#The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards

[tieflingkisser]

link to the bsky account for anyone else who wants to follow:

So on a bit of a whim, with a few people I work with, we created The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards.

Or TGAGWCAGA for short.

It's pretty much exploded over the past week on Bluesky where a lot of indie developers have made their home.

We asked indie games to nominate themselves, whether they had released this year or whether they were an upcoming game that couldn't afford to pay for the advertising space at the Game Awards.

Geoff Keighley said that Gamescom's Opening Night Light were going to be charging as much as $480,000 for ad spaces during next year's showcase.

That's simply not remotely affordable for thousands of studios.

So while it's a bit of a parody, we also hope it'll shine some light on great indie games, and our form is of course written in Comic Sans.

[maleficore]

Sceleritas: Oh Master, consider the tiny mishap with the bard you had the last time we met.

Sceleritas: Your unconscious, clever mind hungers for extreme violence.

Sceleritas: Who knows you might kill next if you do not satisfy your Urge?

This bit of dialogue from Sceleritas fucks me up so bad. As Durge (unless you're metagaming for a particular outcome instead of going full roleplay) you're being placed before an impossible choice. Do you kill dozens of people by taking out Isobel or risk taking the blade to one of your companions again?

You know you can't control yourself fully so the threat is not empty. And you definitely care about your companions more than you do about a bunch of Harpers you've just met. But there may also be the tieflings involved, mostly children. Sparse in numbers now, but still people you've once saved. Was all that for nothing because now you might need to sacrifice them all? Do they tip the scale? How much is too much? What price are you willing to pay for your friends' safety and your own peace of mind?

"What is the worth of a single mortal's life?"

You and your companions are fighters, you have a mission. Fate of legions more people depends on you taking out the Absolute. Can you truly afford the risk? Whose survival is more important? Yes the Harpers may be valuable allies, but you are the ones with the prism. Without the party they don't stand a chance.

I hate how that's not ever touched upon properly in the game.

Killing or sparing Isobel is the only path-defining choice for Durge until the end of their personal quest and is treated as reference for their entire attitude towards being a bhaalspawn in act 3 no matter what other dialogue choices you make. Kill her and you more than embrace your heritage, you revel in what you are. Any other choices made up to that point are immediately voided.

But what if you did it out of fear? What if the "prize" you were awarded for it in the form of the Slayer terrifies you even more than the Urge itself? Which is a feeling you are able to express, but it holds exactly zero value because there's only two paths for you to take and nuance is not allowed. Why are you not able to express regret and have that matter? Not to mention that if Isobel dies due to unforeseeable consequences of other actions, it's still treated as if you went up the stairs and dug a knife in her back when nobody was looking because you simply felt like it.

Yes sacrificing Last Light is not the choice of a perfectly good aligned hero, but it is also not something only a villain would do. People make terrible choices when there's an axe raised over the nape of their neck and where the Urge is concerned Durge has absolutely no close confidants or support system who could help them make a better one.

The foundations of a complex character are there and every time I notice the game fumbling like this, railroading into an evil/good binary despite that, it ruins my fucking day.

[llatimeria]

hey if you like fucking around with mobile games and free money, consider signing up for Mistplay with my referal link. Mistplay awards you points for reaching checkpoints in mobile games that you can then cash out for actual real gift cards for all kinds of stores (or paypal). it's genuinely not hard to rack up enough points for a $5 gift card, which might be a special little treatie you otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford, just for playin some games.

normally mistplay gives you a paltry 100 points for "successful referals" (where the referred person actually cashes out a card) so i haven't bothered with the effort of recruiting people to this, but for the next 3 days they're running an event where referals get me 1500 points each if you cash out, and that's genuinely about $5 so i guess that's the amount it takes for me to sell my soul and pitch sketchy datamining apps to my friends and followers.

i know the cultural zeitgeist on tumblr is very protective of their data, which i definitely understand, i just am a disabled person who can't do real jobs so i keep trying to find stupid little "side hustles" to occupy my time/pad out my bank account so i can hopefully become financially independent from my parents someday, and genuinely i find fucking around with stupid mobile games pretty fun so if they're going to siphon my data anyway I might as well get paid for it :v

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Midnight Gaming: 3rd Rock from the Galactic (or how I learned to stop worrying and love group-orientated alcoholism)

So I last night I played Deep Rock Galactic past midnight, looked at socials later and found....

Y'know what, this is kinda topical but the Game Awards is coming up real soon and I've heard some grumblings on some places over it and I gonna say it... do people actually treat the Game Awards with some level of respect and prestige? Because I honestly considered it as nothing more than the game industry's official event fot self-congratulatory arrogance. A masturbatory ceremony where they give out awards to developers and actors and feel good about themselves despite all the mass layoffs, consumer-unfriendly practices and horseshit?

Honestly, the only reason I'm even interested in the game awards is for the game announcements and reveals that show up in the event. If the awards didnt have any of that, if it was played entirely straight like the baftas? I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't even care about the game awards. What is there to get up in arms? That they arent jacking it the same way they used to? That your game didnt win the title of "Game of the Year"? Listen, plenty of games get a bundled version released called a Game of the Year edition regardless of whether they actually won that award. Its the same way that a restaurant says their pizza is the best pizza in the world or a coffee shop claims to have the best cup of coffee. Its just a form of marketing. And thats ultimately in my opinion what the Game Awards is at the end of the day: Marketing.

Of course, having your game shown on an event like that is a good way to get attention onto your project and Geoff knows that too, thats why its so goddamn expensive to have your game shown at all. Its for that reason that some folks have decided to start their own event for folks who dont wanna shell out a fortune just to get some eyeballs on their game.

The Game Awards for Games who can't afford the Game Awards is an event headed up by several people as a parody of the Game Awards but also serving as a means for smaller indie devs to present their games, kinda like steam nextfest or alphabetagamers "games to get excited about" fest. This isnt really a news thing but i'm happy to talk about this if it gets maybe a couple of people to learn about this.

So Deep Rock Galactic is a game I enjoy quite a lot. Its your everyday 4-player coop shooter but taking place in destructible cave enviroments with hordes of bugs to squash. And you play as Dwarves.

DRG's main gameplay loop starts with picking one of several missions that are available in several biomes and dropping down onto Hoxxes. Once there you complete your objectives while collecting any materials and gold you find as well as fighting off the local threats, then call for a ride home and get on before it leaves again.

The classes you play have their strengths and unique gear to bring to the team with the Scout having a grappling hook for traversal and a flare launcher to help light caves up. Engineers have their required-by-law turret item to place in various areas to routinely shoot enemies as well as a platform gun which shoots platforms, naturally. Gunner is your go-to for rapid heavy firepower along with a placeable bubble shield and a zipline launcher. And Driller, my beloved, is the dwarf who treats the earth of hoxxes as his canvas, cutting through the soil with his power drills and blasting chunks with his c4. The four classes play well with their weapons, each having 3 primary and 3 secondaries, being punchy and effective.

DRG works well as an enjoyable coop shooter for a couple of reason, one because of the focus on creating enough of a variety in the gameplay to ensure you dont start to feel bored. Different missions from simple mining jobs, protecting a large drilldozer, scouting out morkite wells and pipes to extract them and hunting giant bugs. These missions also take place across several unique biomes from salt caves, swamp dens, sandy delves, radioactive wastes and arctic caverns to name a few. Procedural generation is used to create every mission area you get dropped into with the enviroments being destructible with either weapon shots, explosions or even using your pickaxe to break the enviroment, giving you and your team an option to do some light terraforming around important areas to better suit your needs.

Now since its a coop game, cooperating with your fellow dwarf coworkers is a necessity to complete your objective and thankfully the game is able to cultivate that naturally with a pointer item to allow for pinging of essential items or priority threats, a single emote that ends up conveying several messages depending on the context such as a welcoming salute, a battlecry or a celebration, as well an overall welcoming vibe in how the dwarfs respond to each other. After most missions, I end up joining my fellow players at the abyss bar, downing several mugs of beer and dancing our hearts out until we collapse, before we all type "gg" and leave the lobby. And if working with others aint your thing (or you dont have an active internet connection) then you can go on missions with a robot helper buddy who you can direct with your pointer to carve out material, fight off enemies and can even revive you a limited number of times.

Ghost Ship Games has done a grand job on their game and have done well by the community, to the point where they are able to publish some indie titles by themselves, helping other devs thanks to how well DRG has done, with it becoming a franchise now with a survivor-like game and a board game along with the upcoming Rogue Core game. If you havent picked it up yet, please do, its a fantastic game with a lot to offer, more than most triple A games do these days.

On that note, what was the last AAA game you payed full price for and not just picked up when it was on sale? The last game I can recall is Cyberpunk 2077 and that was only because I wanted something to test my new computer on.

Y'know Ghost Ship announced recently a selection of real mugs based on the same mugs from the ingame abyss bar. I would love to get those mugs, they look real damn good.

Thats all for tonight. Thank you for reading this post on Midnight Gaming. Feel free to leave feedback and game suggestions. See you all another time. Rock and Stone!

[raven]

i get & kind of agree with your point, i guess i'm just looking at the bigger issue as a whole. i do think in a lot of cases it's super feasible to just. play something else. or to wait until you can afford to upgrade your pc, etc. but i think the trend in the gaming sphere (esp triple A titles) of not caring for optimization and expecting consumers to just keep up is a little concerning for the future of gaming. i think gaming is already something that's inaccessible to a lot of people for inescapable reasons (required internet access for most games now, having to purchase consoles or a pc isn't cheap, etc.) and with with the way optimization is becoming more scarce i think it's leading to a future where new releases will be entirely unreachable for a large portion of the community which is an issue that should not exist. if 60% of your target audience can't afford to play your game, what's the point?

yeah definitely. &i did somewhat feel this with the new dragon age, there were so many just.. pointless visual effects on the screen, most of which i couldnt turn off, and i couldnt help but think "would this game run better if it didnt have these...?" while style is important, i do think game studios should be focusing more on WHY you need a game to be in a certain visual style. why do you need certain filters etc. veilguard didnt even look good, imo, so whats the point... But also like. games are for two types of people: people with powerful computers, who care about their computers being top of the line and able to run anything, updating whenever they can and people who will buy a new console every console generation, because games are pretty much guaranteed to work on the latest consoles. and unfortunately if you are not a rich pc gamer or a slightly less rich console gamer, you might not be playing the big hits. but like, thats why you get a console, so you can play without needing to worry about an upgrade for several years. Idk. ive never had a console and i just play what i can play. but there are a lot of people out there with consoles. and it seems to be going fine for them, bc if games dont run on consoles theyre promised on, theres usually patches and more work done. I also dont really care about the AAA audience or studios and if the studios go under... Thats not my problem i dont really care if they live or die. Maybe the world would be better off without call of duty,? If gaming companies are fucking us over with optimization, theyre fucking themselves over, and if they have to shut down.. well that's on them. I have other games to play. (& like, when i say innovation in triple A games.. you know whats the kinda shit im talking about its game awards shit its not call of duty its like, god of war, red deaddedemption, death stranding (...2!), elden ring, baldurs gate 3 (not really triple a, but the reach and success can make it feel like one). (Im not personally interested in all of these, but im interested in what they have done for the medium.) of these games that have released, theyve had issues and most have been fixed. And most of them have done things worthy of discussion, even if they take up a lot of space and people like to complain about that. We can only hope interesting games arent dead on arrival because of poor optimization, but it seems most of them havent been.

[drakeanddice]

I'm often bitter and cynical about awards. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy for the folks who garner those accolades. I like seeing my friends succeed. But the Ennies and awards of their ilk, the sorts of awards that consumers see as a badge of worthiness--or yknow have heard of--leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I could tell you why, but it's much more cogently articulated on the following substack.

https://labyrinthlesbian.substack.com/p/how-much-an-ennie-costssubstance.

I get it. Indies can't win a popularity contest against the big publishers. But most of us can't even afford to take the field.

That being said, this is the only award that I've won in my life that I'm still proud of a year later.

Did it drive sales? No, probably not. But it made me fall in love with my weird fey game again after I'd set it aside for a while. The Ennies will drive sales, because it's the biggest tastemaker (taste affirmer?) in the industry. But I'm broke as a joke and can't pony up the cash to get laughed off the stage, so I'll take a quick nod from a fellow Indie designer.

"Your stuff is cool. Keep going."

That kind of shit matters. It's rocket fuel.

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

ttwt character profiles - batch 4 (final)

McLovin

What's your best quality? I make a pretty great friend! Most of the time... Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

R&B

Yellow!

8 Mile

Banana muffin. Or a spicy sausage pattie between two slices of cake. It's awesome, trust!

Describe your craziest dream. One time I dreamed that I was the Statue of Liberty. Best memory from childhood? The first time I went into a corn maze without getting lost. My mom used to tape color-changing LED lights to my shirt in case I got lost and they had to send out another search party Most embarrassing moment at school? I have too many to count. Luckily, the good outweighs the bad most of the time! Describe the first job you ever had. I worked at that one hot dog stand after Joner quit. It was awesome! Free dogs and 10 dollars a day! Ten years from now, what are you doing? Sitting in a castle-slash-boat-slash-racecar. Yeah, I'm inventing one My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? My boyfriend Sha-Mod, obviously! Learning how to water skii or climbing that hill behind the Wal-Mart It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

Hang out and chill

Peter

What's your best quality? I think I'm a lot wiser than people give me credit for. Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Music... I guess alternative, or indie

Pink and blue!

Tough choice... maybe J'ai perdu mon corps

Salted almonds

Describe your craziest dream. I have so many, and I never remember them Best memory from childhood? Making friendship bracelets at summer camp. I didn't want to go but that was one of the best ways to help me adjust! Most embarrassing moment at school? Every awkward conversation ever... especially when my friends are fighting. Describe the first job you ever had. I can't imagine having a job on top of everything else Ten years from now, what are you doing? I don't know- hopefully something I love! My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? My girlfriend. I'd take her to the aquarium, then to dinner at a nice restaurant, and maybe give her something nice and hand-made! It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

Reminisce

Sha-Mod

What's your best quality? I'm Sha-Awesome! Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Sha-Power ballads

Fuchsia

Hm...

Dinosaur chicken nuggets. I'm not ashamed to admit it

Describe your craziest dream. I was having tea with a human-sized monarch butterfly. Made me scared of butterflies for months Best memory from childhood? Moving snails off the pavement after the rain Most embarrassing moment at school? Winning a class award and having my face printed in the paper. What a Sha-Nightmare! Describe the first job you ever had. I sold biscuits door-to-door to afford my first PlayStation. Would do it again, if it was a viable career option. Why can't you go to university for biscuits? Ten years from now, what are you doing? Mm... biscuits... My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? Hm- oh, yeah. McLovin, my guy! Probably picking snails off the pavement again. It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

Chill.

Scruffy

What's your best quality? I'm a non-stop kick-ass game-winning machine! Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

I mostly listen to the TDWT soundtrack. And Heather's new podcast. Has anyone here heard about it? It's about-

Green

Movies take up too much time, in my opinion

Baby carrots. They're good for energy, and portable

Describe your craziest dream. I wouldn't call it "crazy" but I'd love to win TTWT. World Tour is my favorite season of all time, so it'd be like a dream come true. Best memory from childhood? Watching my first episode of Total Drama. It was ROTI, episode 9. I'm planning on getting a tattoo for it- 4x9 on my shoulder. Most embarrassing moment at school? Apparently, pouring over training and mentally and physically conditioning myself is "weird", so I got my fair share of crap. Who's laughing now, Stephanie Parker?! I bet you can't even diffuse a live bomb! Describe the first job you ever had. I don't need a job. Ten years from now, what are you doing? Living off my TTWT winnings and running my own reality TV gossip mag. My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? Jules, probably. Off-camera, doing anything anywhere without being bothered. It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

Honestly? Panic.

Staci

What's your best quality? Not to pat myself on the back but I'm kiiiiiind of a genius Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

Industrial metal, duh

Pink!

Bridge on the River Kwai... or like, Mean Girls is pretty good, too

Pork gyoza

Describe your craziest dream. I've had so many kin dreams, I couldn't even begin to list them off. Best memory from childhood? I... don't really want to talk about that. Most embarrassing moment at school? I had a bad habit of not really realizing when people were making fun of me, so I got bullied through all of primary without even knowing it. After that, I kinda got a little reactionary to perceived slights Describe the first job you ever had. Never had a paying one! Running my blog is kind of a job in itself. Ten years from now, what are you doing? Um... something cool, hopefully! My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? I'd love to hang with any of my distant relatives. They seem pretty cool. It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

Give my friends a hug

Scary

What's your best quality? Not being a total moron, probably. Faves? (music, colour, movie, food)

None.

Black.

None.

None.

Describe your craziest dream. Dreams are just a product of our minds trying to simulate situations, to increase preparedness. Well... that's the theory I believe, anyway. Best memory from childhood? Winning my first ever science fair. Most embarrassing moment at school? Losing my first ever science fair. Describe the first job you ever had. I've only really done interning. Ten years from now, what are you doing? Receiving awards and accolades. My dream date would be with ___________, doing what? Nothing and no one. My dream date would be me, Einstein, and Hawking, all in book form in my living room. It’s the last day on earth. In five words or less, what would you do?

This is a ridiculous hypothetical

[arieswizard]

lmfao ill throw my hat into the ring. caveat that i am speaking about this from a filipino-australian perspective, and specifically about anti-asian racism (not too much classism discussion here bc its already such a long reblog lmao but i would like to return to it). it's important to note that racism against Black/Blak students is acutely and uniquely damaging wrt "gifted kid syndrome", bc Black/Blak students in particular are systematically denied access to safe education + educational resources, and are policed both in the classroom and out to a much higher degree.

it annoys me that so many discussions on being a gifted kid fail to account for the very real, material roles that racism play. i'm south-east asian and i was very good at school, but growing up it was impossible to have any sort of healthy relationship with my intelligence that wasn't also couched in racism. none of the achievements i accomplished in school were considered on their own merit. instead, they "just made sense" because i was asian, because as everyone knows all asian people are smart.

when i was in high school there was a set of year 12 subjects known as the "asian five" (the two most difficult maths subjects, biology, chemistry and physics), which presented this awful catch-22: if you chose those subjects, you did it because you were asian (because asian kids can't think for themselves or have genuine passions in stem that they want to pursue), and if you didn't choose those subjects, you weren't actually asian (something that many, MANY people of all races told me over the course of my high school career). so in response to this endless scrutiny, i and a lot of other high-performing asian kids entered this vicious cycle: want/need to do well for a range of societal and personal reasons -> push ourselves to do incredibly well (specifically in a way legible to our white peers and teachers) -> have it reaffirmed by our peers that "doing well" is just the baseline for an asian student (meanwhile our white peers' struggles are meant with infinitely more patience and understanding) -> re-dedicate ourselves to "doing well" because it has become part of our fundamental identity -> rinse and repeat.

the fallout of when many of these kids couldn't keep up with the crushing pressure was massive. for a lot of us, it wasn't just that we were awarded for doing well - it was that we had to do well at a minimum, otherwise we were denied being asian. (which isn't even getting into the fact that you were doomed either way - if you were too asian that was cause for ridicule, and if you weren't asian enough that was also cause for ridicule). and this was NORMALISED for fuck's sake, every goddamn white person i knew in high school thought they knew exactly what Being Asian was, and were liberal in how they mocked the asian kids that didn't fit into the "gifted asian" stereotype.

and what about all of the asian kids who couldn't afford tutoring or extra study time because they had to work? all of the asian kids who were neurodivergent/traumatised/mentally ill/disabled in other ways? all of the asian kids who just didn't care about school, all of the asian kids who were treated as disappointments and failures and fair game for mockery, because they didn't reach the impossible fucking heights set by their white supremacist education systems??? well they were kicked to the goddamn kerb. just as every non-white student was if they failed, if they didnt apply themselves enough, if they didnt focus in class.

so yeah dont forget that non-white kids have it infinitely harder than their white peers. they have higher standards to meet, are under more intense pressures, have more systemic barriers to their happiness and success, and have much, MUCH more complicated relationships with being "gifted".

people misunderstand what ‘gifted kid’ actually means but it’s ok it’s fine it’s cool it’s good

[southlondonpress]

I feel like I'm forced to ignore my calling? I cried cos I saw some picture of a mouse looking at the stars and I have a formal hearing tomorrow at work for performance or whatever and I'm dreading it. all I want to do is music and every day I think about music so much and it's all Ive ever cared about really from when I was a kid. Im a true heart artist and i know I'm destined for it. I can't help but wonder if I should stay in this matrix corporate job. God has BEEN telling me to leave and the signs are getting bigger and bigger (I had to go and visit a waste treatment facility recently and I still feel dirty. Literal shit everywhere, alie thats God's sense of humor 😂 blessed me at the same time though though cos my maniacal manager had some illness and couldn't come that day). After this formal hearing it's only a matter of time before they slap the next one on me so why am I delaying the inevitable. I don't have it in me to look for another job cos it'll be the same but I also can't afford to be jobless. I'm glad I know I'm autistic now though that changes the game. I'm going to look into stuff I can be awarded for that and hope for the best.

I just know tmrw my attempts at shielding myself from their energy will come across as me not caring or being rude or something lol. Im proud of myself for doing a good job of reminding myself of my inherent value. I'm good at things that I find valuable to me. Not my fault that's not Salesforce and providing value to stakeholders and being able to fake be friends with people who lean on false hierarchies so radiate absolutely awful sociopath energy 😂 they're making me feel like IM the problem when really it's their whole company that's in the shit bruv how is that my fault 😂 new ceo every year u run a literal monopoly on water and still can't profit? sounds like a skill issue

[samsfitflow]

Where I've been

TW: DV, mental health, drug use

Alright, now that I've gotten my warnings out of the way you can see where this might be going. Hi friends, I'm back. I've missed this blog and my followers.

From February 2022 to April 2024 I was in the worst possible spot in my life. I got into a relationship with a textbook narcissist (I found this out later in the game) and it ruined my life. It's a good enough story to write a series of books about. Everything was taken from me. He ruined my safe space, broke all of my furniture, broke my tv, tore my household apart, stole every paycheck I got, stole my medication, smoked meth he bought with my money in my mothers house, disrespected my mother in the worst ways he could think of that day, all around be a disgusting nuisance. It's over now, he's gone but I have my horror stories. He kept me sleep deprived. FOR TWO YEARS. This has caused my mental and physical health to completely plummet. He took EVERYTHING.

Due to all of this, I was forced to neglect my needs in exchange for becoming a slave to a person who just wanted a place to stay. I've gained a significant amount of my weight back. The last time I checked I was above 200lbs again. It's caused an all out war in my brain over this and I'm finding it impossible to help myself again.

I'm 26 now and I'm absolutely lost. My whole identity was taken and now I feel misplaced on top of mourning my old healthy happy self. The core part of my life where my brain was supposed to fully develop happened when I was actively enduring severe trauma and abuse. The fun part is that now that I AM 26, I've lost all health coverage too. I've had to ration anti-convulsants/mood stabilizers and ADHD medication. I've been without a cognitive behavioral therapist since July and it's getting worse. On top of this my chronic pain from RA is getting worse. I couldn't afford insurance even if its life or death. I recently fell down my stairs and smashed my right temple into the wall and I've been a little "off" ever since. Can't do much about that atm so I'm hoping it'll sort itself out.

It's been an uphill battle. Every move I make is wrong no matter how much I ask for help. Those who do try to help me are just as confused. It's a whole gigantic mess and it's just causing a full downward spiral. I've heavily relied on false dopamine hits to get me through. Binge eating included. I'm struggling but I'm still able to tape myself together each day and be mildly productive.

I'm writing this post to give myself the "still standing award" and to let it be known I am indeed still standing. I miss this blog, I miss my old self, I miss being happy and all around having my shit together.

I'm absolutely fine with sharing my story and I'd absolutely love to write a book for those who are in a similar situation. I'm always here to share advice, what I did to get out, or any questions on what happened. I know I'm not the only one and I've had people irl reach out to me. No question is off the table.

Anyways sad post over. TL;DR I'm alive just getting a little chunky again and I'm trying to pick up my pieces.

[k00299539]

Movement Project Artist Research - Mamoru Hosoda

Above: Guy has somehow looked the exact same for 20 years

Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese animator and director best known for his family focused feature films. Hosoda got his start in the animation industry in early 90's with Toei Animation, initially as an animator before moving into a directorial role by the end of the decade. While his career was already on an ever accelerating rise, his work on the second Digimon film; Our War Game, catapulted him into being the most sought after talent in the industry.

While still an employee of Toei, he was drafted in to direct Studio Ghibli's feature; Howl's Moving Castle. This ended in disaster with Hosoda feeling as though the company wanted him to mimic Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki rather than direct on his own terms. Having abandoned the project it wasn't too long after he left Toei as well, going freelance.

He next directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time for Madhouse, becoming a sleeper hit for them. This was followed up with Summer Wars, the success of which afforded him the opportunity to open his own studio; Chizu, and work truly on his own terms. He has since directed a number of films under the Chizu banner, with 2018's Mirai having been nominated for an Academy Award.

Above: Stills from Our War Game

...That was probably too many words. Hosoda is a director I'm overly familiar with and it's dfficult to sum him up in a couple of paragraphs. I guess if I had to sum up what it is about Hosoda I'm so drawn to it would be his unrelenting desire to express exactly what it is he wants to express on screen for better or for worse. I actually think a number of Hosoda's films have suffered as a result of his hardheadedness but I have to admit all the same that's interesting to see a film fail not for the myriad of factors it normally would but instead for the uncompromsing vision of it's director. I guess what I mean is, no matter what I make or whether I fail or succeed, I'd like to do it on my terms and take responsibility for the result. Now that I write that out I'm begging to doubt if it's even an admirable quality ...but that's how I feel and I don't want to rewrite this whole blog post.

The other thing I wanted to give specific mention to in regards to Hosoda is his continued use of the kagenashi, or without-shadow style. Hosoda's stated philosophy is to ignore shadows and unnecessary details and let the drawings speak for the themselves. He employs this approach in particular to capture the essence of children in his work. It is a style derived from a desire to portray something accurately, not realistically.

Of course this is easier said than done, as the drawing has to be perfect when you can't fall back on shading or detailing to convey information. Hosoda has a ringer however, Takaaki Yamashita.

Above: This is literally the only picture of him on the internet...

Takaaki Yamashita is Hosoda's right hand man, having mentored him early on in their Toei days and eventually following him to Studio Chizu. He has served as animation director on virtually all of Hosoda's films. He's also just really good at drawing and animating. For as good as Hosoda is, his philosophy in depicting life on screen through strict adherence to the kagenashi style wouldn't be possible without Yamashita's skill. Yamashita can create drawings that express themselves as open and honestly as children, this is something I try to emulate when animating (and usually fail).

Above: Yamashita's work on Slam Dunk, Below: a link to more of his work

[topconfessions]

We need to talk about the guts that BigBang as a group have, personally I don’t stan them but Jesus Christ the little things they let out are so big for me if u take the fact that they were the group who helped to pave the way for what K-pop is today. Bc for me TOP speaking about being treated as a slave for his company is such a dangerous thing… out of the top three I think YG is the most dangerous one to be involved with bc if u do ur research u KNOW that the CEO is a big fish in Korea… I would be shaking in my boots every time I slipped something out.

Tbh, I get where you're coming from 100% but TOP only said that cause he had the luxury to say it because he's old now, nobody on a grand scale is or was ever particularly checking for him, and the times have changed where it's more apparent now than ever that youth runs everything. It's a social media game now and the industry works differently than how it did when he was BTS age working and coming up. Once you age out of your field and your career slows past its peak (icon or a regular artist with no hits) you can pretty much whatever the heck you wanna say. I believe people only extend this grace to and expect it from has been or people who fell off and lost a lot.

Let's pretend TOP was in Parasite or a top Oscar nominated movie and was sweeping awards in career as well as America, I don't believe he would have 100% been so gutsy to say it. He may have still said it cause America eats that up and America is open as well as encouraging of stars saying controversial things with no filter whether its true or not. I believe top said that freely cause he has been personally scorned in some ways (although he isn't lying) and he internalized it a lot back then i.e it affected on an emotional level as opposed to a lot of stars who probably felt the same way but let it go or don't speak on it cause they've lived their lives in ways where it's not hindering them on any level professionally or personally.

I just think he said it cause he could afford to say it, he feels some type of way about it, he's already been through scandals and is from a company rife with them so it's not gonna immediately blow up if he says that and cause he's not in a peak phase of his career anymore and under a contract where he has to watch what he says.

I still follow her but although I don't really like HyunA anymore, to me she's the real ballsy idol cause she had major balls to undermine her agency heads and dispute the statement they put out about her dating then pull a younger talent out of the company to go join her for dating, on top of having her group disband and most of that ending cause she had too many solo responsibilities on top of prioritizing dawn over them in the end.

He told the truth though but I feel while it healthy and I'm so glad he exposed how trash the industry can be, only delusionals and young people or saesang/ Otaku fans are oblivious to what the truth of the industry is. Like how I mentioned hyuna for example, she too shed a lot of her peak image and everything she said she wasn't is what she is now.

You don't have to shake in your boots when your career has concluded. He's not an idol anymore. His fanbase is grown now or parents and he has to focus on mature markets or core old head fans who still pay attention. If he drops an album he won't be on music bank or any of those music shows promoting it then doing the whole press run like younger acts or older acts who care. It's like memoir speak at this point.

Love top down and I'm glad he told the truth but aside from liking the rest of that interview, he played into that toxicity and didn't speak against it when he was still active plus he reaped major benefits from it. He's not really saying anything we don't know. It's brutal hell but you get a makeover, plastic surgery access, connections access, money (if you make it and chart) and other things that you can't get without being an idol.

So it's like the pot calling the kettle black.

[wildjayblue]

hey it's itch.io Creator Day! which means if you buy any games today, itch doesn't take their usual cut and the money goes directly to creators. did you also know i can now call myself an award winning creator? that's right, Totally Normal Human Roommates won the CRIT award for Best One Page RPG

that means that you can get some cool games pretty cheaply from an award winning creator and help support a queer, trans game designer who is trying to afford laser hair removal. or you could... not i guess?

my other games over at wildjayblue.itch.io include the sad fantasy game you can't go back again and the spooky things best left buried, the latter of which you can pick up for free if you want

[cuntwrap--supreme]

Got blocked by some rando on an Instagram post about how the price of living in my city is rising more than almost everywhere else in the country because he was saying if you're over 23 and don't own a home, you're a loser. I asked what the hell he meant by that in a city where a 1000 square foot house costs - at least - 350k. Man asserted two people can afford that in 5 years if they make at least 35k a year. Asked for his math. He told me go to school. Told him I have an MA. He said I probably didn't have a high school diploma.

"Do I need to photograph it for you, my man?"

Called me spoiled, said I was lazy. Said I got handouts from my parents and the government. My parents don't have the money to help me with shit. Said I pay for "too many subscriptions" and "iced lattes". Told him to check my bank statement for those because clearly someone's hacked my card if so. Said I probably sit in a dingy basement and play video games instead of work. Said I work 45+ hours at my real job (making something like 45-60k a year, depending) and make about $200-$400 extra per month in art sales. Dude told me art isn't a job. Said I'd like to know where the money from it comes from then. Mans told me I don't understand the economy or what it's like being poor, so I said I grew up in a crack house which often had no power and seldom had food, that he obviously comes from a well off family because no one who comes from nothing treats the poor like he was. He called me a twat. I awarded him the Cuntiest Cunt title, man blocked me.

Imagine going into a comments section about how homelessness is on the rise because people with professional jobs can't afford housing, let alone service workers and the like, and pretending to be Andrew Tate because you happen to be in the minority of people who can afford a house here. The audacity. I hope someone younger and hotter spirits his wife away and he shoots himself in the head, legitimately. Can't stand arrogant morons acting as if they have the secret, but unwilling to share and calling everyone lazy because they don't know his secret (which is use daddy's money in everything).

[friendsinahistoricalway]

*Text questions copied from coconurt's post, answers are my own*

~ 💖 ASK GAME 💖 ~

📷 What’s set as your phone’s lockscreen? - It's one of the early scenes of Kiki's Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli, where Kiki is cloud-watching on a hill with her radio.

🍫 Cheese or chocolate? - Honestly, I don't know. It depends on my mood, but a good Mint Aero would outclass most cheese on any day.

✨ Do you have any nicknames? - Yahoy, I do indeed. I get called chickadee and buddy by my parents a lot, and my friends call me rat or a variation on my full name (which I'm not comfortable sharing).

🎵 Last song you listened to? - No body, no crime by Taylor Swift.

✏️ Have you ever written fanfiction? - Whhhhhaaaaattt? Yes.

😏 Are you on discord? - Why, are you trying to ask me out?

💛 Do you have any piercings? - Yeah, just the one on my earlobes (like, the most normal place), but I really want a nose stud / ring (not septum, one of the ones on the side, idk the right word), and a second ear-piercing a little further up.

🐰 What do you think says the most about a person? - How they treat people / beings who are of a lower social status than them (waiters in restaurants, service workers, animals, kids, etc.)

🍪 If you were a cookie, what kind would you be? - Lemon and lavender but in the most gremlinoid way possible.

🐶 Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? - Definitely a cat person, but I don't dislike dogs.

🎧 Headphones or earbuds? - Oooooohhh, this is a good one, you neurodivergent asses. I have some really good noise-cancelling headphones that I love, but wearing earbuds and listening to some good lo-fi on a rainy day is such a vibe, especially on the bus.

🌼 What’s the last thing you said out loud? - Not to be cringe, but I just told my dad I loved him, and then proceeded to stub my toe on the stair and drop an f-bomb, so do with that what you will...

🙃 What’s a weird fact that you know? - So many, so many. The inside of a banana peel can soothe mosquito bites.

🦉 Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl, for sure. I don't think I count as a human being in the morning.

🧸 Favorite place to nap? - I don't nap a lot, but probably like on my couch or in a tent.

🏳️‍🌈 Are you a member of the LGBTQIA+ community? - What? Me? Indeed, I am one of them queers (affectionate). I'm sapphic, probably a lesbian but idek at this point, and I'm AFAB genderfluid.

🦋 Describe yourself in three words. - Nerdy, loyal, romantic.

👖 Jeans or sweatpants? - Sweatpants, probably, but overalls beat out sweatpants, so idk.

🥤 What’s your go-to Starbucks order? - I don't really go to Starbucks that often, but probably a chai tea latte or London Fog latte.

🧡 A color you can’t stand? - I love green, but that kind of neon yellowish green that gets put on like, little boys' Nike shirts and stuff annoys me so much.

💎 What’s your most prized possession? - I really can't decide between my yellow water bottle; one of my instruments; or one of my science awards.

☕ Coffee or tea? - Tea 1000%. I love London Fogs, mint, lime, and Monk's Blend especially.

🦖 Favorite extinct animal? - Dodo bird. Can't explain it. I blame Douglas Adams.

🌙 How long have you been on Tumblr? - Not long. I had known about the culture of it for quite a while, but I think I joined in fall 2022, not sure of the exact date.

🌴 Desert island item? - A teleporter to get me the heck out of there.

🐸 Describe your aesthetic. - Green academia / dark cottagecore. Slight gremlinoid and historical elements.

🔮 What’s your dream job? - Clinical phycologist with a private practice at incredibly affordable prices.

💙 Relationship status? - I swear, y'all are trying to romance me.

🌿 Describe your favorite outfit. - One of my super flowy things, definitely involves a cloak and a blouse, probably a sword, too.

🎤 Is there a song you know all the lyrics to? - Every Taylor Swift or Harry Styles song ever made, and so many more. I am a music junkie down to my core.

🤎 What color is your hair? - Medium brown. I remember one time when I was little a random old lady walked up to me and said "Now, young lady, I like your hair. It's not so light, not so dark, I call that teddy bear brown". I loved that as a kid, and it kinda stuck with me.

💌 Do you talk to yourself? - Yeah, it helps me process things bc my brain is messed up. I also sing to myself a lot, and I've been told it's unsettling.

💄 Do you wear makeup? - Not like, every day, but I enjoy wearing makeup and wear it pretty regularly, I'd say.

🌸 Best compliment you ever received? - Recently "You had some amazing footwork at the dance last night", I was feeling kinda highkey insecure about my dancing and that was so awesome.

💞 @ your favorite blog. - @tales-from-a-dawn is actually my side blog, I'm sorry, I know we hate self-promotion. I'm writing and producing a fake album (it won't actually be available for purchase, but you will be able to listen to it). I would super-duper appreciate it if you would just check it out and tell me if anything looks cool.