#Visual studio 2022 release

[books]

Writer Spotlight: Jamie Beck

Jamie Beck is a photographer residing in Provence, France. Her Tumblr blog, From Me To You, became immensely successful shortly after launching in 2009. Soon after, Jamie, along with her partner Kevin Burg, pioneered the use of Cinemagraphs in creative storytelling for brands. Since then, she has produced marketing and advertising campaigns for companies like Google, Samsung, Netflix, Disney, Microsoft, Nike, Volvo, and MTV, and was included in Adweek Magazine’s “Creative 100” among the industry’s top Visual Artists. In 2022, she released her first book, An American in Provence, which became a NYT Bestseller and Amazon #1 book in multiple categories, and featured in publications such as Vogue, goop, Who What Wear, and Forbes. Flowers of Provence is Jamie’s second book.

Can you tell us about how The Flowers of Provence came to be?

I refer to Provence often as ‘The Garden of Eden’ for her harmonious seasons that bring an ever-changing floral bounty through the landscape. My greatest joy in life is telling her story of flowers through photography so that we may all enjoy them, their beauty, their symbolism, and their contribution to the harmony of this land just a bit longer. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

How do your photography and writing work together? Do you write as part of your practice?

I constantly write small notations, which usually occur when I am alone in nature with the intention of creating a photograph or in my studio working alone on a still life. I write as I think in my head, so I have made it a very strict practice that when a thought or idea comes up, I stop and quickly write the text in the notes app on my phone or in a pocket journal I keep with me most of the time. If I don’t stop and write it down at that moment, I find it is gone forever. It is also the same practice for shooting flowers, especially in a place as seasonal as Provence. If I see something, I must capture it right away because it could be gone tomorrow. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

You got your start in commercial photography. What’s something you learned in those fields that has served you well in your current creative direction?

I think my understanding of bridging art and commerce came from my commercial photography background. I can make beautiful photographs of flowers all day long, but how to make a living off your art is a completely different skill that I am fortunate enough to have learned by working with so many different creative brands and products in the past. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

Do you remember your first photograph?

Absolutely! I was 13 years old. My mother gave me her old Pentax 35mm film camera to play with. When I looked through the viewfinder, it was as if the imaginary world in my head could finally come to life! I gave my best friend a makeover, put her in an evening gown in the backyard of my parents’ house in Texas, and made my first photograph, which I thought was so glamorous! So Vogue!

You situate your photographic work with an introduction that charts the seasons in Provence through flowers. Are there any authors from the fields of nature writing and writing place that inspire you?

I absolutely adore Monty Don! His writing, his shoes, and his ease with nature and flowers—that’s a world in which I want to live. I also love Floret Flowers, especially on social media, as a way to learn the science behind flowers and how to grow them. 

How did you decide on the order of the images within The Flowers of Provence?

Something I didn’t anticipate with a book deal is that I would actually be the one doing the layouts! I assumed I would hand over a folder of images, and an art director would decide the order. At first, it was overwhelming to sort through it all because the work is so personal, and I’m so visual. But in the end, it had to be me. It had to be my story and flow to be truly authentic. I tried to move through the seasons and colors of the landscape in a harmonious way that felt a bit magical, just as discovering Provence has felt to me. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

How do you practice self-care when juggling work and life commitments alongside the creative process?

The creative process is typically a result that comes out of taking time for self-care. I get some of my best ideas for photographic projects or writing when I am in a bath or shower or go for a long (and restorative) walk in nature. Doing things for myself, such as how I dress or do my hair and makeup, is another form of creative expression that is satisfying. 

What’s a place or motif you’d like to photograph that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

I am really interested in discovering more formal gardens in France. I like the idea of garden portraiture, trying to really capture the essence and spirit of places where man and nature intertwine. 

Which artists do you return to for inspiration?

I’m absolutely obsessed with Édouard Manet—his color pallet and subject matter. 

What are three things you can’t live without as an artist?

My camera, the French light, and flowers, of course. 

What’s your favorite flower to photograph, and why?

I love roses. They remind me of my grandmother, who always grew roses and was my first teacher of nature. The perfume of roses and the vast variety of colors, names, and styles all make me totally crazy. I just love them. They simply bring me joy the same way seeing a rainbow in the sky does. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

[yuurei20]

Greetings! How true is that Yana is not involved in the writing of all events? Or is it only for the most recent one, Playful land? I'm a little confused.

Hello hello! Yana shares via Twitter what parts of what cards/events/stories/etc she was involved in every time something new is released, so I went through tweets from January of 2020 to November of 2023 to compare and contrast how she has described her role throughout the years, and compiled them here!

⚠️JP-server Only Visuals Spoiled Under the Cut⚠️

Vocabulary Review

・シナリオ: The English word “scenario,” this is an industry term that means “a written outline of a film, novel, or stage work giving details of the plot and individual scenes. It describes the sequence of scene changes, dialogue, and actions.” If Yana says she was in charge of the scenario for something, it is probably ok to assume that it was her project.

・原画(genga): The original artwork/initial visual concept upon which the final work was based

Ex: In this tweet Yana says she was in charge of the scenario, costume design and original card artwork for Fairy Gala.

・担当(tantou): The person in charge of something

・ディレクション: The English word “direction.”

Ex: In this tweet Yana says that she was in charge of direction for Malleus’ Birthday Jacket card.

・D-6th: This is Yana’s personal studio, which existed long before Twst and is also in charge of producing her manga (there seems to be a lot of overlap between the team that creates Black Butler and the Twst team, which she will sometimes reference in tweets). This seems to mean that there were multiple people involved in the creation process. It is unclear if she includes herself amongst the "D-6th" team, as sometimes she will specify that something was by her, something was by D-6th, or something was by both her and D-6th.

・弊社(heisha): a polite way of saying “my company,” this references Yana’s studio D-6th. 

Ex: In this tweet Yana says that while she did the scenario herself, the backgrounds and prop designs were by her studio.

The Main Story

Starting with the release of part 1 of Book 3 on JP server, Yana explains that she did the scenario, original artwork for the SSR cards, directed the vignettes and was in charge of character design.

For Book 7 she says she did the scenario and original character art/character designs, while some prop designs and background visuals were done by her studio.

Card Art

For Ortho’s dorm uniform design Yana explains that both she and her studio did the original art from start to finish (she did the original concept and story for the vignette), while she alone was in charge of the before/after groovy art from start to finish for Idia’s dorm uniform card.

She did the art for Leona and Riddle’s tsumsted cards (and direction for the other cards in the series), Sebek’s dorm uniform art from start to finish and and did art direction for the cards in the 2022 New Year’s set, while costume design was done by her studio.

Rook’s Clubwear, Ortho’s Cerberus Gear, Lilia’s General card, Rollo’s card and Grim’s D100 card are all credited to both Yana and her studio.

(We got a rare comment with the release of Ortho’s Cerberus Gear where she said, “We have an artist working with us who spent almost 20 years doing backgrounds for a certain, extremely famous robot anime. She oversees a lot of the background art designing. The background for Ortho’s Cerberus Gear card, the aircraft catapult, the facility seen in the groovy art—that is all her work. It really captures the moment of take off! Professional background artists are truly amazing, capable of designing everything from S.T.Y.X.’s futuristic aircraft catapult to homages of famous watercolor masterpieces." That is one of the artists that Yana is referring to when a design is attributed to D-6th.)

Birthdays

Yana was credited with direction for the Birthday Boy series, while Ortho’s design and direction was credited to her studio.

Yana credited her studio with the Birthday Jacket designs and scenario creation, saying that she was in charge of direction for the series (with Ortho’s gear design, direction and room design all credited to her studio).

For the Broom/Bloom series Yana says that she participated in concept/costume design and was in charge of direction (with D-6th credited with the art direction and gear design for Ortho).

The art for the platinum series (including the backgrounds) is credited to the staff of D-6th, with Yana in charge of direction.

Events

Yana explains she did all the original art for all of the cards, the scenarios and direction for Beanfest, Fairy Gala and Phantom Bride (she also created the scenarios for all the vignettes).

She also created the story and did all of the card art and direction for Terror is Trending and Spectral Soiree.

For Port Fest she specified that she did the original art for Jack’s SSR and did direction for the remaining cards, crediting her studio with costume/background designs.

Yana created the scenario, character design, SSR card art (from start to finish) and did art direction for the R and SR cards of Glorious Masquerade, crediting herself and her studio with the costume/mask designs, background designs, and opening and ending screens.

She says she participated in card art direction for the R and SR cards in the Lost in the Book with Stitch event, crediting the costume designs, scenario creation, background visuals, SSR Lilia, SSR Floyd, original card art and creation to her studio.

Stage in Playfulland character design, costume design, scenario creation, card art direction, background visuals and Opening/Ending art are also all credited to her studio.

(To answer the initial question: the only difference seems to be that Playfulland is credited entirely to her studio without Yana specifying how she was involved, whereas she took credit for the scenario writing in Glorious Masquerade, Spectral Soiree and Terror is Trending. While not the first time this has happened in the game (Yana also did not specify her role in the Tamashina Mina event, attributing costume design, background visuals, the Opening/Ending, the setting/card art direction and character design only to D-6th), this was the first time it’s happened with a Halloween event.)

Novel

Yana says she was in charge of the concept, the in-novel art, cover and fold-out art in the novels, while Hioki Jun (a Twst vignette/event scenario writer) created the novel scenarios. 

Comic

The artist and designer behind the 1st and 3rd comic arcs are both from Yana’s studio D-6th, doing background and card art for Twst (and work on Black Butler).

Yana says that her role is overall collaboration, character design and character creation (she says that in addition to creating the basis for Trey’s parents she also designed Riddle’s mother, including her face, but they ultimately left her in silhouette).

It is difficult to tell what Yana means by “overall collaboration," but she has shared a tweet about drawing the characters out herself for the actual artists to base their work on. (This might not apply to the artist of the Savanaclaw arc, who is not a member of D-6th)

[arewedoneyet]

men's folio article via mens-folio.com/my

With buttery vocals, princely features and the penmanship of a lovelorn poet, Jeff Satur is about to sing his way into your heart — one story at a time.

What makes a good story? And what makes a good storyteller? For music savant Jeff Worakamol Satur, these are the two questions that have kept him on his feet the past decade, fuelling his fearless desire to know, love and showcase his most authentic self to the world.

Magnetic in look, sound and craft, Jeff has managed to dabble in multiple genres of music — and play various instruments — without losing his signature, velvety sound. While he did skyrocket to fame portraying Kim on the TV show KinnPorsche: The Series in 2022, Jeff singing its theme song, “Why Don’t You Stay,” was what converted many casual onlookers into full-time Jeff fans (or SATURDAYs). They are now hooked onto his buttery vocals — which not only eloquently and evocatively sing in Thai, English and Chinese — but Jeff is also the very person who produced and wrote the stories in these tracks.

With ancestral roots tracing back to China, India and Italy, it is no wonder that the Phuket native navigates expression and interaction in these vastly different languages without losing their nuances. It is the openness to embrace diversity in cultures and ideas that his fans continue to grow in numbers from all corners of the world.

Since starting his personal studio — Studio On Saturn — at the end of 2022, Jeff has held concerts all over the region, most recently completing his Space Shuttle No. 8 Asia Tour in April to celebrate the release of his first full album. His appearances on music variety shows like China’s Call Me By Fire Season 3 and, most recently, Chuang Asia: Thailand — a Thai idol survival show spin-off based on the Chuang franchise in China — have also appealed to fans in a new way. His hold over both seniors and juniors in the music industry is a testament to the piercing allure he has that transcends age and gender.

Then there is his relationship with Valentino, which comes to a surging point in this interview’s accompanying visuals — each party egging one another in their courageous pursuit of new, creative frontiers.

This is not the end. There is still so much more power that Jeff has yet to harness from stories — which communicate and entertain without the boundaries of time and space, and have decidedly become a grand purpose that he is working to fulfil. From music, the big screen, and finally the horizon, Men’s Folio sits down with the prodigious artiste to discover what makes him tick and perhaps what kind of tale he would charm us into next.

Hi Jeff! How have you been?
I’ve been very good. Fantastic, actually.

We noticed you have said goodbye to your signature long hair. Why did you decide to cut it?
I had to change my hairstyle for a movie I was filming. I also had to change many other things about myself, including how I spoke, reacted and moved — so much so that I had to attend workshops. So, I thought changing my image would help me immerse myself in the role.

Congratulations on completing the Space Shuttle No.8 Asia tour! You have mentioned before that going on a solo tour has been your dream for the longest time — now that both your debut album and solo tour are done, how are you feeling?
It’s a pretty weird feeling — I just want to do more and more. I wanted to tour more and create more songs. It’s a strange feeling to me. It’s more fun to me now, especially since I’ve completed it. It’s like the end of one dream is leading to the start of another.

What is something new about yourself as an artiste or person you learned from going on tour? It must’ve been tiring, but seeing all that support (from guest artistes or close friends attending) must have been very empowering too.
What I’ve learned along the way is to be present with the audience. They give you so many different experiences and learnings from place to place. The show is never the same, even if the song and setting are. Everything is different. For me, I like to be there with them; I give my all and soak in the moment from my fans. Being in the moment without a script really pushed me to be a better artiste, and I believe it made me a better human being.

We have to talk about about your first on-screen mentoring stint on Chuang Asia, especially after that “Dum Dum” performance. How was it like mentoring so many aspiring artistes-to-be at once?
Guiding and mentoring new artistes is a dream that I only just recently realised (I had). It means a lot to be there, to guide and watch these artistes where they are now, doing things they previously couldn’t. I just have so many feelings. I’m so proud. There are many things in the industry that might break you along the way. While I don’t know it all, I hope what I’ve experienced in my career can be, in some way, helpful to them in their journeys. I hope that with my stories, they can break their boundaries and avoid the same traps they might find along the way. I hope that they not only become great artistes but also become better humans, stay positive in the industry, and are able to create and find themselves along the way.

Did this experience help you reflect — in any way — on your artiste career so far? In retrospect, would you redo anything?
It reminded me of my childhood. It was a time when I had so much passion for music, and seeing all the high-intensity passion in them brought me back to that time. It freshened me up. I wouldn’t change anything because I love the way things are now. Changing the past would mean changing the present, and I love where I’m at and what I’m doing right now.

What do you feel is the most important trait that any aspiring performing artiste should have?
Every artiste is different, but all artistes should try to be themselves. For me, I want to be true to myself, to be able to discover my own direction, create my own work, and be brave enough to show that to the world.

What about in a song? Everyone likes to ask questions about your views on music because your personal touch does not escape any part of your music’s creative process — from melody-making, lyric-writing to the final performance. What is your definition of a good song?
“Good” in itself is a subjective word, and a good song, to me, can mean something very different to another. You can love jazz; you can love metal. So long as you’re satisfied with what you have released, be able to listen to it back and forth, and even enjoy that track after 10 years — that’s what I define as a good song.

Regardless of shape or form, good music should always capture the essence of a story, one’s feelings, or who the artiste is at their core.

Does any existing song come to mind? Either one you are proud of or one from an artiste you look up to.
The first song that comes to mind is “Endless Rain” by Yoshiki Hayashi. I’m not too sure if he wrote it when his mom or dad passed away. But it’s a song written with lots of emotion, and it very clearly shows his style of music. It’s just very Yoshiki.

I have many songs that I am proud of — actually, every song. But if I had to pick one, it might be “Dum Dum”. I had a lot of bad feelings bottled inside me when I wrote the song, and I really wanted to release that toxicity from inside of me. It sounds as angry as I felt when I wrote it, so listening back and feeling that anger gives me satisfaction. I think I wrote it in an honest and heartfelt manner that was true to my emotions at the time.

In your previous interview with us, you talked about the different charms (and challenges) that come with writing lyrics in Thai and English. Your debut album has both English originals and English translations of your Thai songs — which song’s story or specific lyrics are you most proud of putting together, and why?
Like I said, I love and am proud of all my songs. But if I had to pick one, it would be “Black Tie”. In that track, I had to relive many memories and feelings. Honestly, even at 29, I still feel like a kid. Until today, I still address everyone around me with “P” — how people in Thailand show respect to those older than them — because l feel I have a lot more growing up to do, and that spirit to learn is still alive inside me.

As a kid, I was always told to do this and that, learn this and study that. In retrospect, those who ended up following these instructions all somehow turned out the same. I really don’t like that. I don’t want all these rules and boundaries to limit who we can be, and who I could be. That’s why I chose to sing about this in “Black Tie”, using the concept of the suit to talk about breaking those boundaries, tying in with the freedom and individuality that the Valentino collection at the time championed and empowered its wearers to embody.

Are there any stories you are looking to tell with your next music release?
It’s a secret. You’ll know when you know.

More on your love for story-telling — which seems to be a common thread that links all the creative works you have released so far together — what do you think makes a good story?
All stories are worth telling, even those without a happy ending. What makes a good story is how you tell it. Capturing the essence or feeling of the story and delivering that to the listeners is more important. You know it’s good if the listeners can experience the story with you,

You mentioned in an interview that if you were not an artiste today, you would be a writer. These days, it is hard to have an original voice, yet yours (both literal and figurative) is quite luminous in its own way. How do you maintain that voice despite all the noise?
I don’t think an original voice is something that can be created. An original voice can only come from trusting your instincts, being honest in your work, and staying truthful to your feelings. Only then can you create work that represents you. You should never lie to yourself.

And more importantly, never lose that kid inside of you. That’s who is creating the all the art, instead of you.

More importantly, how do you rest? Are there any go-to activities (or non-activities) you like to do to return to yourself and rest your voice?
I actually have a lot of time to rest. Then again, I also don’t feel like my work encompasses “working”. It’s also my vacation. Sure, even when I’m actually on vacation, I have to think about work. But I don’t mind it; I love what I do.

If we’re talking about physical rest, I prioritise resting my voice. I used to sing during my free time, but I try not to use it that often now to be ready when I actually have to sing. I think it’s important to know how to control and use my voice in the right way.

For those who are only discovering your music today, can you compile a three-track introduction to Jeff Satur’s playlist and explain why?
“Dum Dum”, “Fade”, and “Loop”. “Dum Dum” shows my darker side because it’s a release of some pent-up frustration and anger. “Fade” is more romantic — it shows you how I experience love and what I am like in a relationship, and I try to tell that story in a more emotional and evocative manner. Then we have “Loop”, a more introspective exploration of who I am. Listening to these three songs will give you a good idea of the breadth of my personality and style as an artiste.

In recent years, you have been bolder with your style. How would you describe your current relationship with fashion? Has it changed over the years?
I think fashion is about doing what you love, wearing what you love, and enjoying what you see in the mirror. Every morning before I go out, I feel like I should love what I see in the mirror — regardless of what other people think. Your body is a canvas, and whatever colour or pattern you choose to put on yourself that day is a form of self-expression you should enjoy.

Over the years, I’ve definitely become more confident about trying on things out of my comfort zone. I used to be scared of wearing certain things because of what others might think, but I’m no longer as shy. I’m just breaking one boundary at a time.

What values of Maison Valentino does Jeff Satur — the artiste — embody?
I think Valentino and I have many things in common. Fundamentally, we both embrace the act of constant reinvention and enjoy the challenge of finding new ground, and there’s no better expression of this chemistry and kindred spirit than the soundtrack I created with and for Valentino. The brand is quite sentimental and romantic, and my body of work doesn’t stray far from these sensibilities — especially if you listen to the three tracks I mentioned earlier. A valiant kind of courage persists throughout, and I feel like that syncs up nicely with what Valentino stands for as a brand.

What is next on your cards? Will we get to sees Jeff Satur, the actor again soon?
Without a doubt. In fact, more and more because actor Jeff Satur is an important part of me, and there are a lot of upcoming projects that I’m passionate about and very excited to share with the world.

Last but not least, you have said before that any interaction or activities you do for SATURDAYs feels like an everlasting dream. Is there anything you want to say to your fans right now?
Always be happy. Yes, sometimes it’s hard, and sometimes the world isn’t as beautiful as the ones we read about in our favourite fairytales. Focus on the good and avoid the bad. Surround yourself with good people. Never give up on yourself. You’re beautiful, you’re great, and you’re you — and no one else can do what you do. Even I can’t do what you do. Everybody has something unique they can do. Appreciate and love what you do. Follow your dreams, and I’ll follow mine. Someday, we’ll sing together again.

[blabbin]

Disco Elysium Fandom Masterpost

Decided to compile all the cool projects fans have made for Disco Elysium! This includes game resources, fan games, and fun collaboration events!

If you want to be notified of any updates, you can click on 'subscribe to conversation' for this post!

If you've got any corrections/updates/suggestions, reach out to let me know! ((Last updated: January 29th, 2023))

Game Information/Archives/Resources

Disco Elysium Wiki (Literally contains most everything you'd want to know about the game, including a ton of image resources)

FAYDE On-Air by Morgue, Pieartsy, and Sphinx111 (Search engine tool to easily find any in-game dialogue)

Disco Reader by xyrilyn + Guide on how to use it (Search engine AND text visualization tool. You can see the full dialogue trees as flowcharts)

Disco Elysium Explorer by Leerion + Github (Inspired by Disco Reader. It works much the same way but it ALSO includes the audio clips for every piece of dialogue!! + the text for every language released so far)

Disco Elysium Checklist compiled by MentalPrinciple0 (Includes all red/white checks, their difficulty level, all possible modifiers, as well as items, tasks, thoughts, and their modifiers)

Complete OST + Ambient Mix compiled by OnlySheStandsHere (Includes everything added for The Final Cut)

High Quality Full Map of Martinaise compiled by For Lack Of A Title

Map of Revachol West vectorized by freezebobs + svg file

Disco Elysium: Country/Cultural Mappings compiled by Limey (List of all the geographical places named in-game, what we know about them, and what some real-world parallels are)

Disco Elysium: A Timeline compiled by six and brenn (A complete timeline of every event mentioned in the game, from the creation of the universe to the events of The Hanged Man case)

Theoretical Entroponetics by 57sfinest (Everything we know about The Pale + OP's own theory)

Fanworks

Fandom Collaboration Projects

((since these are big collaboration projects, I unfortunately can't properly list the credits on this post. Make sure to check out the respective credit pages of the projects!! So many talented peeps!!!))

Disco Elysium Fan Colouring Book (SFW)

Disco Elysium Fan Colouring Book (NSFW) [[18+]]

Social media tag: #EspritDeCouleur

Fire Escape in The Sea Montage-Disco Elysium

Social media tag: #FEITSmontage

Disco Elysium Montage/Cleaning Out The Rooms

Social media tag: #COTRmontage

Disco Elysium Secret Santa 2022

Ao3 Collection

Bonus Round! Prompt List is open for anyone to fill if something grabs your interest!

Social media tag: #DESecretSanta2022

Disco Elysium Rarepair Fanworks Exchange

Ao3 Collection

Prompt List! Open for anyone to fill if something grabs your interest!

((There's no tag, everything is compiled on the twitter account. If you post anything new, make sure to @ the account to be RTed!))

Disco Elysium Tarot, the Major Arcana

Social Media tag: #DiscoTarot

An art challenge to recreate famous paintings into something Disco Elysium themed! Feel free to join in!

Social media tag: #DiscoElysiumArtClassic

Fan Games

After the Mind, the World Again by Pieartsy (TTRPG)

Disco Elysium: Game Boy Edition by BloodyStapler

Disco Dating by Slugandthorn, Capreola, Frankie, and Joe/BerlinChild (Visual Novel)

The Cryptokiller, project lead Arthur Stahlschmidt (Visual Novel) ((Make sure to check the itch.io page for a full list of the team!!))

Mystery Miniaturist by Jasmine "Katy133" Osler (Visual Novel) ((Make sure to check the itch.io page for the full list of credits!!))

WE GOT A CODE 31 by Slugandthorn (Dancing Penguin Kim. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!!)

Mini Mini Disco by OinkOink!Studio (a collection of mini-games! The links on the main page might be broken, so here they are just in case:

Nod match with Kim

Pretty Jean Jean

Beg Money)

Disco Elysium: Signature Skill Selection by FeigningIntelligence (Take this quiz and find out what your signature skill is!)

Twine Games/Fics

Re-Hearsed by Apepers

Requiem for the Apostle by Alphawave

Sweeter Kind of Fire [[18+]] by Kawa

Disco Elysium: Insomnia [[18+]] by mouseoverlord, Booboboobo, cyaber5, LoveSplean, and Aila

One Day in Jamrock [[18+]] by CeaserAmarelo

Fan Skins

((Want to write a fic/make a game that looks like Disco Elysium? These cool peeps got you covered!))

Disco Days Workskin by abyssalcaptain (Ao3)

Disco Elysium Workskin by Cunticuss (Ao3)

Disco Elysium Twine Macros by Apepers and Pieartsy (Twine)

Disco Elysium Framework for Ren'Py by Katy133 (Ren'Py)

Misc.

Disco Elysium Mods

Disco Elysium Item Card Creator by ColorfulTie (fun lil tool to create your own items with stats in the style of the game)

Disco Elysium fan music by Aila :

Insomnia Vol 1

Rain in Revachol

[openlategames]

Open Late Games released its first teaser for Speakeasy last week on April 25th, 2023 via a Reddit post, a Twitter announcement, a trailer release on YouTube, and making our Speakeasy itch.io link live.

Up until this point we've kept the development of our game hush hush. So who are we and what's this game all about?

Open Late Games is an independent development studio founded in 2020 with several projects in the works. Our focus is on creating games for women and the LGBTQ+ community, with an emphasis on immersive stories and quality gameplay. Our two member team is small but mighty, with experience in both creative and management fields.

As for Speakeasy, this is an erotic visual novel that might be new to our audience, but has been in production since 2021. Here's the quick info:

Join Old Hollywood heiress Cora West for a whirlwind of forbidden romance in the depths of a decadent illegal jazz club in Prohibition-era Los Angeles. Direct the heroine’s actions and determine whether she will make it out with her heart intact or lose herself in the glamor and excess.

Will you fall in love? Rule the city? Or damn it all and descend into ruin? The choice is yours.

Now come closer and we'll let you in on a little secret...

The script is complete, the demo will be ready soon, our Kickstarter will launch this summer, and our goal is to release the game before the end of the year!

Okay, that was more than one secret. When we started development on this project we made the decision not to release information until there was a solid body of work to present. As our debut title, we knew we would have a lot to prove and wanted to do this right. With the script complete, phase one of the character art finished by the amazing artist who signed on for the project in 2022, the game demo programming underway, and all the little details being drawn together, we knew it was time to let the world know about Speakeasy. 

As fans of independent games ourselves who have supported studios/individuals and watched the development of titles we were excited about, we know how it feels being on the side of the end user who's clinging to updates and waiting for the game to come out. There's a fine line between foreplay and just being a tease; we want to get all of you excited for the main event, but also for you to know that a release is within reach.

Thank you for coming on this journey with us and we can't wait to show you what comes next. 

Aura, Founder + Creative Director 

[intoloopin-archive]

THE MESSY CONCLUSION OF 'WALK THE MAZE', LOOPiN's EARLY 2024 (FAILED!) ATTEMPT OF A CONCEPT RESTART...

published under iktinfo.com on January 31th, 2024 by anonymous. / format inspired by Myah a.k.a @/venusvity!

Very few boy groups can confidently say they a had successful 2023 run, and the fact that LOOPiN can include themselves in the lucky few despite the looming shadow of their problematic former co-parent company, Blockberry Creative, is a miracle: after all, they became a 2 million seller group last year, won 8 music shows trophies in total - an 80% growth -, and conquered the heart's of knets with their summer release ‘Beatbox’ and their last title track of the year, 'Tell Me What To Do', which is still charting at the time of writing this article on major Top40s.

It's easy to see that any project coming from the group after 'Internet War' promotions would hardly fly under the radar, and choosing to finally quick off their visual and storyline rebrand in connection to such a well received album seemed to be the perfect recipe for success right at the start of 2024. Turns out it wasn't, partially for reasons beyond New Wave Music’s control, yes, but we're yet to get there.

Coming to its conclusion on December 29th, New Wave's storyline focused project 'Walk The Maze' - an attempt to introduce brand new units to LOOPIN unrelated to their past connection to LOONA - came to fruition through special music videos released every week of December, featuring escapes out of dystopian buildings and sentient robots, all to introduce the subgroups ‘ContraCult’, ‘IdenIdol’, ‘LiveLine’ and ‘InninS’.

It was to expect that after the mass dismissal of the entirety of New Wave’s concept department right after their departure with BBC in November 2022 - where over 21 employees were let go without proper warning or pay, if the former concept director for the group, Oh Yewon, is to be believed; a matter that’s been settled privately between her and CEO Seo Changyuk away from public eye -, the quality of anything cinematic coming from the group would have decayed, but LOOPiN has been working side by side with the small video effects company GOLDWORK Studios and making it work splendidly in visuals; uncoincidentally, GOLDWORK is a subsidiary of chinese commercial studio giant XLV Media, created and managed by J.J’s father, Xu Lianghui.

But despite all the secure outside investment and hype initially built around ‘Walk The Maze’, the members’ personal affairs have, as they so often do, come in the way of smooth success. The conspiratory delays involving LOOPiN for the past 2 years as well as the upcoming girl group act from New Wave Music have raised suspicion of the company's ability to survive another year.

The final loading screen present in the official WALK THE MAZE site without its cryptic text.

On December 29th, ‘Walk The Maze’s final day, the official site created to house the eventual immersive ‘quests’ to immerse iNSYNCs into the member's new characters and their realities. The overall prize for concluding all 4 was direct access to a mp3 file bearing a re-recording of LOOPiN’s debut single Love Me Right, this time featuring Gyujin - which went public a day later. After the conclusion of the game the site showed a tight schedule for the rest of the semester, promising the restart of Boy Of The Week format and the release of solo singles from every member starting from February. But here is where complication comes.

After all, two weeks before the turn of the new year, New Wave’s trainee team RIIDEWAVEE won ‘Show Me The One’, the reality show where Mnet would provide a ‘premium debut experience’ to upcoming acts from medium to small companies. By contract obligations shared over Dispatch soon after the trio made up of Dahyung, Chaeun and Furumi disappeared from all social media in early January, New Wave Music has until mid February to debut them in a group, or else they’ll have to pay a ₩8,012,349,438 (6 Million USD) fine to Mnet for breaking contract. To no surprise, all the company's resources seem to have gone into making it happen, and its effects on what’s planned for LOOPiN has already been announced: on January 13th, New Wave released a note explaining the scrapping of the singles in the former Boy Of The Week format, choosing to release them all together as a full album on a undecided date. 

In some sort of retaliation, Dylan has apparently responded to the cancellation by releasing his own set of solo songs on the 21th – originally 10, but now counted on Spotify as 9 after the track ‘Little League’ was deleted –, which doesn’t seem to be a full group pleaser; the one day long unfollow from Seungsoo and Haegon raised eyebrows among fans, who are always on edge with intern fighting rumors in LOOPiN.

In the middle of it all, the Japanese fashion house VIANFINO has announced the end of their exclusive contract with Haruki. The decision to let the Idol, who had been appointed as an ambassador for Monica Amano’s brand in April 2022, is strongly speculated to be made after the Idols skipped his scheduled appearance in Milan Fashion Week last September without properly notifying VIANFINO. Despite ending his contract on the 11th, New Wave nor Haruki have acknowledged Monica’s sweet natured departure statement, where the designer regards him as someone she’ll surely keep cheering for on a professional and personal length.

The final nail in the coffin for reputation compromise involving a LOOPiN member apparently has just come with the expose of Night Child’s Dongwook admission into a rehab facility on the 27th. J.J, who has been a public friend of his for months on end, has been excessively judged by NTCD’s fanbase for how quickly he went deleting all traces of Dongwook off his personal social media– hard enough for him to delete his Instagram and Tiktok accounts.

With all that happening in a single month, LOOPiN seems to have retroceded to their infamous ‘curse’ of challenging starts to promotional years. Although, if New Wave Music is really looking for a way to suppress it, enrolling the members in a long due intense media training course might be a good start.

[satoshi-mochida]

Heaven Burns Red - English version announced - Gematsu

Yostar will release an English version of Key and WFS-developed free-to-play story-driven RPG Heaven Burns Red, the publisher announced.

Heaven Burns Red first launched for iOS and Android on February 10, 2022 in Japan, followed by PC via Steam on August 10, 2022.

Get the details below.

About the Game

Co-developed by Wright Flyer Studios and Visual Arts / Key , this story-driven RPG was first released in 2022 in Japan. It has garnered major accolades at the Google Play Best of 2022 Awards, claiming titles such as “Best Game 2022,” “User Voting Category Game Category Grand Prize,” and “Story Category Award.”

Discover the Intricate World of Heaven Burns Red

Besieged by mysterious life-forms known as “the Phage,” Earth teeters on the brink of ruin. All human weaponry proved futile against the Phage’s onslaught, and without any means to fight back, humanity has been forced to retreat. Land was forsaken, and nations were erased in the ensuing chaos. Now, over half of the Earth’s surface has been lost to the Phage. With little time left and the danger of extinction looming, humans developed a brand-new, ultimate weapon called “Seraph,” and those endowed with Seraphim can finally fight against the Phage with vigor. Those who can master their Seraphim are gathered to create a special squadron, becoming humanity’s last beacon of hope. They have one thing in common: they are all girls with special talents. Among them stands Ruka Kayamori, poised to throw herself into the war against the Phage.

Highlights from Heaven Burns Red

Heaven Burns Red is a story-driven role-playing game co-developed by Wright Flyer Studios and Visual Arts / Key. This title is Jun Maeda’s first completely new game in 15 years. As a narrative-centric RPG, Heaven Burns Red uses a timeline narrative design to advance the story, breaking new ground in the RPG genre by offering an engaging and evolving storyline driven by player choices. Players will experience fierce battles through the eyes of Ruka Kayamori as well as the value of each day in the deeply immersive world of Heaven Burns Red.

English Version First Reveal at Anime Expo 2024

Leveraging the influential platform of Anime Expo 2024, Yostar will introduce Heaven Burns Red to the international gaming community. Attendees who come to the Yostar booth at Anime Expo 2024 will witness the sophisticated graphics, elaborate character artistry, and well-crafted music of Heaven Burns Red.

Special Message from Jun Maeda

“Hello, everyone, this is Jun Maeda. You may have heard of the global craze for taiyaki inspired by the work Kanon, but are you familiar with its original creator and head writer, Naoki Hisaya? I had the honor of being a sub-writer for that project. Naoki Hisaya started the trend of ‘visual novels that make players cry,’ a pursuit that I have passionately followed for over 20 years. The pinnacle of this journey is Heaven Burns Red. Whereas Hisaya used sophisticated storytelling techniques to evoke tears, I took a rather direct approach, and that’s the essence of Heaven Burns Red. To think that this work would be released in places where he sparked the taiyaki craze—such a delightful coincidence feels like fate. We eagerly look forward to sharing Heaven Burns Red with you. Thank you.” Jun Maeda, a Japanese writer and composer. He is considered a pioneer of visual novel and his notable works includes AIR, CLANNAD, Little Busters!, and Angel Beats!.

Watch the western announcement trailer and a video message from Jun Maeda below. Visit the official English website here.

Reveal Trailer

A Special Message From Jun Maeda

[iuliacaesar]

72 Seasons album opinion + my experience at M72 Tour in Madrid

72 Seasons is the eleventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on April 14, 2023. This album marks the band's first full-length release since 2016's "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct," as a collaborative effort between the band members and producer Greg Fidelman, who also worked on their previous album.

In this album we can observe a great growth in the band's music production, as we can appreciate Metallica's signature sound, blending thrash metal with elements of hard rock and progressive metal. It features heavy riffs, complex arrangements and powerful vocals, which show a vast development and maturity of their musical skills. From the first track, titled as the album, to the last one, Inamorata, we can notice the great energy transmitted with their powerful intros. 

This album also has a meaning. The title "72 Seasons" refers to the first 18 years of a person's life, a period that significantly shapes who they become. The album delves into themes of childhood, personal growth, and the lasting impact of early experiences. I believe this also has a symbolic meaning that shows the transformation Metallica has had through the years.

The album generally received positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised James Hetfield's lyrics and vocal performance but criticized the album's song length and some repetitive song parts. 

72 Seasons received three nominations at the 66th Grammy Awards, winning Best Metal Performance for the title track 72 Seasons.

In my view, 72 Seasons had influence from their previous album mentioned before, because they already have a firm model of song structure, with similar riffs, rhythms and vocals.

My favorite songs in this album are 72 Seasons, Screaming Suicide and Shadows Follow. Overall I enjoy this album because of their mature and perfect technique when playing their instruments and vocals, they have great harmony and strength. I would give this album a 9, only because of the repetitive parts in some songs. However in live these songs don't feel long at all, on contrary, they feel short.

On November 28, 2022, Metallica announced the album's title, release date, tracklist and a promotional tour of North America and Europe, featuring Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch and Architects among others, titled the M72 World Tour, and I had the honor to assist the M72 Tour in Madrid, at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium. The concert lasted 3 hours divided on two days, 12th and 14th July 2024. 

Both concerts had amazing visuals on stage screens for those who couldn’t see the members close enough, but even so I felt so close to them, because they really were playing for the crowd, giving a very comfortable and friendly environment. I’d like to highlight that both events started with the song The Ecstasy of Gold from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a moment that reminded me of Enter Sandman live in Moscow in 1991, the first video I saw from Metallica when I was 7 and moreover the largest concert in metal history. But we must not forget that the most important thing is how beautifully and dedicatedly they performed both concerts, which consisted in five songs from  72 Seasons, Ride the Lighting and Metallica, four songs from the Master of Puppets album, two songs from Reload, …And Justice for All, Kill ‘Em All and Death Magnetic, the unexpected song King of Nothing from the Load album and my personal favorite of the night, Moth Into Flame from Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.

This concert is something I'll never experience again, and I must say, 12th and 14th July 2024 will be forever the happiest days of my life, that’s why I’m writing this.

I hope you guys enjoyed my article and I’ll look forward to bring some more :) Also don’t forget to like and follow me on my socials.

much love xoxo

pd: photos aren't mine because my phone camera is shitty :( they're from their official Instagram (@metallica).

[acaplaya-musings]

VoicePlay Visuals - Classical Chaos (part 1/2)

(The video itself obviously isn't a two-parter, but this post is! You can go to part 2 here, and there'll also be a link at the bottom of this post.)

VoicePlay's "Classical Chaos" video publically released on the 29th of June, 2024 (well, the 28th of June for Americans I suppose, but I've been going off of my own timezone for all my other posts - no point changing now), and it features the one and only Rachel Potter, back with VoicePlay for the first time in two and a half years!

The arrangement, creative direction, and editing of this video was all Layne (with a bit of additional creative direction from Tony), and some have said this is an accurate look into what the inside of Layne's brain is like😂 Layne took snippets of a dozen different classical music pieces (ranging from "somewhat known" to "definitely well-known"), and turned them into a super original, super amazing acapella medley, and created a very entertaining and amusing video to go with it! And the video is what I'm here to talk about!

Also, if you somehow haven't figured it out yet, the Classical Chaos video is somewhat of a sequel to VoicePlay's In The Hall Of The Mountain King video they did back in September of 2022. You can find my VoicePlay Visuals post for that video here!

Anyway, enough introduction, let's get into this!

First of all, had to get a shot of that bat flying past - it's a cute touch - and second of all my goodness let's talk about set design because WOW. This is inside Pattycake Studios, believe it or not! Seriously, Mountain King I think maybe just had a handful of real trees that were dragged into the studio and then they used a hanging backdrop with a forest on it in addition? But this is heaps! (Someone in the VP Discord said apparently there were 39 trees used, damn)

This forest also did double duty, as Pattycake Productions also used it for their new Villains Lair episode, Ancient Relics (hey, might as well make the absolute most of it!), and unlike VP's video, that actually does have credits for set design! The trees themselves are credited to Orlando Art Squad, Djon Pearson, Layne, Tony, and also Big Oaks Ranch!

(Also I'm fairly certain that moon in the background is the same moon lamp/spotlight that Geoff used for his Jack's Lament video)

Eli's here! He uses the spellbook to re-summon all the others (I think), but how/why did he reappear I wonder? (Grundel magic perhaps 😝 (yeah they're playing creatures called "Grundels", I think maybe Layne came up with the name?))

"Advanced Conjuring And Other Spells (Beginners Do Not Attempt)"

Dang, I guess music really is magic after all! 😉😁

I can't read sheet music to save my life, but this appears to be the sheet music for Toccata & Fugue In D Minor (it's the first piece in this medley, and I googled what the sheet music looked like and it seems to line up).

Geoff giving a little smile and wave at Eli is very cute, and reminds me of the way Kathy waved to Geoff at the end of Golden Hour, which in turn reminded some people of Rachel's little wave in the Kiss The Girl segment of the Little Mermaid Medley, another video where Geoff got painted blue, so I guess it's a full-circle moment really!

Also yes, their appearances have been tweaked slightly since Mountain King (both Geoff and Layne have different horns, Eli and Geoff have different 'shirt' things, and Geoff's skin is more blue than it was last time), but I have many other things to talk about, so I shan't spend too much time on this.

The queen has arrived! Or rather, should I say, the White Witch!

Pfft I love Cesar's face here 😆

Man I really love Rachel's makeup and costuming here, she always looks amazing in VoicePlay videos! Also definitely Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark vibes

(And of course shoutout to Rick Underwood and Renette Feren for makeup and prosthetics for everyone in the video!)

Geoff is Planning Something(tm) 😝

The fire in this video works similarly to how the cauldron did in Mountain King in regards to colour coding, but while the cauldron only appeared to change colour whenever someone added something to it, this fire changes colour whenever a different person starts singing lead vocals! E.g., white for Rachel, as shown here. (I'm not sure how tough this was to pull off in editing/post-production, but it turned out amazing!)

The queen White Witch is busy casting spells and doing witch stuff! Do not disturb and definitely do not touch the spellbook!

(Also Cesar manages to be as adorable as ever in this video 😄)

🎶I could put a spell on you and you're done for!🎶

No wait wrong fandom 😝

Eli: "Ooh maybe while she's distracted I could-"

Rachel: "NOPE don't even think about it!"

Layne: "Lol rip tough luck"

(But seriously *pfft* @ this screenshot 😂)

Wait for it...

"WHERE IS THE BOOK?"

Even Layne is like "oh dang" 😂

Geoff got a hold of it! (good for him) Using what I can only assume is the power of Looney Tunes Logic! 😝

Geoff: Hey look I got this cool book! Isn't it neat? The other three guys: GIMME! Rachel: *Big Mad*

Okay I do kinda love the huge grin on Geoff's face here - it's very him, and he's having fun!

(Also notice how the fire has turned blue now that he's singing!)

Geoff holds up the book...

...And suddenly he no longer has the book!

Unfortunately for Geoff (and Rachel), he's not the only one with the power of Looney Tunes Cartoon Nonsense Logic! 😝😂

(Also the fire has changed again!)

Okay I have to talk a teeny bit about the music here because 1, I love how Geoff's "wait where did it go" head turns are perfectly timed to the "doo-doo," backing parts here, and 2, as I said in my Thoughts And Commentary post, I find it very amusing that Layne's section here is The Blue Danube, considering he just yoinked the spellbook from Geoff, who is Very Blue 😂

*pfft*

"Don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious, don't be suspicious-"

Aww look at that mischievious-but-lovable grin!

And look at what's happened to the fire! It's still mostly orange, but with a bit of green on top! Kinda like... a carrot! Layne The Carrot Lord strikes again! 😆

Rachel: "Yeah I'll have that back thanks"

And I've officially hit image limit, so that's part 1! Now you understand why I made this into two posts, not one? You can go find part 2 here! See you there!

[daibolik-lovers-encyclopedia]

Diabolik Lovers - Anime

KANJI

ディアボリックラヴァーズ

ROMAJI

Diaborikku Ravāzu

GENRE

Supernatural, Romance

DEVELOPER

Rejet

STUDIO

Zexcs

DIRECTER

Tagashira Shinobu

RELEASE DATE

Started airing - September 16th, 2013

Finished airing - December 9th, 2015

RATING

TV-14

PLATFORMS/OTHER

2-disc DVD volume set was released December 2, 2014

Taken off crunchy roll March 31, 2022

Current available streaming platforms unknown

CONTENT

2 Seasons/24 episodes

Diabolik Lovers (ディアボリックラヴァーズ, Hepburn: Diaborikku Ravāzu) is a Japanese visual novel franchise by Rejet.

An anime adaptation was first announced at a 2013 event called the "Rejet Fes 2013 Viva La Revolution". During the "Otomate Party 2013" event later that year, it was announced that the adaptation would be directed by Atsushi Matsumoto and produced by the Zexcs studio.

Diabolik Lovers (ディアボリックラヴァーズ Diaborikku Ravāzu), abbreviated as DiaLover, is a Japanese anime television series directed by Shinobu Tagashira and produced by the animation studio Zexcs.

Diabolik Lovers More,Blood (ディアボリックラヴァーズ モア、ブラッド Diaborikku Ravāzu Moa,Buraddo) is the second season of the DiaLover anime series which takes its title from the second otome game of the same name, Diabolik Lovers MORE,BLOOD.

However, the second season is not a direct sequel to the first season, but a spin-off based on the second game of the franchise.

Plot

First season

Yui is a kind and gentle seventeen-year-old second year high school student who lived a normal and peaceful life, until her father moved overseas for work.

“Not wanting her to be alone” , he sends her to live with an old friend and his six sons. When she arrives at their mansion, she discovers that they are vampires.

Only to be informed that there is a different, much darker reason she was sent to them. While she optimistically accepts her situation, she unravels mysteries of the Sakamakis' past and her own.

Second Season

After living with the Sakamaki's for a month, Yui begins to have strange dreams and apparitions regarding a mysterious purple haired woman. Her fate takes a turn after she gets involved in an unexplainable fiery car accident with the Sakamaki's.

This incident heralds four new vampire brothers who suddenly appear and abduct Yui for their own purposes.

Main Characters

Yui Komori (CV: Rie Suegara )

Ririe (Shuu) Sakamaki (CV: Kōsuke Toriumi)

Reiji Sakamaki (CV: Katsuyuki Konishi)

Ayato Sakamaki (CV: Hikaru Midorikawa)

Kanato Sakamaki (CV: Yūki Kaji)

Laito Sakamaki (CV: Daisuke Hirakawa)

Subaru Sakamaki (CV: Takashi Kondō)

Ruki Mukami (CV: Takahiro Sakurai)

Emilio (Kou) Mukami (CV: Ryōhei Kimura)

Edgar (Yuma) Mukami (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki)

Azusa Mukami (CV: Daisuke Kishio)

Carla Tsukinami (CV: Toshiyuki Morikawa)

Shin Tsukinami (CV: Showtaro Morikubo‎)

Side Characters

Karlheinz Sakamaki (CV: Ryōta Takeuchi)

Richter Sakamaki (CV: Jun Konno)

Cordelia (CV: Akane Tomonaga)

Christa (CV: Yuki Tashiro)

Beatrix (CV: Mana Hirata)

Music

First Opening Theme

Song - Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT

Artist: Ayato Sakamaki (CV:Hikaru Midorikawa) & Shu Sakamaki (CV:Kōsuke Toriumi)

Second Opening Theme

Song - Kindan no 666

Artist: Ryōhei Kimura & Daisuke Kishio

Ending Theme

Song - Nightmare lyrics

Artist: Yuki Hayashi

[lucky-clover-gazette]

i think i really like the dark pictures anthology because they put. so much freaking effort into every aspect of these games.

yeah the mocap is a little janky, yeah there are glitches, but they're working with what they've got in terms of funding and technology. it's the WRITING, man, that blows me away. what a (super)massive undertaking that must be!! the script writer for until dawn said in an interview that he used microsoft excel to keep all the branching story beats straight, and it was only after the game's release that the studio developed their own program specifically to write this flavor of game. so so so cool, are you kidding me??

until dawn gets so much love and deserves it, but i want more people to talk about dark pictures too. these games are just so earnest about what they want to be, and the creative integrity shown by the studio is refreshing compared to the majority of media that's designed to appeal to the widest audience possible. each story is completely unashamed to emulate a specific horror subgenre, and you can just tell the devs had fun when coming up with the plot, mechanics, and visuals.

and on top of that, they put in the extra thought and effort necessary to give these stories genuinely meaningful themes; in little hope, dealing with self-forgiveness in the midst of grief, in house of ashes, an anti-war stance that a lot of studios wouldn't touch for commercial reasons, and in the devil in me, commentary on art of all things. they could have totally just done a simple saw trap route a la josh's maniac setup in until dawn, but instead they made the overarching story about the artistic process, especially relating to macabre subject matter like true crime. of course there are still plenty of ridiculous saw traps and genre-typical cliches, but there's MORE to it than that, and the game probably would have sold just as well if deeper themes hadn't been included. if they don't know supermassive, people are most likely playing the game for the saw trap stuff, but surprise! this game has a really cool story too! it has fantastic execution of branching storytelling, brilliant atmospheric tension, and a mystery with the curator than spans over multiple games! i could say similar things about each of the other entries, that they go far beyond their gimmicks and deserve your attention.

i see the dark pictures games and think to myself, "yeah, these are where supermassive's creative passion really lies." say what you want about the quarry, but it felt dryer, less inspired, more phoning-it-in storywise compared to until dawn and dpa. it's still a cool game, but compared to dpa i just don't think it was supermassive's favorite project to work on. i almost wonder if some of the artistic commentary in the devil in me is a projection of the development staff having to split their time between dpa and the quarry, given the fact that both games were 2022 releases.

i don't really have a point here, except that the dark pictures anthology is a very cool and innovative flavor of horror media and i love it to bits. i can't play it, because i'd have a panic attack, but i sure do wish more people talked about it. and i'm SUPER excited to see what supermassive does next with dpa in directive 8020!!

[vocalsynthbdays]

happy birthday to xingchen(vocaloid 4), Korone Koro(utau), and shinji hibiki(utau) [12 aug] !!!!!!!!

xingchen (v4)

korone koro

shinji

xingchen (aka stardust) is a chinese synth, developed by Shanghai HENIAN Information Technology Co. Ltd., in collaboration with Beijing Photek S&T Development Co., Ltd./ Quadimension (of which xingchen is the mascot). she is voiced by Chalili. xingchens v4 concept was done by November, and the final illustration by ideolo, and her synthv (known as stardust/ xingchen infinity) concept was done by xiao Ye You Xi, and illustrated by ATDan. on 13 apr 2016 xingchen was released for v4, and on 20 feb 2022 for synthv studio. her character birthday is 12 aug though. xingchen was originally called "Quadimensionko". she is 16yo and 160cm tall. she is capable of flying to earth using her hair. she is part of Medium⁵. she originated from ZERO. haiyi and shian are xingchen's younger sisters, cangqiong and chiyu older sisters, and minus and muxin are just fellow Medium⁵s.

Korone Koro (aka Corone Coro) is a japanese synth released in 2011, for the september 2011 issues of the windows100% magazine (more about windows100% on 13 jul post). shes voiced by Korosuke, and illustrated by rak.

Hibiki Shinji is a japanese synth released in 2010. hes voiced by sitositoameo/ TATSUYA/ Oono, and illustrated by Kijitora Hakuryuu. shinji is 19yo and part of a visual kei band(?). he wears bandages around his eyes so that he can focus on the music.

synthv/ infinity

infinity concept art

logo

original quadimensionko design by November

redesign for v4

utau starter pack featuring korone koro

[systematicallycapricious]

Capri’s Guide to Sho Minazuki Content — Masterpost

Disclaimer: I don’t know, nor care to hunt down, every last piece of official content for him, as especially with the merch stuff can be really obscure. But I’ll list anything I do know or other people inform me of here.

This will also be updated if I get around to making new posts, new content comes out, or I learn of content I haven’t listed here before.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Games:

Persona 4 Arena — (indirect appearance)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax — (the game all about him)

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight / Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight — (DLC dance & limited character interaction voicelines)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Art Books:

[P4U2 Official Design Works]

[P4U & P4U2 Super Official Design Works]

P3D & P5D Official Visual Book — (character graphic & screenshots, Japanese VL transcript, potentially mentioned in the interview but I haven’t checked yet. No concept art or art pieces)

Shigenori Soejima & P-Studio Art Unit: Art Works 2 — (art pieces)

P4U2 Persona 4 The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold Stage Project Visual Book — (seems like a photoshoot of the actors in costume?)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manga:

[P4U2 manga adaptation by Rokuro Saito] — (Eng fan-translation)

Udon Entertainment publication of the P4AU manga adaptation — (official Eng translation; will finish releasing by February 6th, 2024; has an exclusive edition with new cover art and a standard edition with the original cover art)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Comic Anthology (published by DNA Media Comics) — [Eng fan-translation of a couple comics here] — (~4 non-comic art pieces, 1 koma, 5 multi-page comics, and small cameos in 2 multi-page comics)

「タルタロス劇場」 Vol 3, 「ワイルド」 Vol 1 & 2 — (AKA “Tartarus Theater”; a couple to a few komas in each volume, appears on the cover of Vol 3)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Theater:

Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold Stageplay — (prominently featured. For a list of screentime timestamps, see [here])

Persona Super Live P-Sound Wish 2022 (concert) — (Day 2 I think, but I haven’t watched it yet. There’s also photos of the actors in costume online, for example [here], [here], [here], and [here])

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Merch:

To be honest, I don’t particularly seek out merch, nor do I always remember to document it when I come across it, so if anyone has information on this, I would be very grateful!

As well, if any of the active shop links are discontinued, let me know and I’ll add their screenshots to the merch documentation folder.

Folder of documented merch [here]

Ultimax Stageplay list of merch [here]

“Rule Smashing Pun Machine” embroidered cap [here]

P4AU box art poster (normal version) [here]

P4AU box art poster (Shadow version) [here]

A Tumblr user’s keychain & pin collection [here] — (note: no clue how much is official and how much is unofficial)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Etc.:

Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold The Complete Guide — (an official game guide from the original release, going into mechanics for each fighter, from what I can tell. I don’t own a copy though, so this is just estimations from internet pictures)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Resources:

For resources uploaded to the internet like VL files (Jap&Eng), sprites, understanding the Cyrillic script on Sho’s armband, etc., see my page [here].

[black-arcana]

SPIRITBOX Unveils Cinematic 'Soft Spine' Music Video

Grammy-nominated progressive heavy metal mainstays SPIRITBOX have unleashed the cinematic music video for their latest single, "Soft Spine", following its highly anticipated release earlier this month. The video arrives during the band's current North American tour with KORN, adding a visual exclamation point to one of the heaviest tracks of the year.

The "Soft Spine" video takes the band's aggressive energy and transforms it into a stunning visual spectacle. Featuring a dramatic fight scene, the Orie Mcginness-directed video sees goddess-like frontwoman Courtney LaPlante presiding over a brutal battle between cloaked warriors in an otherworldly arena. Epic visual effects bring the carnage to life, while the band performs in various ethereal locations throughout the arena, amplifying the video's cinematic feel.

LaPlante steals the spotlight, not only with her commanding vocal performance but also with multiple striking looks that deliver both face and fashion, complementing the video's hard-hitting intensity.

"Soft Spine" is yet another testament to SPIRITBOX's unstoppable momentum, and the accompanying video raises the stakes for heavy music visuals. Fans can catch the band live as they continue touring with KORN, before heading to Brazil and Mexico City for stadium shows with BRING ME THE HORIZON later this year.

For many artists, a meteoric rise can often mean a sudden plateau. However, for SPIRITBOX, there appears to be no end in sight on their near-constant ascent to the top. Formed in 2017 in the picturesque yet isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, by vocalist Courtney Laplante and guitarist Mike Stringer, SPIRITBOX would fully cement themselves as a household name in the summer of 2020 with the release of their blistering breakout single "Holy Roller", along with a host of other captivating singles shortly after, resulting in a media firestorm of hype.

With new and existing fans eagerly watching their next move, SPIRITBOX exceeded every expectation imaginable in 2021 with the release of their genre-defining debut studio album "Eternal Blue" via Pale Chord/Rise Records. "Eternal Blue", which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, kicked open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewrote the genre's playbook with 12 stunning tracks that incorporated everything from djent and post-metal to infectious synth-laden pop sensibilities and cinematic arrangements, brought fully to life by the inimitable Laplante's ethereal and commanding vocal performances.

The album cycle for "Eternal Blue" saw SPIRITBOX not only grace the covers of esteemed music publications such as Revolver, Alternative Press, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, among many others but would also solidify the band as one of the most in-demand groups in live music today with their one-hundred percent sold out, first-ever headlining tour in support of the album which saw ticket sales over 40,000. The band would also share the stage with seasoned metal veterans such as LIMP BIZKIT and GHOST and win "Best International Breakthrough Band" at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards

In 2022, SPIRITBOX secured highly coveted spots at numerous major U.S. rock and metal festivals and were nominated for two Juno Awards. SPIRITBOX would also round out their current lineup with the inclusion of drummer Zev Rose and bassist Josh Gilbert in addition to releasing their sonically experimental EP "Rotoscope" in June of that year as well as a cross-genre collaboration with dubstep artist Illenium for the track "Shivering".

During another whirlwind year for the band, including a U.S. tour with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH, SPIRITBOX wrote and recorded their critically acclaimed EP "The Fear Of Fear", released in November 2023. The EP features the single "Jaded", which was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, the band would make another genre-bending splash with a high-profile collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of her song "Cobra".

Whatever comes next for SPIRITBOX, one thing is for sure: expect the unexpected and a firm commitment to creating wholly authentic music with passion, purpose, and constant evolution.Photo credit: Jonathan Weiner

[wolfnanaki]

Hi! If you don't mind could you please explain the whole thing with Goodbye Volcano High and Snoot Game?

Like afaik they actually aren't the same thing? Why on one side GVH is this furry/scally diverse heartfell VN but on the other Snoot is 4chan propaganda?? I'm really lost sorry!

No worries! I'll sum it up really quick.

Goodbye Volcano High is an upcoming game developed by Canadian indie studio KO_OP. It was originally scheduled to release sometime in 2021, but because KO_OP had fired the game's lead writer after the game's reveal in June 2020 and brought on a new team to completely redo the story back in July 2020, the game was delayed. Compounding development was also the pandemic, trying to avoid crunch, and dealing with nonstop queerphobic harassment. At time of writing, GVH will be out on August 29th on PS4, PS5 and PC via Steam. It's a sad but heartfelt story about teenage dinosaurs coming of age in a time where they have no future to live for (there's an asteroid coming), told through the perspective of Fang, a nonbinary pterosaur.

Snoot Game is a parody visual novel created by a group of anonymous individuals from 4chan under the label Cavemanon. After GVH was announced, it got a lot of backlash for prominently featuring a nonbinary lead character, Fang. One anonymous 4channer wrote a greentext (a fanfiction) where the self-insert character dates Fang and convinces them to detransition into a cis woman. A small team came together and expanded that story into a visual novel. Snoot Game came out in its early stage in June 2021, its final update was in January 2022, and it's a free download. It takes huge liberties with GVH's characters and world, lots of humor relies on references and sometimes racism, it's laced with transphobic talking points, and the game's worst ending involves a school shooting. (Its official site doesn't warn you about any of this.)

Very early, around the time GVH was announced, "Snoot Game" was a pejorative nickname for it by detractors, which is where the name of the parody came from, and it's why some people get the two games confused.

I hope that clears it up!

[eventuallyaugust]

bbtr plot timeline

everything happened in bbtr (both private and public)*

2022

JANUARY

• chapter 1-24 took place (yes, all of that is just in january)

• matchmaker was filmed for the remaining weeks of the month

FEBRUARY

• matchmaker eps were released two days apart (1st ep was released on 5 and ep 5 ended on 14; valentine's day)

• the show garnered all of attention locally and globally, making the pair getting shipped together more often

• several matchz photoshoots happened to promote the show, including attending some variety shows together as a pair

MARCH

• seol blowing a party for sakura and moas have a field day when seol posted an ig story being in sakura's bday party, showing off her tattoos

• fans trended yunjin and seol in several various social media platforms due to a photoshopped photo of them together (the original was a photo of oddz with sakura and eunchae between the pair)

APRIL

• bighit started to tease moas about a potential seol solo album with a teaser photo of a burning car

• seol joined in the fun by posting several pics of her being in the studio

• kmoas caught seol and umji shopping together in public, making a dating rumor spark between them which was later denied by bighit and bpm entertainment

MAY

• lesserafim debut date

• reports of txt seol caught outside lesserafim's debut show cheering on the girls

• seol threw a debut party for the girls in private

JUNE

• on the first day of the month, seol posted several pics of her and some pride flags before ending her post with a pic of her showing off a pride pin, causing a sort of backlash from the homophobes

• yunjin posted for the pride month and it caused a minor inconvenience for them because of the fans shipping them together

• bighit started releasing photo teasers for seol's solo debut

• something happened to seol and bighit announces her hiatus from the group on the last day of the month

JULY

• seol's hiatus announcement on the last day of the first week

• seol's supposed solo debut release was postponed

• a sudden hate train on seol started on the third week from different fandoms while seol is on hiatus

• bighit instantly announced that there will be an action for the people making malicious comments and posts to seol

• hybe caterers was filmed with seventeen, le sserafim, fromis_9, txt without seol, and several other idols.

AUGUST

• seol's hate train continued until the first week of the month because of txt

• two txt members got into a heated argument in the dorm one day,

• two txt members started acting cold one another, making the fans notice the odd behavior between the two

• there was a noticeable drought of replies from txt in weverse

• moaville has been in the shambles without seol

• seol finished recovering but decided going against her initial decision of announcing her return

SEPTEMBER

• txt made up from the fight and celebrated yeonjun's birthday

• good boy gone bad photo teasers were released on the third week and fans were both upset and disappointed that seol wasn't on the teasers

• following the gbgb photo teaser releases, a sudden hate train on seol manifested in several social media platforms, saying seol won't fit into the concept since it'll be all boys

• bighit surprised everyone by posting gbgb photo teasers of seol, including the group photo teasers she was edited out of for surprise purposes

• multiple fandoms were surprised and shock at the sudden change in seol's appearance

OCTOBER

• good boy gone bad was released on oct 1st

• noticing several changes in seol with eyebrow piercing and new tattoos, moas claimed that seol's entering 23 year old curse along with yeonjun, and they loved everything about the mv and the visuals, glad that seol isn't in hiatus anymore

• an anonymous source revealed the reason why seol has undergone in a hiatus, making her name trend so much txt needed an extra layer of security in public

• following the unprecedented leak of the reason of her hiatus, another hate train manifested

• gbgb promotions was cancelled on the third week of the month due to the threats seol was receiving

NOVEMBER

• everything was quiet in this month with minimal responses in weverse from soobin and yeonjun, but not the other members

• no selca, no halloween costumes, nothing

DECEMBER

• seol never got to debut for her solo album up to this month

• seol "came home" by posting a few selcas of her wearing a christmas pajamas and santa hat, greeting her fans a merry christmas

• seol released a cover of a christmas song: rockin’ around the christmas tree by brenda lee

• bighit released a statement of seol's departure from the group and company on the last day of the year

2023 (will be doing a separate post)

*note: i am very aware that gbgb was released on may, but i will change the release date for plot purposes ONLY and nothing more

*another note: i might write some to explain on some events on what had truly happened each month & this is not proofread.