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theonyxpath · 6 years ago

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Hi, everybody!

It’s good to be back after a week away post-Gen Con. So I’m going to tell you a little bit of what went on there, from my point-of-view, of course, but I’m also going to intersperse some quotes from some of our Onyx Path folks who were there helping us.

Of course, the first big thing we announced there was that we’re publishing Chicago By Night for Vampire 5th Edition!

We actually did feel kinda bad that we couldn’t tell you about it sooner, in that we do try and keep our inner workings pretty transparent for all of you. This was one of those times where the nature of working with White Wolf on this made it impossible to reveal it until the con. Their efforts and emphasis had to be on getting V5 out as promised, so we put our efforts towards getting V5 Chicago By Night written.

And as you see it mysteriously appear already in Redlines in the Progress Report below, you’ll realize we’ve been rolling on this for a while. Right now, we expect to have the text ready for editing in time to have a Kickstarter for it in October.

Kind of a fitting month, actually.

One of that Kickstarter’s goals will be to get this traditionally printed and into stores, where it can join V5 on the shelves. So, that’s a cool thing for us to try out with a WoD book, and we’re looking forward to how that will work out.

“It’s so refreshing to interact with fans in person and hear about all the games that excite you! Every one of our games got some love in conversations I had with you folks, and that was awesome to see. Thanks especially to all those Changeling: The Lost fans who came to chat with me. :)” – Meghan Fitzgerald

Like I mentioned in a previous blog, our booth was across the aisle from White Wolf‘s this year, and they, of course, were selling Vampire 5th Edition like fanged and bloody hotcakes. Or maybe just “bloodcakes”.

Besides V5 Chicago By Night, they announced several other projects from other licensing partners, including V5 Makeup, which was a huge hit with some of the folks I talked with. Others, who seemed to have missed WW‘s whole “we’re going to license all sorts of things for all sorts of fans” stated intentions, felt like this “cheapened” V5.

Back in the day at WW, we licensed out VtM zippos and license plates. Action figures. Just sayin’.

Scion: Hero illustration by Michele Giorgi

The gang at the WW booth were also fantastic at directing the throng buying V5 over to our booth where Mighty Matt McElroy had arranged that entire side of our booth with our 20th Anniversary WoD books on display. That worked really well, and further illustrated how the current team from WW are both gracious and fun to be next to for many, many, hours!

“I really enjoyed talking to fans about Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Fetch Quest, and Dystopia Rising: Evolution! I love watching people have fun around a table, and this year I got to see that directly, which is always wonderful. I just wish I had more time to talk to everyone and do everything!” – Eddy Webb

Our demo tables in the booth were really well attended, particularly on Saturday, and we were really glad to be able to walk folks through different games. I think this is even more important with games like Fetch Quest which is very much a card game, or They Came From Beneath the Sea! which adds a bunch of fun extras to the base Storypath System in order to create an “enhanced” TTRPG experience. It really helps to play through them a bit.

We’re used to getting gasps and excitement with a lot of our demos, it’s great to hear that both of these two games also had demo players laughing, as well.

PtC Tormented illustration by Tilen Javornik

We shared our booth with our friends from Eschaton Media, the Dystopia Rising creators, and not only were they great booth-mates who really helped make booth tear-down a breeze, but we were able to trade some fantastic ideas about rewards and stretch goals for our Dystopia Rising: Evolution RPG Kickstarter coming up next week. We think fans of our RPGs and fans of their previous DR projects like the LARP are going to find this Kickstarter pretty interesting!

We were also able to talk about the challenges of running a “franchise” business model for their LARPs, which is similar to licensing each venue out (as opposed to the “fan club” method used by old WW), and how they continue to evolve that system.

Since I am always trying to find ways for Onyx Path to evolve and improve, it is really good to be able to compare notes with folks who are also able to clearly look at how they did things in the past and actively try and improve on them. Maybe more on that at a later time.

“It’s always wonderful to interact directly with our fans and customers. I found myself answering a whole load of questions about They Came From Beneath The Sea! and V5: Chicago By Night, but also being able to just chat away about all our other games and roleplayer experiences is a joy. I had the chance to run several games, including They Came From, Pugmire, and Wraith 20 at the booth, and even Werewolf: The Forsaken in the hotel bar! In all, I had a fantastic, busy convention.” – Matthew Dawkins

We also announced our latest license, Legend Lore, based on the comic book world of “The Realm” and “Legend Lore” from Caliber Comics. The system is going to be D&D 5e based, and we’re sorry if an early press release said something different, but there is one key aspect of Legend Lore that we think will make it a very unique game.

The primary setting plot point is that the protagonists are people from our world transported to the fantasy world of Legend Lore. Now this is a pretty common trope in the fantasy fiction genre, but less so for TTRPGs. And pretty much the basis for that translation that I’ve seen in other games was to look at things like your Strength stat and ask how many weights you can bench press, or your real world IQ translated between 3 and 18.

We’re not doing it that way. More on how we are doing it as the book begins to be previewed. We’re also keenly aware of not minimizing anyone’s real-world challenges and disabilities. More on that too, in the months to come.

“As always, fans are why we do this Con, whether it was meeting fans of our stuff for the first time, making new ones out of interested folks, or seeing old friends after yet another year.” – Neall Raemonn Price

Our “What’s Up With Onyx Path?” panels went really well (although I had to miss most of the second one on Saturday), with some really excellent Q&A after the big points announcements. That was where we could delve deeper into the specific projects folks in the audience wanted to hear about. Both the “Freelancing for Onyx Path” panel and the “Developer Bootcamp” were super well attended and folks seemed really engaged.

Dixie, Matthew, and Eddy recorded both the “What’s Up With Onyx Path?” panels and edited them together into a semi-coherent whole that went up on the Onyx Pathcast last Friday. As always, you can hear them on PodBean or your favorite podcast venue.

They had to edit them, though. Even though we didn’t have whole swathes of the recording drowned out by trains like in previous years, we still had some outside noise break through, and I’m sure I talked away from the mic plenty of times!

“It’s always such an amazing feeling to get to interact with new and old fans, as well as my peers in the gaming industry I don’t get to see often. I love how excited everyone was! Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth to chat or say hello.” – Dixie Cochran

Like every year, there’s never enough time to talk with everyone on a business level – nevermind all the friends and members of our community who want to chat and catch up. Like last year in particular, I think you’ll be seeing some amazing results from a bunch of the meetings and chats I did have as the year progresses. But there’s not a lot of details I can share.

In general, I talked with several translation partners about pretty much all of our game lines, sat down to hear a bunch of pitches for new games or licenses, discussed our upcoming art needs with several of the illustrators in attendance there. I had a very quick but very focused meeting with Jaunty James Bell, our Kickstarter Concierge in order to be sure that he was still loving his job. He is.

I counseled way too many creators with Imposter Syndrome, a different depressed artist, and let an old and dear friend know that I was going to be a grandparent like she has been for a few years already. “Any tips?”

I was sitting in the Indy airport finishing my last blazing shrimp cocktail and wondering how that thing we had planned for for so long could have gone by so fast. It is just so packed with sights and conversations and games and late nights and early mornings.

It’s Gen Con, baby!

Monarchies of Mau art by Pat McEvoy

Here’s a handy link list from Impish Ian Watson, who set up the blog last week. Thanks, Ian, and also to Matthew Dawkins who wrote the texty part.

Onyx Path’s 2018-2019 Publishing and Storypath Brochures are now available

Onyx Path is publishing Chicago by Night for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition

Onyx Path is publishing a Legendlore RPG in partnership with Caliber Comics

Onyx Path and Pugsteady are collaborating with iThrive Games and the Bodhana Group to create the Critical Strengths Engine, a ruleset based not on physical strength, but emotional resilience, motivation, understanding, and communication. The first published adventures will be written by Eddy and will be officially licensed Pugmire products.

Check them out and see the proof of our motto:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Dystopia Rising: Evolution art by Mark Kelly

Our next Kickstarter will be for Dystopia Rising: Evolution starting on Wednesday the 22nd at 2pm EDT.

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

SPECIAL W20 and M20 SALE! Huge savings on our Deluxe printing overruns until 8/31!

https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday, we will release a series of Wraith: The Oblivion Journals on RedBubble!

CONVENTIONS!

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Jumpstart (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Editing:

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau) (With Eddy)

Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Indexing:

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – KS finals rolling in.

VtR: Guide to the Night

M20: Gods and Monsters

Geist 2e

The Realm

Trinity Continuum (Aeon and Core)

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Ex3 Dragon Blooded

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Scarred Lands Trilogy Novels – Converting to PDF and PoD.

PTC: Night Horrors: The Tormented

Fetch Quest

Cav cards

Proofing

Scion Hero

At Press

Changeling: The Lost 2e – incorporating errata and getting it ready for indexing.

Monarchies of Mau – Press proofs signed off… now printing.

Scion Origin – Out gathering errata.

Cavaliers of Mars – Printing.

Wraith 20th – Prepping the Deluxe files.

Monarchies of Mau Screen – Printing.

Cavaliers of Mars Screen – Printing.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printing.

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: And we’re back! A bunch of us got some down time after/during Gen Con, and we’re feeling gooood.

#Onyx Path Publishing

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aurimeanswind · 8 years ago

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Whoa There Sleepy-Boy—Sunday Chats (4-23-17)

Today was another one of those unfortunate situations where I had an hour of sleep and then a day of things I needed to get done.

But don’t worry, this is gonna be a banger Sunday Chats, and then I’m gonna sleep like there is no tomorrow.

Almost Anniversary

Out of curiosity, I went and looked up when I officially started Sunday Chats in the capacity it exists now, and it was actually the first Sunday in May of 2016. Which is crazy! Because that means next week is kind of the one year anniversary of Sunday Chats. Once again, my history of doing very specific things for way too long consistently continues, this time with Sunday Chats.

But I wanted to take a moment and thank all of the Patrons of Sunday Chats, for their continued support. It’s been really fun to see this thing grow. Originally it was something where I could write a pseudo-editorial, inspired by Cup of Jones from the Easy Allies, and also catch folks up with what I was working on since I write a lot every week. It also made for a pretty fun written outlet for me to discuss what I’ve been playing, of which there has been a lot to talk about. The game I discussed on the very first Sunday Chats? Dark Souls III, of all things. That really takes you back. The long-ass games that have released since really make it feel like an eternity since then.

But something I’ve gotten away from, and it’s unfortunate that I have, is the “What I’ve Been Working On” aspect of Sunday Chats, soooooo...

What I’ve Been Working On

It’s time to bring it back! I think in a post-Alex Talks world, I stopped writing about What I’ve Been Working On because it was pretty much exclusively scripts. But I am off writing things that are in different wheelhouses, so I thought I’d bring this idea back and take you through my week of writing. For folks who don’t know, I write every day, and I write a good amount every day. Usually I chip away at the same big thing over multiple days until its done, but sometimes I’ll write a whole thing in a day.

Here has been my week:

Sun 4/16 - Sunday Chats

Mon 4/17 - *finished Alex Talks Script: Undertale & Asking Tough Questions

Tues 4/18 - *preliminary notes - Flinthook Review

Wed 4/19 - *worked on - Case Study: Breath of the Wild / *closing comments - The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Review / *minor edits - Tales of Berseria Review

Thurs 4/20 - *worked on - Case Study: Breath of the Wild

Fri 4/21 - *blog post - I Finished Persona 5 / *worked on - Case Study: Breath of the Wild

Sat 4/22 - *finished/closing thought - Case Study: Breath of the Wild

So I think listing stuff off like this is fun, because you can see exactly what my week looks like, and maybe I can talk a little bit about my process with some of this stuff.

So for example, when I say “preliminary notes” for Flinthook, I mean I wrote a couple (or sometimes more) cohesive paragraphs discussing how I feel about the game. It’s an exercise I started doing pretty recently, starting with Tales of Zestiria, which I didn’t end up reviewing but did finish this year, and especially with Zelda. I’d just write out a few ‘graphs of how I felt, and maybe a specific point. I’d separate these things out, and usually they never make it into the final review as they are, but they’ll inspire some of the things I’d want to talk about, usually more succinctly, in the final review. It really helped with Zelda, but I ended up having about 2500 extra words written that were completely scrapped from that review, which is part of why it took me so long to nail it down.

That first thing I mentioned was a script for Undertale, that’ll probably end up specifically being a “Case Study” not a general “Alex Talks” video, that is the second iteration of what I wanted to write about Undertale. It’s way too long right now, so I need to trim it down, but I hit a good conclusion and am happy with it as of this week. That probably won't see the light of day for a while though.

My Zelda review and Tales of Berseria review both posted this week, which you should check out if you haven’t already:

http://irrationalpassions.com/review/tales-of-berseria/

http://irrationalpassions.com/review/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/

I loved both games quite a bit, both have some problems, one is hands down a masterpiece, and both are probably my favorite game in their respective series, leading them to be incredibly poignant and important to me. I’m particularly proud of my Zelda review, even if it isn’t as good as I wanted it to be. But I got a lot of compliments on it, so I appreciate that and am glad people dig it regardless.

Also: I am still editing ExtraLife videos so until that is done I cannot edit the finished, shot, and prepped episode of Case Study where I talk about Persona 4. I also kind of want to reshoot it, and touch up the script... so we’ll see????

What’s On Tap

I finished Persona 5.

It was a whole big thing. I cried a lot. Not for any particular reason save for it was over, and this thing I had waited so long for ended and it was goddamn wonderful and exceeded even my own expectations. But my thought process on the game is so complicated, I had to write about it. See, this thing:

http://alexloneill.tumblr.com/post/159821138205/late-night-chats-i-finished-persona-5

There are absolutely no spoilers in this, so don’t worry. I don’t even really talk about the game itself, but I do talk about my feelings in regards to the game. In short: I don’t know if I like it more than Persona 4 Golden, it’s really hard to say, and it’s really hard to even compare the two, and I don’t think we necessarily have to? And also I probably like the cast in Persona 4 more, but not because the cast in Persona 5 is worse, they’re just two very different things.

So I finished Persona 5... And then I started New Game+ on Persona 5... And I immediately started appreciating that opening even more the second time around... And yeah, I’m just gonna be playing this for quite a while longer, I think. And I’m okay with that.

Also, FLINTHOOK IS STILL GOOD AND YOU SHOULD STILL GO GET IT AND PLAY IT.

Questions

Can I just take a minute and say: I don’t really remember which Sunday Chats I started soliciting questions on, but I am legitimately floored at how many people ask questions, how many different people engage with, and how into Sunday Chats people are. Honest to god blown away every single week. And there are some goddamn bangers this week.

I fucking love you all.

Yo, I know Greg reads these, and I just want take a minute and say:

so fucking bad. Greg may mame Xyger mentally so bad that he never can look at a Kart racer again. He may banish him to the goddamn Sonic and All Stars Racer Transformed negs-verse of Kart racers.

On our podcast, at the end, we do Bets, as our kind-of-stealing-it-kind-of-homage to the Easy Allies. This week’s bet was:

On Friday, April 28th, during the Kinda Funny Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Live Stream, who will win the Grand Prix between Xyger and Greg Miller, and by how many points?

I said Greg would win. By 20 points.

I don’t even know if that’s possible, but I expect absolute destruction. I have complete faith in Greg.

Sorry Xyger. (not sorry)

Context real quick:

So for our upcoming (eventual) Persona 5 spoilercast, we are reuniting the cast of our infamous Persona 4 Golden spoilercast, with the addition of Tony Horvath this time. I requested to my spoilercast cohorts that we keep our romance choice a secret until we record the spoilercast. Because of this, I can’t say here. I’ll tell you in DM if you’re curious Peter, but one thing I loved about our P4G spoilercast is we all romanced different characters, which was cool and made the conversation very interesting.

But I will say this, there is no wrong choice here. Not that there was before, but the female cast here is one of the strongest in any game I think.

I remember we had a ton of weird games, and when I was really young, Elementary School age, that’s when OT was all the rage, and I just didn’t have the attention span for it. To be fair, I was a pretty dumb kid, and I hated reading, so I’d not pay attention and blaze through and fail and fail over again, so I never really played it. Which is a bummer, especially after reading the piece of yours that will post tomorrow. People should check that shit out on IrrationalPassions.com, for sure.

But I’d play other dumb, semi-educational games. I was really into like, Disney-based educational games. There was this math/pattern based Aladdin game on PC I loved. And a similar one that was The Little Mermaid that I also loved, but they were voiced and more visual-based? So I think I just gravitated to that visual stuff more.

Haha, what’s really fucked is that I pretty much never want Chick Fil A more than on Sunday. Like, I always at some point crave a Chick Fil A milkshake on Sundays. I am not a sweet-tooth person, and it’s always on that specific day of the week that I want it.

But also I work in a mall with a Chick Fil A in it, so I eat there plenty often. What I love is just how much of a well-oiled machine that fucking place is. They have people in line with tablets just taking your order before you even get to the counter. They’re always busy, and they always kill it regardless.

Wow Joey. Really funny that YOU of all people ask me this question.

So for everyone’s reference, Joey was kind of the one who talked me into coming to RTX. In truth, I’m going to Austin just to hangout with my super cool friend Jazz and be cool people with her, but I figured I’d be able to kill multiple birds with a single stone if I went the same weekend as RTX. Work a Greg Miller hug or two in there, hangout with Joey Noelle, in addition to a super chill weekend in a city I’ve wanted to visit for a while.

So I texted Joey this week asking if I should get a ticket to RTX out of concern of not having enough to do by myself in the city for the weekend while all my friends are off at RTX proper. I’m just not a big Rooster Teeth person... Like, never have been. So I just don’t know. In short, Joey said “I dunno” and then stopped responding, so I’m just gonna put her on blast here. (love you Joey <3)

But here is a reverse question to all you Sunday Chats viewers, for someone like me, not a huge RT person, should I attend RTX? Or is there definitely plenty to do and figure out in Austin proper, and hangout at the meet’n’greets in the evenings after?

Help!

Whoa there Danny.

Okay, so first I don’t know why we gotta label every goddamn food thing ever. Here is the deal: in my heart of hearts, a hotdog is kind of a sub. Just because the meat is round doesn’t suddenly fucking change all the rules. And yes you all, subs/hoagies are sandwiches. Stop telling yourself they aren’t. We gotta have some kind of family of products.

That being said, a hotdog can still be its own thing under the umbrella of subs/sandwiches. Like, just because we call it a sub or a sandwich, doesn’t make it any less special. Just like a burger is, ultimately, a fucking sandwich by definition, but it lives within its own family or preparation and customization. People get way to butthurt about this though. I’m just listing this off as logical technicalities. I really don’t care at the end of the day. When I ask for a hotdog, no one is gonna mistakenly hand me two slices of bologna on a hot dog bun.

Here is a totally devil’s advocate answer that takes things from a completely different, and also technical, perspective:

if there is a special shape/style/type of bread made for the thing, is it technically its own thing? Hambuger buns are hamburger buns. Hotdog buns are hotdog buns. Sub rolls are sub rolls. Sliced bread are sliced bread from a loaf. How does that shit make you feel?

If you go to sleep alive and then become dead, you don’t wake up dead. You die. You don’t wake up. Being awake, or “waking” in general implies life. How many fucking Kingdom Hearts games do you need to play to realize this Danny? If you die in your sleep you don’t “wake up dead”, you go to sleep, and then fucking die.

And on a scientific level, the “chicken” came first, but it would only technically be a chicken because it was likely biologically different, but it laid biologically correct chicken eggs, which would then hatch and become the chickens we know today. I didn’t fact-check this, but it’s what I recall from when it was last explained to me by someone far smarter than I.

These were fun questions Danny haha. <3

I’m always excited for a new Jackbox Party Pack, especially coming off of JPP3 which was for sure the best, but man could I not care any less about Fibbage anymore, because Quiplash is just up and down so much better a game. It’s more engaging, it’s got way more variance in response, and the rules are just better I think.

But I am really excited about a new JPP, especially if its just in time for ExtraLife.

Here is my deal. So I played Persona 3 first. I played Persona 3 FES on the PS2, which is THE VERSION to play. But it’s old. I understand the temptation to play Persona 3 Portable, especially on Vita, and especially because you can play as a female character, which is VERY exciting, but listen to me Devin... That is not the version to play. That is both not the canonical version, and also not the *best* version of the game. Get a PS3 or PS2 and play Persona 3 FES.

You can think of Persona 3 FES as the Golden version of Persona 3. It adds a new social link, a big epilogue chapter that adds essentially another 30 hour campaign after you beat the main game, and extends out the story. It’s the way to play that game.

But also know this: that game has not aged nearly as well. You cannot save as often. The game is a bit more repetitive. You cannot make a social link with any of your male party members. You have to romance any and all of the female social link options, there is no “just be friends” option. The game is very, very hard. There are no “direct control” tactical options for any party members, meaning you need to leave the work to the AI.

All of this being said, I fucking adore Persona 3 FES. It’s probably my third favorite game ever, behind Persona 4 and 5 (in some assorted order) and if you love Persona, you at least owe it to yourself to give it a shot.

Godspeed.

So for context, apparently some garbage character that we made fun of on The BrOC, my OC Rewatch podcast that I host with Jon Anderson and Tyler Treese, was in the same band that we also made fun of main character Seth Cohen for having. And that is REALLY, REAAAALLY funny.

Skadoosh.

Sometimes you just can’t make a day better. But my day is fine, all things considered. Just wish I got more sleep and didn’t have to be out for literally all of my day.

I miss you too, really sorry you’ll be too embarrassed to be seen in public after Greg Miller wrecks your whole shit this Friday.

So I guess the next event I’ll be at will be Kinda Funny Live 3, which I am very excited about. I’ll be spending a full week in San Francisco again, a city with a ton of friends and I actually enjoy spending time in.

After that I’ll be attending RTX in some capacity in July, but that’ll be more a “hangout with some specific friends” vacation type deal, or at least it is right now.

Haha, funny you bring this up, because my roommate was making them last night. I have never had them! They smelled good when she was cooking them up though, and they have cheese in them, so I’d probably be DTF.

I’ll tell you when I’m not completely dead inside.

No but really, I’m still playing Persona 5, now on NG+, so I’ll tell you when I’m there. Very satisfied with that game. Like I said before, it actually exceeded my expectations. And it’s essentially an amalgamation of themes and ideas I fucking love. Thieves? Anime? High school? Love? Drama?

Sign me the fuck up.

Haha, see above, I am truly and completely dead on the inside.

But no really, it’s weird. So here is a thought: in my head, I’ve always considered that Persona 5 would be the last Persona game. Like, after I initially played Persona 4, I for some reason thought there would definitely be a Persona 5, and never once doubted that there would be, but that’s it. That’s all I ever expected there would be. Obviously this is an absurd thought, considering that Persona 5 sold and I believe continues to sell incredibly well, so it’d be ludacris to think they’d just end the series here.

What I think is more likely though is that this composer/director/producer combination that has been around since Persona 3 will change if there is another one. So maybe this will be the last “Persona” in that it is the last made by this dream team. But hey, maybe not. It’s just this weird thought I’ve had. That same team has already announced they are making something else in the interim, another new IP, which makes total sense considering they made Catherine after Persona 4 was all said and done. I’m just excited right now for what that is.

Also, and don’t worry, no spoilers: I found the ending of Persona 5 to be very, very satisfying. Much like the Persona games I have played before it, they just tie it up pretty goddamn well.

Eh. It was alright. This was one of those weeks where I had Monday off and then was scheduled to work Tuesday-Sunday, and that’s just the worst feeling.

But I went and saw Fast 8 with a friend and got to catch up with said friend afterward, which was awesome.

Oh I have PLENTY.

Let me tell you about my favorite television genre, SUPERNATURAL TEENAGE DRAMA.

Teen Wolf? Fucking amazing. Kyle XY? My shit. The Secret Circle? Criminally cancelled after one season.

As for movies, I don’t watch a lot of movies, so it’d be difficult to point out any guilty pleasures.

Though I did just think of one. I am one of those folks who LOVES Little Nicky. And I know I’m probably objectively wrong. And I don’t care.

Also I occasionally watch anime, so if that doesn’t make you guilty than something must be wrong with you.

So here is the related article, for reference:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/denial-of-the-self-queer-characters-in-persona-4/1100-6404712/

So I haven’t really read the article. And it’s... Well, it’s a sensitive thing. Personally, I liked how Kanji and Naoto were handled, as people who overcame and found themselves where society told them the things they liked/gravitated toward was wrong. But, the massive caveat there is a I am a straight white dude who cannot begin to understand how these story arcs may effect players outside my very narrow, and very privileged spectrum. And it’s difficult for me to separate them.

I always try and be as empathetic and open to any forms of criticism or perspective beyond my own, but Persona 4 is one of those few instances where grunting criticism when I personally can’t see it because of my skewed perspective is exceptionally difficult. It’s very juvenile for me, I think, and it’s something I need to work on overcoming. Right now, especially coming off of Persona 5, I just am not in a place to consume this kind of criticism. But I am open to it, and I absolutely am not dismissive of it.

So in Persona 5, and minor/slight spoilers for Persona 5, there are eccentric characters that flirt with one of your male party members. They are two men, and I believe they are literally referred to as “Eccentric male” or something along those lines. They recur twice in the game, and they are supposed to be humorous and a lighthearted duo to be the butt of some possibly offensive joke. I’m pretty familiar with the very, very different imaginings and treatments of what we in the States would qualify as a queer character or character type, and Japan and Japanese culture, from what I understand, just sees these kinds of things so, so differently then us, that while weird to me, it isn’t off putting. Obviously I am terrible at talking about this, but my point being here, it didn’t bother me, straight white guy over here.

That being said, it really bothered some other players. I saw this article shared specifically by Henry Gilbert. I also have not read it, but added it to my reading list:

http://www.avclub.com/article/how-persona-5-lets-down-its-gay-players-254102?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing

My whole thing is this:

I am not someone with any authority to represent LGBTQ issues, even if I have some amount of an opinion on them on occasion, so to speak for a community that I am not a part of would be straight up wrong.

I am also not Japanese, nor was I born there, have been there, or have spent any time there. My exposure to Japanese culture in any ancillary fashion by no means makes me some expert on it, so it would also be wrong to speak for their culture in any way shape or form. I just know, on my interpretation of things, it seems very different there than it is here.

So with all of this being said: I really have no opinion. I don’t think things were handled poorly in Persona 4, personally, from my place of ignorance that I will soon hopefully correct when I am in a better headspace to do so, and I don’t think the things posed in Persona 5 were game-ruining by any means, but they also weren’t something at the forefront of my mind.

So uh... I hope that helps. I’m very bad at being PC, probably. Apologies if I offended anyone with any part of this. If I did, please let me know how I can better myself, my twitter handle is @ALFighter27.

Oh shit yeah. Make a check list. Also, if you’re me, DON’T FORGET YOUR BUSINESS CARDS AGAIN. Research the weather, because you should just bring the things you need and leave some room to bring some new things back with you.

It’s hard for me to give advice on this kind of thing since I always, always over pack. Unless I fucking forget my business cards. But I am one of those “i’d rather be over prepared than under prepared” and then have a massive duffle bag of too many clothes and a goddamn fan that I put right up against my face when I sleep and...

Anyway, bring good shoes, plenty of socks, make a checklist, underwear for every day plus one extra pair, and space left enough to bring cool stuff home.

Shoutout

So a special shoutout this week to my sweet, sweet boy Christian Puente. He made a video on Twitter, that you can watch... HERE:

https://twitter.com/PixelBrave/status/856229584454520833

In short, he asked for advice on a new run-attempt he is going to make on Persona 4 Golden, and I told him I’d reply in Sunday Chats form. Felt like a good time to get more detailed and specific with my answer and recommendations.

If you didn’t know, Christian, or @PixelBrave makes some incredible videos for events he goes to, they really capture the emotion and love you see in the room there, and they have made me cry many times reliving the magic. Also, he does some talk-y videos, and you can see all these things... HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/user/PixelBrave

So down to the advice. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. If you’re worried about how hard it is going to be and aren’t as into the combat, just do the thing on easy. No shame, the story doesn’t change whatsoever, and the game is still worth seeing. I LOVE the gameplay in Persona. It’s actually my favorite gameplay over any video game, but it speaks to me on a specific level. I think the challenge there is smart, balanced, and pretty hard, and if that is too much, just bump it down. No worries.

2. SAVE. STAGGERING. Much of Persona is based on time-management. If you stagger your saves and then really fuck something up, you can go back to a week or so prior to where you were before and re-do some things differently. It can really help if you’re worried about fucking up the true ending too. I usually run three staggered-out saves in JRPGs now, because of Persona. It’s helped in the past too! By the end of Persona 5 I had 5 staggered saves. It’s a pro-maneuever that can save your neck, for sure.

3. Just do what you want. Here is the deal: you will not do everything in the game on the first play through. It’s almost impossible. It isn’t but it’d be very hard to do without a guide, and you shouldn’t play this game with a guide I don’t think. Instead: do what you want. If you like a character a whole, just spend all your time with them. Fuck it, you have time to still do a whole lot, so don’t sweat the small stuff, and engage with the parts of the game and characters in the world you like the most. Don’t ever do something out of obligation. Except hangout with Marie. If you don’t like Marie, I don’t know what to tell you, but you should still finish her social link ASAP because... Well, I can’t say, but let’s say it’s 100% necessary.

4. This is gonna be a weird one, but I’ll say this: commit yourself to Persona. It is fucking long, and can be grueling at times if you get stuck on a dungeon or need to do some grinding, so making the time to get through those hard parts may help you get through it. I loved all that shit in Persona 4, so it’s weird for me to say it, but I know there are a ton of folks that just do not like the gameplay in the Persona games (because they’re fucking crazy) so if it’s a slog, get through it, and make time to just sink in. Once you’re IN, you won’t want to come out. I promise.

5. If it ends up not being for you: don’t sweat it. No game is for everyone, and even if I really want you to play it Christian, you’ll be able to live in a world without it. It’ll just be a significantly less-good world, with far less color.

Bonus #6. Don’t fucking worry about anyone else’s opinion, including my own, about romance-choice. Talk to the ladies you like, that’s all. Don’t listen to anyone who uses the phrase “Best Girl” because their opinion is probably worthless (#shade). There are no wrong choices.

I hope this helps. <3

This is literally all I have. It took me 2+ hours to write, what is MOST DEFINITELY the longest Sunday Chats ever. Sorry.

I’m going to bed now.

And I’ll leave you with this sentiment, a new one:

keep it real,

and.

take your time.

#persona #persona 5 #persona 4 #persona 4 golden #golden #p4g #flinthook #gaming #video games #writing #sunday #chats #sunday chats

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