, if its length is causing me to feel like I'm just not making progress or that I could be moving on to something else, then I consider that a bit of a failing with the media in general. I want to see the ending, and that's why I've grown a lot more fond of things that actually have endings now, something I can play for around ten to twenty hours, see the ending, feel satisfied, digest what I felt about it, and then move on without guilt. Same with a movie or a show.

This is another rambly post, I admit, but I'd like to know how other people feel about the generalized length of something. Not in how it relates to how much you pay for something, I've never felt that equating length to worth is a good metric, but in how it makes you feel. What does something very long have to do to keep you invested in it, make it feel like it's worth your time to continue on with it, even when it starts to approach 40, 50, 60 hours and beyond?

[egophiliac]

my neverending quest to draw one single Idia that I don't immediately hate

[the-mpreg-guy]

the hill that i will die on is that cas would have never said he loved dean if he had to deal with the consequences of it afterwards, meanwhile dean (who was SUPPOSED to tell cas he loved him in the original crypt scene script) would have eventually worked up to saying it without external pressure

[getindumdums]

I can't believe the 87 turtles have to deal with racism

Text:

Woman: Ugh! What are YOU doing here? Can’t you green Freaks go somewhere else?

Raphael: ��Shopping. What else? ——— And NO. I’m afraid they closed all the “mutant-turtle only” stores. >:(

[14dayswithyou]

Hi, Howdy! Hey! I really love your novel!! I got a little confused by the 4 day, may maybe you help me please? who is it? why we got the bad end staying the night in Ren’s apartment and he disappear of the home screen? I can’t understand “unset memory” game, sorry if I wrote smth wrong or smth sounds rude, I swear that I didn’t mean it if happened, I’m really a fan of the novel, I’ve been playing the game since day 1 or 2 I guess, probably day 1, english isn’t my first language, but I tried lol

⌞♥⌝ I hope you don't mind me answering these as bullet points!! ^^

"It" will be revealed later in the game! So I won't reveal too much right now.

You can only get the Dead End in Day 4 by staying at Ren's apartment — the rest of your choices before that don't matter. I'd also pay closer attention to the black smoke and Ren's reaction towards it!

Ren disappears from the home screen because he promised to help the player out (and stop them from getting the Dead End again). Try replaying the game again from the beginning for a surprise!

"Unsent Memories" was another visual novel (initially being written by @10chimes / @unsentmemory, though the project has since been dropped and handed back to me /pos) and is set in the same universe as 14 Days With You. Its storyline and characters are completely separate from 14DWY, so you don't have to worry about them while playing 14DWY.

[mobius-m-mobius]

#how things started vs. how they're going ✨

Loki S01E01 (2021) // Loki at PaleyFest LA (2024)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The girls are plottinggggg

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[vic-does-battlecats]

Tigerstar takes in the RiverClan Rejects (again)

! click the gif for quality that doesn’t suck

[mekk-u]

there's nothing to forgive

[atwas-gaming]

I've had a scenario in mind for a while now about what it would take for Sonic to finally own up to his feelings about Amy. And I think what it would take is...

Shadow.

Well, just plain jealousy and a fear of losing Amy before he even has her. But Shadow would be the best one to instigate it.

First, some headcanons about how they behave romantically:

Amy's maturing and spreading her wings. She's not moving on from Sonic, not really, but it's possible that she's starting to notice other guys. There's some hints in the Twitter takeovers that she may be developing some small interest in Shadow.

Sonic is clearly interested in Amy, and if you pay attention, he has been for a long time. What he's not interested in is marriage- at least, not yet. And Amy is clearly wifey material- she cooks, she takes care of people, she has a caring nature, she's protective, and she's extremely loyal. She's not someone you can use for a one-night stand, you take all of her or you risk shattering her into pieces. She's Sonic's friend, no matter what else he may feel about her, so he avoids any romantic interaction because he doesn't want to hurt his friend.

Meanwhile, Shadow is... not aro-ace, per se, I don't know what you'd call him. He can see that Amy is attractive, but so is Rouge, and Shadow has no interest in Rouge. He just isn't interested in the physical side of romance.

What I think it would take to get Shadow's attention is something deeper, an emotional or spiritual connection.

So here's the Sonamy/Shadamy love triangle scenario that I came up with:

As Amy ages, she feels her desire for male companionship growing stronger. Sonic takes little notice of it, but it doesn't escape Shadow's attention.

Somehow or other, Shadow and Amy end up alone together, probably on a mission or something. I haven't figured out the exact circumstances, but they're together for quite a while. Amy loves to talk to people and get to know them, and Shadow has a soft spot for her, so she's able to get him to talk to her about things that he's probably never told anyone before. And he knows she won't tell anyone about them, either, so he feels safe telling her.

At some point, Shadow realizes, she's done it. She's broken through his barriers, and at the same time, she's calmed the storm of emotions that he's had swirling inside him for 50-odd years. He hasn't felt such peace since... no, not even then. This is something else. He's never felt this way before, and he doesn't have the words to describe it, but he's fallen head over heels for her.

This is why he never lets his guard down, even around the people he trusts most. Because if he lets them in, even a little bit, he might let them in too far. ("Can you see all of me, walk into my mystery, step inside and hold on for dear life.")

He loses control of himself and kisses Amy.

And when he lets go, he instantly hates himself, he starts throwing his barriers back up, because... she's crying. She's crying because she liked it, and she wants more of it, but she's still so desperately in love with Sonic, and she's starting to think she'll never get it from him, so she'll accept affection from just about any man, and it's not like Shadow's unattractive, and, and, and...

So Shadow's raw and open and hurting, he knew before he said or did anything that he was going down a dangerous path, but talking to Amy felt so good he didn't want to stop. And he wants to erase what just happened like it never did. But now he has to be the one to comfort Amy, because this was his fault, Amy was just being the kind and compassionate person she always was and Shadow was an idiot for letting it get to him and making more of it than what it was and losing control. So he has to keep his barriers down for just a moment longer, just long enough to hold Amy and tell her it's not her fault, until her tears finally stop.

It leaves Shadow burning with rage, and as soon as he can, he forcefully confronts Sonic (I imagine Shadow slamming Sonic against a wall or a tree and shouting in his face 😝) and basically tells him, "Amy needs attention from a man, she wants that man to be you, but if you can't grow up and do what it takes, then I'll be more than glad to take your place."

Which scares Sonic good and proper. It's bad enough to think that he could lose Amy, anyway, but to lose her to that faker??? And it finally makes him go to Amy and (very, very awkwardly) ask her to be his girlfriend. And... I'll let y'all imagine the rest.

As for Shadow... he, quite understandably, becomes somewhat aloof towards both Sonic and Amy for a long time after that.

But Shadow's immortal, right? And there's other Amy's in the world. He doesn't have to be alone forever.

Oh, and as for why Shadow would confront Sonic instead of just taking Amy for himself: because he respects both Amy and, especially, himself far too much to do that. He knows good and well she will never be able to fully commit to anyone else as long as Sonic is still an option. If Shadow was to start dating her, she'd go along with it, but it would become a power play between him and Sonic to try to "win" Amy's affections. Shadow has no issues with fighting Sonic over just about anything, but when it comes to his own feelings, he won't stoop that low, and he's not about to hurt himself by playing such a game. I also don't think he would view Amy as "a prize to be won."

[onesnoopyaday]

I AM AT MY LIMIT

Snoopy #90

30/12/2024

description under the cut

[description: a cartoon-style drawing of Snoopy's head. Snoopy is a white dog with black ears. His eyes are shut and his mouth is a horizontal line. There are two large blue teardrops, one under each eye. The text "I am at my limit" is handwritten across the top of the image.]

[anonymouscheeses]

Wanted to do something like my other chaggie au post. But added more angst. And idk I was proud of it and wanted to make something like it again.

This Chaggie au has... so much angst. So much..

Put in an ask or two to get to know the au more! :3

[samsincerely]

I know it’s all been said but there’s just something so important to me about Solas longing to return to the Fade before inquisition and retreat to his time of being a spirit of wisdom.

The whole time he just wants to be wisdom or pride and deny himself everything else. It’s a reflection of his shame of what he’s done as a person and also his fear of humanity and what it means about him.

And then there’s Lavellan. She is in more or less the same position he was in eons ago. Being seen as something more than a person but also less of one (a la scout Harding in the joh dlc). She has to make the worst hardest decisions and is held to the standard of a deity’s chosen that she doesn’t even believe in. she’s just one person trying to do her best at job she didn’t want but someone has to do.

But! She’s undeniably mortal. Lavellan relies on her advisors and inner circle and that helps her process her regrets and the painful decisions she makes. She has to be a part of a whole to accomplish her goals. Compare that to Solas who only uses others instead of relying on them, true to a spirit of pride.

So for Solas to say she draws his attention from the Fade, he’s saying that she draws him away from his instinct as a spirit. She challenges him to be a person because he hasn’t been able to accept that he is one for thousands of years.

And the only way for him to return to the Fade of his own volition like he wanted to all those years ago is not in retreat of himself but recognizing his personhood and regrets that he has as a result of it. He has to meet Lavellan where she is which is the hardest and best thing for him.

[corviiids]

light: when i was talking to ryuzaki he--oh by the way ryuzaki ive been saying "he" but what do you prefer L: interesting. do you think this could be relevant to the kira case, yagami-kun? light: no, just curious. light: (is this a trap? would kira care about something like masculinity? no... kira is a paragon of justice. he would never misgender someone.) L: maybe yagami-kun thinks that a name and a face are not enough. does he think kira may also need a gender? light: interesting theory. is that why you don't have pronouns in your bio, ryuzaki? light: (ive got him. the other officers will never respect him if they find out L is a transphobe! wait, they're cops. damn it. has this all been for nothing?) L: ive actually taken the liberty of making fake pronoun pins for everyone in the squad, to ensure your security. here, yagami-kun. or should i say... yagami-chan. light: neopronouns?! (do i give off nya/nyam/nyaself vibes? or is this another clever ruse? he still hasn't even told me his own pronouns...) ryuk: hey, light. don't forget about the deal. the shinigami eyes would let you see anyone's pronouns at a glance. light: (forget it! im not giving up half my life just to they/them ryuzaki!) L: id just like to flag for the audience that im aware this is a stupid bit but don't worry it's over now

[luck-of-the-drawings]

OOH YEAH BABY ITS THE SURGERY EPISODE BABY!!! ME AND THE HOMIES NEED SOME NEW FACES FOR OUR NEW PLAN, AND WHO BETTER TO GET THE JOB DONE THAN THE TWO MOST EVIL PEOPLE WE'VE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING OUR LIVES VIOLATED BY? I MEAN IT WOULD BE FUNNY. IT WOULD BE FUNNY.

[thetorturedlovergirl]

Mourning day for thasmin shippers