#YOU CAN LIKE THE DR. BRIGHT CHARACTER WITHOUT SUPPORTING THE CREATOR.

[deoxysandthesolarsystem]

The SCP fandom sucks.

[hartmonfest]

[ID: Banner background has watercolors rainbow flag painted vertically. Text in the center reads “Hartmonfest 2021 Masterlist”. Either side of the text is a circular picture for each character looking casual and happy with a bright contrasting background. Hartley Rathaway is on the left and Cisco Ramon on the right. /END ID]

Apologies for getting the masterlist up much later than originally promised. Thanks to all who made fanworks for this event - it was great to have a couple of weeks with much more Hartmon content than usual. If you haven’t already, please do show the creators some love if you’re able to.

Full list behind the read more (17 fanfics and 1 set of fic recs).

FANFIC: “Sick For the Holiday” by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

Cisco wakes up with a cold on Thanksgiving morning.  Thankfully he’s got a doting boyfriend to take care of him.

FANFIC: “Paradise Parade” by @blueelvewithwings - tumblr | AO3

Hartley and Cisco go to the Pride Parade, where Cisco watches all the floats and Hartley mostly watches Cisco. With heart eyes, of course.

FANFIC: “Unpacking the Accelerator (The Broken Pedestal)“ by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

The information on the Flash's personal frequency was only ever a distraction so that no one would realize that Hartley had actually installed a virus in the system in order to steal terabytes worth of data on the accelerator.  Which is promptly dumped online. Of course, data is useless without context, but that's where Hartley's new blog comes into play.

FANFIC: “Where Have All the Blue Skies Gone?“ by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

The Crisis is over and Barry is dead.  And now everyone who loved him has to figure out how to pick up the pieces. Cisco's not sure how to do that yet. He just knows he doesn't want his jagged edges hurting Hartley.

FANFIC: “Shoulder of Support“ by @blueelvewithwings  - tumblr | AO3

Cisco wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Hartley sleeping on his tiny couch. This is not acceptable, and clearly needs to be rectified.

FANFIC: “Five Times Hartley Needed Support (And One Time He Got It)“ by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

It's always been difficult for Hartley to find support from his loved ones. (But somehow Cisco makes it easy...)

FANFIC: “Undercover“ by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

Hartley's gotten into more than his fair share of trouble of the last few years, but his latest misadventure has put him on the FBI's radar and the only way to get out of trouble is to go undercover at STAR Labs to investigate whatever it is wrong with the accelerator that's getting former employees killed to shut them up. This'd probably be easier if one of Hartley's new coworkers wasn't the single most distractingly sexy person Hartley's ever met.

FANFIC: “Undercover Under Covers“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

Cisco is at Saints and Sinners, trying to spy on the Rogues. Unfortunately, a too-handsy mobster tries to make his advances... until Hartley rescues him. And then, really, it all just kind of goes downhill from there. Or uphill?       AKA Hartley sucks on a lollipop and Cisco has a Big Oral Fixation.

FANFIC: “To Know Oneself“ by @kitkatt0430​ - tumblr | AO3

Hartley's absolutely certain that if Cisco could remember their shared past then he wouldn't be flirting so outrageously.  Cisco's equally certain that even when he gets his memories back he'll want to shove Hartley against the nearest hard surface and kiss Hartley until his brain reboots.

FANFIC: “Inflictions of Identity“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

Hartley hates Pride Month, he wants nothing to do with it. Most of that boils down to how he really really wishes he wasn't gay. Over a course of a rainbow-filled June, and with Cisco's help, he slowly learns to see that maybe, just maybe, being who he is is something to be proud of, after all.  Cisco's confectionary treats along the way certainly help a lot, as well.

RECS: 7 fic recs by @kitkatt0430​ - tumblr

FANFIC: “Signs of Change“ by @kitkatt0430​ - tumblr | AO3

Cisco keeps dreaming about this hallway full of blue-gray doors.   Except for one.  There's this one door that's red.  And maybe it's a vision or maybe it's just a dream indicating an impending change. Life keeps changing so fast and, as the only person left at STAR Labs, Cisco's maybe a little afraid he's been left behind while everyone else moves on.  Of course... life has a way of sweeping everyone up eventually.

FANFIC: “Tender Trust“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

Cisco wants to give Hartley a massage to help him relax after a long day. Hartley is pretty sure Cisco just wants to get him nice and pliable so he can hurt or fuck him better. Of course, Cisco does no such thing.

FANFIC: “Trust Fall“ by @kitkatt0430 - tumblr | AO3

Hartley's really not sure trusting Cisco is a great idea.  Just because the guy has had an attack of conscience over the unethical prison in STAR Labs basement doesn't mean he's going to be a reliable partner in Hartley's quest for vengeance against Harrison Wells. But if Hartley wants to make progress in shutting down the Pipeline Prison, then he doesn't really have a choice. Meanwhile Cisco's trust in Dr. Wells has been shattered by the discovery that his mentor not only deliberately ignored the flaws in the accelerator, but has been secretly studying meta humans.  Many of whom - like Cisco himself - haven't even manifested powers yet.  But Cisco doesn't want to believe his trust in Caitlin and Barry has been misplaced, even as he commits to throwing in his lot with Hartley.

FANFIC: “Modern Marriage“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

Hartley is less than thrilled to meet the next person his parents throw at him to marry, but for the sake of not getting carted off to conversion therapy, he's willing to take that step... When he meets Cisco, he realises that things are not as dire as they might seem, if they play their cards right.

FANFIC: “Merriest of Memories“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

A little glimpse of memories held dear and captured in photographs - a birthday, sibling love, the happiest day, newfound family.

FANFIC: “Begin Again with New Beginnings“ by @blueelvewithwings​ - tumblr | AO3

The last person Cisco expected to run into at the Coast City Jitters is Hartley Rathaway. No. The last person Cisco expected to run into at the Coast City Jitters is a smiling Hartley Rathaway.

FANFIC: “Rip Van Winkle“ by @kitkatt0430​ - tumblr | AO3

The last thing Hartley remembers is heading for the pipeline with Ronnie and Cisco.  And then he's waking up in the Cortex, Flyleaf playing in the background.  It's six months later and the whole world has turned itself upside down.

If anyone made anything we didn’t spot and reblog/include here, do let us know as things turning up in the tags can be very hit and miss.

We hope you enjoyed the fest, and if anyone wants to make anything for the prompts after the fest we’d still be happy to reblog any additional fanworks. :)

[comicteaparty]

September 7th-September 13th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from September 7th, 2019 to September 13th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

Describe your comic’s notable side characters.  What do you think they add to the story?

AntiBunny

That really depends on how you define side character. Is it anyone but the main character, or someone who's neither the protagonist, nor a side character? In AntiBunny: the Gritty City Stories http://antibunny.net/ if it's the former, then I'd say Hannibal who never takes center stage, but is a constant support who's always there to back up the main characters. He's the gentle support you can always count on. There's also Mulligan who's also a strong support, though while Hannibal is gentle, Mulligan is forceful. One supports with gentility, the other with strength.(edited)

If it's the latter, then I'd say Runo. He first appeared in Nailbat as a minion of the big bad, http://nailbat.antibunny.net/, but later decided he valued his friendship with a main character over his paycheck. Since then he's appeared in Gritty City Stories backing the heroes. We've even seen a bit of his origins. One part a good person who made bad choices, but also someone who chose to become a better person.

The Q

As someone who's adapting a DnD campaign to comic form, side characters become hugely important to the story and main characters! If nothing else, they're there to balance the mains. I'm so excited to show you all more, when there's more comic to show!!

Attila Polyák

This question is a bit special for Tales of Midgard https://talesofmidgard.com/, as most of the major events and plot points are initiated by not the main cast but by side characters, often without even being on screen at all. The main crew just takes part in the chain of events initiated by the bigger players around. In this sense side characters like Egon, a diplomat, or Alex, the leader of a magic academy, have more impact on initiating the plot than the protagonist. This is simply because a lot of side characters in Tales of Midgard tend to be influential members of high society, while Anne and Erik, the protagonists, are basically commoners.

Desnik

Just invented a character for http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/ who is only seen Dr. Claw style for the first three quarters of the story -- a pair of hands covered in gold and rubies. I needed him to provide conflict and context for why my characters are in Paris at all

snuffysam

For http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/ - I suppose I might as well just go down the list. - Mr. Enetoro is meant to be a foil to Mizuki's yearning for action. He's the safe job to contrast Mizuki's adventures, the comfortable family life to contrast the romance Mizuki seeks. He also makes for some fun comic relief. - Zaxaty is... kind of the opposite. She shows that despite Mizuki's desire for romance and willingness to jump headlong into most situations, she completely refuses to take any actual chances with dating for fear of being rejected. Unless Zaxaty literally gets down on one knee with a ring, Mizuki won't believe that Zaxaty could ever possibly love her. - Gynu and Suzigu introduce a recurring side theme of the comic - there's no such thing as an unbeatable fighter, but there is such a thing as an unbeatable team. Gynu is hot-headed and Suzigu is lazy, but together they're more than the sum of their parts. The Ludi twins are two of the most powerful veteran warriors in the comic. And despite what the pair may have been led to believe, Mizuki and Cahe were unable to defeat them. If Mizuki and a teammate ever do defeat the twins, it will be a sign that she truly has found the perfect partner. - Can't go into what Nothing represents without spoiling stuff lol. - Fortunately, I already summarized what themes Electric Zebra represents with his own dialogue: Listen up, you mother-canoodler. You better agree with me right now that love is the only weapon anyone needs, or I will shove this canoodling knife into your canoodling throat, understand? - Coruby Zozi used his status as Zebugu's childhood best friend to build a colony in the desert, where people who were shunned by society can live free. Coruby shows that while caring for yourself is important - it certainly wouldn't hurt if you cared for other people along the way.(edited)

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

I LIVE for side-characters, my comic is made of them. XD But to genuinely answer the prompt, in http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/ , the main side-characters are the Pub Lads, a gang of older sailors who used to work for Ains when he was captain of a ship, and another who hasn't been introduced yet but is down at the bottom of the character page. The Pub Lads are... not bright. They're good-hearted, and at least one will provide a particular lesson for Ainsley--and Witchy. They're mostly there for antics, but also to help give the town a little more flavor. They're very darling characters for me and I love them a lot. The young merman is a very different type of side-character. His part won't come into play for... a long time. But he is an inextricable part of Witchy's backstory, and his very presence is going to provide a point of connection--and possibly contention--between Witchy and Ainsley. When I say "Witchy is a villain," it'll be the young merman's presence that will really answer the question of, "How?"

[aurelliocheek]

Get Packed: Creating a Game for Google Stadia

Developer Moonshine Studios provides insights into the development process of their first game, which was recently released exclusively on Stadia.

The Developer Moonshine Studios is located at the tail-end of Cornwall which is the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The studio was founded in 2018 and their first game is Get Packed, which has just been launched exclusively on Google Stadia. In this context we had the opportunity to talk to Dr Marcus Gardner and Jamie King, who are both founding members of the studio. The two share details about the advantages of developing a title for Stadia and how it came to the decision to release their first game solely on Google’s new platform. We also talked to them about the ongoing Corona crisis and how the current situation is affecting the work of developers. In this last section of the interview, they also give a few tips on how small studios can engage funding providers and publishers even in these difficult times, for example with a ‘contactless’ pitch.

Every step should be thought through so that no item gets damaged while moving it.

Making Games: How did the idea for Get Packed came to life and since when is the developer Moonshine Studios working on the chaotic co-op party game about a calamitous removals company? Moonshine Studios: Get Packed is out now, first playable on Stadia, but it has been quite the journey since we first started. Our four co-founders met in May 2017 as part of an EU funded university incubator/accelerator programme based in the digital tech industry called Falmouth Launchpad. As the programme name suggests, it was based in the far South West of Cornwall, run by Falmouth University. The programme focuses on creating and developing a team with the intent of incorporating as a company at the end of the year. This is underpinned by a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship, which we study while developing the product and company. Out of a cohort of 20, the four of us were partnered together to form one of the games teams. Without going into detail of our market research, we came to the conclusion that we should develop a game focused on the interaction between players. Whether in the form of a co-operative experience such as Overcooked, or competitive like Gangbeasts. Or a mixture of both like Crawl. We started brainstorming ideas to create a co-operative game that combines competitive elements to create these fun interactions. At the time, our artist Callum had recently helped a friend move from campus and remembered the clown-like challenge of cramming everything into this tiny car. Moving objects is something a lot of people can relate to, and a goldmine for comedy. Our earliest prototype involved moving Tetris-shaped objects into a van, where the players would maximise their score based on how tidily they packed everything. Conversely, we found that just piling everything in anyhow using physics was far more comical, and then ideas just started flowing from there. We found that many multiplayer co-operative games have quite a similar cartoony style, and didn’t want Get Packed to get lost in the mix; we wanted to make it more visually different than other titles on the market. The overall style and environment design take inspiration from miniature models and the work of director Wes Anderson. Selective colour palettes with muted tones and bright lighting are utilised to create a playful but stylish look to the game. 3D models follow a sharp, low poly topology to increase performance and visual clarity. Lightly chamfered edges and PBR texturing differentiate the visual style from conventional low poly games to create an almost miniature model aesthetic. Now that we had a basic game loop, art style and a bunch of level ideas, we wanted to introduce a narrative to wrap it all together. Neither physics-based games or party games tend to have much of a story, so we felt this was another area which we could make Get Packed stand out. We took all our wacky level ideas and grouped them into themes, which we then converted into narrative beats. As time went on, more and more layers were added to the story, which resulted in a very silly, but surprisingly intricate narrative. The game is set in the fictional town of Ditchlington; imagine an Americanized version of Cornwall and you’d be close. Ditchlington has been purchased by the sinister Industrial Salt Company who intends to obliterate it for the sake of an enormous salt mine. Player’s take the role of up to four Ditchlington residents who have just been evicted thanks to the Salt Corps greediness. While packing their own belongings, they begin to realise they have a real knack for it and decide to take advantage of the town-wide evictions and create “Last Ditch Removals”. This sees Last Ditch Removals packing up homes, businesses and other dubious locations to make sure it’s citizens are safe, and hopefully, along the way, come up with a scheme to stop the city from being demolished. The cutscenes are delivered via a top-down shot of an animated scrapbook which details Last Ditches’ journey, and this was again a nod to many of the shots seen in Wes Anderson’s films. To create unique and silly characters, we looked to some of our favourite animations such as Wallace and Gromit and the Simpsons for further inspiration. While the majority of the story is told through the animated cutscenes, the levels are full of hidden references and nods to Ditchlington’s history to help bring the world to life.

If too much damage accumulates you get fired and the round is over.

Are there features in the game which were may easier to realise on Stadia compared to other platforms? Working with Stadia has been an amazing experience. Unity has fantastic integration, so the whole development cycle hasn’t been too dissimilar from that of a console game. However, thanks to the power of Stadia, we’ve been able to push the graphics and wacky physics that much further. During development (pre-Stadia), we encountered a number of challenges. Get Packed is played from a birds-eye perspective, and often you can see the entire map. That means it’s a huge area to render, exacerbated by the sheer amount of physics objects which can be manipulated by the player. Knowing the specifications of the target hardware was incredibly useful, allowing us to pack each area to limit without affecting performance. Accurate lighting was another challenge pre-Stadia development. Baking the lighting would’ve been the ideal solution, and would have allowed for faster render times. Still, with all the moveable elements, it became clear that realtime lighting was the only viable solution. Even then, it was tricky balancing the requirements of the shadow system with the destructible meshes and explosions. It looks great, but that level of chaos began to push the hardware. Fortunately, these limitations pretty much evaporated when we focused on Stadia development. Thanks to the power of the Stadia servers, we could push the wacky physics and gorgeous lighting much further than we anticipated.

Does co-op gameplay thrive on players sitting together in the same room? We’re thinking of usual real-life interactions you would expect to see between players gathered together, such as funny scuffles, yelling, and swearing. Over the past few years, there’s been a massive resurgence in couch co-op. Long gone are the days of gaming being seen as a solitary activity. Now it’s just another way for family and friends to spend time with each other. Local-only co-op games – such as Overcooked and Crawl – perform extremely well, so there’s clearly an audience. When we started development on Get Packed, one of our core pillars was to create a game which encourages these types of engaging social experiences, whether online or together in the same room.

Coatsink developers working on the game in their office in Cornwall.

Does the co-op mode support online ­gaming in case your friends live in a distance where you rarely meet each other? Friends and family can invite each other to play through Stadia and jump into a game with no hassle at all. It features both local and online play, so whether you are playing on the couch with a partner or want to play with someone on the other side of the world, that can easily be done. You can even mix the two, with a few people playing locally and connecting with others online.

Is it possible to communicate with your friends via headset during an online match? Most definitely! You can easily invite your friends to a party on Stadia to start a voice channel with them before starting up the game. Jumping on a voice communications channel with your friends as you are chaotically packing things adds an extra layer of comedy as things go wrong. Part of the game’s experience is being able to enjoy the naturally occurring comedic interactions between you and your friends during gameplay!

What was the motivation behind releasing Get Packed first on Stadia? The game looks like it would also work fine across other popular platforms like PC, PS4, Xbox One, and of course Nintendo Switch. Over the last several years, there has been a huge shift in the way games are marketed, which has led to a massive boom in the development of games from smaller independent studios. Smaller Indie titles can gain massive traction through content creators streaming games content to their audiences. With the Games Video Content market growing at a very fast rate, and both streamers and viewers looking for new ways to interact with one another, Stadia offers a number of interesting features that can make the most of the shift in games entertainment culture. When we were designing the idea for the game Get Packed, we already knew that we wanted to make a game that was not just fun to play, but also fun to watch. When we were later presented with the opportunity to be a ‘First on Stadia’ title, the decision was a no-brainer. Stadia offers an extremely innovative and ambitious new platform that has the potential to change the way in which games are played drastically. As technology continues to grow rapidly, more people have access to faster and more affordable internet, making it even easier to play games than ever before. It is incredibly exciting to be a part of this new pioneering technology as one of the first ‘First on Stadia’ titles. In terms of gameplay, Get Packed is a very physics-heavy game, which can typically be quite intense on hardware. Not everyone has access to such hardware; however, by utilising Google’s high-end systems through games streaming, we can really see how far we can push the physics systems, while still allowing people to enjoy smooth gameplay at the highest graphical settings. Although the game focuses on couch co-op gameplay, in this day and age, social gatherings may not be possible. This makes online play incredibly important, and any developer who’s dipped their fingers into online physics will know how challenging and performance heavy it can be. Thankfully, Stadia can alleviate a lot of the typical performance problems that could come as a result of players connecting to the internet with different levels of hardware.

The developers showed their game at several events.

Are there any differences between online and local matches regarding gameplay? The local campaign is complemented with the animated story of our Ditchlington heroes, but in regards to gameplay, they are exactly the same. The online mode consists of a multiplayer playground similar to that of Gangbeasts, where players can join their friends or strangers in a lobby where they can select any level and mode that they have unlocked. The only differences are that players may have access to levels they haven’t unlocked yet by joining a player who has unlocked it, high scores and challenges won’t be saved for players who haven’t unlocked them in this case. The story cutscenes currently aren’t present in online play. However, we are considering bringing back that option, as many players dive straight into online games without ever learning of the backstory behind the game.

Does the game have features that only ­Stadia can offer? If so, what happens to these features in case of a future release on other platforms? Post-release, we will be looking to add Crowd Play to Get Packed and exploring other Stadia specific features. When designing Get Packed, one of our core design goals was to create a game which was not only fun to play, but fun to watch. Having the ability to instantly switch from watching your favourite streamer to playing with them is a brilliant idea and would be perfect for our game. These features are a massive bonus for both streamers and viewers. The growing video games content market has shown a rapid increase in the number of people who enjoy watching and interacting with their favourite content creators to the extent where it is considered a staple in the lives of the younger generations. Get Packed was designed to promote fun interactions between players, and this greatly matches what Stadia is also trying to achieve between streamers and viewers. While these Stadia specific features would be a massive addition to the entertainment value of the game, they aren’t crucial to the core game experience, and would not affect development in the case of a future release on other platforms.

Moving can be quite the chaos, but at least it’s a funny chaos.

Finally, some questions regarding the ­current Corona crisis: How does the worldwide pandemic affect the work of developers and publishers? Has your work changed significantly in this context? Did some of your employees or maybe entire departments have been working decentralised in their home offices even before the crisis occurred? Many large developers and publishers are based in cities where the Coronavirus has had a much larger impact, increasing the likelihood of employees becoming sick or self-isolating out of precaution and care for others. Depending on the company, this could quite easily result in many delays while the company sets up a remote work infrastructure for its employees. Older companies may have a more traditional structure, so they may have found it more challenging to move everything digital in comparison to a small indie developer who has remote employees dotted around the world. Many companies hold their new game titles in secrecy and very close to their chest. Creating a secure environment for employees to work remotely without running the risk of information leaks can be a very costly exercise. For us at Moonshine Studios, which is located at the tail-end of Cornwall, the impact of Coronavirus is quite minimal in comparison. Our small office has been closed since the lockdown; however, it has been very easy for us to adapt to a remote office environment. Since starting up, we have always had a flexible approach to remote working and work hours. While we do have a core office where the majority of us work, people have the freedom to work from home whenever they choose. Graham, one of our programmers, lives quite far away from the office compared to the rest of us and finds it much easier to work at night due to the lack of distraction. As such, we’ve made sure our work infrastructure has been able to accommodate this. Not only that, but some of us have also been in more long-distance relationships, and being able to work remotely for a month or two at a time has been great in fostering them. With the onset of cloud computing and the availability of a plethora of digital management tools for every situation, it has never been so easy to collaborate and set up a remote office network than ever before. Utilising digital collaborative tools such as Slack, Github and Trello alongside Unity indicated that we already had the infrastructure for working from home, which meant that our productivity hadn’t been massively affected by the lockdown. Some slowdown is inevitable; however, as we are all working from personal laptops and desktops that aren’t as powerful as our office workstations. We mostly communicate through Slack, which enables us to easily group topics and direct message to each other. However, conveying complicated ideas or issues can be a struggle via text, in which case we hold quick video chats, especially when they relate to the design of important gameplay features. The biggest difficulty for us with the current lockdown is that we simply miss the office and the company culture. We are all good friends, so to be isolated for weeks can be challenging. We recently started an online coffee chat every other morning to catch up with each other to make sure everyone is doing well, considering the current climate.

Is there a chance that digital products could perhaps achieve an increase in sales as a result of the crisis? Historical video games sales data has shown that more people are moving from physical to digital media, and the current situation will only strengthen this. We have seen the highest unemployment numbers we will probably ever see in our lifetime, with millions of people off work on furlough or having lost their jobs completely. With limited options, while waiting for the economic climate to move back towards normality, those that are currently stuck at home with their loved ones (who may also be in a similar situation) need to find ways to entertain themselves as a form of escapism. Video games are the perfect form of media to do this. They not only act as a form of entertainment, but are also used to create and strengthen social bonds, and can often be a way to stimulate or destress the mind. There have already been multiple reports of increased game sales, game streaming viewership and concurrent players. The World Health Organisation has even recommended playing active video games while in isolation. There is no doubt this will have a big impact on the video games industry, whether that would be introducing gaming to a whole new audience that has previously stayed clear of it, or making it a social staple like board games nights once were. While we could have never predicted what has happened, since right from the start of development, making the game available for online play has been a key goal. Although Get Packed and similar party game experiences shine the most in a setting where players are sitting around the same screen, we know that a large portion of the audience can only play games with others online. It has always been important to us to have both online and local co-op in Get Packed, so that family and friends could enjoy the gaming experience together, wherever they are in the world.

No item is too big or weird to move.

We notice that developer conferences all around the world get cancelled at the moment, which is a big problem for small developers. Usually visiting a developer conference helps to get in touch with publishers quickly and allow multiple pitches in a short amount of time. For many indies, pitching at the publisher’s site (with flights, hotel, etc.) is too expensive. So do you have any tips for a ‘contactless’ pitch? Which information should be part of the first email, and how should a future webcam presentation look like to raise the interest of a publisher? We feel a great deal of sympathy for the developers who had made plans to attend these conferences, some who will not get their money back. In those early pitching phases when you are still looking for funding, every expense is crucial and to not get anything back from it could cripple a company. That’s why it’s been amazing to see the support of places like WINGS who spearheaded the GDC Relief Fund, allowing people to recoup some of their costs. My hope is that this situation will encourage more publishers to focus on online pitches, so future developers don’t feel the need to attend these events. When sending pitches to publishers, it’s important to catch their attention. For us, we knew our game shined brightest when you saw people playing it, so we made a semi-public game night at a university and invited people to come to play the game in exchange for some free food. We recorded them playing and mixed their reactions into the trailer. It was clear that everyone was enjoying playing the game themselves as well as competing against their friends for the highest score. Everyone likes a bit of friendly competition and being able to capture the emotions of those interactions was fantastic. Even before the lockdown started and the games expos were cancelled, it was still very important to have a strong ‘contactless’ pitch. When you attend an event, there are many occasions where you just aren’t able to set up those essential meetings or miss the opportunity to show the game to a potential publisher; you may have to make that first contact by email. Perfecting that is even more important in the current climate. Keep in mind when sending emails to publishers, that they probably get hundreds of messages a day. We found being brief, transparent, but informative with all your needs, the funds required, and an eye-catching trailer was what worked for us. While the first contact is very important, being able to follow up with a realistic view on scope, sales, budgeting and planning is a large bonus. Publishers want to know whether they can trust the team to deliver the game they are pitching in a specific time frame within budget. Ultimately though, if you have something playable to show, this experience can speak a thousand words, so make sure to pitch at the right time with the best possible build you can provide.

Dr Marcus Gardner Co-Founder & Programmer

Originally specialising in mechatronics and robotics, Marcus switched careers to utilise his experience in systems design, programming, project management and independent research to create memorable experiences in games.

    Jamie King Co-Founder & Designer

Specialising in games design, Jamie has previously created games and interactive exhibits for award-winning visitor attractions. While primarily a designer, he also assists with art direction the 3D asset production.

The post Get Packed: Creating a Game for Google Stadia appeared first on Making Games.

Get Packed: Creating a Game for Google Stadia published first on https://leolarsonblog.tumblr.com/

[mrmichaelchadler]

Seventh Row Releases Fantastic E-Book on Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here

Longform critical writing on film is in a financially dire state as more and more outlets struggle to find the business model that could support detailed analysis of filmmaking in a market dominated by outlets that appeal to increasingly small attention spans. Some have rallied their own critical troops and formed online magazines, such as the excellent Bright Wall/Dark Room, from whom we publish a monthly excerpt and encourage you to subscribe. BW/DR devotes their monthly issues to themes, but the talented crew over at Seventh Row have done something fascinating this month by devoting an entire e-book to writing and interviews related to one of the best films of 2018, Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here.” We here at RogerEbert.com are big fans of the film—I loved it at Sundance and Sheila O’Malley gave it 4 stars when it was released—and it strikes us as the kind of film that could slide under the radar during the year-end conversation about the best of the last 12 months. Seventh Row’s e-book allows for a deeper appreciation of a brilliant piece of art. Let’s hope there are still opportunities and a market for pieces like this for a long time to come.

The 68-page e-book, which sells for $17.99 CAD (about $13.75 US), and you can buy here, collects five interviews and two essays from editors of Seventh Row. The interviews are with writer/director Lynne Ramsay, producer Jim Wilson, sound designer Paul Davies, editor Joe Bini, and director of photography Thomas Townend. The essays are by Orla Smith (“A Hitman More Helpless Than Heroic”) and RogerEbert.com contributor Elena Lazic (“Ramsay’s Characters Escape Trauma Through Sensations”). The interviews are informative and detailed, often flowing into one another. For example, Smith’s essay reads better immediately after her interview with Ramsay before it in the book. It’s what we want more often from critical analysis—a conversation with the art and its creators—but so rarely get. An excerpt is included below. Get your copy now and let’s encourage more writing like this before we no longer have the chance:

“Through sound and images, Ramsay asks us to share Joe’s subjective headspace, constantly confronting us with what it’s really like inside his head: a horrific, PTSD-fuelled nightmare. The present day action is regularly interrupted by sudden, visually incongruent flashes and abrupt sound shifts which plunge us into Joe’s past. Flashbacks—to his abusive childhood, his time as a soldier, and his later stateside police rescue missions—jar with the present day action. The serene calm of the morning as Joe wakes up is interrupted by the blindingly bright image of the foot of a dying girl, twitching in the desert, particles of sand loudly crunching against each other. It attacks the senses without warning, leaving both us and Joe shaken.

The film often sounds like a bad headache or a hangover—but that’s how life feels for Joe all the time. When we see him leave a hotel room at the beginning of the film, tired out after a job, each trudging footfall is accompanied with an ear-splitting, clashing guitar chord —as if to stress how much of an effort each step is for Joe. His detachment from the rest of the world is disorienting. Greenwood’s score is often unpleasantly discordant with the sound of the environment around Joe. When he takes a taxi to the airport, the driver’s absent-minded singing, otherwise unobtrusive and harmonious, creates a dizzyingly off sound because it clashes against Greenwood’s synth.”

To get your copy of the "You Were Never Really Here" special issue e-book, click here

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Zach Galifianakis Denounces Celebrity Worship: This Is How We Ended Up With Trump

HOLLYWOOD, California Ill have the McWhopper, Zach Galifianakis jokes as he settles down into a booth at the Arbys on Sunset Boulevard at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. They dont have Dr. Skipper, do they?

Along with his Baskets co-star Martha Kelly and co-creator Jonathan Krisel, Galifianakis is at Arbys to schmooze with Emmy Awards voters. Later, after speaking with a group of journalists, he will spend hours both taking and delivering drive-thru orders to lucky members of the Television Academy who will ultimately decide the FX shows Emmy fate.

Louie Andersonthe only actor on the show to win an Emmy for his portrayal of matriarch Christine Basketsstrolls in late wearing his signature dark blue dress shirt and bright red tie. Sorry, you guys, I was making fries, he deadpans.

The decision to hold the For Your Consideration day at Arbysas opposed to say, the lavish theater at the Ace Hotel where NBCs This Is Us held its event that same nightis a perfect reflection of this understated, irreverent show.

I mean, its just a TV show, have it in an Arbys! Galifianakis, who spends as much time as he can on his farm in North Carolina, jokes of these FYC events. God, this town and how it takes itself so seriously, it makes me sick. Were dumb actors! Thats how we ended up with Trump, celebrity worship.

This Arbys location is the same one the show has filmed in periodically over its first three seasons, including the third seasons Thanksgiving episode, which found a troupe of French clowns joining the Baskets family for a fast-food dinner. Anderson calls it one of the greatest moments in the shows history.

I know you probably think we shoot at Arbys headquarters, Galifianakis jokes. And I had been here a long time ago, as a customer.

Similarly, Anderson recalls coming to this Arbys drive-thru every night at 2 a.m. after performing at The Comedy Store in the mid-1980s. I got an Arbys special, two different types of fries, a Jamocha shake, and then Id drive though again, he says.

We wanted to show the dirtiness that TV doesnt show a lot, Galifianakis says of the decision to make this particular chain, which also became a frequent punchline on Jon Stewarts Daily Show, such a big part of Baskets. You dont really see real fast-food places being used. And unfortunately, the country has turned into this sort of fast-food mentality and we wanted to highlight that and show it.

Arbys was originally written into the pilot as a throwaway joke, but once they started writing the first season, they realized it could be a recurring location for the characters, including Galifianakis Chip, who has to keep returning to his job there after failing in his quest to become a successful clown.

How many questions will be about Arbys? Galifianakis wants to know before the press conference officially gets underway. You know, we have a show.

And that show just got picked up for a fourth season, despite what can generously be described as modest ratings. Galifianakis, who plays twins Chip and Dale Baskets on the show, explains that he set out to portray characters who were not exactly likeable, to use a favorite term of network executives. But three seasons in, he has started to allow them to approach something resembling redemption.

Over the course of the shows run, Anderson has undoubtedly become the breakout star of Baskets with his Emmy-winning performance as Christine. What could have been a one-note joke has evolved into a nuanced and emotional portrayal of a woman finding herself in her golden years.

While Christine may seem like the opposite of her artist, weirdo kid, Krisel says he strives to show that they are not so different. Shes sort of an artist in her own right, he explains. These types of ladies are magical, too. Its not just beautiful models who, like, romp through Paris. These are interesting, poetic lives, too.

All the silly, traditional, buttoned-up stuff in sitcoms is never happening in Baskets, Anderson adds, which is beautiful. When Anderson refers to himself as a really pretty woman, Galifianakis shoots back, Look, Louie, whatever you keep telling yourself

Families are messy and their problems arent fixed by one quirky line, Galifianakis adds. From the beginning, we wanted it to be a lot of things. And I think now that were going into our fourth season, we know the show better than we did during the first season.

Life isnt all jokes or all drama, he continues, noting that when he watches dramatic shows hes always hoping that someone will make a joke. I just havent seen a show like this that has dramatic elements and then goofy jokes. Galifianakis did admit later that hes never seen his fellow FX show Atlanta, which could be described the same way.

Christian Sprenger, who served as the director of photography for Baskets first season, notably left the show to do the cinematography for Atlanta, a fact Galifianakis still seems a little salty about.

Ive seen Atlanta and I love it, Martha Kelly chimes in. I just want to get that on the record.

This past season of Baskets was the first one produced without the participation of another FX auteur, Louis C.K., who co-created the show with Galifianakis and Krisel, but stepped aside after the revelations about his history of sexual misconduct. Galifianakis has described C.K.s exit as disruptive in a harmful way to so many people, chalking his behavior up to the poison of celebrity culture: The fact that someone can think that just because theyre loved, they can do what they want.

Anderson told The Daily Beast earlier this year that he was so sad and a little shocked by everything that came out about C.K., who had first pitched the idea of him playing Christine Baskets. Its still a very emotional thing for me, he said at the time. I feel bad for everyone involved. Its a terrible thing.

The recent season finale ended on a double cliffhanger of sorts. As the family counts down to midnight on New Years Eve, Chip gets an unexpected phone call from his estranged wife Penelope and Christines boyfriend Ken says he has a question for her. As her face lights up, the screen cuts to black.

Krisel and the cast confirm that they had no idea if they would be given the chance to make a fourth season when they decided to end it that way, but they all seem excited by the opportunity to continue the story.

That being said, they still dont know what they want to do next. Galifianakis and Anderson recently had dinner to discuss some storylines, and as Krisel says, There were some terrible ideas that came out of it.

I mean, the numbers on this show, Ive never looked at them, but Im imagining theyre below average, Galifianakis says with a laugh. Thankful for FXs ongoing support, he suggests that if the show had been on a broadcast network, People would have walked out of the pilot.

We really are lucky, Anderson adds.

So are the shows fans.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/zach-galifianakis-denounces-celebrity-worship-this-is-how-we-ended-up-with-trump

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Zach Galifianakis Denounces Celebrity Worship: This Is How We Ended Up With Trump

HOLLYWOOD, California Ill have the McWhopper, Zach Galifianakis jokes as he settles down into a booth at the Arbys on Sunset Boulevard at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. They dont have Dr. Skipper, do they?

Along with his Baskets co-star Martha Kelly and co-creator Jonathan Krisel, Galifianakis is at Arbys to schmooze with Emmy Awards voters. Later, after speaking with a group of journalists, he will spend hours both taking and delivering drive-thru orders to lucky members of the Television Academy who will ultimately decide the FX shows Emmy fate.

Louie Andersonthe only actor on the show to win an Emmy for his portrayal of matriarch Christine Basketsstrolls in late wearing his signature dark blue dress shirt and bright red tie. Sorry, you guys, I was making fries, he deadpans.

The decision to hold the For Your Consideration day at Arbysas opposed to say, the lavish theater at the Ace Hotel where NBCs This Is Us held its event that same nightis a perfect reflection of this understated, irreverent show.

I mean, its just a TV show, have it in an Arbys! Galifianakis, who spends as much time as he can on his farm in North Carolina, jokes of these FYC events. God, this town and how it takes itself so seriously, it makes me sick. Were dumb actors! Thats how we ended up with Trump, celebrity worship.

This Arbys location is the same one the show has filmed in periodically over its first three seasons, including the third seasons Thanksgiving episode, which found a troupe of French clowns joining the Baskets family for a fast-food dinner. Anderson calls it one of the greatest moments in the shows history.

I know you probably think we shoot at Arbys headquarters, Galifianakis jokes. And I had been here a long time ago, as a customer.

Similarly, Anderson recalls coming to this Arbys drive-thru every night at 2 a.m. after performing at The Comedy Store in the mid-1980s. I got an Arbys special, two different types of fries, a Jamocha shake, and then Id drive though again, he says.

We wanted to show the dirtiness that TV doesnt show a lot, Galifianakis says of the decision to make this particular chain, which also became a frequent punchline on Jon Stewarts Daily Show, such a big part of Baskets. You dont really see real fast-food places being used. And unfortunately, the country has turned into this sort of fast-food mentality and we wanted to highlight that and show it.

Arbys was originally written into the pilot as a throwaway joke, but once they started writing the first season, they realized it could be a recurring location for the characters, including Galifianakis Chip, who has to keep returning to his job there after failing in his quest to become a successful clown.

How many questions will be about Arbys? Galifianakis wants to know before the press conference officially gets underway. You know, we have a show.

And that show just got picked up for a fourth season, despite what can generously be described as modest ratings. Galifianakis, who plays twins Chip and Dale Baskets on the show, explains that he set out to portray characters who were not exactly likeable, to use a favorite term of network executives. But three seasons in, he has started to allow them to approach something resembling redemption.

Over the course of the shows run, Anderson has undoubtedly become the breakout star of Baskets with his Emmy-winning performance as Christine. What could have been a one-note joke has evolved into a nuanced and emotional portrayal of a woman finding herself in her golden years.

While Christine may seem like the opposite of her artist, weirdo kid, Krisel says he strives to show that they are not so different. Shes sort of an artist in her own right, he explains. These types of ladies are magical, too. Its not just beautiful models who, like, romp through Paris. These are interesting, poetic lives, too.

All the silly, traditional, buttoned-up stuff in sitcoms is never happening in Baskets, Anderson adds, which is beautiful. When Anderson refers to himself as a really pretty woman, Galifianakis shoots back, Look, Louie, whatever you keep telling yourself

Families are messy and their problems arent fixed by one quirky line, Galifianakis adds. From the beginning, we wanted it to be a lot of things. And I think now that were going into our fourth season, we know the show better than we did during the first season.

Life isnt all jokes or all drama, he continues, noting that when he watches dramatic shows hes always hoping that someone will make a joke. I just havent seen a show like this that has dramatic elements and then goofy jokes. Galifianakis did admit later that hes never seen his fellow FX show Atlanta, which could be described the same way.

Christian Sprenger, who served as the director of photography for Baskets first season, notably left the show to do the cinematography for Atlanta, a fact Galifianakis still seems a little salty about.

Ive seen Atlanta and I love it, Martha Kelly chimes in. I just want to get that on the record.

This past season of Baskets was the first one produced without the participation of another FX auteur, Louis C.K., who co-created the show with Galifianakis and Krisel, but stepped aside after the revelations about his history of sexual misconduct. Galifianakis has described C.K.s exit as disruptive in a harmful way to so many people, chalking his behavior up to the poison of celebrity culture: The fact that someone can think that just because theyre loved, they can do what they want.

Anderson told The Daily Beast earlier this year that he was so sad and a little shocked by everything that came out about C.K., who had first pitched the idea of him playing Christine Baskets. Its still a very emotional thing for me, he said at the time. I feel bad for everyone involved. Its a terrible thing.

The recent season finale ended on a double cliffhanger of sorts. As the family counts down to midnight on New Years Eve, Chip gets an unexpected phone call from his estranged wife Penelope and Christines boyfriend Ken says he has a question for her. As her face lights up, the screen cuts to black.

Krisel and the cast confirm that they had no idea if they would be given the chance to make a fourth season when they decided to end it that way, but they all seem excited by the opportunity to continue the story.

That being said, they still dont know what they want to do next. Galifianakis and Anderson recently had dinner to discuss some storylines, and as Krisel says, There were some terrible ideas that came out of it.

I mean, the numbers on this show, Ive never looked at them, but Im imagining theyre below average, Galifianakis says with a laugh. Thankful for FXs ongoing support, he suggests that if the show had been on a broadcast network, People would have walked out of the pilot.

We really are lucky, Anderson adds.

So are the shows fans.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/zach-galifianakis-denounces-celebrity-worship-this-is-how-we-ended-up-with-trump

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