#another oldie i forgot to post forever

[vesperosy]

lady of the lake (2021)

ko-fi

[erika-xero]

Behind the scenes: interiors and architecture

Hey, guys! I know that it isn't that type of a post that are interesting for the general public and/or gain much attention, but I still wanted to share some of the stuff that I usually keep to myself. So here are the screenshots of my 3D-models that I use for the background art! I created all of them myself and collected them carefully within the years to reuse some of the smaller models/elements in my future works.

Starting with my favourite one: The MacFragan inn for @inwilis. It's also my biggest model so far! It took WEEKS to finish. This version is slightly edited: I combined a few different shots with different lighting.

And this is how the model looks like in Sketch-Up:

There's also the stairway that didn't end up in the shot.

This is how it ended up looking in color:

Moving on to the next one! The abandoned chirch for the mixed media art featuring Kirsi that I did for Evelynn Gonti!

Different angle!

Here's an earlier version of the model. This was a small experiment on coloring:

And the finished background:

Next one! The city model for the tryptich piece I did for @inwilis. There were actually two versions of this model: the regular one, and the post-war one. Enjoy the little random vase on the left, because my models are a mess!

Some architecture details!

Finished backgrounds:

Oh! This one is interesting. I actually never posted this piece online, because it's a bit n/s/f/w.

Finished background:

Another abandoned church! This one is for the piece I did for CaIamarti!

And a coloring WIP!

Another background for the piece I did for @inwilis and @bitemerogers. This one actually exists in two versions. The first model was scrapped, but I used it to make a tutorial.

Some earlier work! Drow architecture for the piece I did for Nielspeterdejong back in 2021.

And another oldie that I still adore:

Colored version! Still use it as an example of how cool I am at doing backgrounds xD

Here comes some of the smaller models! My fantasy assets. The staff can be seen on the Vesta commission I did for @glatissart!

Winterhold model I did for this commission for gnomonics!

The DJ-set I modeled for @happy-go-pucky's commission! Bonus: the analogue one.

Beware! The first model I did for my 2D art: the Temen-Ni-Gru tower (it's horrible and completely broken).

That's all for now! Some of the models are lost forever, some of them are made for other people's projects, and some of them I forgot. I also have a tutorial on how I color this models!

Cоmmission prices | terms of sеrvice | cоmmission inquiry form

[fromchaostocosmos]

another frustrating and upsetting thing about the whole Jewish people are white lie is that is pushes us even further from getting representation 

it makes it harder for our voices to get heard and us stories to get told

and it allows people to justify their appropriation of culture and the general pillaging that goes on.

like take the live action wonder woman film, the screen writer is Jewish and it showed. it wasn’t you kill some guy and evil is gone or destroy a magic ring and evil is gone forever.

but evil like good is a part of every person and it is a daily struggle we all must have within ourselves. we must strive to do our best and to fix the world and make the world a better place, to leave the world better then we got it. 

there was so much Jewish philosophy going in the film 

and as a Jewish person it was amazing because I don’t get to go to movies and have Jewish philosophy and tenets be discussed, visualized, and the moral of the story.

That is just not what happens.

There is a part of that has resigned myself to the idea that I will not get Jewish representation.

Because what there is so far is not representation it is scraps or antisemitism those are the options.

You get your hints with flash a mezuzah on door, menorah or maybe seder plate in cabinet, someone wearing a kippah, or at wedding stepping on a glass cup, but just a very quick blink and you’ll miss, wink and nod but no actual verbal statement of that character is Jewish.

Or you have your verbal conformation Jewish character but only during the x-mas special so they can something Hannukah related even though Channukah is not at the same time as x-mas. (Side note: Even though Channukah is not even close to one of major Yom Tovim and Channukah is all saying a massive FUCK YOU to assimilation like we we fought a war against a bigger, stronger, more technologically advanced army, that had more manpower and was better equipped in refusal to assimilate and we won.) Sometimes this character will bring up their Jewishness outside of the x-mas episode but rarely but it pretty clear that this character was written by goyim because like we are really given no information about their Jewishness and what little stuff that they do drop is stuff the writer must have heard second hand or like googled or is something is common knowledge about Jewish people (usually stuff goyim think is weird for example Jewish people put rocks on a grave not flowers)

Then you have your “Biblical” Jewish character these are either your oldies which will be from the “old testament” and not all accurate to any of our stories at all or your new testament stories which are creepy and about stupid Jews finding jesus and blah blah blah ben-hur yuck

then you get your antisemitic caricatures and they are disgusting and gross and make up pretty much most of what you will see when it comes to Jewish characters in film and shows

and lets not forget Holocaust films which thankfully as @startorrent02 pointed out (because i forgot to is not actually ever about Jewish people (or Romani people either, but I’m focusing on Jewish people and characters in this post) but rather about the “amazing” and totally “heroic” goyim that were was definitely so much of.  

and very very very rarely will any of these Jewish characters even be played a Jewish actor. 

[auroraborealia]

Ship-a-thon meme

I was tagged by the amazing @ladynorbert a while ago and, due to my terrible time management skills, am showing up a day late and a dollar short as usual. But I am very grateful for the tag! <3 I won’t tag anyone in return, since I figure most people did this already, but if you haven’t and would like to, consider this your chance!Answers below the cut due to length.

First ship you ever read fic for: I believe it was Anthony/Johanna from the film version of Sweeney Todd, but I could be wrong about that.

First ship you ever wrote fic for: I wrote fanfic before I even really knew what fanfic was, but the first fanfic I wrote knowingly was for the Johnlock ship - John Watson/Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock. Those early fics are truly dreadful by my standards today, but it helped get me on the path to fanfiction and Tumblr, so I can't complain.

Ship you write the most now: Oh my gosh, Cullevelyan, without a doubt - that is, Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan OCs from the game Dragon Age: Inquisition. Cullen is my darling, so I love writing him and I most often get to write him opposite the brilliant @ladynorbert and her OC Evangeline Trevelyan. But I also love shipping him with my Trevelyan Inquisitor Rowan and with ladynorbert's Inquisitor, Victoria, who appears in the wonderful "All This Sh*t Is Twice As Weird". In pretty much all incarnations, I adore Cullevelyan.

Ship you read the most now: I've been doing so much writing and editing and posting of my own fic that I haven't had too much of a chance to actually read a lot. But a few months ago I did binge read a whole bunch of stuff for Morse/Joan from the tv series Endeavour. God, I love those two (plus they remind me of Cullen/Evvy, so it's like double shipping).

Newest ship: Hmm. Probably the aforementioned Morse/Joan.

Rare ship you want to read more of: Ooh, an oldie but a goodie that I quite nearly forgot about - Switzerland/Belarus from Hetalia. Most of the fanfics about them are crackfics or fics people wrote as part of contests that spat the pairing out at random, but I want more of them as actual pairing.

Your taboo ship: I am the most vanilla person you could ever meet, so I don't really think I have too terribly many taboo anythings in my life, LOL.

"They never met in canon" ship: Switzerland/Belarus definitely fit that. Another one of my favs is Rosalie Rutherford/Cremisius Aclassi from Dragon Age. Rosalie doesn't appear in canon at all (only in mention), but when ladynorbert and I wrote our longfic "The Lady and the Lion," we thought it would be an adorable pairing and boy, were we right. A lot of the ships in that story fall into that category, come to think of it, like Josephine Montilyet/Branson Rutherford. That was fabulous too.

Your unexpected ship: The ones I just mentioned above, plus Nygmobblepot (Ed Nygma/Oswald Cobblepot) from the show Gotham. I hate superheroes, so the fact that I willingly watch Gotham is still wild to me, but add into that shipping Riddler and Penguin? Yeah, didn’t expect any of it.

The ship you always forget to love: I tend to write and ship as the wind blows, so a lot of my ships do get lost in the shuffle. Some that I adore and have ideas for but haven't had a chance to write include Mulder/Scully from The X-Files, Howl/Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle, and Haymitch/Effie from The Hunger Games. Also, until I started doing this meme, I forgot a bit about the spectacular Will/Anastasia from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. They were fabulous.

Ship your OC with a canon character: Probably the best example I have of this is my OC (and admitted author insert) Rory Norbertson from the “Skyhold Academy Yearbook” series whom I accidentally started shipping with Cremisius Aclassi. And I have loved every single second of it.

A ship you're embarrassed to ship: Nygmobblepot. Just to be clear, I have made some awesome friends through this ship, so it’s not that I’m embarrassed about that. I’m just a little embarrassed about how obsessed I was for those few months, LOL.

Your most romantic ship: Oh, Cullevelyan. Without a doubt. The romance practically writes itself.

Your sexiest ship: Cullevelyan again. I mean, ladynorbert and I are the queens of the “fade to black” so nothing is ever shown, but the implication is there. And, in some cases, it’s there frequently. Have you read “The Lady and the Lion”? Yeah.

Your most tragic ship: You may notice that my blog description reads "Fangirl, Aspiring Author, Shipper of Tragic Ships". I have QUITE a few ships that are extremely tragic (*sighs*) so it's hard to pick just one. Pretty much any of my ships in Downton Abbey or Merlin come to mind. (*sighs again*) (*sighs forever*)

A ship you want more content for: ALL my ships!

[brokebecauseconcerts-blog]

Father

John

Misty

Where oh where do I begin? I try not to pick favorites, in anything I do. I think picking favorites sets people up for failure. I figure there will be one day another candidate outshines the favorite, resulting in disappointment. But fuck it, Father John Misty is my favorite. And I trust it because there is virtually nothing he can do wrong that would take that title away- and he does a lot of textbook things “wrong”.

Josh Tillman stole my heart when I heard “I’m Writing a Novel” on WFUV Radio when I was in college (around 2012) Not knowing much about him personally, I started listening to “Fear Fun” and fell in love with his music. “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” and “Everyman Needs a Companion” landed every mixed CD (yep, still made CDS in 2012) and I decided to dig a little deeper and actually check the dude out. WOAH he’s hot! WAIT he was in Fleet Foxes? OMG he has the exact the type of humor that I adore, equal parts witty, snarky and dark. Fuck, he has a girlfriend. I’m absolutely done, they’re getting married. I can’t remember a time I fell so hard for an artist post-emo/punk/highschool days (Think Gerard Way and Travis Barker). 

However, I’m really fucking glad he was and is in such a beautiful relationship because thats how his sophomore album came to be. i wasn't sure If I’d ever love an album as much as “Fear Fun” but lo & behold: “I Love You, Honeybear” took & continues to take the damn cake. Has there ever been an album (albeit, Rumours) that has described love so honestly? It talks about the honeymoon phase in depth, the ga-ga feelings and pedestals that we put our partners on in the beginning. The way new love helps us start to feel creative again, or creative in a new, fresh way. And then after time, how love can start to get a little paranoid and jealous. It’s messy, it’s raw and it sort of made me hate his beloved Emma (who eats bread & butter like like a queen would have ostrich and cobra wine. Listen if you don't get the reference but also stop talking to me: https://open.spotify.com/track/2eg2gvPXuwZ9FyrPaLgrXi) Could you I-M-A-G-I-N-E having someone write you a love song such as that? Fun fact, I heard this song for the first time freshly after ending a 4 year relationship. Bad timing? Nah, it actually was so beautiful and uplifting that the song gave me hope and made me feel secure that I haven't found the right person yet and that I didn't just lose that person (burn). It gave me hope that I’d eventually meet someone that I could picture having a satanic christmas eve with or dance around to a mariachi band with. Spoiler Alert: FJM did help me find love. I will get to that at the end. Any who, this album ruled and continue to rules my world. The title track “I Love You, Honeybear” is about taking on the shitastic world we live in with someone you love. “Bored in the USA” is about the absurdities within our pop culture and the bullshit promise of the American Dream gone wrong. The album as a whole is romantic and existentialist and I am 100%AboutThat.com

And then we were gifted “Pure Comedy”. I write that with a sigh. Not because I am disappointed but because It’s heavy. It highlights our current political and social climate and it does so in a very dark, darker than usual way. When he realeased the video for title track, “Pure Comedy” a few short months after the election I wept at my desk. The song itself is so eerie and fantastical with the baritone sax wailing the fuck off as Donald Trump’s face slyly pops up. I Think FJM is making the point that everything happening right now is so fucking ugly and wrong that it’s absurdly funny. Not haha-funny, just...funny. As in “something smells funny”, as in our country. He attacks religion, pop-stars (gotcha, Taylor Swift), environmental issues, the delusional lifestyle of LA inhabitants, you name it. But, in true Josh Tillman fashion, and we know theres a big beating heart in there, he ends the album in a hopeful way with “In Twenty Years or So”. In the song, Tillman addresses the cosmic indifference of the universe and the existential fear that comes with it. In the first two verses he sets up the great comedy: That despite all our grand gesturing and philosophizing (with the character of Father John Misty as the embodiment of this behavior), we ultimately don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Then in the second verse he starts to assign a little more meaning to the chaos.

That in twenty years More or less This human experiment will reach its violent end But I look at you As our second drinks arrive The piano player's playing "This Must Be the Place" And it's a miracle to be alive

I *think* he’s saying, “Look, the world is fucked, we’re only getting worse, it’s too much to handle, but thank god I have you to navigate it with. And we have music, and it really all is amazing, isn't it”. I’m sorry it sounds like a basic Audrey Hepburn wannabe annotation of his beautifully written song, but It comforts me. It’s like a really elongated and philosophic way of saying “All you Need is Love”, but The Beatles beat him to it.

All in all, “Pure Comedy” takes us through a (trippy) walk of life thats starts out as that scene in Willy Wonka where they’re all taking a boat ride through the tunnel of hellish images, to a calm setting where all you want to do is hug the people you love and be left with the simple yet complex thought, “it’s all going to be okay”. Bravo FJM for creating such a mature and powerful album. I think melodically it is not for everyone, as it is much slower that what he’s done. But give it a good listen through and really listen to what he’s saying. If 2017 had to sound like anything (besides screams and tears) it would sound like “Pure Comedy”.

Kk thanks for reading.

OH WAIT, yeah I forgot this is a concert blog. Well! I saw him last night at the Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn. A tremendously stunning place to see live music, in my opinion. He played most of “Pure Comedy” straight through, without any speeches or commentary. Nerd moment- I fuuucking love when artists do this with newly released albums. it shows they care about it, it shows they're not just trying to appease the crowd with favorites. It’s saying here is the art i just created and worked on for mad amount of time. Sit the fuck down and experience it. He did every song except the 13 minute “Leaving LA” (good call IMO) and the last two songs, yanno, the uplifiting ones. Then halfway through he broke out the oldies, a couple from “Fear Fun” and a bunch from “I Love You, Honeybear”. The whole theater was standing and dancing and watching HIM dance and holy shit I love when tall lanky men swivel their hips. Probably one of the best parts about seeing Father John Misty live is watching him break it down. He was even slow dancing with himself at one point during “Strange Encounter” and i was both turned on and hysterically laughing. One interesting point to make was that he was oddly quiet. He’s known for long on-stage rants, whether they're actually anger driven or just a comedy bit- they usually always show up on Pitchfork the next day. This was my third time seeing him and i’ve had the pleasure of hearing some of those rants and raves. This time he was quiet, appreciative and...mature? IDK I really liked it. I think it mimicked the seriousness of his newest album and demanded that you pay attention to the music and what it’s trying to say. I noticed a bunch of Brooklyn bros at the end of the show making comments like “he wasn't that funny!” “I thought he was going to talk more” and thats fine, but maybe consider why that is. After he came back on for his encore he played the last two songs on “Pure Comedy” and ended on a very special and postive note with a v sweet sun and moon setting in the background. Father John Misty is giving us hope.

Also I felt this deserved it’s own paragraph but his band absolutely blew me away. I would 100% go see them live without vocals. He had an entire orchestra + five piece band. Another additive to the experience compared to past Father John Misty concerts, as he’s always played with just a 5 piece band. It made the album come alive in the most spectacular way.

All in all, he is still my favorite. I hope to see much more from him in the future because I think he has a really really good thing going on on all levels. So back on the topic on Father John Misty and hoping to find love. JOSH, BABE. if you ever see this, I owe you some thanks. If it weren't for you and if it weren't for Tinder syncing my Facebook page likes, I never would have matched with my current partner whom we both share a massive and almost grotesque love for you & we wouldn't have anything to talk about on our first date, or a an album to makeout to for the first time. so really, thanks. At the risk of sounding like a cheese dick, It’s amazing to me that your song, the one that gave me hope and an idea of an ideal partner, led me to so much happiness. Awwwww.

Steam “Pure Comedy” & go through an existential crisis, today! https://open.spotify.com/album/3CoFoDt6zt5EKxmTpOX32b

[go-down-studying]

Heyy!! 

So I love music, and my first language is Spanish, so I thought I’d do a list with my favorite music in Spanish for you lovely people who are either learning, fluent, or just want to find new music/remember some good oldies.

Talking about good oldies, and if you want to know what I sing in the shower, here’s my Spotify karaoke playlist with only songs in Spanish (I recommend you listen to this on shuffle), for more music and fantastic desscription of it by me, keep reading!

Let’s start with Alejandro Sanz. So hot. He has a really particular raspy soft voice that I really enjoy and his music is so beautiful. 

You can go classic with “Corazón partío” this is the original (x), and this is a live version with Ivete Sangalo that I really like (x). Other songs that I like are “Mi marciana” (x), such beautiful lyrics and I love love love the piano, really, dedicate this song to me and I’m yours forever, “Desde cuando” (x), another beautiful love song, and “A que no me dejas” (x), listen! to! that! voice!

Keeping with the Spaniard theme, here’s the deepest love songs my little nine-year-old heart could handle, Álex Ubago.

I could literally put all of his early 2000 work here because I love it so much but I’m not going to, although if you’re ever on a sappy mood, he’s the man you’re looking for. I’m going to recommend three songs to you: “Sin miedo a nada” (x), “Aunque no te pueda ver” (x) this music video is really pretty, and “Dame tu aire” (x). Listen to this. Love it.

Before this gets too sad we’re shifting to a more fun rhytm. Carlos Vives.

He’s been doing music since forever so if you look you can find more traditional songs, however, I prefer some of his more recent work. here you have “Cuando nos volvamos a encontrar” (x) which has hints of a more traditional rythm but it’s very modern in other ways, also the chorus brings out the accent that I very much do not have, “La foto de los dos” (x) very nostalgic, and an old one that I forgot about but poped out looking for songs for this post, “Dejame entrar” (x).

Old school Shakira, Everybody needs old school Shakira in their life.

My personal faves from the black and red hair days: “Si te vas” (x), which is an awesome break-up song, though a bit a lot not into the whole “don’t put women against each other” thing but still amazing to yell-cry in the car, “Inevitable” (x), “Te dejo Madrid” (x) yes, she’s blonde there but still, I love this song too much to leave it out, also a very good break-up song, and “Ojos así” (x).

If you have a little emo heart like I do, allow me to introduce you to latin american emo stars, Kudai. Just look at them! (x) how can you not love them?

They were also a very cool band, they have songs against domestic violence (”Morir de amor” CAUTION this video could be triggering [x] This is a video with just the lyrics: [x]), eating disorders (”Llevame” CAUTION this video could be triggering [x] This is a video with just the lyrics: [x]), and climate change (”Lejos de aquí” [x]).

In a completely different direction, this artist is brought to you by my dad: Joaquín Sabina. 

I really love Sabina, he’s more of an artist from my dad’s generation but I grew up listening to him and I really love him. His 500 noches para una crisis live album is amazing and it’s pretty much all on youtube. My favortie songs are “19 días y 500 noches” (x), “Una canción para la Magdalena” (x), “Y sin embargo te quiero / Y sin embargo” (x), and my absolute favorite is “Contigo” which has a thousand versions like all of the other songs from Sabina, here’s one with Fito Páez (x), one with Serrat (x), the one from 500 noches para una crisis (x), and the original (x).

I could go on forever, I don’t know much about music but I will recommend you songs to no end. I hope you enjoyed this!

If this gets notes I’ll make a second part, maybe with more contemporary artists? Maybe with just/more women? Idk, let me know if you’d like that.

More from me:

First Week is Over: Self Care Tips

My Rules for Staying Strong All Year

Back-To-School 1: What’s in My Bag

Back-To-School 2: How I Organize

Tips For College Freshmen

Love, Anna

[waynekelton]

The Best Upcoming iOS & Android Games 2019

The mobile gamer can look back at 2018 with an affectionate and misty eye, secure in the knowledge that gaming on mobile devices gets more diverse, sophisticated and polished with each year. In this respect, 2019 also is shaping up to be a banner year on this front.

Roughly speaking, the most exciting upcoming games can be split into three groups: the name-brand megahits-in-waiting, boardgame adaptations, and indie projects. Read on to see what the who’s who of mobile gaming are cooking up for this year’s treats.

Cultist Simulator (Roguelike/Card Game)

This hit indie sensation is making the move to mobile in Spring 2019 as a premium priced game. Cultist Simulator mixes roguelike & card mechanics into a dark rpg adventure where you're on a quest to unearth hidden mysterious of the occult. You can found your own cult, making meaningful decisions at every turn. Combining cards allows the story and your cult to grow, embodying the finest reaches of Lovecraftian tradition. If you die, your followers will attempt to carry on your work.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (GPS/Location)

Not many have managed to successfully capitalise on the Pokemon Go phenomenon since it release in 2016. Maybe its because Niantic's catch-em-all offering had a bit of a rocky start. Still, the potential for a decent 'gamified' walking experience is still there, and now Niantic are having a second try with another famous IP - Harry Potter. Taking all the lessons they've learned from Pokemon Go and their own game, Ingress, the developer hopes to make Wizard's Unite the game Harry Potter fans deserve. You play the role of a new member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, whose job it is to go out into the world and clean up a calamity that’s causing magical beings and objects to proliferate the Muggle world, putting everything at risk. If you’ve played the Pokémon game you can imagine the type of activities you’ll be doing, and where you’ll be doing them.

Again, no firm release date yet but we'd be very surprised if this misses the 2019 calendar year.

DOTA Auto Chess (Strategy)

You may have noticed that the Artefact entry has gone: with player numbers for that game plummeting, we're not convinced that it'll be coming to mobile unless Valve prove to be quite stubborn/committed to seeing this game through the long-game. They'd have to seriously revisit their monetisation strategy, however. Another DOTA-related product that you might be interested in though is the hugely popular DOTA 2 mod, DOTA Auto Chess. It doesn't actually look or feel like chess, but it's proving to be a very popular mode amongst DOTA fans. Drafting and a tight, tactical economy are central to a mainly hands-off experience where you pick your heroes, place them on a board, and watch them fight. It's a very strategic experience, and your choices matter at nearly every stage of a game. You can read more about our thoughts here, but this could prove incredibly popular on mobile, given its low interface needs and high skill ceiling.

A 2019 release for this one is even less certain than COD Mobile below, with pre-registration only being available in China right now. It might technically get a release in some form this year, but we're not sure if that'll include Europe & North America.

Dire Wolf Digital (Board Game)

This isn't the name of a game, but the name of a company that announced this year they're making a bucket-load of digital board game adaptations. Because we only have the announcement text to go on, we've decided to keep the new games all in one place until we know more. The games Direwolf are bringing to digital (which afawk also includes mobile devices) are:

Mage Knights – It's worth noting this is the first step in a bigger agreement with WizKids, so it's likely we'll be seeing more announcements this year.

Wings of Glory – A popular table-top aerial skirmish game.

Raiders of the North Sea – An excellent worker placement game themed around the 8th and 9th century viking raids (pictured).

Yellow & Yangtze – a Reiner Knizia tile placement game of civilization building.

Sagrada – A dice drafting game about creating works of art.

Root – the recent Kickstarter sensation about asymmetrical warfare in the woods.

We're not sure which project is due to appear first - possible WizKids & Mage Knights, given the importance that project has within the announcement? We'll update as we learn more.

Call of Duty Mobile (Shooter/Battle Royale)

Announced at GDC 2019, this latest Call of Duty-on-mobile spin-off is the latest in a long series of mobile adaptations of the hugely popular FPS franchise. This latest attempt appears to be following in the vein of games like Fortnite & ARK - offering a fully 3D, fully-developed version of the main franchise that can run on phones and tablets. From what we know so far, it's going to be a kind of 'greatest hits' compilation of modes, maps, characters etc... and may even feature a Battle Royale mode (putting it in direct competition with Fortnite, which is popular on mobile as well as desktop). We've not had official confirmation its coming this year, but pre-registration is open and we'd be surprised if Activision allow too long a lead time on this.

Mario Kart Tour (Racing)

It’s been practically a year since this title was first announced and outlined with few concrete details added between now and then. Nintendo’s mobile offerings have run the gamut, from the premium Mario Run, the Miitomo social & style app everyone tried and forgot about, to the successful and generally great Fire Emblem: Warriors. Mario Kart is a treasured and classic franchise, even amongst Nintendo offerings, so that reputation guarantees some level of careful handling. It remains an open question whether the game will be a premium or freemium model, but the launch date is still projected to be March.

Diablo Immortal (Action RPG)

Diablo Immortal will draw some side-eye and mockery, having been already made notorious because of its horribly mistimed announcement. (Yes, we have phones, but read the room, Activision-Blizzard). Even more puzzlingly, the game is being created in partnership with NetEase, a Chinese developer whose resume already includes ‘Eternal Realm’ (无尽神域) itself essentially a Diablo clone. Weird stuff: the official license merging with a pretender to the throne to make a hybrid project together. Concerns about endless grind or re-skinning of Eternal Realm are well-founded, but while most of us will be as judge-y as possible we’ll also probably still give the final product a try. Good action RPGs live or die by loot, character progression and above all, delicate-yet-accurate controls, so it will be interesting to see if Diablo Immortal will be a good game as well as the inevitable cash cow.

Five Tribes (Boardgame)

Five Tribes, oldie but goodie, will make its digital debut this year. Days of Wonder has been updating and digitising its catalogue at a steady pace and with fantastic results. Five Tribes central mechanic is just like mancala. Pick a space and drop the meeples one by one along the path. Dead simple, but if you think it makes the game easy, you’d be dead wrong. The Five Tribes each possess unique scoring criteria and effects, and the turn-order bid means timing depends on correctly valuing the current layout. Many simple bits add up to make a nigh-perfect game.

Scythe: Digital Edition (Boardgame)

In another history, the Great War also ruined Europe and annihilated a generation, but its nations and technologies faced the blight and devastation quite differently. With large mechs, steampunk agricultural combines and faux-Eurasian player nations, Scythe gives each player a unique entity to steer to victory. Engine building games are always efficiency races, conversion puzzles, but Scythe’s unique setting, eye-catching miniatures and indirect player confrontation quickly made a it a fan favorite amongst the gaming community. Its rollout on Steam has been smooth experience, with decent AI and a robust tutorial. The assets and UI will translate well to mobile and what used to cost near three figures will be available to most anyone for a fraction of the price.

Terraforming Mars (Boardgame)

Terraforming Mars sounds like a noble goal for all of humanity. In reality, the game is a push-and-pull competition for corporations to garner by prestige by...terraforming Mars. Three categories: oxygen, temperature and ocean coverage dictate the endgame, but to get there, players will reshape the red planet into a bright blue hope. It’s a Euro though-and-though: precisely balanced, intricately co-dependent and inevitably point-based. But the close match between theme and mechanic makes this game deeply satisfying and intuitive to learn and explain, and the action selection mechanic is uniquely innovative and inspired. Just when I think boardgame design is tapped out, something truly exceptional rises to the top.

Mew-Genics (Sim)

This one has been incubating forever but should be worth it when it finally gets here. Ed McMillen (of Binding of Isaac fame) has been teasing this cat-breeding simulator for ages. The game has been described as a mix of Tamagotchi, Pokemon and the Sims, with its signature art style courtesy of McMillen. All bets for a playful wild game about the weirdness, sweetness, malice and all-around havoc of cat-raising seem to be right on the money. The ideas are there, the premise is promising, the only question remaining is when it will get here.

Overland (Finji) (TBS/Survival) 

Overland is tactical turn-based survival meets cross-country road trip (from hell). Each waypoint is a battle, a flashpoint conflict over some minor life-extending objective. Its overland map and procedural generation seem reminiscent of FTL (or its follow-up Into the Beach) but the setting here is familiar people struggling with post-apocalyptic daily hardship. Water, medicine, gas, weapons: the items are banal but vital. The game uses minimalism and scarcity to great effect, sketching characters and strategic scenarios alike with the barest elements.

Impossible Bottles (Rhythm/Action)

Various robots move about in their bottles and raging about like a bull in a china shop. Each level presents one of these Impossible Bottles for the player to fix by manipulating the environment and repairing the situation, or at the very least soothing its sole occupant. A scientist built these robots as part of a perpetual motion machine for unlimited energy, but they don’t quite work as is. The secret to fixing everything is music, or in gameplay terms: rhythm. One-touch gameplay and lush, fantastic art, with a slated mid-year release.

Nowhere Prophet (Card Game)

Nowhere Prophet: this one is a doozy and a little secretive. The dark horse of this race, if you will. In the game, post-apocalyptic leaders trek across a scabrous landscape to gather supporters and supplies, occasionally clashing with foes or environmental dangers. This card game has grid-based combat as well procedurally generated encounters. It’s a card-battler roguelike, essentially, with a unique setting and what seems to be a robust battle system.

Heaven’s Vault (Interactive Fiction)

Inkle (of 80 Days interactive fiction fame) has been teasing their mechanically ambitious Heaven’s Vault for some time now. An archaeologist-slash-xenolinguist explores the dusty remains of an alien civilization on an unknown planet, with a vivid backdrop of sienna sand and celestial blue. There’s some pretty nifty procedural tricks behind the code-breaking and translation, and while its approach to storytelling is a little less handcrafted, it has the potential to have even more surprises and replayability than the globe-trotting 80 Days.

Other Missing Games From 2018

As a reminder, here is a quick list of some other games we were expecting last year, but never turned up:

Void Tyrant (card game/RPG)

Bad North (RTS)

Exodus: Proxima Centauri (Boardgame)

Dungeon Warfare 2 (Tower Defence)

Epic Card Game (Card Game)

Lord of the Rings Living Card Game (Card Game)

Monster Slayers (Card Game) 

EVE: War of Ascension (MMO)

Best 2019 Mobile Releases So far

There's already been some excellent releases this year, and not all of them were expected/on this list. If you haven't already, check these games out:

The Castles of Burgundy (Boardgame)

Star Traders: Frontiers (RPG)

Legends of Andor (Boardgame)

Evolution: The Video Game (Boardgame)

The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout (Simulation)

Seen any other games coming out this year you're excited about? Let us know in the comments.

The Best Upcoming iOS & Android Games 2019 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[ladyofmind]

Music Monday- Back to Basics

Finally it’s Music Monday again… Am I the only one that needed this since like Friday?

 So much thought went into this one. For the first official music post, do I tell you what I am listening to now, and share some of my favorite holiday songs? Or do I start with the song that was one of the important pieces that restarted my love of writing again?

 Love, passion, and odd inspiration spark for the hands down win…

 Lee Child has said that there are "two or three things in a book that have to collide like atoms collide to make a molecule…" (I first heard this while watching Lee Child and Stephen King talk Jack Reacher from Cambridge, MA 2015) and I like this concept. Books take time to write, and it almost never is "here is Bob." Maybe you remember your school days too, and keep in mind the lessons on the 5 W's and 1 H. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Bob alone is about as good as a blank page that simply reads Chapter 1... The rules say that all characters want or need something, so starting Bob off walking fills out one more of those W's. Sometimes just answering those reporter style questions tells you more about what you were thinking than you realize.

 My collision course started with a Role Play I had been a part of for a long time; but various years of changes, including a change in my job scheduling, made it nearly impossible to continue for me. Going from a daily writing project, to none at all happened for a while, as life made work my focus. A few months passed, the analytical surpassed the creative side of my brain. Do forgive the fuzzy memory spots, I did not think to keep track of these moments, as they were insignificant at the time, which is over 5 years ago. Basically, I found I missed the RP and the people associated with it. So I started to think about what the place would look like 5 years later, who would be there, who would have left. I needed a story of closure for myself, one to properly say goodbye to a part of who I had been, one that was a happier ending than the truth. Because saying we grew apart as we grew up was not as satisfying a justice to those friends, or even my own character. It bugged me for a while, and so there was a day when I thought about my lead chars, back stories/future stories what have you. I needed just the right song for my character. That song that you put on and think of this one person, almost like my card catalogue of a mind would act like an internet search. On went this song, and out popped a mental dancing version of its owner. Facts, likes, dislikes etc would show up like recommended links, and slowly my character grew depth.

 But first I had to find that perfect song.

 There had been songs I listened to, some were close, others only for one element or another, but nothing that full on inspired me. I explained my problem to a friend at the time, Doom, telling him how I liked this song but it was too much, another was not enough… a regular Goldilocks and the three bears of music if you will. The song he showed me; that was the one that changed everything. I forgot to answer his messages, I got sucked into the world inside my own head, hitting replay so many times it would have broken a real button. It wasn’t just that night either, that song lasted the whole week without me getting sick of hearing it, as my characters and ideas cooked more. Even now, I do not tire of this song, as it is memory filled music for me.

 Believe it or not, but the song is Boss's Daughter by Pop Evil ft Mick Mars.

This song gave me so much. At the time I know I did not have the words to describe it, only amazement, but now I know what it is. A spoiler to the book series I am currently writing- there is a musician and a waitress. My man had not been developed completely, a shadow of a leading man if you will. Watching that music video, it was like finding his band. I knew what he looked like, what he would sound like, but I did not know his band or their sound. Finding Pop Evil was the best gift I could ever have received. The songs they have written over the years worked so well with my writings, that forever in my head, they became Pop Evil. So you can call it a bit of fan fiction, but it has meant so much more to me.

 Yes, I am aware that some of you might listen to that song and not hear what I heard, and that's okay. Music is subjective, like other art forms. I heard an upbeat and catchy song, one where it sounded like this spitfire kind of woman had men begging for her attentions, and they would do anything for just a little of her time. That was my female character, in a dumb down nutshell. I chose to use it for empowerment, and many of my emotional needs have found a Pop Evil song to fill that "just right" spot of my musical three bears. It is not easy to find a song you like, that conveys a message you need to hear at the time you need it. Music for me is very important for my mood and my mind too, and this one was just the right kind of dirty for me, without being too disrespectful. Love the band tricks too, I mean how far can the one man bend? Just how high can the drummer toss that stick? Do I even have to mention Mick Mars? Pretty sure his name precedes him. Sometimes I consider this song the gateway song into more of the modern rock groups, as I was the type to grow up on the oldies station.

I am not saying this song alone started my writing again, but it did open a door I have not been able to permanently shut since. Not that I would ever want to, but I do recall a few misfires in the beginning. The negativity, self doubt, writing oneself into a corner, I have done that all before. The reason those issues stopped is a story for another day, but I know I restarted the story twice. The first time, about 50 pages in, I got straight stuck. Some time later, I started up again, rewriting it, and strengthening my female character, and we went so much farther. It took about 2 years, but we got to over 300 pages, until the gaps were too huge for me to ever finish. The trouble was that I could not decide what happened 5 years later without telling how everyone met in the first place. 4 more years, another 330 ish pages, and what was the prequel is finally finished. That is currently book 1, aka Red Letters Yellow Days, and it has done so much for me. I finished it in October of this year; right in time for NaNoWriMo to boot camp me. Retrained and so much farther into the book 2 re-re-rewrite, with the halfway point on the horizon, my story and writing has grown so much over the last 5-6 years (if we're counting).

To think it all started with some colliding idea fragments and this catchy Pop Evil song…

[reading-renditions]

A new post was just published on Reading Renditions! Come check it out!

New Post has been published on http://readingrenditions.ca/index.php/2017/01/12/survive-noisy-roommate/

How to Survive a Noisy Roommate

So after a month and a half of monkeying around, recovering after NaNoWriMo and preparing for the move back to university, I’ve finally been inspired to write another post by my noisy housemate.

I’ve taken up residence in off-campus student housing, and the room I’m in is an apartment-style three bedroom. I have two housemates with their own rooms and another one that shares a room with me.

Thankfully, the noisy one isn’t in my room, but the thin walls ensure that I can hear him if he makes even the slightest bit of noise. Not so thankfully, he’s not the quietest of sorts, and for the past hour or so he’s been laughing like a hysterical clown. He also likes to start singing pop songs at the oddest times.

Tragically off-key, I might add.

Now, I’m not bashing him having a good laugh; I think it’s marvelous whenever someone has cause to laugh like they mean it. What I’m bashing is the fact that I have to hear it.

Lucky for me, there are a few ways that I can block him out, and for the benefit of those with their own disruptive housemates I’ve decided to share them here with you. I’ll not be mentioning the obvious ‘tell them to stop’ option because, let’s face it, who wants any kind of confrontation in their life?

Especially with someone you live with.

1. Headphones

Ah yes, the fallback of awkward partygoers everywhere.

This is an oldie but a goodie. Even with a cheap pair of earbuds, you can crank up the tunes to drown out whatever noise your loud-mouthed housemate is making. Just pick a song, or better yet construct a playlist, and let the music drown them out.

This works especially well for me since I typically like to write with instrumentals sounding in my ears, except in the cases where I’m auditorily overstimulated. When I don’t want to have something playing in my ears…

2. Earplugs

Good old earplugs, always there when you need ’em. I never got the hang of them, but that doesn’t mean none of you can’t!

Sold at most places you can think of, they usually come in boxes of little plastic packages, although I have heard of them being sold loose. You squish these little pieces of foam between your fingers, put them in your ears, and let them expand again. They’re great at blocking out sound, and my mother uses them when she takes naps during the day.

As I said before, I never really took to them. I don’t like the feeling of something stuffing up my ears, and for others of the same persuasion…

3. Close the Door

Simple, but effective.

This only works if you have thick walls and your housemate is not in the room with you, but if you meet those two requirements then go nuts! Even if you don’t have thick walls and can still hear them, just playing something aloud will help. It doesn’t even have to be loud; soft background music will drown them out effectively without distracting from your reading or writing.

It’s a wondrous thing what a closed door will do.

4. Be Noisy Yourself

When trying to deal with noise, it may be a little counterintuitive to be noisy yourself, but hear me out.

Sometimes, your housemate might be unaware of just how noisy they’re being. They might not realize that the walls are so thin, or maybe they just forgot to turn their laptop’s sound down. They might even be too lazy to get up and retrieve their headphones – I’ve been there myself, actually.

Nothing speaks to them more effectively than a  passive-aggressive, “I’m being louder than you!” move.

5. Wait

I know it’s annoying, but surely they can’t keep up all that noise forever.

If they’re with friends, they’ll probably decide to go out after a while, and if not you can subtly suggest it. A casual going to see what they’re doing and an offhand, “Yeah, well, not much to do here,” will get the idea into their heads. If not, a more pointed, “You got lively just to stay home?” may be in order.

If it’s a house party, a sleep-over, or some other kind of thing they won’t easily leave, then I’m sorry. It may be time to…

6. Leave

Yes, I know, but it may be your only option.

If housemate and co. don’t seem like they’re going to quiet down anytime soon, then it might be time for a change of scenery. Call up a friend and ask if you can go and hang for a while, or go out to a café or the library if it’s early enough in the day for it. If you’re a student like me, there’s a good chance that there’s some place on campus that’s open all night, or at the very least into the wee hours of the morning.

I know what you’re thinking. I just spent all day at that place, why would I want to go back?

Well, listen carefully.

Do you hear that? The thump of movement? The murmur of talking? The high shrieks of laughter that they’re not even trying to hide?

The sound of your blood pressure rising?

That’s why.

Blissful Quiet

So go! Find your peace, your blissful silence. Do your work, finish your paper, take a nap, or hang out with your friend.

Do whatever!

Just do it in lovely, pervasive silence.

[waynekelton]

The Best Upcoming iOS & Android Games 2019

The mobile gamer can look back at 2018 with an affectionate and misty eye, secure in the knowledge that gaming on mobile devices gets more diverse, sophisticated and polished with each year. In this respect, 2019 also is shaping up to be a banner year on this front.

Roughly speaking, the most exciting upcoming games can be split into three groups: the name-brand megahits-in-waiting, boardgame adaptations, and indie projects. Read on to see what the who’s who of mobile gaming are cooking up for this year’s treats.

Dire Wolf Digital (Board Game)

This isn't the name of a game, but the name of a company that announced this year they're making a bucket-load of digital board game adaptations. Because we only have the announcement text to go on, we've decided to keep the new games all in one place until we know more. The games Direwolf are bringing to digital (which afawk also includes mobile devices) are:

Mage Knights – It's worth noting this is the first step in a bigger agreement with WizKids, so it's likely we'll be seeing more announcements this year.

Wings of Glory – A popular table-top aerial skirmish game.

Raiders of the North Sea – An excellent worker placement game themed around the 8th and 9th century viking raids (pictured).

Yellow & Yangtze – a Reiner Knizia tile placement game of civilization building.

Sagrada – A dice drafting game about creating works of art.

Root – the recent Kickstarter sensation about asymmetrical warfare in the woods.

We're not sure which project is due to appear first - possible WizKids & Mage Knights, given the importance that project has within the announcement? We'll update as we learn more.

Evolution (Board Game)

This was on the 'MIA' until recently, when North Star Digital announced that it would finally be releasing on February 12th. This is a digital adaptation of the popular boardgame of the same name, where you play as emergent species attempting to survive and adapt. You must use cards and combine traits to make sure your species gets the food it needs to live. This is a game of up to four players, and will feature a solo campaign vs. AI, as well as cross-platform online multiplayer.

Mario Kart Tour (Racing)

It’s been practically a year since this title was first announced and outlined with few concrete details added between now and then. Nintendo’s mobile offerings have run the gamut, from the premium Mario Run, the Miitomo social & style app everyone tried and forgot about, to the successful and generally great Fire Emblem: Warriors. Mario Kart is a treasured and classic franchise, even amongst Nintendo offerings, so that reputation guarantees some level of careful handling. It remains an open question whether the game will be a premium or freemium model, but the launch date is still projected to be March.

Diablo Immortal (Action RPG)

Diablo Immortal will draw some side-eye and mockery, having been already made notorious because of its horribly mistimed announcement. (Yes, we have phones, but read the room, Activision-Blizzard). Even more puzzlingly, the game is being created in partnership with NetEase, a Chinese developer whose resume already includes ‘Eternal Realm’ (无尽神域) itself essentially a Diablo clone. Weird stuff: the official license merging with a pretender to the throne to make a hybrid project together. Concerns about endless grind or re-skinning of Eternal Realm are well-founded, but while most of us will be as judge-y as possible we’ll also probably still give the final product a try. Good action RPGs live or die by loot, character progression and above all, delicate-yet-accurate controls, so it will be interesting to see if Diablo Immortal will be a good game as well as the inevitable cash cow.

Artifact (CCG)

Two juggernauts of early-aughts gaming, Valve and Richard Garfield, collaborated to create Artifact, a lane-based card game with its theme and heroes lifted from DOTA 2. Launching on desktops this November, the game has been universally praised for its gameplay and just as roundly (and soundly, I might add) panned for its multi-layered pay scheme, which presents significant barriers to entry and requires quite the investment. The game is a purchase upfront, with tournament tickets and the chance to earn cards in-game through other methods both requiring further shills at some point. Yes, there is an individual card market which allows powerful and rapid deckbuilding, but at what cost? Amazing game with an incredibly rocky launch, but its trade winds are already shifting. The game is excellent and its market & monetization can only improve. Watch this space.

Five Tribes (Boardgame)

Five Tribes, oldie but goodie, will make its digital debut this year. Days of Wonder has been updating and digitising its catalogue at a steady pace and with fantastic results. Five Tribes central mechanic is just like mancala. Pick a space and drop the meeples one by one along the path. Dead simple, but if you think it makes the game easy, you’d be dead wrong. The Five Tribes each possess unique scoring criteria and effects, and the turn-order bid means timing depends on correctly valuing the current layout. Many simple bits add up to make a nigh-perfect game.

Scythe: Digital Edition (Boardgame)

In another history, the Great War also ruined Europe and annihilated a generation, but its nations and technologies faced the blight and devastation quite differently. With large mechs, steampunk agricultural combines and faux-Eurasian player nations, Scythe gives each player a unique entity to steer to victory. Engine building games are always efficiency races, conversion puzzles, but Scythe’s unique setting, eye-catching miniatures and indirect player confrontation quickly made a it a fan favorite amongst the gaming community. Its rollout on Steam has been smooth experience, with decent AI and a robust tutorial. The assets and UI will translate well to mobile and what used to cost near three figures will be available to most anyone for a fraction of the price.

Terraforming Mars (Boardgame)

Terraforming Mars sounds like a noble goal for all of humanity. In reality, the game is a push-and-pull competition for corporations to garner by prestige by...terraforming Mars. Three categories: oxygen, temperature and ocean coverage dictate the endgame, but to get there, players will reshape the red planet into a bright blue hope. It’s a Euro though-and-though: precisely balanced, intricately co-dependent and inevitably point-based. But the close match between theme and mechanic makes this game deeply satisfying and intuitive to learn and explain, and the action selection mechanic is uniquely innovative and inspired. Just when I think boardgame design is tapped out, something truly exceptional rises to the top.

Mew-Genics (Sim)

This one has been incubating forever but should be worth it when it finally gets here. Ed McMillen (of Binding of Isaac fame) has been teasing this cat-breeding simulator for ages. The game has been described as a mix of Tamagotchi, Pokemon and the Sims, with its signature art style courtesy of McMillen. All bets for a playful wild game about the weirdness, sweetness, malice and all-around havoc of cat-raising seem to be right on the money. The ideas are there, the premise is promising, the only question remaining is when it will get here.

Overland (Finji) (TBS/Survival) 

Overland is tactical turn-based survival meets cross-country road trip (from hell). Each waypoint is a battle, a flashpoint conflict over some minor life-extending objective. Its overland map and procedural generation seem reminiscent of FTL (or its follow-up Into the Beach) but the setting here is familiar people struggling with post-apocalyptic daily hardship. Water, medicine, gas, weapons: the items are banal but vital. The game uses minimalism and scarcity to great effect, sketching characters and strategic scenarios alike with the barest elements.

Impossible Bottles (Rhythm/Action)

Various robots move about in their bottles and raging about like a bull in a china shop. Each level presents one of these Impossible Bottles for the player to fix by manipulating the environment and repairing the situation, or at the very least soothing its sole occupant. A scientist built these robots as part of a perpetual motion machine for unlimited energy, but they don’t quite work as is. The secret to fixing everything is music, or in gameplay terms: rhythm. One-touch gameplay and lush, fantastic art, with a slated mid-year release.

Nowhere Prophet (Card Game)

Nowhere Prophet: this one is a doozy and a little secretive. The dark horse of this race, if you will. In the game, post-apocalyptic leaders trek across a scabrous landscape to gather supporters and supplies, occasionally clashing with foes or environmental dangers. This card game has grid-based combat as well procedurally generated encounters. It’s a card-battler roguelike, essentially, with a unique setting and what seems to be a robust battle system.

Heaven’s Vault (Interactive Fiction)

Inkle (of 80 Days interactive fiction fame) has been teasing their mechanically ambitious Heaven’s Vault for some time now. An archaeologist-slash-xenolinguist explores the dusty remains of an alien civilization on an unknown planet, with a vivid backdrop of sienna sand and celestial blue. There’s some pretty nifty procedural tricks behind the code-breaking and translation, and while its approach to storytelling is a little less handcrafted, it has the potential to have even more surprises and replayability than the globe-trotting 80 Days.

Other Missing Games From 2018

As a reminder, here is a quick list of some other games we were expecting last year, but never turned up:

Void Tyrant (card game/RPG)

Bad North (RTS)

Exodus: Proxima Centauri (Boardgame)

Dungeon Warfare 2 (Tower Defence)

Epic Card Game (Card Game)

Lord of the Rings Living Card Game (Card Game)

Monster Slayers (Card Game) 

EVE: War of Ascension (MMO)

Best 2019 Mobile Releases So far

There's already been some excellent releases this year, and not all of them were expected/on this list. If you haven't already, check these games out:

Star Traders: Frontiers (RPG)

Legends of Andor (Boardgame)

Seen any other games coming out this year you're excited about? Let us know in the comments.

The Best Upcoming iOS & Android Games 2019 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/